Bob the runner

I had never been to Mississippi before this race and not sure I will ever return. T he name "Mississippi Blues" and some of the reviews attracted me to this race.  I love old country songs and many of them talk about the blues, so, I thought "why not run a half marathon there and hear some good music?". We arrived at our hotel Thursday evening and were instantly concerned by all the abandoned businesses and homes near the hotel. The Hilton Gardens in downtown Jackson seemed safe and was a decent hotel but they also warned us not to go walking around after dark. Seems there are a bunch of homeless people in the area that are considered dangerous. We are not downtown people so we were a bit uneasy and decided to eat dinner at the hotel Thursday evening and it was very good. Friday we walked about 10 minutes to the Expo. It was held at the Jackson Convention Center and was lots of fun!  We found some good bargains on clothes and listened to some good B

2014 was quite the year for this 55 year old!  As I reflect back, I am truly humbled that the good Lord has given me the ability to do all this.  Especially at my age!  I don't plan on slowing down any in 2015 but for now I wanted to celebrate my accomplishments for 2014.  Here they are: First full marathon (26.2 miles). First Olympic distance Triathlon (Swim 1500 meters, 24.8 miles bike, 10K run). First Century (100 miles) bike ride. Ran at least a half marathon race in 6 different states. Earned my first "Beat Your Age" award in the Bolder Boulder.  Longest open water swim ever (1.2 miles). Completed a Sprint Triathlon. Completed a Metric Century ride (62 miles). 3 Half Marathon Personal Records (PR) Ran over 1000 miles. Biked over 1248 miles. Monthly details: January:  Earned my 26.2 sticker by running my first full marathon in Maui!  Hawaii was state number 5. February: PR'd in the Daytona Beach Half Marathon!  Florida was state number 6.

States I have run a half or full marathon in.   12 states down! 38 to go. 10/09/2011 - Colorado: Denver Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon: 02:06:19 (PR) 01/20/2013 - Arizona - Arizona Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon: 02:02:16 (PR) 06/02/2013 - California - Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Half Marathon: 01:55:20 (PR) 11/17/2013 - Nevada - Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas: 01:58:36 01/19/2014 - Hawaii - Maui Oceanfront Marathon: 05:03:47 (PR) 02/16/2014 - Florida - Daytona Beach Half Marathon: 01:55:06 (PR) 05/10/2014 - North Dakota - Fargo Half Marathon: 01:53:04 (PR) 06/01/2014 - Wyoming - Casper Half Marathon: 02:02:45 09/27/2014 - Nebraska - Platte Valley Companies Monument Half Marathon: 01:59:20 11/01/2014 - Indiana - Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon: 01:51:08 (PR)   01/10/2015 - Mississippi - Mississippi Blues Half Marathon (01:54:09)  03/22/2015 - Washington - Mercer Island Half Marathon (02:00:40)   Create Your Own Map

Be Monumental! That was the goal for Indiana (state number 10)! I was afraid of the weather starting about 10 days out. High 20s with 18 mph winds.  I kept checking my weather channel app but the forecast did not change.  Finally I prepared myself for a cold windy run and lowered my expectations. My wife and I flew into Indianapolis on Friday and it was cold, windy and raining. We had planned to check into our hotel "The Alexander" and walk to the expo. The walk would have been a little less than a mile. The problem: once we arrived to check in to the hotel they wanted $27 for us to park our car there. "What a ripoff" we thought as we refused their offer and consulted with one of the locals who told us we could park one block away on the street for free after 6pm. We checked in then drove to the expo and parked across from the convention center for $1. The expo was in the convention center and was decent size, very organized, and had  plenty of vendor

State Number 9 (Nebraska) is in the books! When I moved to Colorado in 1988, Nebraska was the enemy!  The University of Colorado actually had some decent football teams in those days and beating Nebraska was always the goal.  Colorado didn't win many of those games and  I developed a distaste for Nebraska, even though I hadn't spent any time there. After spending the past weekend in Gering and Scottsbluff, that distaste, just like the old rivalry, is gone.  The people in Nebraska are so friendly and the Monument Half Marathon was top notch.  The expo and everything about the race was so well organized and fun.  I would definitely recommend this event and a visit to the Gering/Scottsbluff area. On Friday, my wife and I drove 3 hours to Gering and checked into the Monument Inn and Suites. The hotel wasn't fancy but the price was right and it was real close to the race start. The highlight of the trip (other than the race) was seeing the scenery just outside Gering and

After Conquering Our First Century Ride!!! You guys are probably thinking, Bob has gone totally bats!  Why would he want to ride 100 miles on his bicycle in one day?  What will he try next?  I love the way Ryan Wood  puts 100 miles in perspective (http://www.active.com/cycling/articles/how-long-is-a-century-ride): A 100-mile century ride is not something any Joe Schmo can hop on the bike and crank out. It takes training, it takes sound nutritional preparation (before and during the ride) and it takes some physical and mental toughness.  If you want to put the century-ride distance in perspective, consider: 100 miles is roughly the distance between Philadelphia and New York City. It's also the distance between Hartford and Boston, which could send you through three states depending on your route. Chicago and Milwaukee are just about 100 miles apart, too. It's like biking around a high school track 400 times. Several countries, including Portugal and

I did it!  On Sunday I completed my first Olympic Distance Triathlon.  TriRock was held at Aurora Reservoir in Aurora Colorado and included a 1500 meter swim, 24.8 mile bike ride and a 10 kilometer run.  This is my biggest accomplishment since the marathon in January and I'm feeling quite happy with myself!  On July 1st, I visited Endurance House for their weekly group run.  They were giving a free entry to TriRock away and I was hoping to win.  Unfortunately I didn't win, but did receive a nice discount and a free TriRock technical shirt, so signed up for the event.  While at Endurance House, I also won the raffle for one of their technical shirts.  Normally, to earn the shirt, you have to attend ten of their group runs, so I was quite fortunate winning on my first visit. On Saturday, my wife and I drove to Aurora to pick up my race packet at the Expo.  There were a handful of vendors there but nothing like typical Rock-n-roll race events.  The race packet included a nice