Last night's match-up of two unbeatens in the Class A Boys State Tournament final marked the end of my high school soccer season. After several years of hoping for an assignment as referee on a final, I finally got my shot this year. And what a fun match it was. The players, coaches -- and heck, even the spectators for the most part -- made it easy for me; they did their job, I did mine, and everybody got along great. Add in absolutely perfect weather and a full moon rising over the field and you've got a recipe for something pretty special. You can find additional coverage of the match from 10/11 (click the "High School Sports" tab), Omaha World-Herald, and Grand Island Independent.
Now what? Now I start training for a half-marathon. I plan to run the Lincoln Half Marathon next year for sure, but I may also add this fall's Omaha race if things work out. I'll probably pick up some other road races here and there as well.
My body is not built for distance. One challenge will be learning to deal with that. My largest challenge, however, is far more daunting. My body doesn't deal well with heat. (That's an understatement, by the way. My problem is significantly larger than "I sweat a lot".) I need to find ways to deal with overheating and dehydration. Over the summer I plan to do a lot of experimentation with different approaches to minimizing the impact of the heat on my ability to, you know, live. If you see me passed out on the side of a bike trail, please kick me a couple times to check on me.
It's probably too early to set concrete time goals for myself, but I can't help thinking that it would be nice to break 90 minutes. That's somewhere around a 6:50 pace. I'm way off that pace now so I have my work cut out for me. Even if I don't make it, I'm looking forward to finding out some things about myself in the effort. And if I do make it ... well, I'll be dang pleased.
Now that soccer season is over I hope to be able to get back to a better posting routine here on Lincolnite. I know I've slacked off a bit lately. Thanks for hanging in there with me!
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I ran my first half this year in Lincoln and it was a great experience. I knew I couldn’t maintain a training schedule that would allow me to run a good race so I joined a training group through the downtown YMCA taught by Ann Ringlein (Lincoln Running Company). Ann does a great job tailoring the training to each specific group of runners and there are a lot of great people in the group. Training starts in January. Good luck on hitting your goals.
I’ve heard nothing but good things about Ann’s marathon and half-marathon class. I didn’t take it because it was a much greater time commitment than I was prepared for.
Ann is the one behind the “Beginner’s Luck” 8-week summer program which I cannot endorse enough. I think it’s a must-do for any begginer or would-be beginner up to intermediate runner. And it’s only $20.
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