Aside from Boston, here are a few races I think would be fun to try sometime:

• Hong Kong Marathon (February)
• London Marathon (April)
• Everest Marathon (May 29)
• Vancouver Marathon (May)
• Madison Marathon (May)
• Portland Marathon (October)
• Reykjavik Marathon (October)
• New York City Marathon (November)
• Honolulu Marathon (December)

OK, the Everest one might not be fun, so to speak, but wow…

My trend of getting faster as I get older continues. I set a new half-marathon PR in June and today I broke my marathon PR by almost 30 minutes - 4:13.19.

The weather at the 27th Annual Twin Cities Marathon wasn’t ideal - heavy rain, wind and temps in the 50s. I actually didn’t mind it that much at first, but as the rain got heavier, it caused bleeding in spots that I’ve never bled from before. Pretty embarrassing when you are wearing a white shirt…

The rest of me feels pretty good after an afternoon of rest. Thanks to everyone who came out to cheer me on in the rain: Alan Page (and his tuba), Mark Nistler, Colleen and the kids (in four different spots), Jean Kane and the Pozarskis and my parents (who brought beef jerky from Greg’s Meats that pulled me through the last two miles).

Thanks also to my training partner Gina, who helped keep me on track over the summer. I guess running almost 400 miles before a marathon really does lead to faster times…

Next up is the Monster Half on Saturday, October 25 in Minneapolis, followed by the 2009 Walt Disney World Marathon on January 11 in Orlando. I’m also thinking about the Madison Marathon (5/24/09) and using my automatic entry into the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon (6/20/09) in Duluth.

The next website in my Minnesota media empire launched today, Run in Minnesota.

Inspired by yesterday’s Boston Marathon, I registered for the 2008 Twin Cities Marathon today and decided to finally launch run.mn. Just like Golfing in Minnesota and Hockey in Minnesota, posts about running topics that used to appear here will now appear on the Run in Minnesota site.

This will be my 11th marathon and I’m very excited to get back into shape. I’m pledging now to be more serious about training this time and have set a goal of beating my personal best time of 4:42. You can track my training via the Runner’s World widget in the sidebar.

Ran a 5K tonight, so I’m off to a decent start.

My brother has me inspired. He earned a Goofy medal last month by running the Walt Disney World half marathon and full marathon on back-to-back days.

Me? I have been on and off the treadmill since the start of the year (mostly off) and nothing longer than 5K. Today I decided I needed to buy some new shoes, commit to a few races this year and get back on the treadmill.

I’ve run in Nike shoes all my life and the red pair in the picture above are my all-time favorites. Light as air, they feel like I’m not even wearing shoes. But alas, they are starting to wear out and now have a few small tears. I stopped at the Running Room on Grand Avenue today and asked to try on the three lightest pairs they had from any manufacturer. The Mizuno Wave Rider 10s pictured on the left were the new winner.

I also wanted to get back to using the Nike+iPod setup, but hated the old Nike+ shoes I bought for that. The Running Room suggested I try the RunAway, by SwitchEasy. I bought one, but discovered my old receiver is dead. I’ll have to pick up a new one tomorrow at Target…

Not a great weekend weather-wise for running events, but we had a good time anyway. Saturday was rainy, a little warm and very humid, while the big races on Sunday started out at 72 degrees with 87% humidity and got worse from there.

The whole family headed down to the capital on Saturday to attend the kid events. The tall one ran the 5K with me in just under 40 minutes, while the short one ran the one miler with me for the first time. Both needed a little encouragement to finish, but everyone was very proud afterwards.

I knew three people running the full race. Congrats to the two Miller wives for making it all the way despite the heat (even though I’m sure they are unhappy with their times, which were about 25-35 minutes slower than they planned). My co-workers friend wasn’t as lucky–he got black-flagged and the medics forced him to quit.

Cheering for people on Sunday along Summit almost got me excited enough to start training again.

Almost.

My 38th consecutive Minnesota State Fair is in the books. Our family had a great time last Sunday–perfect weather, my oldest daughter and I ran our first Milk Run 5K (39:07), we ate great food and I left with money in my pocket.

Food this year included all of the usuals:

• Pronto Pups
• Cheese Curds
• French Fries
• Danielson Onion Rings
• Sweet Martha’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Mac and Cheese on a Stick
• Turkey Sandwich

Picked up our yearly button at the admin building and checked out the great Birawer State Fair print in the fine arts building. Lots of walking, rides and fun stuff (as usual).

More pictures coming soon…

Arrived back from the latest trip to Los Angeles last week and felt totally exhausted. I’ve got one week to recover, then it’s back out there again.

A few notes from this trip:

I’ve been working my way down the South Bay–first trip I stayed in Manhattan Beach, second time Hermosa Beach and this time Redondo Beach. My co-worker and I stayed at the Best Western Sunrise Redondo Beach Hotel, which was very nice, but a little pricey for this type of hotel. The location was great, the room was in good condition, the staff was friendly and the breakfast buffet was convenient. Unfortunately, the free in-room internet access didn’t work, but it did work in the lobby. When I told this to the front desk worker, he apologized and offered me a $50 gift certificate for a future stay. Well done.

I got out for a couple of six mile runs along the beach in the mornings. I ran from the Redondo Beach marina up the Strand through Hermosa Beach and out to the end of the Manhattan Beach Pier. From there, I ran along the beach front itself back to Redondo, dodging the waves and birds. I left by 6:30 both days, so the crowds were light. Very fun run that I hope to do again next time.

Speaking of next time, I’ll be spending it at the new “company” apartment in Redondo Beach. Located about four blocks from the ocean, the two bedroom apartment will make a nice home away from home for future visits. It will be great to not spend all that time looking for good hotel deals.

Restaurants this time included In-N-Out Burger, Sushi Casa Arigato in Redondo Beach and Uncle Bill’s Pancake House in Manhattan Beach. LOVED Uncle Bill’s–reminded me of Key’s, except by the beach. Manhattan Beach as a town is probably my favorite spot in the South Bay. Definitely need to spend more time there in the future.

On the last night, Jake and I drove over to Knott’s Berry Farm and took advantage of the half price after 4pm deal. I wanted to do the Chicken Dinner Restaurant again, but it was either that or go in the park. We did stop at a “Chicken Express” window, but it was nowhere near the same quality as the real restaurant.

The log ride was closed for renovation and the Xcelerator shut down before I got back there to ride it, but I did get in a few rides. Rode the GhostRider once right away (and again before we left), then did the Calico Mine Ride, followed by the old school Montezooma’s Revenge and the jaw-compressing Silver Bullet. Knott’s really seemed much larger when I was kid, but it’s still worth a stop every now and then.