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.

4/50 - 2010 Traverse City Marathon

I had about 10 weeks to train for this race.  I was feeling good after the Napa Marathon and eased back into training with 25 mile weeks, ultimately peaking with a 55 mile week, three weeks before the race.  Of course, I wasn’t that diligent with my training plan.  I did take a week off in April in preparation for Dark Lord Day (www.darklordday.com). 

Having visited Traverse City before, we knew just where to stay.  The Wellington Inn (http://www.wellingtoninn.com/) is a great B&B in the heart of Traverse City run by the nicest couple.  We made a three-day reservation with them over Memorial Day weekend.  On our drive up, we stopped at Founders Brewery in Grand Rapids for lunch then proceeded to the expo and pasta dinner that the Traverse City Central High School track team was hosting for all the runners.  It was Friday and the race was to be held the following morning. 

The course runs along the west shore of East Grand Traverse Bay, up the Old Mission Peninsula,  and is an out and back.  This was my first experience with an out and back course.  These are fun because you get to see the runners at the front and back of the pack and cheer them on as you pass.  The course is flat, fast and quite scenic and this was a beautiful, crisp morning for a race.

I wasted no time getting into it and clocked an average of 6:25 miles for the first five.  Whoa, too fast!  I got caught up in a group that was led by the high school track coach.  The guy was fast.  I shouldn’t have done it but at this point, I figured that I would just hang on as long as I could.  That worked until the halfway point when the stomach cramp started.  Since it was an out and back, my wife was to meet me at mile 12 and again as I turned back at mile 14.  I didn’t see her at mile 12 and when I did find her at mile 14, I was seriously considering dropping out.  You see, Michigan has a lot of good beer and the Traverse City area is known for its wineries.  Sounds like a good reason to cut out of this misery early!

Too determined to finish, I ran through the cramps until they subsided at mile 19.  From here, it was a grueling finish with a full sprint for the last mile.  I’m usually one to have a smile on my face through to the end, but as this race finish photo shows I was just about to puke!  This is why I don’t like running 5Ks.  When I’m running at close to 100% effort, there’s close to a 100% chance I’m going to throw up in my mouth a little.   How’s that for imagery?

I had a new PR with a 2:53 finish.  My nauseous feeling soon subsided and I felt great.  Afterwards, as if the race weren’t enough, we rode our bicycles up the same peninsula (about 35 miles round trip) to do some wine tasting – the best along this route being Two Lads (http://www.2lwinery.com/).  Being married to me is exhausting. 

Later that afternoon, we stumbled upon Jolly Pumpkin restaurant (http://www.jollypumpkin.com/), a very cool microbrewery making beers far different than any we’ve tried before - still up there as one of our favorite beers and to this day, the most amazing lake perch I’ve had.  The restaurant is situated on the coast of Bowers Harbor and has an outdoor patio that overlooks the waterfront.  They also happened to be hosting a wedding on the lawn that we and a few bikers spectated while imbibing. 

A lot of beer sampling in these parts but the stand out was certainly Jolly Pumpkin.  As far as other restaurants, The Cooks’ House (http://www.thecookshouse.net/) was a great little place featuring local sustainable cuisine.  There are also additional wineries scattered about the Leelanau Peninsula, one of our favorites of which is L. Mawby (www.lmawby.com), a maker of sparkling wines. We think these wines even rival many true Champagnes, and at a tiny fraction of the price (which is extra helpful if you’re looking to get some carbs back into your body after a marathon). You can find several varieties in some Chicago-area stores, including Pastoral and at some Whole Foods Markets.

This is a great race in a really cool town and a fantastic drive up the Michigan coast. 

Traverse City - The Wife's Perspective

A few words about spectating…It's not as easy as you might think it is.  People always give me the look – you know, the one – it says "um, and just what do you do while your strong, athletically-minded husband is running around for hours on end, young lady?"

Ok, so I’m not running during those hours, that's true. But here's a little taste of what I am doing, in the context of this particular marathon:  I get up when my husband gets up. Not only is he as loud as an elephant (or maybe two or three elephants) once he's up and moving around, but his nervous energy is palpable. It's impossible to sleep through. Plus, I have to admit, I'm always a bit excited about the race myself.

So, Traverse City starts out with me trying to find something for him to eat, since, as usual, we forgot to pick something up the night before. Luckily for me, we had mentioned his early start to Barb, the owner of our B&B, and she has set out muffins and fruit. Perfect!  Then we get ready and head out to the start. In Traverse City, we were close enough to ride our bikes in. It's about a 15 – 20 minute ride, and is extremely convenient because parking is always a nightmare, especially when you don't know the area! Now, it's something like 6 am, so it's pretty cold, which means I have to dress in about a half dozen layers, since I won't have running to keep me warm.

And then…we just hang out for about an hour. It's cold, my husband hits the porta potty no fewer than 3 times, and otherwise we just kind of… stand there. The tension is excruciating! Sometimes we play games, like trying to pick out the fast people, or to spot the worst tattoos (this particular game works MUCH better when you're standing around at a place like Six Flags; runners on the whole don't seem to have many tattoos, and it seems like my husband always wins for best AND worst when we only have runners to play with). Sometimes we discuss the "game plan" – that is, where he can expect to see me, which side of the lane I'll be on, etc. Sometimes we just do anything to keep warm.

After the race finally starts, I swing into motion. First, I have to get back to the bikes. Not only am I weighted down by my layers, but now I'm carrying his extra warm-up clothes, too. I jump on my bike and hightail it back to the B&B, where I throw my bike in the van (our awesome minivan, that is… and no, we don't have kids), jump in the driver's seat, and start heading back to the start and up Mission Peninsula.

Now, I know what you're thinking – I'm in a vehicle, right? How hard can this be? Well, I've told Mike I'll be at Mile 12 (which is also Mile 14, due to the out-and-back course). It's going to take him less than 1 ½ hours to get there, and I just lost about 20 minutes getting back to the van and ready to go. And now I have to drive back to the start, and then another 12 miles to try to find parking as close to the course as possible. We drove the course the day before, of course, but that was a whole different experience. Now there are a bunch of random (to me) road closures and detours, and more-than-usual numbers of police officers and other drivers, and mostly I just crawl along. And this whole time, I'm totally stressed out, just hoping I can manage to find the appointed spot, and get there before he does.

I finally find my cross street and start driving towards the course. There are cars absolutely everywhere, so the first chance I find to park, I take it, and whip my bike out of the back (see, minivans are REALLY convenient sometimes), jump on, and start wildly pedaling up the road. UP the road. Because I'm going uphill. And I'm not built for this.  I finally get to the right spot, totally out of breath. As my husband alluded in his post, I did not make it for his pass at Mile 12. But I was there for Mile 14!

And then I had to jump in the car and do it all again, in reverse. I did make it back in time to see him finish. I didn’t know how much he had been struggling throughout the race until the end. I was proud of him for not giving up (although giving up is not something I've ever seen him do, in any context).  And then he tells me he wants to take the bikes back up the peninsula to ride around.

Yes, being married to him certainly IS exhausting.

3/50 - 2010 Napa Valley Marathon

After the Indianapolis race, I took some time off. Ok, a LOT of time off. I fell into my winter doldrums from November 2009 - half of February 2010 (as a result, I grew the gnarliest beard for this race.  I'm quite fond of this race photo!)  It was a beautiful furlough from running though not so great for my mental health.  On a whim, we decided to get out of the cold and make a trip back to Napa, CA.  I had surprised my wife with a 30^th birthday trip here seven months prior and I knew some California sun would do us good… alright, coincidentally, their marathon happened to be March 7^th.  Why not run it?! 

We arrived at the Harvest Inn in St. Helena, CA three days before the race.  I could write an entire blog on the amazing food and wine the area has to offer, but I’ll keep it brief.  We revisited out favorite organic winery/sustainable farming property, Frog’s Leap (http://www.frogsleap.com/) and discovered a couple of incredible restaurants for the omnivore and vegetarian/vegan, Bottega (www.botteganapavalley.com) and Ubuntu (http://www.ubuntunapa.com/), respectively.  With all this food and wine, it was easy to forget that I had an ill-prepared-for marathon to run in a few days!

I had signed up for the race with three weeks to train for it.  I had gone from running zero miles per week to 40 miles per week for those three weeks.  My plan was to just enjoy the beauty of that run that meandered through the Napa Valley, starting at the north end in Calistoga and winding its way south through 26.2 miles of vineyards, farm houses and tranquil beauty along the Silverado Trail, ending in downtown Napa. 

My friends thought I was nuts - runner and non-runner friends alike.  I had a runner friend claim she would shave her head if I did the race in under three hours like I thought I probably could.  The race started as the sun rose over the hills, burning off the morning fog that lay in the valley.  It couldn’t get more beautiful than this!  I started out with a group of a dozen or so runners keeping pace at about 7 minute miles.  After two miles, I picked up the pace and met a runner, Ed, at mile seven.  Ed made for great conversation as we ran through the idyllic landscape, past the occasional vigneron offering samples of his wine to the runners.

It became pretty clear to me around mile 23 that I was having a pretty good race for having done the CliffsNotes version of marathon training.  I parted ways with Ed at mile 24 and ran in to finish in 2:56, 28^th place overall.  That familiar feeling of pride I had when I finished the Boston Marathon filled my senses once again.  I never anticipated that I could run a PR in the shape I was in but I always enjoy a challenge. My wife had her own accomplishments to celebrate, as she had run a 5k during my marathon which resulted in her own PR.  We were both feeling amazingly great when I crossed the finish line with her there, as always, to scream me through the last few steps.

We were flying home later that evening but not before a celebratory coffee and pastry at the fabulous Bouchon Bakery (http://www.bouchonbakery.com/) and a picnic lunch in a deserted vineyard behind our inn in the warm California sun.  It was there we decided that our dream would be to get married in a small ceremony somewhere in the Napa Valley. Maybe it was still the high from the runs that brought that idea to our minds, but in any event, that's exactly what we did, just seven months later, at the Churchill Manor Bed & Breakfast (http://www.churchillmanor.com/), in a beautifully simple ceremony surrounded by our immediate families. Needless to say, for a number of reasons Napa will always be special to us.

I must mention, however, that I’m still waiting for my friend to pay up and shave her head for me!

2/50 - 2009 Indianapolis Marathon

Life after Boston...  I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, but I was certain that I wasn't going to fall into the romantic, yet repetitive cycle of running the Chicago and Boston marathons each year.  For that cycle had too many beaux and I was never one to settle into a routine. 

I did train with folks from my southside CARA running group and the Boston training group that summer for the 2009 Chicago Marathon.  However, I ran the race as the 3:10 pace leader.  I really wanted to help people get to Boston and at the time, 3:10 was the qualifying time for men aged 18-34.  What an incredible feeling to carry the hopes of so many people during that race.  As anyone who runs can tell you, anything could happen in a race.  Of the three of us group leaders, one tripped and fell around mile 8 and the other was having a bad race and trailed off around the halfway point.  Amazingly, they were both back on pace with me around mile 22!  Keeping your pace steady so that others (with Garmins critiquing your every step!) can rely on you to get them to the finish was quite a task.  Doing it while holding a group sign in your hand the entire way was just one more challenge! 

Halfway through the summer I felt that my training was going well and I was going to want to clock another sub-3 hour marathon.  Being tied to my commitment with the Chicago Marathon meant that I was going to have to look for something close to that race.  I registered for the Indianapolis Marathon that was to be held one month after Chicago. 

I should mention that a month earlier, I had sold my house, bought a new home with my wife and bought a new motorcycle (as a reward for selling my house in such a terrible market).  This last detail is significant only because I decided to ride it 180 miles to Indianapolis the night before the race.  It was a long, cold ride but we made it in time for the expo, dinner and some sleep.  The next morning was the race and I think my fingers thawed out right around the time I woke up at 4am.

The weather was beautiful but this race was a mess.  It was my first experience with both the half marathoners and full marathoners starting together.  When the clock read 12:30 after the first two miles, I knew this was going to be a problematic race.  I just couldn't hold back from chasing the carrot that was those half marathoners!  I held a pretty fast clip until just after the halfway point.  It was 7 minute miles from there on out and I was feeling miserable. 

I finished that race in 2:58:11, a personal record (from this point forward, we'll refer to this as "PR", one of several insider acronyms in the running world, silly as is may sound in normal conversation) but I wasn't pleased.  I knew I ran it foolishly but there was no time to sulk.  I had a new bike and a city to explore!  For all of its franchised stores and restaurants, Indy is actually a pretty nice city when you dig a little deeper.  We spent the afternoon cruising north on Meridian St., historically significant for its beautiful homes erected during the roaring twenties for the wealthy and social elite.  On quaint Broad Ripple St., we found Average Joes Bar for a drink on the open patio with some other bikers.  Afterwards, we made our way back to the hotel for a shower and dinner at Oceanaire, a surprisingly fantastic seafood chain on par with Legal Sea Foods in Boston.

1/50 - 2009 Boston Marathon

I had never run in the winter.  In fact, I had a pretty familiar habit of only running six months in the summer on sunny, hot days.  I did it for the Irish sun tan otherwise known as acquiring-enough-freckles-to-look-as-though-I-was-tan-from-50-yards-away-while-squinting.  It's all I had and unfortunately my vanity got the better of me on numerous occasions when I came home with painful sunburns.  That's all behind me now that I'm married.  Being pale is celebrated within this union!

My winters were usually spent gaining five pounds and looking forward to running it off come spring.  This winter was to be different.  I was going to don a pair of tights and face the cold, snow and ice like a man...performing at the ballet. 

My running seemed to benefit from a group training atmosphere so I decided to sign up for a group specifically geared toward Boston Marathon training.  It was through a running store in Chicago called Fleet Feet.  We were the Boston Bound Runners.  I still wear that pullover emblazoned with their logo out as if it validates my existence as a runner.  You see, once you've run Boston, you are a celebrity among runners.  Seldom does a finisher of that race turn down an opportunity to wear whatever tacky, loud-colored jacket, headband or short shorts with the race logo in public settings.  For three month after that race, I wore the fluorescent blue and yellow jacket over my suit as I commuted on public transit to my office as the boring accountant that I was.  It didn't matter; I was proud and someone in the crowd was sure to recognize my accomplishment with the same fervor and admiration bestowed upon war veterans. 

Training in a Chicago winter was not how I ever envisioned spending my Saturday mornings.  I would come back from runs with a snow and ice and snot beard frozen to my pathetic red beard.  However, there was something satisfying about finishing a grueling run under those conditions.  Not only did my body and mind feel good, but I could eat whatever I wanted!  It was great to cement friendships while sitting down to a group breakfast of pretty much two of everything on the menu after a long run.  These meals were events in that they literally lasted hours!

With the dream of running the Boston Marathon soon to become a reality, my wife, parents and I took flight to Boston on Saturday (the race was on Monday, Patriot's Day)  to take it all in.  When we arrived, we settled into a Holiday Inn about two miles south of the city.  The next day was spent navigating the transit system to explore the expo.  It was here that I realized the Boston Marathon was no longer an event that simply celebrated the elite runner.  Now, it was a marketing juggernaut geared toward not only draining your muscles of oxygen but relieving your wallet of whatever burdensome cash it was carrying.  Luckily, the training group was having a happy hour that evening where I was able to fill my stomach with Swedish meatballs and other assorted pub fair for a fairly cheap (and beer heavy) dinner!

I had a two mile run on Sunday and afterwards we ventured into the city to walk the Freedom Trail and take in the many sights along its path.  We grabbed some New England clam chowder and made the requisite stop at the Cheers bar for a beer or three.  We met a dozen or so of the other runners from my Boston training group for that celebrated tradition of Italian food the night before the race at Piccola Venzia in the North End.  I've since learned that I can eat just about anything the night before a marathon and never notice a difference in my performance but for some reason, the masses swear by spaghetti.  Meh.  Whatever works.  I was most excited about Mike's Pastries afterwards.  Wow.  Cannoli the size of your head!  Go for the lobster cannoli, you'll be most pleased.  Note - the lines can be a bit daunting, just push your way to the front. 

Monday morning, 4am.  I'm up and ready to go.  The sad part about that is that the race doesn't start until 10am.  I had to be on a bus at 6am in the city that would take me 26.2 miles out of town, where the race would start.  Luckily, the Boston training group I joined had our own bus so we could sit in a warm bus with a toilet while we waited three hours until the start time.  Money well spent, I say!  It was about 30 degrees F and a bit chilly to be standing around for three hours in shorts that are so short they would probably be illegal if I wore them any other day for any other reason.  Alright, I won't lie, sometimes I take that chance when I mow the lawn...  I like to live dangerously. 

About 30 minutes before the start, we walked to our staging area.  There were about 25 - 30 corrals where we were placed according to our qualifying times.  I was in the third corral.  It starts in a small, country town with narrow streets.  This is where I decided that I would not like to run with the bulls in Spain!  Being toward the front of a pack of fast runners means you keep up or you get swallowed.  The first two miles of the race were at a significant downhill.  The trick here was keeping cool and not taking off too fast.  I was successful.  My first two miles were 7:30 and 7:08, respectively.  I went on to clock a 1:29:45 at the halfway point.  This, I should mention, was a pretty fast point in the race due to the Wellesley Scream Tunnel.  The all-girls college is known to shower the runners with an overabundance of affection in the form of screaming and kissing.  Had I been single, I probably would have dropped out of the race at this point and still gone home with a win!  In the end, I married a girl from Smith College, the Wellesley all-girls school rival across the state where "the coffee is strong and so are its women."

http://www.newsweek.com/2008/08/08/the-12-top-rivalries.html. 

I set my focus back on the race as the second half was legendary for its hills, most notably, Heartbreak Hill around mile 20.  Even though I was on pace to break a three-hour marathon, I didn't imagine it was possible at this point due to the hills ahead.  They struck at about mile 17.  I found this first hill to be the longest and toughest.  It slowed me from a 6:38 mile to a 7:02, and for the next five miles, I would clock just over seven minute miles.  For the entire race, I ran with a friend from training, Alex.  As we approached mile 21, I turned to him and asked, "just where is this Heartbreak Hill we've heard so much about?"  A man next to us overheard and replied in a desperately out-of-breath manner, "that WAS Heartbreak Hill!  If it wasn't enough for you, you can go back and run it again!!!" 

This was my high point.  I had conquered the legendary hills with surprising ease and was about to coast into a finish over the next five miles (although it was mostly downhill from here, there was a nasty headwind with gusts up to 30 miles per hour on this part of the course).  It wasn't until mile 25 when I saw my family that I realized I was very close to breaking three hours.  I ran that last 1.2 miles at a 6:20 pace and finished with an official time of 2:59:06.  I was so ecstatic that I was actually moved to tears.  This was my perfect race.  I had run a 16 second negative split, I did what I never thought possible and on top of it, I broke three hours for the first time.  As soon as I caught my breath, I swore I would never run the Boston Marathon again (I still stand by that!). 

My family was in stitches for most of the race, as they were following my prediction time on the Boston Marathon website and watched as it danced around the three hour mark.  We celebrated that night with a nice French dinner at Petit Robert Bistro, a rowdy, late evening of drinking with fellow runners at Durty Nellies and some other place that we took over as we all roamed the streets in our Boston finisher jackets and medals.  You would think we looked like a bunch of nerds, but in Boston, you are treated like royalty in this garb on the day of the marathon.

The next morning we drove to Cape Cod for a few days of relaxation and sightseeing in terribly gloomy weather.  It's a good thing I had this newly acquired Boston Marathon jacket to serve as a raincoat.