12/50 - New York City Marathon

Ah, here we are; the end of my calendar year of marathons.  It’s been five months since my last marathon (Grandma's in Duluth, MN) and regrettably, my last entry.  I’ll be sure to run more so that I can write more next year!  As of now, I am not officially registered for a single race in 2012 although planning is well under way.  Having started this 50-in-50-by-50 goal with two marathons in 2009, four in 2010, six in 2011, I think I may need to plan for eight in 2012 (is that compulsive behavior?)!   

Training for NYC was an exercise in time management.  I have this inherent need to stretch myself so thin that I rather enjoy the forced isolation of my hours-per-day of train commuting to and from both jobs.  Fortunately, that time also makes up for the little sleep I manage at home!  This time around, I was balancing my career with a part-time job at a running store, playing shows and recording with my band, the minutia that encompasses home ownership, training for races, and raising a puppy - all at the height of motorcycle season!  I think I created a monster with the puppy; that girl is now up to running 20 miles per week with me!  It’s gotten to the point where she anxiously awaits for me to say the word “run” every.  single.  day.  She actually has our 5k route committed to memory.

The real issue in all of this was finding a training routine that worked.  In the end, there was no routine at all.  Having read my past entries, I’m sure that surprises none of you.  I often found myself out the door by 5 am or running between jobs, or getting off the train at an earlier stop and running home.  I was averaging about 40 miles per week.  Most runs were just fast with little variation so that I could get to the next task of the day.  I had no structured speed work or hill training.  I just didn’t have the time or energy.  I’ve also reached that point where I wake up every day and ache.  Shouldn’t I be getting paid for this?!  Am I really at the age that everyone warned me about the “running ravages of time”?  I remember when running was fun AND pain free.  Now, it’s just fun…and slightly obsessive.

I finished up the Homewood-Flossmoor 5K circuit series (having barely won it this year), did the Chicago Triathlon on a whim (I got a free entry three weeks prior and took the crash course in learning to swim via You Tube videos), and PRd at a half marathon in Calumet City.  I figured I would be fine for NYC.  We arrived two hours before the close of the expo, the night before the race.  We stayed near Wall St. in lower Manhattan due to its proximity to the Staten Island Ferry (if you run this race, take the 6:30 am ferry, the sunrise over Manhattan from the ferry is dazzling!) that takes us to the start of the race.  We spent the night in bed watching the ID Network (having given up cable months ago, this was quite indulgent!) with a bottle of wine and eating takeout pizza from Harry’s Italian Pizza Bar (http://www.harrysitalian.com/).  This was the evening of Daylight Saving Time and the extra hour of sleep was much appreciated! 

The NYC Marathon is massive.  47,000 people started the race this year!  It’s by far the best organized race I’ve run – from the start villages to the course to the finish (though I must say, the line for free Dunkin’ coffee was ten times longer than the bathroom line!).  It’s also surprisingly hilly.  Race day weather was perfect with no wind, full sun and 50 degrees F at the start (9:40am for me).  The course traverses the five boroughs of NYC (Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx and Manhattan) with some incredible bridges and crowd support throughout.  This is NOT a fast course.  However, I went into this with little hill preparation and still planned to PR.  I was really enjoying myself at the halfway point (with a time of 1:26) but fell off my mark after that.  The second half of this course has an impressive collection of unrelenting hills.  I had a rather lackadaisical approach to this race and never felt like pushing myself too hard.  I kept it fun.  I finished feeling great (in 2:56) and off we went to walk the streets of Manhattan.  Between Sunday after the race and Monday, we walked from Central Park to Wall St. and back!  I think I’m sore from that alone. 

Some highlights of post-marathon NYC include;

Book of Mormon (http://www.bookofmormonbroadway.com/home.php) – Funny stuff.  Chicago, you’re lucky, it’s heading there in 2012.  I don’t know how we got these tickets (it’s always sold out) but I’m glad we did (though I still rank Avenue Q as the funniest play I’ve ever seen). 

Num Pang Sandwich Shop (http://www.numpangnyc.com/) – Wow, Cambodian goodness on bread. 

Totto Ramen (http://tottoramen.com/) – A Japanese noodle house the size of a closet.  Very good, very cool.

Chimichurri Grill (http://www.chimichurrigrill.com/) – If you’re like me and would put chimichurri on your cereal, you’ll love this Argentinian spot. 

McSorley’s Old Ale House (http://www.mcsorleysnewyork.com/) – Oldest Irish bar in NYC?  The floor is reminiscent of a hamster cage with wood shavings scattered throughout.  There are two beers on tap – light and dark.  It’s a must. 

Oh, and I can’t forget Matlock (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090481/).  Again, having no cable, it’s a real treat to lie in bed the morning after the race and watch two hours of Matlock; It's become somewhat of a post-marathon tradition.  Damn, I love this show. 

11/50 - Grandma's Marathon

After Vermont, I took the week off to rest up for the beginning of a series of three 5k races in my hometown. Most runners have their own secret race that they use as a confidence booster. You know the race - it’s the one that not too many competitive runners participate in and the one you don’t tell your friends about because they just might steal your moment. The Homewood/Flossmoor 5k series is mine. In 2010, I ran all three races with the best overall combined time. This year, I had some great competition waiting for me and lucky for them, they were able to take advantage of my ravaged legs from the heavy marathon schedule as of recently. I started this year’s series off with a 3^rd place finish and a sign of just how much these marathons were taking their toll on my body! Having just completed the 2^nd in the series this past weekend (with a few wrong turns that put my total distance at about 3.5 miles!), there are three of us with similar cumulative times. The final race will be interesting.
   
I had a good two, 40+ mile weeks after the 5k in spite of the fact that I picked up a part-time job after Vermont (in addition to the full-time gig) working at a running store. I was warned that the irony of working in a running store is that you will run fewer miles than ever before. So far, so true! The tradeoff is that there’s nothing more exciting to me than seeing the enthusiasm of all types of runners coming into the store and helping them find the right shoe or gear to better assist with their training. Also, it was a great way to help me heal my aching hamstrings!
 
I had a nice two week taper for this race – a 19 mile week and a 4 mile week. A last minute opportunity came for the wife and me to fly to Belgium for a long weekend right before we were to ride our motorcycles to Duluth, MN for the Grandma’s Marathon. She had some work to tend to and I had the world’s best beer to find, drink and maybe bring home! Belgium proved to be the perfect melding of French and Flemish cultures and a nice break from running for a bit. Beer, waffle, frites and chocolate repeated for three days…
 
Then on to Duluth, by way of motorcycle. We started our bike trip the day after we got back. Two days of riding through the Wisconsin backcountry was a beautiful escape from our hectic, day-to-day lives. I intentionally didn’t book much for this 10-day trip. We planned to get to Duluth, run the race and just explore all the nooks and crannies of WI and MI. After two days of riding on scenic roads along rivers and through dairy pastures and taking notable stops at New Glarus Brewery and Leinenkugel’s Brewery, we settled into the cold, rain of Duluth in our college dorm accommodations. We found a great Italian place with a beautiful view of the lake for a pre-race dinner (http://www.vabenecaffe.com/va-bene-caffe.html).

The morning of the race remained cold and wet with the rain finally letting up at the start. Grandma’s has a reputation for being a PR course because it’s pretty flat. In its 35^th running, the start corrals were noticeably skewed toward the sub 3-hour runner. To date, Boston is the only other race where I’ve seen this. I settled into a 6:30/mile pace knowing it probably wasn’t a good idea. I thought I was starting off slow based on where I lined up in the corral. I came to find out that the runners around me were actually starting conservatively (well, with the exception of the three middle-aged guys dressed as Steve Prefontaine - complete with 70’s track shorts and mustache!) as most were shooting for times in the 2:40 finish. Whoops! After the half, I settled into a more realistic pace and met up with Doug Kurtis – the 59 year-old that won the race a few times. Doug was now on pace to complete his 299^th sub 3-hour marathon. I was on pace with him to complete my 8^th. What can I say; he’s got a few years on me!
 
The last two miles were the most painful I’ve felt since my first marathon. I’m sure a combination of Belgium, beer and 700 miles on a motorcycle didn’t help, but I was actually sore for days after this race. Having been humbled most recently at the Vermont Marathon last month, I went into the Grandma’s Marathon knowing that I wasn’t in shape to run my best. I just wanted another sub-3 hour marathon in my quest for the 50 states. I got it, my 8th, with the company of Doug, who completed his 299^th sub-3 hour marathon. It was just another reminder that in life, there’s always someone, somewhere, going harder, faster and longer.

The healing process began with a great beer tasting at http://www.fitgers.com/ for lunch then dinner and a movie (Midnight in Paris – fantastic!) at http://www.zinema2.com/ (a cool indie brew and view with a great restaurant attached) in downtown Duluth before hopping back on the bikes to explore the Upper Peninsula and eventually make our way back down to our regularly-scheduled lives.

Grandma's - The Wife's Perspective

I've already explained that my husband is insane. And based on the fact that he has (1) run a couple of marathons on little to no training, (2) ridden his motorcycle 180+ miles after work to Indianapolis just to run a race the next morning and then drive home, (3) run 2 marathons in a single weekend, and (4) run 4 marathons in just over 6 consecutive weeks, I think I have also proven that fact. So when he told me he wanted to take an extended motorcycle trip incorporating the Duluth marathon and as much camping as possible, I shrugged and started packing my bags. I knew it wouldn't do any good to ask him whether he wouldn't be uncomfortable riding that long/far and then racing, and then riding some more, not to mention sleeping on the ground. I know better than to do anything but just go with it.

Besides, I was eager to take the trip myself! I just bought my "big girl" bike last October, and as of this spring had managed to put maybe 600 miles total on it. It was just begging to be ridden for real, and I was ready for the challenge. Even when we were delayed leaving our house by almost 2 hours after we planned due to rain and my husband asked whether I wouldn't rather take the car, I insisted on the bikes.

And the first two days were so, so lovely. Lots of sunshine (once that initial rain passed), decent temperatures, a few good brewery stops, and the freedom of being so unplugged from work (though I had my iPhone with me, we had nowhere to lock a laptop so I had to leave that – and any serious possibility of doing work – behind), all the way to Duluth. And then the rain and cold truly made itself known. I worried for the marathon. I already knew it would be unpleasant, since my husband had done nothing but eat and drink for the 2 weeks prior (when in Belgium…), even despite our best intentions to spend some time running through Brussels. And by all accounts it was difficult. He finished sub 3-hours, but other than this race I have never known him to be tired or sore afterward. He was definitely feeling it. 

For my part, because this race was a point to point and I didn't have transportation (we had dropped off my bike with the uber-capable folks at Harley for some service and there was no way I was going to chance taking my husband's baby out alone in the rain and on the hilly streets), this was the only race so far where I've gotten to sleep in. I went back to bed for a couple of hours, then woke up, walked to the local farmers' market for coffee and a muffin and strolled toward the finish line (it was about a 3 1/2 mile walk downhill which was great on the way there, but TERRIBLE for both of us on the way back!). I was able to see him about 1 ½ miles from the finish, then take a shortcut right to the end while those silly runners kept running down the street. Good thing he had had me bring a whole bag of dry clothes with him – he was soaked and starting to turn a bit blue by the time I met up with him again. Nothing cures that like beer and burgers, so to lunch we headed!

The rest of our trip was uneventful (if you count lightning storms, pelting rain and wearing 3 wool layers + leathers + rain gear and still feeling cold "uneventful"), and totally awesome. We never did manage to camp, preferring dry, warm hole-in-the-wall motels to setting up and breaking down camp in the rain, but I put in a lot of good riding time and feel like I can actually control my bike now (gone are the days of having my husband park it or make U-turns for me!) and am comfortable riding it through any kind of weather. Plus, I kept getting out of showering by telling my husband that real biker chicks don't shower every day. He slept on the other side of the room most nights, but he didn't try to argue!

He hasn't run a single mile since we got back, but he's planning to run in Missouri on Labor Day Weekend. He has also said that he'll be running this one in Vibram's Five Fingers to see what the fuss of minimalist running is all about… can't wait to report how it goes!

10/50 - Shires of Vermont Marathon

How do you train for a marathon two weeks after running a back-to-back marathon you ask?  You don’t.  Well, I don’t.  I logged about 30 miles, stopped going to the gym and fell face first off of the no-sugar bandwagon – It was two weeks of pure bliss!  Yet, in my ignorance, I held an infinitesimal hope that Vermont would be the marathon that I took first place in.  Let me explain…

The inaugural 2011 Shires of Vermont Marathon was a scenic, point-to-point marathon that connected the towns of Bennington and Manchester and coincided with the celebration of their 250th anniversaries.  We were traveling to Northampton, MA that weekend for my wife’s reunion at Smith College.  All I can say is that this college/area of the country is a utopia of acceptance of varying creeds, socioeconomic status and sexual orientation, complete with a cappella groups!  Oh, and fantastic ice cream.  (http://www.herrells.com) …and an intriguing history of the Gone With the Wind story and landmarks, considering that Margaret Mitchell attended college at Smith, briefly.  Since only 360 people signed up for this marathon, I was hoping that it would not be very competitive.  Upon arriving in Bennington the morning of the race, I discovered just how wrong that assumption was! 

Have you ever heard of Chuck Engle?  Of course you haven’t.  Here, read this; (http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=21482&PageNum=&CategoryID=).  Ok, now that you’ve been briefed, I will proceed.  Chuck is one of the first people, in a sea of middle-aged marathon veterans I see standing in the art gallery that served as the check-in place for the race.  I overheard his plan for a goal of 2:40 and his impression that he will face some competition in his attempt to add this marathon to his pile of marathon 1^st place finishes.  New game plan – just enjoy myself!

As tempting as it was to stand in the comforting warmth of the gallery for the hour until the start gun, the entertainment just outside in the mist and cold was beckoning me.  I enjoyed the a cappella groups of Smith throughout the course of the college reunion weekend.  Vermont has its own special a cappella group, Blackberry Jam.  I swear, when I find a You Tube video of their performance, you will see it here!  The band consisted of two adolescent boys akin to Hanson in their prime, outfitted in bedazzled white denim jackets, hand painted jeans, perfectly coiffed hair and vibrantly colored Nike Air Force Ones singing a medley of hits from Don’t Stop Believing to the Star-Spangled Banner and my personal favorite for the day, I Can See Clearly (since it was clearly not going to be a bright sun-shiny day!).  Over and over again.  The comedic value of their appearance, performance, and looping repertoire did not go unnoticed by a single runner in attendance!  I can only attribute their obvious dedication and seriousness in the face of such adversity to years of America being subjected to shows the likes of American Idol – making subpar, laughably terrible singers (in)famous.

With temperatures in the 50’s (F) at the 9am start time, the rain began to fall more heavily.  In fact, there really was not a break in the rain throughout the entire race.  Weather aside, the course was beautiful.  It twists and turns, rises and falls through small towns scattered sparingly across the southwest corner of Vermont, over covered bridges, down pothole-riddled dirt and gravel roads and smooth, asphalt two-lane highways.  For a first time marathon, this race was exceptionally well organized and staffed with the right amount of aid stations and course marshals directing traffic.  I knew nothing about this course other than the course description offered on the race’s website; “There is a net elevation loss of 160 feet, with 500 feet of vertical gain between Miles 2 and 13. The last six miles of the course are flat. About nine miles consist of hard-packed dirt, with the remainder of the surface paved.”

If that sets your mind at ease, then I too had the same false sense of security!  This course was hard, second only to Pikes Peak Marathon for me.  After the first two miles of aggressive downhill, the climb from mile 2 – 13 was a bit more difficult that I was led to believe.  It was such a shock, in fact, that I actually had shin splints for most of this part!  I haven’t had shin splints since I started running marathons in 2001.  I can’t decide if this was a result of the course or karma for having just worked with a customer at Fleet Feet (a running store I work at) who had this issue and I boasted at the time that I hardly recalled the pain!  Additionally, I wouldn’t call the second half of this course flat, or even downhill.  It consisted of a lot of hills.  By this time, I accepted the fact that I wasn’t properly trained for this and was just going to hold my own for the remainder of the race.  I was currently in 6^th place.

Between miles 16 & 17, two other runners had caught up to me as we were directed by a supposed course marshal to turn onto a highway with a not-so-insignificant incline.   For 3/4 of a mile, we worked off each other to crest the top of the hill.  At that moment, a police officer passed us and doubled back to inform us that we were off the course!  The three of us were on pace for a sub-three hour marathon when one runner just said, “f**k it, I’m done!”  I made friends with the remaining runner over the rest of the course, laughing at how absurd our 28-mile marathon was going to be.  That extra 1.5 miles mentally and physically exhausted us as we were not prepared for even the slightest alteration to our planned 26.2 miles.  As if Mother Nature herself knew the feeling, it just rained harder. 

The last 0.2 miles became that usual show of bravado that exists in many runners to see just who has it in themselves to sprint to the finish.  As friendly as he and I had become, there was no way I was going to just trot it in.  This final sprint really was the icing on the cake considering that it was through a field transformed into mud puddles as a result of an entire morning of rain.  I finished in 8^th place, nudging my new friend out by one second.  Awaiting us at the finish was the most impressive array of food I’ve seen at a marathon.  Chocolate milk, galore!  My lips were blue, my hands were numb and my arms were filled with snacks and drinks as I stood half naked in the rain waiting for my wife to pull the car around to drive us to the airport.  I had a word with the race director about the 1.5 mile snafu and he amended my finish to 7^th place to account for the approximately ten extra minutes we ran.  My official time was 3:14:21.  Who knows what it could have been without the detour! 

Oh, and Chuck Engle? He finished in 2:44:55 and won, of course.    

Vermont - The Wife's Perspective

We had planned one – one! – trip for the whole year that was a "me" trip. That trip was to Northampton, Massachusetts for my 10 year college reunion. I could have gone alone, and I knew my husband might feel a tad out of place since there were bound to be way fewer men there than women (what with it being a women's college and all) but I wanted him to come and get a bit more of a firsthand understanding of what college had been like for me. Smith College was the most important time of my life, and getting in was the best thing that ever happened to me. More than anything else, it shaped who I am.

But then he "mentioned" that there was a run in Vermont that very Sunday… and it was only 2 hours away!... and we didn't have to do it, but…

So I found myself skipping Commencement (no great loss – I abhor commencements, to be honest. They are so boring! Not even a great speaker can make up for having to watch all those strangers walk across the stage) and driving to Bennington, Vermont. It rained the whole drive, and my weather app kept insisting it would rain the entire morning.

The race was the smallest I had been to yet. The 2 boys karaoke-ing outside of the entrance was quite an experience (I don't know why we can't find them on YouTube. Someone – their mother? – was videotaping the whole thing. I WANT THAT VIDEO!), and inside, the participants were just as interesting. Although a small race, it was obvious that the participants by and large were "real" runners – there were lots of Marathon Maniacs (identifiable by their shirts) and other people who were clearly not first-timers. And of course there was Chuck Engle. I'm glad we figured out who he was right away, so that my husband didn't kill himself trying to win against someone he couldn't possibly beat.

None of the roads were closed for the race. That might have been less great for the runners (I myself am not a fan of running with cars), but it was super great for me, because I didn't have to ever worry about not being able to get to the course. The course seemed well designed, too – I never had to cross it, and it was easy to find good spectating spots. I came in at miles 6 and 17, both of which were turns off the main road so there were course marshals in each spot, and I spent some time making friends (although not too much time because it was still raining, so I spent more time than usual sitting in my car reading). Race volunteers are always so nice. On my way between the stops I even found a Christmas store, and since I had lots of extra time (my drive was a straight shot; their run, not so much) and it was still raining, I went in and did a little shopping and had a nice chat with the owner.

From Mile 17 I headed to the finish. Well, I tried to head to the finish. For the life of me, I could not find it. Everyone said "you can't miss it." Well, I did. A LOT. I kept trying to find the right place on my iPhone, but it kept directing me to the same Lincoln museum. Once it gave me directions to enter from the other side and I got very excited, thinking I had finally found the right place. My heart absolutely dropped when I figured out I was in the same parking lot but had come in from another entrance! Finally I went in and of course they directed me right to the correct field. By the time I got there and sprinted from the car to the finish line (in the rain), I thought that for sure I had missed my husband since the clock was ticking past his goal time. But only 5 people had finished, I found out (by asking the very nice people monitoring the finishers). More and more minutes ticked by. Not once up until this point had my husband ever failed to meet his goal time and I started to worry. I must have looked crazy, pacing up and down, up and down – and all in the rain. Finally I saw him coming. He had to run past us and further up the road, only to turn around and run back through a field, so it was easy to track him coming in, although I'm guessing frustrating for the runners to be so close only to have to run right past the finish and keep going! I found out later, of course, about the detour. I was just happy he was done, and seemed well, although a bit blue (it was still raining…). We had to jump right back into the car and head to the Hartford airport, driving right past Smith again as we did. I don't know when I'll be back (probably not until my 15 year reunion), but I'm so glad we both went. The whole weekend was really fun, and I was actually more than happy to give up one of my days for another race. Spectating 50/50/50 is just as important to me as running 50/50/50 is to my husband. We can't all have super lofty goals!

9/50 - Flying Pig Marathon

And here we are - a couple of post-race beers, a shot of bourbon and 100 miles later.  Cincinnati has its charms as a small, Midwestern city with great local restaurants that thrive in part due to the college town atmospheres that surround the city.  We arrived at the expo and soon met a couple of guys that were also running the Flying Pig Marathon after having just run the Kentucky Derby Marathon (it was hard to miss their bright orange long-sleeved shirts that only the Derby full marathoners had received). It was nice to see that I'm not alone in my obsession. 

We made reservations at Local 127 (http://www.mylocal127.com) largely because we have a soft spot for restaurants that focus on locally sourced ingredients and this space also had a uniquely modern decor.  My wife ordered the Porkopolis, which was pork four different ways (quite appropriate for the Flying Pig Marathon!).  Most everything was good, and the pork belly was the best I’ve tasted.  I also sampled the panna cotta which, as you’ll find out in the next paragraph, was not only delectable, but downright forbidden!  All-in-all, the restaurant is worth a visit if you’re in town. 

I failed to mention one other detail about my training plan for this double marathon weekend – I had given up sweets.  Well, I had mostly given up sweets.  I say this with hesitation because my ancestors pride themselves on their sweet tooth and there I was, spitting on the very thing they fought for!  Alright, the only fighting they likely did was over the last piece of pie.  Regardless, beginning March 1^st, I decided to only allow myself one dessert per week and that would be on Sunday evening.  If you know me, this was a far greater challenge than running up and down Pikes Peak Mountain; I had quite the addiction to sugar!  My addiction came to a head on one particular day when I had been in the office for one hour and, after eating six Pop Tarts, I was in the break room looking for a donut.  In fact, I realized this was a pretty common occurrence.  It just so happens that the group I was training with had given up sweets for some time prior to this and raved about how much better they felt so I thought it might actually help with running.  If nothing else, I had a support group!

After two weeks, I was officially detoxed and I really didn’t crave sugar anymore.  I didn’t alter my diet in any other way – in fact the notion of dieting as a runner always baffled me (we run more so we can eat more!) and as a result, I probably made up for the calories with more beer and bigger meals.  However, I lost 5 lbs.  This is notable in that ever since college, I have weighed the exact same regardless of what I did.  I suppose I felt marginally better after giving up the sweets but this tirade doesn’t get me off the hook for having dessert at Local 127 on a Saturday night when I was only allowed Sunday night dessert!  I tried to trick my wife into ordering the panna cotta so that technically it would be her dessert (even though I planned to eat it all along), but she insisted on the cheese plate!  Alas, I failed the training plan. 

There I sat in shame on the hotel bed watching the (arguably equally shameful) remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street as I tried to fall asleep but just couldn’t avert my eyes from that train wreck.  The race was at 6:30am and in all, I got about four hours of sleep.  At the start line, I located the 3:10 pace group and quickly discovered this group to be too serious to have an enjoyable run.  I missed Kentucky already!  Not only was the company not as friendly as I would have liked, it rained for most of the race and in the history of my marathon races this was only the second time that had happened.  Out of 18 races, I suppose I was due.  I found the steady rain and occasional lightning to be quite relaxing. 

The course was less scenic than Louisville and a bit hillier.  In fact, this race has quite a reputation for being difficult because of the hill aspect.  However, I’m convinced that after mile 9, it was mostly downhill.  It always surprises me what runners’ opinions of hilly races are.  The race went well and I kept a pretty even split at the half to finish in 3:09.  Other than just wanting this one to end at mile 22, I didn’t feel any significant difficulty in running back-to-back marathons. I wasn’t sure what to expect so I let the pace group push me and I felt like I ran both races conservatively.  In the aftermath, I walked away unscathed – no sprains, no pulls, not even a blister!  I might even have something left in the ol’ legs to race the Vermont Marathon in two weeks. 

Cincinnati - The Wife's Perspective

It was a pretty straight shot from Louisville to Cincinnati. After a quick tour through the Expo, we headed right to an early dinner, and then straight off to the hotel for some shut eye. Or at least that was the intent – that is, until we both got hooked into watching the new Nightmare on Elm Street. What a terrible movie. We finally got to sleep, but it wasn't for long – the Flying Pig marathon starts at 6:30 am, which is extremely early. So to be at the start by 6, we had to leave by 5:30 and therefore get up at 4:30, which is 3:30 our own time… yikes!

Aaaaaand the morning started off nice and cold and rainy. I dropped my husband off (usually I try to stick around to see him start, but for this race we didn't stay downtown, and I didn't want to have to deal with parking there twice) and then headed to Mile 2, which is where we had decided I would make my first stop. It was still dark, and rainy. And absolutely deserted. Eventually a few more people showed up a little further down the street, so at least I wasn't completely alone. It wasn't long before the runners started to come through, and they all looked completely drenched and totally unhappy.

It's always difficult to figure out where to head to watch, especially in a strange city. I like to pick stops that are at least 10 miles apart – just in case I get lost or it's harder to get there than I expected – and close to a major highway or street. If I can, I like to pick a spot where I can walk to another viewing area, but that's not usually possible. Sometimes it works out, sometimes not so well.

This time I picked a spot that was about halfway which looked pretty easy to get to without having to cross or get too close to the race. It turned out to be a grocery store with lots of parking, and lots of other cheerers, and also a relay exchange spot, so I was in lots of company. I sat in the car until about 5 minutes before I could have possibly expected my husband to come by even if he was destroying his own goal (it was still raining a bit) and then snagged a clear spot and started cheering. About 15 minutes later I saw him and got some kids around me to cheer for him. By then the rain had stopped, so I stuck around for a while longer to cheer on more runners before heading back to the finish.

From there it got tricky. Cincinnati is almost like a little island, and at this point the roads on three sides of it were closed down due to the race. I ended up having to park quite far away, and only after maneuvering the wrong way down a one-way street. When I found the finish line, I realized that I was on the half-marathon side; all the marathon runners were actually coming in on the other side. Too late though – there was no obvious way to quickly get to the other side and I knew my husband would be coming through any minute. I just shouted extra loud for him when I saw him, in the hope I could shout over the other runners!

And then began the longest exit chute I had ever seen! It snaked all the way around the stadium, with the runners on the bottom and the spectators having to cross overhead. It's a good thing that for once we had discussed where to meet up if he didn't see me (we picked the obvious location of the runners' reunion posts – those things do come in handy!). We had just enough time to make it back to the hotel for my husband to take a shower and for us to hit the road for the long drive back to Chicago.

8/50 - Kentucky Derby Marathon

Why run just one marathon in a weekend?  The Kentucky Derby Marathon on April 30, 2011 and the Flying Pig Marathon on May 1, 2011 (separated by a 100 mile drive) seemed like a good way to kill a weekend – that is provided you enjoy self-inflicted pain and a challenge. Me, I just like efficiency.  Also, it gives me a higher status with the Marathon Maniacs (http://www.marathonmaniacs.com), a group of marathon runners that make me feel like a slacker. 

Training for this double marathon weekend required a different approach. After taking one month off, I prepared a 10-week training program that had me running the same long run on Saturday and Sunday.  I ran double long runs ranging from 12 – 21 miles.  Ok, so I committed to eight of those weeks; call me a B- student!  This approach quickly had me in very unfamiliar territory again – high mileage!  I had four weeks that were close to 70 miles. I was hurting in ways I have never hurt.  Of course, I had no idea what to expect from these back-to-back races and given that I was going to run 52.4 miles over the course of that weekend, 70 miles per week (about eight hours of running) didn’t seem inappropriate – but it sure wasn’t pleasant!

We drove to Louisville on Friday and made it to the expo in five hours. At the expo, we picked up the essentials and went across the street to the bar.  I don’t really have a specific pre-race meal but I sure do prefer that it includes a beer or three!  Louisville is a quaint little city with a lively restaurant scene.  We saddled up to the bar at Bistro 301 (http://www.bistro301.com), a great bar packed with runners and nice little beer list.  Here, we met a couple of guys in town for the marathon and started talking beer, running and motorcycling.  It turns out they live in NC and MI and rode their bikes into town for the race!  I thought my wife and I were the only ones who consider ourselves both runners and bikers.  We then discovered that, like me, they are also accountants working in Chicago - small world!  It was that chance meeting that birthed the elite running group called “the 1%ers” of which we are the directors (three treasurers and a president!).  If you ride a bike or have seen Gangland on the History Channel, you’ll know the reference.  We thought it clever to give reference to the assumption that given the entire running population, only 1% likely also ride motorcycles.  If you’re interested in “patching in”, let’s talk!

The Derby Marathon is largely a half marathon event.  About 15,000 half marathon runners (or “mini marathoners” as they call them) and 1,600 marathoners participate.  This can get really annoying when both groups of runners are on the same course.  For this race, the issue was the congestion.  About 12 of my miles were run with the half marathoners.  Toward the end of my race, I had about two miles of weaving in and out of slow runners and walkers since we meet back up with the half marathoners toward the end. 

The weather was beautiful, approaching 70 degrees F and sunny, and the people were most hospitable.  I love the south!  The course was mildly hilly and beautiful –from the historic homes and buildings to the serene Iroquois Park.  We even ran through Churchill Downs!  Considering I went into this race with some pretty sore hamstrings, I felt incredible. So good in fact, that I abandoned my plan to run a 3:10 so that I could save a little something for the Flying Pig Marathon the next morning.  I comfortably ran a 2:59 and came in 18th place overall.  I was pretty happy with that.  Now to see what toll it would take on me in Cincinnati…

Note - I also happened to meet the owner of Heine Bros. Coffee (http://www.heinebroscoffee.com) shops in Louisville for a few miles during the run, great guy.  Check out the shops if you’re in the area. 

Kentucky - The Wife's Perspective

Ah, double marathon weekend! As with so many of his ideas, I thought my husband was insane when he suggested we knock 2 marathons out in one weekend. Who runs 2 marathons in a single weekend? That guy does! And apparently he's not the only one. All I can say is that I'm seriously in awe of anyone who has the endurance to run back to back marathons.

We had originally intended to make this a motorcycle trip (I just got my very own Harley late last season and have been dying to take it somewhere cool), but between the rain/flooding the South had been having, trying to schedule our vacation days to get in all the other planned marathons and our adoption of a yellow lab puppy, we figured it would be best and fastest to take the car.

While my husband was checking in at the expo, we were approached by a gentleman who asked if one of us was spectating. That'd be me! He then introduced himself and said that he was a local who had run the Derby Marathon a number of times and the increasing size and complexity of the race had driven him to put together a spectators' map/guide, which he then offered me. My Chicago sensibilities told me that this had to be some kind of a trick -- like the homeless people in Chicago who "hand" you a flier or newspaper and then demand payment -- because no one does something so nice and helpful out of the goodness of their heart. Well, in the South, apparently they do! His guide was extremely helpful, as it contained not only suggested viewing areas and a map, but also indicated where the best spots were to view the course when the Mini Marathoners weren't on it (helpful for the spectator, since it means smaller crowds and less congestion. For example, he told me to skip the Downs because it would be a nightmare). It was a life saver.

But first, I had to find the Interstate so I could start following the first set of directions. I knew where the Interstate was, of course, but it turns out that just about every single road heading in the direction I needed to go was closed, and I couldn't get to any street with an onramp that was open! I finally stopped and asked a traffic director where I should go, and while gesturing behind him he said "just keep going that way, and eventually head East a little bit." So I headed that way, only to somehow find myself in the middle of what looked to be the Projects on a one-way and dead-end street, and this after already looking for an on-ramp for quite a while. I pulled over and, I kid you not, cried for a minute. I was so frustrated and could not figure out where to go! In the end I just kept driving around until I finally found an open on-ramp and I was on my way!

I stationed myself at the entrance of Iroquois Park, which let me easily catch my husband on his way in, and then again on his way out around 5 miles later. I was hoping to catch up with Dan, a biker friend we had made the night before who was there to support his friend Corey (I love making biker friends), but Dan ended up at the other end of Iroquois Park, so we missed each other. I also missed Corey's entrance to the park, because I was too busy looking for Mike's exit! I had hoped to catch him to cheer him on but instead I headed to the finish line. After a parking fiasco, I barely made it to my station to see my husband as he triumphantly headed to the finish. I had hoped to stay there to see Corey, but the chute was like a mile long and my husband couldn't figure out how to get through it and back to where I was so I had to abandon my post and go find him. Reunited, we headed out of the finish area (though it looked like they were going to have a good band and great party) back to the hotel to shower, check out and meet Dan and Corey for a celebratory beer, after which we had to head straight out to the Cincinnati expo...

7/50 - 2011 Phoenix Rock N' Roll Marathon

Time off between races is good.  One month of enjoying the incredible wines and foods of Napa and France that we partook in as part of our wedding and honeymoon was more than good.  After all, I could still allow myself ten weeks to train for the Rock N’ Roll Phoenix Marathon in January once we returned from France so why not forget about running for a while?

Training at this time of the year becomes challenging for me.  The cold, the snow and the ice all play into my decision as to whether or not getting out of bed at 6am to run on Saturday is a sane idea.  I tell myself that the solitude and the beauty of heavy snow masking the trees is worth it.  There is more wildlife out on the trails and the occasional runner you pass is in high spirits and usually waves because you have made the same asinine decision to leave the warmth of your bed and brave these conditions for a sport that, in the eyes of many, is on par with Civil War re-enactments as being a useless vocation.  To them we say, enjoy the warmth of your bed, you damn Yankees!

I averaged 40 miles per week for these ten weeks of training.  I tend to run my highest mile weeks about three to five weeks before a race and for this race I peaked at about 60 miles in a week.  That’s huge for me.  In fact, I can’t recall the last time I had run 60 miles in a week.  Mo’ miles, mo’ problems I say.  Sure enough, I twisted my ankle on Christmas Eve running in a heavy snow. 

The race was on Sunday, January 16^th and we flew to Phoenix on Thursday morning.  On our drive to Prescott, we stopped for lunch at Sun Up Brewing Company (http://www.sunupbrewing.com ) for some decent beers.  Prescott is a motorcyclists’ paradise.  In addition to its mile-high location providing 70 degree (F) days and ample sunshine throughout the year, the scenery on the drive in (via Route 60 to Route 89) through the desert hills and mountains is breathtaking.  Unfortunately, we were in a car.  I would have to settle with hanging my head out of the window for the drive. 

Having traveled Arizona once before, I had no lasting good impressions.  Prescott changed that.  This town has a wild-west feel that has been revived over the years with the help of local artists.  The Motor Lodge (http://www.themotorlodge.com) was a unique place to stay with incredibly fun proprietors, one of which looked exactly like Tommy Lee.  Prescott also had one of the better cafés we have been to in the states.  The Raven Café (http://www.ravencafe.com) is a European-style green café complete with art, music, locally sourced ingredients throughout the menu, organic espresso bar, wine, and craft beer.  After a successful dinner on Thursday, we returned Friday morning for breakfast.  This place is fantastic, right down to the atmosphere and decor. 

From the Raven, we drove north to Jerome.  Jerome is an old copper mining town turned ghost town turned artist community that is well worth the visit.  Our stop here was multipurpose – we had been told how unique the town was (and that there were wineries!) and while at the Raven Café that morning, we read about a featured local artist that had some really interesting pottery at her gallery in town.  We stopped, we tasted some wine and we bought some pottery.  From here, we continued on through Sedona and back to Prescott while driving into one of the most amazing sunsets I’ve seen. 

After breakfast Saturday morning at a great Prescott coffeeshop (http://www.cupperscoffee.com), we drove back to Phoenix to attend the race expo (where I subsequently fell in love with Kara Goucher).  That evening, we set out for a pre-race dinner.  “Tommy Lee” from the Motor Lodge had previously worked at House of Tricks (http://www.houseoftricks.com) and it came highly recommended.  He didn’t let us down - another really creative space with exquisite food. 

The race starts in downtown Phoenix and takes you through Tempe and Scottsdale.  It may not be the most scenic landscape, but it is fast with some slightly rolling hills throughout.  Temperatures can climb into the 80’s by the afternoon, but being this is the desert, most of the race is in cooler temps.  The race finishes in the ASU stadium and, in all, is a pretty well organized race, although there wasn't anything particularly noteworthy about the race or the course.  The race is part of the Rock N’ Roll Marathon Series which aims to provide musical entertainment along the route every mile or two.  Frankly, I thought Chicago provided better entertainment and it is not part of this series.  Maybe it was too early for the rock.  I finished the course in 2:56 and checked another state off the list. 

6/50 - 2010 Chicago Marathon

This is my hometown race.  For eight years I was a one-town marathoner.  In light of my 50 states goal, I decided that this would be my last hometown race.  I planned to run it in sub-3 hours, the only time I will have done that in the ten consecutive years I will have run it.  That the race was held on 10/10/10 only supported this decision as it played into my affinity for numbers and symmetry.  Could I run it in 10 minutes under the 3 hour mark?  That was my hope.
 

After Pikes Peak I took one week off from running.  That left me with six weeks to train during a time when I was also planning a wedding.  I knew this course so well that my training plan was simply to just stay in shape.  I averaged about 30 miles a week over the course of these six weeks when I probably should have tried a little harder.  This was just one of those times when life got in the way.

Chicago is such a big race, both in the number of participants and in the number of spectators.  This year had 45,000 entrants and spectators estimated at close to 2 million.  Of course a large number of spectators at Chicago usually means that the weather is going to be nice enough for them at 7:30am and throughout the day.  For the runners, that usually means that it’s going to be a hot race!  Sure enough, temperatures reached into the 80’s with sunny skies - my kind of race.

Chicago has an ongoing struggle with marathon weather conditions and what runners find to be the ideal climate for a race.  2007 was so hot that the race was officially shutdown after 3 1/2 hours.  In 2008, race organizers were better prepared for the heat as similar temperatures greeted us.  In 2009, the weather was ideal for most, upper 40’s (F) at the start and partly cloudy.  For me, this is all part of the experience.   Most people will train for six months before this race.  That means they have encountered cold, heat, rain and shine.  Given that, you would think we would be acclimated to whatever weather is thrown our way on the day of the race.  Yet few runners can agree as to their ideal climate.  That’s just one attribute that makes the marathon such an individualistic sport. 

What’s great about the Chicago course is that it’s flat and fast!  It forges through a lot of neighborhoods (The Loop, Gold Coast, Lincoln Park, Boystown, Greektown, West Loop, Little Italy, Pilsen, Chinatown, Bridgeport) and really showcases the diversity and culture of the city.  It’s a baseball town and the course heads as far north as Wrigley Field (Cubs) and as far south as Cellular Field (White Sox) with spectators as enthusiastic as those respective team’s fans along most of the course.  Starting and finishing in Grant Park provides the perfect landscape for runners, spectators and tourists.  In fact, I often feel like a tourist in my own town at this race.  It’s an incredible city.

For me, the race started out as planned.  I had my goal at the halfway point by running 1:24.  From there, my bare-boned training plan took its toll on me.  Although it wasn’t the 2:50 marathon I was hoping for, I did manage to run it in 2:54 (my fastest Chicago time) and I can now retire from running this race having achieved a sub 3-hour marathon in Chicago.

5/50 - 2010 Pikes Peak Marathon

This was a suicide mission. I don’t know what came over me at this period in my running life but I liken it to what a midlife crisis must feel like. How else could I explain the urge to run up a 14,115 ft mountain when I hail from the Land of Lincoln – a place where speed bumps were the only hills I trained on? Just look at this mountain (http://www.pikespeak.us.com/)!  With that in mind, I was going to make the most out of this marathon vacation. And what’s not to love about Colorado?

After running the Traverse City Marathon, I had exactly 12 weeks to train and I jumped right into it. However, my plan wasn’t executed so diligently. Here’s a breakdown of my miles run for each of the 12 weeks, starting with week 1 – 29, 42, 38, 12, 32, 35, 0, 48, 12, 31, 15, 27. Notice how inconsistent these are! It was summer and I had just started work on a full sleeve tattoo that was the likely culprit for some of these low mile weeks.

I mentioned that I’m from Illinois. This posed a problem for my training, not only in that I didn’t have any 14,000 ft peaks I could train on, but I also live at sea level and had no way to acclimate my body to these heights. There is 43% less oxygen at the peak than at sea level! I would worry about that on race day – for now, I would reintroduce myself to the treadmill and turn the incline up to 12%. Quickly seeing how grueling that was, I ended up only doing this eight times, seven of them between 3-4 miles and one time at 8 miles! The average grade of Pikes Peak is 11%. The marathon is 13.1 miles uphill and 13.1 miles downhill. In all of my training, I didn’t even make it through the full uphill leg once. This was not going to be pretty.

We flew into Denver on a Wednesday and the race was that Sunday. This was my acclimation period. Denver isn't known as the "Mile High City" for nothing - in fact, it's approximately a full mile higher than sea level. We rented a motorcycle and road north through Boulder, Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park and stayed at a lodge (http://www.hotsulphursprings.com/) outside of the west entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park in Hot Sulfur Springs, CO. The lodge sits hillside with a selection of natural and man-made sulfur tubs carved into the hill. It’s a beautiful area and the perfect place to relax my muscles before a race. Unfortunately, the town is slowly becoming a ghost town. We arrived five minutes before the last place to get food, a Dari De-Lite ice cream stand, was closing at 8pm! Starving, we were lucky to have made it just in time.

The next morning, we rode back to Denver and took a self-guided tour (http://http://www.denverinsideandout.com/) as detectives charged with solving the 1922 Denver Mint Robbery. Throughout the city, actors and clues were waiting for us to advance through the mystery. If this interests you, the three hours of walking all over the city aligns nicely with your taper!

On Friday, we drove to our destination for the rest of the week, The Broadmoor Resort (http://www.broadmoor.com/) in Colorado Springs, CO. One of the best dining experiences I’ve ever had was at the Penrose Room on this property. We spent Saturday relaxing at the pool then headed to the expo. This race is sponsored by Bristol Brewing (http://www.bristolbrewing.com/), a craft brewer with excellent beer (and I’m not just saying that because it was free all weekend)! If you like Scottish ales, their Laughing Lab Scottish Ale is up there with the best of them.

Sunday – race day. You may have noticed that so far, this blog entry reads like a travel journal. That’s because the race itself was certainly not the highlight of the trip. This was the hardest 5 hours and 46 minutes I have ever worked in my life. There was not one minute that I found myself taking in the beautiful views afforded to us and enjoying myself. I was under the assumption that I would work hard to get up the trail and relax coming down. In fact, the downhill was worse than the uphill!

The race starts in the rustic town of Manitou Springs (6,300 ft above sea level) and in less than two miles, we were off the streets and on the Barr Trail - a narrow, winding National Park trail composed of gravel, rocks and dirt with sharp turns and abrupt changes in elevation or direction. Everyone is so spirited until that first switchback on the trail when we go from a 4.5% incline to a 13.4% over the next three miles! Once some order was established, we were back to running, albeit at a much slower pace. I felt like I was stuck in one of those dreams where you try to run faster and faster but feel like you're running through molasses. From there, we traversed the East side of the mountain at varying inclines with a few level sections to regain our strength. The last three miles are above the tree line and my average mile must have dropped to about 25 minutes per mile. It was a beautiful day and we could see all around us for miles. Unfortunately, I was still only focused on looking up. I would estimate that I only ran about 8 of the 13.1 miles up the peak. My wife was waiting for me with grapes at the peak. I couldn’t have been happier to see her though it probably didn’t show at the time. I was feeling the burn, as they say.

Near the summit of Pikes Peak (I'm wearing yellow)

Coming down was an entirely different race. Gravity propelled me down the trail at such speeds that each switchback was a harrowing experience. The trail was scattered with tree roots, boulders, and loose gravel which, on the way up, were merely obstacles, but which on the way down became terrifying road hazards. In all, I fell about four times and managed to only bloody up my palms and a knee and acquire a few nasty blisters (note - I rarely ever get blisters from running). Others weren’t so lucky. I saw a couple of nasty spills that likely required medical attention… once the stubborn participant made it down on his/her own, that is!

I finished in 106th/689 place. The after-party was like a gathering of war heroes – each with his/her own story to share and wounds to nurse over a beer. During a regular marathon, I would estimate that I expend about 3,000 calories. For this race, I would put that number at 6,000. Within two hours after the finish, I had six beers and an entire pizza!

The camaraderie in this race was unmatched. The race website (http://http://www.pikespeakmarathon.org/) has great information on how to strategize for this event. It’s less of a race and more of a test of survival for the 700 marathon participants, and the 1,700 half-marathon participants (called the Ascent, the half-marathon is only one-way - the UP way). There were volunteers every couple of miles with full spreads of fruit, snacks and drinks. In fact, the race organizers have to go through quite a lot of trouble to get any food or even water up the mountain, since the Barr Trail does not run anywhere near the road, and they did a great job. Weather can always be an issue with this race as severe storms can appear with very little warning on top of a mountain with no shelter. This weekend, we were lucky…if you like heat. The race started at 7:00am when the temperature was already in the 70’s (F) and sunny. When I summited at around 10:30, the temperature was in the 50’s (F) and by the time I made it back down to the finish line around 12:45, it was well into the 90’s (F)! Yet, it had snowed the previous year. Go figure.

As a 2010 finisher, I now qualify to come back and be a "Doubler" - someone who runs both the Ascent, and, the next day, the Marathon. The Walt Disney Marathon in Orlando, FL has something similar to this that they refer to as “Goofy’s Race”. If running a half marathon and then a marathon at sea level is goofy, than what do you propose we rename the “Doubler”?!

Pike's Peak - The Wife's Perspective

Ahhhh, Colorado. Land where I was born and, after moving around for the 14 years in between, where I started and graduated from high school. Not to mention the land of mountains and ski resorts and rafting and hiking and all other manner of fun things (no, I do not count running up a mountain one of those "fun" things).

When my husband told me he wanted to run the Pikes Peak Marathon, my initial reaction, of course, was "that's crazy" (this is my initial reaction to almost everything my husband tells me he wants to do... the man doesn't seem to ever want to do anything sane!). But I will take advantage of every possible excuse to go back to Colorado, which, prior to my move to Chicago for law school, was the only place I'd ever considered "home." So, after having a good laugh at him, I was fully on board.

Our first day was spent on a rented Harley, just relaxing and seeing sights (and lots of elk!) It was great, but with all the altitude changes and switchbacks through the passes, I was glad we had rented one bike instead of separate bikes for both of us. I let my husband crank up the CCR on the radio and take full driving control, while I relaxed.

On Thursday, we did the Denver Inside and Out tour. This is one of those times where the whole 50/50/50 thing has really worked out for me, because the deal is that I get to pick stuff that we do (other than running) while on trips. I really wanted to do this tour - I love cheesy educational stuff - but my husband was not quite sold. Too bad! My pick! In the end, I think he kind of loved it. It was just so interactive and over-the-top, and different from any other history tour I've ever done. It's a combination scavenger hunt/live performance, and the idea is that you follow clues to different historically significant parts of downtown, where live actors then "find" you to help give you enough information to solve the 1922 Denver Mint robbery. It was not all fun and games, however - we also visited several drinking establishments (I'm so glad Prohibition didn't stick!), including the Wynkoop Brewery and Steuben's Diner, and then had dinner with some high school friends of mine.

The rest of the trip was spent in Colorado Springs, my actual birthplace and site of my high school trouble-making years. I don't have too many friends around anymore (that's what happens when you grow up in a military community), but I still have a lot of emotional connections with local places. One of those is the Broadmoor Hotel, one of very few hotels in the country to have achieved both a 5 star (Forbes, formerly Mobil) and a 5 diamond (AAA) and the longest-running consecutive winner of both awards. I worked there when I was in college. It's a splurgy place to go, but it is absolutely beautiful, with top-notch service, and I figured that it might be one of the few chances I get to stay there and be waited on, after having worked there and been the one waiting on others. Plus, I used the run as an excuse - after such a trying race, my husband would need an extra-special place to recover! We loved everything about our stay, especially the Penrose Room. The food is exquisite, as you would expect, but my favorite part is that all of the tables are arranged in a square around the dance floor, with a live 3 piece band forming the last end of the square. Dancing is not only encouraged, but expected! There are extra waiters standing by to ensure that food is always timed with a return from the dance floor, so nothing is ever cold or waiting. It's perfection.

But we were here for a race. In my home town! I didn't even need to do a pre-race drive through for this one; I was ready!

The race is up the Barr Trail, which is a hiking-only trail that runs nowhere near the road, so I knew that the only places I'd be able to see him were at the start, at the peak, and at the finish. I figured I had a good few hours to get to the peak after the starting gun - after all, not even my superman of a husband could tackle that ascent in fewer than a couple of hours. I had a nice, leisurely breakfast and enjoyed my coffee and the morning paper, and then I headed for the peak in my rented yellow Volkswagen Beetle (which I rented based on fun factor alone... you should have seen my husband's face when I drove up to the Harley dealership to pick him up after he dropped off the bike... classic!). I knew I had plenty of time, but about halfway up the drive I started to get the panicky feeling that he would have somehow surprised both of us and ascended much more quickly than we expected (after all, we had no idea what to actually expect since he had no way to simulate a timed run before hand!) and my speed started to creep higher and higher. Well, I soon realized that I had no choice but to slow back down since the top of the Pikes Peak Roadway is not much more than several very steep and sharp switchbacks. When I finally reached the top, I leaped from my Bug and started running toward the Trail. And got about 3 steps before I almost collapsed. I had totally forgotten the altitude change, which my lungs, in their safe and quick ride in the car, had not had any time at all to process! I took it a lot more slowly after that. It felt like everything was moving in slow motion, but I begin to get accustomed after a few minutes,and I found a perch on which to sit while I waited for the marathoners. I had missed the first couple, but they were still coming up very few and far between.

Because of the switchbacks up the mountain, you can see people ascending for about a mile. It wasn't difficult to spot my husband, as he was wearing a bright green long-sleeved shirt (many other people had taken clothes off by this point, but he had a fresh tattoo to protect) and I got to watch him get closer and closer. As he reached the top, he smiled, gave me a kiss, and said "this is the stupidest thing I've ever done," and then turned around to do the same thing over again, but this time downhill while dodging the several hundred people who were still making their way uphill. I watched him for as long as I could make him out, and then headed back to the Bug for a slow coast down the mountain. I got to the finish time in plenty of time to see him, one of the first couple of residents living at sea level, cross the finish line. By that time, the heat was starting to get out of control, so we spent a good couple of hours in the free beer tent to cool ourselves down. That was my favorite part of the whole race.