Into Week 3

Running in different climates this week, that's for sure.  My run in Mesa, Arizona was very memorable indeed.  Especially when compared to my run in Bellingham on Sunday.  13 miles with 8 miles at marathon pace.  Since we planned on celebrating Christmas around noon when Erin arrived, I got up and out in the morning.  Pretty weird running at 8am on Christmas Day with hardly anybody out.
Of course the weather was wacky all day.  I managed to avoid the rain but the wind was pretty crazy gusting to around 30 or 40 mph.  It's pretty hard to hold a consistent pace when battling a breeze like that.  If it's like that on race day all bets are off.  It was a nice run though and it only sprinkled a little bit around mile 11 or so and then stopped.
On Monday it was off to Denver (Castle Rock, Colorado to be exact) to see Diane's family.  Yesterday's 10 mile run was interesting on several accounts. Although it warmed up as the sun rose, it was pretty chilly when i started. They've had snow here and I ran 1 mile on the trail before giving up and heading back to the pavement.  Running at 6,300 feet elevation has its challenges as well although today's 5 miler felt much, much better so maybe I'm becoming acclimated.  We'll see how tomorrows run unfolds.  It's 8 miles with 4 of them at 15k pace.  7:30 is what i'm shooting for.  And then we'll see how the elevation training pays off on Sunday when I run a 14 miler back at sea level.
UPDATE
This morning's run in Ft. Collins was a good one but the elevation kicked my behind. Trying to run those 4 miles at 7:30 pace was pretty futile. My heart rate was in the 85% to 92% range the whole time so I was working hard, but my pace was not where I wanted it to be. Tomorrow a 4 mile recovery run and Saturday is a rest and travel day and then on into a new year and new adventures.

So, running in the park with no shoes and no shirt on dry grass, running along the harbor trying not to get blown over and hoping to avoid the rain, and running through the snow and trying not to slip on the ice at 6,300 feet elevation all in the space of a week. All in a week's work they say and it surely makes life intersting indeed.

This is the Winter Solstice?

After taking a day off, so I could drive my parents to Arizona, I got in my scheduled 8 mile run with 10 x 100 meter strides thrown in.  Running in the sunshine with a short sleeved shirt and shorts which my daughters would say are too short, it was nice to be in comfortable weather again. After running around the retirement trailer park a couple of laps to get the colon rolling, I was off on the streets of Mesa to a park where I was able to run  my strides.  Two days before the winter solstice, running in shorts with no shoes and no shirt on the grass was quite something indeed.  Something that I could get used to I might add.  A big thankyou to the Volkswagen "Rocket Man" ad for rekindling my love of Elton John and inspiring me to download one of his "Greatest Hits" albums off of itunes. I ran the whole 2 hours (or whatever it was) listening to his greatest hits on the ipod.  Such classics like "Tiny Dancer," Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," "Levon," and the current one ringing in my head, "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" was mighty fine.  I finished feeling quite good and ready for 45 minutes or so in the outdoor pool and hot tub.  Not a bad way to spend a Tuesday on December 20th.

The first week's under my belt

Well, the first week is in the books, kind of.
My tempo run on Monday was hard.  My legs had not recovered from the weekend's XC race. (I was afraid that they wouldn't have.)  I ran the 8 miles and did the 4 mile lactate-threshold.  I was able to hit the heart rate level, but my pace was quite a bit off.  No biggy though.  It was a challenging run and it's nice to be rolling along.  Heading out the driveway at 7:00 am with a big moon, 26 frosty degrees and Steely Dan's Aja playing on the shuffle, Boston training is underway.
My schedule this week is pretty modified due to leaving on Saturday for Kansas City and the next 2 weeks will have to be modified as well due to driving my parents to Arizona and then leaving for Denver the day after Christmas.  But it will all come out in the wash.
Wednesday's run was pretty unusual.  I didn't sleep well at all that night and when Diane's alarm went of at 4:45 I was already awake, so at 5:10 in the morning I left with my headlight on and ran 9 miles through Whatcom Falls Park and surrounding areas.  Running on the beach at Bloedel I scared up a lot of Canadian Geese.  They were definitely not ready for a lunatic running by at that early hour in the dark.
Friday, school got out at 1:15 and I was off to the Interurban Trail for 12 miles as my "long run." Slow down to Larrabee State Park and then I managed to pick it up on the way back.  One of those runs where you start not really feeling into it and then, by the time you're done, it seems like the best run you've ever had.  How many of those have we all had?
Now it's on Southwest flight 1732 to KC and leaving for Arizona in the morning.  But the biggest news of the year is that my dad was told yesterday that, as of now, he is Cancer free.   Now that's something worth celebrating indeed.
Fundraising is going well and I'm inching towards that $3,000 level with money coming in just about every day for the last week or so.
I'm curious where and when my next run will be.
Stay tuned.

update

Well, as it turned out, it didn't take long to get the next run in and it actually completed the Week 1 runs.  I had figured that I would need to skip my "recovery run of 4 miles" which wouldn't have mattered too much.  However our drive from Kansas City to Arizona took a twist when I noticed that there was a blizzard warning for Monday in Southwest Kansas, Northwest Texas, and North East New Mexico.  All areas we were schedueld to drive through on Monday. YIKES!  I was able to talk my parents into leaving on Saturday night and I drove to Wichita, Kansas where we arrived at 12:30 am.  5 and a half hours of sleep later, I was up at 6 am and ready to run in the dark.  Fortunately there was a shopping mall across the street from the hotel and so 2 and a half laps later, I had my 4 miles in.  33 miles in the first week tucked away nicely.

My Dad Says What the Fundraising Means to Him.

This short 2 minute video will introduce you to my dad and give him a chance to tell you what all of this hullabaloo centered around him means.

Boston Training, get set, go

So, having finished a wonderful Cross Country "season" where they let me run with the fast guys, it's time to start training for Boston. Saturday's Cross Country Club National Event was fantastic. It was a treat to have it held in Seattle this year and an absolute honor to be able to run with so many fast runners. There were teams from all over the United States including: Boulder, Atlanta, several from Boston, several from New York, Seattle, and lots of other places. There were 356 runners in my race including a team of men over 80.  Talk about inspirational! I ran hard, did my best, had a great time, and didn't get hurt. My 4 goals - check, check, check, and check.

Now it's time to break out the new shoes, hit the pavement for an 8 mile run which will include 4 miles at 15k pace (7:25). The just passed full moon is out, it's 26 degrees, and it's nice to actually start the training plan.  

Fundraising is going great as I'm now over $2,500 and plans for the wine tasting party are coming into focus thanks to dear friends.

Time for a run!

Headlamp running

It's that time of the year again.   Running with a headlamp on the trail is so unique.  You can only see as far as the light beam ahead and around you.  Everything else is in its own world of blackness.  If you're also listening to music, as I was tonight on a 4 mile run on the Railroad Trail, the world outside of your bubble is a parallell universe indeed. The moon and stars were out, and even though it was only 6:30 when I started, it could have been 3am.  As I was running up the trail, a light gained on me.  I figured it was someone on a bike and watched as the light grew brighter and brighter, overtaking and dwarfing my own.
But it got REALLY bright, I mean we're talking car headlamp bright.  Turns out it was a pack of 7 mountain bikers zooming past, with the combined magnitude of 7 strong lights, then 3 or 4 slower ones came by in their own pack.  About 200 yards ahead they stopped to regroup and wait for more riders.  How refreshing to see responsible trail users as they left me enough room to run in between their gauntlet of bikes on both sides of the trails.
People piss and moan about how dark it is in the winter around here, and it does get old.  But all you gotta do is turn on your light and get out and enjoy the parallell universe waiting outside.  And it sure beats running on the treadmill. Just sayin'.....

Boston Bound

It's looking semi-official

Catching UP

And now it is time to play catch up after getting busy and not having time to update the blog.  A great running experience in West Seattle on Saturday for the Pacific Northwest Regionals XC meet in Lincoln Park. It's pretty obvious how out of my league I am on this based on how hard I ran and how slow my time was compared to every one else.  Good thing that I really don't care and REALLY good thing that we had enough runners not to make me a scoring member.  Those are good things, because it is so much dang fun to put the spikes on and run through the grass, trails, mud, and goo and leave it all out on the course.

This Thanksgiving finds me in Harrisonville, Missouri where I was able to enjoy an incredible dinner with my parents, my sister, Cindi, her husband Don, and their two lovely daughters, Elizabeth, and Natalie, along with their husbands, Colton and Vince. A huge thank you to everyone, but especially Elizabeth who cooked up a dinner worthy of international acclaim.  WOW, WOW, and WOW!

It was with a heavy stomach I ran an easy 6 miles through town on Friday morning.  This is my 4th visit this year to Harrisonville and I've managed to find some pretty decent running routes.  It's been kind of neat to run them in the different seasons - this being the first winter run.  I ran past the outdoor swimming pool in the Spring when they were filling it up, in the summer when it was open, in the fall after it was drained, and today - definitely not a good day for taking a dip. It really wasn't too bad but the wind was a little chilly. Even though my head and stomach were lethargic, my legs seemed to know what to do and I could have kept going for a while.  I'm thinking I must be in half decent shape.

After running I was able to take a drive with my dad out to the golf course where he has worked for the last 19 years and see the bench that they've built and dedicated to him for his years of hard service. This was really a great moment for me.

The afternoon was spent with a meal of leftovers and naps all around.  Now, THAT is what its all about.

Rain by the sheet

Yesterday was a wonderful 4 mile run on the Railroad Trail and through Whatcom Falls Park.  Pretty much incredible views of the sun setting over the islands as I crossed over the Alabama St. Bridge.
Today the weather turned and since I'm running in the Cross Country meet in Seattle on Saturday, I hadn't planned on running today anyways.  Instead I went to the Y and did some core exercises as well as 4000 meters of rowing on the erg. Probably an easy couple of miles tomorrow will do nicely.
Tonight I took Anders, the dog, out for a walk at 9:00 in what turned out to be a pouring rain, it was so windy and wet it was funny.  The rain was coming down in sheets. Definitely a memorable walk holding down my hood with one hand and hanging on to the leash with the other. And guess what? We didn't see another soul out and about.
Also, Cami Ostman has linked my story to her wonderful blog.

http://www.7marathons7continents.com/

A nice way to end the day.

Running in gold

What a wonderful 2 and a half hour run on Galbraith yesterday.  Leaves, leaves, and more leaves to go along with the mud.  The view from the Ridge trail over Bellingham was like looking at a carpet of gold.  I can't remember a prettier autumn than this one as far as pretty leaves go. I ran up Miranda to Ridge and then Family Fun Center, over to Candy and then around to Oly, Keystone, Naughty Nelly and Wonderland up to the towers and then down Evolution and around to Kung Fu, Upper and Lower Arsenio, Lower Intestine, and Cedar Dust before coming back in on the Ridge Trail and Miranda.  A delightful run as a warm up for coming  home and raking leaves.
On the fundraising front, between online donations and checks to be deposited, I've crossed the $1,000 line which is very nice. Thank you to all who have contributed. Still a long way to go though.

Starting to get antsy about training

Running every other day has given me some quality runs on fresh legs.  I'm still undecided about which training plan to follow for this Boston event. I'm tempted by Brad Hudson's Masters Plan but a little nervous about the fact that it's only three days a week of running.  Even though those three days are tough ones and marathon specific, it just doesn't seem like enough. I'm also considering one of the plans by Pete Pfitzinger and there's always the Hal Higdon plan that has been my mainstay for these past years. After racing on Sunday I wasn't sure what my legs would be like last night, but after loosening up, they were frisky for the 4.5 miles and extra hills thown in.  Tonight I went to the Y and erged it (rowing machine) and also did some core exercises.  It seems like it's time to get down to business even though Boston is still over the horizon.  Looking forward to another quality run tomorrow.

Running XC

A busy and active weekend in Seattle.  Yesterday was the inaugural regatta for the Whatcom Rowing Association.  We rowed 4 boats in the Frostbite Regatta at Greenlake.  I rowed in the Master's Mens 4 where we finished 4th out of 4 but barely.  This was the initial race for our association and it was great to be part of it on an absolutely beautiful day.  The other race I rowed in was the mixed 8 (4 men and 4 women)  we also finished last but had a duel going with another boat the whole race.  A great day. And to think that 90% of us had not rowed before this past June.
Today I ran with the Greater Bellingham Running Club (GBRC) in a 6k XC race in Seattle at Woodland Park, right next to Greenlake.  I finished last on my team as I knew I would but it was a lot of fun as well. A challenging race, especially when starting out too fast.
While in Seattle last night I saw the movie, 50/50.  It was very funny in places and sad in others.  I'd recommend it as I think it gives a good sense of the complexities of getting a tough cancer diagnosis and then going through the rituals and procedures.  Seth Rogan keeps it light.

Photos by Dick McClenahan
The money is starting to roll in from my donation requests and I am touched by the people who have contributed.  Thank you all.

It all starts with the first step

Just like running a long race, this fundraising process starts with the first step.  A huge thank you to Chris and Sandra who are the first contributors. The ball is now rolling.  It's quite scary asking friends for money and it makes me squeamish.  The other side of the coin is that after months of feeling like there's not much i can do for my dad, now it feels like I've set a process in motion that might make a difference.

On the running front, tonight, after my teeth cleaning appointment I ran 4 or so miles on the Interurban from the vet hospital up to Chuckanut Crest Drive.  The view of the bay had that amazing after sunset glow to it and my run back was in that magical time between being able to see and not really.  The fallen leaves on the trail added a wonderful dimension to the experience. It was a sweet time.

I've cast my fate to the wind (or at least the USPS)

Multiple hours spent printing, signing, cutting, addressing, stamping and licking envelopes and now they are in the hands of the USPS. It's like throwing out a fishing net and waiting to see what comes back in. It reminds me of the scene in the movie, It's a Wonderful Life, when they have two dollars left after the run on the bank.  "Momma dollar and Poppa dollar, may they prosper and have lots of baby dollars." (or at least something close to that)
It's a relief to have the initial big push done.  Now we'll just have to see what comes of it.

2 more revisions and now it's done

Ok, the letter is finished.  I was hoping to email it to Copies Now but they are closed today. I've started addressing envelopes and need to finish up my webpage and get this blog looking a little more like I want it to.
On the running front, my back issues are slowly fading away.  Today I did a "long run" of 8.5 miles in a steady rain.  After not running for a week after my back decided to lock up it felt really good to run on some uneven terrain and to open it up and run fairly hard.

Letter Finished

I've finished the letter and now it's time to print it out, print cards, and start addressing envelopes as well as work on the web page. The letter has taken 4 revisions but I finally think I'm happy with it.  We shall see.

Writing the letter

Working on the rough draft of the main fundraising letter tonight.  I didn't expect it to be such an emotional experience but it sure was. $8,000 seems like so much money (and it is.)  I guess it's similar to starting a 26.2 mile run in that it can seem pretty intimidating until you get started. This is definitely not within my comfort zone but I know it will work out somehow.