Trapline Marathon, Happy Valley/Goose Bay, Labrador Oct. 11, 2015

Trapline Marathon, Happy Valley/Goose Bay, LB Oct. 11, 2015

4:22:01 8/15 overall  1/4 Age Group

 

            Thanks to encouragement from Jodi, I finally took the plunge and decided to do this marathon in the far northeast part of Canada in Labrador. I’d been a bit reluctant to do this 9^th (of 10) Canadian provinces because it was so far away and so expensive to get to. I left Fresno on Thursday at 9AM, going to San Francisco airport (where there are some neat NFL displays up  in anticipation of Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara), then to Toronto, then to Gander, Newfoundland where I arrived at 2:30AM (NF has its own time zone and is 4.5 hours ahead of us in CA). I spent the night in a drafty room on a couch, getting up at 6 to get a bite of food (Fruit LoopsJ) and then fly out at 7:30 to HVGB arriving at 8:41AM . (It’s in the Atlantic time zone which is 4 hours ahead of us.) I drove to my motel (which uses the old-style motel keys) and got a bit more to eat and crawled into bed for a nap.

            Getting up, I explored the area, finding the tiny library and driving the road out to the start of the marathon. There were lots of fall colors in the trees and beautiful blue sky, lakes and rivers. I even found that they have an 18 hole golf course which is busy during the summer, but was due to close in a few days since winter was fast approaching.  The temperature was 34 on Fri. and heading down.

            On Sat. I picked up my race kit at the local community college gym. I met a fellow from Texas who has run over 333 marathons including all the states 3 times and numerous countries. (He’s the one who finished last in the race; I’m sure that’s not the way I want to run marathons at this point.) Then it started snowing and you can see it sticking to my car and the ground in the pictures. I went out for pasta at a restaurant that night and met the race director, Jonathan, who gave me some useful tips. We also talked to Kristof who is from Germany and lost over 100 lbs from before he was a runner. Interestingly, he had been in the German military and about 15 years ago had been to HVGB for military exercises; this was his first North American marathon, but he’d run about 30 or so in Europe.

            Sunday morning at 6:45 we all got on the bus to Northwest River, the town where the race starts. It was 30 degrees and windy and still dark as we drove there. We gathered in a small building where we could use the rest room, stay warm and wait for the start. They took rollcall to be sure we were all there (all 15 of us) and took our pictures with oversized snowshoes. A real trapper also sent us off with a “Trapper’s Prayer”.

            I wore two long sleeve shirts, cap with ear flaps, tights, and gloves and was warm enough after the first few miles. But we had a steady headwind for 22 miles (at a couple points the wind literally stopped me in my tracks, and going over a bridge, I had to hold my hat on to keep it from flying off) and that got really tedious to fight. The last 4 miles we finally had some tailwind and my last miles were my only miles under 9 minutes. I was 2:12 the first half and 2:10 the second so was happy for negative splits. This was not a day to run very fast; I just stayed steady with my 9:30-10+ minute pace, walking a minute at the aid stations which were 5k apart. The folks at the aid stations were a big encouragement since there were few other spectators along the way. When I finished, my legs didn’t feel too bad, but my face was windburned and I was tired from fighting the wind. I figured I’d had a 26.2 mile ice bath so didn’t take one.

            At the airport on Monday, I met the guy who is the original race director, but this year couldn’t do it because he ruptured his achilles playing soccer and had his foot in a boot. He had some pictures from the race and sent 2 of me finishing which was really great of him. It was a 14 hour flight going back on Monday and I was miserable since I was coming down with a cold. I think it started with my night in the airport Friday morning because I was coughing the night before the marathon and was really stuffed up by Monday. All this week I’ve pretty much stayed home, taken cold medicine, and slept except for getting out to do a couple things I had to do. I’m glad I can say I did it, and it needed to be done to finish the provinces, and I enjoyed the people and places, but all those flight changes and the time flying took a real toll on my body. I’m not planning to do anything like it anytime soon. (Even crazy people have limits! lol)

           

This was Marathon #144; 21 states on 2d go round; 9 Canadian provinces. Next up: Memphis Marathon with Jodi on Dec. 5, 2015.

 

Pictures at:

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Sioux Falls, SD Marathon 9 13 15

Sioux Falls, SD Marathon Sep. 13, 2015

3:58:40 119/307 overall  1/7 Age Group 

            Arriving in Sioux Falls on Sat afternoon, I noticed a few big differences from Fresno: the sky was blue, the air was clear and gas was $2/gallon.  I'm also finding that I much prefer the smaller-town marathons to the big-city ones: the logistics of getting around, getting my packet and getting to the starting line are so much easier. I checked into my Super 8 motel (no Jodi, so 1/2 the price for 2 nights than NY, SF, etc. are for one); it had a bed, shower and sink and even a free breakfast, so all I needed! It was 2 miles from the airport and 4 miles from the race expo and start/finish so much more convenient than the big-city races.

            At the expo I got my picture taken with 2 local beauty queens and met the local FCA director, Chris Anderson, who knows Dave and Cheryl Kurtze, having met them in Boston in 2011. At the pasta dinner I met a woman who is working on running the 50 states and is doing the Napa Marathon in 2016 so I got to tell her about Calistoga and Jodi BQing there this year. I told her that we'd look for her next March as Jodi is running it again. I also talked to the man who runs a Pace Team company and found out that he brings in his own runners who each do a number of his events each year. Interesting to find out that for smaller venues, there are not enough local runners so a company like this supplies them.

            The race started at 6:30AM so I arrived there about 5:30 and saw them setting up the finish line on the track. The start was just outside the field and we set off in the dark with a temp in the low 50s. I was hoping to get under 4 hours so started off slowly, running 9:10-9:20s the first few miles. The course had a lot of smaller hills and wound through downtown and residential areas. It also had a lot of miles on a beautiful bike path that ran along a river and went through the large linear park in SF. As the morning warmed into the 60s, the trees in the park provided shade and helped keep it cooler. There was also a breeze that cooled things and was noticeable when running into it and a big help when it was behind us.

            I got through the half at about 2:01 and was still feeling pretty strong as I had not been pushing at all. I started seeing sub 9 min miles on my watch and often settled into 8:35 pace which felt good. There were some longer hills which weren't too steep so I could get up them ok and then see low 8s or even 7s on my watch. Mile 16 had a lot of downhill so it was a 7:58 after the uphill mile of 9:24 before it. Mile 18 was an 8:34 as was mile 20 with an 8:55 between. Miles 23 & 25 were under 9 and the others just over as I was able to finish strong and gain time on my 4 hour goal.

            It was very cute to have pre-teen girls presenting us our finisher medals. After getting my chocolate milk and food, I went back to my motel to clean-up. I returned to the finish area and found out that I had gotten first in my age group with a time of 3:58:40. This was my first marathon in 65-69 group, but I would also have been first in 60-64!

            In the afternoon I first visited Falls Park where there is a 4-story tower with a great view of the falls and the ruins of a grist mill. At the visitor center there, I found out about the statues downtown that are there for a contest each year with the one receiving the most votes being bought by the city. You can see a few of my favs in the pictures. I then had lunch at 5 Guys and headed to 2 museums that the visitor center girls had recommended. The architecture of SF homes and buildings is truly spectacular. I toured the home of R. F. Pettigrew who was SD's first senator in 1896. He was the Donald Trump of his time having made his money in real estate and helping the city of Sioux Falls bring in other ventures. The Old Courthouse Museum had a lot of western memorabilia and history and included a cute display of the history of the purse.

            An eggs breakfast dinner at a cute diner followed by a pumpkin pie blizzard at Dairy Queen helped replenish my depleted body in a yummy way.

This was Marathon #143; 21 states on 2d go round; 8 Canadian provinces. Next up: Trapline Marathon in Labrador & Newfoundland on Oct. 11.

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Trip to Kokomo, Chicago/Wheaton, Wisconsin Summer 2015

 

            On Thursday July 30^th, Jodi and I flew into Chicago and immediately went to Russell's BBQ, my dad's favorite place, near where he grew up in River Forest. We  spent the night in Wheaton with Uncle Howie and Kathy Smith. Fri morning we ran in Wheaton, going on the Prairie Path and the Wheaton College track. After breakfast with Uncle Howie and Kathy, we headed to Kokomo, IN. where we went to Kokomo Jackrabbit baseball game with John, Judy and Morgan and John, Jenni and Zach. Saturday morning we had a fun breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Sat evening we went to a concert in local park and band shell

            Sunday morning we ran on a super running/biking path that goes for at least 20 miles along Indiana corn fields and shade-providing trees. We were concerned about heat and humidity, but it was relatively cool the whole trip staying in 70s and low 80s with low humidity. I was able to get in 18 with Jodi running the last 10 with me.

            We spent Monday afternoon in Chicago after leaving Kokomo. We started with deep dish pizza at Ginos and then walked around the area on Michigan Ave and the Water Tower, going to Nike, Under Armor, and other stores. Then we out to Navy Pier to see their shops and views. Cute to see tributes to longtime Cub announcer, Harry Cary, famous for his call of "holy cow". You can see the cow with holes and Harry and his oversized glasses in the pics.

            On Thursday morning we ran some intervals on the Wheaton college track; amazingly cool and not humid. Then we visited Mary Whelchel of the Christian Working Woman ministry, and she and Jodi got to meet. We then set out for Wisconsin with the first stop being the Kopps frozen custard restaurant in Milwaukee. Frozen custard is even better than ice cream, and we had a gift certificate from Ken Anderson who gave it to us as a wedding gift to entice us to Milwaukee…it worked!

            We arrived at Camp Awana and had fun paddle boating and swimming in the lake and touring the great facility with Dar and JB. We enjoyed shooting baskets (where I could show Jodi just how far out those 3s are that Steph and Klay were pouring in this season for the World Champion Warriors! Love saying that!!) We also played miniature golf where Jodi beat me with some stellar putting.

            Wednesday, August 5^th was my birthday and we started at Camp Awana and then headed to Colgate, WI to visit Ken and Pam Anderson. Ken was a classmate at Westmont; we've been friends for over 45 years and have loved cheering our sports' teams and rooting against each other’s. He and Pam took us to lunch at the Brewer's ball park where we saw Hank Aaron statue and other famous Brewer players’ plaques. We also got our 2nd visit to Kopps; so yummy! Then we had a fabulous birthday dinner at the Copper Duck where I had the most amazing steak and Jodi had crab legs. So, a very fun 65th birthday and exciting way to enter my new age group! On the way back to Wheaton, we stopped in Glen Ellyn so I could show Jodi Uncle Dick’s Four Seasons’ motel where I worked during my college summers.

            Friday morning we took a gangster bus tour of Chicago seeing where John Dillenger was shot, hearing stories of Al Capone and bootlegging, and seeing Frank Niti’s hangout which is now a Harry Cary restaurant.  We had lunch at the top of the John Hancock with its amazing views of the city. In the afternoon we went to Millennium Park and its “Bean” which creates all kinds of mirror images. We got to visit the Art Institute seeing some famous paintings particularly Impressionist ones. Then we took a boat tour on the Chicago River and Lake Michigan highlighting Chicago's architecture. We finished at Dick's Last Resort Restaurant where they intentionally insult you and make rude comments. Fun way to end our Chicago day.

            Saturday was Game Day: Yes, we were going to see the Cubs at Wrigley as a birthday gift from Jodi and it just so happened that the Giants were in town. John, Judy and Morgan had come up from Kokomo to join us at Uncle Howie’s for the weekend. After breakfast with Uncle Howie we went into Chicago to tour a bit on Michigan Ave, the Bean, and Navy Pier. We then took the “L” to the game. Great to see Wrigley with a lot of the remodeling including 2 new scoreboards having been done. Sad that Giants lost 8-6, but great to be in the “Friendly Confines” once again. We ended up getting deep-dish pizza at Gino’s again; this time at their outlet in Wheaton. Great way to finish off a long day!

            Sunday morning, August 9^th, was our 1^st anniversary! Jodi had found a race in Chicago at which to celebrate our running-themed wedding. We got up early (5:30) and drove in for the Chicago 10K in Grant Park. The course ran along Lakeshore Drive going past Soldier Field and Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium. It was 88% humidity and 77 degrees, but we ran strong, enjoying the sights. Mary Whelchel’s son-in-law whom we had met at her office earlier in the week was the announcer, and he told the runners about our getting engaged at the Boston Marathon and this being our anniversary. When we saw the results on Monday, we saw that Jodi was 2^nd of 76 in her age group and I was 1^st in my new age group.

            We went back to Wheaton to clean-up and have breakfast with the others. Then we went back to Chicago to check-out Maxwell St. flea market. After saying goodbye later in the day to John, Judy and Morgan, we went to dinner with Uncle Howie who treated us to an anniversary dinner at Red Lobster. Great way to finish off an eventful Midwest, birthday and anniversary trip!           

           

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Newport Marathon May 30, 2015

4:00:08 274/725  9/17AG  173/321 Males

Jodi: 4:13:02  341/725  20/42 AG  143/404 Females

 

            Jodi and I decided to go to Newport, OR to run the marathon there after talking to John and Bonie Pius and finding out what a wonderful time they had both staying there and in John running a fast time about 10 years ago. Although we did not get the fast time racing, we did have a fantastic time in Newport. We learned a new term from Stephanie Ormond: “runcation”; what a perfect description of the wonderful extended weekend that we had there.

(The write-up follows the order of the pics on Shutterfly.)

            Flying directly from Fresno to Portland on Thursday, we got to see Crater Lake and Mt. Shasta from the air. Arriving in Portland, we saw signs indicating that the PreClassic was going on that weekend in Eugene. It was about a 2 ½ hour drive from Portland to Newport and we got a blizzard at DQ on the way out. Newport is a coastal, fishing town and we got to see halibut being fileted and signs of crabs. (Our post race meal consisted of an amazing crab soup and halibut with veggies at “Local Fish”, the restaurant with the most recommendations according to Jodi’s informal poll of locals.) That evening we split the biggest calzone I’ve seen along with a shrimp salad.

            We had a short shake-out run Friday morning ,and then had blueberry pancakes and eggs at Pig and Pancakes. Then it was on to the Newport Aquarium where we saw the otters play, a wide variety of fish swim, got to see and touch jellyfish and other creatures, see world’s largest crab, and see salvaged ship parts. We talked to an older gentleman in the aviary who was from South Africa and had run the Boston Marathon about 50 years ago. We also toured the old lighthouse in the park where the marathon starts.

            At lunch we found ourselves talking to one of the race organizers who gave us some helpful tips. We then picked up our packets and went to the pasta dinner in the local high school. Quite fun to see that it is used as a fundraiser for the high school’s athletes. We also got to look around their library as it was open for an event that evening. (Busman’s holidayJ)

            The race started promptly at 7AM Sat. morning with the heavy coastal fog/clouds hiding the sun and the temperature in the mid 50s. After an out and back around the Nye Beach shops area, we headed out along the inland coast of Newport, settling into a pace that stayed in 8:38-8:45 pace. Jodi was running strong, and I was doing the best I could to stay with her as we passed midway at 1:54. Then at around 16-17, Jodi experienced sharp pain in her ITB.. There was a lot of slant on the road and I think that may have aggravated the ITB. The pain only worsened which radically slowed her pace; it soon became a race at which to take a pictures and finish as best as possible. There were folks giving out oysters to the runners; Jodi wanted to get a picture of them so I took the plunge and tried one for the camera. Jodi then exhorted me to leave her to die in peace, which I did reluctantly, But I was not feeling all that great and needed to run at a pace that was more efficient for me to get it done.

            I had some 10+ min miles, but knew that I still had a shot at breaking 4 hours so forced myself to get the pace closer to 9:00 the last couple of miles. A furious finishing kick up the long last hill and then down the short hill to the finish line left me just short of that goal, but I was just glad to be done.

            I got some post-race food including clam chowder and waited for Jodi. When she finally found me in the post-race sitting area, she said that it was good that I hadn’t stayed with her the last 6 miles because she spent it feeling pretty emotional and disheartened about what had happened. I assured her that I’ve been there too many times myself and that every race is a learning experience; most times we miss our goals, and those perfect marathons are rare. But wait until next time!      

            So after getting cleaned-up and napping, we went back to watch the awards and then ate our crab chowder and halibut. Later for dinner we split a steak and salad, and then had blizzards at the DQ in Toledo about 8 miles from Newport. There was an spectacular sunset to cap an incredible “runcation” day.

            It wasn’t  over yet as Sunday morning, we the largest pancake along with a delicious spinach/mushroom omlet and great coffee at local coffee/breakfast place. We were greeted at home by our loyal pets who were missing us and wanted to know where we had been! Oh, the tales we had to tell them. J

           

This was Marathon #142 (#5 for Jodi-all since 11/13 Two Cities); 20 states on 2d go round;

8 Canadian provinces.

 

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Shamrock Marathon, Virginia Beach, VA March 22, 2015, 3:49:32

Shamrock Marathon Virginia Beach, VA March 22, 2015

 

            The Shamrock Marathon was the breakthrough marathon for me as far as finally feeling like I was back close to where I was in Dec. 2012 when I ran CIM in 3:47 and then fractured and dislocated my shoulder skiing a week later. Looking at past results, I thought I might be able to place in top 3 if I was under 3:50, but I wasn’t  confident that I’d gotten in all the training that I would have liked. In fact, I was pretty pessimistic the week before, but I woke up Sunday morning feeling good and looking at some optimal conditions. I had gotten 2 nights in a row of 8 hour sleep and had a nice turtle sundae for dessert the night before and the weather was in mid 40s with some breeze. I had run Shamrock back in 2007 (3:42) and knew it was a flat (34 feet total elevation gain) course and that the wind should be at my back the first and last 5 miles.

            The race didn’t start until 8:30 so I had plenty of time to park, see the start of the half, and then go wait in a warm hotel lobby near the start. It was great to use their rest room and get out of my sweats in a warm spot before going to the start. I was in the 2^nd wave and was in the front row at the start, 2 minutes after the first wave. (Note that exact 2 minute difference between gun and chip timeJ).I tried to do as I coach my runners and let the pace come to me. I found myself easily running around 8:45 and having to keep my “happy feet” from going faster.

            The course is a double out and back looking like a figure 8 so the wind was with us at the start.  I hit 10k with a 8:47 average and it felt really comfortable. Heading back toward the start on the southern loop we went through an army base, and then I hit the halfway mark by the Cavalier Hotel in 1:56:45. We headed north on a road closed to traffic with some nice tree protection and I started to accelerate feeling like I wanted to go! From 15-20, I had 2 miles at 8:22 and 2 at in mid 8:30s. Then we went by the landmark Cape Henry Lighthouse and through the Fort Story military base and I kept hitting sub 8:40s. Getting back into the city itself I hit mile 24 at 8:25 and 25 at 8:37. Somewhere in there the sounds of the Giants’ unofficial theme song, Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” was playing,  getting me even more pumped. Running the last mile of the race on the boardwalk, I got an 8:19 for my fastest mile of the marathon. Such a great feeling to finish that strong! I had negative splits with the second half being about 5 minutes faster than the first.

            I was quite excited and thrilled to actually feel so good throughout the race unlike the way I’ve been running in general the last two years when I’ve been sore and achy so much of the time. The thrill was backJ! I had seen a couple of guys who looked like they might be in my age group in the second half of the race so I wanted to be sure I stayed ahead of them. Interesting to see the results later in the day and see two guys in my age group who ran 3:50 something. Not sure if they were the ones, but fun to know that I really did need to run as hard as I did to beat them and finish as an award winner. (As you all know, I’m not competitive. lol)

            When you look at the pictures on Shutterfly, you’ll see that on Sat. I visited the colonial town of Williamsburg. I also drove to the nearby Jamestown, seeing the first settlement in American history and replicas of the three ships that the settlers came in. They also had a weekend festival showing soldiers from various wars and eras. Then I went to Yorktown, the scene of the British surrender to George Washington and the Continental Army. In the pictures, you can also see the blood blister on the second toe of my left foot. The toe has been bothering me for a couple months and it bleed quite a bit as you can see by the sock and the spot on the top of the shoe. Fortunately, I wasn’t really aware of it until after the race.         

This was Marathon #140;20 states on 2d go round; 8 provinces.

 

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