Riding Off Into the Sunrise - Run for C.H.U.M. Half Marathon 2015

This race wasn't supposed to happen actually. We usually have a long break between July and October when we recover from any aggravations or start working on specific training like speed or core strength. But Susan is getting close to being A-List Preferred on Southwest which carries some really nice perks. Combine that with the long Labor Day weekend, a few friends in the Michigan area that we haven't seen in a long time and it was off to the Midwest we go! Of course, we can't travel to a state without checking if we've crossed it off our half marathon list. 

We drove from our hotel in Lansing about a half hour to the Dansville schools for bib pick up right at the 5:30 open. We had time to talk to Bonnie DePue, the center Director about the program. She was surprised to see people coming in from California so she was happy to give us a quick tour. 

Chum was actually the name of one of Bonnie's first therapy horses. From the C.H.U.M. pamphlet, learning how to ride a horse: "may challenge the body physically in balance, coordination and fine and gross motor skills as well. It is a sensory rich environment where all the senses are impacted. The riding lesson inherently works on attention span, task sequencing, problem solving, academia, self esteem and self concept." Clients include toddlers, seniors, disabled veterans and recreational riders. Later, Bonnie renamed the center Children & Horses United in Movement or C.H.U.M.

Susan with Daisy and Jack. At least I think that's them, they were too shy to say their names.

Bonnie brings Apollo to take a pre-race picture.

We had dinner at Bravo! Cucina off 127 and Lake Lansing with Susan's cousin and her two kids. This was the last weekend before the start of school in Michigan, so the kids spent a lot of time at the aquatic center before it closed for the season. With our 8 AM start and some warm temperatures this time of year in the Midwest, we hit the sack early.

The start line was well organized and parking at the schools was plentiful for the small crowd. It was just about 70 degrees at the 8 AM start and with a bunch of races coming up in the next 10 weeks, this was a 'just finish' race. We hit a good window in between summer downpours too. I remember Wisconsin weather did that a lot.

Bonnie delivered a 'runner's prayer' before the start. I didn't catch the whole thing, but it was a really nice touch. Looking through previous year's results, I noticed that participant's home cities aren't listed, maybe because there are very few who come from outside the county. The invocation gave the race a definite local feel.

Susan wore her Half Fanatics tank top. No one she talked to had any idea what it meant, so I'm guessing this is the official Half Fanatics picture.

The course was a really nice loop, well marked and had some beautiful rural scenery. About 2/3rds of it was on paved two lane roads in good condition and the rest was packed dirt road. There was even quite a bit of shade. The volunteer to participant ratio was probably close to 1:1 when you count the course monitors and aid stations. They had water and Gatorade at every station, Gu at mile 7 and lots of bright green vest on the volunteers so you knew where you were going.

Mile 1 on Mason Street

Some welcome shade at mile 3.

Yeah. That sign has nothing to worry about.

Passing by the C.H.U.M. Stable just before mile 4. The ATV's and volunteers were awesome.  

Coming out of the second stretch of dirt trail at mile 11 on the last turn toward the finish line.

The aid stations had a spirit contest. The folks at Station 5 (mile 11.5 or so) won and deservedly so. They were out the longest and were still cheering their hearts out. 

 The field for the half was actually quite a bit faster than we were used to seeing. The winner came in just over 76 minutes and other than a handful of the 75ish participants, most came in around 2:30. We know enough to make sure we race our own pace. Susan said she was thinking about part of the runner's prayer at the beginning as she was making coming down the last mile.

"We are all struggling equally. Lord, let me win, not by coming in ahead of my friends, but by being myself. Let it be an inner win, a battle won over me. I may, and may I say at the end, 'I have fought a good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.'"

We had a noon checkout at the hotel, so we grabbed just a bit of the post-race hot breakfast (pancakes and syrup, scrambled eggs, bananas and bagels with cream cheese) before heading out. While I don't know how many out of towners would seek out this race, we'd definitely recommend it for locals and anyone swinging through Michigan who is looking to support a great cause. The fact that it falls on Labor Day Monday for the last three years makes for possible 3 race/3 state weekends if planned correctly.

Post-race/post-shower lunch was at Max & Erma's in the same shopping center we had dinner the night before. Nothing like a frozen strawberry lemonade with pretzel sticks and queso after a good day on the course.

I SAY this race was never supposed to happen, but when I think about it, the whole weekend was a great time to catch up with people we hadn't seen in years. The fact that the race turned out to be such a good experience means maybe it was meant to be.

Half marathon number 92 and state number 24 is in the books. Next up is another inaugural race: The Biggest Loser RunWalk Half in Las Vegas. We're on track to hit our 100th half marathon before the end of the year.

~//~

To find out more about C.H.U.M., check out their website at www.chumtherapy.net. They are a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization currently raising money to add space for vocational training and treatments. It's a very affordable registration fee ($35 a month in advance and only $45 on race day). Both Susan and I donated every dollar we carried in our emergency race pack to thank the volunteers for doing such an amazing job supporting every last participant.

Embrace the Suck - Rock n Roll Chicago 5K and Half Marathon 2015

"Embrace the suck": Translation: The situation is bad, but deal with it.

Those of you who've met us know that we don't like heat and humidity. We lived in Wisconsin for 6 summers (or road construction seasons, as the locals call it) and all I could remember was wanting to get back to California for their usually moderate/wimpy conditions.

So when Coach Al gave me a training program to start getting faster at the 5K distance, the assignment was to hit the 5K hard on Saturday and take it relatively easy on the half on Sunday. Naturally, we pick the hottest race day of the 2015 year to do this.

Ugh

We landed in Chicago mid Friday afternoon with just enough time to get to the last 15 minutes of the expo to pick up bibs for the weekend. Many of the vendors had packed up for the day. Susan had been dealing with plantar fasciitis for a few months and opted out of the 5K on Saturday. While the Remix medal was a nice to have, the half is the only thing that matters for Hall of Fame this year. That and she'd have the luxury of having a few drinks at dinner  Friday night and sleeping in on race weekend for once. Caryn joined us for the weekend. We're hoping to see more of her in the second half of the year with the races on the west coast.

The 5K started near the boat house on the edge of the lake. Temperatures were already in low 70's and there wasn't a lot of shade on the out and back course. This was another great race for the Gypsies who came out in force.

I started out about a third of the way through the corrals and got swept up in the pace, walking a 10:13 first mile. Let's ignore for a minute that my previous PR for a mile on flat ground was 10:20, and that I had 2.1 miles left. Al was playing pacer/Sherpa this race and ran ahead to grab water and clear a few tangents. The second mile through the park slowed to a 10:46, close to my half marathon PR pace. The third mile started on the water, but even though I could see the finish line, I was feeling the pain of going out too quickly. By 2.5, I'd slowed to just over 11 minute miles.

At that point, Al reminded me how much work I'd put in for the last month and how many mental barriers I got through. I started cycling between 11 minute miles and 9:30 bursts. At mile 3, the course goes by a boat house and you see the finish line for the last 0.12. Al was reminding me to concentrate on form and push for the last quarter mile. It'd be a real bummer if I missed my time by a few seconds. The last split came in at an 8:59 pace, peaking in the last 40 yards at just under 8 minute pace. 

And I cut another 15 seconds off my 5K PR, heat and all. It took me a little while to get my head around what that meant, but when I realized that was like taking over a minute off a half marathon PR, I was totally stoked.

We spent the next half hour cheering in the rest of the Gypsies and a big contingent of TeamUp. It's been awhile since we were part of the cheer squad and it was a great feeling to walk people in, especially some who were clearly finishing their first race.

Also new this race was Rock n Roll's #PartyRocker group. Like Kelvin Sapp from the old SA2LV group, Bill Kwok now leads a few dozen people who carry their own music to motivate people during the races. Look for them at the RNR's for the rest of the year if you need to keep your spirits up.

One race in the bag. Temperatures climbing into the high 80s with humidity. My legs were dead from a hard effort on the 5K, but I couldn't help but smile. When you're with this group of people, how can you not?

I never made it back to the Expo but Susan went back to grab a few more sundries and pick up a present from Marcey at Sport Hooks. I'll post a picture when I figure out where to hang it on the wall.

We had thundershowers Saturday afternoon. We missed most of them since we were inside a theater watching Minions in 3D. How better to beat the heat and stay off your feet to rest? We had a few Gypsy dinners scattered around Chicago. Here's the group from Noodles & Co. Tawni, Tamie, Rick and Rhonda have been MIA for a few months at other races and it was great to catch up with them.

The 6:30 AM Sunday start time gave us the best chance to beat the heat. For Chicago, they offered a pair of RNR sunglasses if you beat your best time on the course. Given the heat, I wasn't sure how popular that was going to be. We were ready with cooling sleeves and were stopping for ice as many times as we saw it. Al was having some issues that morning that we traced back to something he ate at Noodles.

Fortunately, just about every one of our Gypsy friends were in town for this one. It's starting to get to that point where I need to be more creative with the group selfies. Al gave me some toys to play with for the next few races. Stay tuned.

We're a pretty awesome looking bunch, if I do say so myself!

We've done Chicago enough times to know a few things. It's flat. It's hot. It goes across a few bridges with tricky surfaces. The tunnel at McCormick can be super stuffy, especially since it's so late in the race. None of this changed in 2015, but I chose to give the sunglasses incentive a shot. Back in 2011, this was the first half marathon where I walked under a 12 minute mile pace. We met up for a quick picture with Amy who we met at The Biggest Loser RunWalk Crown Point. She's over halfway through crossing off 7 new states with half marathons this year.

My first 9 miles went pretty well. Imagine my surprise when I actually caught up to Al at mile 10, Noodles still not agreeing with him. I guess everyone has a race where things just don't go right and Chicago is Al's nemesis. Fortunately, he was able to gut it out. 

Literally.

OK, I think I can make it now!

That last mile on Columbus felt like it lasted forever, but I walked in at just under 2:33, 3 minutes better than my previous course record. Given what was going on this weekend, I was more than happy with it. 

We were even happier with the set of bling. For a bunch of us, this was the 10th Rock n Roll race of 2015 and the biggest Heavy Medal awarded to date - the Gold Record. This replaced the previous Rock Idol 10-race medal and I think it was a really cool upgrade by CGI. This makes 5 years in a row for Susan and I getting to the 10 mark. Add that to the 5K medal and the Remix and this was a four medal weekend!

Susan finished the half and had time to catch up with Barbie from TeamUP. They met two years ago when Susan helped Barbie cut a half hour off her previous fastest time. Barbie did the 5K on Saturday and the 10K on Sunday, not bad for a lady who wasn't able to finish the half three years ago!

Chicago marks a long break in the Rock n Roll schedule between the middle to late July and the start of October for Rock n Roll San Jose. The European RNR's haven't hit our radar since we've crossed off the continent for full marathons and Virginia Beach is even less appealing weather-wise than Chicago ever will be. We picked up three races to fill the schedule and may stay on track to join the 100 Half Marathon club by the end of the year.

This isn't a bad half way point for the year. I just hope the wall holds up to the weight of the medals.

~//~

This is the sixth time we've raced Rock n Roll Chicago, missing only the inaugural race in 2009. We've used this race as a mid-summer cool down after San Diego and Seattle, taking part in George Melichar's Moving Art Museum in 2014 as well as using the race to practice walker pacing for Nike San Francisco in 2010. Add to the fact that there's a lot of cool things to see in the city, it makes it a regular location for us, despite how much I complain about the heat.

The July - September slow period lets us work on speed and form or take time to heal and recuperate before things get really nuts in October. This was half marathon #90 leaving 10 more to finish in 2015 including six half marathons in seven weeks in five different states followed by our usual two half marathons in the same day in different states.

We look forward to embracing the suck.

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Just for the Halibut - Mayors Half Marathon 2015

Ten years.

Nearly ten years to the day of our first marathon, we landed in Anchorage, over 100 races later. Ron had been to Alaska three times before, but Susan had yet to check off a half marathon in the Last Frontier. It was also a milestone for us as a couple - 20 years of marriage, half of those years living a kind of travel and racing lifestyle neither of us would have imagined before 2005.

We flew to Anchorage directly after Rock n Roll Seattle, nesting a round trip Alaska Airlines flight in between the round trip from Oakland to Seattle on Southwest. Marvin the Moose continued his trek to the motherland. It occurred to us that we'd have to actually pay to check a bag, but we get assigned seating. We hadn't flown an airline other than Southwest in so long we didn't even know when to line up to board. The flight landed a little after 10 PM Alaska time, but the summer days in Alaska are long. The shuttle to the hotel didn't even have his headlights on. It was going to be unseasonably hot in Anchorage with highs in the 80's.

Marvin poses with a 478 lb halibut caught off the shores near Seward

We spent the first two days in Anchorage doing our requisite souvenir shopping and halibut eating. We had to eat at Humpy's, of course. Everybody does. We hit Bear Square later for some locally made Blueberry and Fireweed/Honey ice cream. 

Halibut and King Crab cakes at Humpy's. I sported my original race t-shirt from 2005

With temps in the low 80's, ice cream was definitely on the agenda!

We spent much of the week three hours north in Talkeetna. Wildfires near Willow on the Parks Highway forced us to wait through a few traffic control stops where the fire line was active. Fortunately, we were able to get through. Many thanks to the folks who were out there keeping us safe!

We stayed for three nights at the Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge, which by the way, has no air conditioning. Guests kept the doors and windows open, hoping a cross breeze would cool of the very well insulated rooms. Though it was uncomfortable at times, I think the heat gave did something to burn off the cloud cover that week. Locals say that only 30% of the people who visit the area get to see Mount McKinley - tallest mountain on North America - from base to peak. We had a perfect view all 5 days we were there. Being able to see it pretty much 24 hours a day was a perk.

The pictures aren't even as clear as real life. This was the view from our room

We were able to take a few excursions that we would highly recommend for visitors.

Eat the huge pancakes at the Talkeetna Roadhouse.  This place has character. They have family style seating (large tables only) that encourage people to chat up total strangers. The folks next to us were from Portland and were making their way from Fairbanks to Anchorage with a cruise line.

We tried the locally made Birch syrup on these plate sized cakes. Lighter than maple, but still tasty!

This was hanging on the walls. They don't have any fun up here!

Do a Glacier landing. There are several companies available and we flew with K2 Aviation. Definitely take your cameras on this one, especially if it's clear. The intense blue in the glacial ice has to be seen to be appreciated. Also, listen to your guide and don't try to walk off the landing strip because they don't know where all the crevasses are hiding under the snow pack.

Also, while you're up there, experiment with your Selfie Stick. You can do that up in the mountains. They haven't prohibited their use yet.

Monster Moose angle

This is what we look like to snow.

See a Dog Sled Team: Most of the competitive 'mushers' raise money during the year with odd jobs, including giving tours and educational sessions on their teams and the sport. We also took a ride with the Talkeetna Sundog Kennel as a dozen of the 50 dogs ran a few miles in front of an ATV. They know how to take tangents well and know how to enjoy a water stop.

See Denali: We drove a few hours further north and took an 8 hour day trip into Denali National Park. With the warmer weather, many of the animals were still seeking shade so for the first half of the out-and-back bus trip, we saw just a few caribou and a fox or two. On the way back as the weather cooled, we hit the tourist jackpot: three brown bears (a mother and two cubs) came within a few feet of our bus.

Between 2005 and 2007, Ron kept going back to Anchorage because of moose sightings. More specifically, the LACK of sightings. In 2005, Ron did the full marathon and the people on the half marathon saw the moose (Ron was the only one with a camera). In 2006, he did the half, and the moose was on the full course (again, ONE camera out of the group!). In 2007, we saw a moose at mile 1 of the full. That was enough for the first decade.

Susan didn't have to wait three races to see the moose this time. We caught a trio on the way out of the park going back to Talkeetna!

By the time we got back to Anchorage on Friday, the Expo was in full swing at the Alaska Airlines Center at the University of Anchorage. It was bigger than I remember it 8 years ago, with a few more vendors. Susan took advantage of the KT Tape station (no waiting!), and the chiropractic stretching... and the full body massage chair.

"Nothing new for race day... nothing new for race day... nothing n.. aw, heck..."

We met up with Kamika who is plowing his way through the 50 state list for half marathons. Alaska would be number 44. He got his first encounter with Alaskan wildlife quickly.

The next time you see Kamika and Ron together, you can ask him about this picture below. It's more than likely we'll make something up.

Nothing new the night before the race, he says.  It'll be fun, he says...

Ron's first race in 2005 was with Team in Training, an organization started by Bruce Cleland, who raised money for his daughter Georgia, a blood cancer survivor. We had the privilege of meeting Georgia in person on this the 10 year anniversary of our first TNT race. She's been cancer free for 30 years!

The half marathon was an out and back course through Earthquake Park to the Anchorage airport. It was a beautiful trail with lots of photo ops. We took it slow so we could take it all in.

Kamika tucked the jacket away after mile 3. Susan noted that he has a few more states on his 50 State shirt to fill in (Idaho, now Alaska).

When we say the course goes by the airport, we mean RIGHT by the airport. 

We couldn't get away from the constant air traffic, no matter where we went!

And those mosquitoes were huge!... Oh,.. wait a minute.

There was a short stretch through trail at the 6 mile mark that was new this year. It made for good variety even though it was narrow.

Oh, and we saw more moose!  Not these two...

This one... oh wait...

These two! You may have to use your imagination, but I swear they were there!

They caused quite a traffic jam on the trail.

The end of the race was relaxing, like we had all the time in the world. This was the last race of our first 10 years and we're looking forward to many more.

The medals were a good size for a half marathon. The full marathon medals were even bigger.

Mayor's had a better post-race food selection than we've seen in a while, rivaling Fresno's Eye-Q - huge, freshly baked cookies, grilled cheese sandwiches, fresh baked bread with butter and the usual bananas, oranges. 

Kamika was off with friends after the race, so we had a day to spend at the Solstice Festival. We ran into a TNT transplant, Sarah and caught up on life in Anchorage. 7 days in the state, 6 days of halibut. I think that was a good ratio.

The rental car served us well, even going through the fire breaks and a few stretches of dusty road construction. I've started to appreciate the little things that we take for granted, like a car that can go a thousand miles without a hitch. I left this message on the car and Susan didn't see it until I dropped her off to check our bags at the airport. 

Who knows what the next 10 or 20 years will be like? Maybe we'll be back here in another anniversary. Maybe we'll still be racing and checking off our 200th or 250th race.

Or maybe we'll go back up to Alaska... just for the halibut.