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| Pool is covered, Fall is here |
The Fall marathon season is getting underway for most of us. The leaves are "maybe" starting to turn and the days and nights are getting a little bit crisper. The cover is on the pool (always a little sad) and the rain is getting more and more frequent. I started off the month out in sunny California and now I'm finishing it up in rainy Michigan.
My training has been going pretty well and I've gotten in some pretty good high mileage weeks, finishing out the month with just over 200 miles. I have three upcoming marathons: NM, IN, and FL in the next 4 months and I'm looking forward to each one. In two weeks Linda and I will fly to Albuquerque for the first one on Oct 16. I will need to try to keep that one under 4 hours since it will be my 3rd attempt for NM (for my 50Sub4 quest).
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| Team Duff in support of GiGi's Playhouse |
One of the highlights for the month was running a 5K in Forest Park in Noblesville to benefit GiGi's Playhouse in support of kid's with Downs Syndrome. We had a larger group from our church running for "Team Duff" which support's Kevin and Tendra Duff's twin boys Kaiden and Trenin who were born earlier this year with Downs. Kevin and Tendra have shown remarkable resilience through it all and have been models for us all on how to handle adversity. It has been wonderful as well to see our church and community rally around this amazing family in their difficult season. God is definitely at work in this situation. Our team is looking forward to many more years of supporting this race and this wonderful cause.
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| No shoestring? use a Zip-Tie! |
This was the first race for this organization so understandably it was a little rough around the edges. The volunteers did not seem to be well informed on the layout of the course or the need to hand the water out to the runners. We also experienced a wrong pointing arrow, which led the first three runners the wrong way out into a parking lot. This allowed the fourth place runner to catch up with us as we started an out-and-back with about one mile to go. I regrouped pretty quickly and was able to come in 2nd (barefoot of course) but couldn't quite catch the guy in first who was pushing a stroller! Oh well, it still felt nice to come in 2nd even if there wasn't much competition that day! And since I forgot my ankle chip strap (a must for barefooters) I had to do some improvising. Did you know you could use Zip-Ties to fasten a chip to your ankle?
I continue to praise God for all he has allow me to do with my gift of barefoot running. I continue to be amazed at the variety of conditions and surfaces that He allows me to be able to run and look forward to the next races, adventures and people I meet as I continue this most enjoyable chapter of my life. Good luck to all the marathoners in training out there and enjoy the cooler temps!
Also, thanks again to all who are supporting my fundraising with World Vision, I'm about halfway there! (it's not to late to donate!)
God Bless,
Barefoot Dan
September Mileage = 203.81 miles
Hi Dan,
ReplyDeleteAdmire your stamina. You are a true example for barefoot runners.
Seems like we have much in common. I do not log as many barefoot miles as you, but am an avid daily barefoot runner myself. I also often find myself in conversation with God during my runs and post frequently (http://danielvandermerwe.blogspot.co.za/) ... and suspect that we may have the same first name.
Keep it up.
Daniel
Pretoria, South Africa