This week I begin a 18 week training program for the Bayshore Marathon. The Bayshore Marathon is a one day event that consists of a 10K (6.2 miles), Half Marathon (13.1 miles), and Full Marathon (26.2 miles). The marathon is an out and back course along the shores of the Grand Traverse Bay.

For this race I will be using Hal Higdon's Intermediate Training Program. This program consists of five training runs per week, with a range of 24 to 43 total miles each week. For my first marathon I trained using the Novice Training Program. Even though I was happy with the results, I chose the Intermediate Training Program because I wanted something more challenging.

Links:
Bayshore Marathon http://www.bayshoremarathon.org/
Hal Higdon's Marathon Training Guide http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/Mar00index.htm

Today I registered for my second marathon (26.2 miles), the Bayshore Marathon. This race will take place in Traverse City, Michigan on Saturday May 29, 2010.

For this marathon my goal is to complete in 3:30 (hh:mm). That's an average of 8:00 (mm:ss) per mile. Which is still a ways from getting me a spot in the Boston Marathon, but would be a 30% improvement over my first marathon.

Links:
Bayshore Marathon http://www.bayshoremarathon.org/
Boston Marathon http://www.bostonmarathon.org/

Today I ran my first Detroit Turkey Trot. I chose the 10K (6.2 miles) event, and completed it in 47:47 (mm:ss). For the second time this year I beat my personal record for a 10K race. This time my improvement over my previous record was 6:56 (mm:ss), a little better than one minute per mile. A nice improvement for a 6 month period.

As for the event, it was really exciting to run with close to 15,000 other runners through the streets of Detroit. I liked the way that both the 5K and 10K runners started together, split up about 2 miles in, and then re-joined to share the same finish line under Cobo Hall. It was also really cool to see so many cheering people lined up along the streets of the course. Although, I'm sure that most of the crowd was there for the Detroit's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

From what I have heard, the organizer's of the event did a couple things different this year. A change that I liked the most was the ability to pickup my race bib and shirt before the event at one of several local Flagstar Banks and New Balance stores. This was very convenient and saved me from having to either make a trip down to Detroit before or deal with a large crowd on race day.

Another change that I liked, but that did not turn out so well, was the ability to pre-purchase a parking pass when I registered for the event. Three days prior to the race I receieved an email stating that the parking passes were mailed out. If for some reason I did not receive the pass, no worry my name would be on a list. As luck would have it, the pass never came in the mail and when I arrived at the designated lot, the attendant had no list. From what the parking attendant told me, I was not the only one who had this problem. In retrospect, it would have made more sense to me to pass out the parking passes when I picked up the race bib and shirt verus mailing them out. Maybe next year the organizers will have this problem solved.

Links:
Detroit Turkey Trot http://www.theparade.org/turkeytrot/

Today I ran the Brooksie Way 1/2 Marathon (13.1 miles) for the 2nd consecutive year. My official time was 1:52:09 (hh:mm:ss), which was 23:26 (mm:ss) faster than my first. This is also a personal best for me with a near 18% improvement over last year's time.

The Brooksie Way is a challenging race that can catch runners off guard if they don't know the course. The first six and half miles are relatively flat and downhill, so it is easy to start off too fast. Then the course makes an abrupt change and turns into about four miles of continuous hills that can seem like they will never end. But if you can save for the energy for the end, there is a nice two mile mostly downhill stretch to the finish. This is my favorite part of the course because I can make up some of the time I lost on the hills and finish strong.

Links:
Brooksie Way Half Marathon http://www.thebrooksieway.com

Today I ran the 10 Mile Race at the 2009 Crim Festival of Races. My official time was 1:23:33 (hh:mm:ss), which was 34:35 (mm:ss) faster than my previous record. This is a personal best for me with almost a 30% improvement over last year. I am definitely pleased with my results.

The Crim is one of those events that I look forward to each year. It attracts thousands of runners, yet still maintains a small town feel to the event. I also appreciate how the Crim has become a tradition for the city of Flint and has been held every year since 1977.

Links:
Crim Fitness Foundation http://www.crim.org/