Wabash Trail Marathon 9/12/20

Wabash Trail Marathon, Shenandoah, Iowa

September 12, 2020

5:09:19 138/145 Overall   4/4 in 70

1^st Male from CA (There was also a female from Los Alamitos was ahead of me😊)

            On Wednesday, Sep. 9, I received word that the Boston virtual marathon that was scheduled for Sat at Woodward Park had been postponed due to the awful air quality from the fires in the area. Jodi sent me a list of marathons that were still going to take place in the next month, and I saw one in Iowa which is a state I needed to do a second time. I was trained and tapered for a marathon and itching to run one somewhere. I also wanted to get away from the smokey air. Jodi told me to go for it so I started the process. I was able to use points to fly to Omaha. Then I registered for the race and booked a hotel room and a car. I was all set. 

            I flew into Omaha on Friday and made the hour drive to Shenandoah, Iowa to get my race packet. It is a cute, old-fashioned town of 5000; think of Mayberry or any other town you’ve seen in a 1950s’ movie. I found out that it was the boyhood home of the Everly Brothers, Don and Phil. I walked next door from the packet-pickup and saw their tiny house. It was full of memorabilia. The guide there told me about helping host a parade honoring them back in 1986. He also told me he owned the restaurant across the street and that they had a runners’ special spaghetti dinner that night. So, I enjoyed dinner there before heading back to Omaha. 

            Sat morning I got up at 4:45 (2:45 PDT) so that I could get to the race in plenty of time before the 7:30 start. It had rained lightly on Friday so it was cloudy and 100% humidity with a temp of 56 at the start. We had to wear masks in the starting area and stay socially distanced there, but once the race started, we could throw the masks off and just run. There were only 145 full marathoners so it was easy to be distanced the whole race. (The 100 half-marathoners were bussed to the middle and we just saw them as they ran by us later.) 

From the beginning I had a basic plan to run about 5 minutes and then walk 1. I pretty much did that the whole race. It seems that due to the stent and the heart medicine, that I need those intervals to keep running at a consistent pace without slowing down even more. I hate being so slow, but I do what I can to cover the ground. 

            I had a real scare at mile 10. My right calf all of a sudden cramped into a big knot. I stopped to stretch and massage it, but could only limp. I thought I might be done, but I was near an aid station and got liquids and tried walking and running again. It felt good enough that I could run and not limp so I was relieved. The pain subsided, but it hurt the rest of race and was still there the next day. The course was an old railroad bed that was turned into a great running trail with a very good hard-packed dirt surface. The rain made it a bit muddy in spots, but not bad. We also ran across many bridges and even through one short tunnel. The course was out and back so we went past them twice as we did with the aid stations. They had small bottles of Gatorade and water and chomps at each station. The people attending them were very friendly and cheered for us. They were about the only people on the whole course so it was very lonely; I was able to listen to a lot of podcasts. 

            My time of 5:09:19 was a PW, but I was just happy to be out of the smoke and gloom of California and in the fresh air of Iowa and Nebraska. After the race they even offered showers in an old armory. I was very happy about that since I had the hour’s drive back to Omaha and also wanted to explore the town a bit more. I got a Blizzard, took a 15-minute nap in my car, had a hamburger at the same place I’d eaten at the night before, and then walked up and down all 3 blocks of main street. They have a “Walk of Fame” where you can see the names of famous people from Iowa such as Bob Feller, Ronald Reagan, wrester Dan Gable, the twin columnists, Dear Abby and Ann Landers, and Donna Reed. 

            Sunday, the sky was clear blue and the temp went up to 80. I enjoyed walking across the mile-long pedestrian bridge that spans the Missouri River connecting Nebraska and Iowa. I could stand in both states at the same time at a spot in the middle. I met a guy on a bike who spotted my Wabash Trail Marathon shirt and asked me how it was. He had riden his bike to certify the course for an upcoming marathon in Omaha. He told me about a great museum of Nebraska history called the Durham Museum. I went there and spent a couple of hours that afternoon enjoying all of the interesting exhibits. The museum is in the old Omaha railroad station which is immense and impressive, similar to Grand Central Station in NYC. They even had an old-fashioned soda fountain where I got an ice cream sundae. In addition to the Nebraska history, they had a temporary exhibit of all of the Pulitzer Prize winning photos. I took pictures of a few of them which you’ll probably recognize. 

            Monday, I filled-up the car with $1.87 a gallon gas and braced myself for the trip back to California where gas costs at least twice as much and the air quality is very unhealthy. It was a refreshing trip to America’s heartland and an encouragement that the rest of the country is not as messed up as California has been made.

Local news story: 

https://www.kmaland.com/sports/2020-wabash-trace-nature-trail-marathon-half-marathon-and-relay/article_4f0d5d38-f540-11ea-a8a1-13fc536a5cca.html

This was Marathon #168; 30 states on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.

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Napa Marathon, March 1, 2020

Napa Marathon, Napa, CA

March 1, 2020

4:52:21 1157/2258 Overall   11/28 in 65-69

Jodi 4:51:31  1150/2258  Overall  37/86 in 50-54

            Running marathons is never easy; you train the best you can, but you never know how race day will go. But no matter whether you reach your time goal, just completing a marathon is a huge accomplishment. For our crew from Fresno, Rhonda completed her very first one; nothing like that first one! Kim completed her 3rd, but first in 8 years. David and Jodi trained super hard hoping to BQ. They ended up missing that lofty goal, but still finished ahead of most runners in their age group.

            Here are Jodi’s thoughts on how her race went: In theory, today was going to be my day to Boston Qualify at Napa Marathon. I have had amazing training, I BQd here 5 years ago and the weather today was perfect with a rare tailwind. But marathons are hard, and anything can happen on race day. I blame menopause but who knows. I just couldn’t keep the pace and my chronic hip problem decided to flare up during the race. So I chatted with people, prayed for people, encouraged people, enjoyed the scenery, ran with my friend Emi Arada, then waited for John to catch up so we could run/walk the last 7 miles together. Disappointed is an understatement and I’m pretty sure I’m switching to shorter distances now. Special thanks to my training crew: Oliver, Joanna V, Al, David, Lisa and so many others!

            Before the race I created an Inspiration/Prayer band. At the advice of Mark Dorman, I dedicated each mile to someone special, or even a group of people such as the Fleet Feet coaches, my strong 50-somethings, DAR team, and Wascally team. This technique really helped me to focus on something other than myself when I was feeling terrible. Mile 8 was dedicated to Bill Hastrup because he passed me at Mile 8 of Napa 2 years ago on a so-called “training run for Boston”. Later that year he was diagnosed with brain cancer and passed a few months later. He was such a special training partner for me and I miss him dearly. Mile 13 was dedicated to my cousin Clint who walked 2 half marathons in Indy. Mile 22 was dedicated to Oliver, who stuck with me for all 22 miles of my longest training run. At Mile 16 of Napa, when I saw Chris, I decided to stop and stretch my hip and possibly wait for John but then I saw Emi and decided to run a couple of miles with him since he appeared to be unhappy. We were able to distract each other for a couple of miles until I started a slow walk, again hoping John would catch up. This is where I met some other runners who distracted me until mile 19.5, where I decided to stop again and wait for John. As predicted, he was upset when he saw me but we were at least able to enjoy the last 7 miles together, encouraging each other and others along the way.

            For me (John), running the Napa Marathon was coming full circle. It was my first marathon in 1981 (2:58) and now I was wondering if it would be my last one. After having 2 heart procedures in the last 3 months, and now the proud owner of a stent in the LAD and the taker of 5 heart pills a day, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel. I planned to run/walk and had run enough miles in training that I knew I could finish. The questions were: how long would it take me and how hard would it be? I started out running 4 minutes and walking one. For the first few miles, the legs would feel heavy after a minute or so of running, and I was very frustrated that I couldn’t sustain running longer. But after getting about 8 miles into the race, I told myself to stop with all of the negative thinking and get a better attitude. Although there were real physical issues, I realized that part of my problem was the negative thinking. So, I ran a lot of of 4-6 minute segments that felt pretty normal and at a decent pace, and the miles started to click by quicker.

            At mile 16 I saw Chris (Kim’s boyfriend) who told me that Jodi was not too far ahead. I thought, “Uh, oh; what happened?” As I was going up the hill at mile 19, there was Jodi. I found out that her hip injury had flared up again and that it was not going to be a BQ race. She decided to wait for me (overall a 15 minute time of walking, slow running and waiting) so we could run in together. Since I had been run/walking, I was actually feeling better than she was, but we were able to enjoy going together those last 7 miles. (It is a lot easier to run the last miles of a marathon if you have the option of walking and have not been pushing the pace because you have a race time goal.) So, we talked to each other and other runners and enjoyed the scenery. We passed Emi Arrada who was wearing the same “smiley runner shirt” that I was.

            Jodi and I rounded the last turn to the finish and got cheered in by Chris and got to hold hands finishing together. There’s a lot to be said for being able to do that even if we weren’t able to run a well as we’d have liked to!

            After the race, Jodi and I drove to St. Helena for our traditional Taylor’s hamburger and milk shake. We also drove through Calistoga to note some changes and visit the old Volkman family home. That evening we enjoyed dinner at the Rutherford Grill with Kim and Chris and Rhonda and Rob. The next morning we found a fun breakfast spot and had lemon pancakes and cinnamon toast.

This was Marathon #167; 29 states on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.

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Jack & Jill Boise Marathon 9 15 2019

Jack & Jill Marathon, Boise, ID

September 15, 20194:36:37 194/293 Overall   5/9 in 65-69

Cavet Emptor: Downhill marathons are not recommended! I’m finishing this on Tuesday morning and Jodi and I have been the sorest we’ve ever been after a marathon these last two days. We can barely shuffle and it hurts everytime we stand-up after sitting.

Jack & Jill Boise was our second J&J in the last seven weeks. But whereas the one outside Seattle was a gradual downhill not far above sea level, this one started at 6500’ and descended to 2500’. I was apprehensive of these extremes, and our drive up the mountain to the start at Bogus Basin on Friday did nothing to assuage my fears. We were staying with my friend, Steve Strickland with whom I had taught at Hoover and his wife, Tess, in Meridian, a suburb of Boise. Being avid skiers, they gave us a guided tour of the mountain and the ski resort. We had a lot of great views of Boise on the drive. But the road contains 90+ switchbacks and is constantly down except for half mile hill in mile 16. It reminded me of Sky Harbor without the uphill sections with the slope mostly in the 7-11 degree range. As many of you know, I’ve always discouraged runners from doing Heavenly Half because it is all downhill and hard on the leg muscles. Now here I was going to do 18 miles of down followed by 8 flatter. I was very concerned about what I’d gotten into. Also, the weather looked to be much warmer than optimum for a marathon.

Saturday we picked up our bibs at a local running store. We also toured the state capitol. Interestingly, the governor from 2007-Jan. 2019, Butch Otter, is a cousin of Tess’.

Sunday morning we got up at 3:20 so we could catch the bus at 4:30 that took us the 26 miles to the top of Bogus Basin for the 6:30 start. It was chilly and dark at the start. They did provide us with small flashlights which we used for the first 3 miles; I was happy not to trip in the dark. It warmed up quickly and I tossed my long sleeve by mile 3. Most of the race was in 60s to mid 70s at the end with no cloud cover.

Starting out, I found it hard to go far without feeling winded. I had to walk a number of times in the first few miles because of the altitude. After 4-5 miles, I found a pretty good rhythm on the downhills and could easily run 8:30-8:50. But I’d have to do walk intervals every mile to catch my breath and get my heart rate down.  I had some miles at or under 9, but most were 9:30 because of the walking. I kept thinking that I might be able to get under 4:05, but when I realized that wasn’t going to happen, I started thinking that I could do sub 4:20 and BQ for 2021 when I’d be in next age group. All I needed to do was stay under 10 minute miles for the last 8 on the flatter ground. However, that proved to be impossible as the quads and calves were too sore to perform. I ended up doing 1-2 minutes running with 30-60 second walking and doing about 12 minute miles for the last 6 miles.

I would not recommend doing this race or any other with such extremes of elevation dropping and altitude. Also, there were not enough aid stations (I was very dry mouth even though drinking 2 cups at each aid station), there were not enough course monitors or aid station helpers, and the course was poorly marked. I had to ask which way to go a few times. The course was also open to traffic and bikers going up the mountain. There were about 2 spectators along the way. It really felt like we were just dropped at the top of the mountain and left to find the way back. 

Interestingly, the race finished near Boise State, so we got to see the football stadium as we passed by. We also ran past the zoo and were happy we had at least 2 giraffes that were spectating. At the finish I was greeted by not just Jodi, but my Westmont College buddy, Cornell who lives in Boise. That was a sight for sore eyes (and legs). Cornell had found Jodi since she had finished before I did. Jodi: I was standing at the finish line waiting for John. A man approached me and said “Are you Jodi Volkman?” I was instantly worried that something had happened to John on the course. After I said yes, he said “I’m John’s friend, Cornell” and my response was “I’m sweaty and gross.”  WTH???  Haha. I guess I was still a little delirious. 

Here is Jodi’s write-up on Facebook:

Today we ran Jack and Jill Downhill Marathon in Boise. This was supposed to be my Plan B for qualifying for Boston 2020. But today was also “the last hot day” in Boise and anyone who runs with me knows that I’m not a hot weather runner. The race started at Bogus Basin ski resort, at about 6500 feet of elevation and dropped 4000 feet over the next 18 miles. By the time I hit 20 miles and flat terrain the wheels fell off. Calves are killing me! I made the mistake of trying to walk for a minute but then couldn’t find my pace again. But some great things happened today!! My chronic hip/SI joint issue wasn’t a problem at all. My shoe problem isl u solved. I love running under a full moon, which lasted the first hour of the race so the moon and starry sky was a treat.  Most importantly I didn’t give up on myself and really used my techniques for “staying in the mile” and not allowing so much negativity to dictate the outcome. Marathons are just hard!!  

I ran 4:19. My C goal was 4:15 and improving my last race time. I may have hit the C goal if I didn’t run the wrong way on the course, having to backtrack. My marathon ended up being 26.6 miles. This was my first time EVER following suggestions from elite athletes of having A, B, and C goals. In the past I only had 1 goal and I think it was very helpful to have something to strive for when the legs shut down.!!

Sunday afternoon we ate and napped and did not do any of the usual touring that we like to do after a marathon. We did hobble around The Village Shopping Center in Meridian so that Steve and Tess could show us the cool water light show and family-friendly setting.

This was Marathon #169; 29 states on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.

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Jack and Jill Marathon Seattle, WA July 27, 2019

Jack & Jill Marathon, Seattle, WA

July 27, 2019

4:03:55  368/695 Overall   2/7 in 65-69

Jodi and I ran the Jack and Jill Marathon near Seattle with a light rain the whole race and temps in the mid-60s. I was able to qualify for Boston 2020 with a time of 4:03:55 (BQ for 65-69 is 4:05) and get 2d in my age group. The first 3 miles were in a tunnel where you needed to wear a headlamp to see the ground and avoid the numerous potholes....interesting and cooler, but glad to be done with it without falling. The whole race was on a hard-packed dirt trail with uneven surface and some gravel. With the rain falling, avoiding puddles became an issue in the second half. With a gradual downhill from 2500’ to 500’, I found myself able to keep a strong pace and feel like I was holding back most of the miles. I did a lot of my miles in the 8:55-9:10 range and I needed 9:20 pace to BQ so was happy that the paces came so well. I was 2:02:13 at the half so ran a consistent pace with an overall negative split.

Jodi: I came to WA well-trained and wanting to Boston-qualify, which I did not do. I finished Marathon #15 (4:24) on a beautiful downhill course through a 2-mile tunnel, through the forest, over bridges and past waterfalls with a continuous light rain. Unfortunately, the wet gravel surface was not my thing and I stopped twice to dump pebbles out of my shoes. At that point it became a training run. No BQ for me today but it was a blast seeing John and Begered fly by me. I’m not disappointed, I just have work to do for Plan B.

This was Marathon #165; 28 states on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.

Marathon photos: View 18 Photos

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Trip and picture info below:

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On our first day in Seattle we went to the Space Needle and saw amazing views from on high including looking down through the revolving glass floor at the top. I remember when the Needle was made in time for the 1962 World’s Fair and now has become the symbol of Seattle. Katie and I even did a virtual bungee jump from the top. We ate lunch at Collections Cafe which has collections at each table. We drove through the University of Washington campus. Very cool to see football, basketball, baseball, track, soccer, tennis and crew facilities all within a mile of each other. Also, I just finished reading “The Boys in the Boat” which recounts the crew teams at UW as they prepared for 1936 Berlin Olympics. Great to see where they train and some of their memorabilia.

We enjoyed a Duckboat tour of Seattle on our first day seeing some of the highlights of the city including Pike Place Market and many house boats that people live in along Elliot Bay. We checked out the Klondike Gold Rush Museum. It displayed how in 1898, Seattle made its mark by being the jump-off spot for the Klondike Gold Rush. Miners had to carry 2000 lbs. of supplies up Chilkoot Pass; it took many trips up this 45-degree mountain.

It was nice that the race was on a Saturday so that we could go to church on Sunday. My cousin, Mark Duncan, his wife, Ginny, and their 3 youngsters live in Issaquah which was actually the town that our hotel was in. We joined them at their church, and then enjoyed lunch at their home. Sunday afternoon we saw the Mariners’ Stadium on the way to a harbor cruise around Elliot Bay. After a fish dinner on the wharf, we made our way to north Seattle to watch the Locks open and close for boats as they went between saltwater ocean and freshwater Lake Washington. We topped the day off with...ice cream! This time at Salt and Straw which has amazingly original flavors.

Monday, Katie, Jodi and I started our day at Pike’s Market. We enjoyed seeing all the fresh fish and fruit and the wide variety of wares for sale. We saw the wall where people stick their used gum...yuck. While the girls shopped, I went and took a nap; marathons do make you extra tired. The Seattle Aquarium was a bit fishy, but fun. The MoPop was a lot of fun with tributes to Seattle musicians such as Jimi Hendrix and exhibits of sci-fi and horror.

Our exploration of Seattle continued Tuesday with a trip to Volunteer Park Conservatory where we saw a wide variety of cacti, succulents, and other plants. We then went to the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit next to the Space Needle. The artist, Dale Chihuly, did some of his work in Venice where last summer we had seen a glass blowing demonstration, so it was extra meaningful to us. We then took the tour of Underground Seattle. After a fire in 1898 leveled the wooden buildings, Seattle was built in 2 levels using stone and metal with the lower level eventually being abandoned after the upper level was finished 10 years later.

We drove to Vancouver on Wednesday and took a hike in the afternoon over the Lynn Suspension Bridge where we saw guys jumping from the rocks into the river. We didn’t do that 😊, but we enjoyed the beautiful forest and river. Thursday we caught the 8AM ferry to Vancouver Island where we went to Butchardt Gardens and Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. We were in awe of the wide variety and beauty of the flowers. 30 years ago I had come here with my mom, dad, and Uncle Howie and Aunt Lena. So fun to share now with Jodi and Katie. We enjoyed walking around downtown Victoria and seeing shops and other sights such as the Empress Hotel.

Friday morning, we got to run in famed Stanley Park; this run turned out to be a highlight of the trip. There are 15 miles of trails; we did a section along the seawall with great views of Vancouver. Afterwards, we got crepes and a cream puff downtown. We also toured Gastown seeing the Steam clock, the 2010 Olympic Village area, and the A-Maze-ing Laughter monuments.

Saturday, we headed back to Seattle, but experienced a two-hour delay at the border because of all of the British Columbians heading to Washington for a long weekend since Monday was a holiday for them. But with some aggressive driving from Jodi, we made it with time to spare. Happy to get home Saturday night.

Eugene Marathon

April 28, 2019

4:27:39  1072/1484 Overall   8/18 in 65-69

       

    On a cool, crisp morning (37 degrees) that was perfect for running a marathon, I felt ready to shoot for a BQ or even a sub-4. Jodi and I ran together for the first half as she helped me go through at 2:01:40, right where I wanted to be to break 4:05. But after feeling great and dropping the pace to 9:05 for the next 3 miles, my body rebelled and told me that I needed walk. (Jodi had peeled off at 12 to finish her half-marathon in2:01:17. She then planned to meet at about mile 20 to help me finish.) So, the last 10 were run/walk and when Jodi met me again at 20, we tried to enjoy the beautiful scenery along the Willamette River and not worry about the pace. I was disappointed to not reach my goals, but I went for it and learned some things to use for next time.

            Just before the race we noticed a fast-looking Kenyan in the car next to us and figured he was going for the win. We asked for a picture, but he was in a zone and said, “maybe later”. If you look at the pictures, you can see the great note he wrote and left on our car, using the cardboard that his 2nd place crystal was in. Also, when we got home, I emailed him at the address he had included, and he called back and left a message. Very cool!

            Here’s what Jodi put on her FB page after the race: “I’m going to let John tell his own story but I had a BLAST out there!! Eugene Half Marathon for me at long run pace plus a few extra for total of 20 miles today. Nice way to kick off my marathon training. LOL #finishonthefifty)

This was Marathon #164; 27 states on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.

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            Jodi and I arrived in Oregon Duck country Friday night and enjoyed the blue skies, fresh and cool air, and Willamette River views. We had amazing pancakes at The Original Pancake House which has a lot of Duck memorabilia. There are a lot Steve Prefontaine posters as well as ones of other Duck stars in various sports. So cool to see two local track stars Hannah Waller (a teammate of Katie’s at Buchanan) and Jenna Prandini on the wall as well as Jordan Hasay. Jordan is from SLO area and I saw run and win CA state cross-country 4 times at Woodward Park.

            After breakfast we got our bibs and looked around campus seeing Autzen Stadium where the race will start and end this year while historic Hayward Field is being remodeled for the Olympic Trials in 2020. I also got very excited to also see MacArthur Court where the Ducks have a decided homecourt advantage in basketball. We really had a fun time in Eugene and hope to be back to visit it again. Jodi wants to retire there…

Louisiana Marathon in Baton Rouge

Jan. 20, 2019

4:05:20  358/890 Overall  1/13  in 65-69

            During the week leading up to the marathon, I kept checking the weather forecast hoping that it might warm-up a bit; it never did☹Race morning was 35 with wind-chill of 27 and winds of 10-12mph all morning. I didn’t toss my throwaway long sleeve shirt until mile 17 and it was still very chilly, but I didn’t care by then. Interestingly it had been 68 when I got up Sat. morning for my shake-out 15 minute run; I was drenched in sweat by the time I finished, but at 8:00AM the skies cut loose with rain and thunder and lightning causing the 10K to be cancelled and the kids’ races moved back to 10:00 when it was all blue skies. But the temperature kept dropping all day and through the night so that I wore tights for the race; one of the 4 or 5 times I’ve done that for a marathon.         I wore a stocking cap and gloves the whole race, but the chill did preserve energy and liquid as I wasn’t sweaty and my clothing wasn’t even wet when I finished.

            I followed my running plan very well with a comfortable start at right at 10 for first mile, 9:33 second mile and 9:18 3^rd mile. My goal was to be in 9:10-9:20 range as many miles as possible after that, and I did 16 miles at that pace. I ran a negative split with my first half being 2:03:01. Interestingly there were two guys in my age group who were at 1:59 in their first halves and they finished at 4:29 and 4:32. “The tortoise always beats the hare!” I was actually 5^th at the 10k mark and the guy who finished 5^th at 4:32 was still ahead of me at 18.

            This ended up being my best marathon time since CIM in Dec. of 2016, so I was very happy with the effort. The bad news is that I ended up 20 seconds short of qualifying for Boston 2020. Looking back, I can see that I needed to push harder in miles 24 and 25, but we had turned into the wind and there was an overpass that took some time off, too. That kick I used for the last 1.2 should have started earlier! You can see the tents where I got my 1^st place award and then BQ tent where I could have claimed a BQ shirt, if only…

This was Marathon #163; 27 states on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.

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            My entry into Baton Rouge started at the airport where there are photos of many famous folks from Baton Rouge including Hank Williams, Tim McGraw, Bill Conti (Rocky Theme song which played at our wedding😊), and Johnny Rivers. At the expo there was a marching band that played many songs and of course did “When the Saints Come Marching In”. Also, there was a presentation of “Foodies” discussing their favorite foods and their restaurants. The MC has written a book including many of these folks. While walking downtown I discovered a library that I “checked-out”.

            You can see the rain coming down in buckets; cute to see a rubber duckie on dash in car in my motel parking lot. (BTW, I didn’t need ice bath after this marathon; it was 26.2 miles of ice-cold weather.) My waffle at breakfast Sat morning had the Saints logo in the middle of it. And note the gas at Exxon was $1.91; great to be away from the exorbitant California taxes. After the rain let up, I went to visit the race start/finish areas which were near to the old and new state capitols. I learned a lot touring both buildings. One of the key characters in 20^th century LA history was Huey Long. He was a true “populist” and mover and shaker with very mixed opinions about him. He died from bullets that ricocheted from his bodyguards’ shots when a disgruntled man took a swing at him. The docent there explained the full story to me. Interesting to look at the newspaper clippings and, like today, the NY Times had the story completely wrong and said that it was an assassination.

            I got to visit both of their legislative houses and then go to the top of the capitol building. Thanks to Huey Long’s influence, it is the tallest of all the state capitols. I ran into a couple from San Jose and talked to them because he was wearing a Santa Rosa Half-Marathon jacket. Going to the observation deck provided views in all directions which were great to see. Loved seeing the oil refineries which help pump the energy of progress.

            There was a food festival both Sat and Sun following the races so I checked them out Sat afternoon. Nothing there that I wanted to eat before the race, so I headed over to the LSU campus where I wanted to see the famous and impressive football stadium. Next to it are also the Pete Maravich basketball arena and the track. Fun to see some of their famous football players from the past. I had a delicious spaghetti dish for pre-race pasta. Post-race I tried some jambalaya and gumbo from the food festival. Dinner was the real treat with ribs and steak from TJ’s Ribs which was conveniently across the street from my motel. And I treated myself to their Pecan Meltaway which was delicious and, I felt, well-earned! 😊 For breakfast Monday morning, I had to go to the Waffle House which is a fixture in many southern states. I was able to get grits there to go with my eggs and waffle.

            I found out from Becky Cox (her and Dave’s daughter, Abigail, graduated from LSU) that there is a live Bengal tiger housed on campus and that I had missed it on Sat. So, I set out on a quest Monday morning (thankfully it was MLK holiday so no traffic on campus) to find Mike, the Tiger. And there he was in his zoo outdoor setting between the football stadium and basketball arena. I was so close to him on Sat taking a picture of his statue, but didn’t know to look for him until Becky told me. It was great fun to see Mike XI; the first Mike lived from 1936-1956.  I also got to see many more plaques of famous players on the side of the stadium I had not seen on Sat. You’ll see such stars as Odell Beckham, Charles Alexander and the old Green Bay Packer Jim Taylor. The biggest star is Billy Cannon, the 1959 Heisman winner.

            Across the street is the also very impressive baseball facility. The neighborhood around campus is an older neighborhood as you can see. And nearby is also an old plantation that I quickly toured before I needed to catch my afternoon plane. The privy with dual holes and the cramped sleeping quarters reminded me how much better we have things today.

            I got home late Monday night so everyone was in bed except Charlotte who was glad to see me and had been wondering where I’d been the last few days.

           

           

           

           

Bowling Green, KY Marathon and Half

Nov. 4, 2018

4:20:15  36/129 Overall  3^rd in 60-69/Jodi-1:57:50  92/365  Grand Master (over 50) Champion

                        When Jodi mentioned that she’d like to visit family in Indiana and Kentucky this November, I found that Bowling Green, KY has a marathon and a half that weekend, so I signed us up. That way I could get another state done on my second go round and Jodi could get a good training-run half-marathon race in. Bowling Green looked to have some serious hills and it did not disappoint with 4 long steep ones in the first 5 miles and then in miles 14-19 since it was a two-loop course. I wanted to see where I might be in running a BQ time of 4:05 so I ran a 2:02 first half that felt great after the hills with my paces right around 9 minutes after the first 3-4 miles. But then when I hit the first big hill again in mile 14 and the wind was in my face, I knew it wasn’t going to happen. I decided to walk as needed especially on the hills and just finish. I sorely wanted to quit a couple of times. Thankfully Jodi met me on the course a few times and ran with me and kept me going. She ended up with 18 miles after running the half. After she ran me through the finish, it was so exciting to find out that she had won the Grand Masters award for fastest female over 50! That was particularly impressive after having walked the Indy half with her cousin and having been on her feet for over 4 ½ hours doing it the day before in Indy. (More on that below.) I gave back a lot of time in the second half and finished in 4:20:15. My quads and lower back were pretty sore during that second trip around the course, so I was very happy to be done. And along with Jodi’s big win, I found that I got 3^rd in 60-69 and was oldest male to place in age group awards! We also enjoyed starting and finishing at the ballpark used by the minor league baseball Bowling Green Hot Rods. I noted that a couple of current SF Giants played there: Matt Moore and Albert Suarez.

This was Marathon #162; 26 states on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian provinces.

Photos of Indy, Bowling Green, Mayfield, Nashville and Knoxville: View Photos

(The description is roughly in order of the pictures.)

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            Our trip to Indy actually started a year ago after we had run the Indianapolis Full (me)l and Half (Jodi). We spent some time with Jodi’s cousin, Clint. She offered to do the half with him if he would do some training for it because he was so inspired and hoped to get healthier and start running again. Friday night, Jodi and I ate dinner with her dad and step-mom, John and Judy and her sister-in-law, Jenni in a great restaurant which had been recommended by the owner of the Airbnb where we spent the night. It was a short visit, but so great to be able to spend some time with them while we were close to where they live in Kokomo. Well, Clint’s training turned out to be minimal, but he still wanted to go for it, and Jodi agreed to walk with him as far as he could go. She had even tried to talk him into doing the 5K instead of the half, but he was insistent on trying to do the half.

            They had many adventures including losing sight of the pack in the first mile and getting lost and trying to stay ahead of the “meat wagon”. I had dropped them off at the start and then gotten breakfast. The race course went close by where we were staying so I was able to walk to mile 9 and wait and wait and wait for them in the freezing cold. Interesting to observe the folks at the back of the pack and then finally see Clint and Jodi come into sight. It didn’t seem like Clint would get past 10 miles, but I met them at the finish and he seemed to have gotten a second wind. Since they had lost miles early attempting to locate the course, Clint insisted that they add 1.5 more miles to get 13.1 on Jodi’s Garmin. So, while they did that, I got a table at Steak and Shake so they could quickly get their hard-earned food rewards and recuperate. It may have taken 4:37, but Clint got it done! And then Jodi and I drove 3 hours to Bowling Green to get ready for the next days’ race.

           

            The Bowling Green packet pick-up and pasta dinner were at the Corvette Museum as BG is where they are made. We enjoyed being able to look around and even sit in one; close as I’ll get to driving one. We spent Saturday night in BG and ran the races on Sunday morning before heading to Mayfield, KY for the next 3 days to spend some time with Jodi’s mom and step-dad. In Mayfield we got to see the largest warehouse I’ve ever seen which is where Mike and Nancy work for a shoe-distribution company. The owner looks like Santa and has a huge guitar collection as you can see in the photos. Mayfield is similar to Mayberry, but it has a Wal-Mart and many other major chains. We saw a number of deer out in the country and enjoyed running in the cutest park. We also took a trip to Paducah where we saw some amazing historical murals along the Tennessee River overlook and the National Quilt Museum.

            On Wednesday we headed to Nashville where we took a two-hour bus tour of some of the sights there including the capitol, Ryman Auditorium and Country Music Hall of Fame, honky-tonks and recording studios, and Vanderbilt University. Plenty of things to visit in-depth on our next trip there, but we didn’t have time this trip as we quickly headed on to Knoxville to visit some of my cousins there.

            We got to see Kathy and Lloyd Smith and Darlene and John Bishop. Dar and JB retired from working close to 40 years at Camp Awana and now live in the penthouse at Kathy and Lloyd’s. It was a short time, but we shared some good meals and conversations. Dar and I even had time for a quick 9-holes on their par 3 course so that was a bonus. Jodi and I flew home from Nashville on Friday having gotten to see all those that we had hoped to see and do all the things we had hoped to get in, so it was a very successful trip covering over 987 miles in the car. We came home to Charlotte, Layla, and CIM who were very happy to have us home!