45/50 - Missoula Marathon

A cirque - formed by glacial erosion or a giant ice cream scoop

And then there were 9... Montana just became my 41st sub-3-hour state (2:59:38) and 45th state marathon. Close one, eh? With 21 seconds to spare - and not intentionally - this race was nothing short of suspenseful.

I grew up watching The Price Is Right. Who didn't? At around mile 20 of each of these races, it's as if Bob Barker calls upon me to, "Come on down!" to join Contestants' Row to see how close can I get to 2:59:59 without going over. My strategy of late is this: 2:14:00 or better at mile 20 allows me to slow the pace to about 7:15/mile for the final 10K. In this case, Montana was set to be my 8th sub-3-hour marathon in the last 10 months and I'm beginning to feel worn out.

But enough about running for a bit...

I had been looking forward to this trip since I pulled out of it last year because of a skateboarding injury during my taper (I know, I'm a dummy. It wasn't even during a cool trick or anything). I flew into Missoula on Thursday and found myself sitting creekside at Highlander Brewing Co. a few minutes later. It's a 5-hour drive to the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn on the east side of Glacier National Park, most of which is breathtaking. While Going-to-the-Sun Road is the star roadway in the area, driving along the coast of Flathead Lake is also quite pleasing; you'll see plenty of cottages, cherry farms, and a smattering of cute towns.

Found it!

Going-to-the-Sun Road is the main artery crossing the Glacier National Park. Its 50-miles of winding white-knuckle turns, idyllic overlooks, glacier lakes, wildflowers, waterfalls, trailheads, and wildlife give you a great introduction to such a magnificent area.

With so many hiking options and so little time, I opted for a 10-mile guided hike to Iceberg Lake that left Friday (the 13th) morning from the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn. This hike took us through bear country, and presented sweeping views of glacier cutouts and, finally, a glacier lake. Having a National Park ranger as a guide really enhanced the hike.

Iceberg Lake - the water is about a degree above freezing, touch it!

Without a room booked for Friday night, I leisurely made my way back to the west entrance, stopping here and there to admire how glaciers sculpted the land, and the pristine waters of Lake McDonald at its impressive namesake lodge. But at $300 a night, I drove on in search of a brewery and cheaper accommodations.

Ooh, bear claws... Oh, not the pastry.

In driving toward Whitefish, I happened upon Backslope Brewing in Columbia Falls. With 30 minutes before last call (Montana state law prohibits breweries from serving past 8pm), I realized I probably wasn't going to make it to a brewery in Whitefish and pulled on over. Priorities, ya know?

I sat next to a woman from Palatine. She saw my IL driver's license and we struck up a conversation. She left IL a few years ago for the scenery of Montana. Every time I travel west, I wonder why I don't live there. I admire those that take the chance and move. I've suggested it more than once to The Wife, and hopefully one of these days I'll finally convince her...

For now, I found a room at the Glacier Inn Motel down the road from the recently opened Gunsight Bar & Grill, where I caught a band in their beer garden. And with that, the day ended pretty abruptly; I was tired.

Blues band, beer, and mountain air

A local recommendation led me to Buffalo Cafe in Whitefish for breakfast. Huckleberries, a top food source for bears in the area, pop up on nearly every human menu as well (in beers, pancakes, coffees, and milkshakes). Seeing as I am A Bear On The Run and have two bears tattooed on my arm sleeve, I ordered the huckleberry pancakes and wasn't disappointed.

It's 3 hours back to Missoula, and by timing it right, I was able to stop at Flathead Lake Brewing Co., to grab some roadside Flathead cherries, and then arrive at packet pickup with 30 minutes to spare. The view from the brewery's patio overlooking the lake is worth the stop.

And then I settled into Imagine Nation Brewing with Thai takeout from Pagoda across town - well worth the long wait. This brewery is everything I find many breweries to lack: a focus on community over profit. Their story tells it best, read it HERE. So while their beers followed the same old New England IPA trend du jour, the names of their beers (including No Human Being is Illegal! and Freedom Fighter) and a community calendar supporting education and activism (even hosting free HIV testing events), leave an impression far greater than most breweries I've visited across the country.

And then I remembered I was here to race.

I had to be on a bus at 4:30am to make the 6am race start. It's a point A to point B course running west to east. The first half of this race is great: I loved the sunrise, temperature in the 50s, and peaceful two-lane road that runs along a mountain range and river at 3,300ft above sea level. The second half is where it gets a bit challenging. There's a nice hill at mile 14 then not much shade along an undulating road from about mile 18 - 22. The day was forecasted to be 90F and the sun really began to take its toll at 8am.

At mile 20 I hit my 2:14:00 strategy goal. Unfortunately, my legs couldn't stay under 7:15/mile from there on: mile 21 - 7:25, mile 22 - 7:28, mile 23 - 7:26, mile 24 - 7:22... Sure, a few seconds here and there doesn't sound like the end of the world, but with a margin of error already calculated down to the very last second, it can be catastrophic. At mile 24, the 3-hour pacer passed me and I knew I was in real trouble. Then my mind started to focus on the financial and training cost of doing this trip again, and that became a big motivator. I gave it everything I had, grunting and all, to catch that pacer, and at mile 26.1, I did! You know what's more exhilarating than Deena Kastor putting a finisher medal around your neck at this finish? Not having to come back to try it again!

You see that 3:00 pacer behind me? 

This race ends on the Clark Fork River and there's nothing more refreshing than a post-race river bath. I settled in to Missoula Club, a dive bar that serves milkshakes and cheeseburgers with pickles, PBR mustard, onions and that's all. What more do you need? The rest of the day was a blur of breweries (Kettle House, Draught Works - I'll never forget your Tomatillo Sour!, Bayern, and Imagine Nation again), and The Big Dipper for an unnecessary amount of ice cream - 6 scoops (including a huckleberry flavor, of course) with all the fixings.

I mean, it WAS National Ice Cream Day

Weird, yet it worked

Before flying out Monday afternoon, I had to visit Big Sky Brewing for their Moose Drool Brown Ale (more for the memory of first drinking it on a trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming years ago) and others (which are mostly better). It's a worthy stop so close to the airport, and a nice way to wrap up another great Western Experience.

40th Sub-3-hour Marathon State: The Oregon Redo

Libertyville Running Club invades Oregon

This was one of those rare trips that I booked far in advance, a redo of Oregon after narrowly missing my sub-3-hour goal at the Bend Marathon 2 years ago. A surge within the Libertyville Running Club, including Melissa, was planning to run the race, which offers a half and full marathon distance. Due to a painful Coffee Milk Marathon 3 weeks prior, I supplemented much of my training runs with walks, and even sought the help of a doctor to work on the resulting hamstring injury. I was resigned to not run this race.

Chapter 1: Not About Running (Tue/Wed/Thurs)

Melissa and I flew into Oregon Tuesday morning to spend time in Willamette Valley rekindling our love of wine - we married in Napa and honeymooned in Burgundy and Champagne. Of course, we had to go through Portland first and I've been there enough to know I will ingest beer, food, donuts, ice cream, and coffee in excess.

Within hours of landing we sampled all 16 beers on tap at Burnside Brewing Company (try Sweet Heat - an apricot wheat beer with hot peppers), walked a few miles to Powell's Book Store, Blue Star Donuts (the best Portland donuts, I'll happily debate with you about the unwarranted acclaim for Voodoo Doughnuts), ice cream at Ruby Jewel, and coffee at Stumptown before the scenic drive to McMinnville via US-26/OR-47, stopping at Montinore Winery along the way. With an impending DNF (did not finish), I was off the wagon this week with regard to all that nutrition work I had been doing this year... it was marvelous!

We set up camp in McMinnville at McMenamins Hotel Oregon for a couple of nights. Unique to Oregon, McMenamins is the proprietor of several historic buildings turned hotel, restaurant, brewery, and/or winery throughout the state. We enjoy staying at their properties and basking in the local lore each exhibit. Their Kennedy School, a grade school converted into a hotel and entertainment property in Portland, is the best place to start.

One of many peculiar paintings adorning the hallways of Hotel Oregon

Hotel Oregon highlights the varied business owners once operating within this old, stately building and also pays homage to one of the most credible UFO sightings in America - a series of 1950 photos shot by a farmer near McMinnville (you may recognize one from the opening credits of the X-Files t.v. series).

Real UFO or photoshopped? You decide.

After a Wednesday morning trail run in Miller Woods reminding us we're not in Illinois anymore, we were ready for a day of wineries. McMinnville is the Heart of Oregon Wine Country, a wine region established by The Eyrie Vineyards when its founder brought French winemaking to an area peers thought unconducive to viticulture. It's a great place to start for crisp white wines and a history lesson.

A short drive into the farmland outside of town is Beaux Frerés. Willamette Valley stands in contrast to Napa Valley in that you get the sense these are farmers before investors. Tasting rooms are less extravagant, and since they're not the primary focus, several require reservations. As the only visitors this afternoon, Melissa and I had a private tour of Beaux Frerés and a tasting that felt more like sharing wines at a good friend's house. Their Pinot Noirs are superb.

Bud break on the vines and a winery dog at Beaux Frerés

Symmetry in wine

Next stop: Domaine Drouhin - a French wine house that set up shop here after Eyrie proved successful, has both a great patio view overlooking vineyards and a solid Chardonnay. Our 4th and final destination was White Rose Estate. I should tell you now that Melissa really likes wine. You know what a jeraboam is? Come back in a few days for a picture of her hugging it after it shows up on our doorstep. EDIT: As promised.

Bottle / Magnum / JERABOAM!

We were back to Hotel Oregon for dinner at their Rooftop Bar in unseasonably warm weather with a 360 degree view of the Valley. Third Street is McMinnville's Main Street and is lined with wine tasting rooms and restaurants. I'm not sure you can find a bad place to eat in this town. It was a short walk over to Grain Station Brew Works for a nightcap.

Before driving to the coast, we had another run then breakfast at Crescent Cafe. We didn't have a destination booked as we drove up coastal highway US-101, stopping to walk beaches, eat ice cream and cheese at the Tillamook Cheese Factory, and enjoy a crossword puzzle at Source for oysters and wine.

Unattended children will be given a Beetle Bus and ice cream

In Cannon Beach, we had clam chowder with seaside views at Mo's, booked a room at the Inn at Cannon Beach, then walked the length of the beach, 4.5 miles round trip, with a bottle of rosé from Domaine Drouhin.

Maybe?

Haystack Rock is located along this beach. April thru July, it is the nesting place for puffins (we saw them!) and accordingly, a protected wildlife refuge. Employees of the Haystack Rock Awareness Program are on site to ensure no one climbs on the rock. Why? In part because THIS is THE Goonies rock! We didn't realize that until after our walk. Similar rocks protrude all along the Oregon coast so who could tell?

Goonies! Puffins! Long walks on the beach! 

The Inn is a great stay for the price with an above average continental breakfast, fresh baked cookies all day, and ground zero for wild bunnies. Seriously, I've never seen so many bunnies in one place: black, brown, white, grey, spotted, big and little. Since I was off the nutrition wagon, I left Friday morning with a cookie-eaten-to-bunny-sighting ratio of 1:1.

That's 6 cookies right there!

Chapter 2: Race Weekend (Fri/Sat/Sun)

Let the LRC weekend begin. We rendezvoused in McMinnville on Friday. We ate, we drank, we drove to Eugene, making a few stops along the way (notably 2 Towns Ciderhouse and Block 15 Brewpub - that PB&J burger was killer!). I've set up several LRC trips to align with my 50-states goal but this was the largest gathering with 41 of us registered to run. Melissa and I settled into Excelsior Inn, a bed & breakfast near the race start for the weekend.

Eugene is TrackTown USA - a Mecca for runners. I'm not one to idolize professional athletes or famous people - I rather find inspiration in regular people doing remarkable things - but there was something extraordinary about Steve Prefontaine. I admire his go-your-own-way style. Jared Leto's portrayal of him in the 1997 biography, Prefontaine, helped. Watching this movie on the eve of a marathon was my only ritual for my first 20 or so marathons.

LRC met for a shakeout run on Pre's Trail, a 4-mile soft, wood chip trail near the University of Oregon campus. We were quite the presence in our STOP LRC shirts. We visited Pre's Rock, then humored ourselves with beers and pickled eggs at Max's Tavern, the bar that inspired Moe's Tavern in the Simpsons. Our B&B had an Italian restaurant which made for a convenient dinner the night before the race.

Who ordered the pre-run beers?!

Pickled eggs, as good as pre-race nutrition gets

Melissa and I walked to the race Sunday morning. We anticipated a rainy day but it turned out to be ideal running weather: mostly cloudy in the 50s with light rain holding off until late morning. I was apprehensive yet slightly optimistic when the race started. I planned to assess the pain at mile 8, then mile 16. Both checkpoints were close to the start/finish area where I could walk off course. I didn't take a pain reliever; I wanted to be honest to myself and not aggravate the injury.

This is a fast field of runners. By mile 2, an impromptu sub-3-hour pace group formed. It was a good distraction and mile 8 came and went with the same dull ache in my hamstring and tendon that I started with. I could work with that, eventually clocking a half marathon time of 1:28:08. I was feeling comfortable at this pace and succeeded with a nearly even split (second half was 1:28:36) and a total time of 2:56:44. Thankfully, the injury never worsened.

What the hell is THAT GUY doing with his hands?!

This is a great course for those of us that like rolling hills. The variety and scenery is nice and the finish into legendary Hayward Stadium is remarkable. As impressive as the finish is, seeing all the LRC cheering wildly at mile 26, the field entrance, and along the track as I closed in on my 40th sub-3-hour marathon state is something I will never forget. I'm thankful for them, my wife, and excited for all of their race accomplishments and camaraderie they exhibited in staying to cheer for the friends made from a club I started just 4.5 years ago.

The entrance to the final 200 meters onto the iconic field

And that deserves a celebration worthy of not one, but two post-race breweries. Ninkasi Brewing was a good kickoff to the festivities before heading over to Elk Horn Brewery for a free beer they offered all LRC race participants the previous day. They figured us out and they surely benefitted as we lingered for dinner and more drinks.

The 2nd to Last Supper at Ninkasi Brewing

The Last Supper at Elk Horn Brewery

The drive back to Portland is about 2 hours. Two years ago, Melissa and I stumbled into one of my favorite breweries and made it a point to finish our night there. Great Notion Brewing has doubled in size since our last visit and it's obvious why: the beer is good. If you go to one brewery in Portland, make it this one.

Beautiful beer

Ok, I lied. We finished our night at Salt n' Straw for more ice cream. See ya in Missoula!

44/50 - Coffee Milk Marathon

Mmm, coffee milk.

This sure doesn't come easy; have I said that before? Feels like I have. 4 weeks after a marathon personal best in Maryland, I found myself in a marathon death march in Rhode Island, narrowly accomplishing my sub-3-hour goal.

But why so difficult? I've hit my stride with nutrition tracking and (most of the time) healthy(ish) eating as well as religiously doing body weight workouts 3 times a week - all the stuff that I found helpful these past 2 marathons and part of my 2018 resolution to make these remaining marathons go smoothly.

I was set to fly to Providence, RI on Friday evening when I got ill Friday morning (which unfortunately made its way through the family all weekend). This, coupled with a left hamstring injury sustained by some overzealous running in the week after the MD marathon - after a year of nursing a right hamstring injury - didn't have me hopeful for a successful race. The flight was a struggle to quell the lingering sickness. I didn't eat much all day. I found a hotel as soon as I landed and went right to bed.

After a good night's sleep, a shakeout run around Providence, my first real meal in over a day at Sydney, and a weird experience with an 8-year-old and his inattentive mom in the hotel hot tub (he sat in my lap and sneezed in my face while his mom just looked on), my umwelt was back to normal.

Art, as seen during my run

Political art

Wall of Hope, also seen during my run

"What the hell is an umwelt?", you ask. I know what you're thinking, "word nerd!" I did hear it on NPR's Radiolab podcast so that's probably justified. Umwelt is the world as it's experienced by the person experiencing it. This world of running, as experienced by me, is always fun, regardless of the conditions: I'm here to visit 2 of the most talked about New England breweries, I've never been to Providence (cute town, friendly people!), I enjoy writing about my adventures, and I am able to run, which is something we able-bodied folks need to remind ourselves every now and then.

Back to those breweries... Treehouse Brewing Company, only around since 2011, is a great example of how to seize upon and capitalize the hell out of hype. You know that hazy NEIPA (New England IPA) you're drinking that tastes and looks more like juice than beer? It started with Heady Topper (brewed in Vermont by The Alchemist) in 2004. Nowadays, it's almost harder to find a clear, filtered beer with every brewery in the country obsessed with cashing in on this NEIPA trend.

See?! It's so hazy that even the picture turned out blurry.

Their pristine, rustic brewhouse sits on a hill overlooking a picturesque wooded property located in a small, middle-of-nowhere, Massachusetts town. The property is massive; they have their own shuttle for the backup parking lot, which I had to park in when I arrived at open! Demand is so high that they stopped distributing their product to stores and bars and on any given morning, people will line up (about an hour wait) to buy their allotment for the day and then, if the taproom is open (only on a couple of days a week), line up for 2 draft beers max - no flights, no samples.

A panoramic view of Treehouse - great outdoor space, food trucks, live music

It was stupid, but there I was. Beer-nerding in New England is far more intense than anywhere I've been in the country (see also my 2014 NH & ME marathon weekend). It's even worse than Belgium! The hunt and the hype will have me convincing you the beer is great, however, if you try it blindfolded, you're likely to opine a bit of truth: it tastes like beer we can readily buy at the grocery store.

I made it back to Providence in time for dinner at Al Forno and I'll be damned if I'm not standing in another line of people waiting for an establishment to open! This was another Facebook suggestion and that feature has yet to steer me wrong. I've taken to eating an entire pizza the day before a marathon and this pizza was worth the hype.

Sunday morning, it's cold and a bit windy, but these East Coast races tend to start at 8am so I'm rested. I had planned to treat this like a training run for the Eugene Marathon in 3 weeks. I knew the hamstring would be a hinderance so I tried to bank time on the first half, crossing it in 1:26:00. At mile 2 I thought, "Rhode Island is pretty, I wouldn't mind coming back." It wasn't until mile 15 that I believed I might not have to return.

Wincing in pain but still managed the Stehling pose - 2 fingers and a smile!

There began the numerous pace calculations going through my mind. At mile 13: "how much slower can I run and still finish in under 3 hours?" And again at miles 16, 18, 20, 22, the last 5K, miles 24 and 25. I've never been so consumed by the math, I think in part, because it helped keep my mind off the hamstring that was not at all happy for most of the race.

It was a small race, about 100 marathoners (joined by 175 half marathoners), and I was alone from mile 1 to the finish. But, I finished in 2:58:39, 2nd place and a few meters from pizza and coffee milk. For a small race, it had more than you would expect for $50: attentive race director out on the course all day, enthusiastic volunteers, course markings everywhere, a good food spread, and a fairly flat and fast, certified marathon course.

I had an evening flight and just enough time for the 45-mile drive to Trillium Brewing Company (in Canton, MA) for a few hours of nurse-my-wound beers and to pack a suitcase full of them to take home. Things are less grandiose here, but they're still in the hype business and there are lines. What's nice is they don't have a beer limit (well, 2 at a time then get back in line!) and they offer half pours so, in lieu of a flight, you can at least sample through their 20-some eclectic beers on tap.

Asian Pear Saison and Cabernet Wild Ale

At the airport, the United bag check attendant laughed and knew all about those "New England beers we're all flying home with." My bag of only beer was 54 lbs., 4lbs. overweight. She was nice and only had me throw away 2 beers.

Oh, right, I had 2 socks in there also.

I hate to dump you, That's What She Said!

Oh, and about that coffee milk - the state drink of Rhode Island... it's horchata, don't let anyone tell you differently.

43/50 - Lower Potomac River Marathon

Getting myself all fired up!

It's good to be back, both in DC and on top of my running game! Traveling the US has renewed my interest in US history, and what better place to take that in than our nation's capital. Of course, the first thing I did upon arrival Saturday was go to the beer & pizza place you're supposed to visit if you love beer & pizza: Pizzeria Paradiso. It's been 6 weeks since my last marathon and in that time I've continued fine-tuning my nutrition plan; an entire pizza and flight of beers for lunch was the ideal carb load meal before tomorrow's race. Well, in my plan it was!

The race was on Sunday and about a 2-hour drive south to Piney Point, MD, a quaint seaside village, home to the largest U.S. maritime training and education school. That school, the Paul Hall Center, was hosting the race and after party. Lucky for me, Piney Point is also home to the Ruddy Duck seafood restaurant and brewery and honestly, not much else. I grabbed an early dinner (crab cakes - I am in Maryland) and a flight of beers (that oatmeal cookie stout was amazing!) and retired to my hotel, asleep by 7pm. I did lose an hour traveling from CST to EST and I would lose another hour to Daylight Saving Time this evening.

I imagine this is full of Maryland crabs

I got 10 hours of sleep! I felt terrific the entire week leading into this race. I was averaging over 8 hours of sleep a night, drinking nearly a gallon of water a day, and recovering well from a hard 6-weeks of running that peaked with 2 - 80+ mile weeks, while introducing 3 body weight workouts per week into my training. I lost 10lbs since the beginning of 2018 - when I began focusing on nutrition for the first time ever. I had my cinnamon raisin bagel with peanut butter, banana, and coffee for breakfast. 2 hours before the start, I was confident in every aspect ... except for which shoes to wear.

In my Celebration Marathon blog post, I wrote about my use of the Nike Vapor Fly 4% shoe that got a lot of buzz last summer for its supposed effectiveness for marathoners, in particular. I had high hopes but there is something about its construction that bruised my navicular bones and 6 weeks later, those bones were still sore. But, I'm stuck with this $250 shoe and I'm stubborn as hell. 30 minutes before the race, I put bandaids on those bones and switched into the Vapor Fly. This course has fewer turns than the FL course so I was hoping that would ease the pain.

It was a cold morning, 34 degrees, and clear skies, calm winds, and a good feeling made for ideal race conditions. With 61 marathons under my belt, I can count on one hand how infrequently that happens.

I told my son Mars that if I place in this race, I win money, and he would get $5 if I win, $2 if I come in 2nd place, and $1 if I come in 3rd ... he was now interested in the outcome because he's got Lego sets to buy! At the start line, I noticed the professional (Desta Morkama) entered the race at the last minute after having pulled out of the Rock 'n' Roll DC Marathon at mile 5 the day prior. He was last year's winner (in 2:34), as well as the winner of last year's Marine Corp Marathon. "Mars, you're getting $2," I thought.

Obsessing over his next Lego purchase

We start and Desta is never more than a minute ahead of me. I'm so focused on hanging onto him and hoping he'll drop at mile 5 like he did the day prior that I narrowly get tackled by a stray Shih Tzu at mile 2! This dog lunged at my ankle, I jumped, and picked up the pace to elude him. That was a close call but it also put me into another gear that I didn't downshift from for most of the race.

At around mile 5 I saw Desta disappear around a turn, and as I approached, I realized he was taking a shit in the woods! He was having another bad day and I was determined to win. After a mile, he's back in the lead but never that far out of reach. I crossed the half marathon in 1:22 and narrowed his lead through the rolling hills to 15 seconds by mile 20. He kept looking over his shoulder; I'm stalking prey and he knows it. Of course, this prey has a shit stain on his shorts and is clearly not having a great race, but that's only leveling the playing field for me. I'm usually not one to push this hard but I was feeling good.

Unfortunately, that's as good as it got. I started to fade (I'm experimenting with fueling during the race - a date every 45 minutes seemed to not be enough) and he eventually pulled away to win 1 minute and 9 seconds ahead of me.

That means I crossed the finish line in 2:44:30! I was befuddled, so much so, that I kept running past the finish line. I was using a Fitbit Surge that I've had for 4 months and, until today, would wear my old Garmin 620 on the other wrist to analyze the differences - the Fitbit has always been pretty dead-on, whereas the Garmin was a bit long. When the Fitbit read 26.20 at the finish (as it had at the FL marathon), I ran through the parking lot to 26.31 for my own edification. It's a USATF certified course and I just couldn't believe I had run a personal best for my 40th sub-3-hour marathon at nearly 39 years old.

My daughter Mila loves her new Shimmer & Shine crystal

I finished in 2nd place, grabbing that $150 in prize money after a sit in the sauna, a shower, and really nice lunch buffet at the Paul Hall Center. It's the small races that are always top notch and this one did not disappoint. At noon, I was on my way back to DC to take in the sights and all the breweries I could before my Monday evening flight home.

Post-race meal, not pictured: second helping, cookies, etc...

3 Star Brewing Co. was my first stop and highlight of the DC breweries. From there, it was a mile to Hellbender Brewing Co. Facebook has this feature that notifies you of nearby restaurants you might like and that led me to Republic, without regret, for dinner. I hadn't booked anything post-race because I prefer to see where the adventure takes me, when I can. I didn't have a hotel for this evening and figured that at my next stop, Atlas Brew Works, I would research my options for the night.

I give it 5 stars

Instead, I Googled "pie" and found a gem. Dangerously Delicious Pies satiated the sweet tooth I had but didn't solve where I would sleep. I guess in a way it did because after two slices of pie, I fell asleep in my car in front of their place, ironically, also in front of a hotel. After 3 hours, I awoke at 1:30am and decided this would be a great time to explore the attractions of DC.

Toyota vs. Rock & Roll Hotel - Toyota won

The National Mall at night is magical. I set foot from the Supreme Court Building at 2:30am, making my way to the Lincoln Memorial at the opposite end, stopping to reflect upon the stories behind each memorial along the way. All are illuminated and even more majestic in the still of the night with the only movement coming from the occasional armed military officer. It's truly mesmerizing to take these sights in without the chaos of thousands of tourists snapping their best selfie in front of you. Rather than include all those photos, HERE is a link to my 4-hour, 11-mile walk with pictures. These sightseeing walks are my favorite post-marathon recoveries.

In the shadows of greatness

I drove straight to La Colombe Coffee Roasters at sunrise, had breakfast next door at Farmers & Distillers, then drove 30 minutes to Mount Vernon to tour George Washington's Estate; absolutely worth 2-3 hours of your time if you're in the DC area. My 2.5-mile walk of the grounds and related photos can be found HERE.

The Washingtons' mansion perched on the Potomac River's edge

I had time for one last brewery stop at Heritage Brewing Co. before finishing my trip with a visit to Arlington National Cemetery. There are few places more somber and heartbreaking. On the day I visited, it received and honored 24 additional brave men and women.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

It's been 3 years since I had a really good running year: my last PR at the St. Jude Memphis Marathon, followed by my first marathon win in Hawaii, then a strong showing at my first and only 50-mile trail race. Here's to more good stuff this year!

God bless A-beer-ica!

Next up: Rhode Island

37th Sub-3-hour Marathon State: The Florida Redo

The town of Celebration, built in the '90s to look like the '20s and '30s

New year, new me! Same ol' Florida. Don't get me wrong, that's a good thing in the midst of a miserable IL winter, but I've been here before. My Melbourne Music Marathon in 2012 (blog post HERE) was a great motorcycle trip; however, I just missed my sub-3-hour goal. Now I'm back in Florida for the Celebration Marathon to close a couple chapters: my motorcycle arrived in Tampa to a new owner just days before I myself arrived to pay Tampa a visit - seeing its new home feels complete somehow. Sad face.

Dad status complete: I've sold the motorcycle

Back to this "new me" thing. It's 2018. I have 14 marathons left and 1.5 years to finish. That's an ambitious goal for me so I decided to try something new: focus on nutrition. Thanks new Fitbit watch! After years of reckless yet gloriously indulgent eating and drinking, I entered 2018 with a plan to track what I was eating. I have NEVER tracked calories and after two days of doing so, I was both impressed and appalled so I made myself a 4-week training plan. Let's not overdo it here!

For those looking to nerd out about the details, here's what I did: the first two weeks saw weekly mileage in the mid 70s (it's been a while since I've been injury-free enough to go that high), down to 40 miles for week 3, then my usual 22 miles in the week leading up to the race. I did not do cross-training or strength exercises - I'll incorporate that in the next 6 weeks leading up to the Lower Potomac River Marathon in Maryland.

During this 4-week phase, I focused on keeping my macronutrients (carbohydrates, fat, protein) in healthy balance all the while operating at a 500-1,000 caloric deficit to lose 10 lbs I gained this summer after injury had me eating and drinking more while running less; carrying that extra weight through my last couple of marathons was noticeably harder. Did I cheat? Hell yeah I did, about once a week! But the weight came off.

Also new to my routine were these Nike Vaporfly 4% shoes that I finally got my hands on (feet in?). I drank the marketing Kool-Aid and was impressed with a pretty astounding lab test (READ THIS). Given the crap IL weather, I only ran in them for 3 miles indoors before leaving town. They felt a lot like my go-to marathon shoe, the Hoka One One Tracer. Are they worth the $250 price tag? Let's find out.

Kick(s)boxing Title Match: Vaporfly 4% vs. Tracer

I spent Friday exploring the Tampa area. I discovered Ybor City while looking for a brewery to visit before the brewery I had planned to visit. Some things never change, nutrition plan be damned! Ybor City is this great little town steeped in Cuban history and more cigar shops per capita than I would imagine anywhere. Tampa Bay Brewing Co. was the perfect place to enjoy good beers and a Cuban sandwich in the warm sun before my visit to Cigar City Brewing Co., which, sadly, wasn't as great as I remembered. C'est la vie.

Hey look, beer and Sasquatch!

I woke up at 9:30 am on Saturday after tracking 11.5 hours of sleep (thanks again, Fitbit)! One of the perks of being away from the kids. I ran 2 miles in the shoes outside for the first time. Ate oatmeal, like I have nearly everyday this month, at Hollar & Dash Biscuit House - we need more biscuit places in IL! Soaked in the hot tub at the Airbnb. Got takeout at Little Italy for lunch. Went to the movies to see Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (great flick!). Met up with Cheryl and her husband John (Cheryl from back home and travel partner for the St. George Marathon was also running the marathon) for dinner at Thai Thani. Fell asleep to my guilty pleasure - murder mystery shows. I was ready for the race.

I woke up feeling good, which is not what I would be saying had I stayed in Tampa for Gasparilla Pirate Fest on Saturday. You see, 100 years ago, Tampa made up this tall tale about pirates taking the keys to the city as an excuse to throw a massive, Mardi Gras-like parade & street fest. 2017 me would have totally stayed in Tampa and celebrated like a pirate. 2018 me had coffee, a bagel with peanut butter, a banana, and a ponytail (yeah, it's that long now). I made it to the start line with a few minutes to spare.

The first mile started out conservatively then I just went for it. I need a 2:50 in my 1-minute incremental series of marathon finish times. I still walked every water stop but the nutrition plan had me back to taking energy gels (at mile 10 & mile 20). Crossing the half in 1:24 was encouraging, missing a turn at mile 18 was not. This was my biggest fear about this race. Look at that map!

Go ahead and count the turns, I'll wait...

It's surprising that I didn't make several wrong turns. It's a flat course but those turns and tight spaces on the boardwalks weren't ideal. Throw in the FL warmth and shoes that were tied too tight (chaffing the top of my navicular bones) and I backed off the 2:50 goal after the wrong turn. I ended up with a 2:52:46 - good for 3rd place overall (out of 458) and a time I'm pretty happy with. I felt good and I credit that largely to the nutrition plan though I don't recommend it: life is too short not to live on donuts and beer!

Downtown Celebration from across the pond - mile 25.5 on the course

Celebration is the town that Disney built and the race execution is on par with what you would expect if Disney had organized it: scenic and well-marked course through a contrived neighborhood, great volunteers (except the one that let me stray at mile 18 - really my fault for doing mental math at that moment), nice shirt, medal, and blanket swag, and a great post-race food spread. There are enough good restaurants here to entertain me for a weekend: Columbia Restaurant and Celebration Town Tavern were delicious post race lunch #1 & lunch #2 stops. Though I spent my 60th marathon here, I can't imagine I'll be back until maybe my 60th birthday, hopefully to buy that motorcycle back!

Mila loves the blanket

Oh right, the shoes... Save your money. They just didn't provide those extra minutes the study and marketing suggest. Not as compared to my Hoka Tracers, anyway.

Another race, another Stehling race photo