tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26386414462589225982024-02-18T23:23:31.560-08:00Just RunDistance running, both trail and road. Everything from 5k to 50 miles plus.Running Fishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01496926362590215628noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638641446258922598.post-48652346537225572222012-12-19T15:50:00.001-08:002012-12-19T15:50:54.231-08:00Summary of 2012<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">After a long hiatus of writing on this blog, I have decided that it may be a worthwhile venture and have decided to post a summary of the larger events of 2012.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unlike most blogs, I am not going to go into the step by step minutia details of each race as found on most blogs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you would like this detail of information, go to Google, type in the name of the race you are interested in and the word “blog” and you should have enough reading forage for at least an evening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have left out a couple of smaller low profile local races and will just summarize the larger or notable events of the year.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rocky Raccoon 50 mile <o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This race is down in Huntsville, Texas and is known to be a fast course, a WS qualifier, and large.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had decided to do this almost on a whim, and was able to first get on the waiting list, then make it in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The year before Ian Sharman had run an insane fast 100 miler, sub 13 hours on this course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Weather and trail conditions were perfect the evening before, but things were about to change. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the early morning hours of race day, a massive t-storm front moved through and dumped something like 4 inches of rain on the area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Large portions of the course were quickly reduced to pits of mud and water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the sandier sections the, course held up fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was able to run a sub 8 hour 50 mile and place in the top 10 so the day was a success with a WS qualifying time and a decent one at that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was planning on doing this race again in 2013, but it filled up and the waiting list was huge by early October, so if this race is on your to-do list, sign up early.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was also able to socialize with several fellow runners’ from the mid-west so this was an extra bonus and made the event even more enjoyable .</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Way Too Cool 50K <o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another large event with a ton of blog posts, so you can find all the details you could ever with for. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In a nutshell, drove over the night before, and spent the night in Auburn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Got up and ran the race, hung around for a while socializing and had a big picnic lunch then headed home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The days leading up to the race, the area had seen some rain and many of the creeks were up a bit but not raging, though you were going to get your feet wet crossing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The nice thing about this area, is that even after a rain, I have never seen the trails shoe sucking sloppy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ended up running in the 4:20 range which placed me a ways back in the field since this race draws more than a few talented trail runners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The large pot-luck picnic was fun and a hit, a must-do for next year.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Escape from Prison Hill trail half marathon<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A small trail half held in Carson City.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The course is in a large green space just outside of CC and several prisons can be seen from the course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The area has few trees and almost no shade so it is known to heat up most years, this year was no exception.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This race is mostly on single track trail with a couple miles of dirt/gravel two track/roads.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the most part you are either climbing or descending with some portions that are soft and sandy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This race favors the strong fast runners, and there were some fast runners this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Large raffle at the end with a large breakfast spread with plenty of food for all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Western States 100 mile (pacing)<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once again, I went over and worked the Forest Hill aid station during the afternoon, then paced a runner through the night for the last 38 miles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This year the runner was Dalus Kumpa, a local runner and a good one at that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pacing went off without a hitch and no major issues on the final leg of this race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dalus came into this race well prepared on all fronts with a solid summer of training, a reasonable race plan that he stuck to, and he was mentally prepared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In many ways, pacing is as or even more fun than racing and very rewarding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Currently have my name in the hat for this race and if I do not get in, I will be pacing.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tahoe Rim Trail 50 mile<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Another well run race with some great scenery. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had originally put in for the 50K then later upgraded to the 50 mile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Conditions were warm and dry and by the afternoon was bordering on hot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, I had some stomach issues starting near mile 30, but was able to work through them better than in the past and ended up running a few minutes slower than last year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the end I considered it a successful race in that I was able to work on nutrition and hydration- hit a low spot and be able to pull back out and recover to some degree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still some work to be done in this area of the longer races but I am getting better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finished 10<sup>th</sup> overall in a field of fast masters runners, no AG prize for me this time around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Free, drinks including beer, and a huge burrito bar at the finish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wish I felt better at the end of these longer races to fully enjoy the spread.</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Kokanee run half<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">A rather small race that has been around for a while near South Lake Tahoe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is one of those event that might have too many event with a half, 10k, and a 5k all at the same time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This year the half course was changed due to ongoing work in the area, so it consisted of two 10k loops. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ran in 2<sup>nd</sup> place for the majority of the race and was able to catch the front runner with less than half a mile to go and win it outright.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The course ended up being about a mile short on my Garmin, but hey, it was a great day to be racing in some great scenery, so I am not complaining.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">California International Marathon<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">This years’ race will be remembered for some time for the rain and wind, check out all the whiny blog posts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The people that came with their game faces and ready to race did fine and more than a few had PR’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The others did not have a much success or fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was all about your outlook at the start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What I experienced was steady rains and some strong south winds for the first half of the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second half was light winds with light rain or drizzle and by the end the day was starting to look nice for running .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The weather caught the race committee a bit flat footed, but for the most part, the race did a great job and still had an army of volunteers helping out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my opinion, the saving grace was the rather warm temperatures<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(in the 50’s) during the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was cool and wet at the start, but one you got moving, I was about right with SS shirt, shorts, cap and light cotton gloves. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many were over dressed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Near PR time of 2:54, but felt much better after this marathon (was actually able to step up on the curb!) than in the past.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of you are looking for a PR or BQ race, look seriously at CIM.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a fast course, I do not care what anyone says!</span></div>
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<u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Looking Forward into 2013?<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Not sure what 2013 will hold as far as racing or training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not so long ago, I came to the conclusion that my somewhat shotgun approach to racing and training is not allowing me to perform my best at any particular event.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have been racing “seriously” from road marathons up to 50 mile and even considering 100 k/m events for the upcoming year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Should I concentrate on one distance?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or just continue what I have been doing since I have been having decent success and enjoying myself for the most part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As of right now, I have a smattering of events in the queue, leaning hard to the trail end of things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most are local such as TRT and some events in the Auburn/cool area. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I may also do some fun running like a trip down to the Grand Canyon or Zion NP.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only time will tell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Just Run…. </span></div>
Running Fishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01496926362590215628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638641446258922598.post-14169471137246275302012-02-09T16:58:00.001-08:002012-02-09T16:58:45.825-08:00California International Marathon, December 4, 2011<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One again, I have waited too long to write this race report up and many of the details have escaped me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>CIM was one of the last races to qualify of the Olympic trials, so the field was deep, especially on the women’s side. It was different to be running with so many quick women in a race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Congrats to the almost 30 women and 20 men that qualified to the Olympic trials that will be held at the Houston Marathon in January!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">With all the other stuff that has been going on, I was unsure if I was even going to run this race even though I had signed up for it quite some time ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the end, I decided that I would just go do it and more or less make a plan the morning of the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seemed like recovery was slow to come after Portland marathon and I felt like I had struggled with the long up tempo runs in that I would get out about 15-17 miles and the legs would just go dead, almost like a bonk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This concerned me since I felt like I was not making good progress with my training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanksgiving morning I did the Turkey Trot 10k out at Scheels. A couple of days before I had picked up a pair of Saucony Kinvaro 2’s<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>that I intend to use for CIM , but wanted to put some miles on them to ensure that there were no major issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The morning was cold, clear and calm and I was able to run a solid 36:30 so my performance was looking OK.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Back to CIM; I ended up going over to Sacramento with Jeff who had recently been coming to the Saturday group runs and splitting a room with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We drove over, checked into the hotel and went over to the expo to pick up my packet and was able to get in and out in short order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We did walk around a bit but I had everything that I needed so no need to purchase anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jeff did pick up a few items.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We met up with the rest of the CIM group at an Italian restraunt and had dinner with the group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a fixed menu with a choice of main course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had the pasta with pesto.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After dinner we headed back watched a bit of TV and headed to bed. We were back up at 4 am got dressed and headed down to the continental breakfast then on the bus to the starting line in Folsom, near the federal penitentiary, you know, the one Johnny Cash sings about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was about a 30 minute drive to the start where we got off and hit the long line of “little blue rooms” at the start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had read in other blogs that the line of port-o-potties was impressive, and it was in real life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We climbed back on one of the buses to stay warm and hung out until about 15 minutes before the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shortly before the starting time, I headed for the start line, placed the majority of my warm clothes in the goodie bag from the expo with my number on it and tossed it on the appropriate truck to be picked up at the finish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did keep on a cheap, disposable quarter zip top until moments before the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few minutes before the start, I decided that I needed to hit the bushes one last time. On the way out, I bashed my knee and lower leg on a large rock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This scraped it up good, but I walked it off and by the time I got back to the starting line, it felt fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had decided to run near the three hour pace group for a portion of the race then some time near the half way point evaluate how I was feeling and evaluate and act accordingly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I lined up near the three hour pacer and the countdown began.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Off everyone went and I made a concerted effort to hold back since I had gone out so quick, way too quick in Portland, plus the start here was down hill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I caught up to the three hour pace group at about mile two, so they must have gone out quick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At this point the pace felt relaxed, but I know that I was moving well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I decided to that the plan was to just hold this pace and see what would happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As before I made a conscious effort to take water at all the aid stations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For fuel, I had packed 4 vanilla Gu’s in a pair of shorts with pockets. The cups were small at most of the aid stations, so after spilling more than I consumed, I started getting water bottles off the tables at the start of the aid stations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These were much easier to get water in me than on me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was to later find out that the water bottles were for the elite runners. Oh, well, I was running slower than even the woman’s QT, so I figured that I was not taking water from anyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bottles were great when I needed more than a splash to get a Gu down. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As the miles ticked away it is always interesting to see people ebb and flow around you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New faces will appear at your side then move ahead or fall back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some you run with for a long time others just for a moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some you see once, never to be seen again and others you play hop-scotch for the entire race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The flow of fellow runner is dynamic in that your are running in a pack then, you find yourself alone- new faces and “old friends” something to distract the mind in the middle of the race. </span></div>Running Fishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01496926362590215628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638641446258922598.post-77398232387155497792012-02-09T16:57:00.001-08:002012-02-09T16:57:20.499-08:00Scheels Turkey Trot 10k, 2011<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Like so many turkey trot races across the country, this race was held Thanksgiving morning at the Scheels store in Sparks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This race was just a couple of weeks out from California International Marathon, so I was undecided until the last minute, but one could sign up the morning of the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew that this was one of the more popular races in the area, and packet pick up was the day before so I headed over to the store to see if I could register, but to no avail- only on-line or day of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had picked up a pair of flats that I intended to run CIM in, so the race was intended to be the last speed workout and a shakedown for the shoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I headed over the morning of the race earlier that I normally would since I expected lines for the day of registration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The registration table was already doing a brisk business when I arrived but it did not take too long to get a bib number, goodie bag and the “spiffy” turkey trot sweatshirts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hooked up with Jeff and we did a warm up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the time we made it back to the parking lot, substantial lines had formed for the registration and the port-o-potties.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We headed out again, made a pit stop in the bushes, and returned to the starting line to be informed that the race was going to be delayed 15 minutes to people could make it through the registration line. In the end, many did not get registered though they were allowed to run anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The goal for the race was to run about 37 minutes, so quick, but not race full out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The race started a few minutes late, though I do not think that it was the full 15 minute delay announced earlier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At about the first mile I found myself running with Ramona Sanchez and I hung with her for a large portion of the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At about mile 4, Ramona started to pull away and in the end she put about 15 seconds on me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ended up 5<sup>th</sup> overall for the registered runners and about 10<sup>th</sup> or so with the “bandits” with a time of 36:46.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hung around a while and talked with several people then headed home to finish getting dinner in the oven.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Several weeks later, I received a padded envelope in the mail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a metal for 1<sup>st</sup> in age group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Interesting to say the least with white turkey wings, a pearl and a red ribbon bow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I suspect that producing different and creative designs can be a bit of a challenge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In all, there were a bit over a thousand registered runners and I suspect another couple hundred that were not able to get registered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other than the hiccups with registrations and the need for more port-o-potties, this is a flat, fast course that is worthy of a PR attempt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>Running Fishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01496926362590215628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638641446258922598.post-7575675854672952102011-11-25T14:45:00.000-08:002011-11-25T14:45:41.876-08:00The Bomb; when other things become more important than running.<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Not much going on in my running world right now, other than Californian International Marathon in early December.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Training for CIM has been tough since I do not feel recovered from Portland marathon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ON the non-running portion of my life, the last three weeks have been totally out of control with two major life events happening and almost colliding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">First off, my wife was diagnosed with a brain tumor, has undergone surgery and will start radiation and chemo soon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yup, that was a BIG bomb that got dropped on us!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She started having headaches, went to the doctor, meds, return visit for a cat scan and was sent directly to the hospital for a couple of nights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Surgery followed less than a week later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>MJ, recovering from major surgery, does sleep more, but that is to be expected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More Dr. appointments to follow including a consult with UC –SF.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After hearing the original news, my parents drove down<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>from Oregon<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and stayed with us for a week before heading home to Wisconsin.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">THEN early in the morning on November 18, I was awakened by the smell of smoke and strong winds shaking the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Got up for a drink of water and the front room was a glow of orange.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A look out the window revealed that the hills above the house were ablaze.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Went down stairs and woke up dad and the two of us stood at the kitchen window and watched the fire slowly march down the hill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSRLS8gxojJw1wY5mikXeH7P678VijhAaNQP4cfv7wybz5tNf1aZRsW3iCfx30h6h4VogqyzhKE8TYN6Jix0toPuAwMASmPPcwvgzwKdavOlB-JWJie52f9qOEFzjxmqOuBpvFGeAjoY/s1600/IMG_0726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="300px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdSRLS8gxojJw1wY5mikXeH7P678VijhAaNQP4cfv7wybz5tNf1aZRsW3iCfx30h6h4VogqyzhKE8TYN6Jix0toPuAwMASmPPcwvgzwKdavOlB-JWJie52f9qOEFzjxmqOuBpvFGeAjoY/s400/IMG_0726.JPG" width="400px" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqkgWEvjFqk_xtAyFKmtmRGOm0oznNcADhdCX04yQcbC7vrzhtaVq_WGhJDgg2lqg9xmETcMDOWezfmC2D60g_PSPL4e3us2XIfNrTOMM6l5YWS-22WPlzvpnoP-BCaIZC7KlKVGYTRfc/s1600/IMG_0724.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="300px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqkgWEvjFqk_xtAyFKmtmRGOm0oznNcADhdCX04yQcbC7vrzhtaVq_WGhJDgg2lqg9xmETcMDOWezfmC2D60g_PSPL4e3us2XIfNrTOMM6l5YWS-22WPlzvpnoP-BCaIZC7KlKVGYTRfc/s400/IMG_0724.JPG" width="400px" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The winds were driving the fire downhill in to town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soon the fire was close to McCarrain Blvd, a large four lane road so I started getting out the garden hoses, shovels and started wetting down the deck and the bushes at the back of the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fire jumped McCarrain Blvd and once it got going good, raced down the canyon quite quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fire passed by our house, from one fence line to the other in less than a minute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our downhill neighbors have (had) dense scrubby pines at the edge of the yard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pines went up in flames and I was concerned that the fire was going to get into a large Jeffery pine that is quite close to the house then onto our roof.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>About this time dad is yelling at me to leave to leave the house, so I dropped the hose and headed for the waiting cars that were running in the street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sherriff were going door to door evacuating people and a wildfire crew pulled up in front of the house, I assume to put out our neighbors burning pines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We drove down the hill to Horseman’s Park to regroup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the equipment in the unoccupied fire station was still there though I could see some people walking about inside getting stuff ready.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where were they two hours before when the fire was still up on the hill and away from the majority of the houses?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We left there and headed down to the Walmart on south McCarrain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We waited in the parking lot for an hour or two then I gave a call to Sharron at about 4:30 and explained the situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She said come on over so we caravanned to her house where she had coffee and some breakfast items out and waiting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We turned on the TV and watched as everything unfolded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We spent the majority of the day hanging out at Sharron’s house, watching the news and chatting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nick, dad and myself made a run back over to the house to check on stuff and to pick up all my parents items, since they planned on leaving to go home on Friday anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While we were there, we put out multiple hotspots in neighbors yard. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkrXUFLTHPadoVlNgqLHCX5d5DZl5ZMzrIbqoIF0XOE5Zt6ijmDX-eOXQx1T8-mBQqX-thQY_-Ud-T-_FlLjpNNR5nOBukMbyaBfI7X83ixeCqKqBTp_L7ER5rTJGTu1efzbYfejmAZbo/s1600/IMG_0720.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="300px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkrXUFLTHPadoVlNgqLHCX5d5DZl5ZMzrIbqoIF0XOE5Zt6ijmDX-eOXQx1T8-mBQqX-thQY_-Ud-T-_FlLjpNNR5nOBukMbyaBfI7X83ixeCqKqBTp_L7ER5rTJGTu1efzbYfejmAZbo/s400/IMG_0720.JPG" width="400px" /></a></div><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Before the fire (above)<span style="mso-tab-count: 3;"> </span>After the fire Below)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCPWvF9jKZ4HChi5pq11s2eoyYs4G6ALhIoNPy-VYkdIOX_v-oe19KpAzTYaA_o9lt4YuLd-NA84o4T7ANj3PiBSj8WClBDwzptHqxignfz44xkL7diOHm0JiWtHVwtTjzpTsqCmpDwD8/s1600/IMG_0733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="300px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCPWvF9jKZ4HChi5pq11s2eoyYs4G6ALhIoNPy-VYkdIOX_v-oe19KpAzTYaA_o9lt4YuLd-NA84o4T7ANj3PiBSj8WClBDwzptHqxignfz44xkL7diOHm0JiWtHVwtTjzpTsqCmpDwD8/s400/IMG_0733.JPG" width="400px" /></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We just walked through back yards, when we found something burning we would just grab the nearest garden hose and put it out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By now the wind was blowing much harder than it had in the morning with gusts to 60 mph plus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We loaded up my parent’s stuff and I grabbed a few other things as well and headed back over to Sharron’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkXaOdeXSbg1uXEkwqZNBuINgwvVz6We1gs0eCYUofB6qqpj4NSyVU7yCYpjKXqVi5Fy0-2nlK-rEJhoO7RG9sfGIjxpo9kiKobKJIFU5zXA5JZlhAld8mfC3dlzi8emglB540BMiYP-Q/s1600/ht_reno_fire_nt_111118_wg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="360px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkXaOdeXSbg1uXEkwqZNBuINgwvVz6We1gs0eCYUofB6qqpj4NSyVU7yCYpjKXqVi5Fy0-2nlK-rEJhoO7RG9sfGIjxpo9kiKobKJIFU5zXA5JZlhAld8mfC3dlzi8emglB540BMiYP-Q/s640/ht_reno_fire_nt_111118_wg.jpg" width="640px" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">An impressive picture of the fire I found on the internet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our house would be near center, just below the flames.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Calibri;">About noon Friday, my parents got on the road headed home and made it as far as Wendover on the Nevada-Utah border, a full day since dad had been up since about 12:30 am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nick and I returned after dinner to the house - I was concerned about having the house vacant with no power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much to our surprise, the power was on so we watched some TV.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sent out some e-mails then went to bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got up at about 7:30 to find that we had a dusting of snow during the night. The weather was calm and I headed down the hill to the NSET group run and got in a nice long run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Returned to the house at 10:30 to find that nick was still sleeping so I took a shower, got Nick up and headed back across town for some breakfast and pick everyone up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Back at Sharron’s, I had some breakfast and loaded everyone up some time shortly after noon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Returning home, the hose smells a bit like smoke, the back yard is black, and the wind has blown stuff around but other than that everything is fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A big blast of Febreeze in the house made a big difference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanks Barry and Sharron for all the help!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In the end, the fire burned just short of 2 thousand acres and destroyed 29 homes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A drive-by of several homes indicated to my untrained eye that the reason that they were lost was because of a lack of defensible space around them or wood shingle roofs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Myself included, like to have trees near the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Several of the burned houses had thick evergreens such as pines and/or junipers right up against or overhanging the structure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will be doing some landscape cleanup to rid the house of some fuel ladders. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkq1llzhFpfbUS44MTpTzd8sRqB_LY_PcsMu1yrWmkTxUdkd7-T0-ZLhf_5zgw0AUNqzGQDMLfgpvVAifJayHyK9e8Jq25mJXCnSpfocSGCJOGxkpS5r8JFc2WzhqhedefP6Ux17ZQ5J4/s1600/IMG_0750.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="300px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkq1llzhFpfbUS44MTpTzd8sRqB_LY_PcsMu1yrWmkTxUdkd7-T0-ZLhf_5zgw0AUNqzGQDMLfgpvVAifJayHyK9e8Jq25mJXCnSpfocSGCJOGxkpS5r8JFc2WzhqhedefP6Ux17ZQ5J4/s400/IMG_0750.JPG" width="400px" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A dark picture, but all the open space in the foreground was burned</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Right before MJ went into surgery, my car was hit. It was a low speed collision so it was not all that bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A kid backed right into the passenger side door as I drove through a parking lot. It crushed in the door and broke the glass in the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When the glass broke, it went everywhere in the car including all the way to the driver’s side floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I saw him coming, but there was not enough time to get out of the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The damage was to the door only so they replaced the door and everything is fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Several people have told me that things come in threes, so I hope that I am done for a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Something to be said for a “simple routine and boring “ life when you have stuff like this going on.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjl90owvN1sM_sT4yO3Ag1sD6vyJAUgttbff-LQrh913Kwuvs0b7fPTuIezLqaFFSXWV3ch7PPDBWSEkTHMTIyyy1GFRufIVbe5EM9pOGO7HngDs0V_EBWwj7Yy5VWatPuXuI7JJyJsoM/s1600/IMG_0745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="480px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjl90owvN1sM_sT4yO3Ag1sD6vyJAUgttbff-LQrh913Kwuvs0b7fPTuIezLqaFFSXWV3ch7PPDBWSEkTHMTIyyy1GFRufIVbe5EM9pOGO7HngDs0V_EBWwj7Yy5VWatPuXuI7JJyJsoM/s640/IMG_0745.JPG" width="640px" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We still have some great views <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>off the deck!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
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</div><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span></div>Running Fishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01496926362590215628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638641446258922598.post-8197159437038770902011-10-13T14:17:00.000-07:002011-10-13T14:17:17.962-07:00Portland Marathon 2011<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">PORTLAND MARATHON 2011</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I signed up for the Portland Marathon some time ago when I found out that my sister and parents were running it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For 2011, running, training, and racing has been all over the board, with my goals and races jumping back and forth from trails to the road and back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have been racing distances from 10k to 50 miles on road and trails, so even a month or so out from this race I did not know what to expect as far as my marathon conditioning. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I neared race day, it became apparent that I was in better shape than I expected, mostly because of the huge base I had built up over the summer getting ready for races like <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the Tahoe Rim Trail 50 miler.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still felt that I was a bit weak in the speed department and the sustained race-pace tempo runs were the ones that I continued to struggle with.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We had originally planned to drive up to Portland from Reno, but just a couple of weeks out it became apparent with work schedules that driving was going to become complicated so we purchased airline tickets. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the end, a very good choice due to the first snow storm of the year hitting the Sierras less than a week before the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mass transit in Portland was great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One can fly in to PDX, catch the MAX (light rail) into downtown where we stayed at the Embassy Suites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Race headquarters were 6-8 blocks away at the Hilton as was the race start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mass transit is free within down town so it is easy and cheap to get around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are plenty of eateries and shopping so there is no real need to travel unless you would like to see to some of the sights such as Washington Park, home of the rose gardens and the zoo.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I went over to packet pickup and the expo at the Hilton Friday night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A good choice since the crowds were manageable and the lines short.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also picked up three pairs of shoes from the Roadrunner return rack booth for $135 a good price since I picked up a near new pair of Nike Vomero 6 and Brooks Cascadia’s , both<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>$130 each retail. Rounded out the 3 with a pair of pink Lunar racers for MJ. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The night before the race, I laid out everything and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>got it ready including pinning on the number, loading pockets with<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>gels, and attaching the chip to my shoe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the past, I have raced marathons in a singlet, but each time I would get all chaffed up so this time I picked a light weight technical short sleeve shirt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is what I do all my long training runs in so why not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also a billed hat and put a pair of sun glasses on my head as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why I thought I might need sun glasses in Portland is beyond me, must be just force of habit from sunny Reno.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shoes <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>selected were a well worn pair of Mizuno Wave Rider 12’s that I had picked up in the spring at a shoe sale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lighter than the Nike Vomero’s that I train in, but still provide more protection than just a pair of racing flats. I also raced for the first time in a pair of toe socks since I had done several long runs in them and they provided protection from blisters between my toes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Overall, the selection of gear worked great, with minimal (almost none) chaffing and no blisters on my feet (the toe socks get a thumbs up from me!).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This particular pair of shoes were nearing the end of their life and my feet and legs felt it near the end of the race. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The morning of the race, I got up at 5:30, got dressed, applied a bit of body glide to suspect regions and headed down stairs for the continental breakfast that the hotel was gracious enough to provide in the lobby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had a small Danish, half a cup of coffee, hit the bathroom and headed up the street to the start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found the “A” corral after asking a couple of people<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and was hanging out near the back when my sister and friend found me so we just hung out and chatted till very near the start of the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were in the “B” corral, just around the corner from me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wheelchair racers started at about 6:58, there was just a handful, say 6-10 and the “A” group started about a minute after them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The race started fairly quickly, and I was a bit concerned that my Garmin 405, that was linking up slowly would be ready for the start. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was, and we actually started about a minute sooner than scheduled, no complaints here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The countdown began 5… 4… 3.. 2.. one.. GO! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Between the downhill start and the mix of half and full marathon racers everyone got out quite quick including myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the adrenalin pumping, I torched off a 6:10 first mile, more than just a bit fast, so I pulled back a bit but still were clipping the spits off faster than expected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The course makes a loop through the down town area then heads north out into a warehouse/ industrial area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The streets were a bit on the rough side with multiple rail track crossings, uneven manhole covers and other irregularities in the pavement, so I was spending a lot of time watching the ground. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This portion is an out and back so I was able to see the leaders blazing away up front as the made the return.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After I had made the turn and was heading back in, I was able to see several people that I knew that were heading out still and shout or wave at them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soon the half and full split apart and the pack thinned dramatically and I found myself running alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also noticed sweat dripping rapidly off the bill of my hat- was I working that hard?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, a light misty rain was starting to fall but I had not noticed since I was spending a lot of time looking at the ground and not up. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soon signs for “checkpoint Charlie” at the St Johns bridge where you had to have a bib number to proceed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is done in an effort to prevent “bandits”, or non registered runners in the race. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Also, at multiple spots on the course, there are chip reader mats that act as electronic checkpoints to prevent shortcuts for those unscrupulous runners that just have to cheat. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The St Johns bridge approach is the only real up hill on the entire course and the climb actually is longer than I expected since it does not end until the middle of the bridge it’s self. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Down the other side and couple quick turns and steep sections, than into a residential area perched on the river bluff that overlooked a large portion of the city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many locals had turned out to cheer on the runners, socialize, picnic, and reports of an unofficial aid station with a beer keg!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is always good to see non-runners supporting and having a good time at a race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The course wound along the edge of the bluff for a while than a big downhill back into the river bottom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The course crosses back over the river, make a loop on a off ramp then makes a bee line for the finish area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At this point things are starting to get a bit hectic again with the two races merged back together, plenty of spectators, bands and the like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>About a mile from the finish, I am “in the zone” of just getting done, tunnel vision and all; I pass a fire station just as an engine is pulling out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A gal running the half, steps out of the way of the engine and right into me where I just about run her over. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With about a third of a mile a 20 something comes past me, I try to with him but do not have much left and let him go and just try to pick it up for the run into the finish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The finish is a bit odd in that there are a couple sharp corners<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>right at the end so you cannot see the finish line until you are about a half block away. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finish: <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>stop the watch at 2:54 they wrap me in a space blanket and move me up into the restricted finish area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I pass on the rose, and get some water and wander around waiting for my sister and others.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Overall the race went well, conditions were cool and overcast with just a touch of misty rain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did go out way too hard (fast), <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and from the waist down I felt really beat up. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the second half of the race the legs were heavy, sore and stiff, I just could not make them go faster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aerobically, it felt good and never near or at the “red line”, so aerobically, I ran within myself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The drop in elevation of 4,500 feet Reno to near sea level Portland must have helped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finish area had plenty of food, but like my experience with the St Louis marathon, water was lacking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Portland, the tables of refreshments were almost a block long, both sides, but had only one water station right near the finish line with small cups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I went through the first time and took several, then later, I went back and stood there and drank about five more cups as the gent behind the table refilled the cup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the race, I had the chills pretty good so I stood around shaking in my foil blanket.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had a fruit popsicle since that was the only thing that remotely looked good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hung around the runners only finish area for a while and hooked up with Anthony from Reno who ran around a 3:03 and later my sister (3:29).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We made our way out of this area and out to the family meeting area, that was mostly a mob scene. Looked for the family for some time them decided to head back to the hotel room to find them and get a shower plus some warmer clothes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jumped the MAX train made the short trip back to the hotel where they were waiting for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The family was at the finish area and saw me finish, but we missed each other in the crowd or they left right before I came out if the runners only area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I took a quick shower, dressed warmly and headed back to the finish area to see mom and dad finish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hooked back up with Steph via the cell phone and saw the parent s finish (5:18).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another PR by 40 or so minutes. Just then the family made it back out to the finish area as they came out of the runners only area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all headed over to the clothes pickup area, then over to the start line for some family pictures with or finishers metals, then headed different directions for lunch and to get cleaned up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We went and had Tai food, picked up bags from the hotel bell stand and hoped the MAX once more to say good-by to Steph and the parents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Steph decided to drive us out the airport, with a slight delay in not being able to find the vehicle in the funky parking garage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Made it to the airport fine, got tickets and through the PDX security in record time for me where MJ headed to Anchorage for work and I took the boys home to Reno.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the time I made it home, it had been a huge day and I was one tired puppy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Slept through the alarm clock the next morning, but still got everyone where they needed to be on time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Occupy Portland, demonstration against Wall Street was going on very near the finish area, but both groups were able to peacefully coexist for the most part, but this did add to the chaos of down town with more fencing and people than normal.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So there were four Starostkas in the Portland marathon this year, all finished with no issues. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To add to this, my brother and wife also did a marathon the same day. So a total of six family members completed a marathon on 10/9.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not many can say that! </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now that I have done multiple “big” races, a few things that may help you to be more successful on race day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stay relaxed and do not stress out over stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, I know traveling can be stressful, but do as much homework beforehand for things like time and location of packet pickup, start location and the like. Print hard copies of reservations (hotel, airline, race registration..) that way if there is an issue, you have physical proof that it exists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As for racing, have a good idea, or better yet, know exactly that you are going wear during the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trying out new shoes on race day might end up making your feet a bloody mess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Use what you know is going to work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Prep for race day-pin numbers, attach chips, load pockets, then lay everything out the night BEFORE the race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you are like me, the brain is not fully functional at o-dark-thirty in the am.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The day before and during race day, eat, do, and wear things that you know will work - changing anything may produce a nasty surprise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Be conservative on your food selections and activities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That super hot curry for you prerace dinner might not work so well on race day if this type of food is something “special” or different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have a race plan (realistic goal(s) and know your splits or pace) <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">but </b>be willing to adjust goals and plans depending on race conditions or how you are feeling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If conditions are extreme, (hot, cold, windy …) it may not be a good day to try for a PR.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think most of the above comments are fairly basic and common sense, in that of you race much at all, you should be doing most of these even if you do not realize it. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Portland Marathon is a good, solid, well run race that would be worth doing again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Am I going to run Portland in 2012? Doubtful; just too many other good races out there and so little time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Enjoy and <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Just Run .</b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
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</div>Running Fishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01496926362590215628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638641446258922598.post-3408747319569534032011-10-06T09:06:00.000-07:002011-10-06T09:06:08.746-07:00Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to RimThis is intended to JUSt be a starting point for planning your R2R2R adventure. <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Running the Grand Canyon </span></u></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Planned date May 5-6, 2012</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">** I have done my best to provide accurate information, however, weather, venders, rules, regulations and others change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To ensure a safe and enjoyable trip, personally check all facts.**</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In recent years, running the Grand Canyon as become immensely popular, and why not, it is a great adventure with scenery that is second to none.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the most popular routes is to run from the south rim to the north rim and back in a single day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have used the word “run” here but as you will see, it is more of a fast hike for a large portion for reasons that will become apparent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bit of Background Information</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Grand Canyon is a National Park and is quite popular with millions visiting each year. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most visitors come to the South Rim, peer into “the hole”, have a meal at one of the restaurants, maybe spend a night and head off to other sites.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Few venture to the north rim or to the river far below.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had been like the majority of the visitors, just gone to the south rim until last spring when I did the R2R2R as part of a group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For me, I found that there is many more interesting sites and “things” in the bottom than on the rim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Due to the popularity of the park, reservations for lodging need to be made as far in advance as possible!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Conditioning/ how hard is this trek?</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">R2R2R is no cake walk!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would consider it comparable to a heavy/strenuous 50 mile trail race or a solid 100K.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you can complete a 50 mile trail race within the cutoff time, you should be OK. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most do this as a “fast hike” instead of a race so you are not pushing for speed the entire time. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a lot a decent and accent, none of it is overly steep, but once you start climbing, you will not get a rest for quite some time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The trail in the steeper portions is dominated by water bars, logs placed across the trail forming large uneven steps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most are odd lengths (half a stride too long or short), so you are always having to adjust making running difficult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The trails are well marked and 8 plus feet wide in all but a few places.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All trail intersections are well marked so if you can read, you should not get lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If in doubt, take the trail more traveled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are multiple blogs on the web documenting this crossing with many pictures to give you an idea on what the trail is like and the perpetual awesome views.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The recent Runners World (September 2011?) article in my mind is a good how NOT to do the crossing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adjust goals and expectations according to the conditions (they did not).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If things are not going well, turn back BEFORE it is too late!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Run</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The Rim to Rim to Rim (R2R2R) is about 45 miles, give or take a few miles depending on your route.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The traditional route is to start on the South Rim and descend on the South Kaibab Trail to Phantom Ranch at the river’s edge, then ascend the North Kaibab Trail to the North Rim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The return trip is back down the North Kaibab Trail to Phantom Ranch and ascend the South Rim via the Bright Angel Trail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This route avoids the mule trains in the morning and provides water on for the climb out in the afternoon. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no water on the South Kaibab Trail between the South Rim trailhead and Phantom Ranch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bright Angel Trail is a slightly longer route but has the advantage of when you reach the top, you are only steps away from the lodge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Elevation change for the South Rim is 4,620 feet and North Rim is 5,841 feet (the North Rim is roughly 1,000 feet higher than the South), so about 21,000 feet of climbing and decent combined!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Popular seasons to R2R2R is spring or fall when rim temperatures are cool and the canyon bottom (Phantom Ranch) is warm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Temperatures on both rims can be downright cold during the winter and will include substantial snow accumulation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Temperatures in the bottom can easily climb over 100 degrees F in the summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I prefer to avoid both.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last weekend of April if 2010 found temperatures in the upper 20’s on the south rim at 4:30 AM and mid 70’s at Phantom Ranch in the afternoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like most high elevation deserts, temperatures in the Grand Canyon drop quickly when the sun goes down. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Equipment:</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A hydration pack is highly recommended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A pack allows one to carry plenty of water plus all the other items need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will need to carry a full days worth the food (you can buy some items a Phantom Ranch so a bit of cash is good), extra clothes, extra pair of sox ,first aid kit and some emergency TP.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The trick will to be self sufficient without over packing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other items include a well broke-in set of trail shoes, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>clothes appropriate for the weather,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>hat, sun glasses, sun screen- well the same stuff that you would bring an a long self supported trail run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Phantom Ranch does not stock soft drinks (just ice tea, lemonade, and beer) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>so if you would like some “rocket fuel” (Coke or Mtn Dew) to get you up the final grade, bring some down and cache it somewhere near Phantom Ranch- I am planning on doing this next time!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A person could get $5 (or more) a can for a cold Coke on a hot day at Phantom Ranch.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Developed Water Sources:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Many of the developed water sources are seasonal due to freezing weather during the winter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Check with the park visitor center to determine availability. There is an adequate number of developed water sources along the trail<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to meet your needs if you are carrying a hydration pack, unless it is very hot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The longest waterless stretch I encountered in 2010 was from Pump House, to the North Rim and back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were several seeps and springs between the Pump House and the North Rim that I could have used if I needed, I did not (one should purify this water).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">South Kaibab Trail -At the trail head ONLY.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No water until Phantom Ranch</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bottom -Phantom Ranch (year round)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">North Kaibab Trail - Cottonwood Campground (Seasonal), Pump House (seasonal), Roaring Springs, a short distance off the main trail (Seasonal)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">North Rim Trailhead - (Seasonal) do not depend on it</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>** expect all amenities on the North Rim to be Closed**</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bright Angel Trail - Indian Gardens, 3 mile Rest House, 1 ½ mile Rest House </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="http://www.grand.canyon.national-park.com/hike.htm"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.grand.canyon.national-park.com/hike.htm</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Travel to and From the South Rim</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Getting to and from the South Rim can be a bit of a pain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>South Rim is 4 ½ hour drive from Las Vegas, NV and a bit less from Phoenix, AZ.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From Reno, NV it is a solid 12 ½ hour drive!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Flying to either Las Vegas or Phoenix and renting a car is the way to go for all but the most cash strapped students.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You <u>MIGHT </u>be able to take the shuttle from Sky Harbor airport (Phoenix) to the Grand Canyon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Check into it, and get back with me!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="http://www.arizonashuttle.com/flagstaff-grandcanyon"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.arizonashuttle.com/flagstaff-grandcanyon</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">South Rim Lodging and Food</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We stayed at the Maswik lodge at the South Rim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two queen rooms are $92 a night and there is a large cafeteria on site to meet everyone’s dinning (fueling) needs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rooms were a bit small and dated, but were clean and a welcome site at the end of the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The hot shower and climbing into a warm clean bed were major pluses. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>BOOK EARLY!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/grand-canyon-maswik-lodge-412.html"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/grand-canyon-maswik-lodge-412.html</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">You can buy groceries in the park village, though they are expensive and limited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bring your favorite gels, drinks and other trail snacks the like with you!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is also a Safeway in Williams, AZ on I-40, the last “real” town before reaching the South Rim so you might want to pull in here for your favorite libations and snacks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Remember the liquid and gel restrictions for carry-on luggage on all airlines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t have to give up items to TSA!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Date and Time</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It is a ways off still, but reservations need to be made.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am looking at the weekend of <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">May 5-6, 2012.</b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is roughly the same time as last year and I think the weather was about ideal- cold, but warmed right up as soon as the sun rose; <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>not too hot - mid to upper 70’s in the afternoon in the bottom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We also have a full moon this weekend as well, -good for that early start.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Friday, May 4<sup>th</sup> travel day</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Saturday, May 5<sup>th</sup> – Do the run</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Start the adventure at 4:00-4:30 am at the South Kaibab trailhead</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sunday, May 6<sup>th</sup> travel day – return home</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Monday, May 7<sup>th</sup> return to work for some much needed rest</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Blogs and other Sites </span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Google R2R2R for a selection experiences others have had!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is a couple to get you started.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Here is a blog from the one in the group I went with last year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You might even see a picture of me!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="http://ilove2runraces.blogspot.com/2011/05/rim-to-rim-to-rim-scenic-run.html"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Calibri;">http://ilove2runraces.blogspot.com/2011/05/rim-to-rim-to-rim-scenic-run.html</span></a><u></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Others</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm</span></a><u></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/grand-canyon-maswik-lodge-412.html"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.grandcanyonlodges.com/grand-canyon-maswik-lodge-412.html</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="http://www.arizonashuttle.com/flagstaff-grandcanyon"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.arizonashuttle.com/flagstaff-grandcanyon</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="http://www.grand.canyon.national-park.com/hike.htm"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.grand.canyon.national-park.com/hike.htm</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>**This is a good link with a spreadsheet of distances, elevation changes and amenities**</span></div>Running Fishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01496926362590215628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638641446258922598.post-21198613844988719422011-10-04T14:14:00.000-07:002011-10-04T14:14:41.339-07:00The Reno Running Scene 2011<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Once again, I have not posted on here in a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much as happened since the move to Reno including running some great races and runs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reno is a great running town with an elevation of about 4,500 feet and varied terrain for both the trail runner and road enthusiast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the summer, one can run in the high Sierras in and around Lake Tahoe for some killer scenery and training. When one gets pushed out of the high country, you can run in town or head east into the desert and run in the hills where precipitation is much less.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The local racing circuit is starting to pick up some momentum on the road end with plenty of trail runs during the summer in the Tahoe area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When one gets tired of this, just head over “the hill” Sierra Mountains to Auburn, Sacramento or even the bay area for more racing.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So what have I done as far as runs and races since I have been in Reno.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first race was way back in the spring when I did the Labor of Love 50 miler down in the Spring Mountains near Las Vegas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This race had several ups and downs for me, mostly my own fault for not racing smart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First off was the ridiculously fast pace that I started out at with multiple miles in the low seven minute pace and not taking on enough fuel or water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This all caught up to me about 30 miles in and made the last portion of the race not much fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the last 6 miles, it started to blow and snow, you know the huge wet flakes that stick to everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Between the bonk, wet snow, wind and being underdressed, this was not much fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Self induced so cannot complain too much. Ended up with a time in the low 8 hours, but could not move or function very well for the rest of the weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gota learn somehow! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Calico Racing has several other races that have peaked my interest, the biggest problem is the 8+ hour drive down to the Las Vegas area! Check out Calico Racing they have some interesting themed races.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Race link:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://calicoracing.squarespace.com/labor-of-love/"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Calibri;">http://calicoracing.squarespace.com/labor-of-love/</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next up was the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Start at the South Rim down to the bottom, up the North Rim and back. This has become quite popular and a must do for many trail runners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you can do a heavy (hard) 50 miler, you can do this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS RUN, the scenery is out of this world! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is not a light undertaking and the Park Service HIGHLY discourages hike just to the river and back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The record is something like an insane sub 8 hour round trip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plan a<u> full</u> day starting before dawn and getting back as the sun goes down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have a full write up that I will likely post, keep an eye out for it if this run peaks your interest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Want to know more just run R2R2R through a search engine and you should have plenty of reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A must do! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is a link to a fellow runner’s blog of the run, even some pictures of me!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://ilove2runraces.blogspot.com/2011/05/rim-to-rim-to-rim-scenic-run.html"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Calibri;">http://ilove2runraces.blogspot.com/2011/05/rim-to-rim-to-rim-scenic-run.html</span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A bit of a racing break during the late spring and early summer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This included moving the family out to Reno now that school was done for the year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did go over the hill to Auburn / Cool California area and run on the maze of trails along the American River.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This area is the final leg(s) of the Western States 100 trail run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These trail runs were a great break from the cold and brown of Reno winter, since this side of the Sierras is much warmer and gets more rain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This provides a green lush environment that after a winter in the desert, has the character of Jurassic Park. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A great break! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Went over with a group to run in, or support/train during the Cool 50K. </span><a href="http://www.wtc50k.com/"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.wtc50k.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the race, I was able to get in a nice 20 something mile run, shout encouragement to the participants and enjoy a nice picnic lunch afterwards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A good day was had by all. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In June I worked the Forest Hill aid Station and paced at <u>WS 100</u>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Forest Hill is the largest aid station of this historic race and takes on a festive atmosphere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When a runner appears, it becomes all business to ensure any and all of the runners needs are met.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I worked the aid station for most of the afternoon and then hooked up with a couple of gals that were looking for a pacer for their husband.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Marlow had attempted to complete WS two previous times, but had not succeeded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Right after dark, I hooked up with Marlow and off we went into the night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a pacer it is your job to take care of or make good decisions for your runner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After 50 plus miles of running, the ol’ CPU is not functioning at 100%!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Marlow was a good sport and ate and drank when I thought he should.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the end we completed 100 miles within the allotted 30 hours, but even for me, it seemed like I had been on my feet a long time!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>GREAT JOB MARLOW!! Enjoy the buckle! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shower,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>a huge pile of food at Ikeda Market in Auburn, and a big nap in the car on the way home and I was semi functional after being up for a full day and then some. Working the aid stations at one of these larger races, one gets to see some of the biggest names in trail running, plus meet a lot of interesting and great people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I do not get into WS in 2012, I will be working the aid station and pacing again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is the link to the official WS 100 site.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a multitude of sites, blogs, youtube and other links on the net for this race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.ws100.com/home.html"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.ws100.com/home.html</span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u>Tahoe Rim Trail</u> race is <u>the</u> big trail run of the area.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One has the choice of running 50k, 50 mile or 100 miles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All three start on the shores of Spooner lake and the course runs along the eastern side of Lake Tahoe on a portion of the Tahoe Rim Trail, a trail that rings Lake Tahoe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most all of the course is single track, with some short portions of closed dirt road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spectacular views of Tahoe and Marlette Lakes, from the open ridges near the Hobart aid station above Marlette Lake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The entire course has impressive views to the point you would rather be looking around than down; normally not that good of a thing unless you like spending a lot of time on the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The course is at elevation 6k+ or so, but the trails in general are very runable and consist mostly of rotten granite with the majority of the rocks being rounded. The Redhouse loop is a bit rough, rocky, and steep, but I did not think that it was as bad as most made it sound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The killer hill for me was at the Diamond Peak Ski Resort at about mile 30 in the 50 mile race (and again at mile 80 for the 100 milers).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Aid station at the lodge, then the course goes up the black diamond slope to the top (bull wheel).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This “little” hill starts out fairly flat, but as you go up, the climb continues to pitch up until near the top, you swear that it is straight up! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the upper half, most walk a bit then have to take a rest. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think my mile split for this section was at or near 30 minutes! <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do not envy the 100 milers that have to do this climb again in the middle of the night!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is a well run race with plenty of well stocked aid stations. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was my second 50 miler and the purpose was to work on fueling and pacing during these longer runs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ended up not feeling too good after the Diamond Peak climb, but I think it may have been dehydration. Something to work on in the future. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Awards were sterling silver medallions, nicely done and something different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Shirts this year were yellow technical from Patagonia with a modest logo, so once again, nicely done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finish line area had plenty of seating, food, drinks including microbrew beer and massages for the runners.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kudos to the RD’s and this race will be in the queue for 20102. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here is a link to the official site that also has links to photo albums.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Check it out- you will want to do it!!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://tahoemtnmilers.org/trter/trtindex.html"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Calibri;">http://tahoemtnmilers.org/trter/trtindex.html</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u>Moonlight Madness 5k/10k</u> is ran at Rancho San Rafael Park near UNR.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is run cross country style in the park on grass and dirt trails in the late evening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I went into this intending it to be a speed workout and signed up for the 10k.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The race started with a kids 1 mile run, fun to watch some small tikes with decent speed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 5 and 10k started together, but about 20 minutes late plus the weather was looking threatening with <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the wind whipping up and dark storm clouds building out by Sparks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>About the time the race started, things started getting interesting since there was a grass fire on Peavine Mountain, maybe a mile away and lightning out Sparks way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We all finely got lined up and off we went.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>About a mile into the race, it started to rain- the big bloppy drops that hurt when they hit you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As we came by the start/finish line the lead pack unknowingly veered off course (myself included) but ended up back on the course but adding maybe another tenth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the 5k mark, the majority of the runners peeled off and into the chute to be done and I found myself running with one other person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the time I had made the first loop (5k) it was starting to get dark and by about mile 4, I was wishing that I had a headlamp. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With about a mile, maybe a bit more to go I poured it on and was able to distance myself <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>and finished in the dark among a throng<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of 5k’ers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took a bit to get the final results worked out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of the 10k racers had “raced down” and finished just the 5K.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First time I looked at the results, I was in something like 13<sup>th</sup> place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A bit of talking with the timer and we had things worked out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ended up winning the race in something like 38 minutes, a bit of a surprise for me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of the fasties raced in the 5k.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plenty of food, drink and swag including a pile of baked goods from Great Harvest. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A fun race that I would do again.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u>Thin Air Festival</u> is a four day stage race in South Tahoe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you do all four, you end up with the marathon distance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could not get away for all four days, so I came up for the 10 miler on Saturday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The course is quite a mix of roads, trails, big hills and some fast flat portions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ended up second place for the day with a time of 1:04.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Going into the race, I was thinking something very near 1:00. I will blame the short coming on altitude, hills and a lack of speed training.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was a small race, but the RD was friendly and all had a good time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Challenging, but well marked course with plenty of aid stations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Food and drinks at the end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you like small races at a scenic destination, this would be a good series to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><a href="http://www.thinairdistancefestival.com/"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.thinairdistancefestival.com/</span></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Reno 5000 series is in the process of billing itself as THE race series to do in Reno.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The series consists of six or so races and a final race for those that qualify.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To qualify, one needs to run multiple races and place either overall or in your age group.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the details, check out the web site </span><a href="http://www.reno5000.com/"><span style="color: purple; font-family: Calibri;">http://www.reno5000.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The showcase race is the 5k but other distances are also ran including a 10k, 15k, half marathon, and a marathon relay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not all are done each time, the 5k and another race.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The course is pancake flat and very quick other than a couple of tight hairpin turns and is run on closed streets in South Reno near Damonte Ranch subdivision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Overall a good course if you are looking to set a PR.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Warmed up with Suzi H. and lined up with the 5k’ers since I was told it was a mass start.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The race starts and we head down the road and make a hairpin turn and head past the start/finish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I go past I hear an announcement for the start of the 10K so I peel out of the crowd and make may way back to the start;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>nice stride out warm-up!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The 10k group is assembled and there is something like 15 people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Knowing that the course record is in the low 37 minute range, know that if I have a good race I can beat it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is a cool, bright morning- perfect for racing so I push it a bit and intend to stay well under 6 min pace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I run the entire race by myself and end up with 36:24, a good solid performance, but as always, what could I have done if I had some competition? The never ending what if question we have after many races.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A glitch at the awards, since they had me in the 5k and I never looked closely at my bib.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A quick talk with the RD and the timing people and it was resolved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is a 15k on this course in a month or so that I may do as well.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><u>Portland Marathon</u>- Just around the corner, and with four runners in the family doing the race, it should be interesting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My brother and his wife, who are overseas, are doing a different marathon on the same day so there will be a six pack of marathoners on Oct 9<sup>th</sup>. Should be an interesting weekend!</span></div>Running Fishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01496926362590215628noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638641446258922598.post-89985919459030077152011-05-30T07:52:00.000-07:002011-05-30T07:52:16.024-07:00In RenoIt has Been a bit since I have posted anything on there and have ran multiple races and am in the process of moving to Reno, Nv. The two biggest running events have been a 50 miler down by Las Vegas and a the R2R2R at the grand canyon. The 50 miler was the Labor of Love in the Spring Mountains where I placed 3rd with a time of 8:11. My intent was to qualify for WS 100, and that task was completed. <br />
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The other was the Grand Canyon run, or rather "fast hike". I would consider this a must do for any trail runner. This is a great run with impressive scenery. The trail is easy to follow though the assent and descent are both not all that runable for large portions due to the multitude of water bars. See Andy E's love to run blog for a great write up. My only recommendation would be to stash some Coke or Mountain Dew at Phantom Ranch so as to have a bit of rocket fuel for the final climb out. There is a store at Phantom Ranch, but these items are not there!Running Fishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01496926362590215628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638641446258922598.post-56881025756551495452010-10-01T10:48:00.000-07:002010-11-05T18:06:21.934-07:00 This is from back in the spring when I ran my first marathon. Overall it turned out much better than many that I know so I have nothing to complain about. Lack of experience, a warm day and being amped up, made for conditions for the wheels to come off the bus, and they did but as bad as it could have been. The HOA marathon in September went much better, but I feel that I have learned a lot since then and am in better shape.. Here is the first race posting of this blog. Enjoy!<br />
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St Louis Marathon Report 2010. <br />
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Spent Saturday AM working on a scout project north of Columbia. Mostly putting in a culvert in a creek and some brush piles for quail habitat. Got home packed up and headed to SL. Went right to the packet pickup at the arena- picked up my packet and walked through the show floor and left- to many people and not enough room. Headed back out to Brentwood and went to Trader Joes. Picked up a few items and headed back down town. Checked into the hotel on 4th and Olive. Lounged around the room for a bit and went for a walk to see if we could find some place to eat. Ended up coming back to the hotel and ate in the restaurant there. I had a safe meal of chicken pasta, a salad and we split a piece if carrot cake. Went to bed fairly early and I slept as well as I do in a hotel. Got up at 5:30 had the usual two packs of oat meal and a cup of tea for breakfast and headed to the start. Once there, I walked around a while, if anything to burn a bit of nervous energy. I lined up between the 7:00 and 8:00 groups and ran into Dan E. Dan was stoked to be there and was talking quite a bit. I could see Tom May and Tony Rigdon in the corral in front of us. The race started and off we went. It was a tame(no pushing and a decent bit of space to move) start. The first couple of miles were down hill and I was moving well at something like 6:20-6:30 pace. After a bit Dan and myself found Andy E and Tom May and we ran/talked together through the brewery and through a couple of water stations were I lost the group. I ran by myself for some time until about mile 7-8(??) Tom come up from behind. I was surprised to see him behind me and this was a bit concerning. I ran with Tom for a mile or so then started to feel the fast start and started slowing down Going into Forest Park, Tom was still in sight, barely. Forest Park is of some racing significance for me since I ran the NCAA Div III cross country championships there in 1988. I ended up 27th (my goal was top 25 to be an All American)with the team ending up a disappointing 4th since were ranked 1st in the polls. I went through the half in 1:27 and things were catching up to me so I downed an orange hammer gel. This did not sit well and I ended up with a moderate side stitch. At this point, my goal was to keep the pace below 7:00 and was doing a decent job. Ran several more miles that were uneventful and was nearing the turnaround were the course has some big rolling hills, I did not fell too bad and was able to keep a decent pace up the hills. At this point, things are a bit hazy, but I do remember making it up a fairly steep hill with a fair bit of effort. People were starting to trickle past me. Picked up a Hammer gel (chocolate) that I chocked down with a fair bit of water. I was carrying another Hammer Mocha that I was saving for mile 20-22. Nearing the end of the long straightway, the heat/open stark spaces/lack of people was getting to me (though it was not hot sensation per se) and I started noticing that I was chafing and the face was really salty so I was taking multiple waters and drinking some and washing the salt off my face arms and legs. Somewhere around 18-20 I had to walk. I would pick a spot 20- 30 yards ahead and start running when I got to it. The legs were dead at this point and they did not want top move even though I did not feel like I was breathing all that hard. At mile 20 or so, had the mocha Hammer and it was not much better then the chocolate. By now I was walking about every mile for 20-50 yards, mostly on the uphills since my lower glutes were burger (note to self- do not play dodge ball at your son’s B-day party 2 days before a marathon). A memorable “up hill” was a left hand sweeping overpass that just kept on going and I walked a large portion of it, near the top, someone came by me and said that I had a good time going and finish in style. Needless to say, “style” was not at all important by now. The two courses merged together and there was a steady stream of half walkers to run with. I continued the walk /run thing till the end. As I came up the final hill and could see the huge flag hanging over the course, I knew the finish was near - but what is near? 200 m or 1000m. I ended up walking one last time near the flag with some one saying that the finish was 3 blocks. All I could think about was where is it then and how big are the blocks. I picked it back up and ran the rest of the way in with 2 guys in front of me, I though about kicking it in past them to the finish line but ended up just pushing a good pace in to the line. Crossed the finish line with a 3:05:04 and was happy to be done. Walked through the finish area and met my wife. We walked through the reception area and it was hot, smelled bad, no place to sit and not water so we walked back to the hotel. I took a shower and a short nap, checked out and headed home. <br />
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Post Race- I was a lot more sore than I had expected. Monday was the backwards walk down the stairs to go make coffee. The Tuesday AM run did not feel very good as well with my right leg/knee feeling a bit weak. By the end of the week, I am feeling better but still need more recovery time. <br />
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A few random thoughts:<br />
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I wrote the above text before I had my splits in hand. I ran a better (faster) race than I remember. <br />
Race pictures are up and I look better than I was feeling- I did not mentally prepare for the race so this I may attribute to my perception of the race.<br />
After the fact I found out that I had one my age division- an idea that had never entered my mind as a possibility or I would have hung around for the awards. <br />
Some very respected fellow runners did not fair too well this day- I should be happy with what I was given. <br />
Going into this, I was not sure what to expect - somewhere between a 3:20 (BQ) and a sub 3. Considering the conditions, I fared quite well for a race that was not run in a tactical manner.<br />
My son had dodge ball party the Friday before the race. He wanted me to play so I did- a bit longer than I should have. I was overall a bit sore, especially my lower glutes. I could feel this esp later in the race. Note to self; no dodge ball before marathons!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">About at the half way mark </div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTRrviA4WiAcpqdYncf_WSQLAneZr-0R_BpFsM3X8w9nQm1YM4AgZNLHC2qgrG69c2DZ3CHqpTalsLFgCjJzVfHSD0WBMBu01DL88XrlNV79Zf8qBsJXOwyEdJgVvaJ3LVvPSY1KQMvlI/s1600/795-47A_0070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTRrviA4WiAcpqdYncf_WSQLAneZr-0R_BpFsM3X8w9nQm1YM4AgZNLHC2qgrG69c2DZ3CHqpTalsLFgCjJzVfHSD0WBMBu01DL88XrlNV79Zf8qBsJXOwyEdJgVvaJ3LVvPSY1KQMvlI/s320/795-47A_0070.JPG" width="215" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The run in to the finish</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0mnO26mvk5DUBKl98ELfIc3M7j-9Zg-pS4vO9R-eAopu07nYgmCnJe4fvosja3aTilMky-nk3LPb3du1MvqEX7iiu2TKHpN83fyo0OTv65QDnfshniVs5QRUt0aiZkefwXGc0s2TS3fo/s1600/795-66A_6335.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0mnO26mvk5DUBKl98ELfIc3M7j-9Zg-pS4vO9R-eAopu07nYgmCnJe4fvosja3aTilMky-nk3LPb3du1MvqEX7iiu2TKHpN83fyo0OTv65QDnfshniVs5QRUt0aiZkefwXGc0s2TS3fo/s320/795-66A_6335.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Made it!! I do not look that bad.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb0ukCN0p1Ksb9PWvOtUikb8eearidwwvAvMnJqJOs5eWh5GX7fRzauI62jPjS050bg0JSugnEjtxpa1e0o3-7PfizydUZCMq1KKj-ZU6ymsUCALaOg7J_41eVrXR9dypC_6i7dGbeo9M/s1600/101_9843.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb0ukCN0p1Ksb9PWvOtUikb8eearidwwvAvMnJqJOs5eWh5GX7fRzauI62jPjS050bg0JSugnEjtxpa1e0o3-7PfizydUZCMq1KKj-ZU6ymsUCALaOg7J_41eVrXR9dypC_6i7dGbeo9M/s320/101_9843.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Type Distance Time Total Time Pace <br />
<span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1285954830_0" style="-moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous; -moz-background-origin: padding; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 0%; border-bottom: 2px dotted rgb(54, 99, 136); cursor: pointer;">Interval</span> 1 Mi 6:27.69 6:27.69 6:28 <br />
Interval 2 Mi 6:42.19 13:09.88 6:43 <br />
Interval 3 Mi 6:44.58 19:54.46 6:45 <br />
Interval 4 Mi 6:23.53 26:17.99 6:24 <br />
Interval 5 Mi 6:32.53 32:50.52 6:33 <br />
Interval 6 Mi 6:35.3 39:25.82 6:36 <br />
Interval 7 Mi 6:39.37 46:05.19 6:40 <br />
Interval 8 Mi 6:45.57 52:50.76 6:46 <br />
Interval 9 Mi 6:37.42 59:28.18 6:38 <br />
Interval 10 Mi 6:42.68 1:06:10.86 6:43 <br />
Interval 11 Mi 6:33.76 1:12:44.62 6:34 <br />
Interval 12 Mi 6:53.58 1:19:38.20 6:54 <br />
Interval 13 Mi 6:35.84 1:26:14.04 6:36 <br />
Interval 14 Mi 6:43.73 1:32:57.77 6:44 <br />
Interval 15 Mi 6:55.79 1:39:53.56 6:56 <br />
Interval 16 Mi 6:55.7 1:46:49.26 6:56 <br />
Interval 17 Mi 6:59.19 1:53:48.45 7:00 <br />
Interval 18 Mi 6:51.11 2:00:39.56 6:52 <br />
Interval 19 Mi 7:11.16 2:07:50.72 7:12 <br />
Interval 20 Mi 6:56.23 2:14:46.95 6:57 <br />
Interval 21 Mi 7:15.39 2:22:02.34 7:16 <br />
Interval 22 Mi 8:04.32 2:30:06.66 8:05 <br />
Interval 23 Mi 8:03.61 2:38:10.27 8:04 <br />
Interval 24 Mi 7:30.25 2:45:40.52 7:31 <br />
Interval 25 Mi 7:59.51 2:53:40.03 8:00 <br />
Interval 26 Mi 7:36.95 3:01:16.98 7:37 <br />
Interval 0.52 Mi 4:03.06 3:05:20.04 7:48Running Fishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01496926362590215628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2638641446258922598.post-66444178428921553772010-10-01T10:37:00.000-07:002010-10-01T10:37:21.620-07:00Whats in a titleAs of late, I have been spending a fair bit of time looking and reading a lot of blogs about running. In general, I have found then to be a wealth if information, mostly about upcoming races and to some degree a on training. I have several that I follow almost daily- if you expect this much detail from this blog, good luck. I will use this for the most part as a way to post race results. Back to the title. As with most, I was looking for something that was distilled a lot about running down into a couple of words. I have noticed that there is a lot of stuff out there on the WWW about training, planning, eating, gear and the list goes on. In the end, to be a better runner you must.....................................................................................just runRunning Fishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01496926362590215628noreply@blogger.com0