A Geek’s Think

It's been some time since my last update, in small part due to a brief foray into the world of Facebook and in larger part due to my engagement to an amazing woman by the name of Sam(antha) Wilcox. Our story is quite interesting - read it here if you like. Sam and I are to be married on 28 August 2009 in the Orlando Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We will be holding a wedding reception that evening in Jacksonville, Florida and an open house on 11 September 2009 in Mesa, Arizona. Information, times, and places can all be found at stricklandclan.com.

My life of late has been filled with the wonders of wedding preparation - wedding invitations, moving Sam from Memphis to Gainesville, Florida, choosing new car insurance (USAA), and buying my first tuxedo since my High School band tux (which I still have, by the way!). It's a busy time, and I wouldn't trade it for the world.

In my last post, I mentioned a goal of mine to run a 10k this spring.  Today I met and surpassed that goal when I finished the Gate River Run, the largest 15k held in the United States.  Having never run more than about six miles in training, I was a bit worried that I might have some issues near the end, but it wasn't as bad as I'd feared.  That certainly doesn't mean it was easy, though!  The last mile of the race takes runners over the Hart Bridge, aka the Green Monster, and the ascent is by no means a simple task after just having run nearly 8 miles.  In the end, I finished in 2273rd place (out of about 13,000 runners) at 79 minutes 47 seconds by my watch, which translates to 80 minutes 51 seconds official time (time after the starting gun goes off).  That equates to about a 8' 40" pace, which I am quite pleased with.

Next goal: run a half marathon by the end of 2010.

Update: My race results can be viewed online here.