Jack and Jill North Bend, WA July 24, 2024

 

Jack and Jill Marathon

North Bend, WA

July 24, 2024

4:54:39 – 643/815 Overall - 6/8 in 70+

            Jodi and I flew to Seattle Thursday night in order to run the Jack and Jill Marathon near there in North Bend area. I ran the full in 4:55:39 for my 187th marathon overall (still at 44 states done at least twice) and Jodi ran the half. The weather was so cool compared to Fresno where we've been running in 80 degree weather. It was 57 at the start and got up to about 70 but most of the course was in the shade because of all of the wonderful trees. The course is a rails-to-trails path with mostly packed dirt and and a gradual downhill most of the way.

            The gradual downhill was great for running faster, but it took its toll on my calves and quads which have been much more sore than after a normal marathon. I was pleased that I did my run/walk of 4min run/:30 seconds walk most of the way. When I was running, I easily ran around 10:20 often going closer to 10:00 without much effort. I was still running those paces even in the last miles and just did a bit more walking then.

            On Friday Jodi and had gone to the Space Needle area and where we ran into running friend from Fresno, Rhonda and her husband; small world! We took the short monorail ride to downtown and got to eat lunch at Pike's Market where we had Piroshkies, a stuffed pastry from Russia. My Russian roommate at Westmont, Peter Trozan introduced me to them when his mom made them for us over 55 years ago. After that, Jodi and I got our bibs in Snoqualmie and had pasta dinner with Anita Lee and her brother, Alan. We had our "PR ice-cream", too.

            Jodi had to be at the half bus pickup at 4 am Saturday so she left very early; Anita, Alan, and I drove to a different location a bit later for the full. Both races started at 6AM. The full starts with a 2.5 mile run through a pitch-black tunnel so everyone wears a headlamp; you can see the collection of lamps that they brought to the finish area for pickup in one of the pics Jodi took after she finished the half.

            The course is beautiful with lots of trees and views of rivers and valleys as you run over some bridges. Five years ago in 2019 I got a BQ time and Jodi and I ran Boston together in 2021. But this year, I was happy to run comfortably fast and enjoy the race. I was 643/815 and 6/8 in 70+.

            On Sunday we went to church with Mark and Ginny Duncan and then went over to their home in Izzaquah just outside Seattle for lunch, chatting, outdoor activities and later, pizza. We were also joined by their 3 youngsters and Johnny and Diane Bishop and their two very young ones. If you’re family, you might enjoy seeing their pictures at the end of the Shutterfly album.

Photos: https://photos.shutterfly.com/album/1806120368964377

This was Marathon #187; 44 states+DC on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.

Next marathon: Erie, PA Sep. 8, 2024

 

Denver Marathon May 19, 2024

 

Denver-Colfax Marathon

May 19, 2024

5:38:54 - 1927/2214 Overall - 6/11 in 70+ 

     I arrived in Denver on Friday to go to the expo and get a bit acclimated to the elevation. At the expo I got my bib and shirt and also a special award for having already run 1 marathon in 2024. It’s a cool coaster with a Denver montage on it as you can see in bottom right of the photo.

Jodi joined me on Saturday (she was not thrilled to have a 5AM flight out of Fresno) but arrived early so we could eat breakfast together. The expo was at the the NFL Broncos’ Empower Stadium so I showed Jodi that and then we took an hour and a half tour of the stadium. It was quite fun and informative to see the press boxes, luxury boxes, locker rooms, team memorbilia and even walk on the field. We also drove to see the outside of the Denver Nuggets arena (where they played game 7 that night and lost) and Rockies ballpark.

            Sunday morning it was great to have Jodi drop me off at the start so I didn’t need to park somewhere. The race started and ended in a large city park with only street parking. Thankfully it started early at 6AM because it was 58 at the start and warming quickly.

The Denver-Colfax Marathon was one of the most challenging marathons I've run due to the mile-high altitude and thehigh temperatures which reached 82 during my last few miles. Due to the conditions, I ran/walked 2 min/:30 at the start and later did 1 min/:30 as the temperatures rose. I wore my water belt and was glad to be able to sip repeatedly as 2 miles between aid stations (which used to be fine at 15 minutes or so but are now close to half an hour for me) would not have been nearly enough water to drink.

It was great to have Jodi meet me at numerous spots with the first one at mile 3 just before we actually ran through a fire station. She then met me at mile 9 where there was a loop of Sloan Lake and then at 11 when we completed the loop. When I headed out further, Jodi was able to do her own loop of the lake and get in about a 5 mile run/walk before meeting me again at the same spot which was now mile 19. She was a sight for sore eyes (and legs) as I was getting tired. She then met me at 24 and the finish line. Jodi commented that it was a very spectator-friendly marathon meaning she found it was easy to get around to various spots and that there were many other spectators with her.

We ran through city streets (Colfax is longest street in America at 26.5 miles https://www.uncovercolorado.com/east-west-colfax-avenue-denver), residential areas, on the field at Empower Stadium going out and coming back. There were some moderate hills which weren’t all that steep, but which now force me to walk much of them.

            Saturday night we went to dinner with 13 other marathoners who were celebrating Penny Willbanks doing her 49th state. We met her on the plane to the Eugene, OR Marathon in 2019 and also ran with her in the New Mexico Marathon in January 2023. She's doing #50 at Anchorage in June.

Photos: https://photos.shutterfly.com/album/1799780969611986

This was Marathon #186; 44 states+DC on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.

Next marathons: WA 7/27/24

Newport, RI Marathon April 13, 2024

Newport, RI Marathon

April 13, 2024

4:54:30  810/875 Overall  3/4 in 70-74 

            For our latest adventure, Jodi and I were joined by Nick for a 10-day trip to New England. We ran a race in Rhode Island, watched the Boston Marathon, and ventured into Maine and New Hampshire.

In Newport, Jodi and I enjoyed some beautiful ocean scenery for much of the race. There was also a lot of wind so we saw lots of waves. We also saw some of the 1.2 million daffodils that are out this time of year and ran by some of the mansions we had toured the day before.

I ran strong throughout the marathon and went up the hills steadily with some walking, and down them at a nice pace sometimes at 9:30 or so. The elevation gain was 1093 feet which by comparison is twice as much as hilly Napa Marathon which has 576 feet of elevation gain. I was happy that my fastest mile was the last  one (Jodi was at mile 25.7 to take pictures and cheer for me coming in) at 10:36. Overall, I ran at 11:13 average (doing 4min run/:30 walk) and got 3d in my age group.

We learned a lot about the Vanderbilt family when we toured the Breakers Mansion on Friday. It was very interesting and beautiful, but the thought of living in what felt more like a museum than a home seemed odd. I also toured the Tennis Hall of Fame and saw some very historic players and memorbilia. On Sunday we headed to Boston where we watched a Celtics game at TD Garden and had pasta and cannolis in Little Italy. Monday Nick went to the Red Sox game while Jodi and I watched the Marathon at mile 23. We got to cheer the first American, our friend CJ Albertson from Clovis; other friends I’ve coached; stars like Sarah Hall and Des Linden and the last American winner Meb Keflezighi. (Jodi had gotten to see Meb at the top of Heartbreak Hill when he won in 2014. It was also the year I proposed to her there.)

Tuesday we took a tour of TD Garden which highlighted many moments in Boston sports history. That night we took in a Bruin game; first hockey game attended by Jodi and Nick!

Wednesday we visited the JFK Library and took an informative boat cruise of Boston Harbor. We alo saw Bunker Hill Monument and Old Ironsides. No trip is complete without going to the Boston Common where we rode the swan boats and saw the Make Way for Ducklings statues.

            Thursday and Friday we went to Maine and New Hampshire where we toured a submarine in Portsmouth and saw an historic library in Kittery, ME (where I found Make Way for Ducklings on the shelf and enjoyed touring the towns. We also got to have dinner with John and Linda Duncan who were our long-time connections in CT when we ran Boston, but now live in ME and NH. Saturday we headed back to Fresno.

Photos: https://photos.shutterfly.com/album/1797229969670995

            This was Marathon #185; 43 states+DC on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.

Next marathons: CO 5/19/24 

Napa Marathon and Mom's Burial 3/2-3/2024

 

Napa Marathon

March 3, 2024

4:54:17 1141/1699 Overall  7/15 in 70-74

Jodi-Half 2:41:03 1769/2579 Overall  54/94 in 50-54

 

 Jodi and I headed to the Napa Valley with dual purposes: run our races and bury Mom. Both were accomplished successfully. Driving there was a bit scary as Friday was rainy. We had a fun dinner in Rio Vista at Lucy’s Café, but then the rain really came down hard the rest of way and resulted in limited visibility.

            But we made it safely, and Saturday morning picked up our bibs, and then headed to Calistoga for the burial at Pioneer Cemetery. The rain let up during the ceremony and then started up just as we were all leaving; great timing! (See pics below)

Jodi and I then went downtown to have lunch at the Café Sarafornia (derived from founder Sam Brannan’s misspoken “Calistoga of Sarafornia instead of Saratoga of California.) We happened to meet the owner who had Boston roots so had fun talking about the Boston Marathon and all things Boston with her.     

            We drove around Calistoga and noted a few things: the church is being remodeled into a community center; the golf course is closed and is just a grass field; the high school track is still a dirt track (not all-weather); and someone new was moving into our old Centennial Circle house. We also, sadly, noted all the fire damage from the Glass Fire two years ago as we drove back to Napa on the Trail.

            It was not supposed to rain early Sunday morning, but it did so we drove to the bus pickup spots in the rain. Thankfully for me the rain stopped before the marathon, but Jodi’s half-marathon started earlier and in a different spot so she got pretty soaked. But overall, it was ideal running weather in the high 30s and mid 40s with overcast skies most of the way. On the bus ride from Napa to the start in Calistoga I talked with a young lady from Austin, TX who works with a winery. It was interesting to chat about some of the marathons we’ve both run such as Austin, Houston, Chicago, and Eugene.

            Due to the great weather and some good training, I was able to run my best time since Nov 2021. It was also my first time under 5 hours since Sep 2022 largely because all 5 races between then and now were too hot (70s) for good times. I was able to stick to my run 4 minutes/walk :30 most of the race except on the longer, steeper hills, I’d go to 2/:30. The Silverado Trail on which most of the race is run has a lot of rolling hills so that was fun as well as challenging. The vineyards all along the route are, of course, beautiful and full of mustard plants this time of year. My splits were very consistent all the way staying very close to 11:12 range with 14 of the splits being around or under 11 and the slowest being 11:35.

            Jodi has been struggling with hip issues for quite awhile and not able to run a lot of miles, but was very pleased to do her run/walk intervals and not feel any hip pain so was very pleased with her race. After she finished she got to see one of Katie’s Westmont classmates, Rachel finish the marathon. Jodi then waited for me to finish and we headed back to our hotel for an ice bath (me, only), a shower and a nap. We then drove to Gotts (Taylor’s) in St. Helena for the traditional post-race hamburger and ice cream (milkshake, this time). We drove back to Fresno Monday morning after a leisurely breakfast.

 See photo link below for pictures of many of the things described.

 This was Marathon #184; 42 states+DC on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.

Next marathons: Newport, RI 4/13/24, CO 5/19/24

Marathon photos: https://link.shutterfly.com/DiNDM4qWKHb

Video of Mom’s burial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx1N5RiFqfA