14 Cheerleader Coldfront

Welcome to the work week. Ugh. We've got some seriously dreary weather going on, drizzly and raw. But at least it was nice yesterday when I ran the Great Bay Half Marathon up in Newmarket, NH. I got up there before 10 for the 11 a.m. start, but I had to park more than a mile from the start because there were so many people already there. It was a 10-minute walk to pick up my number and shirt, as well as shirts for five co-workers who had signed up but didn't run for various reasons. By the time I got through the long shirt line and got back to my car, I had 10 minutes to get ready and get back to the start. So I ran back to the start just in time. It was a challenging course, fairly flat for the first five miles or so before the rolling hills kicked in around my old UNH stomping grounds in Durham. The last half of the race was more scenic, along the coast; it reminded me a little of the Around Cape Ann 15-miler I did a few years back on Labor Day (except the hills weren't as brutal yesterday). I kept up a strong pace throughout and finished in 1:43 (a 7:51 pace), a personal best for me. Nice to know that I'm getting better with age: my last marathon (Chicago, 10/22/06, 3:54), 5-miler (Wild Turkey, 11/23/06, 36:39) and this half marathon have all been career bests for me.

I have to note that although the start was rather chaotic, the Great Bay course was beautiful and well-marked, there were plenty of volunteers along the course, and the postrace spread was superb: pizza, soup, chili, and lots of munchies. And they gave out tech shirts. I will run it again next year.

Huzzah for the shopkeep:

• The Jays started the baseball season off on a good foot today with a 5-3 win over the Tigers. Meanwhile, the Sox were smoked 7-1 by the Royals and the Yankees beat the Devil Rays. It's good to have baseball back.
• The Leafs are down to their last three games of the season this week, and they're still a point out of the playoffs. The Rangers kicked their butts last night, 7-2; that was painful to watch. But they've still got a shot, so this week will be interesting. For me, anyway.
• In the market for a talking car? KITT's for sale.
• I'm getting psyched for the return of some of my favorite shows this week: The Sopranos, The Shield and Entourage all begin new seasons.