Stupid Runner Problems

A few weeks back, in the final days before running the LA Marathon,  I had to decide what to wear.

When I ran San Francisco last year, it was an easy call, I tie-dyed a cotton Nike running shirt and lead my inner-hippie run wild for 26.2 miles.

Originally, when I saw that the LA Marathon would be held on St. Patrick’s day, I thought I would wear the “Irish you Were Here” shirt that I purchased a while back.  I had also purchased the same shirt for my sister, who lives in London.   Wearing the  shirt during the race would be a reminder of friends and loved ones who for various reasons (distance, other commitments, death) couldn’t be with me that day.

I had a few training runs in my Irish shirt and it worked just fine.  No problems what so ever.

Brother and Sister in our “Irish You Were Here” Shirts in 2008

Then, about a month ago or so, I came across a “We Run Santa Monica” shirt on clearance at a Nike outlet for $5.  I normally loath shirts like this, but as the LA Marathon ends in Santa Monica, I thought it would be a nice keepsake.   A week or so later, I started thinking it would be nice to wear that shirt instead during the race.

I struggled about which shirt should I wear, the one that was perfect for this day and reminded me of friends and family both alive and departed or the one that is most apropos to the venue of the race.

So I  sought council of my wife and explained the long story of the dilemma. She understood the points and struggled the same way I did and had no clear guidance. So I decided to ask The Child.

The Child paused the DVR to listen to my long tale of the two shirts. She looked at me somewhat disdainfully and said, “wear the one that is more comfortable”.

With furrowed brow, I replied, “they are both comfortable”.

Barely hiding her contempt for my obvious stupidity, she said, “they’re just shirts” and she dismissively released the DVR from its pause.

Sophie’s Choice – I Think Not

Clearly she did not understand the nature of my ontological crisis.  Or, perhaps she didn’t see it as being as being an issue as I did.  In her world there are no great messages being sent to the universe in the wearing of a shirt.

Maybe I put too much significance in something insignificant?  Besides, who cares how you look in LA?

Even Though It Might Be Convenient, You Shouldn’t Use A Match to Observe your Tonsils.

Don’t ask about the title.

I haven’t been writing much.   I was taking part in a Reverb challenge in December and I stopped about 13 days into it.   I quickly tired of writing repetitive crap.

I have not been happy with my writing for a while.  I ‘ve been “writing from the hip” as it were and not structuring my work.  As a result, I have been unhappy with my output.

The unhappiness has grown from being out of balance.   There are only so many hours in a day, a week, a month and months in a life.   December and January have been about marathon prep (running) and working.  The time required to do thoughtful writing has been sacrificed.    Now in February, the running has also started to give way to work.   Not good as I have a marathon next month that I should be training for.

Work interferes with my running and the rest of my life.  I let work carve it’s way into my running time.   Worse, when I do run, my mind drifts back to work and next thing I know, I’ve stopped and walked a quarter mile in deep thought.

Next week, we enter the period of Lent.   Like I have time and energy for reflection and prayer.   Life on life’s terms I guess.

So tell me, what sucks up your time?   Are you giving anything up for Lent?

The Problem Isn’t that Youth is Wasted on the Young

The problem is that the old forget what it is to be young and then blame their misery on age.

Cast off your shroud, no matter how old it is and run.

Run for joy, run to feel your heart pumping and your body sweat.

Run so that your body learns that it’s not winning.

And if you can’t run, walk.
And if you can’t walk, crawl.

And if you can’t crawl, then get your ass in a wheelchair and have someone push you down a hill.   You will figure something out along the ride, hopefully for the better.

Happy New Year.

A Veteran’s Day Run Around the National Mall

I flew from Newark to Ronald Regan Airport in D.C. early on Sunday morning. My three-day seminar was scheduled in Alexandria and I was planning on getting in a long run about the town before meeting up with an old friend from high school around 4ish.  That was the plan, anyway.

On approach, the plane banked around the Washington Monument and passed by the Capitol. I  realized that if I didn’t take some action, I was going to spend five days in the D.C. area without visiting these great monuments.

After checking into my hotel, I changed, and headed to the Metro Station. Within 40 minutes I emerged from L’Enfante Plaza.  There is something amazing in the feeling of emerging from underground and having the Capitol building be right there, larger than life.   The first time I saw the Capitol was in December 20, 1987. My girlfriend and I were driving through D.C. and we saw the Capitol from miles away as we approached.   On this day, the Capitol appeared out of nowhere, there in all its glory.

My Route Along the National Mall

I ran towards the Capitol like an excited child, with my headphones on and the Grateful Dead show from 1989 playing in my ears.  I was giddy.   I was also on a schedule with which meant that there was no time to lollygagging.   I wasn’t sure how far I was going to run, but I had a good idea that I had to be on the Metro back to Alexandria by 2:30 at the latest.

Despite being the near side of mid-November, D.C. was unseasonably warm.   The National Mall was beautiful, bathed in the bright sunlight.   There were tourists like myself all through the Mall.   Also like myself, there were many runners, all of them more serious than touristy me.  Other than the traffic lights every block or so, it was a beautiful environment to run in.

 As I made my way around the Washington Monument, the Dead were still playing in my ears. Brent Midland sang the words, “But we never tend the garden and we a rarely pay the rent. Most of it is broken and the rest of it is bent. Put it on our plastic and I wonder where we’ll be when the bills hit.”

Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial at the Conclusion of Services

The song reminded me of the stories of how the construction on the monument stopped when they ran out of funding and how when they restarted construction again, they had to use a different type of stone.   I think I captured that interface between the two in the photo on the right.

After the Washington Monument, the Mall started to get crowded.   There were Veteran’s day activities going on near Vietnam Memorial.  I started passing older gentlemen dress in the colors of their service.  Some wore the uniforms of WWII, others their representation of their time in Vietnam.  I found myself thinking about the Vietnam Vets and the raw deal they got when they returned.  I am glad that as a society we have evolved to the point where we separate the people who serve from the politics of the battles they fought in. I ran past veterans that were younger than me.   It struck me in that the Gulf War (you know, the one with Stormin’ Norman Schwarzkopf) was over 20 years ago.

I climbed the stairs of the Lincoln Memorial and thought of the two movies that recently were released about the President.  The more recent film seemed a much more historically-based than the rendition earlier in the year that portrayed Lincoln as a vampire slayer.  What a weird and distant world Hollywood lives in.

I stopped for a few minutes at the Lincoln Memorial to look out over the world.   I saw the Jefferson Memorial on the other side of the Tidal Basin.  I knew that it was short of 2 miles, and I could be there in 20 to 30 minutes, but I also knew there was no Metro station nearby to take me home.   I won’t say that I was broken-hearted, but I longed for more time.

I headed back as the services at the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial were concluding.   I walked quietly through the crowds of men and women who have serviced this country, like a funeral guest who didn’t know the departed or the family.  I saw one man holding the U.S. Flag as well as the flag for the MIAs.  The MIA flag was a big part of my early experience growing up in New York in the 60′s and early 70′s.   It’s not that prevalent in California, I don’t know why.  I just know that when I see that flag, I am on the East Coast.  It’s a culture thing I guess.  Even the hockey stadium I went to as a kid, the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum had MIA flags all around it as I recall.

I wanted to stay and be among these people on this their day.  Unfortunately, I had to go.  I had to get back to my hotel and shower in time for dinner.  I was torn.  I was someplace wonderful that I wanted to be and yet, I had someplace to get to.  Someplace that was equally important to me an my history.  That’s the story of my life, short on sleep, short on time, trying to pack another great experience in on borrowed time.

My Running Playlist

As I look at my twitter stream today I have tweeps running races all over the world.   Good luck to those running today in Long Beach, Portland, Atlanta, London, Chicago,  Minneapolis,  Maryland, and I am sure many other places as well.

For me, a big piece of running is my music, and I wanted to share it with you.   It’s a long list, mostly because  I’m a very slow runner of long distances.

I always start my races at the beginning of the playlist.  Occasionally,   when I want to change it up, I will start a weekly long run somewhere in the middle of the list.  Songs are always played sequentially (none of that random stuff).   Some of the songs are linked to their Youtube video in case you aren’t familiar with them.

Warm up: Sitting Here in Limbo – Jerry Garcia and David Grissman

1. Thrillseeker – Puretone
2. The Best – Tina Turner
3. Let the River Run – Carly Simon
4. Addicted to Bass – Puretone
5. UDU Chant – Micky Hart
6. Hot Legs – Rod Stewart
7. I’m Tore Down – Clapton
8. The Boy Does Nothing – Alesha Dixon
9. On the Dark Side – John Cafferty & The Beaver Brown Band
10. Hope – Shaggy
11. Wild Angels – Martina McBride
12. Touch of Grey – Grateful Dead
13. Don’t Stop Believen’ – You know who
14. Tainted Love (Extended Version) – Softcell
15. On the Road Again – Grateful Dead
16. Eminence Front (Live from Toronto) – The Who
17. Rewrite – Paul Simon
18. Gimme All Your Lovin’ – ZZ Top
19. Heart of Glass – Blondie
20. Mickey – Toni Basil
21. Don’t Fight It – Steve Perry and Kenny Loggins
22. End of the Line – Traveling Wilburys
23. Shoot to Thrill – AC/DC
24. I Don’t Wanna Stop – Ozzie
25. Old Hippie III – The Bellamy Brothers
26. Rollin’ – Big and Rich
27. Take It Easy – Travis Tritt
28. Come Dancing – The Kinks
29. Ripple – The Grateful Dead
30. New York State of Mind – Billie Joel
31. Soft Place to Fall – Allison Moorer
32. Siobhan – The Tossers
33. Landslide – The Dixie Chicks
34. East Bound and Down – Jerry Reed
35. We Didn’t Start the Fire – Billie Joel
36. The Lady is a Tramp – Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga
37. Turn the Page – Bob Seger
38. I’ve Been to Memphis – Lyle Lovett
39. I’m So Happy I Can’t Stop Crying – Sting
40. New York, New York – Sinatra
41. Desolation Row (alternate version) – Dylan
42. Enter the Sandman – Metallica
43. I Left My Heart in San Francisco – Tony Bennett
44. It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere – Allan Jackson
45. All Jacked Up – Gretchen Wilson
46. When I Paint My Masterpiece – Grateful Dead
47. Gonna Fly Now (Theme from Rocky) – Bill Conti
48. Island Boy – Kenny Chesney
49. San Francisco Bay Blues – Richie Havens
50. Somebody to Love – Jefferson Airplane
51. All Along the Watchtower – Jimi Hendrix
52. California Deaming – The Mama’s and the Papa’s
53. Scarlet Begonia – Bob Weir and Rat Dog
54. L.A. Woman – The Doors
55. Waiting for that Day – George Michaels
56. Chelsea Dagger – The Fratelli’s
57. Glamorous – Fergie
58. Me and Bobby McGee – Janice
59. Graceland – Paul Simon
60. Stayin’ Alive – The Bee Gees
61. Birth of a Nation – La Gente
62. Looks Like Rain – Grateful Dead
63. Smoke on the Water – Deep Purple
64. Stronger than Me – Melissa Etheridge
65. Wake Up Older - Julie Roberts
66. Lord, I Hope This Day is Good – Don Williams
67. China Cat Sunflower/I Know You Rider – The Grateful Dead
68. Promiscuous Girl – Nellie Furtado
69. Crowded – Jeannie Ortega
70. I Won’t Dance – Jane Monheit
71. Faded Love – Willie Nelson and Ray Price
72. Man Smart, Woman Smarter (Live) – The Grateful Dead
73. Toxic – Britney Spears
74. Long Way Down – Goo Goo Dolls
75. I Don’t Care Anymore – Phil Collins
76. Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again – The Grateful Dead
77. The Seeker – The Who
78. Rooftops – Lost Prophets
79. Iko Iko – The Grateful Dead
80. Summer Wind – Lyle Lovett
81. Carryout – Justin Timbaland
82. Dance with Me – Justin Timberlake
83. Eyes of the World – Grateful Dead
84. Not Fade Away – Grateful Dead
85. Throwing Stones – Grateful Dead

The last three songs on the playlist from the Dead take a combined 40 minutes to play.  If I get this far on the list I have been running for five+ hours and frankly I don’t want to hear anything else.

So, what’s on your playlist

Race Review: The Disneyland Half Marathon

SUMMARY: 2 miles of running through wonderful Disneyland and 11 miles through Anaheim.

Key Information
Race Name	The Disneyland Half Marathon
Location	Anaheim, CA
Elevation Profile	Very flat.  There is a gradual gain for the first 7.5 miles that is given back during the remainder of the race.
Organization	Top Notch!
Terrain	Street
Water Stations	More than enough.  Cliff stocked a station about mile 9
Highlights	Running through Disneyland and the outfield of Anaheim Stadium.
Other Events	A 5K and kids run
Good for Beginners?	Absolutely

INTRODUCTION:

This was my second running of the Disneyland Half Marathon.  It is the only half that I have repeated in my short running career.  Many people travel the country to attend this race as part of the RunDisney program.  It is a great race for first time half-marathoners especially those looking for a Labor Day long weekend away with the family.

THE COURSE:
This race could very easily be named the Anaheim Half Marathon Presented by Disneyland.  There are two very fun miles inside Disneyland and California Adventure.  These miles run through both Disneyland and California Adventure.  Another 2 miles of the race are on Disney property including the  backstage areas.  From miles 4 through 12, the runners are on the streets of Anaheim running through mostly commercial and industrial areas.

Phineus and Ferb had a long line for photos in California Adventure

The first major highlight after leaving the park is running by the Honda Center where the NHL’s Ducks play.   It might have been nice if Wildwing, the Ducks mascot had been there, but hey, Disney doesn’t own the Ducks anymore.

The course for the Disneyland Half Marathon. Note how much of the race is outside the park

The Honda Center leads to a brief bit of running on the Santa Ana River Trail and then enters Anaheim Stadium home of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (yeah, I know, it’s what they’re called. Make peace with it).  The runners enter through the right field warning track and travel down the first base track behind home plate and then out the left field exit.  This is one of my favorite parts of the race being on the field of a Major League Stadium.

After the runners exit the stadium then it’s just a 5K run to the finish line.  There is one more 3/4 mile run through the back lot of Disney, but there really isn’t anything to see there and you saw it during the first two miles of the race.  The finish line is located on the street between the Disneyland Hotel and Downtown Disney.

Taken Along the Santa Ana River Trail.  Why can’t you run a half marathon again?

Another note about the Disneyland portion of the race is that the course inside the park can change from year to year depending on what construction is going on. In 2011, when California Adventure was being reworked, the course was rerouted to make up the distance in the back lot.   The back lot is fun if you haven’t seen it before.  Disney does its best to put parade floats along the back lot to liven up the scenery and some of them are really cool.  I stopped at one point to sit in the front seat of one of the buses that runs up and down Main Street.

Me! Behind the Wheel of a Main Street Bus.

THE WEATHER:
The race is on Labor Day weekend so the hottest parts of the days could reach the 90s.   As the race starts at about 6am, the heat is not too much of a problem for at least the first three hours of the race.  It is wise to stay hydrated though.  Some runners wore hydration packs, that seemed a bit overkill to me given the ample number of water stations.  Slower runners will start to feel the heat near the end of the race.

ELEVATION PROFILE:
This race is effectively flat.   My Garmin indicates that there is an indiscernible elevation gain during the first 7.5 miles of the race, but it is given back over the balance of the course.

There are two very minor obstacles after the runners leave the park and turn onto Ball Road.  The first is a mostly unremarkable hill over the 5 freeway.  It’s no biggie and you get the downhill benefit right after it.   The other obstacles as one runs up Ball road is for the next few miles is the blinding the sunrise dead ahead of the runners.  Sunglasses and sunscreen are advised.

The sun will rise right in front of these runners.

RACE ORGANIZATION:
It’s Disney.  The event comes off like clockwork.

One weakness of this  the race relates to staging 15,000 people into 7 huge corrals along Disneyland Drive. It gets cozy.  The race starts officially at 5:45.   In the last 30 minutes before the start, it can take a while to get from the ports-potties to the extreme corrals (A, B, F and G).  One might want to aim for being in your corral about 5am if possible, because it can be difficult to move around once the masses start to arrive.   If you get there late and can’t make it to your corral, don’t worry. Just start a lower corral and avoid the stress. Don’t try to climb over the railings that bound the corrals, as others could be injured.  If one is willing to run a few miles, the runners do have access to the bathrooms inside the park.

There are ample number of well stocked water stations along the course offering both Dasani water and Poweraid.  The first tables were being drained by all the runners, On this particular race, if your time is important to you, I would skip the first water table you see and going for the second or third which are usually less depleted than the first tables.

Cliff offers gels after the runners come off the Santa Ana River trail about mile 8.   As I don’t train with Cliff, I made it a point not to start using them during this race.

On the topic of porta-poties: There were plenty along the route.

MY EXPERIENCE:

I am having trouble describing my experience.  I have read other reviews of this race and I wish I could express the joy and seen the magic that so many others who experienced during this event.  I have run the 5K three times and the half twice. Maybe I am too familiar with Disneyland having owned an annual pass.  I do like park as a running venue.

A popular photo-stop for in California Adventure

At the end of the race, I was disappointed that the medal was the exact same design as the previous year.  I was also disappointed by the snack boxes that were handed out.   They were the exact same boxes that were handed out the day before at the 5K containing prepackaged food that could have been delivered six months earlier without the risk of going bad.   They included crackers, raisins, a tube of peanut butter, some candies etc.  Bananas,  Dasani water and Poweraid were also available for finishers.

Medal from 2011 and 2012. Not much different.

MY RESULTS


This half marathon in my mind is the equivalent of a fun run.  I did want to finish in the top half of all the finishers. My plan was to enjoy the time in Disneyland as best I could, see my daughter who was volunteering with her cheer squad to rally the runners on.

A sign from a local lumber yard that is located along the race route.

I knew from experience that the first 5K in the park was going to be slow, after all, life is too short to run through Disneyland.

By my GPS my first 3.1 miles were at a 12:59 minute-mile pace.  The next two 5K legs were both at  11:44 pace.  After I came across my daughter’s cheer squad outside Angels Stadium, I decided that it was time to put this one in the books.  The next 3 miles were at 11:17 and the last 3/4 of a mile were at 10:14.  I guess I still had something left in the tank.  Hey!  I ran negative splits!

In 2011, I finished in 2:44:51. I Finished 7131 out of the 12,785 finishers. In 2012 I finished in 2:35:55. I finished 6700 out of 14, 823 finishers meaning I finished in the top 22% of the finishers.  No complaints.  Borderline magical.

Sitting Here in Limbo

It’s been 22 days since I turned 47.   Now What?

Should I be thinking more about retirement?  Should I just keep doing what I’m doing?  How the hell am I going to pay for The Child to go to college?  I won’t bring up what the market did to educational savings plan?   These questions are just too big.

REWRITE

It’s been 12 days since the marathon.   Now What?

Do I sign up for another marathon?   Do I stick with 13.1 mile races?  I would like to get back to trail running. Perhaps it’s time to get back into cycling?  That small bit of free-climbing I did at Yosemite felt amazing.  Perhaps it’s time to break out the gear and go back to the rock-gym?

I haven’t run since the marathon.  I had intended to take the first week off and recover.  I felt fine about 5 days after the race and decided to play a few sets of tennis.  As I started to hit, I was introduced to some very deep, very unhappy bone-hugging leg muscles.  They were pissed!   So I took another week off running.

The first 7 days back at work have been amazingly productive.  Hell week at work has passed and now as the wake settles, there is smooth sailing until January.   At home, I was much less productive. I haven’t done much and that’s a beautiful thing.  The biggest to-do on my list is to dig up and replace an old sprinkler head – Mañana (doesn’t mean tomorrow, more like someday).

The highlight of my home-time was when I deleted all those old burdensome draft-mode blog posts and decimated my Facebook friends list.  I started 3 different blog posts and hated and trashed them all too.

I have committed to leave my laptop at work during the entire month of August.   When work can’t be brought home, life becomes simple.  I think they call that relaxation. As a person who is frequently referred to as “high energy”, not much to do can quickly turn into stir-crazy.

Limbo.   I’m feeling it.  I have the Disneyland Half-Marathon in a few weeks and I am looking forward to that.   I just haven’t started “training” for that race yet.  It will be OK.  It will be fun.  Running should be fun.  Besides, life’s too fricking short to race hard through Disneyland.

So August at home has been filled with a lot of reading, recovery, Yankees games and music.  The start of August marks the passing of the Yankees’ Thurman Munson as well as the birth and passing of Jerry Garcia.

Jerry Garcia

Jerry and the Dead are always with me in one form or another, especially when I run. There was at least an hour of Dead tunes during my marathon.   It was a special feeling to have them singing in my ears as I ran through Haight Ashbury.  I count my blessings that I am able to get out and run whenever I hear Jerry sing “Oh well a touch of gray, kinda suits you anyway”.  It reminds me that life is short and that every day is a gift, kind of like those specially painted grey hairs.

Before the start of the marathon, I had about 5 different unusual events quickly sort themselves out.  Some of them could have been problematic.  The least of those worries that beautiful morning was that the first song in my running music somehow wasn’t on my mp3player.   I am not going to bore you with the details/drama/panic, but let’s just say that for the first-time ever I started a race not to Thrillseeker by Puretone, but with my “waiting for the start of the race” song,  “Sitting Here in Limbo, by Jerry Garcia and David Grisman”.  I was probably the only runner singing his way through that first joyous mile.

I thought I would include a video of this song.   Take a moment, will ya?  Turn it up and feel the mandolin play.  It will be good for your soul.

Did you listen?

So in a few verses, here’s where I’m at:

Sitting here in limbo
Waiting for the dice to roll
Sitting here in limbo
Got some time to search my soul

Well, they’re Putting up resistance
But I know that my faith
Will lead me on

I don’t know where life will lead me
But I know where I’ve been
I can’t say what life will show me
But I know what I’ve seen

Tried my hand
At love and friendship
But all that is passed and gone
This little boy is moving on

Sitting here in limbo
Waiting for the tide to flow

Sitting here in limbo
Knowing that I have to go

Well they’re putting up resistance

But I know, my faith will lead me on.

So as the sun sets on day 17,189 of my time on this planet (I had Excel do the math), I find myself sitting here in Limbo in my backyard.  There’s a great breeze here in limbo.  I’ve got things to do, but like always, I will get to them; Mañana.  I think tomorrow will bring a 35+ mile bike ride.  Or it might not.

Big things, little things, it will all be alright.  Just as spinning tops aren’t made for stopping, I am down to my very core,  “Bound to Cover Just a Little More Ground”.

Peace people!

Race Review: The San Francisco Marathon (aka 47.0 Goes 26.2)

SUMMARY:
This wasn’t a race, it was a life experience.

Key Information
Race Name	The Wipro San Francisco Marathon
Location	San Francisco, CA
Elevation Profile	NOT FLAT! There is 1,738ft of climb and 1,738 ft. of decent.
Organization	Top Notch!
Terrain	Mostly Street. Five miles of bridge, and a small section on the sidewalk
Water Stations	More than enough.  A number were stocked with a plentiful supply of GU.
Highlights	Many including running along the Embarcadero, the Golden Gate Bridge, Haight Ashbury, Golden Gate Park, the running by AT&T Park.
Other Events	Munchkin run, a 5K and 2 half marathons
Good for Beginners?	Maybe not.

INTRODUCTION:
I have found myself too comfortable with the half-marathon distance. I was inspired by tweeps, friends and family to try and “Cover Just a Little More Ground“.  Last year I had wanted to run one of the two half marathons associated with the San Francisco marathon, but work travel interfered. This year the work calendar was more friendly to the event so I decided that this venue of San Francisco in July would be the perfect place to step up to the marathon distance.

THE COURSE:
The race starts at the Embarcadero just North of the Bay Bridge then continues down Fisherman’s Warf, through the Presidio, out and back across the Golden Gate Bridge and then into Golden Gate Park. From there, the race goes into historic Haight Ashbury. The last six miles of the course move through residential and commercial areas that bring the runners out to AT&T park. After that, one mile later is the finish line.

The course. Each number represents a 4.5 increment.

The race also offers two half marathons, one that starts at the beginning of the marathon and one that starts at mile 13.   Given the choice, I would have run the more scenic first half of the race.   The second half through Golden Gate Park was beautiful but not as special as the first half.

There was also a lot of running through industrial and residential areas in the second half of the marathon.  Those miles weren’t remarkable, but that’s not unusual when  running through a big city.  At mile 25, I would have loved the opportunity to run the outfield of AT&T park much like the Disneyland half marathon offers the opportunity to run through the outfield of Angel’s Stadium.  As it was game day for the Giants, that was an unlikely tour.

THE WEATHER:
The weather is always a variable in San Francisco, but this particular day the temperatures ranged from the mid to upper 50s in the morning to a high of 75.  I had running gloves and jacket available at the start line, but I checked them about 15 minutes before my start time.

ELEVATION PROFILE:
I went out for dinner with family the night before the race and as we were walking back to the car up a very steep hill, The Child turns to me and said, “Daddy, you know what would really suck?   Having to run up these hills.“

The full marathon elevation profile is presented in the image below.  Although the difference between the max and minimum elevation was about 400 feet by my GPS, the sum of all the elevation gains across the 20 or so hills was about 1,738 feet. The hills appear formidable and they are not as bad as they seem.  The hills shouldn’t stop anyone capable of running the distance. Remember that the course is a loop, so for every climb there is a descent.

In retrospect, there are only three remarkable hills at miles 5, 10 and 14.  The first two of them are steep but not long.   The one significance hill starts in Golden Gate Park at Mile 14 and ends at mile 17. That one is a grind, but is by far not the worst that San Francisco could offer.

Elevation Profile

RACE ORGANIZATION:
These people know how to pull off a race.  From registration to post race follow-up, they have all the bases well covered.   There were plenty of water stations all well-stocked and staffed.   There were also an ample supply of Gu in all flavors well into the race.

The race was very environmentally friendly.  That was not an accident, it was deliberate, thoughtful and appreciated.  With that acknowledgement, my only suggestion for this race is that since GU was in plentiful supply at the water stations, there should have been more emphasis on directing the runners to put the GU wrappers directly into trash cans rather than just dropping them for someone else to hopefully pickup.  This could have been a great opportunity for the race organizers or the GU sponsor, to make special containers reminding the runners that wrappers are not biodegradable and need to be properly disposed of.

A good spot for a GU-specific Trash Can

I am not sure how the organizing committee managed to set up the traffic control logistics between miles 20 and 24, but it was amazing.  Other runners tried to figure out why we all of a sudden had to change the route, I just did what I was told by the course marshals and it all turned out just fine.

MY EXPERIENCE:
I ran this, my first full marathon just 10 days after my 47th birthday.  Did I do it in Berlin, where the roads are flat?  Nope! I ran it in San Fran-fricking-frisco!  They cant’ take that away from me.

I don’t mean to imply that this race was in any way easy, but much like life, it is easier if you are running towards something.

Mile 19 – You tell me, how was my experience?

I wanted to run through Fisherman’s Warf. I was giddy the first time the fog-engulfed Golden Gate Bridge came into view.  I only had to run 5 miles to get to this first bite of candy. By the time the bridge experience was over, I was at mile 10.  It was fun and the fun made the run easy.  Kind of like the whole spoon full of sugar thing.

From there it was only 9 more miles to Haight Ashbury. I’m a guy who listens to the Grateful Dead every week and I got to run to and through the famous Haight singing Scarlet Begonia’s with Bob Weir playing on my MP3.  Word’s can’t do the feeling justice.

Yes, did a lot of singing during this race.  I do that.  Did I mention that I tie-dyed my shirt?  You probably guessed that.  It was originally a white Nike cotton shirt.  It reminded me why I normally run in  synthetic (owies).

From the Haight it was just six more miles to get to my second favorite baseball stadium in the world, AT&T park.   If you don’t know by now, I have certain idiosyncracies when I travel.  When in San Francisco, if I have an extra hour before a flight I will go to AT&T Park and walk that exact route around the stadium that I ran for this race. It’s one of my favorite places on the planet and I got run to it.

Was I lucky or blessed to be able to run route that brought me so much joy?  I was certainly blessed to be able to complete the distance.  I was surprised by the number of people I saw having difficulty near the end.  I was tired, but by the grace of God, I wasn’t cramping, limping or in pain.  Maybe that had something to do with the bottle of Poweraid and the snacks that my ladies gave me mile 12?  I don’t know, but wasn’t that just another type of blessing?

Pretty much everything I wrote about in December materialized and was as wonderful as I expected. If you are interested, the link below will show a few more of my pictures from the run.

MY RESULTS
My two half marathons thus far in 2012 were completed in 2:24 and 2:30.  With the added fatigue and the hills I was worried that I might not finish in the six-hour time limit.  I figured I could reasonably reach the 9 and 18 miles marks at two and four hours respectively.  With the fatigue factor and the 3 mile hill, I suspected there was a 20% chance I might not make the 6 hours time limit.

My official finish time posted as 5 hours, 32 min and 17 seconds.  I was very pleased.  Heck, if I didn’t take so many pictures I might have finished a good 10 minutes earlier, but what fun would that have been.

In looking back, I had written goals about the interim times as well as the placement, but not the actual finish time.   I was hoping for less than 6 hours, but I never wrote that one down.  I did write down these goals:

Written Goals	Actual Result
Complete Mile 9 in under 2 hours	1:48 (by GPS)
Complete the first half in 3 hours	2:42 (official time)
Complete Mile 18 in under 4 hours	3:45 (by GPS)
Complete the race faster than at least 3%   of the finishers	5610 out of 6440 finishers (87%).

All in all, I have nothing to complain about and everything to be grateful for.    My gratitude extends to all those who supported me before, after and during the race.  I am also very grateful to the organizers and the volunteers.

Wishing you all Peace!

Race Day: The San Francisco Marathon

If everything has worked out, at the time of this post, be running across the Golden Gate Bridge somewhere between mile 5 and 9 of the San Francisco Marathon.

I am 47-year old asthmatic am undertaking my first full marathon.  I think I am ready both physically and mentally for this race.  Let’s be clear though, this isn’t going to be glamorous, pretty or anything other than 12-13 minute-miles of slow paced going.

The slogan for this race is “Worth The Hurt”, how’s that for great marketing.  I expect that with the killer hills, the race will take me more than six hours.   This could be problematic as the race has a six-hour cut off.  That should be the worst of my problems.

To keep this in perspective.  If I make my run around this city in under six hours, then wonderful.   I get to see all the things I have been hoping to see for 8 month.  Even if I don’t finish, I will be sore for a few days and then I will heal up.   I am 47 years old and I am in the best physical condition of my life. Others aren’t so lucky.

I have a friend from college whose son has Cystic Fibrosis.  At 12 years old he is 5’1, he weighs only 69 pounds.  His doctors say his lungs are the worst they have ever seen.  So when I hear “Worth the Hurt”, I have to turn those words on their side and give thanks to God for the ability to come the start line and try this endeavor.  I am going to do my best to keep in my thoughts as I hit the hard parts of this race.

I might normally ask you to keep me in your prayers today (actually, I am too proud to do that), but instead, may I ask you to instead say a prayer for Benji and the other children of the world who suffer from CF and other conditions that are not of their making.

A quick note of thanks to all those who have been so positive and supportive in my journey to this bridge.   To my wife and The Child who have put up with my training, thank you.  See you at mile 13.   To those other friends who have given me advice and encouragement, thank you as well.

OK, I have to run, but I wanted to share an old song that I heard last week in church, this time, with a new ear.  Hoping that it speaks to you as it did to me.

WE WILL RISE AGAIN by David Haas

Like a Shepherd, I will feed you
I will gather you with care
I will lead you and hold you
close to my heart

We will run and not grow weary
for our God will be our strength
and we will fly like an eagle
we will rise again

I am strength to the weary
to the weak I am new life
Though the young may grow weary
I will be their hope

Lift up your eyes
and see who made the stars
I lead you and I know you
I am your God

Fear Not! I am with you
I am your God
I will strengthen you and help you
uphold you with my hand

37 Hours in New York

Late November 2010…  In Phoenix, Arizona…  At Westcon, the big regional competition for Pop Warner cheer…   The Child’s Cheer Team won a bid to Nationals… In Disneyworld… We had to be there in 16 days… 

One of the few untaxed benefits of my job is frequent flyer miles.   I first charted the vanilla ways for getting to and from Orlando with air-miles, no problem. 

Then my adventurer came out…

In my mind,  any trip to the East Coast is an opportunity to go to New York and to see my dad.  I started to play around with the side-trip options. Should we go to New York before the competition or after? I explored all the travel permutations of LAX to MCO to or via JFK/EWR/LGA. The two stop trip for three was going to use more miles than I really wanted to spend. Regardless, I was really leaning towards going after the competition; thenl I struck GOLD!

Jetblue was offering $75 one-way flights from JFK to Orlando, but only on Tuesday, the day we had to be there. Choirs of angels sang and the plan was locked, loaded and the trigger pulled:

• Sunday fly from LAX to Newark on Continental.
• Tuesday fly from JFK to Orlando on Jet Blue
• Saturday fly Orlando to LAX on Continental.

This plan afforded us 37 precious hours in New York.  We arrived late on Sunday night in Newark.  As the plane touched down, I started the countdown timer on my watch.

We took a bus from the Airport to the Port Authority.  There are better ways to get to The City from the Newark Airport, but I take the bus.  It’s what I do.  I like making the trip and seeing The City come into view.  I like coming out of the Lincoln tunnel and within minutes being in front of the New York Times building.  I wanted to share that experience with my ladies.

The bus dropped us around the corner from my favorite hotel in The City.   It’s not the best hotel  but it’s one that I know and enjoy being in.  Certain floors have wonderful views of the Empire State Building, which is a requirement of any good New York City Hotel room.     The Child has been to The City probably a half-dozen times, but she has always known it via the Long Island Rail Road or Amtrak.   This was the first time she would sleep in The City and see it late at night.

Mother and Daughter at 2 Brothers Pizza

We dropped our bags, bundled up (this was December) and headed out at 12:30am for 2 Brothers Pizza.  I think we ordered five slices of cheese among the three of us.  The eyes of the hungry ladies rolled with delight and I enjoyed watching them enjoy.

We reached Times Square about 1am and noticed the American Eagle store was open.  It was fun to see the girls walking around the multi-level store and be served by the very helpul and youthful staff.   After shopping, we meandered back to our hotel and went to bed about 2am.  Thirty-four hours left.

I woke up about 5:30am to have run through Central Park.   I took off through the streets of The City with my music playing in my ears, but not too loud.  As I approached Columbus Circle, I felt like I was running on air.   It was one of those perfect running experiences.

As I entered the park snow flurries started to fall and a smile came to my face. I was running, with no GPS and the only timer was back in the hotel room counting down our remaining hours.   I had run the park just 4 months before for a Susan G. Komen run, but that was with 18,000 people and a flight due to take off 6 hours later (do you see a pattern in my behavior).   This was me alone on a Monday morning with this wave of early risers.

A morning jog around the reservoir (it’s not a lake)

I stayed on the trail around the  Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir and just savored the moments.  I enjoyed the trail under my feet.  I enjoyed the runners going the other way, the ones who get to do this every day and didn’t know how special it was for me.  On the occasions that I walked, I sucked in the air in hopes it would be stored in my cells as memories. There was this very rare feeling of “not-rushed”, to which I am completely unaccustomed.

A quick stop for Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee

After breakfast we walked to Penn Station to meet Dr. Grandpa.  I see my dad at least once a  year.  I forget just how long it is between The Child and my dad spending time together.  We found him in the waiting room of the Long Island Rail Road.  He doesn’t live there, he just took an earlier train than we were expecting.

As we emerged from Penn Station I had the awareness that this is my family, all together in New York City. This was my only living parent, my wife and my daughter.  We were together at the start of what was going to be a memorable day together.   I was grateful for the day as well as the awareness that  might never have a day like this again.

Macy’s At Christmas Time

Our first stop was Macy’s. The girls wanted to see the windows and we ducked into the store.   The Smurf movie was being promoted and the next thing I knew, Dr. Grandpa was buying The Child a 2ft. tall Smurf doll.   That Smurf to this day, is still on The Child’s bed, day and night. We continued on towards the Empire State Building.  The Child had never been there and it was my obligation as her parent to ensure that she saw it.  The girls were taken with the style of the building. It had been upgraded since Laura and I were last there probably 17 years ago.

As we were waiting for the elevators we noticed the glass mail shoots that travel down the inside of the building.  I remembered that we had our Christmas cards with us.   We had worked them during the flight to New York and the Empire State Building seemed the perfect place to mail them.  I gave the cards to The Child and she deposited them in the mail slots one by one and they fell 30 floors to mail room.

Dr. Grandpa and the Child have a moment

The wind was howling on the top of the Empire State Building on that cold day.  Part of the City was clear, but clouds were moving very quickly and Ellis Island could not been seen.

After the obligatory tourist pictures in the lobby of the ESB, we took a cab to Serendipity.  It was important for the The Child to experience frozen hot chocolate.  The wait at Serendipity was already at 90 minutes by 11am.  Some say Serendipity isn’t worth the long wait.  Those people are so very wrong.  The trick is not to wait in line, but to plan on going down the street Dylan’s Candy Store while you’re waiting.   The Child had never been in any store like Dylan’s with its three floors of candy.  She delighted in the chocolate fountains for dipping the candy.   Ninety minutes passed quite quickly.

Serendipity at Christmas

Serendipity is a beautiful restaurant, especially at Christmas.  You will notice in the picture below, that each frozen hot chocolate came with four straws, leaving one to speculate that the beverage was for sharing.   Let’s just say that one of the two people in that picture was not willing to share HER frozen hot chocolate.  Laura and I enjoyed the marvellous cakes as appetizers, she enjoyed the chocolate and I, the carrot. For our main course we had the amazing pan-fried meatloaf.   Laura copied the recipe and it is in the A-rotation on our dinner table.  

Dr. Grandpa, The Child and Serendipity’s Frozen Hot Chocolate.

After a wonderful lunch, our party split apart.   I took my dad pack to Penn Station via the subway and the girls proceeded on foot towards Rockefeller Center with a number of planned stops along the way.  It was nice to have some time alone with my dad.   I am always at home and at peace with him, even when I am running around and even when he makes me nuts.

After I saw my dad off, I double-timed it up to Rockefeller Center.   Yes, I know I could have taken a train, but why?  So I could miss 7th Avenue at Christmas?   I don’t think so.  Nobody goes to New York at Christmas to ride the subways.

My Angel

When I caught up to the girls, they were taking pictures with the angels.  There were ice skaters in the rink and I remembered bringing The Child here when she was 5.  She wanted to skate in Rockefeller Center and she made us wait for hours to get on the ice.  She wouldn’t skate anywhere else in The City.  She barely knew how to skate back then and I had to pull her all around the rink and avoid the hundreds of other people. Now she was taking pictures of those skaters with her cellphone 8 years later.   The time just goes so quickly, just like the 37 hours were.

From there we made our way back to Times Square for more photos, why, because we were tourists on a mission.    Then we went back to our hotel room for a nap.   Why a nap?  Because we had dinner plans with friends from Twitter.   In case you didn’t know John De Guzman is the best photographer of New York in the world. One corner of our house has nothing but his work (check out his website).   I also have one of John’s photographs in the very front of my daytime, but that’s a different story.   We had dinner plans with John his then girlfriend who was a background extra in the soon be seen in the upcoming Men In Black III.  His lovely girlfriend and I shared a deep love of the Yankees and became acquainted on Twitter.   We had a fun dinner with some wonderful people.   Then the family went back to our hotel room and went to bed. 

Empire State Building in blue for Hanukkah Taken by The Child.

The last 8 hours in New York found us up early and making our way from the City to  Long Island.  The Child had point that early morning.  She walked a few steps ahead of us as we made our way, for the second day in a row toward Penn Station.

At one point, she took a few steps into the street against the traffic light. A cab coming her way started to slow down and she gestured by circling  her right hand clockwise, telling the guy to keep going.  Laura and I both laughed.  She seems comfortable here.

The Long Island Railroad dropped us off across the street from the preselected Nassau County diner just as other members of our party converged.  For breakfast that morning, my dad dove in, and we met with twitter friends (and loved ones) Dee Karl and the one and only Ms. Coffee O’Clock herself, Dani3boyz.  The two ladies that joined us share my love  of New York Islander hockey.   Twitter brought us together and they have become important people for me to make time for when I visit the Island.   

I don’t recall what anyone had to eat that morning, other than the fact that The Child decided that the Oreo-cookie pancakes were to her liking.   You ever have one of those meals where there is just laughing and fun and the next thing you know you have to go?   It was one of those.

Breakfast with favorite ladies from the East and West Coasts.

As much as I wanted to visit my home town of Long Beach, there wasn’t enough time left.  We had to get to JFK, park and check in.  My Dad had me behind the wheel driving down the Sunrise Highway towards JFK.  We made it to the airport in plenty of time.

I don’t think I have ever flown out of Terminal 2 before.  As we walked from the parking lot to the terminal, I saw the old TWA terminal.   That was probably the terminal I flew out of when my mom took me to England when I was 5 months old. I spent so many hours in that terminal as a child, always with my mom.   I remember playing behind those windows and running around the red carpet inside.  I remember running up the hump we used to have to walk over to get to the airplanes.

The old TWA Terminal as seen from Terminal 2

For a moment it felt like my mom was there with me.   As we checked in, I felt sad to be leaving my dad.  The agent at the gate must have picked up on this and she gave him a pass to go through security.  This touched my heart.   It meant another 45 minutes with him.   The area behind Terminal 2 was very nice, much better than every LAX terminal I have ever been to.     It was large and spacious with a full service Dunkin’ Donuts.   We sat and drank coffee and prepared ourselves for our flight to Orlando.

We lined up at our gate and finally, the countdown timer signalled that our time was up.    I hugged my father at the gate, just like in the old days.   You remember, those days when we used to be able to see people off at the gate.  The way my mom used to when I was little and getting on-board a TWA flight to England.   There was that experience of saying goodbye to someone and then walking down the jetway then before making the turn, looking back and seeing them standing there, looking at you and seeing how deeply they care.   We’ve been deprived of those moments.    They just aren’t the same when we say good-bye at security.

We settled in as a family unit in our three-across seating.  The Child broke out her books and started studying.   The benefit of being away for a full week, rather than just 4 days, is that the Child was able to do independent study.    I was very proud of how much time she put in studying that week.

When we arrived at Orlando, we were greeted by the Disney people and put on a Disney bus.  We were in Disney’s care all week.  We had itinerary telling us where to be and when.   We travelled on Disney vehicles and ate nothing but Disney food.  When we left, we were dropped at the airport again by a Disney bus.  It was the complete opposite of our experience in New York.

Thirty-Seven hours may not seem like a lot of time.  Heck, 37 years may not seem like a lot of time to some.   I guess it comes down to how  well that time is used.  Our 37 hours were richly spent;  we saw friends, built new memories,  exercised, laughed, and we shared meals with special people.   There was family time, one-on-one time and even some time alone.  Would we have done more with 40 hours, definitely; and life only give us so much time, how we spend it, who we spend it with, and what memories we choose to create is up to us.  How we use our time is the measure of our priorities.

“Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station  will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.”   ~David Copperfield

Cheesy Overpriced Tourist Photo That Means the World to Me