A quick note: I have finally added a page for my Race Report from the Mercedes Marathon a couple weeks ago.  Click here, or use the Race Reports link on the left side of this page.  As always, this page includes a detailed description of the marathon, plus a number of pictures from the weekend.

 

And in today's news, I did my first-ever double today, i.e. two runs in the same day.  That wasn't my intention when I woke up today, however.  We had a bit of a snowstorm yesterday, and the roads were still somewhat slick and slushy this morning.  So I opted not to run outdoors this morning, and I headed to the Y for a run on the treadmill.  The longest run I had ever done on the TM before was 11 miles, and I was looking to beat that distance today. 

 

But the gym was quite crowded this morning, and there's a policy limiting the amount of time spent on a TM when someone is waiting.  Since I normally run outdoors on Saturdays, I really had no idea that the gym would be this crowded.  Anyway, I was only able to do 5.3 miles before getting kicked off.  That's a far cry from what I was hoping to do. 

 

However, I had no plans for the afternoon.  So about 6 hours after that first run, I began another.  This time I was outdoors, since I had determined that the roads were in fine conditions.  A little wet, I suppose, but not too slushy.  I was able to do 7.3 miles without any trouble, for a grand total of 12.6 for the day. 

 

If it had been nice weather all day long, I probably would have gone farther than that if I had done the run in one shot.  But I'm pleased at the day's events.  I think 12.6 is a good total for a first double. 

 

I don't really expect to make a habit of this, however...

Yeah, I completed another marathon this past weekend.  This one was the Mercedes Marathon in Birmingham, Alabama.  Why this one?  Well, I have decided that I would like to try to run a marathon in all 50 states eventually, so I've gotta get everywhere sooner or later.  Plus, there aren't many marathons up here in the northeast during the winter, so since I wanted to run one now, I had to travel a bit.  And lastly, there were a few people from my online running group who would be doing this, so it gave me another opportunity to meet up with people.

 

I will be writing up a full race report soon, so keep an eye out on my Race Report page for that.  Hopefully it will be posted within the next couple days.  As a quick summary, I'll say that the course was the most difficult one I have run so far becuase of the hills.  Still, I managed to beat my best time by 45 seconds, and I finished in 3:47:27.  I am quite pleased with that, considering how hard the course was.  And I am confident that I can do even better next time on a flatter course.

 

Again, please check back soon for that detailed Race Report...

Well, my prediction for the score of the Super Bowl was a bit off.  Of course, one could say that I predicted that my prediction would be off...

 

Nonetheless, I am amazed at the oucome of the game.  I was very certain that the Patriots would win, and fairly certain that they would win big.  Going 18-0 but then losing in the Super Bowl... this is something that will be talked about for a long time...

Well, in my personal news, I have finally updated Jillian's website with some new pictures.  Please check it out...

It's only about an hour before kickoff, so now's the time to make a final prediction for the game.  The Giants have been playing very well the last few weeks, and the Patriots haven't.  That trend would suggest a close game today.  And that's what many people are expecting.  So maybe that's why I have a feeling that it won't be close.  I guess my logic is that the Pats are due for a great game, and the Giants are due to come back to earth a bit.  Thus I'm picking the Pats to win an easy, boring game, 41-17. 

 

Of course, there's a reason why I don't bet money on sporting events.  I'm usually wrong...