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CHEERS!

IT HAS COME TO THIS

After ten years of blogging about running the marathon I have decided it's time to close up shop. It has been an excellent ride, mostly...and has taken me to many places I would not have visited had I not been a runner. It has introduced me to too many people to list here, that I will never forget. Honestly, those relationships are the main reason I've been reticent to end this. It's going to be hard to hear your tales of running adventure without itching to have a few of my own...and I will surely be envious of your challenges... and how you victoriously brush them aside. I have been trying to rekindle the desire I felt during my 12 in 12 but, while there have been momentary spurts, they disappointingly sputter and fizzle out. I used to get up in the early, cold mornings and look outside my kitchen window and immediately jump into my running gear and hit the road for a couple of hours. Now I just ache for a second cup of coffee and to stay inside in the warm. I am not going to stop running...but I am going to run far less, and more for just fun. I am going to run two more marathons this year, Belfast, because it's Belfast, and Bellingham Bay, because dear friends have offered to put my bride and me up there for our visit, and take us out on their boat, for a little salmon fishing. I think there may be some beer or wine involved as well, but that is just a working theory at this time. I am going to get on my bike more, and do some more long distance touring. Six of the best days of my life were in 2000 when I rode the C2C bike route across the top of England by myself. A few years later I tried to ride from Lands End in England to John O'Groats in Scotland, and couldn't finish due to carpal tunnel syndrome. I am hoping to return and finish that off. I may also try traveling withOUT any sort of athletic challenge. Just travel. Nuts, right? My sense is that I will have little to write about on this space, that would be of interest to those of you still living the marathon dream, so I am bringing the curtain down on the 12 in 12 blog. I will pull the plug on February 1st. I may, however, pop up again, with a different focus. If and when that happens, I'll post the new spot on my Facebook page. Until...whenever...I wish you well. Run smart, run slow, run safe.

PDX EXPERIMENT REWIND

It's almost universally accepted in the world of marathon running that you don't do anything on race day that you haven't tried before. It's reportedly not the time to break in new running shoes, or try a new pre-run breakfast/snack, or even a new pace or stride. I decided to blow that off a month ago when I ran my third Portland Marathon (Oregon)...and my 33rd overall...with interesting results. I have been a Jeff Galloway run/walk/run guy since day one of my distance running "career". For most of the past decade I done a 3:1 ratio...three minutes running, one minute walking. I have tried others, including 10:1s, 5:1s, blah, blah, blah. I know from watching him do it, Jeff frequently does 1:1s...and still finishes sub-5 hours. However, even though I've used his method for years, I still had trouble getting my head around his assertion that if I ran less and walked more I could still be faster. For PDX this time around I decided to test it out. After hearing Jeff speak at the expo I adjusted the intervals on my watch to 2:1. I really had nothing to lose. I also decided to leave my energy gels behind, in favor of Life Savers...and to NOT drink the sports drinks offered up along the route. This, after Jeff explained to a woman how neither of those things do ANYTHING to restore energy during the marathon. Using the fact the body virtually ceases to absorb new fuel during strenuous activities like, say, women in labor, or anyone running 26.2 miles. His research has found that the brain is what needs sugar during a marathon, or it begins to shut down. Thus, the Life Savers (Jeff uses them or just plain sugar). Apparently, all those energy gels and drinks just stack up in the stomach during the race, and aren't processed until the runner's done. No wonder we feel nauseous in the latter parts of the mary. This, I believe, also gives credence to my long-running tradition of eating an English Mars bar at every mile 17. It's just sugar! So...Race Day. It was a gorgeous October morning in Portlandia...although a little warmer at 6:30 than had been predicted. 56 instead of 44. This was indicative of what was to come, but more on that later. The 2:1 ratio felt good, as one might expect. It allowed for more rest, and less energy expenditure. I quickly discovered that I was keeping very close to my standard pace, despite running less. I also don't run up hills anymore...I walk them all...to save energy that I'll need later. I did not remember PDX being as hilly as it is...even though I'd run it twice before. However, the overall pace felt great. Taking just water along the course instead of energy drinks felt good, too. At Mile 17, where the big climb to the St. John's Bridge takes place, I was actually on track for a my possible second-ever sub-5. But it quickly became obvious that that would not be happening. Remember the early morning temperature being warmer than predicted? Well...that translated into the afternoon temp being higher, too. The predicted high was supposed to be in the low- to mid-70s. It was well into the 80s...and from Mile 18 the course rolls through tree-line residential streets...but none of their shade was on the road. So, it was 8 miles of into-the-sun run/walking...and not very much fun. I will admit that I was a bit bummed thinking about what my finishing time was likely to be as I slowed way down to manage the heat. But...turns out, not so bad. I finished (according to my Garmin) in 5:40. I had been realistically been hoping to do 5:30...so...considering my change in run/walk ratio, and my walking of all uphills, and NOT taking any food during the race...I nailed this bad boy. I know all you die-hards will have a tough time with some of this stuff, but I have now adopted it as the Gospel According to Jeff. The Belfast Marathon in Northern Ireland is currently my next scheduled event...next May. I am looking for something sooner, though. Stay tuned. I plan on being here on the blog more often. Gotta run!

THE SIXTIES

Firstly, I will just say. The closest I got to being killed by a driver during my 38 mile bike ride Sunday was in the last two miles. Stop me if you've heard this before. Prius driver, on the cellphone, rolling through the crosswalk (I was on a bike path, otherwise I would have been on the road), turning left. I glared..and escaped! The ride was amazing. It was during one of the hottest days we've had in the Bay Area this year. Met another cyclist later in the day who said it was 101 at Olema at 11am. That's near the Pt. Reyes National Seashore...and, while I question her number, I will say it WAS darned hot. I had to do something substantial to keep my training going for Portland Marathon in October. I had just kicked off the training program at the first of the month and was doing well when I got scheduled to work 7 3am-11am shifts fashioning the news for the radio listening public. At that end of those shifts I am nothing short of a zombie, so training took a holiday for a week. However, the dreaming and the planning did not. Ten years after I began running marathons and after taking about two years off since I ran 12 in 12 months, I am looking to make my own mark again in my 60s. Thus, the blog name change. I have convinced my stepson to join me for Portland. Now I just have to get him to start training again. He's young. He beat me by an hour when we ran Dublin in 2008. You know what they say about youth! Portland will my 33rd, and my third running of that race. Now I have signed up for the Belfast City Marathon in Northern Ireland in May 2013. When the lad and I went to Ireland we spent three short days in Belfast. He fell for a Swedish girl he met in the lobby of the hostel...I fell for Belfast. I need to go back. In preparation for that, I am now considering doing California International Marathon (CIM) this December, for the third time. I set my PR there in December 2008 (4:56)and I want to see if I can better that. Stay tuned. Speaking of CIM. The second time I ran that race, and set my only sub-5 record, I had a strange, but enlightening experience, beginning at mile 17. I experienced a migraine aura and for a moment or two thought my race might be over. Looked in my fanny pack for my meds, which I had forgotten to pack. Then I remembered having heard that migraines are caused by blood flow being temporarily restricted to the brain...and I wondered what would happen if, instead of quitting, I stepped up my pace to get my heart to beat harder. I did, it did, and I set a PR, after the migraine aura vanished in about 10 minutes. Well, a similar thing happened yesterday. Felt fine until I got off the bike for a break in Sausalito, and almost immediately the aura appeared. Again, no meds in the bag, so I decided to step up the pace on the bike. About 10 minutes later, the aura cleared. FYI. BTW. I am not a doctor and do not play one the radio. I'm just saying. Two other things from the ride. First, I discovered as I climbed two big hills that I have not enjoyed in the past that I kicked their butts. I got to the top of both and realized they were easier than they were the many times I've ridden them before. No explanation at this time. Second...remember to put your smart phone back INSIDE your rackbag BEFORE heading down a 35 mile an hour hill. It broke open, but still works. Phew! PS- This is the first time I've used blogger since it did some sort of change thing. I have no idea why it won't separate paragraphs.

TRAINING....

...begins...TODAY!

ROCKIN AND ROLLIN IN NOLA TOWN