Greetings to all,
It seems that I can only find time to write aproximately every quarter or so, so here's the obligatory e-mail. Today I am going to talk about two things, mainly: road races I have participated in during the "summer" (it's always summer here in Hawaii!), and then a little bit about what I am doing for the next 6 months or so.
First, racing. It has been a tremendously successful string of races for me, starting back in August. Building up to the Honolulu Marathon each December, the local running club, the Mid-Pacific Road Runners Club (www.mprrc.org) puts on a "marathon preparation series" of five races, starting off at 15k, building through 30k, then culminating with a half-marathon about a month before the December marathon itself. Here's a spreadsheet breaking down the information:
| Date | Race distance | Finish time | Pace per mile | Previous PR | Pace per mile | Race | |||
| 8/20/2006 | 15k | 1:03:44 | 6:50 | 1:07:51 | 7:17 | 2004 Governor's Cup 15k (Lincoln, NE) | |||
| 9/5/2006 | 3 mi | 0:17:59 | 6:00 | 0:17:40 | 5:53 | Aug 2005 Marine Corps physical fitness test | |||
| 9/9/2006 | 10k | 0:39:37 | 6:23 | 0:39:50 | 6:25 | 2005 Harvest 10k (Dam Neck, VA) | |||
| 10/1/2006 | 13.1 mi | 1:31:23 | 6:59 | 1:34:44 | 7:14 | 2002 Lincoln Half Marathon | |||
If it looks like the 3 mile time is not a PR, you're right. I ran faster last year for that distance. The reason it's here is because I combined the 17:59 time with perfect scores on the other two aspects of the Marine Corps physical fitness test (pull-ups and crunches) this year, with the end result being me getting a perfect score of 300 points, the first time I have ever done that in almost 12 years of trying!
All in all, running is going very well for me. I will compete in 3 more races over the next month and then call it quits for the year, no more racing. Next weekend is that 30k race I alluded to earlier (the longest non-marathon event I will have ever run!), the week after is a sprint biathlon (yes, I still try to do some multisport events as my schedule allows), and finally another half marathon at the beginning of November.
So why the abrupt planned stoppage of racing? Well, I am heading back out. Duty calls and I will be leaving on my 5th deployment in service of this great nation (my second in support of the global war on terror) in early November. I will pass along my mailing address once I find out what it will be. I'm not heading to Iraq; "been there, done that." This is a different mission in a different place. Sorry, can't say much more about it than that. Right now, it's scheduled to last about 4 months (subject to change, as always). That means another missed Christmas. Again, par for the course.
Well, those were the two big issues I wanted to get the word out about. Regarding the Sampsons in Hawaii, everyone is doing well. John celebrated his 5th month "birthday" yesterday (he's getting to be so big!). I suppose I will hardly recognize him by the time I return. Everyone is getting much more sleep as of late; John very nearly sleeps through the night every night now. Barb has her hands full taking care of John full-time. I'm busy getting my platoon of Marines ready for deployment. We are expecting Dave and Kellie visiting from Nebraska this week and looking forward to sharing our beautiful island paradise with them for a few days.
Best regards from Hawaii,
Gary, Barb, and John Henry
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