A Long Road Behind. An Open Road Ahead.

Deal with the past. Practice forgiveness and gratitude.

Be optimistic about the future. Let go of worry and fear.

When you can do that, you can truly celebrate the present. 

I'm a bit of a statistics geek. When I get a bucket of numbers or lists and I have free time (like I do during a slow Thanksgiving week), I like to look at the past to see what I can learn.  With our 100th half marathon coming up next week in San Antonio, it was nice to take a trip through the first 99.

We started in 2005. When we were racing with Team in Training, the idea of doing more than a half marathon every 12 weeks or a full more than twice a year was not within the realm of possibility. We didn't even speak about it. I think the idea was that our participants, many first time marathoners, should concentrate on their event so it's the highlight of the season. Pre-event tune up races detracted from the big one. I get that. And that's how we trained for the first four years. Most of the races we did for the first 5 years were with TNT.

That changed in 2009. Our tenure as TNT mentors and coaches went to an every other year basis and the teams in the Bay Area got smaller, probably due to competition from other training organizations. We added a few of the short hop destination races like Rock n Roll Vegas (with a day-time Run Through Wedding) and a local race featuring a Walk Division (Eye-Q Twin Cities Fresno).

Rock n Roll Las Vegas 2009. Our first vow renewal, photobombed by Elvis.

In 2010, we also found out about the bonus Heavy Medals offered by Rock n Roll. That year, we had 3 halfs and a full to get the Grand Slam. We also met a Marathon Maniac, Kamika Smith. That meeting on the Seattle causeway led us to join the Half Fanatics and eventually the Marathon Maniacs.

This was one instance where Susan and I did different races. Susan did the full in Seattle because I had done one extra full in Anchorage. I did the half 5 months after reconstructive knee surgery (and PRed).
Kamika finished his 100th full on the day we met. I never thought we'd come anywhere close to that total for races.

2011 was a step change. We were on a Southwest flight for RNR Arizona and somehow we had an unscheduled layover in San Diego. We were sitting in the aisle/window in row 2 when a perky blonde lady from the C group asked if she could sit with us. She ended up chatting with Susan for the hour long flight to Phoenix and it turns out she knew all about Rock n Roll. She even mentioned that they were adding a few inaugural races in Providence, Rhode Island; Savannah, Georgia and Miami Beach. By the time we got off the plane we were so excited we registered for another 5 races that year.  Turns out that young lady was Ann Wessling, the striped-socked, high-fiving announcer for the Rock n Roll races. We ended the year with 10 races (9 half marathons) and our first (inaugural) Rock Idol Heavy Medal. Garret Schmidt saved us a second medal for our picture on the shores of Rock n Roll Miami Beach (ours was in the mail).

We hit another inaugural in RNR Pasadena in 2012. I'm not sure where it got into our heads that we would do another 10 races, but the schedule filled up quickly. We met Dan and Jackie Evans, contestants from The Biggest Loser season 5.  They were in the early stages of setting up The Biggest Loser RunWalk race series. We signed up to raise money for Team Future, the Chicago area charity they were supporting, and they were gracious enough to treat us with VIP passes for Rock n Roll Chicago. That was the race we met Beth Deloria and Jim Austin. Beth is the director of social outreach for Allard and the GetBackUp Today movement. She runs with a special brace on her left foot because her ankle was paralyzed from a spinal surgery, but it hasn't slowed her down. She's a Boston qualifier and she and Jim are among our closest friends. By the end of the year, we bought memberships to the Half Fanatics group (#1731 and #1732) as Christmas presents to each other.

In 2013, things took a turn for the ridiculous. We had become good friends with Al and had dinners and post race celebrations with him and Caryn since RNR San Jose 2012, but when Competitor Group had a scheduling overlap putting Rock n Roll San Antonio and Rock n Roll Las Vegas on the same day, Al called me saying 'you know, it might be possible to do both'. We'd done full marathons before that, obviously, but even this was a step up. That was the year Double Live / SA2LV happened. We also added the inaugural Berkeley Half Marathon the following weekend to moon up to Earth level as Half Fanatics with 3 halfs in 3 states in 10 days. That split double gave us a good start for the Brazen New Years Eve/New Years Day double, just a month before we did full marathons 4 days apart on Antarctica and South America.

A second vow renewal, this time with a larger party on an emotional weekend.

The finish line at Vegas with a warm welcome from Ann.

2014 was our busiest year with 47 half marathons between us. Susan had the extra race that year at the Zooma Women's marathon in Napa, California. I didn't race in it, but was there in full support in an electric blue tutu. We also added the 50th Anniversary Mustang Half, a once in a lifetime chance to race on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. We were able to walk in The Biggest Loser RunWalk races in Casper, Wyoming and Panama City Beach, Florida. It was also the year we did our first Disney races, starting with the Dumbo Double Dare in September and Disney Avengers in November (as the first half of the Avengers/RNR Vegas Double Live 2). We were even part of George Melichar's moving art museum at Rock n Roll Chicago. At Rock n Roll San Antonio, we hit our 15th RNR race, putting us on the first ever Heavy Medal Hall of Fame for CGI.

2015 saw another pair of Disney races and two The Biggest Loser RunWalk races.  We went back to where we did our first full marathon in Anchorage, Alaska to mark 10 years since our first race. The celebration was also our 20 year wedding anniversary.  With the inaugural Rock n Roll Brooklyn Half, we checked off the 25th state for half marathons. After this year's Disney Avengers/Rock n Roll Las Vegas double, we also finished our 15th RNR for another entry into the Hall of Fame. 

Messing with Darth

Dan and Jackie. The Biggest Winners in our book.

More than anything, we'll remember our first 99 races with our friends. We cheered for Joe for his 100th finishing his Rock n Roll race in DC. 

In the rain at DC for Joe's 100th Rock n Roll

We prayed for Beth as she underwent major surgery in March and recovered quickly enough to race again in May.

Pre-race at Rock n Roll Raleigh. Beth was just a few weeks out of abdominal surgery and came out to cheer us on. We all wore bibs in her honor.

We came together for Erin Zeman. Joe, Kevin and I wore her husband, Jake's bib from the day he passed away at Rock n Roll Savannah 2013.

Rock n Roll San Antonio will be our 16th RNR each for this year and our 45th half for 2015 combined. And it'll be a race where a lot of our best friends are hitting the 15 race Hall of Fame for the year as well. I want to see how many people I can fit into a group selfie of all the friends we've made over the years and the ones we hope to see for years to come.

I am grateful for every time I post a picture of my suitcase and the dozen or so luggage tags from the races we've done that year.

I'm glad that our bodies have forgiven us for the miles that we put on them.

I'm looking forward to the finishing in San Antonio on Sunday. It'll be the last of our first 100 half marathons.

At that time, and always, we'll celebrate the present.

~//~

I found this way of displaying our race history a little surprising. It didn't really dawn on me that we have been racing nearly every other weekend for almost three years now, most of them out of state. It does make me wonder if we've found a sweet spot or we're just taking a quick pause before going to the next level.

By the numbers, the 100 Half Marathon breakdown and stats.

Top Race Companies: 
- Rock n Roll Marathon (67 and 68 halfs, 5 and 4 fulls)
- runDisney (4) 
- The Biggest Loser RunWalk (4)

Most Frequented Races: 
RNR San Diego (6)
RNR Chicago (6)
RNR Seattle (5)
RNR Arizona (5)
RNR Las Vegas (5)
We've also done Nike San Francisco 10 times, but 8 of those were in support and we did the full marathon as pacers.

States with completed Halfs: 25
In order of completion: California, Alaska, Hawaii, Arizona, Nevada, Washington, Illinois, Texas, Tennessee, Rhode Island, Virginia, Florida, District of Colombia (yes we'll count it), Oregon, Colorado, Ohio, Missouri, North Carolina, Wyoming, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Louisiana, Indiana, Michigan, New York.

Canadian Provinces: 2
Quebec, British Columbia

Legacy Races: 
RNR Portland (4 years). We haven't seen this on the 2016 RNR schedule yet.
RNR San Francisco (3)
If you count these: Disney Avengers (2) and RNR Raleigh (2). 

Fastest halfs: 
Walking: Ron 2:22:28 RNR San Diego 2015, Susan 2:29:23 RNR San Diego 2014
Run/Walking: Ron 2:55:54 (yeah, go figure) RNR Chicago 2014, Susan 2:30:03 RNR Cleveland 2013

Best Age graded performances:  
Ron 63.27%, Susan 65.63%

Best Overall Finishes:
Ron: 1st place - TBL Casper 2014, TBL Las Vegas 2015, 3rd Place - TBL Panama City Beach 2014, American River Parkway 2014
Susan: 2nd place - TBL Casper 2014, 3rd place - TBL Las Vegas 2015.

Age grade awards:
Ron:  1st Place - Eye Q Fresno, 3rd Place - Eye Q Fresno
Susan: 1st Place - Eye Q Fresno, 1st Place American River Parkway (twice)

Favorites - random categories, because people always ask the question:
Ron: 
Favorite overall - Kauai. Tunnel of Trees and the most beautiful finish chute starting at mile 11.
Favorite Urban - RNR Chicago. I can do without the bridges, but the city is awesome.
Favorite For Speed - RNR San Diego. 4 PRs in 4 years (one in the 5K)
Most memorable: RNR San Antonio/RNR Las Vegas 2013. For many reasons.

Susan: 
Favorite Rock n Roll race - Vancouver. The last 3 miles smell like fresh cut Christmas trees.
Race with the most to look forward to at the finish: Diva San Francisco (Tiaras, Feather Boas, Champagne)
Most Scenic: Maui, Monterey

A Zone of Appreciation - Rock n Roll Dallas 2015

"There Will Come a Day When I Cannot Do This.

Today is Not That Day"

This is one of my favorite slogans. I see it at almost every race expo at the OneMoreMile booth on car magnets and shirts. This saying was also top of mind for me at Rock n Roll Dallas. After celebrating Joe Harris becoming the first Rock n Roll marathoner to finish 100 races in the series, the thoughts of our Rock n Roll Gypsy group turned to our friend Beth.

We met Jim and Beth at Rock n Roll Chicago in 2012. She was hard at work making a sign for the Allard "Get Back Up" campaign. We found out that they were one of the only other married couples on the RNR circuit to have earned the 10-race Rock Idol medal. We instantly bonded. As the years went on, we looked for each other to catch up at races, spending a lot of time together at RNR Montreal, RNR Raleigh and of course, the epic Double Live adventure of RNR San Antonio and RNR Las Vegas in 2013. 

For those of you who don't remember those blogs, Beth has a condition called Foot Drop in which her right ankle was paralyzed and she can't lift her toe, making it difficult to walk much less run. After some time with the condition, she discovered Allard, a company that makes a specialized brace that not only allowed her to run, but be fast enough to qualify for Boston. She's one of my personal heroes and has been inspiring other people with foot drop to walk, run and take control of their lives - literally, Get Back Up. Beth told us the prior week in DC that she had to go back in for surgery and because of her previous conditions, there was a chance that this new procedure would leave her paralyzed from the waist down. 

We kept Beth and Jim in our thoughts the whole weekend and entered what we've dubbed the Zone of Appreciation.

Race weekend started early Friday morning. Susan, Al and I caught an early flight and landed around noon at Love Field, headed straight for the Aloft and to the expo for bib pick up. At mid week, the forecast for the Saturday 5K was about a 50% chance of rain. Sunday was looking to be close to 90% chance of rain. It was time to call in our legendary Weather Luck to see if we could make the weekend better. The expo visit was well timed. We met Joe Harris as we walked in.

After the race on Sunday, we actually were approached by two women at lunch who recognized us from the Hall of Fame banner. Amy and Ainsley are planning on hitting 15-19 races this year to make the Hall of Fame

Marcey from Sport Hooks decided at the last minute to run the race for the first time as a mother-daughter team. Sunday also happened to be her daughter's birthday. Since Marcey was working the booth that weekend, she hadn't brought any gear with her, but fortunately, there were a lot of good places to shop at the expo. Pete wondered if his wife would ever get back to the booth to work - it looked like she was having way too much fun shopping!

We ran into Rock n Roll race announcer, Ann Wessling, on the way out. Ann was in Mexico City the previous weekend when Joe hit 100, so they exchanged greetings and cards in Dallas. I took the opportunity to give Ann a care package of Snappers, a snack that she introduced us to last year in Denver which we got totally addicted to. Word is that the care package didn't survive the weekend.

We met Beth and Jim for dinner at the Iron Cactus. Hyalker and a few friends from our SA2LV adventure (Leny and Nancy) joined us. I was caught up in the conversation so much I don't even have any pictures. Jim's daughter Kristen would be running the 5K the next morning, their first race as a family. The forecast was clearing up nicely. Thank you, Universe!

I'll have you hop over to Beth's blog on the 5K at this point. Not only did she have a great set of pictures for Saturday, she also had a lot of detail from Rock n Roll DC that I missed and some information on her upcoming surgery. After reading that, you'll get a good sense of how concerned we were for Beth's health. I did get a chance to take a video of the 5K family finish. Al, Susan and I formed up behind Jim, Kris and Beth. The rain held off for the race. The first drops started falling as we left Fair Park. Our zone of appreciation continued.

Susan, Al and I were back on Main Street at CBD Provisions for lunch. We caught up with Kevin and got the recap of the Inaugural Rock n Roll Mexico City. Not only did Kevin have a good race time wise, the event was a big success. It looks like 2016 is definitely on and there are rumors that it will be the same day as RNR Dallas. The "Tex Mex" challenge may be popping up soon.

Pre-race dinner was at Ravenna, the same location as last year. Tawni and her aunt Missy joined us and Kevin actually surprised us by not ordering his usual Fettucini Alfredo. He went for spaghetti and meatballs (but no clams). 

Al was suffering from some really bad seasonal allergies. Smiling or laughing generally resulted in coughing up a lung. Kevin... well, I think he was between smiles in this picture.

Race morning came and the forecast for the 8 AM start was down to 5% rain. Let's just say, everything was lining up to give Beth a great race day. We caught up with a few friends at the Omni then headed out. Beth chose to go out of corral 5. We formed up an RNR Gypsy support circle around her before taking a few more group selfies.

I had the group move over to the left side as we approached the start line since Ann was on the announcer stage. I'd asked Ann earlier to give Beth a shout out to start the race.  Tears flowed freely, but we wiped them away as we started on the course.

Jim and Beth took off. With Al under the weather, we had no hope of keeping up. She finished her half in under 2 hours while most of us came in between 2:30 and 3 (with pictures and videos). The sky reflected our moods, but we didn't have a drop of rain.  Kevin had a solid 2:25 a week after walking a 2:29 in Mexico City altitude. I walked sub-2:30 (and over a 60% age grade) in March for the first time ever which bodes well for the training year. Tawni kept Al company and Susan caught up to them in the late miles. Susan said she was in a "Zone of Appreciation" for this entire race with the realization that we should never take anything for granted.

This cowboy at mile 11 was doing this rope trick for runners who stopped. The reason Al, Tawni and Susan are staying very still was that the woman who went right before them held up her arms and got caught on the rope. No bueno.

I caught Ann at the finish and thanked her for Beth's shout out. She said she saw Beth finish, looking strong. I must have been really overcome with emotion at the time since I didn't know that the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders were right behind Ann off the chute.  I waited for Susan, Al and Tawni at the finish so I wasn't able to catch up with Jim, Beth and Kevin since they had early check outs.

We did catch up with Joe at the Victory Tavern. We also found a woman with a great pair of shoes that match any color gear. 

Those colorful feet belong to Master's Half Marathon record holder Deena Kastor. We saw her world record setting effort last year at Rock n Roll Philadelphia.

We caught up with Jim, Beth, Joe and Lisa later at the Press Box Grill. Jim had to find a place to watch the NCAA tournament. It is, after all, March and they're doing what comes naturally to North Carolina residents. It was the first weekend we actually spent a lot of quality time with Joe. He's even learning how to take group selfies (with a little help from Jim).

We laughed a lot at lunch - more than I remember in a while. We talked about the next person to likely hit 100 Rock n Roll races in our marathoning subculture of agelessness and our plans for Hall of Fame this year. On TV, I think all of the right teams won. Lots of appetizers were demolished and drinks were drunk. We sent Beth off with all of our positive energy. I even told her I'd trade our weather luck for healing.

Beth went into surgery Tuesday morning. She posted her blog recap for DC and Dallas just a few hours before that so we knew the latest news. Tuesday afternoon, Susan got a text from Jim saying that the surgery went well. As of Wednesday night, it looks like she has mobility in her legs and she can start the road to recovery.  We'll see her in Raleigh in a couple of weeks and she said she'd be on the sidelines cheering for us. If all goes well, she can get back to training in 6 to 8 weeks and maybe we'll toe the line with her in Chicago where we met years ago.

They say that running is an individual sport. That doesn't mean you're alone.

And there may be a day where Beth, or any of us, won't be able to do this anymore.

Today is not that day.

We're in our home town for Rock n Roll San Francisco this weekend. Follow us on Facebook at Marathoning for Life.

Bling-tober! - Rock n Roll San Jose 5K and Half Marathon

Ten months into the year and staying healthy starts paying off in metal. After finishing the last North American Rock n Roll city two weeks ago in Philadelphia and taking a break with the Great Bacon Race 10K last week, we were ready to claim our fourth Rock Idol medals for finishing 10 races on the RNR circuit for the year.

How cool is it that we can do it in our home town?

Rock n Roll San Jose has always been a great race for us. Early October is usually cool, the course is flat and they haven't changed the course much since we first raced in 2008, so it's a great place to try for a PR. This year Competitor Group added a 5K on Saturday to round out the weekend. I remember the days when we would be paranoid about doing anything the day before a race, and try to stay off our feet and not exert ourselves. Things have really changed.

I had my work phone with me but finished most of my weekly clean up early, so I got to the expo when it opened on Friday. Susan actually had a full day of work so was unable to take advantage of CGI letting Tour Pass holders enter a half hour early to pick up bibs and get to the vendors without the lines. I saw fellow RNR Gypsies Beth and Jim early, which was great because we never know when we'll see them with Beth's media schedule (and thanks for the coffee, Beth!). I picked up my bibs for the 5K, the half and the special back bib for the Rock Idol.

In the first year of the Rock Idol, our friend Garrett said he was pretty sure we were the only married couple to both get the Medal in 2011. This makes four years in a row!

I actually had every intention to get in and out before rush hour traffic started, but every time I tried to leave, more friends came in. Joe Harris first, then Michelle, Ted and Sherry, then Al and Caryn. I also took some time to walk a quick mile and a half on the PreCor for a $10 donation to LLS. 

Photo op for the second Running Festival weekend in 3 weeks.

Great to see our Peninsula manager Vanessa for the first time in years. She ran the Half on Sunday in a solid 1:51. Welcome back to the circuit!

Five (!) expo hours later, a trip to Pizza my Heart was just what the pre-5K needed.

The 7:30 AM start for the 5K was warmer than usual for San Jose. We ran into Tawni and Tamie before the 5K. Tamie was celebrating her 50th birthday with perks galore.  

Having badly tweaked my calf at the Bacon 10K, I wanted to test it out before thinking PR for the Half. Alex and the folks at T.E.A.M. Clinic did a great job on getting me prepped with the usual excruciatingly painful ART and the KT tape touch up. Al said to try to hit the PR pace for the short 5K. If it felt easy, give it a shot the next day. But first, let me take a (group) selfie.

Gypsies at the 5K start. Caryn, Susan, Ron, Al, Beth and Jim.

The 5K plan was to take the first mile easy and push the last 2.1. Susan decided not to let me slack at all and pushed us to a 33:34. That's a 10:48 walking pace and a PR by about a minute and a half.  Things looked good. Even the finish line picture of the two of us looked good with our last 0.12 miles coming at a 8:20 pace. I'm waiting on a good deal from MarathonFoto to download a few packages, but we had a few group shots that made it instantly to FaceBook. After a quick trip to the expo to find better fitting hydration belts, we went home, showered, changed and met our friends for dinner at Piati's, the usual yummy Italian fare.

5K Finish. Front (L to R): Marissa, Ron, Michelle, Mae. Back: Joe, Susan, Sherry, Junior, Al, Caryn. 
I know I was told the other folks names, but I can't seem to find them :(.

Half marathon morning was about 15 to 20 degrees warmer than the usual RNR San Jose weather. Starting at 8:00 AM means we would finish in the high 70's. Again, this would have freaked us out a few years ago, but we were taking it all in stride. We can't control the weather. At least it wasn't freezing and raining.

Wendy came down from Vancouver to do the 10K. She wanted a picture of the Rock Idol butt-bibs. 

Tip for future RNR SJ races. If you stand at the corner of Post and San Pedro, not only will you find the shortest porta potty lines, but you'll also run into almost everyone you know. Yvonne was running her longest distance in months and her son Taj was running his first 10K. Susan ran into Tim Yagle in the corrals and finished with Tim and Yvonne. 

I had a pretty good shot at my PR of 2:24:04. Al told me to get to mile 10 and see what I had left and by that point, I was still just over an 11 minute/mile pace. For the last 3 miles, the Garmin was clicking off 10:53, 10:38, and when I got to Almaden I pretty much left it all out on the course. I found out later that my last split was way better than I thought I was capable of walking at the end of a half marathon: 0.14 miles, 10:07 pace. And oh yeah, average 192 heart rate spiking to 197.  I didn't look at my time for a few minutes while I stabilized.

Kevin actually beat me to posting the results. Dang, he's fast.

I missed my PR by 10 seconds. I was a little bummed that my distance was 13.2 miles (leaving some room for improvement on tangents), but considering the temperatures and the fact that my PR was set on a San Diego course with a large net elevation drop, I'm really happy with the results. I first walked sub-2:30 on this course in 2012 and this was the 10th time I'd broken that mark.  I was a bit light headed for a while and I wandered off to get my Heavy Medals. Susan had a momentary panic attack because I always wait for her at the finish and given how I planned to push the race, she was checking every med tent. Fortunately, we hooked up later.

And by the way, Susan finished with her 5th fastest half marathon time ever. This was a woman who up until last year said she didn't need to get faster. She's now walked under 2:40 five times (including RNR San Diego under 2:30) and added 5 run/walks under 2:40 "when she wants to take the race easy." #mywifeisawesome.

So about the title? "Bling-tober"? Let's see the hardware.

Al, Caryn, Tawni and Kamika. In just this group: 3 5K medals, 4 Half marathon medals, 3 Remix, 3 Cali Combo's (for doing San Francisco, San Diego and San Jose), 2 Rock Legend (7 RNRs) and two Rock Stars *5 RNR's).

Gypsy Nation representing well. I think I counted 32 medals in this group, just from the weekend.

Crystal finished her second half in 7 days, qualifying her for Half Fanatics. She is going to do her third Half in three different states/provinces when she joins us in Vancouver BC at the end of October.

I should remember to bring the 5K medal back the next day so I could take my "Mindy Evans" pic :). It would make the picture more convincing, but probably would have put a lot of strain on my neck!

We have five more Rock n Roll races left for the year. Add Avengers runDisney and The Biggest Loser Panama City Beach Half, the already completed 5K's, 10K's and two fulls and a full/ultra on two new continents and 2014 will be out busiest year so far.  I wondered after our Double Live trip if we'd ever be able to top it.

Apparently, I hadn't seen everything yet.

~//~

2014 marked the 9th Rock n Roll San Jose. In 2014, there were 8362 finishers in the Half Marathon (median finish time of 2:20), 3172 finishers in the Inaugural 10K (median finish time 1:15:37) and 1866 finishers in the 5K (median 35:17). Three wheelchair participants finished the Half.

The 2014 course starts on Santa Clara Street and South Almaden, heads northwest to 11th before turning back on a loop course along the Alameda where mid-packers can see the elites coming back for the finish.  The back half of the course goes through residential and business district before coming back on the Alameda by about mile 8. Total elevation gain was less than 100 feet. Temperature at race start was 66 degrees and climbed into the high 70's by the end of the race. While there wasn't a lot of shade for the last 5 miles, the low humidity made it more bearable.

This was Susan's 72nd Half and Ron's 69th. We should hit our 100th event at the half/full distances some time mid 2015, about a year and a half ahead of Ron's bucket list schedule of 100 by age 50. We're both now on target to hit 100 half by Ron's 50th birthday. It may be time to raise the bar again.

We have the 2015 Tour Pass. So yeah, signing up for RNR San Jose next year is a no brainer.

Four Seasons - Rock 'n' Roll Seattle 2014

"Friendship isn't about whom you've known the longest, it's about those who showed up and never left your side." - Unknown, but I'll credit it to Beth Austin-Deloria

After an A-Race, we enjoy a bit of down time. Even if we have a lot of races on our schedule, we make sure we're not pushing ourselves so hard that we either burn ourselves out or run into an aggravation that prevents us from racing at all.  With Susan's personal best at Rock 'n' Roll San Diego just a few weeks before, Rock 'n' Roll Seattle looked to be more of a social event than a race. We also note that this is the first time Ron got to Seattle not having any major medical issues.

Seattle was the first time we would see the entire group from the Rock 'n' Roll San Antonio/Las Vegas "Double Live" tour (also known as SA2LV) last November. Caryn and Al haven't been able to get out to the east coast races and Beth and Jim haven't come west. Knowing that we'd have everyone together again made the weekend special. Kamika, well, you never know for sure where he is, but he seems to always make an appearance.

Top to bottom, left to right: Ron, Susan, Al, Beth, Kamika, Caryn, Jim.
I'm fairly certain one of us knows the guy in the yellow shirt. 

The week leading up to the race, Jim had been having problems with a nagging calf injury and Beth decided to walk with him. She thought it would be just the two of them and everyone else going at their own pace.

That just wasn't going to happen because us Rock 'n' Roll Gypsies stick together, especially in the time of need!

Al was recovering from a high fever, Susan and I were planning on taking it easy anyway, so we ended up deciding to walk the whole race together. Caryn and Kamika may have had other plans, but they weren't pressing. Kamika DID have to pick up his pace a bit because his flight left an hour earlier than he thought.  He's been traveling a lot, so time zone brain may have been setting in. We were able to spend the first hour of the race together catching up.

The Half Fanatic/Marathon Maniac picture is always huge in the Northwest, birth of the Asylum.

Al and the elusive Kamika at Mile 1 or so.

The Party starts at Mile 3.

Susan and I ran (well, WALKED) into Mariano about mile 4. He caught our attention because he clearly had some training as a race walker, going at a mid 11 minute mile pace. He was self taught and extremely friendly, despite the fact that his team just lost in the World Cup. Susan and I paced with him for a couple minutes and this time I remembered to get a picture of him so I could find him later. He finished in a very speedy 2:30:47.

Beth was wearing her walking brace this race and carrying her running brace in her pack in case she needed it. Fortunately, she kept the running to a decent amount and was able to enjoy the race. We think she may have hit her word quota just as she finished.

Al and Beth doing the West Side Story thing mile 4.

Since Susan didn't actually see me last year when the hernia acted up, we decided to recreate it at the very same spot. I'm pretty sure Al was laughing last year too.

The Team Blue mile. Even last year when I was distracted, I got chills as we passed by over a half mile of flags, memorials and supporters of the fallen.

It's worth noting that while Jim was able to pick up pretty good race walking form (averaging just under a 14 minute mile), there's definitely a difference from running. Not only do you use different muscle groups (a reason we advocate using run/walk for longer distances), but it also tends to cause ... discomfort... in different areas. 

Waiting for Jim to apply some Body Glide. We shall forever refer to this as "Jim powdering his nose". Why Ron defaults to the Kevin G starting pose, he can't explain.

It wasn't lost on me how special this time is in our lives. It was the same feeling I had when I was playing volleyball with my older brother out of college and again playing hockey with both of my brothers after grad school. It reminded me of the line in the movie "Stand By Me" at the very end as the writer was finishing his book.

"I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve"......"Jesus, does anyone"?

Optimism. We has it.

I'll continue to cherish the time I'm able to spend with these special people. All of them are amazing in their own way. With any luck, our paths will continue to cross for years to come.

Six of the Magnificent Seven at the finish line. I'm guessing if you look closely, Kamika is lurking off camera to the right.

The race was held on the last day of Spring. On Sunday, Susan and I headed up to Mount Rainier for a day trip. We had seen the mountain from the course from so many different angles, but got a much better appreciation for it as we got up close. NOTE: If you're a Goldstar member, the day trip package was half off.

Shameless plug for the Rock 'n' Roll Series

 On the first day of Summer, we still thought it was Winter. How about that?

As for the fourth season? Well, no trip is going to be complete without shopping at Market Spice in the Public Market where spice is the variety of life!  The bag of crystallized ginger almost didn't make it through the plane ride home.

I thought about going into the race trying to at least better my course record. Being healthy for once was a novel concept. But I'm finding that being flexible keeps you open to making some memories that'll probably last a long longer than a course PR.

There's always next year, after all :)

~//~

Rock 'n' Roll Seattle has been in existence for six years under Competitor Group. The races offers both a half marathon (12392 finishers, 2:23 median finish time) and a full marathon (2220 finishers, 4:33 median finish time). Total participation was about the same as 2013. There were also several diversion points for the full giving distances 20.6, 23.9 and 25.2 miles for those not meeting cut off times. 

The course was a loop that started and finished at the base of the Space Needle, travelling south on 5th Avenue, Dearborn and Raininer before turning back north along Lake Washington, I-90, 2nd Avenue, the Viaduct and finishing on Mercer. Visibility was good and you could see Mount Rainier for a good portion of the first half of the course. Many people reported GPS reading well in excess of 13.5 miles. There was an explanation. Just move on. Get over it. Weather was a little warmer than normal the northwest this year, but for a June race, we were happy with tanks, short sleeves and extra hydration.

This was our third time in Seattle, having raced in 2010 and 2013. This was Susan's 65th half and Ron's 63rd. We each received our 4th Rock Legend medal, having done seven Rock 'n' Roll races in 2014. Susan will be doing her 50th Rock 'n' Roll event in Chicago in the third week of July.

A big shout out to our friend Shayne at CGI who ran her first half marathon after recovering from plantar issues. Shayne writes the #CGIEats blogs for the Rock 'n' Roll series, so check them out if you're looking for places pre- or post-race. She finished in the mid 1:50's on a course that can leave a lot of people swearing at the last few miles.

With the Rock 'n' Roll TourPass 2015 in hand, we've already signed up for Seattle next year.