110.41

The 100 mile mark for the blog has been passed!  Even though I haven't posted lately, my running has really been progressing.  I had taken a long break from running (more than a year). It has been really hard to get back in to it again. All of the milestones that were fun crossing the first time are just bland and treacherous the 2nd time around. It was hard to get excited about anything. Add to that a couple months of knee pain which I had never had before (which actually turned out to be caused by running in the wrong shoes), I really think I am almost back to where I was when I was at my best 2 years ago.  Maybe not for long distance pacing. But I'm definitely feeling faster at shorter distances

Last weekend I had a personal best 22:21 5K and 1st place finish for my age group.  The course was very hilly. On a more forgiving course I think could have easily broken the 22 mark. The race was called the Leggin' it for Literacy 5k. Despite the hilly route, it is my favorite in town race each year. My company was the main sponsor for the second year in a row. They also paid for a small team of 10 runners to compete. As a group we did great taking 8 medals!

We were also happy to have our good friends from Kentucky visiting that week. Our friend Greta even took the prize for 2nd overall female. 

Greta looking strong at the finish line

Me sucking air at the finish line. Did I mention this race ends atop a huge hill??  Who designed this course?!

My beautiful wife Kristina finishing with grace as usual!

This race was so much fun, now I'm getting the bug to start running longer distances. Perhaps a fall half marathon?  To be continued....

More pictures from the weekend. 

85.53

A wonderful run on my lunch break today. I found this abandoned airfield along the banks of the Chattahoochie river. It is located near the Subway I sometimes frequent for lunch. I usually keep running clothes and shoes in my center console for when opportunities like this present themselves. It's nice to always be prepared. 

I was so tired the first half of the day, it was exactly what I needed to be more productive the second half of the day. 

Here is my pictures from the run. 

After doing a little research on this old airfield, I found some pretty neat information. 

As depicted in 1948 with a 3,100' runway.

In the 1950's the airport was used for drag racing on Sunday's. 

Even though the airport is on the Alabama side of the river, the legal description of the state line is the most westwardly extent of the floodwaters of the river. Because of this, the state of Georgia attempted for many years to collect taxes on the field. 

1964 soil conservation photo

Noted as a 3200' paved runway in 1962

In 1982, the shorter grass runway had been abandoned with the note "Private, use at own risk". 

The airport was closed at some point after 1986 and is no longer depicted on aeronautical charts. 

The land is now owned by the city and is used for a RC plane field and exercise trail. 

Credit

http://www.airfields-freeman.com/AL/Airfields_AL_Montgomery.htm. Historical pictures and notes are from that website. 

74

Urg.... Back to Ga and another chokingly hot and humid run down the highway on my lunch break. This is a route not to be repeated, but at least I felt light on my feet. 

71

This is running nirvana. During an early fall trip visiting our good friends in Minneapolis, I had the privilege of running the chain of lakes.  If I were forced to run the same route forever, I would be hard pressed to find a better place. It really offers everything. It's fast, beautiful scenery, magnificent homes, and the vibe is tops. It was so refreshing to be surrounded by so many runners and cyclist. In my Georgia town I may not see another runner out for days but in the twin cities, I could truly sense that the locals were trying to get the most of the last few weeks of the fall season before the looming weather takes its stranglehold on the region.  Lake Calhoun is a definite must do for any runner visiting the Minneapolis or St. Paul.