400 miles later

I just returned from Ohio last night and will be setting forth on another trip for Caldera tomorrow. This time it's driving the truck to Florida from Colorado and back. All this travel has added an unexpected challenge and perk to my marathon training. I put in a couple runs out in Ohio while out there with Tiff and realized that in my training for the Chicago Marathon, I have now ran in 6 different states. They vary greatly in challenge and reward, but every run has been fantastic.

So far I have the obvious Chicago, IL under the belt which is especially helpful as I will be trying 26.2 miles here. Last Wed. I put together a new farthest with 16 miles which took me deep into the South side of Chicago. Pretty cool! Then there was Minneapolis, where I did my first 10 miler along the Mississippi. I still have the scar on my left knee from the digger I took getting across downtown. I then added Colorado. Home sweet home was a little less so when gasping for the thin air on hills. Plus, water became indispensable on those few runs so far. That's when I added a Camel back to my gear. I also ran in my original hometown, Houston, TX. That was the equivalent of putting a treadmill in a shower, even in May. I did my first 12miler there. Funny, no one but the Army was out running there with me. I also ran some in Detroit along the Detroit river and on the 42nd floor of the GM building, where our hotel was. That brings us to the corn fields of Ohio where I just did my last 9 miles. Fresh air was never more noticeable!

Now I am out to add a couple more states, hopefully!