What To Do In Toledo

While Toledo may not be the biggest city in Ohio, it sure packs a lot of stuff to do in it.  Here are three examples of fun for the whole family.  CLICK HERE, for a full list of activities, parks, places to visit, restaurants and drinking establishments.

Imagination Station
      A wonderful facility in downtown Toledo that features a hands-on science museum with over 300 exhibits for children of all ages.

Toledo Zoo
      This year features newly renovated Aquarium houses 3000+ aquatic animals in 178,000 gallons of water – nearly four times the volume as the previous Aquarium.  As an institution with a more than 100-year history, The Toledo Zoo understands the need to preserve the past even as it reaches out toward the future.  The Toledo Zoo is one of the world’s most complete zoos—it’s also the region’s top family destination! Let The Toledo Zoo take you from the Arctic tundra to the wilds of Africa, from the tropical rainforest to the Sonoran Desert and all points between—all in one great day.

 

Toledo Museum of Art
     The Toledo Museum of Art is an internationally known art museum located in the Old West End neighborhood of Toledo.  It houses a collection of more than 30,000 objects and special one of a kind traveling exhibits throughout the year.  The museum was founded by Toledo glassmaker Edward Drummond Libby in 1901, and moved to its current location in 1912.

   Whether you want updates of how you are doing while you run or your friends and family want to follow along as you traverse the 26.2, 13.1 or 3.2 miles, you can do so with the official race tracker.  With the mobile Glass City Marathon app you can fully experience the race. Share RaceJoy with your friends and family and ask them to sign in as a spectator. If you carry your phone, they can track you live and send you audio cheer clips.

 

2015 Glass City Marathon Race Recap Part 2

     Once we were all showered, dressed and ready to go, we hopped in the car and made out way over to the UT campus for the start of the race.  The temperature wasn't to terribly bad being in the high thirties since there was no wind to speak of.  With hardly any traffic on the roads we made really good time and got there early enough to get a pretty close up parking spot.  Mandy had a friend from work doing the 5K with her so we made plans to meet her at the expo hall at 6:30.  Once we met up with Annie we hung out in the expo hall to keep warm while I did a few light stretches and some warm up exercises.  With twenty minutes till race start we headed outside so I could get a couple light warmup laps and my dynamic stretches done.  When I was ready to go we snapped a couple pics and I attempted to find my place in the starting corals.

 

    
     This year was a growth year for the race as far as participants go, so when I tried to get in my assigned starting coral, it was so jam packed there was no room for me.  People were climbing over the bike rack barricades to get in and the provided doorways in were full and spilling out into the spectator area.  I ended up finding a small hole to get in to the coral ahead of mine, which worked out fine because I ended up running faster than I originally anticipated.  I was in the corals with about 5 minutes to spare before a couple of guest speakers said a few words and then the horn sounded and we were off.

     The race course quickly takes us off campus across a major road and into some of the nicest neighborhoods in Toledo.  What is nice about running through these neighborhoods is the fact that the community embraces the race and people come out of their homes to clap, cheer, hold signs or simply just to watch while not being upset with street closers or disrupting their daily routines.  

     Around mile 2 I started to have some GI issues and had some gas pressure building up that also was putting pressure on my bladder.  From that point till almost mile 7 or 8 I felt like I had to pee, which made me think maybe I should slowdown and maybe hit a port a potty.  I almost did when a runner a little bit ahead of me made a B-line right for it, so I decided to just press on.  Slowly I was able relieve the gas pressure (sorry runners who were behind me) and my need to pee subsided.  As the race went on I kept a close eye on my Garmin trying to maintain a steady pace, all while telling myself to run my own race and not worry about people passing me or me passing others.  I would have to remind myself that just because someone passed me doesn't mean I am slowing down and my Garmin confirmed that.  

     Through the first half of the race I was holding a steady pace between 8:10 and 8:15 so I thought if I felt good at the half way point I would slowly increase my speed and try to get a negative split for the second half.  Mile 7 I started to speed up and I must have hit a mini wall because I was feeling a little tired in mile 8 and struggled to even get an 8:15 pace.  I pushed through it and got back to around an 8:06 pace for miles 9-11.  At mile 10 they had a timing clock that read 1:21 on it when I passed and I quickly did the math in my head, three or four times to be sure, that if I held my pace I was going to hit a sub 1:50 time and even had a shot at a sub 1:45 time.  When I hit mile 12, which was mostly an up hill climb, I decided to not push to hard and save my legs for the last mile, so my paces plummeted to an 8:21.  Just before the last mile I looked at my time and thought If I want a sub 1:45 I need to get a move on, so I threw on some loud fast rock in roll and cranked up the pace to go as fast as I could without burning myself out too early.  Unfortunately I just didn't have enough time to do it, but I wasn't disappointed at all because I crushed the shit out of my PR by more than 12 minutes.

     After I crossed the line I got a water and my medal and met up with Mandy, who showed me her shinny new medal.  I was more proud of her for completing the race and getting the medal than I was of my new PR!  Mandy always said she doesn't like running and who knows if she ever will, but the fact that she got out there and did it was the best part of my day.  We took a few pictures and headed to the post race party to get some food and to relax.  The Glass City puts on a hell of a spread with fruit, pretzels, cookies, candy and my favorite Gino's pizza and bread sticks.  Of course the beer was flowing as well for those that like to partake in a nice cold one post race.  We sat out in the warm sun listening to Zak Ward's band play a few tunes while we enjoyed our little feast.  When we finished I stopped over to talk with Zak, we are buddies from high school and were in a band together for a few years before school and work took precedence and we had to call it quits.

   
     For me, other than the race organizers needing to reevaluate the starting line and corals for the growth in participants, I don't have anything else bad to say or to criticize about the race.  I can't speak to the full marathon, but for the half all the water stops, but one were fully staffed and well stocked with fluids, all the timing mats except for one had either a clock or someone there calling out times and the spectator support was great.  My two favorite parts of the entire race is the view of the University Bell Tower as your are coming down Drummond road (sorry no picture, I was trying to crush my PR) and the finish when you come through the gates of the UT Glass Bowl football stadium and run the finishing shoot on the 50 yard line.  

     We will see what next year brings, but I would really like to complete the trifecta and do the marathon next year, but we will see.  I want to give a big thank you to Amanda Kessler for asking me to be a race Ambassador for this year.  I had a lot of fun writing about it and to be asked to represent my hometown race was truly an honor.  I also want to thank friend and Race Director Clint McCormick for another wonderful Glass City Marathon event.  Even though this is only my third year participating in the event I have to say you and the other organizers are a class act providing Toledo with an event we can be proud of!

2015 Glass City Marathon Race Recap Part 1

     Saturday was expo day for the Glass City Marathon and because I had to work the expo as part of my ambassador duties so I took a vacation day from my normal job.  I didn't have to be to the expo until 12:30 so it was nice to sleep in and just relax in the morning with my wife.  Mandy and I were going out to a pre-race dinner with some friends about an hour after my shift was over so she graciously volunteered to work the expo with me.  

     We arrived on the campus of the University of Toledo and instantly we could tell the expo was packed.  We walked in and were immediately met by two volunteers asking us questions and directing us where we needed to go.   We headed right over to the info booth to meet the other ambassadors, volunteers and to get our instructions for the afternoon.  When the shift change happened, Mandy and I decided to relieve the "greeters" that welcomed us.  For racers to pick up their packets they needed their race bib numbers, so we were asking them if they new their numbers yet.  The ones that did we directed into the expo area and the ones that didn't we directed them over to the tables where the Racejoy app table was set up so they could look up their bib numbers.

     During our shift I saw a few people I recognize from other events around Toledo, my best friend's cousin who was running her first half marathon, but what really did it for me was when a reader stop to say hello.  This was the first time a reader of my blog has ever said something to me in person, and to hear someone who is fighting the same battle as I am say "I read your blog all the time and you are such an inspiration" just totally floored me.  In that moment I was consumed with such emotion I could hardly say anything and to be honest I can't remember exactly what was said, so if I didn't say it I wanted to say congrats on the weight loss and let him know that I really appreciated him saying hello.  What you have accomplished is amazing and you should be so proud!  Keep up the hard work and now I'll add, hope you had a great race on Sunday.  He had told me that he has lost over 185 pounds and thanked me for writing my blog.  Sorry I didn't get a picture with him, I wasn't really thinking clearly at that moment.  

***Warning, quick side note***

     I started this blog with the intentions of paying it forward for those that need the inspiration that I needed and got while I was loosing the weight.  In the digital age when people write to me or comment on Facebook it means a lot to me, but for the first time it truly became real to me when I shook the guys hand.  Nothing means more to me than knowing that I am able to help someone like the Fat to Finish Line crew did for me.   

***Ok, back to our regularly scheduled program***

     As the afternoon went on Mandy and I were getting a little tired and slap happy.  You start to go a little crazy when you say pretty much the same thing over and over for 4 straight hours, "hello, are you here for packet pick up?  Do you know your bib number yet? Great the entrance to the expo is right this way! or No, you'll need that to pick up your packet, so step over to these tables here where they can help you look that up."  When our shift ended we went to pick up our packets, look around at all the expo had to offer and then make our way to Perrysburg for dinner.

      We were going out to dinner with my friend Katie, who writes the blog Runs for Cookies, her husband Jerry and twenty or so of her friends and family who were running on 5-person relay teams together.  Katie's sister made reservations at a regionally known Italian restaurant chain call Biaggi's.  They have restaurants in 10 states, with most of their locations in Illinois.  I can't speak to other people's experiences, but mine and Mandy's was pretty darn good.  They had warm bread with olive oil to dip the bread in for snacking, which we gobbled up because we were starving.  For our main course I got spaghetti and meatballs which was wonderful and Mandy got lasagna and said she loved it.  It was so great catching up with everyone and nothing is better than getting to talk Star Wars, comic book movies, tv shows and RedWings hockey with Jerry.  

     It was getting late and the dogs had been alone almost all day so we wanted to get home and play with them so we could get them tired out before bed, so we said our goodbyes and headed home.  Mandy and I got our clothes laid out and I got all my tech gear ready for the morning.  Thankfully the dogs settled down and we were able to get to bed at a decent time, considering we had to be up at 4:30am so we could be out the door by 5:15am.  Wow, can you believe I use to hate getting up early and could sleep till one in the afternoon like it was no big deal.

     The exciting conclusion of Running in the Fat lane's 

2015 Glass City Marathon Race Recap, next time!  

Same fat time, same fat channel! 

A Week Out from the Glass City Marathon

    We are just 8 days out from the running of the Glass City Marathon, 5 person Marathon Relay, Owens Corning Half Marathon and the 5K and I can't wait.  I am hoping, praying and crossing all my fingers and toes that the weather will cooperate and make for a great morning.  For those of you that may have questions about the event here is a link to the Glass City Marathon's Frequently Asked Questions page. (CLICK HERE)  This page will give you all the info you will need to be ready for race day.  If you have a question that just isn't answered via the FAQs page then while at the expo hit up the info booth and we will get you the answers you require.  

Health & Wellness Expo

     The Expo and Packet Pickup will take place on Saturday April 25, 2015 in the Savage Hall Sports Arena on the Campus of The University of Toledo. The Expo will serve as the pick-up location for Race numbers, t-shirts and Goodie Bags for the participants.

Free Admission — Open to the Public

• Over 40 Vendors
• Purchase Official Merchandise
• Late Registration (for events with open fields)

Date: Saturday, April 25, 2015
Hours: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Location:
Savage Hall Arena, University of Toledo
2801 West Bancroft, Toledo, Ohio 43606

 

Special Late Packet Pickup

Date: Sunday, April 26, 2015
Hours: 5:30am – 6:30am
Location: Savage Hall Arena

     If you have ever wanted to know what your body composition is made up of, well at the Health and Wellness expo you can!  Read below for additional information and click on the register now link below to get signed up.

The BOD POD Returns to the Glass City Health & Wellness Expo

Tests will be available at the expo for those who come prepared with proper apparel and $20.

View the Body Composition Brochure

The University of Toledo’s Department of Kinesiology offers BodPod Assessments for a fee of $20.00. Individuals must wear a cap that is provided at the time of the test, as well as a tight fitting bathing suit or spandex type shorts. Tests will be available at the expo for those who come prepared with proper apparel. For those interested in having their resting metabolic rate directly measured using indirect calorimetry, for a fee of $50.00, an appointment can be made with Barry Scheuermann PhD, Associate Professor Chair, Department of Kinesiology, Director, Cardiopulmonary and Metabolism Research Laboratory at 419-530-2692. This test takes about 60 to 90 minutes.

“The BOD POD Gold Standard Body Composition Tracking System is an Air Displacement Plethysmograph which uses whole-body densitometry to determine body composition (fat and fat-free mass) in adults and children. It is a complete turnkey system based on the same gold standard operating principle as hydrostatic (or “underwater”) weighing, except that the BOD POD uses patented Air Displacement Plethysmography, instead of water, for highly accurate, fast, and safe results. The BOD POD also offers information on Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) and Total Energy Expenditure (TEE) as an optional component of every body composition test.” This data is provided without requiring the subject to perform any additional testing maneuvers, and a complete assessment requires only about 15 minutes.

The roomy interior of the BOD POD accommodates a wide variety of human shapes and sizes, including those up to 7 feet tall and 550 pounds. This is because the unique egg-shaped design of the BOD POD maximizes interior space. This is why the BOD POD is used routinely for testing such a wide variety of subjects, including professional/collegiate athletes and sumo wrestlers! It’s also the exclusive body composition testing method of the NFL Scouting Combine. It can be used with most subject types, including special populations such as children, the elderly, the obese, and those with physical disabilities.

REGISTER NOW

 

A GCM Guide for Out of Towners

     With the Glass City Marathon being a little less than a month away, I thought I would share a little info for those of you coming in from out of town.  Toledo may not be the biggest city in Ohio, but with its rich history and wonderful attractions, it sure does offer some great things for tourists to do.  for driving directions to get to the starting line on race day: CLICK HERE

     Probably the most important thing is where you are going to stay while you are in town.  Well the GCM are pleased to welcome Ramada Hotel and Conference Center as the Glass City Marathon's host hotel. The Ramada Hotel is located on Secor Road minutes from the University of Toledo Campus.  If there is no room at the inn, than CLICK HERE for a complete list of other area hotels that are reasonably close to the starting line.

Ramada Hotel and Conference Center
3536 Secor Road
Toledo, OH 43606
(419) 535-7070

     Here is just a short list of some of the major local attractions that is fun for the whole family. 

Imagination Station
      A wonderful facility in downtown Toledo that features a hands-on science museum with over 300 exhibits for children of all ages.
Toledo Zoo
      This year features newly renovated Aquarium houses 3000+ aquatic animals in 178,000 gallons of water – nearly four times the volume as the previous Aquarium.  As an institution with a more than 100-year history, The Toledo Zoo understands the need to preserve the past even as it reaches out toward the future.  The Toledo Zoo is one of the world’s most complete zoos—it’s also the region’s top family destination! Let The Toledo Zoo take you from the Arctic tundra to the wilds of Africa, from the tropical rainforest to the Sonoran Desert and all points between—all in one great day.
Toledo Museum of Art
     The Toledo Museum of Art is an internationally known art museum located in the Old West End neighborhood of Toledo.  It houses a collection of more than 30,000 objects and special one of a kind traveling exhibits throughout the year.  The museum was founded by Toledo glassmaker Edward Drummond Libby in 1901, and moved to its current location in 1912.

   Whether you want updates of how you are doing while you run or your friends and family want to follow along as you traverse the 26.2, 13.1 or 3.2 miles, you can do so with the official race tracker.  With the mobile Glass City Marathon app you can fully experience the race. Share RaceJoy with your friends and family and ask them to sign in as a spectator. If you carry your phone, they can track you live and send you audio cheer clips.

You do not need to carry your phone to get official timing system splits and results. — See How it Works!

Available in the Apple App Store or for Android in the Google Play store

With the mobile Glass City Marathon app you can experience:

• Convenient Bib Look Up
• Instant Results
• Progress Alerts to friends and Family
• Automatic Facebook Posts
• Key Race Information
• Live tracking, Send-a-Cheer in Phone Fun (upgrade features)

The Running Roots of the Glass City Marathon

     The Glass City Marathon has a long and rich history that dates all the way back to a time before I was born.  Since 1971 the Glass City Marathon has seen its share of changes from title sponsors, slight name changes, location of the event and the time of year.  Faced with the adversity of losing its title sponsorship which forced the race to shut down for a short time, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the GCM has been reborn to become the vital linchpin of Northwest Ohio's running community.  Below is a brief overview of that rich history and those that worked so hard to make it a true gem of Toledo, Ohio.

The Beginning: 1971 – 1983

The very first Glass City Marathon started and finished at the University of Toledo on June 20, 1971. Sy Mah ran the race that day, as did two Churchills (Walt Jr., a key founder of the Toledo Roadrunners Club, and Walt III) and a runner named Fred Lebow who came all the way from New York City. We hear that Lebow accomplished some things later back East and are glad we could give him some ideas. The race remained on Fathers’ Day and anchored at the University of Toledo until 1981 when the race was moved to the Fall and to Side Cut Park of the MetroParks of Toledo. In 1983 the race moved to downtown Toledo and was titled the Pepsi Challenge Glass City Classic Marathon. Despite the seeming momentum of a new downtown course, Pepsi did not renew its sponsorship and the race fell dormant for the next six years.

Rebirth: 1990 – 2009

     In 1989 a group of influential Toledo Roadrunners revived the Glass City Marathon and Pam Graver was key to this revival as she took on the task of directing the race. The race was dedicated to the late Sy Mah, who had passed away in 1988. From 1990 to 2009, the Glass City Marathon served as the key cog in the running world of Northwest Ohio with the course starting and finishing downtown.

 

Rocket Return: 2010 – Present

     In 2010, the Toledo Roadrunners Club decided to return the event to its historical roots at the University of Toledo and give the event a new look and new energy. The results have been dramatic. The half marathon has sold out every year since the event’s return to the University of Toledo and participation in the marathon, half marathon, marathon relay, and 5K races has grown from over 3,200 in 2010 to over 4,500 in 2011 to over 5,800 in 2012. In 2012, Owens-Corning came on board as the sponsor of the half marathon and Medical Mutual of Ohio became the title sponsor for the Glass City Marathon. 2013 and 2014 saw continued growth topping 7,000 in 2014 with the Owens Corning Half Marathon selling out for the sixth consecutive year.

Pam Graver-Koenig

     Pam Graver-Koenig was a special person, an avid runner, and a dynamic contributor to the Toledo Roadrunners Club of historic proportion. Pam was a member and past president of the TRRC. And there may not be the TRRC Glass City Marathon were it not for Pam. In 1990, after six years without a Glass City Marathon, Pam agreed to help renew the event, became the race director and played a major role in the resurrection of a Northwest Ohio running tradition.  Pam was also a TRRC Sy Mah Award recipient, the award the club bestows for lifetime achievement to the club and the sport.

     

     Pam passed away on July 4, 2011. In 2012, the Toledo Roadrunners Club Scholarship Fund in Honor of Pam Graver-Koenig was established. For more information on the scholarship or to give please go to the Toledo Roadrunners site.

Sy Mah

     Sy Mah was an influential figure in the running boom of the 1970s. Mah was an assistant professor of physical education at the University of Toledo from 1970 to 1988. Mah did not start running marathons until he was 40, yet at the time of his death in 1988, Mah held the record for the most lifetime marathons at 524. The Sy Mah Memorial Scholarship at the University of Toledo was established in 1990 by his friends and family with financial support from the Toledo Roadrunners Club. In addition to meeting various academic standards, qualified recipients within the College of Health Science and Human Service are required to be “avid social runners.”

     Mah ran the Glass City Marathon several times, including at the inaugural event in 1971. Runners in the Glass City Marathon pass by a life-size statue of Mah in Olander Park Mah is believed to have said, “I believe Americans have been brainwashed with the idea that they must do less because increased age will result in less energy and diminished capacity. I have found this is simply not true if a person does not allow his mind to accept the traditional view of aging.”

Hello are you there? It's Wednesday Weigh In

     Hello All!  It feels like forever since I have written a post, let alone a Wednesday Weigh In.  It is mostly due to my life becoming very busy and a little complicated lately.  A couple of friends of mine run a regional publication and due to some unforeseen circumstances need some graphic design work done to help them out.  Needless to say that has added to my responsibilities when I get home from work, which has left me minimal time for other things.  I had a little extra free time today and I had some great news that I wanted to share. 

    

     First though, let us get to my weigh in.  I don't want anyone to think I was hiding my weight because it was going up, but it did start to tick up and last week it was up to 177lbs.  It was nothing to freak out about, but I was getting pretty laid back with my nutrition and portion control.  I decided last week to really try to buckle down and get it right this week; combine that with how well my training has been going I was able to drop two pounds and get back to 175lbs.  Now if I can just get those last to freaking pounds to hit goal.

2/25/15 official weigh in

175 lbs

Change: -2 lbs

Total loss from heaviest:  142 lbs

Current BMI:  27.4 (overweight)

Change: n/a

Here are the weigh in pics from the last couple of weeks

 

      Now for the great news!  I was officially released by my physical therapist today!  She feels that with all my hard work I have put in at home and what we accomplished during our visits I have been able to correct the issues that were causing me all the knee pain.  Now just because I don't need to see her anymore doesn't mean my rehab is over.  To continue to run pain free I need to continue the work that I have already put in.  She has given me 7 new strengthening exercises and finished my training plan for the GCM Owens Corning Half Marathon.  It feels so great to be back to how I felt before all this came about.  I have learned so much that will pay dividends for years to come.  

     Anyone in or around the Toledo, Ohio area that is suffering from a sports related injury or is in need of physical therapy that is not sports related, than get in contact with Alisha at:

 Elite Sports and Orthopedic Physical Therapy

6919 W Central Avenue

Toledo, OH, 43614 

Telephone:888-294-1089

E-mail: Alisha@toledophysicaltherapy.com

   

And The Winners Are:

Joanne F.

and

Jessica C.

Congratulations, I will be emailing you shortly with your race code

     

     I want to thank everyone who entered, I wish everyone could have won.  For those that didn't and still would like to participate on the Glass City Marathon, Marathon Relay, the Owens Corning Half Marathon or the 5K you still can!  CLICK HERE to be redirected to the Glass City Marathon's web page.

Run With Me, FOR FREE!!!!!!

     While Santa was making his rounds dropping off all his gifts to the good boys and girls of the world he did a favor for the organizers of the Glass City Marathon and dropped off TWO FREE ENTRIES for me to give away to two lucky readers of my blog.  The winners of these two entries may use them to participate in their choice of The Glass City Marathon, Owens Corning Half Marathon or 5K. 

     It was an honor for me to be asked to represent this race, not only because it is my hometown race, but because it is such a well organized race that takes great care to deliver a top notch race experience.  The Glass City Marathon prides itself on being a flat fast course great for those going for a Boston Qualifying time, better known as a BQ.  If nothing more than a great race experience is your goal than look no further.  Race weekend features corrals at the starting line, pacing teams, chip timing and a finishers book that is sent to you after the race.  Marathon and Half Marathon finishers receive a quality made finishers medal that you will feel proud to display around your neck.  Additionally, every runner receives a quality event shirt and a glass mug paying homage to Toledo, which is known also as The Glass City.  Amongst all that the organizers manage to put together a wonderful post race party featuring top notch local musical entertainment, quality food from from local establishments, free swag from local business and sponsors, FREE Massages for runners and last but not least most runners favorite post race adult brewed beverage.  There has been beer in years past anyway so I am assuming there will be this year.

The drawing is now closed
 

*These entries cannot be used for entry into the relay event, but may be used in the Glass City Marathon, Owens Corning Half Marathon or 5K on race weekend of 2015.  I am not buying you a race entry, the amazing people who put together this race weekend are allowing me to slide you in for free due to my status as a Glass City Marathon ambassador.
     
     Just a reminder, the early bird registration period for these races ends at the end of the year and the price will increase on January 1st.  If you don't wanna wait to see if you won a free registration and want to take advantage of the early bird pricing you my do so by clicking here for registration.

I believe I can Fly 5K - race recap

     I decided late Friday night to participate in a 5K that my sister was volunteering for.  My sister got involved with a charity group called The Arms Forces that raises money for and helps veterans with "invisible" wounds like post traumatic stress disorder, brain injuries and any other non visible injuries.  My sister isn't a veteran, but she is a stroke survivor and has been looking to help those that are going through the same issues that she has had to face.  This group worked with the Toledo Express Airport and the Air National Guard's 180th Fighter Wing to put together a 5K that took place on the runways of the airport.

     This was the first year for this race and I really didn't know what to expect or how many people would even show up.  If I had to give them a criticism it would be a lack of advertising, I didn't know anything about it till Friday when I found out my sister was involved.  Anyway, I got there about an hour before the race and was surprised to see how many people were already here.  There was even a bus that brought in a load of people as well.  Check in was fast and efficient and where I got a water bottle, t-shirt and my bib.  I found my sister and my nephew and we talked for a little while before I headed back to my car to get ready and do a light warm up run.

   
      The festivities started about a half hour before the official start of the race which normally I wouldn't complain, but do to the cold temperatures I was getting cold standing around waiting.  The head of The Arms Forces said a few words and thanked a few people and then handed the mic off to the Commanding Officer of the ANG Fighter Wing.  Once they were both done speaking the costume competition came next. There were some creative people that showed up and the adults seemed to have way more fun with it than the kids did.

   
     We finally moved over to the start line for the presentation of colors and the singing of the National Anthem.  While I was standing there watching I noticed this cute little girl that turns out to be the granddaughter of the race director.  She was all dressed up like a fighter pilot and standing there with here mirrored sunglasses with here hand on her heart during the National Anthem.  Now for the coolest thing I have ever seen at a race, once the National Anthem was finished, six 180th Fighter Wing F-16 fighter jets did flybys to salute us and the cause we were supporting.  I am a son of a civilian pilot and I have always been a plane geek, going to air shows and what not, so this was particularly exciting to me.

     This was my first race since the Glass City half marathon way back in April and I really wanted to run it hard and see where I would end up.  Without sounding like an arrogant ass, I kind of figured I would set a new PR as long as I had a incident free run, but I just didn't know what time I would get.  When they started the race they had the air traffic control tower give us permission to head out just like if we were a plane waiting to taxi out and take off, then they fired the pistol and I took off like I was shot out of a cannon.  When I got maybe a quarter mile in I glanced at my watch and saw I was at a 6:30ish pace, I thought to myself HOLY SHIT, and quickly thought I was going to burn out before I hit the first mile mark.  I don't know if I subconsciously started to slow up a little bit or my body just couldn't hold that pace.  For the remainder of that first mile I would occasionally glance at my watch watch seeing that six minute pace slip away and when I crossed that first mile I missed a sub 7 by .06 of a second.  

     I settled into a good rhythm but my pace slipped a little further into the 7s, which I expected.  At this point I told myself I didn't want to drop below a 7:30 for the last two miles.  Mile 2 was solid, but I think I played it a little safe and held a little back.  The majority of mile 3 had a light head wind that wasn't horrible but just enough to make me have to work a little harder to just maintain my pace.  The end of the course was a little weird with a hairpin turn that reversed my direction from west to east.  After that turn we ran about 400 yards to a ninety degree right turn, run another 150 yards to another ninety degree turn for the final point one of the 3.1 total.  I found it really hard to maintain a nice pace and I probably lost a little time in the turns.

     When I crossed the finish line I stopped my watch at 22:20 and looked down to see it and couldn't believe it.  I knew I was having a good race, but not that good.  Once I passed through the finishing shoot I grabbed a powerade and a half a bagel and started walking back along the course cheering on the other runners and walkers while looking for my sister and nephew.  As I mentioned earlier, my sister is a stroke survivor, she suffered a severe stroke that left her with multiple mental and physical challenges.  One of which was a left leg that wasn't fully functioning and required lots of physical therapy to get her to walk again.  I bring this up because walking is not easy for her and the fact that she took on and completed 3.1 cold miles and smiled while doing it was awe inspiring to me.  Yeah I got a PR and crushed the shit out of my previous 5K time, but that doesn't compare to the joy I had seeing here cross that finish line knowing all she has gone through to get to this point.

   
     When we got back to the finish line, they were starting to announce the overall winners and the age group winners.  Because of my age I usually never place because I am still in a fast age bracket, so when they called my name I was kinda shocked.  I officially finished with a 22:21 at a 7:13 avg mile pace  I was 17th out of 293 overall and 3rd in my age group.  To compare my previous 5K PR was set back in April during my Run-iversary, I finished that race with a 25:54 at a 8:21 per mile avg.  For those that placed, they gave out mason jars filled with popcorn and a custom made dog tag.  First place was a full size jar, 2nd place was a little smaller and 3rd place was a little smaller than the other two.

      This was a great race and despite a couple of minor short comings I think the organizers did a great job for there first time out.  I hope they see it was a success and will continue to grow the event for next year.  Here are a few more pictures for you to enjoy: