Hal Plunkett

Sham On Team Run

Today I went for the very first Team “Sham On” group run.  As what will be the beginning of a weekly “Monday-Runday”,  Ross, Brandon, Chris, and Myself set out in the Belhaven area of Jackson for a 4 mile run.

After a bit of small talk, we followed Ross outside where he led the way.  As we started running, it was apparent that Ross wasn’t playing any games as he quickly ran ahead of the pack.  Around the 2 1/2 mile point, we approached a very large hill along side of LeFlure’s Bluff – the same hill of doom that I went up during the MS Blues Marathon.  My 8:30 pace quickly turned to 9:30 as I struggled up the incline.  The last mile was tough, as I was very tired.  Brandon eventually caught up with me and finished slightly ahead.  My final pace was 8:54 for 4.12 miles  .

All in all it was a good challenging run.  I’ll be looking forward to the next one!

2010 Mississippi Blues Half-Marathon

January 9th I ran the MS Blues Half-Marathon.  This was probably the very first run that I’ve ever ran where I was in fairly good shape and somewhat prepared.  During training, I had run as far as 12 1/2 miles on a couple occasions, and had run around ten or more > 6 mile runs.  However, once race day approached, I was not so prepared for the frigid cold!

During the week before the race, an Arctic front dipped into the US, causing some of the coldest weather that Jackson, MS has seen in decades – and I got to run in it!

On race day, I woke up at an untypical early time of 4:30.  After a shower, a small breakfast, and a few stretches, I put on my gear and left to pick up my wonderful friend Kristi.  She was kind enough to brave the cold with me and make sure I didn’t lose my mind.  At the start line I met Ross and Mary Catherine Stone, Matthew Manning, as well as a few other friends.

Then the race began.  For the first 5K, I struggled to stay on a good pace.  The herd of runners around me was something I was definitley not used to, but I soon found my pace and started to really enjoy the run.  After about 5 miles, the rolling hills of Belhaven challenged my calves.  After a few mental adjustments, I actually began to speed up a bit at this point, and passed several people.  Around mile 9, the course turned back and I was faced with a good 3/4 mile up hill along LeFluers Bluff state park.  This hill was probably the toughest part of the race, and I was glad to get up it – But as I approached the top, my stomach began to seriously not agree with me.  At mile marker 10, I found a empty port-a-poty and took a necessary 2-3 minute bathroom break.  Afterward, I made the last 5k without issue and finally crossed the finish line.

Final Time: 2:09:56

Mississippi Blues Marathon

All and all, I was pleased to finished in under 10 minute miles.  It was all a lot of fun and I hope to do it again next year, hopefully in temperatures > 18 degrees!