The recap of last week is that it was a relaxing, nothing on the schedule, work is going relatively smooth, I am getting a few miles in here and there and I am just generally really enjoying life kind of a week. Its not like I would be happy if every week was like that but it sure is nice once in awhile when one pops up!!
With nothing really close on the schedule except for the Great New Years Eve Race, which is only for fun, I am still in the no schedule mode but like I said was able to get some good miles in on both the bike and on foot. Wednesday night was the first night we were able to get a decent night ride in. The weather was "perfect" (30 degrees but dry) and we took the cyclocross bikes out for a nice little two hour spin. Not overly difficult but did include a nice little climb up Truxell road to finish it off. I definitely ended the ride a lot warmer than when I started. My other ride was a 40 miler Sunday morning on road bikes. It was supposed to be "mild" (50 degrees) but ended up 30 degrees rainy with an unusually big wind out of the southeast. This was a tough one that finished into the wind. As far as the run, I got a 13 miler in Saturday afternoon as my big run. I ran the buckeye half course in the valley (the original) and it was overall a pretty good day and run.
The highlight of the week was dinner at Gasoline Alley on Friday night for Jerry III, me and Sue. They always have great food there and we had a great time eating, laughing and of course having some Christmas Ales/Martinis (depending on which one of us you talk to).
Week Recap
ride 70
run 25
Hectic week ahead getting ready for Xmas, couple of parties and more rides and runs
That's all for now.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Tour de Ashland - cold, windy and hilly
Every so often I do what I refer to as a stealth race. I don't tell anyone I am going, except for Sue and sometimes the kids, and set no goals for myself other than to have a good time and not worry about anything except for that. I am not really sure why I do it but I have for a while now and for some reason it just works for me.
This past Saturday I decided to go stealth and run the Tour de Ashland which is a small half marathon in Ashland, Ohio. The field was about 140 people running the full half and a bunch a relay teams which I think were made up of primarily high school runners as the race is put on by the Ashland Runners which supports the local schools running programs.
I realized when I put the dogs out at 6am that this would not be the most ideal day for running a half and nearly talked myself out of going (benefit and downside of going stealth all at the same time). I didn't know the temperature....yet... but I knew it was friggin freezing with some high winds as the icing on the cake. The little guy on my shoulder who was telling me I would regret it later if I didn't go apparently kicked the much smarter guy on the other shoulders ass as the next thing I knew I was dressed and headed for the car. It was a one hour drive down to the race with the most eventful happening being when the outside thermometer jumped from 18 to 19....how could I have even considered not doing this when it was warming up so nicely.
I got to the race around 8:15 and checked in..check in was a breeze and I was finished in a matter of minutes and headed back to the car to drop the really cool shirt they gave out and get ready for a nice little warm up. I waited in the car for a little bit as I didn't want to warm up to early so at 8:35 I headed out and ran an easy two miles on some of the course. I had seen the course profile on the net....and it looked nasty... and was pleasantly surprised during warm up that it didn't seem so bad. Alas, I learned not to judge a whole course by a one mile out and back warm up. This was a tough course with lots of steady long grades!!!
The race started pretty much on time with a short delay, much to the chagrin of a couple hundred freezing runners, to introduce the Mayor of Ashland...who does that, just start the race for Gods sake. Anyways, the start was smooth and I settled in to a nice 7:55 pace. The wind was definitely a factor at the beginning but it more added to the cold than made the race tougher. At around mile four I realized I had been running by myself for some time and had stayed exactly the same distance behind this little group of 4-5 people who were about 100yds ahead. I gave it a little push and closed the gap and settled in with them. They were running the perfect pace for me and I was really glad to not be hanging out there by myself. Along the way we dropped a couple of people but four of us stayed together, with a guy and girl staying out in front the entire time, until mile eight. At mile eight the girl who had been out front decided to dial it back and the guy she was with stayed with her, so then there was two. After they let up the guy I was with and I talked about working together but either he picked it up or I dialed it back but he lost me before we got to mile nine. I don't know if I was just getting tired or what but the last five miles seemed much tougher than the first eight, lots more climbs and the wind now playing a major factor, and my pace did drop to the 8:15 range when we got separated....so I guess it was me!!!!
In any event I finished pretty strong and placed 4th in my age group with a 1:46:22. Not the fastest time ever but the goal was to have fun, and I did.
Week recap:
ride - 4 - bailed on a weds night ride due to icy conditions -
run - 23
Time to go back to a schedule and ramp the miles up.
That's all for now.
This past Saturday I decided to go stealth and run the Tour de Ashland which is a small half marathon in Ashland, Ohio. The field was about 140 people running the full half and a bunch a relay teams which I think were made up of primarily high school runners as the race is put on by the Ashland Runners which supports the local schools running programs.
I realized when I put the dogs out at 6am that this would not be the most ideal day for running a half and nearly talked myself out of going (benefit and downside of going stealth all at the same time). I didn't know the temperature....yet... but I knew it was friggin freezing with some high winds as the icing on the cake. The little guy on my shoulder who was telling me I would regret it later if I didn't go apparently kicked the much smarter guy on the other shoulders ass as the next thing I knew I was dressed and headed for the car. It was a one hour drive down to the race with the most eventful happening being when the outside thermometer jumped from 18 to 19....how could I have even considered not doing this when it was warming up so nicely.
I got to the race around 8:15 and checked in..check in was a breeze and I was finished in a matter of minutes and headed back to the car to drop the really cool shirt they gave out and get ready for a nice little warm up. I waited in the car for a little bit as I didn't want to warm up to early so at 8:35 I headed out and ran an easy two miles on some of the course. I had seen the course profile on the net....and it looked nasty... and was pleasantly surprised during warm up that it didn't seem so bad. Alas, I learned not to judge a whole course by a one mile out and back warm up. This was a tough course with lots of steady long grades!!!
The race started pretty much on time with a short delay, much to the chagrin of a couple hundred freezing runners, to introduce the Mayor of Ashland...who does that, just start the race for Gods sake. Anyways, the start was smooth and I settled in to a nice 7:55 pace. The wind was definitely a factor at the beginning but it more added to the cold than made the race tougher. At around mile four I realized I had been running by myself for some time and had stayed exactly the same distance behind this little group of 4-5 people who were about 100yds ahead. I gave it a little push and closed the gap and settled in with them. They were running the perfect pace for me and I was really glad to not be hanging out there by myself. Along the way we dropped a couple of people but four of us stayed together, with a guy and girl staying out in front the entire time, until mile eight. At mile eight the girl who had been out front decided to dial it back and the guy she was with stayed with her, so then there was two. After they let up the guy I was with and I talked about working together but either he picked it up or I dialed it back but he lost me before we got to mile nine. I don't know if I was just getting tired or what but the last five miles seemed much tougher than the first eight, lots more climbs and the wind now playing a major factor, and my pace did drop to the 8:15 range when we got separated....so I guess it was me!!!!
In any event I finished pretty strong and placed 4th in my age group with a 1:46:22. Not the fastest time ever but the goal was to have fun, and I did.
Week recap:
ride - 4 - bailed on a weds night ride due to icy conditions -
run - 23
Time to go back to a schedule and ramp the miles up.
That's all for now.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Thanksgiving in Ft Myers
One of the crazier things my family does every year is to hop in the car and drive 1200 miles for a three and a half day stay at my brothers in Ft Myers, Fla. We always drive straight through which has proven much easier since the kids started driving but still has its challenges. This year, sadly, Kate was unable to join us so Sue and Jerry III and I started our adventure at 7:30pm on Tuesday night. The drive down was easy and uneventful with Jerry III putting his time at college to use and taking the midnight to 4am shift. We arrived at my brothers at 1:30pm on Weds. and the fun started.
On the trip down my left leg was cramping badly and since Jerry and I were planning on running the Cape Coral Turkey Trot I figured I better test out the leg, so pretty much as soon as we arrived I was out in the sunny 70 degree weather for a shake out run. I ran a nice little 4 miler that I often run when I am down there and the leg felt great. There is nothing like a good run to shake of the effects of a 17.5 hr car ride!!! After the run it was off to Hooters with the gang for my favorite chicken sandwich and some Hooters Red Ale (yes they have their own beer!!!). Following lunch we picked up some last minute tday supplies and then off to my brothers to visit and prepare for dinner. Dinner on Weds night is the same every year. My bro invites some family and friends over for a shrimp boil. If you have never had one they are awesome. It is a big pot that you boil everything in together with some unbelievable seasoning. When its done you get potato's, sausage, corn and shrimp poured into a big bowl and it is Delicious!!
Thanksgiving day always starts with the Cape Coral turkey trot. I have missed only one year since we started doing this and it is something I really look forward to. This year we had a group of seven representing our clan. The course is flat and fast and if the weather is right, i.e. not to humid for us northeners, it makes for a really decent time. This course was my 5k PR for a long time and I only recently beat it after several years of trying. This years weather was perfect and as we toed the line everyone had high hopes for a great race. The person in our group with the highest hopes was Jerry III who has been training really hard and has always wanted to place high in this race. It is much harder than you think competing with the flat landers who get to train all year round. Those people are really fast and running that flat terrain all the time makes for really quick leg turnover. Thankfully this was his year and even though he will tell you he had a bad race he placed third in his age group. I was really proud of him. Honorable mention for top performance goes to my nephew, a fifteen year old native who PR'd with a 20:15. To put into perspective how fast these people are that put him 11th in his age group. I had an OK race finishing 8th in my age group with a 22:22. Not the best time in the world but as usual it was fun!!
Another highlight of the morning was my one mile run with Sue. She had signed up for the fun run but it started an hour and a half after the 5k so she had decided not to do it. Since she still wanted to do a run, and since she dislikes running I decided I should take advantage of the opportunity, we decided to do one mile together. We started out nice and steady and she ran the mile with little to no problem. I was really proud of her. I know she dislikes it and I am thrilled that she is giving it a try.
Turkey eating always takes place at my sister-in-law leah's families house in Punta Gorda, FL. It is the original house her father grew up in and he purchased it following his moms passing and has kept it as a gathering place for the family on holidays. It is a little place on 10 acres and it is the perfect place to spend tday. The food is amazing and starts out with three turkeys (smoked, roast and fried) a ham and pork. Next is every imaginable side dish that the 50 or so people who attend bring. Many of them are southern and if you are looking to gain weight this is the place to be (I gained 5 pounds in three days). Following the gorging comes the football game on the enormous front lawn. It is mostly the kids who play but I refuse to give in and will continue to play until I can't walk anymore. Also, rounding out the "were gonna play every year even though were not kids" is Leah's sister and brother-in-law, Eve and Robert. This is always one of the highlights of the trip and this year we played a little over two hours - or to complete exhaustion. It was a great game with the only mishap being when my nephew, Jupper, chased Eve down from behind giving her a hard enough shove to allow her to do a face plant into the very dry, very hard, burr filled ground. Luckily she was OK and shook it off to finish out the game. This year we had another adult join in the fun, one of the cousins Ron jumped in and even though he struggled pretty good at times he toughed it out and finished the whole game as well. My guess is he was the most sore the next day.
Friday and Saturday (until we left for home at 5:30pm) were also fun filled. Friday started out with Jerry and I doing a four mile recovery run and later my bro, Jerry and I knocked out a 35 mile ride (Jerry III and I brought bikes, part of the reason we drive) and we ended the day with a fish fry at our friend, Big Joe's, log cabin in North Ft Myers. Good food, great friends!! Saturday, our last day there, started with a quick 25 mile ride by Dan and me. We went to a new spot that he had found and it was a perfect country road. Hardly any traffic, only one stop sign and nice and flat. We knocked off the first hour at a 19.2mph pace which is great and we noodled in chatting the last 20 minutes. The last activity prior to leaving was to watch the first half of the Florida vs Florida State game. Always a good time!! This year we watched it at our friends, Tony and Seana's, house and again more food and drinks and lots of time to relax with family and friends.
The ride home was slightly more challenging. Sue started us out (due to the drinks portion of good food and drink) and took us north about three hours. I took over from there and when we got about 30 miles north of the Ga, Fl border it started to rain. The rain really came down hard at times and it just kept coming and coming. I drove until about 2am and decided instead of waking Jerry III we should pull over for awhile and see if the rain would stop. It did not so we took off with Jerry III driving at around 4am. The two of us were able to drive it the rest of the way through and we got in around 1:30pm. I am still trying to recover and hope to some time next week.
Week recap (I am still in do what you feel mode)
Ride - 55
Run - 19
It is just about time to start to ramp it up again.
That's all for now.
On the trip down my left leg was cramping badly and since Jerry and I were planning on running the Cape Coral Turkey Trot I figured I better test out the leg, so pretty much as soon as we arrived I was out in the sunny 70 degree weather for a shake out run. I ran a nice little 4 miler that I often run when I am down there and the leg felt great. There is nothing like a good run to shake of the effects of a 17.5 hr car ride!!! After the run it was off to Hooters with the gang for my favorite chicken sandwich and some Hooters Red Ale (yes they have their own beer!!!). Following lunch we picked up some last minute tday supplies and then off to my brothers to visit and prepare for dinner. Dinner on Weds night is the same every year. My bro invites some family and friends over for a shrimp boil. If you have never had one they are awesome. It is a big pot that you boil everything in together with some unbelievable seasoning. When its done you get potato's, sausage, corn and shrimp poured into a big bowl and it is Delicious!!
Thanksgiving day always starts with the Cape Coral turkey trot. I have missed only one year since we started doing this and it is something I really look forward to. This year we had a group of seven representing our clan. The course is flat and fast and if the weather is right, i.e. not to humid for us northeners, it makes for a really decent time. This course was my 5k PR for a long time and I only recently beat it after several years of trying. This years weather was perfect and as we toed the line everyone had high hopes for a great race. The person in our group with the highest hopes was Jerry III who has been training really hard and has always wanted to place high in this race. It is much harder than you think competing with the flat landers who get to train all year round. Those people are really fast and running that flat terrain all the time makes for really quick leg turnover. Thankfully this was his year and even though he will tell you he had a bad race he placed third in his age group. I was really proud of him. Honorable mention for top performance goes to my nephew, a fifteen year old native who PR'd with a 20:15. To put into perspective how fast these people are that put him 11th in his age group. I had an OK race finishing 8th in my age group with a 22:22. Not the best time in the world but as usual it was fun!!
Another highlight of the morning was my one mile run with Sue. She had signed up for the fun run but it started an hour and a half after the 5k so she had decided not to do it. Since she still wanted to do a run, and since she dislikes running I decided I should take advantage of the opportunity, we decided to do one mile together. We started out nice and steady and she ran the mile with little to no problem. I was really proud of her. I know she dislikes it and I am thrilled that she is giving it a try.
Turkey eating always takes place at my sister-in-law leah's families house in Punta Gorda, FL. It is the original house her father grew up in and he purchased it following his moms passing and has kept it as a gathering place for the family on holidays. It is a little place on 10 acres and it is the perfect place to spend tday. The food is amazing and starts out with three turkeys (smoked, roast and fried) a ham and pork. Next is every imaginable side dish that the 50 or so people who attend bring. Many of them are southern and if you are looking to gain weight this is the place to be (I gained 5 pounds in three days). Following the gorging comes the football game on the enormous front lawn. It is mostly the kids who play but I refuse to give in and will continue to play until I can't walk anymore. Also, rounding out the "were gonna play every year even though were not kids" is Leah's sister and brother-in-law, Eve and Robert. This is always one of the highlights of the trip and this year we played a little over two hours - or to complete exhaustion. It was a great game with the only mishap being when my nephew, Jupper, chased Eve down from behind giving her a hard enough shove to allow her to do a face plant into the very dry, very hard, burr filled ground. Luckily she was OK and shook it off to finish out the game. This year we had another adult join in the fun, one of the cousins Ron jumped in and even though he struggled pretty good at times he toughed it out and finished the whole game as well. My guess is he was the most sore the next day.
Friday and Saturday (until we left for home at 5:30pm) were also fun filled. Friday started out with Jerry and I doing a four mile recovery run and later my bro, Jerry and I knocked out a 35 mile ride (Jerry III and I brought bikes, part of the reason we drive) and we ended the day with a fish fry at our friend, Big Joe's, log cabin in North Ft Myers. Good food, great friends!! Saturday, our last day there, started with a quick 25 mile ride by Dan and me. We went to a new spot that he had found and it was a perfect country road. Hardly any traffic, only one stop sign and nice and flat. We knocked off the first hour at a 19.2mph pace which is great and we noodled in chatting the last 20 minutes. The last activity prior to leaving was to watch the first half of the Florida vs Florida State game. Always a good time!! This year we watched it at our friends, Tony and Seana's, house and again more food and drinks and lots of time to relax with family and friends.
The ride home was slightly more challenging. Sue started us out (due to the drinks portion of good food and drink) and took us north about three hours. I took over from there and when we got about 30 miles north of the Ga, Fl border it started to rain. The rain really came down hard at times and it just kept coming and coming. I drove until about 2am and decided instead of waking Jerry III we should pull over for awhile and see if the rain would stop. It did not so we took off with Jerry III driving at around 4am. The two of us were able to drive it the rest of the way through and we got in around 1:30pm. I am still trying to recover and hope to some time next week.
Week recap (I am still in do what you feel mode)
Ride - 55
Run - 19
It is just about time to start to ramp it up again.
That's all for now.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
The Smart Ride 2008
This past weekend I did The Smart Ride which is a 165 mile ride from Miami to Key West. The ride is a charity ride that raises money for Aids charities of Broward County, Fla and each rider is responsible for raising a minimum of $1200. This year I think there was about 400 riders who were treated to an awesome event that was well ran and supported and had two fabulous days of great weather (with the exception of a pesky little head wind) riding.
Day one of the ride (Friday) is a 100 mile jaunt from Miami to Hawks Cay which is just above Marathon. The group I was riding with was my brother Dan, His wife Leah and our friend Tony. We also had my daughter Kate in a chase car and she was there to support if needed but mostly to give us a ride back to Miami when the event was over. We started out a little later than the rest of the riders as I had some unfinished business related to a huge eggplant parm dinner on Thursday night but we quickly moved up the pack after we started as there is a huge amount of diversity in the type of bike people ride for this event...and I mean huge. We were all on road bikes but there was a fair amount of people on hybrids and mountain bikes and I even heard one guy say he just bought his bike the week before for $100. So don't think moving quickly to the front of the pack was anything exceptional. We blew past the first rest stop which was only at mile 12 and set our sites on the second which was around mile 30. The start of the ride is a bit slow as there is a lot of turns, stop lights and traffic but once past rest stop 2 we got onto Card Sound Rd headed for Homestead and things started to click. We settled into a pace of around 19mph and hammered out that section pretty well. Along the way we picked up about 25 people who hung in all the way to rest stop 3, which was also lunch. We rolled through that stop quickly and when we were ready to go none of our new friends were done with lunch so the four of us took off on our own. The second half of the ride was exceptionally fun and relatively uneventful. We kept a nice steady pace the whole way and no one had any significant problems. We finished day one in around 6.5 hrs (including stops) with none of us really worse for the wear.
After the day one ride we enjoyed Hawks Cay resort for awhile using the pool, hot tub and bar. The afternoon was super relaxing and we ended up skipping the official ride dinner and traveling to Burdines in Marathon for the best fries on the planet and some yummy Key West Ale. A good time was had by all.
Day two was 65 miles and it started out a little rough as I shredded a tire at mile nine. The wind had picked up significantly from day 1 and I sent the others ahead while I waited for Kate to show up with a spare tire. this proved to be somewhat of a mistake because it took Kate a lot longer then I thought to show up so I was farther behind them then other times I had tried this. I changed out the tire and proceeded to chase them down. The real issue came when their was a miscommunication between Kate and the others and she ended up telling me to skip the next water stop and continue the chase. i was a little concerned about this because I had been riding hard for over and hour by myself, it was hot, it was windy and I was almost out of water. I continued on anyway thinking I could slow up and get some water from them once I caught them. However, after another 45 mins of riding i saw Kate again and she informed me I needed to slow down...I was a head of the others. Apparently, they had stopped at the rest area and i had past them when they were enjoying a rest and some nice cold water (which I had known of by then). In any event I waited they caught me and we continued on. The other significant event of the day happened around mile 45 when a group that was just a head of us crashed with one of their riders flying into the road in front of a 40ft motor home. That was the finest piece of evasive driving i have ever seen as the motor swerved to miss the rider. That would have been nasty if he hadn't reacted so quickly!!! We stopped to make sure they were OK and with the exception of a banged up elbow and some major hamburger looking road rash they were OK so we pressed on. The heat and wind had taken its toll at this point and we limped in to the finish but all in all had a great day.
Following the ride we loaded up and headed straight back to Burdines for more fries and Key West Ale. Really good stuff.
Things to remember from this ride:
Day one of the ride (Friday) is a 100 mile jaunt from Miami to Hawks Cay which is just above Marathon. The group I was riding with was my brother Dan, His wife Leah and our friend Tony. We also had my daughter Kate in a chase car and she was there to support if needed but mostly to give us a ride back to Miami when the event was over. We started out a little later than the rest of the riders as I had some unfinished business related to a huge eggplant parm dinner on Thursday night but we quickly moved up the pack after we started as there is a huge amount of diversity in the type of bike people ride for this event...and I mean huge. We were all on road bikes but there was a fair amount of people on hybrids and mountain bikes and I even heard one guy say he just bought his bike the week before for $100. So don't think moving quickly to the front of the pack was anything exceptional. We blew past the first rest stop which was only at mile 12 and set our sites on the second which was around mile 30. The start of the ride is a bit slow as there is a lot of turns, stop lights and traffic but once past rest stop 2 we got onto Card Sound Rd headed for Homestead and things started to click. We settled into a pace of around 19mph and hammered out that section pretty well. Along the way we picked up about 25 people who hung in all the way to rest stop 3, which was also lunch. We rolled through that stop quickly and when we were ready to go none of our new friends were done with lunch so the four of us took off on our own. The second half of the ride was exceptionally fun and relatively uneventful. We kept a nice steady pace the whole way and no one had any significant problems. We finished day one in around 6.5 hrs (including stops) with none of us really worse for the wear.
After the day one ride we enjoyed Hawks Cay resort for awhile using the pool, hot tub and bar. The afternoon was super relaxing and we ended up skipping the official ride dinner and traveling to Burdines in Marathon for the best fries on the planet and some yummy Key West Ale. A good time was had by all.
Day two was 65 miles and it started out a little rough as I shredded a tire at mile nine. The wind had picked up significantly from day 1 and I sent the others ahead while I waited for Kate to show up with a spare tire. this proved to be somewhat of a mistake because it took Kate a lot longer then I thought to show up so I was farther behind them then other times I had tried this. I changed out the tire and proceeded to chase them down. The real issue came when their was a miscommunication between Kate and the others and she ended up telling me to skip the next water stop and continue the chase. i was a little concerned about this because I had been riding hard for over and hour by myself, it was hot, it was windy and I was almost out of water. I continued on anyway thinking I could slow up and get some water from them once I caught them. However, after another 45 mins of riding i saw Kate again and she informed me I needed to slow down...I was a head of the others. Apparently, they had stopped at the rest area and i had past them when they were enjoying a rest and some nice cold water (which I had known of by then). In any event I waited they caught me and we continued on. The other significant event of the day happened around mile 45 when a group that was just a head of us crashed with one of their riders flying into the road in front of a 40ft motor home. That was the finest piece of evasive driving i have ever seen as the motor swerved to miss the rider. That would have been nasty if he hadn't reacted so quickly!!! We stopped to make sure they were OK and with the exception of a banged up elbow and some major hamburger looking road rash they were OK so we pressed on. The heat and wind had taken its toll at this point and we limped in to the finish but all in all had a great day.
Following the ride we loaded up and headed straight back to Burdines for more fries and Key West Ale. Really good stuff.
Things to remember from this ride:
- Tony sitting on the cooler in the airport parking lot with his "water bottle"
- TomTom is a bitch who won't shut up
- Kates BDAY dinner
- Egg cake for breakfast sucks
- Day one as a whole was the best day of riding we have had as a group.
- Card Sound road paceline
- Leah on my wheel over channel five bridge...what a stud
- 21 bikes in the rack before us..how can a group of misfits like us be finished before so many people
- Floaters at the pool
- Fries at Burdines
- cold egg sandwhiches for breakfast also suck
- Don't stop at the rest stop
- the motor home evasive move
- the last 20 were TOUGH
- fries at Burdines
- Gator Game in the "spa" (AKA the hot tub that is not hot and has no jets)
- friends, good food, good drinks and great riding
Thats all for now
Monday, November 3, 2008
October Recap
I can hardly believe a month has gone by and I have not posted a word. This is going to be harder than I thought!!! However, I am going to commit right now to setting aside time each week to update. It is going to be way to difficult to do this one month at a time.
The biggest news generated in October is I have, yet again, failed to qualify for Boston (missed by 6 minutes). As disappointing as this was I took away many positives from running the Columbus Marathon and it will go down as a very memorable experience. A mini race report would include spending the evening before with my son and his girlfriend. We had an early dinner with my wife and two friends who came to support. The three of them then departed for a hotel and Jerry and Jaime and I headed for Jerry's place. Sue and our friends were down as a kind of payback for my cheering for the cancer 3 day and I must say I was apprehensive having them there at first, but it really was the best!!! Spending the evening with Jerry and Jaime was a blast. We watched some football and went shopping at target. Thankfully, I talked Jerry out of buying me a pair of feet pajamas (although I will probably get them some day). Race morning was perfect. Clear and cool with only a light wind. I started the race with long sleeves and gloves but thru the shirt at mile one and the gloves at mile four. It was still a little cold but the only problem that presented was my hands were stiff and I had trouble working my bottles and grabbing water cups. No big deal though I would rather have it that temperature vs hot any day. Anyways, I had a great race through about mile 18. I had positioned myself around 200 yards in front of the 3:30 pace group and had hoped I could hold that spot. At mile 18 I had 3 minutes in the bank but could feel myself start to slow. I did everything I could to push through it but this was not one of those times. Oh well, live to fight another day. Positives for the day included, Sue/Sue/Mary cheering squad complete with signs. Jerry, Jaime and their friends had great half marathons. Jerry ran a 1:29 and Jaime, who I had trained, ran a 1:42 and took fifth in her age group. I had two other friends who ran who both qualified. All in all short of my goal, but a great day.
Also during October, I ran the Cuyahoga National Park fall challenge series. This is a series of five races on area trails that is absolutely fun, fun, fun!!! It is the first time I did it but will not be the last. It would take forever to provide all the details but a quick summary is that each week there is a different theme to the race. You don't know the theme or the distance until you get there so you have to be prepared for anything. As I think about this it really does deserve more detail in case some one ever reads this blog. I want everyone to know how fun this was. I will write it out in detail next post.
I also went to two weddings, my nieces and a friend of Sue's from work...both were a blast. Lots of eating drinking and dancing. My nieces wedding included staying in a hotel room next to my brother and his family...to much fun!!
Coming up in November I have the smart ride, a 165 mile ride from Miami to Key West, the fall challenge a half marathon in Strongsville, OH and the Cape Coral Florida Turkey Trot. Should be lots to write about.
Hope this finds everyone well.
That's all for now.
The biggest news generated in October is I have, yet again, failed to qualify for Boston (missed by 6 minutes). As disappointing as this was I took away many positives from running the Columbus Marathon and it will go down as a very memorable experience. A mini race report would include spending the evening before with my son and his girlfriend. We had an early dinner with my wife and two friends who came to support. The three of them then departed for a hotel and Jerry and Jaime and I headed for Jerry's place. Sue and our friends were down as a kind of payback for my cheering for the cancer 3 day and I must say I was apprehensive having them there at first, but it really was the best!!! Spending the evening with Jerry and Jaime was a blast. We watched some football and went shopping at target. Thankfully, I talked Jerry out of buying me a pair of feet pajamas (although I will probably get them some day). Race morning was perfect. Clear and cool with only a light wind. I started the race with long sleeves and gloves but thru the shirt at mile one and the gloves at mile four. It was still a little cold but the only problem that presented was my hands were stiff and I had trouble working my bottles and grabbing water cups. No big deal though I would rather have it that temperature vs hot any day. Anyways, I had a great race through about mile 18. I had positioned myself around 200 yards in front of the 3:30 pace group and had hoped I could hold that spot. At mile 18 I had 3 minutes in the bank but could feel myself start to slow. I did everything I could to push through it but this was not one of those times. Oh well, live to fight another day. Positives for the day included, Sue/Sue/Mary cheering squad complete with signs. Jerry, Jaime and their friends had great half marathons. Jerry ran a 1:29 and Jaime, who I had trained, ran a 1:42 and took fifth in her age group. I had two other friends who ran who both qualified. All in all short of my goal, but a great day.
Also during October, I ran the Cuyahoga National Park fall challenge series. This is a series of five races on area trails that is absolutely fun, fun, fun!!! It is the first time I did it but will not be the last. It would take forever to provide all the details but a quick summary is that each week there is a different theme to the race. You don't know the theme or the distance until you get there so you have to be prepared for anything. As I think about this it really does deserve more detail in case some one ever reads this blog. I want everyone to know how fun this was. I will write it out in detail next post.
I also went to two weddings, my nieces and a friend of Sue's from work...both were a blast. Lots of eating drinking and dancing. My nieces wedding included staying in a hotel room next to my brother and his family...to much fun!!
Coming up in November I have the smart ride, a 165 mile ride from Miami to Key West, the fall challenge a half marathon in Strongsville, OH and the Cape Coral Florida Turkey Trot. Should be lots to write about.
Hope this finds everyone well.
That's all for now.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Week Recap (I.E. Put-in-Bay rocks)
Well my week of training was somewhat of a bust as I spent a lot of time preparing to go to PIB this past weekend. I did get in an awesome mountain bike ride at West Branch with N8 and a couple of halfway decent runs and spin classes but that was about it. I am not overly concerned by this as I think I have a solid enough base for both endurance and aerobic capacity to carry me through Columbus, plus I am working extra hard these next two weeks and will only taper one week versus my normal two as I head into the race. Still feeling very confident that this will be the one and I will get the Boston monkey off my back...I hope the weather cooperates.
On to the fun stuff. This past Friday Sue and I and four of our friends piled into our motor home for a wild weekend of halfway to St. Patty's day partying at PIB. This was a first for Sue and I and we were looking forward to experiencing Key West of the North.
Starting out the trip was wild. For anyone who has ever rode the ferry to PIB take my word for it taking a 34ft motor home on it is not nearly as fun as you might think. Good thing there was plenty of partying to follow to relieve the stress of that part of the weekend. Here are a few of the highlights that made this the best trip all summer:
On to the fun stuff. This past Friday Sue and I and four of our friends piled into our motor home for a wild weekend of halfway to St. Patty's day partying at PIB. This was a first for Sue and I and we were looking forward to experiencing Key West of the North.
Starting out the trip was wild. For anyone who has ever rode the ferry to PIB take my word for it taking a 34ft motor home on it is not nearly as fun as you might think. Good thing there was plenty of partying to follow to relieve the stress of that part of the weekend. Here are a few of the highlights that made this the best trip all summer:
- Friday night cab ride into town and start with perch sandwich at Mossbacks...Yummy
- Mustang Sally at beer barrel...things are starting to get going
- Bob Gatewood at The Roundhouse....things are starting to hurt
- 1am cab ride back to motor home....walk from cab drop off to motor home via light from a blackberry...very useful tool
- Saturday Am bike ride around the island in the misty rain
- 11:30am stop at Frosty's for some cold beer...stayed to watch OSU game....things starting to heat up again
- Frosty's pizza to soak up some of the beer was awesome
- After OSU win shaky bike ride (hey it was after a football game!!) back to campground for margaritas and showers
- the shower....don't ask
- cab ride back to town around 6pm with stop somewhere that had a patio...sucked us in with a couple of good tunes and once we were settled in they changed it up to shitty music
- went back to the beer barrel, after finding out that the roundhouse was charging 5 bucks a person, to watch mustang sally again
- Mustang Sally lead singer sounds and acts like Reba McIntyre(sp) and continually says y'all and references her need to find a man..this is tolerable for about a half hour and we decide to head to roundhouse anyways
- five dollar cover has been lifted and Bob Gatewood is rocking....lots of drinking, laughing and dancing
- pizza following to much fun at roundhouse was awesome...great idea Susie!!!
- Cab ride home with Dusty was interesting to say the least (I think)
- painful wake up and trip home Sunday morning
Memorable moments - some of which only the six of us will understand:
- ferry trip - both directions
- I have no gag reflex
- P farts in the cab
- versatility of the blackberry
- J's bucket head
- S's new friends
- D's new friends
- p needs to take his pants off
- T enjoying himself by the fire
- J needs an extra bucket for her students to wash the blackboard
Great friends, Great weekend now time to focus on Columbus Marathon
That's all for now
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Why I Love Fall
I successfully wrapped up my second goof off week...I mean recovery week...after Ironman Wisconsin and am now ramping back up again for the Columbus Marathon. During my two weeks of "active recovery" I was really able to enjoy the awesome weather we have been having in North East Ohio and that got me to thinking about a few of the things that make fall (or fall like weather) one of my favorite times/things. Here is a sampling of them:
- easy breezy road rides where the temps are cool but not uncomfortable, the sky is as blue as can be, the sun is rising over the tree line, there is just a hint of color in the leaves and the attitude is more social than hammer fest. This is why I started riding in the first place and I love it when I get to experience it
- two words...trail running (or walking). I have no idea why but for some reason I really only run on the trails in the fall. I really don't understand it myself because it is so peaceful in the woods and the time always flies by and I always feel completely refreshed when I am done. Maybe its best I only do it in the fall or it may not be the same.
- two more words...mountain biking. Again, really reserved for the fall, probably because I suck at it, but I love being in the woods and I also love the challenge of knocking off a solid effort at something that literally scares the hell out of me. Again, I love it but it is probably best I only do it in the fall.
- the smell of a charcoal grill that is getting ready to grill up some tasty treat. I love to grill all year long but in the fall I break out the lawn chair and camp out by the grill from the moment its lit until the moment the food is done.
- keeping with the fire theme...camp fires. We have a great fire pit in our yard and we have really enjoyed hanging out by it on the cooler fall days. I don't know what it is about hanging out by a fire, even if it is the grill, but they make me really, really thirst for a nice cold beverage. Again, I love it.
Enough day dreaming here is what I have on tap for the week.
- I am still out of the pool but will be back in next week
- mountain biking at west branch in lieu of weds. night road ride
- targeting just north of 30 on foot with no speed work and a long run of 12-14
- weekend of debauchery at put-in bay. gonna guess I will probably spend some time in the early am running but that's it
I hope everyone is enjoying the fall like weather as much as I am.
that's all for now
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Weekly recap
This is for last week which was pretty much a down week. Following IM Wisconsin my schedule looked like this:
mon - off
tues - off
weds - 1 hr easy spin
thurs - off
fri - 1 hr easy spin
sat - off
sun - 52mi hilly ride through bedford reservation
It is probably noticeable that I have not run a step since IM. I am going to change that tonight as I have an easy 4 miler on the schedule. The temperature is just right for me (approx. 70) and I am actually really looking forward to it.
This past weekend was a strange one. On Saturday I was registered for the Komen race for the cure but it was pouring so hard in the AM and I was planning on not really racing it (and maybe walking it) so I talked myself out of it with the justification that paying the money was the important part. I regret not going and will not let that happen again. On Sunday northeast Ohio caught the tail end of IKE and he was nice enough to blow our house into total darkness for the next forty hours or so. He also made the yard look like a bomb went off in it and I am sure to enjoy many hours of clean up before it looks good again (just kidding I hate yard work).
Thats all for now.
mon - off
tues - off
weds - 1 hr easy spin
thurs - off
fri - 1 hr easy spin
sat - off
sun - 52mi hilly ride through bedford reservation
It is probably noticeable that I have not run a step since IM. I am going to change that tonight as I have an easy 4 miler on the schedule. The temperature is just right for me (approx. 70) and I am actually really looking forward to it.
This past weekend was a strange one. On Saturday I was registered for the Komen race for the cure but it was pouring so hard in the AM and I was planning on not really racing it (and maybe walking it) so I talked myself out of it with the justification that paying the money was the important part. I regret not going and will not let that happen again. On Sunday northeast Ohio caught the tail end of IKE and he was nice enough to blow our house into total darkness for the next forty hours or so. He also made the yard look like a bomb went off in it and I am sure to enjoy many hours of clean up before it looks good again (just kidding I hate yard work).
Thats all for now.
Friday, September 12, 2008
cutting the ties to Ironman Wisconsin 2008
Well I think today is the day that I close the book on IM Wisconsin. The official end of any of my big races is the day I cut off my wristband and start to think about whats next. This will be more emotional than you might think for me because I really don't want to say goodbye yet. I had such a great time training for and racing this race. Although it was in the top three of hardest races/events I have participated in, it really feels like it is the hardest to say goodbye to.
However, all good things must come to an end so I am cutting the wristband off and I am starting to think about my next two races. The first is the Columbus Marathon where I am going to take a run at qualifying for Boston. I have already raced two marathons this year and missed by 1 minute in the first and 7 minutes in the second but I feel really good about this one. This could be the one!!! The second big race I have coming up is the Ragnar Relay in Feb. 2009 in Arizona. I am really excited about this one as I will be joining some old friends who I have not seen for about 10 years. It should be a blast.
Moving forward I will be recapping my weekly training and giving updates on any new adventures that may come my way.
That's all for now
However, all good things must come to an end so I am cutting the wristband off and I am starting to think about my next two races. The first is the Columbus Marathon where I am going to take a run at qualifying for Boston. I have already raced two marathons this year and missed by 1 minute in the first and 7 minutes in the second but I feel really good about this one. This could be the one!!! The second big race I have coming up is the Ragnar Relay in Feb. 2009 in Arizona. I am really excited about this one as I will be joining some old friends who I have not seen for about 10 years. It should be a blast.
Moving forward I will be recapping my weekly training and giving updates on any new adventures that may come my way.
That's all for now
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
2008 Ironman Wisconsin
This past weekend I competed in Ironman Wisconsin. It took place in Madison, WI which is an incredible town that I am sorry to say I have never been to before. This was my fourth ironman and as was the case in the others it was a tough day but an overall great experience that really tests your limits.
Instead of doing a regular race report like most bloggers do going into great detail about everything that happened during the course of the day I am going to talk about what I hope to remember from this race. It actually has nothing to do with me but has left me inspired, motivated and somewhat emotional since it happened.
The greatest thing you can ever see in a sporting event, bar none, is the finish line of an ironman from 9pm until the final cutoff time of 12am. It is awesome and if you ever have the chance to see it I highly recommend you do so. Every time I have been at the finish line during this time slot (this was the fifth time I have been at the finish line, one time I just went to watch and didn't compete) I have seen the most incredible things. I am talking about people from all walks of life who have been slugging it out through weather and terrain and mechanicals and blisters and sprains and aches...well you get the picture it is one hell of a hard day. In any event at this past weekends race there was 15 minutes left until the 17 hrs was up and whoever wasn't finished was disqualified. The finish line announcer, whose name is Mike Reilly, got on the loud speaker to tell everyone who was there that the last runner had one mile left to go and would have to run it in 15 mins. or she wouldn't make it. He said there was a spotter with her who was trying to keep her moving so she could realize her goal. The crowd rallied behind this unknown runner and even though she could not hear us yet the cheers started. Literally everyone there wanted this person to make it in the worst way. With 7:30 secs left Mike got back on the loud speaker to tell us that he had just talked to the spotter to tell him he needed to keep her moving there wasn't much time left and he repeated that the spotter told him he only needed five minutes and he could get her there. Well the reality was that he needed a little more than five minutes but with only 4 secs to spare this woman crossed the line realizing her dream in front of hundreds of wildly cheering people. Call me crazy but that feat, and the crowd support, overshadowed (by a long shot) anything I accomplished that day and I will carry it with me for a long time to come. Congrats unknown lady who accomplished with only 4 secs to spare what most people can't even dream of accomplishing....you rock.
Thats all for now.
Instead of doing a regular race report like most bloggers do going into great detail about everything that happened during the course of the day I am going to talk about what I hope to remember from this race. It actually has nothing to do with me but has left me inspired, motivated and somewhat emotional since it happened.
The greatest thing you can ever see in a sporting event, bar none, is the finish line of an ironman from 9pm until the final cutoff time of 12am. It is awesome and if you ever have the chance to see it I highly recommend you do so. Every time I have been at the finish line during this time slot (this was the fifth time I have been at the finish line, one time I just went to watch and didn't compete) I have seen the most incredible things. I am talking about people from all walks of life who have been slugging it out through weather and terrain and mechanicals and blisters and sprains and aches...well you get the picture it is one hell of a hard day. In any event at this past weekends race there was 15 minutes left until the 17 hrs was up and whoever wasn't finished was disqualified. The finish line announcer, whose name is Mike Reilly, got on the loud speaker to tell everyone who was there that the last runner had one mile left to go and would have to run it in 15 mins. or she wouldn't make it. He said there was a spotter with her who was trying to keep her moving so she could realize her goal. The crowd rallied behind this unknown runner and even though she could not hear us yet the cheers started. Literally everyone there wanted this person to make it in the worst way. With 7:30 secs left Mike got back on the loud speaker to tell us that he had just talked to the spotter to tell him he needed to keep her moving there wasn't much time left and he repeated that the spotter told him he only needed five minutes and he could get her there. Well the reality was that he needed a little more than five minutes but with only 4 secs to spare this woman crossed the line realizing her dream in front of hundreds of wildly cheering people. Call me crazy but that feat, and the crowd support, overshadowed (by a long shot) anything I accomplished that day and I will carry it with me for a long time to come. Congrats unknown lady who accomplished with only 4 secs to spare what most people can't even dream of accomplishing....you rock.
Thats all for now.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Weekend Recap
This weekend was one of those unbelievable Northeast, Ohio weekends. If you don't know what I mean, it was one of those weekends made up of days when everyone always proclaims that if "I could just have weather like this all the time I would give up the seasons". It was beautiful!! Sunny - lots of blue sky, not to hot, not to humid with nights where you open the windows and even the toughest insomniacs sleep like babies.
Anyways, I had a great weekend starting with dinner with family and friends at a new restaurant on Friday night called The Blue Fig. It was really nice and it had Great Lakes beer on tap so you couldn't go wrong.
Saturday, started out with a great ride with Tim, John and my son Jerry. Hard to have a bad ride with great weather like this. Next up was a photo shoot for a magazine article that is being done on the company I work for. I am not very comfortable with that type of thing but my friend and marketing guru CB, who billed it as the fun stuff, made it happen anyways. The rest of the day Sat. was spent running errands and grilling out. Perfect day
Sunday and Monday (labor day) were nearly identical days which started with really hard rides in the morning and finished with relaxing, picnicking, grilling out, playing cornhole and enjoying a few cold beers with family and friends. Could not ask for better times.
On a sad note a friend, who I ride with sometimes, died on Saturday of a heart attack. He was just finishing up a ride and he went down and was never revived. Darryl you will be missed and I will never forget how you could pound that big gear up Everett Road.
Up next, I will be participating in Ironman Wisconsin next weekend. I feel like I am really ready for this and it should be a great time. I wish I would have started this earlier so I could have a record of my progress. Oh well, spilled milk!!!
Anyways, I had a great weekend starting with dinner with family and friends at a new restaurant on Friday night called The Blue Fig. It was really nice and it had Great Lakes beer on tap so you couldn't go wrong.
Saturday, started out with a great ride with Tim, John and my son Jerry. Hard to have a bad ride with great weather like this. Next up was a photo shoot for a magazine article that is being done on the company I work for. I am not very comfortable with that type of thing but my friend and marketing guru CB, who billed it as the fun stuff, made it happen anyways. The rest of the day Sat. was spent running errands and grilling out. Perfect day
Sunday and Monday (labor day) were nearly identical days which started with really hard rides in the morning and finished with relaxing, picnicking, grilling out, playing cornhole and enjoying a few cold beers with family and friends. Could not ask for better times.
On a sad note a friend, who I ride with sometimes, died on Saturday of a heart attack. He was just finishing up a ride and he went down and was never revived. Darryl you will be missed and I will never forget how you could pound that big gear up Everett Road.
Up next, I will be participating in Ironman Wisconsin next weekend. I feel like I am really ready for this and it should be a great time. I wish I would have started this earlier so I could have a record of my progress. Oh well, spilled milk!!!
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Cleveland Breast Cancer Three Day Walk
I have been waiting for something really interesting to use as my first post and it has finally happened. This past weekend I had a life changing event.
Everything that happened this weekend was because my wife, Sue, and daughter Kate had formed a team and were participating in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Three Day walk for a cure. As they have both offered countless hours of support for me on my endeavors it was only natural that I would support them on this important journey. I was unable to be there at the start of the first day, which was Friday August 22nd but arrived on the course around 2:30pm and picked a spot to wait for them to come through. While I was standing there, poster in hand, I realized first that there was not a ton of people there cheering and second that the walkers looked liked they could use some support. As I have been in that position in the late miles of several marathons and triathlons I started cheering for everyone. It started out kind of mild but as I tend to be somewhat intense, things started to quickly pickup and the cheering got louder and louder and the people seemed to really appreciate it. When my wife and her team passed by I cheered them on and decided to hop in my car and drive to the finish line and welcome as many of the walkers as I could home. As I was doing this some of the walkers began to recognize me from earlier and offered their thanks for my support and I really felt like there was a general appreciation for my cheering and that it was really helping.
As my daughter had struggled with dehydration and ended up in the med tent the first day I decided to be there at the starting line on Saturday morning to make sure she was OK and that everyone on Sue's team had there feet all bandaged up properly as blisters and hot spots had also been an issue for everyone on day one. Having made sure everyone was ready to go I ran to the starting line for the start and as the walkers came through I offered my encouragement and cheered them on to the course. I was really surprised how many people remembered me from the day before and I heard a lot of "oh my gosh he's back again" comments. That is when I realized that my mission for the 3 day was to make sure that I was there to keep people going with frequent interaction and lots of encouragement. So I hopped in my car and followed the course until I was ahead of the majority of the walkers and parked, sat on top of my car and resumed cheering. I repeated this throughout the day and every time I changed locations I tried to think of something new to say so people wouldn't get tired of hearing me scream the same thing every time they saw me. Around midday people started to figure out that I wasn't going to go away and they started to ask my name, take pictures of me with them and without, hug me, kiss me, tell me they loved me and I even received one marriage proposal. It was incredible to say the least. I also later found out that at the lunch stop people started talking about me and there was some discussion about who was the guy in the Hawaiian shirt and why was I there. So I now really began to think that I was making a difference in the lives of these people I considered heroes.
I also found out from Kate, who again had dehydration problems and rode the "sweeper van" to the finish line, that when she was waiting for everyone on the team to finish she went to a big tent where the organizers had started a bingo game. During the game the organizers asked what was the most memorable moment of the day and the only person who offered anything up said "there is some guy in a Hawaiian shirt who keeps popping up out of no where and cheering like crazy for us". She told me a two or three minute discussion followed where everyone agreed that it really made a difference and who was it etc...She realized they were talking about me and she told me she was really proud of me!!! Most memorable moment of a group of heroes and your daughter is proud of you...it doesn't get any better than that.
On day three it was the same thing. Although my voice was just about shot at this point I was right back in place at the start as the walkers hit the street to wrap up their three day 60 mile journey. At this point my wife and her team with the exception of Kate, my daughter who finally succumbed to dehydration and Achilles issues at the end of day two, was intact and ready to finish. Later, around mile 50, Sue would succumb to an incredibly sore and swollen ankle but the pride I felt for both her and Kate for taking on this task of raising awareness and money in the fight to cure breast cancer was unmatched by anything I can think of. The walking is the least important part of this journey and I think they did exceptional. As for everyone else who walked some finished and some didn't but they were all heroes that should be commended for a job well done. As for me, my day three continued much like day two. With little to no voice I continued to do my best to encourage people, thank them and generally try to pull them out of the dumps when they were feeling bad. In return people started to thank me by name the hugs and kisses continued and I received many gifts of cough drops (much needed), candy, pins, beads, bracelets, necklaces and leis. I also received some cheers back from the people who were walking in thanks for my cheering for them. I can tell you nothing gives you goose bumps faster than a big group of people walking past you chanting your name. It was incredible.
I know this first post is a long one and I will wrap it up now. It short my experience this weekend was incredible. I am inspired beyond anything I could communicate by people working together to wipe out a disease that has affected so many of us. I saw things this weekend that I will never forget including a lady who walked all of day three with a pair of red buckeye slippers that looked like they were taped to her feet and a girl who apparently broke her foot who did the walk in a wheelchair pushed by what was probably friend or family, people wrapped, taped, limping and generally exhausted but pushing on to make it happen. I saw people of all shapes and sizes, races, sexes, fitness levels and walks of life working together to insure our future is better. It was something I will never forget as long as I live.
I can not wait for next year. The guy in the Hawaiian shirt will be back doing everything possible to help people get through the low points of their 60 mile journey
Everything that happened this weekend was because my wife, Sue, and daughter Kate had formed a team and were participating in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Three Day walk for a cure. As they have both offered countless hours of support for me on my endeavors it was only natural that I would support them on this important journey. I was unable to be there at the start of the first day, which was Friday August 22nd but arrived on the course around 2:30pm and picked a spot to wait for them to come through. While I was standing there, poster in hand, I realized first that there was not a ton of people there cheering and second that the walkers looked liked they could use some support. As I have been in that position in the late miles of several marathons and triathlons I started cheering for everyone. It started out kind of mild but as I tend to be somewhat intense, things started to quickly pickup and the cheering got louder and louder and the people seemed to really appreciate it. When my wife and her team passed by I cheered them on and decided to hop in my car and drive to the finish line and welcome as many of the walkers as I could home. As I was doing this some of the walkers began to recognize me from earlier and offered their thanks for my support and I really felt like there was a general appreciation for my cheering and that it was really helping.
As my daughter had struggled with dehydration and ended up in the med tent the first day I decided to be there at the starting line on Saturday morning to make sure she was OK and that everyone on Sue's team had there feet all bandaged up properly as blisters and hot spots had also been an issue for everyone on day one. Having made sure everyone was ready to go I ran to the starting line for the start and as the walkers came through I offered my encouragement and cheered them on to the course. I was really surprised how many people remembered me from the day before and I heard a lot of "oh my gosh he's back again" comments. That is when I realized that my mission for the 3 day was to make sure that I was there to keep people going with frequent interaction and lots of encouragement. So I hopped in my car and followed the course until I was ahead of the majority of the walkers and parked, sat on top of my car and resumed cheering. I repeated this throughout the day and every time I changed locations I tried to think of something new to say so people wouldn't get tired of hearing me scream the same thing every time they saw me. Around midday people started to figure out that I wasn't going to go away and they started to ask my name, take pictures of me with them and without, hug me, kiss me, tell me they loved me and I even received one marriage proposal. It was incredible to say the least. I also later found out that at the lunch stop people started talking about me and there was some discussion about who was the guy in the Hawaiian shirt and why was I there. So I now really began to think that I was making a difference in the lives of these people I considered heroes.
I also found out from Kate, who again had dehydration problems and rode the "sweeper van" to the finish line, that when she was waiting for everyone on the team to finish she went to a big tent where the organizers had started a bingo game. During the game the organizers asked what was the most memorable moment of the day and the only person who offered anything up said "there is some guy in a Hawaiian shirt who keeps popping up out of no where and cheering like crazy for us". She told me a two or three minute discussion followed where everyone agreed that it really made a difference and who was it etc...She realized they were talking about me and she told me she was really proud of me!!! Most memorable moment of a group of heroes and your daughter is proud of you...it doesn't get any better than that.
On day three it was the same thing. Although my voice was just about shot at this point I was right back in place at the start as the walkers hit the street to wrap up their three day 60 mile journey. At this point my wife and her team with the exception of Kate, my daughter who finally succumbed to dehydration and Achilles issues at the end of day two, was intact and ready to finish. Later, around mile 50, Sue would succumb to an incredibly sore and swollen ankle but the pride I felt for both her and Kate for taking on this task of raising awareness and money in the fight to cure breast cancer was unmatched by anything I can think of. The walking is the least important part of this journey and I think they did exceptional. As for everyone else who walked some finished and some didn't but they were all heroes that should be commended for a job well done. As for me, my day three continued much like day two. With little to no voice I continued to do my best to encourage people, thank them and generally try to pull them out of the dumps when they were feeling bad. In return people started to thank me by name the hugs and kisses continued and I received many gifts of cough drops (much needed), candy, pins, beads, bracelets, necklaces and leis. I also received some cheers back from the people who were walking in thanks for my cheering for them. I can tell you nothing gives you goose bumps faster than a big group of people walking past you chanting your name. It was incredible.
I know this first post is a long one and I will wrap it up now. It short my experience this weekend was incredible. I am inspired beyond anything I could communicate by people working together to wipe out a disease that has affected so many of us. I saw things this weekend that I will never forget including a lady who walked all of day three with a pair of red buckeye slippers that looked like they were taped to her feet and a girl who apparently broke her foot who did the walk in a wheelchair pushed by what was probably friend or family, people wrapped, taped, limping and generally exhausted but pushing on to make it happen. I saw people of all shapes and sizes, races, sexes, fitness levels and walks of life working together to insure our future is better. It was something I will never forget as long as I live.
I can not wait for next year. The guy in the Hawaiian shirt will be back doing everything possible to help people get through the low points of their 60 mile journey
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