The Rowe Family Blog

Today, just before noon, I registered for the 33rd Annual Marine Corps Marathon. Even better is that both John and Mark were able to register too. Assuming we can all stay injury free we’ll all be running in Washington DC on October 26th, 2008!

I will use my finish time from the Grand Island 1/2 Marathon to create a training plan using the Smart Coach. Training will start in June.

Not two weeks after Hoselton spammed me I received yet another spam from them. This was after I “unsubscribed” and also after I sent them an email indicating my disappointment in their choice to opt-me in to their mailing list. While this won’t stop me from continuing to use their Toyota service department it has lost them a potential customer. When I buy a new vehicle it will not be from the Hoselton family of dealerships.

I had an incredible week for running.

I’ve started running during my lunch break. This is great for many reasons. First it makes it much easier to increase my mileage. Second, and more importantly, it’s better use of my time. On many nights I don’t feel the need to go for a run after work. This gives me more free time. A half hour each day doesn’t sound like much but it certainly feels like a lot!

On Friday night I set out for a tempo run. I ran the Rowe Quarter with the goal of breaking 52 minutes for the 6.5 mile course, an 8 minute pace. I’ve tried numerous times and never quite broken 52 minutes. I felt more confident Friday night and rightly so. I completed the run in 48:46, a 7:31 pace! My shins hurt during this run (in a good, sore muscle sort of way) which made me even more surprised at the time I put in.

On Sunday I ran the Rowe Half in the afternoon. I’d run a lot during the week and I had no desire to push myself to run fast. Besides you aren’t supposed to push yourself for speed on long runs. I ended up running the course in 1:48:05, an 8:19 pace. This is the fastest I’ve run this route and I’ve run it numerous times.

I also broke my weekly mileage record. I ran 42.3 miles over 6 runs.

I even got to cheer on John for his 6k PR at the Thompson Health 6k.

This coming Saturday is the Grand Island Half Marathon. I hope to break my PR of 1:44:14 and earn a silver medal for the run. This Wednesday registration opens for the Marine Corps Marathon if I could sleep out on a sidewalk to get a registration spot I would. Luckily for me registration is web based so there isn’t any uncomfortable waiting in line but there are no guarantees that I’ll get a spot.

Cassie’s birthday is on May 28th. We’ll be celebrating her birthday with family on Memorial Day, Monday, May 26th. She has compiled a wish list for any guests who would like to bring a present. Keep in mind- no gift required. Her list includes:

• Sand table – Either “Sand and Water Activity Center” by Step 2 or “Sand and Water Fun Factory” by Little Tikes
• 101 Dalmations Movie
• sun hats or baseball hats
• blocks
• 18 month clothes and PJs (summer or early fall weight)
• fingerpaints and paper
• Mickey Sprinkler (on-line at amazon.com)
• 24 month clothes and PJs (fall weight)
• Little People toys
  • Musical Zoo Train
  • Surprise Sounds Zoo
  • Other 12-18 month Little People Toys

I was surprised that Hoselton Auto Mall sent me unsolicited bulk email today. I am a customer of Hoselton Toyota but I do not believe I have ever opted to receive advertisements. I sent an email to them expressing my disappointment. What I wrote is below:

I am disappointed that Hoselton Auto Mall chose to distribute unsolicited bulk email, otherwise known as spam, to one of my email addresses.

I understand the desire of business to advertise. However I strongly disapprove of sending out bulk email to customers who never opted to get bulk email from your company. Had I opted to receive email from Hoselton I would have no complaint. I did not opt in.

I urge you, in the future, please do not send out bulk emails using “opt-out” strategies. If you feel you must send advertisements via email please utilize “opt-in” strategies.

Sincerely,
Greg Rowe

This was my second year running the Spring Forward Distance Run. This year I had 4 friends join me. Mary wasn’t able to run the race due to a nagging knee injury. John, Mark, Bates, Corey, and I lined up together for the 8:30 AM start.

It was a perfect day for a race. It was in the forties at race start. The course is extremely hilly which is a double edged sword for me. I excel at downhill running but I think I’m rather poor at uphill running. Evidence of this is when I blow past tons of runners on the downhill to be passed on the next uphill or, often, on the flats. Mark and I played leap-frog through most of the race. We were actually trying to run together but our differences in speed over hills made that very difficult. I spent the last two to three miles struggling to keep up with Mark. Once again he pushed me to a better time.

Highlights from the race include:

• Near the end of the course Mark and I picked up our pace. Someone we passed asked if we had started the race late!
• A woman said we were making her look bad. That happened to be on a downhill and I pulled away even more. Mark told her it was my fault
• Closing a sizable gap in the last two tenths of a mile finishing only 1 second behind Mark
• Getting a new PR of 1:12:28 (7:47 pace) for a 15k
• Getting to see my friend from high school, Bates
• Knocking nearly 12 minutes off of my time from last year.
• Having a group of friends that accounted for 26% of our age group (19 people in our group)

After the race most of us went to John’s house for a nice afternoon eating fatty cow flesh and generally enjoying the sun.

Once again I had a great time participating in a race. Once again most of the fun was hanging out with friends. Running is an excellent excuse.

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