Full Circle - Pre Season warm up for Team in Training Spring 2016

There's something comforting about track workouts in winter. The distances are defined. At the right place, the lights come on and this night, I had the the Woodside High School track to myself. The high school soccer team was using the field. I could stay as long as the lights stayed.

Eleven years ago, I joined Team in Training. In exchange for raising $5000, they would train me to walk a marathon. We had a coach who'd been an Olympic and Pan American Games race walker. I remember showing up the first day in cheap running shoes, cotton sweatpants and sweatshirt and a hiking belt pouch that held two 20oz plastic bottles for a 45 minute walk at the Presidio. It was the end of January during a particularly excessive eating season and I was pushing my heaviest weight of my life. Two hours later, after a basic gear clinic, I left with a pair of Saucony Grid Stabil motion-control shoes, a long sleeve white quarter zip shirt and long grey Munich pants. Looking back, I probably looked like an mid-1970's weekend warrior type. 

The second week we were at a track learning good marathon walk form. Our first timed mile made my shins burn and I think I finished around 14:30. Coach Tom said that this is an indication of how fast you'll be able to sustain your marathon pace once you go through the season, get stronger and fitter.  I chose to believe every word he said. This is something I wanted to do. This was a bucket list item. It was supposed to be one and done.

Come race day in Anchorage, it was pouring rain, pretty much the entire race. I walked my first marathon in 6:23, right about the pace that Coach Tom said I would. What struck me about the journey was a lady at mile 24.  According to the veterans, her name was Faith. She stood at that same spot, cheering on the full marathoner for 9 hours, rain or shine, holding a sign saying "Thank you from a Cancer Survivor".  

It took me until that point, nearly 5 and a half months into the season, to realize why this was so important. This wasn't about me, my time or my bucket list. This was about a bigger cause. The money I raised went to support research, education and patient services for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin's disease and myeloma. It went to help people like Faith. The mission meant enough to me that I came back every season for the next 5 years.

We've done a lot since that first year. We've upgraded gear, gotten faster and healthier. But even with all the races we've done in the last three years, the milestones we've crossed, the countries and continents we've visited, I started feeling like something was missing. This year I'm going to get that spark back. It's not the reason I started racing, but it was the reason we kept going back year after year.

I've joined the coaching team for the Peninsula Chapter of Team in Training for Spring 2016. We'll be training runners and walkers for the Tinkerbell Half Marathon and Rock n Roll Seattle Half and Full Marathons this season. If you're on the Peninsula or in the South Bay and are interested in joining us, please let me know. We'll be back at Woodside next Wednesday, February 3rd at 6:15 PM for kick off.

Maybe this is on your bucket list. Maybe you want to meet new people or get into a healthier lifestyle. Or maybe you've been away for a while and just want to get back in the swing of things. Whatever the reason, we'll make sure this season is one to remember.

Back at Woodside, the soccer team was just starting to go into break away drills as I was finishing my workout. I'm well below that first 14:30 mile these days and I'd like to think I have a few years left in me before I can't set PR's anymore. Treadmills are great to monitor pace, but there's something about being out on a track that's that much closer to real racing.  

Tonight, I wasn't doing laps.

I was coming full circle.

~//~

ABOUT TEAM IN TRAINING

Team In Training (TNT) is the flagship fundraising program for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) and the only endurance sports training program for charity that raises money for blood cancer research. TNT and LLS are changing the landscape of blood cancer, not someday but today, making TNT the perfect way to fundraise.

Your time is now.
It doesn't matter if you're not an athlete or in perfect shape. Our coaches will train you to cross the finish line at a marathon, half marathon, cycling event, triathlon or hike adventure. Saving lives isn't about being the best, it's about being the best you can be when helping save lives.

What we remember - Rock n Roll Seattle Half Marathon 2015

When you have a busy race schedule where you travel two, three or even four times a month, things tend to blur together. It’s hard to remember where you had that great meal, or saw that really cool sign on the course. Unless I’m tracking my performance for a key race, I don’t even remember the finish times for races.

Rock n Roll Seattle has been a weird race for our little Rock n Roll Gypsy group. It's usually a rest race after a fast RNR San Diego course and maybe that's a good thing since we seem to have recover from various ailments. Last year, Jim had a calf strain and 6 of us walked together the entire race. Jim now has a commemorative portapotty at the left turn at the end of I-90 at mile 10.2. Two years ago, Ron had sharp pains just after the Blue Mile (now dubbed “Hernia Hill”). When we landed in Seattle, Kamika was reporting foot pain that he ended up muscling through. It was looking like we’d actually come away unscathed.

Let's ignore the fact that we rebooked our flight to come in a day earlier and didn't remember to add a hotel room. Oh well. At least we didn't wait for the last minute only to realize we never registered for the race until after it was sold out (*cough2011cough*). Brain farts are an ailment too.

We were planning to head to Alaska right after the race so we brought some company. Marvin the Moose wanted to go back to his birthplace, so he came along for the ride.

Our chauffeur meets us at the gate. Luckily Marvin packed light.

Since we were staying close to the airport Thursday night, we hit Duke's Chowder House for the chowder sampler and dinner. Reviews were good and we were 1 for 1 on halibut days.

Our waitress was pretty amusing since we were more there for snacking rather than a full dinner. We made our way through a couple appetizers and she told us to stack our menus when we were ready to order dinner.  She clearly had no idea who she was serving.

Tent top courtesy of Al

Friday June 12th. 
If you're traveling to the race and staying downtown, be sure to take advantage of the Link light rail. For just $2.25 each way you can get to the expo at Chinatown station or continue a few more stops to Westlake station close to Pikes Market or the Monorail to the Space Needle. From the Needle, we had a two block walk to our hotel.

The monorail has a rather famous Bunny that was left behind a few years back. Last year an Otter joined the Bunny to travel the northwest. Marvin definitely stuck close so he wouldn't be left behind.

After a quick bag drop at the hotel, we took advantage of the Pronto bike share system. One-day passes are $8 and a 3-day pass is only $16. You can (and really should) rent a helmet for a couple bucks and keep it for the duration of your pass. Seattle has a great system of bike lanes so travel down to the expo at Century Link field was a breeze.

Ron, Susan, Gary, Ainsley, Joe, Amy and Al. A sub-group of the 2015 Hall of Fame Banner

Marvin finds out how crazy his parents are and meets some of our CGI friends. We wish Shayne (lower left) the best of luck as the new Digital Marketing Manager at the DZAP Group.

Saturday, June 13th.
Ever notice that the people who are usually closest to the starting line are the last ones to get there? That was us this time. We walked up to corral 10 just as the Gypsies were getting a group picture. We had to pull Susan away from her stretching routine to get in front of the MarathonFoto photographer.

Remember when I said that someday the group selfie to not be big enough to include us all? Well, we may be getting there!

Photobomb by Jesus

Competitor arranged a special start for the race. The Space Needle was was set up with fireworks to turn it into the world largest starter pistol.

Thanks to Al for the great timing.

We saw Kamika on the side of the corrals before the starting line. I think the expression on his face may have been a symptom of all the traveling he's been doing this year after the Triple 7 Quest and his plan to finish his 50th state for half marathons. More on that in a future blog.

We were trying to figure out a good way to take Marvin on the race, but we couldn't get him out of bed.

There was no plan this race. Susan has been working through plantar faciitis for a few months and I wanted to keep my heart rate low until the last 5K. You see some memorable things when you expand your focus.

This young lady was getting back in shape so she could qualify for boot camp. That's an 80 pound pack.

The Blue Mile was once again one of the best sights on the course.

I remember last year when we were running with Jim. Beth stopped to take a picture at this spot with the Ferris Wheel. She was going to be coming in later as she was running the full.

Shortly after that picture, Al and I stopped for a fellow Half Fanatic who had take a bad spill on one of the gaps on the surface of the Viaduct. We stood for about 15 minutes directing runners around him as the Race Guards gave him aid. Reports are that he had a cracked eye socket and a few bad cuts on his legs. He was on track for a PR, but he'll recover. 

Nearly 10 years after our first race, we run into one of the reasons we finished our first one. Coach Al from the East Bay Run Team for Team in Training has inspired thousands of our friends to finish their first and fastest races. It was great to catch up with him, even for a few minutes.

By this time, Susan caught up to us. Find iPhone is a handy feature to have for those who race at different speeds.

This was a new sign that popped up just before the 13 mile mark. Its true! Racing adds years to your life.

Our friend Ryan at the Heavy Medal booth handed us the new Headliner medal for our 9th race. We've made it a habit to let folks know when we finish because this is always our first stop. Susan and I both got stopped at airport security on the way out of town for a medal check. I was happy to explain it to them.

We're estimating about 30 people have this medal at the halfway point of 2015. There's probably another 30 who have the 8-track and are on their way to the huge 15 Hall of Fame Heavy Medal.

This photo op is becoming a post-race tradition as we run into people who are racking up the race count. Congrats to Leny and her daughter. Leny (third from the left) is a multiple-time cancer survivor and is a true example of living life to the fullest.

Gary usually races on the west coast and Kamika has been busy this year doing 7 half marathons on continents in 7 days. While they're "only" getting their Roadie 5-race medal, it made for some good Heavy Medal math. 5 + 5 = 10. Sherry earned her 10-race Gold Record at Seattle.

Beth was one of the only ones of our group who ran the full. This was the first full after her surgery just a few months back. She's still not back to full speed, but she said she drew on a lot of help from the memories we've shared as a group to get her through (even smiling as she passed Jim's porta-potty). Jim caught this wonderful picture of her coming up the last 100 meters on Mercer Street. He was a little worried about leaving her when the half and full split early in the race, but he said, "she knows her body. And she's a monster."

Now THAT'S a winning smile!

What do I remember from this weekend? I don't remember my finish time because it wasn't important. I don't remember much of the course since I was chatting with Al and Susan most of the way. I remember the medal, but only because I'm in the process of clearing my office to hang the last 10 years of race swag on the wall.

What I certainly remember was laughing with some of the most amazing people I've ever met for five hours at lunch-turned-into-dinner after the race...

...and another breakfast the next day. 

Sorry about the shadows. I need to work on that.

I remember finding out that we had 10 of the top 11 Rock n Roll race totals in this blog but none of them seem to care about personal accomplishments when we're together. Knowing that we're scattered all over the country when we're not at a race, it's inevitable that we might see each other less often as life goes on and priorities change.

That's why I want to remember this while I can.

~//~

Rock n Roll Seattle was held for the 7th time since the inaugural 2009 race. This year CGI added a new 8K distance on race day to complement the half and full. There were 14,339 total finishers (11071 for the half, median finish time 2:21; 2,045 in the full - 4:33; 1,223 in the 8K - 0:58). Attendance was up by about 2,000 from 2014. 

Weather in 2015 was started in the mid-50's under clear skies. It's a little humid for us Californians, but it's a good early-summer race before things get toasty.

If you're headed to Seattle, watch for Southwest fares if you're lucky enough to be close to one of their origin airports. Flights go on sale every Tuesday and can do a bit to offset the hotel costs. With Link, bike share and Uber available, renting a car really isn't necessary.

With our sights set on maintaining at least the Gold Record medal, Seattle is on the schedule for 2016. 

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.