When I Grow Up, I Want to be Just Like Nancy

Our friend/mentor/captain, Nancy, celebrates her 80^th birthday this year. Friends and family convened to celebrate this milestone and more importantly, a transition into a new age group! Watch out runners, this endurance athlete walker is going to give you some new competition.

In anticipation for her birthday party, she posted, “Oh I'm getting worried. Tomorrow my two families are going to meet! My children are going to meet the people with whom I act like I'm a youngster. Gonna be some shocked people, I'm thinking!” We ALL love you Nancy just the way you are! Walking in the door at the birthday party, I complimented Nancy on the new hairdo. “I like the tufts of purple, Nancy!” 

“It’s actually raspberry. Purple is for old ladies.” 

Nancy with her first TNT Mentor, Tim

That in a nutshell sums up Nancy. She may have been the oldest person at her own birthday party but her spirit and positive attitude toward life makes her seem younger than everyone around her.

Nancy and her three children, Cindy, Bob and Boyd. When their family gets together and someone asks 'who's the youngest?', they all point to their mom.

Ron met Nancy at Clorox 16 years ago where she was working as an on-site nurse. They were both members of Diamond Toastmasters and Nancy gave a speech to the club about fundraising for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society (LLS) through Team in Training (TNT). In exchange for raising several thousand dollars, TNT coaches train you to complete a half or full marathon. 

Nancy signed up for TNT when she turned 65. Tim was Nancy’s mentor her first season with TNT in 2001. Nancy was Ron’s mentor his first season with TNT in 2005. Ron was Susan’s mentor her first season with TNT in 2006. We affectionately call Tim our great-grandmentor (he hates the term but I’m sure he appreciates the legacy).

Four Generations of Team in Training Participants

Tim Yagle, Nancy Ryder, Ron Carino, Susan Carino (from left to right)

Clorox has a generous charity matching, making it easier and less intimidating to fundraise. Her first marathon event was the Mayor’s Midnight Sun marathon and since then she’s made 6 trips to Anchorage, Alaska, finishing five full and one half marathon. That season they were headed to Anchorage again. Ron, always happy to help a worthy cause, joined the Team. I laughed at him, being the oh so supportive wife that I am. I told him that there was no way he could complete a marathon with his bad knees. Here’s the catch – Nancy was a mentor on the marathon Walk Team. Ron decided he would walk a marathon, help a worthy cause, and check off 'eating a meal in all 50 states' at the same time. We’ve both come such a long way since then. 

This was taken during a race in Anchorage in either 2005 or 2006. We've all lost track.

Nancy quickly adopted me even though I chose not to fundraise for TNT that season. I occasionally came to trainings as an observer with my friend Wendy. She and I had decided to train for the half marathon in Anchorage because we were only half crazy. However, once we reached 13 miles it seemed too easy so we kept training for the full 26.2 miles.

Fast forward six months, on June 17, 2005 Ron and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary with Nancy and Wendy with breakfast (a meal in Alaska) at Safeway in Seward before going on a most memorable cruise seeing whales and getting dive-bombed by puffins. The marathon was more challenging than we expected. It was cold, wet, and windy. Yet, all of us on the team completed the event forging lifelong friendships along the way. We have several memorable trips including RNR Savannah 2010 and a full marathon at Mount Desert Island (Bar Harbor, Maine) with our friend Michelle.

Michelle passed away in 2010, but not before we got her to finish her first full marathon.

I no longer laugh at Ron for wanting to do a marathon and we’re planning to complete half marathons in all 50 states someday. Well, I guess Ron will also end up eating a meal in all 50 states again but at least this time he’ll have earned the calories.

So what makes Nancy so special to us? Besides being someone who we admire, respect, and are in awe of for who she is as a person. Even Nancy’s doctor is jealous of her and how strong her heart is. She puts new meaning into being young at heart.

Personalities can be broken down into the four elements – Earth, Air, Water, and Fire. Nancy is the WATER personality type. Not just because she fondly gives out epsom salts to all her TNT mentees for the ice bath after the race. Symbolically though her heart is her guide in everything she does, and she is very attuned to other people’s experiences. Nancy doesn’t dwell on the past. She doesn’t live with regrets. She doesn’t focus on the negative things in life. Instead, she focuses on the future and how she can help others. True to her profession as a nurse, she puts others ahead of herself.

Take for example, a race in Monterey, CA a few years back. People often ask me what my favorite local race is and I always recommend the Big Sur Half Marathon on Monterey Bay in November. The course is flat, scenic along the ocean, and the hand crafted medal is unique, though fragile. Nancy and I raced together several times and one year, Nancy was having a particularly difficult race. We finished together beyond the 3.5 hour cut off after the finish line had been torn down. It wasn’t until she told me that she had given blood the day before to the event that we realized why she was struggling. (Note to the readers, don’t give blood at least a week prior or a week after an endurance event.) You need all your blood for strength to endure and recover! But true to Nancy’s character, she was giving to others first before thinking of herself.

Fellow TNTer Roz put together the Nancy Quiz at the birthday party - 20 questions about Nancy’s life. All of us struggled with the answers (except maybe her daughter Cindy and two sons Bob and Boyd). Of course they debated a few of the answers but we let Nancy be the final authority about her own life. Even after spending hours walking with her, we learned a lot more that we never even knew about!

During the Quiz we learned that 50 of the 52 weekends in 2015, she was either participating in a race, volunteering at a race, or out actively training. Nancy was the first person we knew who broke an unspoken TNT training rule: you need three to four months to train for a half marathon and at least six months to adequate train for a full marathon. We stuck to this schedule for the first two years, completing each event six months apart. 

Rebel Nancy however was known to do more than one race every few months. If fact, she often did more than one race in a weekend. Her reputation raised a few eyebrows among TNT coaches but it opened our eyes to another approach to marathoning. Instead of training every weekend and completing long miles either alone without support, in a small mentoring group, or with the full team, you can get your mileage in at a race. The caveat is that you treat the race like a training event rather than another opportunity for a personal record (PR). Striving for a PR every six months or so is still good advice. Nancy broke the mold and is living proof that you can be active and healthy into your 80’s.

Nancy is young at heart and living proof that attitude is everything. 

We want to be like Nancy when we grow up.

~//~

If Nancy inspires you as much as she inspired us, please consider a donation to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for support of research and financial assistance of patients at her web page (http://pages.teamintraining.org/gba/anchor16/nryder). She'll be headed to Alaska this June for a second half marathon, her seventh race there and an well more than 100 since turning 65. 

What Goes Through Your Mind During a 50K. Looking Back. Letting Go. Forging Ahead.

I walked 50K last Saturday.

Most of the people who read that unconsciously read it as "I walked a 50K". That would imply there was an event, a medal, a course and pictures. There was none of that, except for a couple pictures. The rest? I did it on my own.

Why?  Good question. I was asking myself that several times during the day.

I turned 49 this December. Like several times before I blurted out a goal based on that milestone. I finished my first marathon at age 38 and decided I wanted to finish 50 races by age 50 (we passed that three years ago) and then 100 races by 50 (we did that mid 2015). Some time last year I decided to do a 50K before I turned 50. That's what led to Saturday. 

Let's ignore the fact that I hadn't put in any mileage in three weeks and hadn't done long distance since our double half in mid-November. Add that the day before was Christmas. I had a decent breakfast but then loaded up on cookies, fudge and junk food - not an ideal fueling routine. But this was the first weekend day after my birthday that wasn't pouring rain. I figure if I'm going to be out there for 7 hours depending on speed, I'd rather do it when it's nice. We learned to race with Team in Training, meaning we don't wear headphones. That's a really long time to be alone with your thoughts and the scenery, but it was a great time to reflect on 2015.

I started at 8:15 AM when the outside temps read 29 degrees and a forecast for light winds. Say what you will about wimpy Californians, but it was reportedly warmer in DC, Connecticut and Vancouver that morning.    

The first leg went west on the Alameda Creek trail toward the Bay. The trail is paved and with a few exceptions in Coyote Hills, pretty flat and very exposed to winds. I packed a few Bonk Breakers, a tube of Gu Brew and my RNR Raleigh rain jacket to keep the wind off. 10.4K (6.5 miles) later, I was at the furthest point west on the trail looking out at a beautiful sunrise over the bay.

No one else out here except for bikers and a few vultures. I should have taken that as a hint.

It was a little over 20% of the way through and I was thinking about the first few months of the race year. We skipped RNR Arizona for the inaugural runDisney Star Wars half, finally getting the Darth Vader pictures I missed at Dumbo. We went back to RNR New Orleans for the first time since 2010 and I added a Brazen race on Valentine's Day to pull even with Susan on half marathons so we could finish the year at 100 apiece.

I was keeping a comfortable pace as I turned into Coyote Hills to refill my water bottle before 17K (10.5 miles). A third of the way through the year would be the end of April and by then we had seen Joe become the first to reach 100 Rock n Roll races in DC. Our thoughts turned to Beth after we raced at RNR Dallas, her last race before undergoing abdominal surgery. After hearing a positive report during RNR San Francisco, we wore bibs in her honor at RNR Raleigh.

What mile 13 looks like after getting a decent amount of rain.

Between the 17K and 27K (Miles 10.5 to 17.2) it was rough going. I hit gusting headwinds of 15-20 mph and it wasn't getting much warmer. It took a lot to stay focused. I thought about the stretch between late April and mid July when I was working on Al's speed program. I had good races at RNR Nashville, TBL Crown Point and RNR Portland before setting a 5K and Half PR at RNR San Diego. I felt pretty good about my race walk form at Tim Seaman's clinic in Chicago and we cheered Beth finishing her first full marathon after surgery at RNR Seattle. We celebrated our 20th anniversary by going back to the site of our first race in Alaska and raced a toasty remix at RNR Chicago. We finished July at the San Francisco 1st half.

I broke off the trail to head back to the house at 27K (17.2 mi) to get more food. Honestly, I was hurting from lack of fuel and was seriously considering stopping. Susan came home as I was heating up leftover eggs and pretzel bread and reminded me that I knew the trail like the back of my hand. And she reminded me that 14 more miles "is just a half."

Sorry guys. I know I'm not supposed to make light of the distance, but for us, that's motivation.  

I spent 20 minutes refueling, unfueling, packing extra Bonk Breakers and refocusing. 60% through the year is about where we usually a long break between RNR Chicago and our next race in early September and I spent that break working harder to get faster before RNR San Jose.  I got back to the creek trail for the second leg. Getting started after the break was a big deal, physically and mentally.

Our first race back after the break was the Run for CHUM, checking off a half in Michigan. Next was TBL Las Vegas in 80 degree heat where I walked a solid sub-2:25 on a shortened course. RNR San Jose was supposed to be the PR race, but the wheels came off at mile 9. The next week at RNR Brooklyn, I came within 30 seconds of the San Diego PR on a more challenging course. Two weeks later were were back at RNR St. Louis to meet Hyalker's honoree, Katy and Amy's family who were running for her uncle Bill.  Back on the trail, I made the turn at Niles at the 32K mark. It's starting to look like I'll make the full distance if I just stay focused. It's time to go into the fun cool down for the rest of the year.

It's hard to complain when you can train pretty much all year round in good conditions.

The end of October was the group Pac Man costume race at RNR Los Angeles. Three weeks later we had a beautiful morning race at the runDisney Avengers half and a cold, windy night race at RNR Las Vegas. Susan and I and Beth and Jim renewed our vows on the flight between Anaheim and Vegas. On the trail, I'm passing the 42K (26.1 mile) mark. Just 8K (5.1 miles) more. Less than a 10K. I did some mental calculations and concluded I need to pass my start point by 3K to get the distance right. I'm surprised my brain is still able to process that.

Our last race of the year was RNR San Antonio. I set a PR at on the 10K by 3 minutes and raced with Susan step for step the next day in the half. It was our 100th. It seemed right. At the finish line, I drop to one knee and ask her if she'd spend the next 100 half marathons with me. For some reason, she agrees.

I'm less than 2K from the 50K mark. I text Susan to let her know I'm nearly done. She offers to meet me at the end and drive me to In n Out for a burger and fries. Clearly she was serious about spending the next 100 halfs with me. I came down the short hill from the creek trail to find her waiting for me, with the dogs in the back seat. My total time was about 7.5 hours including 40 minutes of stop time to refuel and stretch. Fifteen minutes later I had a double double and extra crispy fries. The food didn't survive the drive home.

It's four days later as I write this. The knots in my quads and hamstrings are close to normal, I still have a tightness in my right arch that needs attention and I have a pair of matching blood blisters on my heels that show up when I'm using good race walk form. Garmin Connect tells me that the blue Brooks Pure Cadence shoes are officially past their mileage limit so it's time to retire them. I used those shoes for PR's at the 5K, 10K, half marathon and now 50K distance, but it feels good to let things go when they've outlived their usefulness. I have better pairs on the shelf.

Looking ahead to 2016, we're gearing up to check of our 6th continent at the Victoria Falls marathon in Zimbabwe in July. We're signed up for 14 Rock n Roll races and have to add a couple more to get to Hall of Fame for a third straight year. If the schedule works out, we want to get back to American River Parkway and see if our race walk form is any closer to legal.

It doesn't feel like I'm turning 50 next year. It feels like I'm just starting and the road ahead is open to all kinds of possibilities.

Postscript: Although I planned to do this 50K just to say I did it, two days later, I got an email from Rock n Roll for the Bonus Track Medal. This is a virtual race with no set distance, so I guess I get a medal for it after all!

~//~

All told we finished 24 half marathons, two 10Ks and three 5Ks for 338.5 race miles. We crossed off 4 new states for half marathons bringing our total to 25, won two age grade awards each, had two overall first place finishes a 2nd and 3rd place and got the highest medal awarded at Rock n Roll for the fifth year in a row. We got closer with a lot of our gypsy friends and I think we have found a group of friends that we'll want to race with for years to come.

If you're looking for a way to start off an active New Year tomorrow, a few of my friends run social media supported programs that I'd love to plug.

John Bingham kicks off his 100 Days Challenge tomorrow. Be intentionally active for a total of 30 minutes a day and check off your progress. He says this is not a Training program, but more a Lifestyle program. It's a great way to come off the couch.

David DeNeire has transformed the FREE! 365 days of Cardio Challenge to pair up buddies and hold each other accountable for 25 minutes of cardio every day. No cost to join. The group posts some pretty diverse pictures, so it's like doing your workouts all over the world. You can sign up on a monthly basis and keep going for all of 2016 and beyond.

Jenny Hadfield kicks of Challenge 2016. Each month there's a different focus on different aspects of running/walking (strength, speed, endurance) and also tips on creating healthy habits. Coming with the $45 membership is private sessions with Coach Jenny. For $55, you can also get the Challenge 2016 medal!

If you know that you're going to race a lot anyway, don't forget to pick up the Rock n Roll TourPass that allows you to race in 3 events for $219 or an unlimited number for $479. It pays for itself pretty fast. Also remember to enroll as a Heavy Medalist so you get the enormous bonus medals for completing multiple races.

Serial racers can also find some great discounts and race tips at The 100 Half Marathons Club. Today is the LAST day for $25 lifetime membership ($75 after the deadline). You need at least 10 lifetime half marathons to join.

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.