So good

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. _ A fall trip home to Michigan would not be complete without fresh Michigan apple cider. It's my favorite drink of all time. Sorry Slurpee Gods.

Eternal Bliss

MUSKEGON, Mich. _ It isn't often when I can look around the room and realize that I'm a part of something great. But with my friends from my working era at The State News, this has become a common occurrence. I used to believe our work putting out the paper each day and that magic feeling it gave us is what made us great. But this weekend as 25 of us gathered from a dozen states, I realized it is much more. Each one of us is so diverse, so deep and so inspiring. To be part of a community is such an amazing feeling. This weekend I headed to Muskegon for the great Donica wedding. Don and Jessica, two college friends, flew in from Florida to tie the knot. The weekend ended up being one of the most memorable times I've had.

Wichita Marathon

WICHITA, Kan. _ Saturday I took another 26.2-mile trot. My fourth. While I had lofty time goals for the race, I fell short. My knee became sore at 15 mile and once I fell off pace, the race was pretty much over. But I still hung in there and finished in 4:03. Next up, the Gobbler Grind half marathon in Overland Park. Blas finished his first marathon and after his pain went away, he said he'd try it again, someday. For more pictures: http://msu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2363312&l=7a147&id=2311281

On the last leg

KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ In just days I'll be taking part in the Wichita Marathon. This journey to again race the 26.2-mile distance started last October when I moved to the island of Oahu. There I met an amazing group of marathon maniacs. While their savage behavior and craving for up to 10 marathons a year didn't rub off immediately, I knew I wanted to race the distance once again. When I moved to Kansas City, I found more running groups with runners who had their hopes set on the marathon.

My first three marathons didn't go as I had hoped. In each I fell apart in the ladder stages of the race and my time suffered. After the 2004 Chicago Marathon, I stepped back and just ran shorter races.

For the past year, I've maintained 30-50 mile weeks. I improved my diet. I lifted more weights than I ever have. And I maintained interval training and ran the long runs.

And so the goal: to run 3:25, nearly 20 minutes faster than my PR of 3:42.