Silicon Valley Marathon - October 26, 2008

This is my favorite event. I'm achieved 3 PRs here - including 2 Boston Finishes. Not today. My worst result ever. 2:15 for the half marathon. 20 minutes slower than any comparable result. 1min/30secods per mile off my normal pace. No excuse. Haven't been training. Got what I deserved. Can only do better.

Jim also ran. Penny and I gave him an entry as his birthday present - he was 49 a few days ago. He did 1:50 and would have been a lot quicker if he hadn't run with me for the first 3 miles. Good Job, Jim.

The Great part of the day was to be in Team Tom. Our friend Tom K from Striders (and a coach with San Jose Fit) has been enduring Chemo since August. He's done many Marathons and Ultras over the years and wanted to do SVM this year. He's been doing a mile a day for the last few weeks. Today almost 100 of his friends turned up to walk with him for the final 5 miles of the course. Just Great. Tom was in great spirits and I thought he looked fine. Let's hope for a successful outcome to his treatment. Truly inspirational stuff. Get Well Soon.

And after Peggy, Penny, Jim, Dennis, Ali and I went to Hobees for lunch when we were joined by the rest of the Johnson family. Very enjoyable. Always good to see you. In fact, we had a hidden agenda. Sandy had arranged a surprise birthday party for Jim and she'd asked us to delay Jim's return home until 4pm so that she could prepare the surprise. Photos from the party: click here

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