Madison, WI Marathon 11 12 2023

 

Madison, WI Marathon

November 12, 2023

5:57:57  1368/1659 Overall  4/6 in 70-74

 

          The Madison Marathon was a welcome change from the last 5 marathons which have been too warm for optimum running. It was 34 at the start and got up to 50 at the end. I kept my arm warmers and gloves and earmuff hat on all the way; I did shed a top layer long-sleeve after about 4 miles. However, it was very windy and the course had a lot of hills especially in the second half. The hills really slowed my pace. But overall, I was extremely pleased in how I ran; I felt strong running the whole race and stayed very consistent at around 11:15/mile. I did my 4/:30 run/walk intervals and my running on the flat or downhills was mostly sub 10:30 and even some sub 10s; it was fun to be able to feel like I was racing and not just dragging along like I felt in those hot weather marathons. This was the 5^th marathon I ran in 2023 and 16^th since I had the stent put in and started taking heart meds back in January 2020.

            I had a very interesting trip as you can see if you look at the photos at the link below. I arrived in Milwaukee on Thursday afternoon and then drove the rental SUV about an hour and a half to Madison. I went first to packet pickup and then went to my motel. The motel had a fine Italian restaurant aross the street so I had a nice dinner of minestrone and fried raviolis (something Jodi and I had learned about in St. Louis in April). Friday morning I awoke to 29 degrees and solid frost on the windshield. Now, I found out why the car had the ice-scrapy stick in it. Thankfully, it was the only night under 32. I discovered The Original Pancake House where I had breakfast 3 times; love these pancake especiality breakfast places.

            I had a ticket to go to the UW-Northwestern football game at Camp Randall Stadium Sa and figured out it was easiest to just Uber there rather than hassle with the traffic. I arrived very early and got to see the many tailgates and sports bar get-togethers. At the stadium I got to see the band perform before the game, and then see the players warmup and then later enter the stadium for game time. Even though the Badgers are not doing well this season, the stadium was full at game time (unlike Bulldog Stadium where announced sell-outs mean 2/3 of the seats are occupied). UW is bad and lost 24-10 with their loneTD coming with 8 seconds left.

            Marathon morning I got to the race start area very early and found street parking 200 yards from the start so it was easy to just leave my sweats in the car. After the race, it was convenient to put them on and get some good post-race food of pizza and macaroni.

            Monday morning I drove to the UW campus to do a little exploring. It’s a beautiful campus and I enjoyed looking around and also checking out the libraries. I actually found a copy of my first book Cruising Through Research on the shelves. It’s less than a mile between campus and the capitol so I walked over and did a little self-guided tour. The highlight is going to the top deck and being able to look out in all directions. Walking the street between campus and the capitol was a lot like walking on Telegraph Ave. near the Cal Berkley campus with the leftover-hippie feel.

            I drove back to Milwauke later in the afternoon and checked-in to my downtown hotel. It’s great to be in the center of activities, but it’s also a pain to not be able to self-park and to pay $40 a night for that privilege. ☹But I could walk less than a mile to the Bucks-Bulls NBA game at Fiserv Stadium. It’s a beautiful new arena and was a lot of fun to explore and see all the banners. The Bucks feature Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Greek Freak and also have Brook Lopez who (along with his twin 7-footer, Robin) went to SJM High School here in Fresno). Bucks easily beat the Bulls.

            Tuesday I did an audio walking tour of the downtown area. The starting point and highlight was the Public Library. The architecture outside and in is fantastic. It also has great library facitlities and displays and was fun to explore. There is even a Hans Christian Anderson stained glass window. Milwaukee also has many other buildings with classic early 20^th century architcture. Along the Riverwalk is a statue of Fonsi since “Happy Days” was set in Milwaukee. I also saw the side of a building painted with a picture of Giannis. That evening I enjoyed having deep-dish pizza with my Westmont College buddy, Ken Anderson whom I’ve known for 55 years. I also went to Kopps for frozen custard that night and also again Wed for lunch. Love that frozen custard; amazingly better than ice cream!

            Wednesday morning I had enough time to visit the unique Bobblehead Hall of Fame a couple miles from my hotel. It’s quite a collection. I enjoyed seeing groupings of not only Packer, Brewer, Buck players but also Giant, Warrior, 49er ones. I got to the airport in plenty of time, only to sit in my seat for 2 hours while the cockpit door was being repaired. I continued to sit for 3 ½ hours for the flight. Five and a half hours was longer than running the marathon, and remarkably, I never got up as I was in a window seat and it would have been a chore. But I eventually got into Fresno (FAT) just a few minutes before Jodi who arrived from her trip to Florida to visit and assist family members. It was great to drive home together and catch-up on our adventures😊

 

            This was Marathon #183; 42 states+DC on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.

Next marathon: Newport, RI 4/13/24

Marathon photos: https://link.shutterfly.com/icttbvjCZEb

 

Air Force Marathon 9 16 2023

 

Air Force Marathon-Dayton, OH

September 16, 2023

5:15:05  732/1070 Overall  6/15 in 70-74 

Sep. 16, 2023 was an eventful for day for Jodi and me as Jodi was doing the Cloud’s Rest climb at Yosemite while I was running my marathon 3 time zones away.

After training all summer in Fresno where the temperatures most mornings were in the low 70s, it was refreshing to feel the chill in the air race morning of 47 degrees! I even had a long sleeve shirt and gloves on before the race started because my summer-acclimated body felt cold. The Air Force Marathon is a fairly large race with about 8500 total runners in all of the events. I was instructed to arrive 1.5-2 hours before race start due to the parking congestion and the one mile walk to the starting area. It was indeed stop-and-go traffic getting into the extensive grass fields where we parked. I saw the fireworks go off for the 10K which started in the dark at 6:30. I made sure to mark the number of my parking area and take a picture of my rental car. (Of course, by the time I got back, most of the cars were long gone.)

            Anyway, I used the mile walk as a bit of a warm-up and wake-up as I got up at 5:00 EDT (2:00 Fresno time). I had tapered a lot the last 3 weeks and had a great massage on Tuesday, so my legs felt really good as I started off. After the first mile, we went up about a mile long fairly steep hill where I did a lot of walking. After the opening hill, most of the first half was flat and I did 4 min run/:30 walk. I was happy that my comfortable run pace was back at 10:20-10:40 after the last 4 marathons not feeling comfortable at all at 11-minute pace (all warm-weather). I kept leap-frogging with a pace group doing 1 minute run and :30 walk. They were really irritating (as are most pace groups) because they took up the whole road and I had to weave to get by them. They were running sub 10 when they ran so weren’t very helpful for what I wanted to do.

            I got to half-way in 2:29 feeling pretty good, but by then the temperature was getting into the 60s and soon the low 70s. I went to 3/:30 and then at about 16 to 1:20/:40. I just didn’t feel like running for long stretches, but the good news was that when I ran, I still was in 10:30 range and sometimes saw some 9:55s. However, in the last 6 miles, there were 3 or 4 more extended hills that I mostly walked. I was getting really bored and tired of the whole thing when the 5:15 pacer (different then the 5:00 pacer earlier) who was doing 1 min/:30 and running my pace. It helped a lot to have company as she had 4 or 5 other runners and I could think about something besides how I wanted to be done. Lol

            When I finished, I felt really tired and just wanted to sit for awhile. I found a chair and did that as I sipped a recovery drink. One of the bad things about finishing later is that there isn’t much food left and not many other runners or spectators so it’s a bit lonely. Finally, I recovered to make the mile walk back to the car and do the 25-minute drive back to the hotel. When I got there, I just took off my shoes and socks and took a nap. That nap really gave me renewed energy so I could get my ice bath and shower.

            Meanwhile, Jodi had texted me near the top of Cloud’s Rest and I was able to encourage her to make the last scary ascent at the end and she did indeed make it. Here’s her description on Facebook:

“Yesterday I conquered Clouds Rest hike in Yosemite. With the help of some amazing people I faced a lot of fears: traveling through the darkest mountain roads with no service, getting murdered at the Lodge, scaling rocks at nearly 10,000 feet of elevation, heart pounding and unable to breathe, and then making it back down without falling and breaking a body part, completing my longest hike of 13 miles. It was all through prayer, determination and grit.”

            Back in Dayton, I set out to get a good burger and then ice cream. I did both with great success at the Buckhorn Tavern with huge burger and then found JD’s Old Fashioned Custard where I got Pumpkin Pie Concrete (like DQ blizzard). Since my primary thought during the second half of the race was about burgers and ice cream, I got my wishes in spades. (Maybe I should just skip the run part. 🤔)  

            I flew into Cincinnati on Thursday and drove to Wright St University arena for packet pickup. The next day I visited CarCarillon Park and learned so much about the Wright Brothers who originally ran a bicycle shops in Dayton. Even though they didn’t finish high school, they were inventive geniuses who worked tirelessly to invent a machine that would fly using mathematical principles they learned from their bikes and other flying machine inventors. Dayton also was the headquarters of NCR which sold new and better cash registers and much more and DELCO and it’s many automotive innovations. Downtown there is another museum honoring them and the black poet Paul Laurence Dunbar and a walk of fame with plaques of some I noted. One was for Cathy Guisewite who created the comic strip “Cathy” for 34 years.

            The National Museum of the Air Force is where the pasta dinner was held and next to where the race started. We got to hear from a general and a Lt. Col who gave the inspirational talk. I walked around the museum that night and then for a couple hours Sunday morning. It features planes used starting in WWI and WWII and going into Stealth bomber and 3 presidcential planes. They also had ICBM missles on display and great displays on spacecraft. I was fascinated to learn about the importance of the food the astronausts had to eat and to learn how GPS makes it possibleel for our Garmins and map apps to work.

This was Marathon #182; 41 states+DC on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.

Next marathon: ?

Marathon photos: https://photos.shutterfly.com/album/1777413844664420

 

Maine Coast Marathon May 7 2023

Maine Coast Marathon

May 7, 2023

5:26:47 216/251  Overall 1/2 in 70-79

 

            I finished the Maine Coast Marathon for my third marathon this year after New Mexico and St. Louis. It was my slowest time ever, but my legs actually felt better than they had in the previous two. There were a lot more rolling hills than I had expected and it was a very warm day. There was some pretty running on the coast for the first few miles, but then it was mostly inland with rolling hills and thankfully a lot of trees and shade. I knew that the temps would quickly get into the 70s so I did 3run/:30 walk from the beginning and also walked as needed on the hills to preserve my energy. At this point in my marthon running career, I treat the race more as a long hike than as something to race. but I did get 1st in 70+. After the race I got my ice bath and a nap, and then got seafood dinner and later traditional Blizzard at DQ.

            I flew all day Thursday, getting into Boston about 5 EDT. Walking in the airport I did see a fun area dedicated to some of the children’s authors from the area. After a long wait to get to rental car garage, I finally got on the road and drove about an hour north getting into Wells, ME about 8. Friday I drove about 2 ½ hours north to visit my cousins, John and Linda Duncan. I had stayed with them many times when I was running the Boston Marathon and they lived in CT. But they retired and sold that home and moved to ME. It was great to catch-up with them and hear about some of their future plans. Their daughter, Bethany and her family of 6 children live just a couple miles away so I got to see her and their home. Her husband is a builder so they have a farm with all kinds of animals and plants and various buildings. I even got to see a baby goat that had been born the day before!

 This was Marathon #181; 40 states+DC on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.

Next marathon: ?

Marathon photos: https://photos.shutterfly.com/album/1765647724347505

 

St. Louis Marathon and Trip 4 2 2023

 

GO St Louis Marathon

April 2, 2023

5:16:41 901/1067  Overall 6/9 in 70-79

Jodi 10K: 1:05:23  390/891 overall 10/40 in 50-54

 

            Jodi and I took late flight into St. Louis, arriving at the hotel at 2am Friday morning. We got a motel ½ mile from the airport so we could use motel shuttle to get there and get to rental car in the morning. We went to expo which was outside in a large park and about ½ mile long. GO stands for “Great Outdoors” so almost all the booths were related to canoes, camping, trailers, etc. We had to walk the length of the booths to get to our bibs and then walk back; glad we went Friday and not day before.  We then took a trolley tour of the city which included views of the stadium where the St. Louis Rams used to play; there was big young girls’ volleyball tournament there over the weekend. We also drove through Forest Park which is 600 acres bigger than NYC’s Central Park and has museums, statues including one of Saint Louis, and 3 nine-hole golf courses. We found out how “toasted ravoli” and “gooey butter cake” were created by accidents and then became St. Louis specialties. (We ate both of those during the weekend.) We checked into our downtown hotel which was only about a half-mile from the arch (we had great views of it from our hotel room each day), Busch Stadium, and the finish of the races.

            Saturday morning, Jodi and I learned the history of the St Louis Arch and took the tram up to the top. In the afternoon we watched Cardinal-Blue Jay game at Busch Stadium. Unfortunately it was 45 degrees and very windy so we felt like we were back at Candlestick Park☹ It was fun to see the beautiful new ballpark. It’s their 3^rd park and I’ve been to all 3 over the years.

            Weather Sunday morning was chilly and slightly windy and overall good for running, but the course had some steep inclines and a lot of rolling hills. My legs didn’t seem to want to run very fast, but I did mostly run/walk at 4/:30 and later miles 3/:30. Best part was Jodi  running the 10K in great time (over 6 minutes faster than at Las Cruces in January) and then coming back to cheer for me at miles 11 and 16 and finish! After the race we ate at Pappy’s where we saw the biggest smokers we’ve ever seen. The ribs were sooo good! We then took a relaxing steamboat ride on the Mississippi and later got some amazing ice cream at a neighborhood specialty ice cream shop.

            On the walk from our hotel to breakfast on Monday morning, we happened to see the St. Louis Federal Reserve building and note that they had a free museum that we could tour. We learned a lot doing that, getting to see gold, currency, and descriptions of how economic policy works (or doesn’t).

 

This was Marathon #180; 39 states+DC on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.

Next marathon: Pittsburgh May 7

Marathon photos: https://photos.shutterfly.com/album/1762359586718444

 

Las Cruces Marathon 1/7/23 and El Paso, White Sands Trip

 

State 47 Las Cruces Marathon

January 7, 2023

5:21:25 107/140  Overall 3/4 in 70-79

Jodi 10K: 1:11:56  27/44 overall 4/8 in 50-54 

            Jodi, Katie, and I flew to El Paso and then drove across the TX/NM border to Las Cruces which was only 45 minutes away. Jodi and I went to the packet pick-up at the host hotel where we were staying. It was very tiny. Raceday looked to be cold (mid 30s), but by the time we got to the 8AM start, the sun was warming us up so I wore short sleeves along with my gloves. Temps stayed in 40s with a bit of wind most of the race; it only felt warm the last few miles (that’s what happens when you’re going so slowly that you’re out there past noon 😊.) The course was primarily a running trail (like Woodwar Park trail) going out 13 miles and then back. With only 140 full-marathoners, I pretty much ran by myself the whole time and there wasn’t much scenery and only a few spectators. Although the course was perfectly flat (95’ gain), Las Cruces is at 4000’ and I found that the elevation really affected my ability to run the way I normally do. It just seemed that my legs would get heavy after 2 minutes of running so instead of the usual 4 run/:30 walk, I did 2/:30 the first half. By the second half, I was doing 1:30/:30. I wasn’t really tired, sore or hurting, but the lack of oxygen to my heart and legs just kept me from running like I would hope to.

            Jodi ran the 10K and then she and Katie came out to help me in the last few miles. Katie ran about 4 miles and talked to me and helped me finish strong. It was great to have some company! Also, I got to see Penny Martin Wilbanks in the race and talk to her after. She's our friend from TX who did her 40^th state heading for all 50. Jodi originally met her when we ran in Eugene in 2019 and we follow her quest on Facebook. I also got to meet and take a picture with Mrs. NM after the race. After the race, we got revived with dinner and frozen custard and also toured the New Mexico State University campus.

            Sunday morning we had a super Belgian waffle breakfast and then went to White Sands National Park. We walked around the dunes while Katie did some running. We then headed back to El Paso to follow El Paso Mission Trail seeing 3 missions and a jail that Billy the Kid broke into to free a friend. We finished our day with fine Texas BBQ!

This was Marathon #179; 38 states+DC on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.

Next marathon: ?

Marathon photos: https://photos.shutterfly.com/album/1754678781772528