dgrant's PEC

[dgrant]

First and foremost:

Thanks to all the people from Burlington, Durham, Toronto, Kingston, and Ottawa (am I missing anyone?) who made a special effort to come to Prince Edward County to watch this race. Very much noticed and appreciated.

Thanks to the Trenton gang for volunteering at this race once again. Some races have volunteers who kind of just show up, and some races (like this one) have volunteers who seem to take a lot of pride in their roles and make the day that much better.

Thanks to the RM relay team for representing us well and for cheering on the marathoners as we passed.

Thanks to the other RM racers, who are often an inspiration to me. If I'm not mistaken, I believe we had 8 marathoners with PBs, 2 first time marathoners, and at least 5 with BQs today. Our half marathoners battled through tough days to cross the finish line as well. Congrats all around.

Thanks to the bunch of RM men who posted BQs earlier this year and give me a light at the end of the tunnel to follow. I would like to be like you soon, and I'm trying.

Thanks to Lisa for always being my best cheerleader, and for letting me eat chips, frozen yogourt and wine tonight.

Thanks to Doonst whose steady progress and positive attitude mean I never lose interest in getting better. This guy always points out my results after races, but he's gotta take a bow today for posting another PB and qualifying for Boston with time to spare.

Anyway... the last few weeks my running at 3:20 race pace went quite well, so I decided to take a shot at it. Crossed the halfway point at 1:41:00, determined to give myself a chance. At 30K I was still firing on all cylinders, but you know what they say: 20 miles of hope, 6 miles of truth. I hoped to be a 3:20 marathoner, the truth is I'm a 3:28:56 marathoner. I charged full bore into The Wall, and my tidy little 4:40 kilometres turned into 5:40 kilometres right quick. It kind of sucks to fail when you attempt something, but until I'm actually fit enough to run 3:20 (and then under) that's gonna be the way it goes. Try, fail, try better.

I've gained quite a bit of weight in the past 6 weeks and haven't been feeling very good about myself, so a 4 minute PB and marathon finish #11 is nice to tuck into my pocket right now. Just gonna keep trying to get fitter and better.

[HCcD]

You were frickin' smokin' when you zoomed by me, Dave ...

Congratulations, on a smokin' race and PB ... Totaally awesome, Big Guy !!!

[Ed Fizz]

Congrats on a great race Dave. Book your room for 2010!!! No doubt you'll be in New England on Patriots day.

[DougG]

You looked great when I saw you go by. Well done.

[mcshame]

Fantastic Dave. Congrats on your PB! Great to see you and Lisa again.

[VeloCarrie]

Fantastic race! Congratulations!

[Lightning]

I hoped to be a 3:20 marathoner, the truth is I'm a 3:28:56 marathoner.

Totally hear you on that one, Dave! (well, not the smokin' times...replace those times with mine and then I hear you!)

What a pleasure to find out you won the shallonge! You are a true class act and deserve nothing but success in your running. You will be a Boston Marathoner one day, and sooner rather than later.

Awesome job! The Maestro/LL combo really WAS inspiring, eh?

[Jo-Jo]

Try, fail, try better.

Wow..for me this is quotable...I'm changing my sig line to include this. As someone who has had a good training season but a poor race season I needed to hear this today...thanks Dave.

Dave...you PB'd today and that's a good thing. You also went home with Mr. Spud and that'a a good thing too. Mind you...I understand that Mr. Spud likes to go out and about and have his picture taken out on the town...so he does come with some responsibility

Always great to see you...as for that quickchick fiance of yours...OMG...she is just too cute for words...I always think that when I see Lisa...she's the best

ETA: your times are going in the right direction...and that direction says Boston...IMHO

[cgraham]

Great seeing you again, and even if you didn't hit your goal, congrats on a big PB.

It was a great day for running.

[QuickChick]

What can I say... my baby is the man! I'm so proud of you, Dave.

[Hermes]

Well done, Dave. A marathon PB and a shallonge victory are two things to be very proud of. That, and your winning attitude!

Enjoy the treats!!

[BJH]

Congrats on the PB Dave!

[AlfiefromPickering]

Your time is just anmazing David despite having fallen short of your goal. Congrats!

[Irongirl]

great work Dave!

imagine how fast you might have been without the weight of MP3 player. (just seeing if IronTroll reads this)

you looked really strong whenever I saw you!

[Run26.2]

Dude!! I've said it before and I'll say it again...you are THE MAN!

When I was doin' my long run today I was wondering how PEC was goin' and you popped into head.....I said to myself "I bet Dave runs 3:28 today"....seriously!!! A little freaky, I know, but it did actually happen today......

My bad....next time I think about a marathon you are doin' I'm gonna be thinkin' "today the big man is gonna BQ"!

[scrumhalfgirl]

Frozen Yogurt? Well, that's your problem right there! Lisa - the man ran a 4 minute PB - let him have some real ice cream!!!

Congratulations Dave - each chunk off that time is one step closer to Boston. Keep up the hard work you've been putting in, and I have no doubt you'll get there.

[Doonst]

Thanks for thanking people Dave, that really was very nice. It was quite the weekend for so many Running Maniacs.

About your race, I think the truth is that you are a 3:25 marathoner, you just swung for the fence instead of going for the base hit. Never boring (often painful). Main thing is you're having a great year and your times are going the right direction.

Congratulations on taking home all the potatoes, let's not forget that!

[Kristi]

Way to go Dave! Your hard work has paid off and I can't wait to see what you come up with next!

[richie-rich]

at the end of the day a PB is a PB. you'll get your BQ

[eme]

Congrats on a great race.

You are ever humble but you will get to Boston, sooner rather than later.

[runjanerun]

Congratulations Dave! I couldn't remember what time you were aiming for, other than the 3:30 shollange title, so I wasn't sure if you were happy or not.

You looked great when you came over the finish line.

Thanks for recognizing our work at the finish line. The funny thing is, work is not a good word to describe it. It is an honour to hand out medals/drinks to runners like you who have worked so hard to achieve their goals.

[IronColl]

Great job on the PB. I am always impressed with the attitude you carry into your running. I'm dipping a chip for/with you.

[Tred Miller]

Thanks to Lisa for always being my best cheerleader, and for letting me eat chips, frozen yogourt and wine tonight.

I hope Dave didn't eat Mr. Spuds. Great job on the PB. Well done.

[Nicholas]

Great race, Dave!! Sometimes you have to just go for it and see what's inside. I did the same thing in Philly with the same end result. You still had a good PB and the Spud-Man to comfort you. If only you'd shown a little enthusiasm when you received him........

[mayhem]

Well done, my favorite runner-acharya!!