Mad Marathon - VT

So here I am….under 10 marathons to go and Vermont makes state number 42!! This is
marathon #3 and new state #2 for the year.

The weather wasn’t looking too well for this one as the summer weather has swept the
country. The goals were the same as it has been for years: #1. Finish the race #2.
Shoot for under 5 hours. But I’ve had a #3 for the last 2 years that I could not muster
to add to this race which was PR….NOT in the cards.

Flight out was late Friday night with a stay in Boston area then a drive on Saturday to
the race area. The drive was nothing that exciting. Drove through New Hampshire with
a couple stops along the way.

New Hampshire's View

Once I got into Vermont I headed for the Capitol for lunch. Great pub and eatery with
a wide selection of beers.

Welcome to Vermont

What a cute little building. LOL

Off to Waitsfield to pick up my bib and shirt.

 

The area was nice and they were in the process of setting up the finish line and having
the kids races so I snapped a few photos.

Kids Run

Finish line setup

The race had arranged for the Sugarbush Inn to be open for runners that wished to stay
just for the night in the area and I was grateful for that because most of the B&B’s in
the area required a 3 night stay. The Inn had a continental breakfast available for us at 5:30
on race day even!!! Thank you!! Additionally the Sugarbush Inn is part of the bigger
Sugarbush Resort and that allowed access to the clubhouse so that I could grab a shower
afterward!!

Sugarbush Resort

Morning of the race the temp was 55 (YES!!!) but the humidity was 85% (D’OH!!!). After a
small breakfast I made my way to the start line. I love the small town feel of this race and was
excited to see so many (but not too many) happy faces on race morning.

The gun went off at 7 am and it was on.

Okay -- So over the years when I pick my races I always check the course online to be sure
that there are no surprises and what I have come to realize is that the elevation charts are
ALWAYS off. Either the chart is flawed so that you don't realize just how hilly the course is or
the reverse they make it out to be so much worse than it really is. I decided to ignore their
elevation chart and go with the comments I read (rolling hills). I have to give this race credit --
their elevation chart IS NOT to be ignored, it was spot on!!

Not a misprint!!!

After the first hill at mile 1 I was already sweating my ass off with the humidity where it was.
Ugh!

By mile 2 I realized that goal #2 was going to be a stretch. So I just sat back and enjoyed the
scenery.

This course is gorgeous and I understand now why runners have rated it the most beautiful
course….because so many of them (myself included) walk the hills and look around unlike so
many other courses where you just run and not look.

1st out and back

Cows and a view

Look at that hill!!!

Little cow said hi to the runners

Other than the mountains in the background (which made the views amazing) I felt like I was
back home as I ran past many farms with cows and cattle at every turn. Surprisingly, even
though there were lots of signs for horses I only saw a few of them….I even counted them!!!
LOL! I saw 15 horses in the 26 miles...the last one was being ridden by a woman that was
obviously training...they were both “dressed up” rider with her riding crop and all!

Enjoying the shade

Horse and a view!

“The Dip” as the locals call it was no joke...quarter mile down, very steep, with a quarter mile
up….not as steep but taller. Lets not forget Had to do “the dip” twice as it also was at mile 21!!
Thankfully the aid station coming back had ice so the water bottle got filled with ice rather than
water!!!

Plenty of alone time on the course even with the marathon relay going on. Met a few nice people
out there and even got a recommendation for a Massachusetts marathon now.

By mile 13 the humidity had dropped, this is both good and bad...Good in the fact that the temps
were rising (mid 70’s) but bad in the fact that the sweat had now dried and signs of chafing had
begun...OUCH!!!

There was a beer stop -- officially sanctioned too!!! -- around mile 23-24. Decent local beer that
I of course can not remember the name of.

The last mile is slightly uphill (of course) but it ended at “the barn.” Drank about a quart of water
and then found some of the best tasting apple cider around. YUMMY!

DONE!!!!

Headed off to the clubhouse for a nice shower before the drive back to Boston.

Would I recommend this race? Yes!! But beware of the hills and come prepared for them!

Aid Stations? Plenty of them but some needed ICE for us back of the packers

Does this deserve “Most Beautiful” course in America? Don’t know, I’ve only done 42 of them….but it is in my top 3!!

Traffic to Boston was too much -- needed a treat!!

Post run dinner!!!

Dinner with my swag

Ocean Drive Marathon - New Jersey

At the urging of a friend who started reading my running blog recently I will attempt to put
my thoughts down on my marathons again (and try to recap the ones I have missed in
the past few years - no promises on those however!)

To start 2018 off we (the runracine crew) went back down to Disney to do the Dopey
Challenge. Since I already have Florida, the marathon didn’t count as a state but did
work well for training. I set my sights on New Jersey for a spring race. The race didn’t
look too big but would be celebrating its 20th running of the marathon so I thought that
combination alone was enough to consider it.

The combination of expensive flights and New Jersey in the spring time lead to me
traveling to this one alone. Even my friends had no interest in coming out to the Jersey
Shore in mid-April….at to be honest who could blame them. As it turns out the Jersey
Shore area reminds me a lot of Door County….meant for tourists and in the meantime
NOTHING that you might want to go too (including bakeries) are open until May when
people come to the Shore.

Lucky for me this didn’t impact me much (other than the bakery thing...ugh!) I was able to
find a brew pub that was open and a pizza joint for the night before the race. Both were
good and other than wishing for a bit of company I had no complaints. Okay thats not
completely true….what kind of pizza joint DOES NOT SERVE BEER!!!???? (or any
alcohol as it turned out)

I flew out Friday on what was supposed to be an early flight out...delays made it a midday
flight instead but I had some entertainment so I was fine and in no hurry. Once in NJ I
find that the rental car place sucked!!! Will NOT be using that one again ever!!

The 2 hour drive wasn’t that eventful….found a few radio stations and sang my heart
out while driving. Talked on the phone a bit during the drive as well - thank you Bluetooth
-- the time went by quickly and I was at the hotel. Nice little place within 2 blocks of the
beach.

I got my 2 mile run in before heading to dinner which was just a short walk from my hotel.
That night was nothing but a video chat with the family, some repeats on tv, and facebook
the entire night - lucky for me I was able to stay in contact with people back home.

Saturday - up early run and then look for bakery/coffee shop………NOTHING OPEN!!!!

Ended up at a local breakfast restaurant….good food!

Off to the ‘expo’ -- I get to the convention center and it is BUSY!! looking around I don’t
see any runners -- lots of cheerleaders?!? Walk into the convention center and was
greeted by someone asking what I was looking for…’um...the marathon expo’ ‘huh?
Marathon? This is a cheer-a-thon!’

WTF?!? No one knew about any marathon. So I walk around for a bit and I find a door to
the admin offices. I go in and then I see a handwritten sign pointing down the hall and into
a small conference room. There are 5 tables set up - number pick-up; bag pick up; a table
for registration; a table selling past marathon t-shirts; and a table with flyers for other local
races. WOW - big expo!! LMAO! So - number in hand…..back to the hotel.

NOW what?!? MASH and Rosanne repeats on TV, reading a book, calling a friend, texting
running partners, doing a little work, and looking for pizza for tonight's dinner. The day
dragged….

I drove to the start area to scope out parking options for race day -- found two pizza joints,
all good. Decided to grab dinner... the first joint was more of a take out place so I headed
to the one across the street. Order my meal and then find out that they do not serve beer
(or alcohol) and that it is BYOB! Damn!! Oh well. I order a salad and pizza -- looks like I
ended up with 2 salads!! LOL

Grabbed some ice cream for desert and headed back to the hotel.

Packed everything up and got out my running gear for race day -- ALL SET!!

RACE DAY!

Most marathons have an early start -- this one was a 9:00 am start -- HUH?!? That is like
LATE! Usually I’m halfway done by then...oh well. Ate breakfast, packed the car, and drove
to the start/finish area. Was there early enough that I was close and there was a bathroom
nearby. Took a 30-40 min nap in the car before heading to the start.

Marathon and 10 miler start at the same time and follow the same course (obviously the
10 miles turn MUCH earlier than us!) which with the exception of 3 bridges is flat as a
pancake! The weather was perfect for race day; light wind (8 mph) from the north, 45
degrees, and slightly overcast to sunny.

The out (13.1 miles) was fantastic! Was feeling really good and had to hold back a few
times from just running the tires off. Hit the halfway at 2:02 and decided it was time to start
picking people off. Slowly but surely I started catching one person at a time.Tried hard not
to push the pace and with it being as flat as it was it was pretty easy to see the next target.
Things were going well. The aid stations were well manned and stocked. There weren’t
many spectators (see my comments about being a vacation community above for the
obvious reason) on the course but the houses were nice to see.

Then I hit mile 18.5 or so...a wave of heat and nausea swept over me and nearly stopped
me in my tracks. Heat stroke? Really? It wasn't that warm!?! The feeling passed within a
minute or so but it was enough to knock me off my stride. I thought about my friend about
to run her first 5k and I sucked it up and continued….I’ve been here before and will be again.

As I approached mile 20 I decided that with the course being as flat as it was I would try to
push it - hell it is only a 10k! That mile was back to what I was doing at the beginning….but
it didn't last long….Mile 23 everything fell apart. The nausea hit me again and this time it
didn't leave quickly. I reviewed everything I had done and I wouldn’t change a thing. Kept
moving forward and about a ¾ to a mile later it passed and then I could sort of jog a bit.

I kept in the front of my mind:

The fact that completing this state would mean single digits!!!

Knowing that there are people that can't do this and I can so I shouldn't whine about a little
discomfort.

That Dianne would be doing her first 5k next week

That my family is proud of my accomplishment

My kids LOVE the bling!

Finished the my 42nd marathon (41st state) in 4:41:45 making it my 5th fastest marathon.

Drove back to the airport after the race….and well…..did not fly back until Monday afternoon
-- but that is a whole nother story! ;)

Next up: Mad Marathon in Vermont - July 8th!

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Fort Collins – A downward journey

I looked at this race almost 2 years ago and thought – this is a piece of cake! 26.2 miles and an evenly graded 1,200 foot elevation drop…Heaven!! Well not so much.

I’ve only been to Colorado as a layover point in Denver and never had the chance to leave the airport. So to actually go there sounded like fun. We flew into Denver on Friday and jumped into the rental car for the 1-1.5 hour drive to Fort Collins. On the way it was overcast and hazy so while there was a view it wasn’t much of one. I can’t say that I noticed the altitude at all.

Saturday morning the wife and I headed out for a short 2 mile run and I tried to push the last quarter mile…I could feel the altitude and the lack of much humidity in the air. I would have to be very careful tomorrow and be sure that I watched my fluid intake…nothing could be worse than not having enough!

The expo was small but it was what I’d expect for this size of a race. My wife even signed up for the 10k while I was getting my number…she figured she’d have plenty of time to do that and still get out to see me on the course.

We took some time and drove the course…beautiful! We kept an eye on the weather forecast because it was calling for snow and temps around 35 for race day…this really was not what I signed up for!

Fort Collins is a beautiful city…we got lunch in the downtown and asked the waitress for some ideas for dinner. After walking to both locations that were recommended and perusing their menus we decided on where dinner would be and made reservations (we were not going to have a repeat of Little Rock today!!)

Early night since the bus that would take me to the starting line leaves at 4:00 am…still looking at the weather and snow is still in the forecast…not good…didn’t bring a long sleeve shirt…Damn!

Got up and did my usual ritual…forecast had changed…45-55 degrees, showers early and clearing up high for the day 60…current temp 39. Why did I forget to bring a long sleeve shirt!!! Luckily I brought a garbage bag…not real warm but would keep the body heat in.

Was on the first bus leaving the hotel…bad idea…the driver informed us as we were on the way that he would not be able to wait with us at the starting line but would need to drop us off…once again cursing myself for not having a long sleeve shirt. As we drove I noticed that the clouds were dissipating. When we got to the starting line there wasn’t a cloud in the sky…no moon…but the stars were amazing! At times like this I wish I would carry my camera.

As we waited for the gun I spent some time looking around, the valley we were in had a river that we would follow all of the way into Fort Collins…it would be my companion for the journey. The water was crystal clear and cold! I watched the sky change colors as the sun rose, even though we could not see it actually rise due to the mountains; the change in the sky was tremendous! I looked to the tops of the peaks right near us (only about 500-600 feet above us) and could see snow. Simply breathtaking.

The gun went off right at 6 am and all 1,000 marathoners took off toward Fort Collins. It was relatively easy to keep an even pace at the beginning. The air was cool the surroundings were gorgeous and the people were talkative but not overly so. The course follows the river so there is always a turn coming up and you do not get to see more than a quarter mile of road at a time.

I held my pace pretty even, just under a 10 min pace for the first 6 miles. Took my scheduled gel and kept moving. The aid stations were positioned about every 2-3 miles so I had a water bottle with me the whole race this helped to ensure that the gel was taken when needed and not when the aid station was there.

At about mile 7 I caught up with a woman who was running her first marathon and we chatted for the next 30 minutes. It was lovely to talk with someone on the course but as we talked our pace slowly picked up to a point that I wished her well and told her to have a great race at mile 10.5. Talking while running is great but I still have not figured out how to control my pace enough so that I do not crap out near the end. I’ll keep working on it because I enjoy the commiseration!

Mile 12. Second gel of the day. I was able to get the gel into my mouth and that was as far as it was going. I nearly threw up right then. The feeling was absolutely overwhelming. I choked a little down and at the next station took in some sports drink…which had the same reaction when it hit the throat! This is not good. To make matters worse within 100 yards of this I suddenly needed a restroom. Thankfully the half marathon starting line was coming up and there was a bunch of porta-potties.

10 minutes after stopping I was trying to get moving again. Much harder that I thought. I was moving in a forward direction so I was happy.

About mile 16 we leave the valley and the space opens before us. This means I will see my wife in about 1-1.5 miles. I’m not on target at all. I’ve now not been able to take any real sustenance in about 10 miles. I still keep trying to take in sports drink…heavily diluted with water in hopes that it will help. I see my wife and tell her my pains…she tells me to keep moving and work on running some…push through it…I’ve been here before…keep trying to take the gels when you should. She gave me a kiss and said she’d see me at about mile 22.

People cheering along the course.

There was more walking than running but I kept doing the 5 min run/5 min walk…whenever I could. The largest hill was at mile 18, I got to the top and was able to take a little sports drink and about a mile later I tried to take another gel. Got half of it in…gagged on the rest.

At this point we are in the ‘suburbs’ of Fort Collins. We run around a school and pick up the river as a companion again…this time it will be with us until the end. The trail around the school is a paved bike trail that leads us into the city. From park to park we go following the power lines into the city (or is it out of the city – who knows?)

Mile 22 my wife is there as promised. I get some sports drink and give her my water bottle – I think I can make it in from here without it. She tells me that I really need to run some so that I’m not disappointed when I finish…’Leave it out on the course is what you always say – so do that leave it out here.’ She points out later that she does listen to me.

I really tried but I’ve now gone too long with out any real calories and I’m dragging. The trail is quite boring for about 2-3 miles as we are running under the power lines near the river (could not really see it from the trail all of the time) and through fields after fields. Unlike the valley, here you can see about a mile ahead.

I was glad to see the 25 mile marker knowing that the misery was nearly over. I see my wife waiting for me at mile 26 and she runs with me (walks too when I need) all the way in. I get my medal and poster. Find my wife. Find oranges. Gag. Suck on the orange. Gag. Swallow the fresh juice. Gag. Repeat the last 4 items 4-5 times.

Wife takes a picture:

Find the beer…I know there is beer here…have a glass…okay about 3 sips. Now you know how bad it is if I can’t drink beer!!!

I stretched a bit while the wife goes and gets some ice cream...we sit and enjoy the day a bit.

I finished The Colorado Marathon (aka Fort Collins Marathon) in 5:25:24.

My wife finished the 10k in 56:25 (clock time) – her actual time is better!

Now that we’ve had some time to think the race over the altitude is what got to me. Not training at the higher elevation my body was supplying oxygen to my muscles and did not want to expend any energy on digestion.

Next marathon is in Maui…elevation right near sea level…shouldn't have any of that trouble!