Exactly How Long is 14 Miles?

So exactly how long is 14 miles?

Well, I started to ponder this question during my run today (Sunday), because while running I don’t think anyone has a true idea of how long it is. So I did a little homework (see www.mapmyrun.com if you want to try it yourself) and here is what I came up with. For those outside of Ohio, these probably don’t make much sense, but you will get an idea. 14 miles is approximately:

Ø The distance from Ohio Stadium to the Westerville Road exit on I-270

Ø The distance on I-270 from I-70 to St Route 315 (when coming from Dayton)

Ø The distance from the north of Dayton to Troy.

I have to admit that after doing this bit of homework my ego grew just a little bit. How long did it take? Well today it took 2 hours 16 minutes, which equates to about a 9 minute 45 second pace. While there are plenty of seasoned runners on the team running a much faster pace, as first timer, I didn’t think it was too shabby. Currently at about 10pm tonight, I am feeling fine, other than my legs being a bit sore.

Thank goodness the weather has decided to calm down a bit in the past few weeks (although this might just be pure luck given the running schedule.) I’ve actually felt really good with the training the past couple of weeks, and my confidence has grown steadily. Next Sunday, there is a ½ marathon race on the schedule. I am anxious to try my first long run in a race environment. I am hoping it goes equally well.

Today also marks the 1 month point before classes begin again. I really can’t believe where the summer has gone but am excited for the new year to begin. Fortunately, I will only have about a month of having to juggle school, assistantship, and running schedule. Here’s to hoping that the next transition will be a smooth one!ee

Fundraising update: Fundraising has slowed down in the past few weeks, but I am only $152 from reaching the 2^nd fundraising goal of $2500! Now, some of you have expressed to me a desire to donate but have yet to do so. There are two easy ways, once is to do so online at http://www.active.com/donate/tntcoh/MNarui.

Keep in mind that the all of the extra money from the 2^nd fundraising goal will go toward the society. Any little bit will help!

For many of you that get this e-mail, the school year and semester is very close to beginning. I hope that you all are enjoying the end of the summer and experience a smooth transition into the new year. For those not in education, I hope that you have used the summer to take some time off and enjoy the great outdoors!

Mitsu

Running in 100 Degree Weather is NOT fun!

Okay, so the title of the e-mail says it all. Today, the temperature approached the upper 90s. With the heat index, it felt over 100 degrees, and of course, I was out there running 6 miles. Now, I must admit that it was the least fun I have had running in a long time. When the weather is that hot, it is difficult to breathe. I recently invested, however, in a fuel belt, which is a belt that has four 8 oz water bottles attached to it. This allows me to stay fully hydrated during the run.

The past few weeks consisted of me TRYING to run at 6000 feet. (This resulted in along power walk.) Hiking at 12,000 plus feet, running 10 miles in lovely indoor track, and the super hot 6 mile run listed above. Needless to say, it has been busy. Luckily, I have no injuries to report and no additional bouts of heat exhaustion. During the month of August, the weekend runs will be 12, 14, and 13.1 miles, and the weekly runs will eventually go up to 7 miles. I decided that if I can survive this month, that it should be smooth sailing toward the marathon.

Fundraising Update: I can’t go an e-mail without mentioning how the fundraising has been going. The drive toward the second fundraising goal has been going well. I am still about $225 short. If you have not yet donated, and had planned on doing so, it is not too late. With the 2^nd goal, I have until September 15^th to raise the money. You can either go online at http://www.active.com/donate/tntcoh/MNarui

It is hard to believe that the summer is over halfway done. Classes begin on September 19^th with my graduate assistantship starting at the beginning of the month. I can truly say that this training has been an extremely worthwhile experience, and has definitely given me valuable lessons on my limits both mentally and physically. In the future, I don’t know if I will be running more full marathons, but it is safe to say that I will become a consistent ½ marathoner.