CrossRoads Blog

Halloween is suppose to be ‘Spooky’ and ‘Kooky’ - and this year fit the bill. Only from a little different slant than is typical I guess. The kooky part was running down a dirt trail at 5:15 a.m. in the cold morning with a headlamp on your head to meet your wife in an hour so you both can do another 12 miles in addition to the 9 it will take to get to her. I think there are some that may say that’s a kooky way to start a Saturday Halloween morning?

By midday we were still scrambling around trying to find us a costume for an event we had later in the day. Seeing a 21 mile run in the morning was not enough, we had signed up for a 5K run at the new City North at City Center (a new local retail and urban living development) called “Freaky 5K“. While it was not a requirement to run in costume - how could you not? I was hoping to be a Sheik and Kimberly a Belly Dancer type that matched (kind of). Sadly there was nothing even close to a costume like that and we went to many place. Seeing nothing else was appealing we decided Kimberly would still go as a Belly Dancer (I know a stretch right? But she would have an awesome costume!) and I found one that while would not be as easy to run in as a Sheik gown, would be very funny to look at. It was essentially an ostrich that made it look like you were riding them when wearing. It even had a little motor to poof out the tail and rest of the bird. Very funny stuff - I therefore looking like I was cheating on the run as I was riding an ostrich.

Let’s just say it is not too easy running in a blow up bird. Though the looks I was getting from the 2-6 year olds was worth the price of admission. We both had a real good run and time too considering the costumes and the length of the morning run. But having already been a nonstop day we were well ready to do some chillin’ and hanging with friends and family at Kerry and Mike’s get together in Anthem.

Sis and Brother in law do like we always do for the spook night - they setup shop (food drinks, chairs, fire pit, the whole nine yards) out in the driveway and hang with the friends while the little trick or treaters swing by for the high fructose buzz in a wrapper stuff. It’s a great way to meet (or see) the neighbors and a perfect reason to partake of good food and drink. Speaking of which, Mike had some good chili made up and I brought some too. Along with some other way good food goodies from everyone, I think I ate and drank back the 24 miles worth of calorie burn :-).

It was also great to see Mike and Joleen and their furry one again. Heather was there and in great spirits (little credit for working the ’spirits’ into the blog?) - she looks amazing and is doing so good on the path toward her first Marathon!! We are thrilled for her. Louie was hanging looking good, the fire was cranking, the chili was spicy and my ‘Reese’s peanut butter cocktail drinks went over pretty good (though not exactly what I had hoped for from a taste perspective). All in all a great night, that finally ended about 20 hours after it started.

Oh yeah, the “Spooky” part of the day I alluded to….. I give you:

There is something inherently cool about this town. It’s low down and funky but with a laid back sophistication. Kind of a California old hippie vibe but with an Arizona desert town tough slant. It’s just hard to describe - but what is easy is to say how much we dig this place. I’ll say it again, if you have not been to Bisbee, go, simple as that.

I had even a little more excitement in anticipation of this year’s Bisbee 1000 Stair Climb. We had such a riot last year, the whole trip was perfect (Blogged about it HERE), with the exception of the race. The race is self was great, in fact it quickly became my favorite, but the rub was I was still feeling the effects of the ankle jack and was not real happy with the effort I was able to put forth. This year I was all heeled up and ready to hit a goal of a ‘first page finish’ (top 100, last year I was 122 or something like that).

We again stayed at the Gym Suites. A perfect place really for folks like us who enjoy cooking their own meals, okay.. and are a little picky about what they eat. The place had a great bedroom, a living room, dining, full kitchen, and a balcony overlooking town all for about half the cost of what we pay at a typical Marriott. The place is like an apartment really, must be close to 1200 sq ft. A perfect choice for someone who wants to spend a week in Bisbee.

The whole weekend was again exactly the perfect vibe you hope for - chilled, easy going, great people, great food, interesting characters, and one heck of a challenging 45 minutes or so. We did the typical town walkabout pretty much the whole time we were there and not sleeping. Unlike a lot of places the antique shops here really have antiques - or at least unique old crap sold at a decent price . In fact along those lines, after 10 years of looking Kimberly found an old ‘Lucy Table’ and chairs that fit perfectly in the Red Kitchen motif. The art and artists of this town are also enjoyable. Very talented folks that I think just love the area so they do their thing and sell it at reasonable prices. I love supporting local artists and when you can buy a cool piece of handmade clay for less than a case of soda you gotta’ love it. I also much appreciate that you can walk to a couple of small stores and have access to a nice selection of organic fruits and veggies. Here we are in the middle of nowhere pretty much in some old mining town and I had the best pear I have had in 20 years. Why? Because it came from some guys trees down the road. I know this because when I went back the next day to score some more they were gone and she told me because his tree was now empty…. Bisbee (see what I’m saying).

Race morning came and it was a perfect day. Perfect from a 70 degrees and sun perspective, not so perfect from a ‘you have to run 4.4 miles and do 1003 steep skinny stairs along the way’ perspective. In fact, it was the warmest day by 10 degrees in the history of the event. Both Kimberly and I had great runs and a most excellent time. Though having said that, it took only by the second group of (there are 8 total) stairs to be reminded that this is about the most challenging cardio race that I can imagine. A Marathon may last hours, but you never get close to the heart rate - lung death of this thing. Wow… even the most fit of the young people are looking like zombies well before half the race is over.

As for results I did and did not make my goal. While I finished 65th overall (of1340) and 5th in my age group at 40:56, it was not the ‘first page’. Dang race folks changed the print out from 100 to 50 per this year! Dang it, now I got the same goal next year I guess - I will have to move up 15 spots and hope they don’t change it to 25 per :-). Kimberly had an awesome time of 47:06 cutting a ton of time off her last year mark. She was 6th in her age group of 95 total and beat a ton of those young healthy 20 something men types!

Right after the race we were able to hook up with a ‘new friend’ Zuleika which was very cool. We walked around the little festival, and watched some of the Iron Man - yeah don’t ask, I skipped it, wussed out, gave in, etc. - next year for sure if we are there.

We celebrated the race just like last year as well with dinner at Cafe Roka. Everything was again outstanding. This chef could do well in Manhattan I think, he just decided he likes the Bisbee vibe and setup shop there. We also got a chance to take a peek into the huge mine which is something to see. We never had done so because it is on the other side of town but we needed some tie-downs for the table and chairs and drove past it this time. Some more walking town, packed up, and headed out. Another ‘annual’ Bisbee trip that met the high expectation. Some PICS HERE

My first experience with the Susan G Komen Race for the Cure was 10 years ago. Michael, my sister in law and I ran a Susan G Komen Race for the Cure when I was two years free from cancer. It was awesome and a very special run. We had a goal to finish but since none of us were runners it was more of a statement of support for us than a race. The organization puts on a great event as well as does an outstanding job of making survivors feel special. The whole experience was wonderful and very emotional. Reading the ‘in memory of’ bibs of those who were there walking and running in memory of their lost loved ones brought tears to my eyes and reminded me of how lucky I was.

2007 marked ten years of survival for me and Michael suggested that I should do the Race for the Cure in celebration. It was a marvelous idea so about three weeks prior to the race I started running. It felt really good. I ran the 2007 race and by estimation came in 7th in the Survivor Race. It felt great to have done well but it also felt like a challenge. I thought that if I could come in 7th with just three weeks of training that there was a possibility I could place (1st, 2nd or 3rd ) with more training. I set a goal to run again in 2008. Meanwhile I fell in love with running. It happened so slowly that I cannot say exactly when it happened. Instead of being a chore it was a pleasure that I looked forward to. When the 2008 race came along I was now running in celebration of eleven years free from cancer and also running for my mom in law who had recently had breast cancer. I felt ready and raced hard. Although I did better than my previous year it was not enough to place. I was a bit disappointed but because the race is so special the disappointment did not last and I set a new goal to place the following year.

As the 2009 Race for the Cure approached this year I was more nervous than the previous years but I was also more prepared. Michael and I had trained together for the race and he was going to pace me. We were running in celebration of 12 years of survival for me and also from my mom in laws survival-2 great reasons to celebrate. The morning of the race I felt great. It was a beautiful October Phoenix morning. We got to the race early and enjoyed the Survivor spoils (Pink Hat Café, Survivors’ goody bags…) then warmed up and got in place for the race.

The horn blew and we were off. Right away I was in the lead following the police motor cycle but how long would that last? I questioned if I had started out to fast (in 2007 I had been in 1st place for about 2/10th of a mile because I took off like a bat out of hell-rookie mistake!). The first song on my shuffle finished and I was still in first- I figured each song was worth about a half mile. Michael told me not to look back but to keep running so I did through the second and third song-still first then the fourth and fifth song still first and just after the sixth song started we rounded a corner and I could see the finish line. I sped up but Michael said to save it because I had this one. I slightly slowed but excitement kept me at a pretty fast pace. As the finish line got close my sweetheart went to the side (the race was for survivors so he did not want to cross the finish line out of respect) and let me cross in first place. I finished first.

Even as I write it now it amazes me that I really did it. It was a goal I had set and something that I worked hard to achieve. Something that I failed to achieve on the first try but that I was willing to try again and willing to train even harder to get. It made me feel strong and empowered. Twelve years ago I won my race against breast cancer. With early diagnosis, a supportive family, good doctors and luck I am still here and healthy. That is the real celebration but damn if it doesn’t feel pretty amazing to have come in first.

Some PICTURES HERE

I had been looking forward to this race since last year. My preference (or at least the old knees) is running in the dirt and the Cactus ChaCha is one of the very few ‘Trail Run’ races anywhere near Phoenix. I was really pumped up for it last year and of course about 3 weeks or so before hand I got that ugly ankle sprain running down Piestewa Peak. I still ran in the ChaCha last year but had to do just the 3 Mile Run (they have 2 courses, a 7 Mile and the 3 Mile), and had a huge wrap on my ankle.

The course is in the White Tank Mountains in Waddell Arizona. Really they are the Mountains visible from pretty much everywhere in Phoenix by just looking west. It takes about 45 minutes to get there from our house, so not too early of a wake-up call is required race day. We really like the White Tanks, it’s a great park and we have done several hikes in the hills there. It’s another favorite place to bring out of town friends and family for a hike and picnic. It’s particularly nice when the desert is in bloom with lots of Arizona vegetation and of course AZ critters too (seen a few of those during our visits!).

Anyway… back to the race: The day was very fun, made even more enjoyable as we ran into running buddies Richard and Danielle Castro. Both participate in the West Valley Runners group we join for our long runs many a Saturday morning. Seems more and more when we go to local races we are seeing folks we know. So Kimberly grabbed the camera and took a few pics of the three amigos. With the Komen Race for the Cure on tap for the next morning, Kimberly was sitting this race out as she wanted to be well rested for a strong run tomorrow. A little warm up, plug in the ipod shuffle, and off we were.

The course ended up being a little more of a challenge than I had expected. The 3 mile course starts in the same area and for the most part has only minor up and downs (a wash here and there). But the 7 Mile course was a different story. You start out with what seems a gradual accent for the first 2-3 miles with a down and up wash along the way. It’s pretty much single track after the first little bit and if you are passing or being passed it can be a little hairy in spots with the uneven rock. In fact, I saw a couple of nice wipe outs today and one didn’t look too nice. After the gradual accent you are hopeful (seeing it is an out and back course) that the elevation change is about over and you get to do the slow decent back – NOPE. All of a sudden a nice little group of switchbacks and 300ish foot hill pops out. It’s not quite as big as the one I do at T-Bird, but being a race it always adds a little extra challenge. I Did say this was fun right?

After the hill it’s more of just get the lungs back in order, don’t trip along the way and finish the second half. I crossed the line in 57:28 for 38th place overall of 282, and 2nd in my age group of 20, so not too bad. One of the cool things about the ChaCha is the after run food includes breakfast burritos, so you know I enjoyed that. We hung for a little bit, said goodbye the Rich and Danielle and were off – big, big day at the Race for the Cure tomorrow!

Well, it may not be ‘the’ happiest place, but it seems every time we have hung out in that neck of Anaheim CA, it comes darn close. Kimberly and I got to play SoCal life for a long weekend this last week. I swear sometimes you can look back over 60 hours time and go “wow, we did (or accomplished) all that in that short of time?” Then other times you can have a weekend come and go and seems all you can remember doing was eating some pizza, taking a nap and playing a little Wii or some such.

It’s nice when you can tie some business around a fun weekend, and the opportunity lined up for us to do so and participate in the Disneyland Half Marathon. We started the weekend of fun right as soon as we arrived in Anaheim. The Expo for the Race was at the Disneyland Hotel and we shot right over to pick up our bib, park tickets and other goodies. The Expo was a little disjointed – though I shouldn’t have been surprised with all the lines, it was Disneyland after all! We finally were able to get our shirts, bibs (personalized with our names – cool), and bags. We walked the Expo some, ate a Cliff bar and Kimberly got a cool Disney running outfit. After a nice dinner at Roy’s, Kimberly’s Sea Bass was excellent by the way, we called it an early night. A long Saturday in the land of the Mouse was planned for tomorrow.

As part of the weekend race we had gotten a Park Hopper Pass. This allows you to get into both Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure Park. Considering we couldn’t be out too late with a 4:00 wake up call for the race Sunday morning, we dragged our behinds up early so we could get over to the parks and do as much as possible before the lines got long. Within minutes of the park opening we were walking down Main Street USA with smiles on our face and bustin’ a move to Big Thunder Railroad (the Coaster with the Kimberly max up and downage’). Amazingly the line was nothing, a couple of ooo’s and aaah’s and we were headed over to Splash Mountain. Splash Mountain is the scene of what has to be a top 5 all time favorite picture of mine. We did it with the boys circa 96’ or so and the picture they snapped just as you head down the big drop from that trip is freaking hilarious (terror captured!).

Splash Mountain was a riot as always, and also amazingly, as it turned out to be all day, almost zero lines. After Splash, a quick ride through the new (to us anyway) Pirates of the Caribbean (pretty cool), and another memory lane ride on Indiana Jones and we had knocked out pretty much everything we wanted to hit at the old Park before 10:30. We scored some ice cream and candy (it is Disney you know) and headed over to California Adventures, which is 50 yards from the Disney Park exit to the entrance.

It’s a decent Park with what seems to be a focus on Family and little ones. They are still building a good bit of the Park out, but we did get a chance to see most everything that was worthy with the exception of the shows that there was just no time for. The star attraction some visual light show, and the ‘Cars’ land (form the animated movie) is still being completed (M3 is going to love that place!). We did the giant Ferris Wheel (non spinning car), a very cool simulated ride that “Fly’s over California with you zooming above some of the coolest spots in the state, and our favorite ride the river adventure ‘Grizzly River Run’ (yep, we got wet). We toured the Mission Tortilla Factory and a tour on making Sourdough Bread that were both interesting. After a decent lunch, some souvenir shopping, a few pictures, and we had had enough. We walked back to the hotel, settled I and tried to wind down as early as possible.

Sunday morning, 5:45, we kiss and head to our corrals. We have been up for almost two hours and are less than 15 minutes from the start of the race. It’s always pretty exciting standing there in the dark with thousands of people all ready to kick it in. The scene was about as you would expect from Disney, colored lights flashing, Goofy on a monorail right in front of the start wishing us well, Mickey doing the wave, and everyone with a smile plastered to their face. The flag drops and we are off!

The race starts right near the Disney Hotel, and within seconds you are cutting through the Downtown Disney area of shops and restaurants and heading into the park itself. You stay in the park passing all the characters and rides, and of course the Castle, for the next couple of miles before you head out into the streets of Anaheim. After about the 7 mile mark one of the coolest parts of the race has you entering the Anaheim Angel Ballpark. You run around the stadium and the Warning Track and you can even see yourself on the JumboTron. Both Kimberly and I when we were in the Stadium took the time to run along and slap the hands of the cheering boy and girl scouts that were there – awesome. Just as you leave I was even able to hear my name (through the headset even) called as ‘Michael Miller from Glendale Arizona is leaving the Stadium”. The next miles you pass several bands, and cheer leading groups and many other well wishers. The final mile or so takes you back through the park and even into California Adventure before you run down the finishing shoot.

Kimberly and I both did real well form a time perspective. Kimberly had a new Half Marathon personal record even beating the time from Bryce Canyon (which was almost all downhill)! Her time 1:55:20 was fast enough to be in the top 5% of her group and 10% among all 12,000 plus that started the race! I wasn’t able to get a PR but did finish in 311th place overall 1:39:36 which was nice.

After the race we connected up with Kimberly’s cousin Shelia who was at the race as a medical volunteer and made plans for dinner later that evening with her and husband Kevin. We grabbed our ‘bling’ (a big gold looking Disney Castle) and decided to head on over to the beach to find a nice place for lunch and do some walking so we didn’t stiffen up to bad.
Forgetting that it was Labor Day weekend at Newport Beach, after about a half hour of frustration looking for a parking spot we succumbed to the $40 per day spot. We did a nice little walk on the Pier, a stroll down the boardwalk, and had a decent ‘bucket’ lunch on the patio at the Rockin’ Baja Coastal Cantina (we have eaten there several times before when in Newport). It was nice, sunny, a good breeze, and people everywhere in a good mood.

The near perfect day was topped off at Brennan’s Jazz Kitchen in Downtown Disney. We were treated to an excellent meal and great company by Shelia and Kevin. We even had the live Cajun music vibe for most of the night as our table was right next to the stage. Shelia and Kevin were especially gracious to still come over and do dinner with us considering they hadn’t slept the night before as their daughter was spending the night in emergency room all night (all okay thankfully now – though a long not good story!).
Again, all in all just a great trip and amazing when I think all was just 60 hours or so start to finish. Makes those lazy weekends hard to justify… dang it!

PICTURES HERE

For folks that like to run races there are a lot of options out there (well except for maybe Phoenix in the Summer). Seems like just about every mid size or bigger city has a Full or at least Half Marathon at one time of the year. Smaller 5K’s and 10K’s are almost a weekly thing in the larger cities. Many of those are tied to some charity as it’s a great way to do a little fundraising, promote the cause and have some fun. Because we fall into the ‘love to race’ category you get to (have to) be choosy on what races you attend (of course the qualifying races like Boston etc. are an exception). So when it comes to what are called ‘Destination Runs’, those races that require at least an overnight stay somewhere, we are really particular. Net is, if we are going to go somewhere the run just has to be part of the whole package, we want to be able to explore the area, or take advantage of doing something while we are there. Heck sometimes it even works the other way in that if we have to be somewhere for business or family, we look for a weekend race in that area while we will be there.

So… long explanation to how we ended up running in the Bryce Canyon Half Marathon. First seeing we had road-tripped it to Tahoe, it was on the way home (or close to it anyway). Second, it would for sure qualify as a true ‘destination run’ as Bryce Canyon National Park and the whole area is an amazing place and considered one of the top US National Parks. And the one that cinched it – guaranteed PR (Personal Record, as in we would almost for sure have the fastest race we ever have ran because the race is essentially running down the canyon the whole 13.1 miles!).

The weekend pretty much was exactly what we expected. With an amazing race that is run on the main road leading into Bryce Canyon National Park being the highlight. You get views of the famous Hoodoos almost the whole run. The race descends some 1700 feet over the whole course with a couple of spots being so steep you actually have to slow yourself (let’s just say our thighs are still sore…). Kimberly and I both set PR’s as expected. Kimberly’s time was good enough for the top 25% of all females, and my time was in the top 8% overall. This is nice of course, except that I don’t think we can ever match those times unless we run a similar downhill type course!

We did hit the Park for a nice hike the day before the race. Even though we knew a hike down into the Canyon and out would not necessarily be best before a run, we just couldn’t come here and not get down into the Hoodoos. So we packed a lunched and had a great day hike. One rub was the trail said 2,000 feet elevation change. We figured okay, that’s not too bad, less than half of the Grand Canyon inner trails back up from the river. EXCEPT what they fail to mention is this is more like ‘from top of trail to bottom is 2,000 feet change’ and not the hike itself. Turns out the hike we took went down into the canyon, then back almost all the way up, then down, then up, then….you get the picture. I think this is as big of contributor to having sore as heck quads as the runs effect.

Overall the Canyon is a very worthy trip. We might not do the race again (and btw if we do, we would book it early so as not to have a “cabin” as our accommodations – just ask us about the slanted room), but would for sure recommend a trip to the National Park as it is an amazing place.

Check out the PICTURES HERE

I got two things to say; first and foremost I will never hack on my sister again about her buying a timeshare. Second, we want to spend every Summer on Lake Tahoe! Man-o-man did we dig this place. It’s got the perfect vibe and a lifestyle that matches up exactly on how we like to spend Summer days.

Since the boys ‘left the nest’ for good, we have been of course contemplating the old ‘what’s next’ from a living type of perspective. Staying in a two story family oriented home sure doesn’t make sense. Seems we spend 99% of the time in one of three rooms – and that’s counting the backyard as a room. So one thought was to have a couple of smaller condo type places, one here in AZ and one somewhere the Summers are Monsoon free. For darn sure, the Lake Tahoe area just moved to number one on that Summer spot wish list. So will someone please buy our family house so we can have a place in Tahoe? I promise you can visit all you want

There was some work I had to do every day, but for the most part it was eight days of hikes, bikes, runs, beaches, sun, Blues festivals, Shakespeare, perfect weather, and even daily views of snow capped mountains! Having a kitchen in the timeshare made it even more perfect because we were able to do our own meals (yeah we have become such picky eaters this is a must).

I really could go on and on about the whole Lake Tahoe area, we truly enjoyed it that much. Instead I will just touch on a few of the highlights for us. Just do know, it was like a cruise in that you just could not come even close to getting to all of the enjoyable things you could do in this area in a week or so – heck, I’m not sure a month would do it.

We stayed in the town of South Lake Tahoe which is in California but right on the Nevada border (so yes Casino’s walking distance away too), but the whole Lake Tahoe area covers a fairly sizable area and you could pretty much stay anywhere. There are four major ski areas on the Lake; Heavenly (our timeshare was right at the base of the lift), Squaw Valley (site of the Winter Olympics in the 70’s), Incline (a very cool area of the lake), and Northstar – plus about 10-20 other areas. There is more weekly type resorts, hotels, cabins, camp sites, etc on the lake than I have seen about anywhere. There are a zillion hike and bike paths and trails to explore. So needless to say, more than anything this area is all about outdoor activities and being in nature. It sure makes sense, because as from a ‘beauty in nature’ perspective, it doesn’t really get much better – it just has it all.

Okay, before I sound too much like a Tahoe Visitor convention commercial, on to some of the things we enjoyed most. Without question it was the hikes and bike days. We even did one bike trail 2 days, though a little different track. For sure if you get there you have to do I guess you could call it the ‘SLT Bike Trail’. For the most part they have created a bike path that parallels the road in one of the cooler parts of the Lake. There are several great stopping and exploring stops along the path, or you can just make you own way and explore. For sure connect up with the guys at Anderson’s Bike Rental. They were just good guys who will give you the low down on what to hit, a map, and whatever else. By the way while I am at it, not only were the guys at Anderson’s like extremely friendly, so was everyone in this area. It was almost to a point of being weird. Everybody seems extra nice, friendly, courteous, etc. Even the dang teenagers where great. I guess living here does that for you? Or maybe it’s a California thing?

Anyway, back to the bike trip(s). Along the trail is several cool stops, each of which you could easily spend a whole day at. Camp Richardson is an old camping, campground, forest service type area. The Camp may have the best ice cream stop in all the US! It’s like this old school little shop that is perfectly matched to the area. We hit this place both days. Advice is to order the kids size and split it – the regular portion singles were like a half a carton I swear. Next along the trail you have a couple of historical areas that are pretty cool. Basically early settlers to the area in awesome homes, and outhousesright on the Lake (Tallec and another I can’t recall the name). There are two awesome beach stops (Pope, etc.) that are huge with full ‘whatever you want to do on the lake’ activities. We stopped for lunch one day , check out the duck with the cheetos on his face (no of course not from us!). Then there is an area called Taylor Creek Preserve which is very cool. Another couple of beaches, or you can cross the road over to the Fallen Leaf Lake area (we did this the second trip and had a great ride and lunch) or you could even head to the road and toward Emerald Bay. Anyway, a great place to do a bike ride for sure.

We have taken a lot of hikes in our time. And I have to say, perhaps other than the Grand Canyon inner trips, the Rubicon Trail through D.L. Bliss Park has to be my favorite. It’s like every 10 yards had views and images you wanted to stop and take pictures at. How do you beat walking a trail that follows a cove and then lake of emerald and blue waters that are so clear you can see 100 feet deep? You do this while hiking in a forest with giant Pines and Cedar Trees that have been there for ages. And you have these wild looking (I think) Sugar Pines, and cool rock formations framing the views of high majestic mountains with snow caps! It was most excellent. The hike starts, and ends for that matter as we did an out-and-back at a place called Vikingsholm Castle. Vikingsholm is a historic home right on Emerald Bay now owned by the CA Parks (thankfully so it is a preserve area). We did the tour after the hike and it was nice. Our tour guide who works for the Parks dept actually lived there when she was young. She was the first CA Park female ever hired and I think must be 70 years old and all still loving her job. She even wrote a book about the place. Very cool, check out the pictures we took.

One of our days consisted of doing a nice trail run up on the Northwest side of the Lake. Kimberly fell and got a little boo-boo but it didn’t distract from what a perfect spot for a run this was. Again, through a great forest following the lakeshore of Emerald beaches and coves. Which by the way, a few of them happen to be ‘clothing optional’. There is another story there too, but we will save that for the verbal version of our trip. That night, after a nice nap of course, we got to see a ton of great Blues and Soul Artists at the Lake Tahoe Blues Festival. The lineup included Elvin Bishop, three Chicago Blues legends: Lonnie Brooks (more Texas to me), Jimmy Johnson, and Eddie ‘the Chief’ Clearwater, and even the most excellent Ms. Mavis Staples who’s version of ‘Wade in the Water’ brought chills to my soul! It was a great show. Actually the one cooler night of the trip, but the Cabo Wabo’s and wine helped warm us up!

Another day we did a hike up top of Heavenly. You ride the gondola up to the ski area and essentially you can head anywhere from there. Even though that day we were at 11,000 feet or so, it was still a warm hike. But like most days, we found we were about the only ones on the trail and we just pulled up a big rock for the most excellent lunch location. We did a beach day one day at one of those perfect Emerald Coves secluded spots. That night we hit a Tahoe annual staple the Shakespeare Festival and saw an outstanding performance of ‘Measure for Measure’. Again, it may seem like I am repetitive but it was a perfect night. The venue is actually on the beach. You look at the stage with the Lake maybe 50 yards behind it. We brought our own cooler (as does everyone or you can get just about everything there too) with wine, cheese, veggies, etc. You just sit in the beach chairs with your feet in the sand, under a blanket with the one you love (it cools at night for sure), drinking the vino, munching the chocolate, and enjoying a great performance. Just another ‘it doesn’t get any better’ experience.

We of course also did a ton of running. You put in your headsets there and just run and enjoy the views. The elevation you get used too. Makes it a little tough, but everything else more than makes up for it. We hit the spa a couple of nights. We did one meal out and it was great, a place called Blue Water Bistro where the food matched the perfect sunset you get sitting on the outside patio tables right over the Water. We hit a little Art Festival where Kimberly helped one group of performers with some South Pacific dancing (I have video I’ll get on the site someday). Lastly we had a great little breakfast at this place in Incline Village after a long run one morning that we really enjoyed. It was a Sri Lankan place if you ever get there check it out.

I guess that’s about it. We obviously took a lot of pictures, which you can see HERE. Also did a decent amount of video but that won’t make it to the website until I get to last year’s videos. And again…. Please buy our home so we can get a place in Tahoe for the Summer.

Whenever you run (or least for me) with any real effort there comes a time where you start to feel the fade, a time where the energy levels start to lesson and the run gets a little tougher. There is all kinds of logical, rational and scientific explanations of course, but ever since I began running I call it “Running with the Devil”. The reason being it’s like the old movies and shows where they had one devil and one angel on each shoulder. Each was giving advice and of course it was the exact opposites.

When the ‘Devil’ for me starts in it’s always like.. “okay, we are getting tired, time to slow down and call it day”. “You did enough today, you are old you know”. “It’s crazy hot, if you keep pushing it may not be a good thing”. “I think your knee is going to pay for it if you keep going” etc., etc. etc. Basically it’s your body tiring and your mind (the angel in this case keeping with the analogy) that keeps pushing: “You can do it, don’t give up, keep pushing on, pick up the pace don’t fade, you need to do this if you are going to have a decent time in the race” etc. etc. etc. Anyway, lots of explanation, but the main point being, I, and Kimberly too always called it “Running with the Devil” – and we like to never give in to his temptations so-to-speak.

Well, as you can then imagine when I was looking for unique running races on a website and I came across one called (get this…) “Running with the Devil” I knew in an instant we had to do it! Next thing you know, we find ourselves about to run in one of the craziest races out there.

The ‘Running with the Devil’ is really several events, a 5K, a 10K, a Full and Half Marathon and even an Ultra. The event takes place in the Mojave Desert just outside of Las Vegas. The course is actually run right along the road that parallels Lake Meade on the Nevada side of the Hoover Dam. The road has several eight percent (8%) grade hills and the average race day temperature is about 110 degrees!

Seeing it was so close (4 hour drive) we decided to make it a simple overnighter and back. We headed up the day before the race and checked into the Hacienda Hotel near Boulder City (would not be our typical choice but it’s the one right across the Dam and less than 5 miles from the start line – plus it was race headquarters and we could pick up our packets and run into some of the other nutcases that night perhaps). We dropped our suitcases in the room and hopped back in the car to go check out the course for the run. Let’s just say after driving it we were looking at each other saying ‘I think we might be crazy”. It looked tough, two long hills for the 10K (Kimberly was running) and another two for me (I was doing the Half). A couple of the climbs were about (or at least it seemed) a good mile long. Yowzer… well, what are you gonna’ do, we are committed now (or maybe should be committed?).

Heading back over to the hotel we grabbed our bibs and cool Devil race shirts then went up to the room to lay out our gear for the run. This time, our ‘gear’ was a little different as it included horns, tails, and a lot of red. Yes of course, we are talking about Kimberly here, you know if she is running in a race called ‘Running with the Devil” there would be a costume involved. Like she says “costumes are not just for Belly Dancing you know”. I also partook of the experience with a red do-rag and some horns from and old Halloween getup.

We had a fun night actually at the Hotel. We ran into Jay who I had traded emails with on a running website and had dinner with him. Dinner was the hotel buffet, which we normally would not do but choices were thin. Seeing it was Friday night, the buffet included all you can eat King Crab. Let’s just say I think I ran the next day with 5 extra pounds and 30 extra legs in my body . After dinner we chilled in the spa and met some great folks from California that were doing the race too.

Race morning came early of course with all the stuff you have to do before heading over to a race, though a little different this time as Kimberly’s race started at 7:00 AM and mine was starting at high noon. We headed over to the start area by the Lake and got ready. I took my position with the camera and watched as ‘my little devil’ tore up the first hill and on her way. Even though it was earl morning, the Sun was beating down and the car gauge showed about 90 degrees. I chilled out (an odd term considering I know) for a bit and in just 10 seconds over an hour, Kimberly came humping it through the finish line with her face color matching the red of her Nike shorts. She did great, 3rd in her age group (40-49) and 39th overall. After getting her cooled down some, we hopped back in the car and back to the Hotel where I could get a quick bite and get ready for my race at noon.

We were off at the crack off noon. Needless to say with temperatures that hit 112 (plus heat off the pavement) I was feeling the love right from the get-go. It was an out an back course and I felt fairly strong considering the climbs and the heat the whole way out. Though I think it may have had something to do with knowing I would see Kimberly at the turn-around. She had volunteered to take times at the turnaround spot for Joyce (the Calico Racing Founder who runs the event). As I hit the turnaround and saw Kimberly smiling and taking pictures, my mind was given a brief respite from “the Devil”, but he was soon to return. I can’t tell you how tough it was for me to keep pluggin’ and finish this race. The last 2-3 miles were brutal. I passed one guy down for the count with ambulances to the side of the road (I even though they may shut the race down). So I dug down, fought the Devil best I could and finished just under two hours 1:59:04 to be exact. The time was good enough for 8th overall and second in my age (40-49). I can tell you for sure I have never ran a harder race. With the heat and elevation change, this half was harder than the full Marathon in Sand Diego. For sure, the name of the race is perfectly matched!

Will we ever run this crazy race again? Hmmm… Kimberly said when was running the sun was in perfect position - she looked to her side and saw the shadowy figure with a long tail and horns coming from its head. Was it her shadow – or perhaps that old running nemesis who will once again someday coax us back to the heat and hills of the Mohave?

Well we did it… We are now officially “Marathoners”! Kimberly and I completed our first (of which I am now sure, or at least hopeful, will be many) 26.2 mile full Marathon at the San Diego Rock ‘N’ Roll Marathon. It was without a doubt everything it was ‘cracked up to be’, and worth every weekend morning training long run we did - which actually, was not that many. The reason being, we decided to do the race only a couple weeks before it took place.

Typical training logic dictates that you are suppose to train some 17-20 weeks prior to running a Marathon. You are supposed to have 15 weeks where you have at least one ‘long run’ (growing distances from about 12 miles each Saturday when you start to about 22 the couple weeks before the race. Plus, you are to do another 15-20 miles each week in addition. So…. it’s not that we do not buy into this logic, it’s just that we only had 3 weeks before the race when we decided to do it. In any event, we came out fine and had an amazing experience. I don’t think you could wipe the smiles off our faces (even if it looked like a painful grimace after 20 miles) the whole race.

The whole weekend was about perfect. We arrived in San Diego and the very first thing we did was hit lunch at Anthony’s Fish Grotto. The Fish and Chips there are the best we have ever had, and this week was no exception. It’s like our San Diego ritual, and it never disappoints. After lunch we checked into the Hotel and did our last little easy run before the race. A nice little 3-4 mile slow pace run along the (kind of) boardwalks and pathways around Seaport Village. It’s a great vibe running along the water, seeing all the people, the cool shops, and the unique vegetation of that area. After the run, we headed back to the hotel, and chilled for a bit before heading out toward the Gaslamp District for dinner.

We did what you do in the Gaslamp , you walk all around, and up and down 5th Street gazing at all the restaurant menus, before you decide which one to do. Wanting some sort of pasta dish of course, we settled on Trattoria La Strada. It was great. They even had a ‘Marathon special’ on the spaghetti with meatballs (made of beef tenderloin..yum..). Some more walking around on a perfect night with my lovely wife, a stop at Morton’s Steak for a glass of Vino at the bar, and we called it night.

The next day was all about the Expo, walking around Seaport village shops, and an easy pace. We picked up our bibs, and all the swag at the Expo and spent a good amount of time walking around all the booths. So many free samples stuff I don’t think we were that hungry for the Spaghetti Factory lunch. After the expo we walked over to Seaport and did some more walking around (getting the body good and tired so we could sleep early hopefully considering we had a 3:45 wake up!@). Late afternoon we hit up the local Ralph’s grocery for our dinner food which we could have back at the hotel (a big homemade sandwich with lots of bread and some baked chips). We pulled the drapes, laid out all our items we would need in the morning, and tried to hit the bed.

Considering all, we actually both got some decent sleep. I think we figured about 4 hours each. Which again, considering the nervous excitement of the day ahead and such an early rise was pretty good. Sleep is mooey-importanto when you are our age and have that long of run.

We had our breakfast of Oatmeal and bananas (thanks to the microwave in the room) and scooted off to the Start area which was about 4 miles away at Balboa Park. Luckily when we went downstairs there was another young lady headed that way too so we were able to split the cab. Unluckily, I think we had the only cabbie in town up that early that had no clue there was a race with 20,000 people that morning and a ton of the roads were closed! A little drama, but we did end up getting there with plenty of time to spare.

The morning was perfect, about 58-60 degrees, a slight mist even and a good marine layer cloud cover. In fact the whole race ended up being pretty nice at least until it warmed up late. We walked a bit with the other 20K people in the darkness as the light came up. Had a couple more bananas, me another cup of coffee, kiss the wife, hit the corrals, and before you knew it we were off.

The course for the most part heads around Balboa Park (where the Zoo and a ton of Museums are) then heads back toward downtown, through the Gaslamp, around by the harbor, back up toward Balboa, onto the freeway for awhile (way cool running on a freeway with no cars – except for the slant of the road which was tough), and then does a full loop around the Bay before you finish on a Marine base. The whole course is really a tour through San Diego and all its areas. The crowd support was incredible. Aside from a stretch on the freeway, it seemed that people lined every street and cheered the whole time. There must have been 40 bands playing along the way, a ton of aid stations and spectators galore. It really makes you feel like a rock star when you pass cheering people and you are really the only one around – hey – they are cheering for me! What a cool feeling. Kimberly even got an ‘Otter Pop’ along the way from one of the crowd and supporters. In one neighborhood there was even a group of 20 guys dressed up as cheerleaders doing cheers as you passed. Gotta’ love that one.

As happy as I was crossing the finish line, and trust me, I WAS HAPPY TO DO IT, there was a part that still wanted to be out there cruising around. I got my Bling (runner talk for the finisher’s medal), pounded some more water, ate a banana, and found a good spot in the bleachers to watch my woman run down that finishing shoot with the crowd cheering. It was another one of those ‘never forget moments’ in life watching and cheering Kimberly as she sprinted toward the finish and crossed the line beating her goal time. A proud man I was seeing that Grandma rock 26.2!

We took a few pictures that weekend, not too many but they are HERE in our race folder. We both were also real happy with our times considering it was out first Marathon. I came in at 3:41:05 which was in the top 10% overall and Kimberly hit 4:58:31 which was better than goal and in the upper 50% of age, gender and overall – beating more than half the men even.

Now…back to real training and the next planned race (a crazy Race in 110 degree temperatures and up and down hills, some that are over a mile each!). Life is good…

Did we mention that it gets hot in Phoenix? It may only be mid May but it’s been a hot one here in the Valley of the Sun. We are not complaining, heck the weather is one of the main reasons we live here. That said, there is a couple of times the heat is not so convenient. When you are planning on running n a Marathon in a few weeks and need to do a training run of 20 plus miles being one of them. We have braved the heat for the last couple of week’s runs, but afterward were just dragging big time. Wanting to get in a good Long Run (the term ‘Long Run’ is used in Running as the typically once a week longest run you do when training for Marathon’s or Half’s, normally done on a Saturday morning) and do so with a good effort, we decided to hit the road for a cooler local, so off to Sedona it was.

While we were only going to be there one night and one morning, we still wanted to take advantage of being in one of the most amazing places on the planet. I wrapped up work early and by midday Friday we were off to the Red Rocks. Upon arrival we went over to the area around Boynton Canyon where we planned to run. After a quick drive up and down the area we figured that would not work out too well. While I wasn’t too excited about the space on the side of the road, it was the brutal hills that put the whammy on running 3 hours in this area. Long story short with no time to really look for better spots, we ended up settling on Bell Rock Trail (plus connected loops). While it would still be lots of hills and elevation changes, it was off the road and would be a gorgeous place to run.

We spent a the rest of the day doing the obligatory Sedona walk around – this time Tlaquepaque Shops and galleries, then called it an early night and headed back to the Hotel. We had packed our normal Friday night homemade pizza dinner (better to eat good when you have to get up early and run) in the cooler along with some salad. We enjoyed the pizza, put on a movie and tried to get to sleep a little early.

We were on the trail by 7:00 am (pretty much first light). The trailhead is just off 89A and West of Bell Road about 2-3 Miles as the crow flies. It turned out to be a great place to run. Not only was the view just incredible all morning – I mean how do you beat Bell Road, Cathedral Rock, Pine, Mesquite, Junipine, Birds, Rabbits, etc being your morning views – but the trail was not too rocky at all in most places. With views like that Kimberly and I kept smiles plastered on our faces the whole time… well maybe except the big climb back toward Bell Rock the second time out and back. We ended up running for 3 hours total. The weather was still very hot by the way, even if it was less than in Phoenix. But this run was the one that let us know that we would be good (enough) to go for our first Marathon upcoming in a couple of weeks in San Diego.

After the run we headed back to the Hotel, had a nice breakfast and hoofed it back to the Valley. We were going to need a nap as that night we had tickets for Miss Saigon at the Arizona Broadway Theater, and it was with the whole Bellydance cast of characters (so who knew what evil may happen afterward)

It was one of those ‘everything lined up perfect’ situations. We were well due a trip to see the Grandson and family again (at least according to Grandma Kimberly). I also needed to get down to Texas to see Clay, do a little business, play a little (or a lot of) golf you know the story. So we picked a couple of week stretch that seemed to make sense and started to make plans. As I do now when we travel like this I search to see if there any little local running races close to where we’re are staying that would give us a little something to do on the weekend. Well low-n-behold, not just a little race but the OKC Memorial Marathon and Half Marathon events and was the weekend we would be in OK. Not only that but when we were in Texas the Mayfest Run was going on over Memorial weekend! (the Mayfest ended up being canceled because of the swine-Flu – stupid, but a whole other story). Anyway, we signed up for the Half Marathon and we were good to go.

We got into Oklahoma a couple of nights before the race. We would be staying with family for the next week so it was nice to get in early and check out Oklahoma City some. The race is ran in honor of the victims (168 lives lost over 600 injured), survivors and all the people who helped out during the tragic bombing at the Murrah Federal Building in 1995. In fact the whole race and weekend are really focused on the event. This would be the 9th annual event. It starts and ends right at the Memorial (which is of course on the grounds of the old Federal Building).

Like most big races (this one has 19,000 runners and walkers for all the events) there is a pretty big expo where you pick up your bib and other items. This one was at the OKC convention hall just up the street in downtown OKC. We got there early on Saturday to walk around and grab the freebie stuff too (always fun). When first walking in we noticed a table with volunteers that were talking about the victims. Turns out, one of the things you can do (and many do) is run in honor of one of the victims. Of course many locals would have known someone directly or where touched by the bombing somehow, but we did not so we really did not know who to ‘run in honor of’. One of the ladies there suggested that there were a many of people that no one was yet signed up to run for. Well… that was perfect, it made it feel like we really were honoring their memory then.

Kimberly found a young little three year old girl named Peachlynn Bradley who was at the daycare. Peachlynn’s Mother, four month old brother, and Aunt were also victims (her Aunt and Brother perished and her Mother was severely injured. I found a father who was a Stevie Ray fan, loved his kids and was and seemed like a kind soul named Lucio Aleman. We already knew this race would be an emotional one. Now it was going to be that much more. What was cool was there would be banners (we actually found them before the race so we would know when we passed) along the course with Peachlynn and Lucio’s names.

Along with your race packet came admission to the Memorial Museum at the bombing site. We had not seen this when we were here before. We had seen all outside the museum is the reflecting pool, the chairs, the Memorial Tree and of course the fence with all the items left in remembrance. So after getting all the Cliff bars and free rubs and GU’s we could, we went over to the museum.

They did an amazing job I think with the museum - a perfect balance of honoring and informing without exploiting. We really appreciated our time there. There were so many heart-wrenching stories and so many amazing volunteers. The place brought smiles and tears for sure. The only part we skipped was the area where they had a bunch on the trial of the piece of #%$% that did this. In my mind no reason to invest any time learning about him.

Jumping forward to the night before the race, we have to give a huge plug for the Italian restaurant we ate the night before the race. When I think OKC, I sure don’t think Italian, but we needed some pasta carbs and rolled the dice. The place was amazing – Bellini’s. Both our dishes were outstanding. In fact, Kimberly’s pesto may have been the best I have ever eaten. For sure if you ever get to OKC check it out.

After dinner we went back to the hotel to get some rest and watch the tv for weather updates. We were actually getting a little concerned that we may not get to run the race. There had been extreme storms and tornadoes for the last couple of days in the area. Each night the storms barely missing OKC with the worst, but still huge winds, rain, and hot humid weather. It was for sure a risk. That night in fact less than 20 miles from us there were tornadoes and 100+ MPH winds. Luckily, we fell asleep, and awoke to what seemed like weather that would be hot, humid and WINDY – but no severe storms.

I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed this race. The city is great, the support from the fans and neighborhoods you run through was amazing. And the emotions….wow. From the very start where you observe 168 seconds of silence (in honor of each victim) until the end where you run down the finish line shoot to huge fan support all cheering you on, this race is great. The weather was another story. Both Kimberly and I were very thankful we had Lucio and Peachlynn helping us over the hump. There is a stretch of the run from about mile 9-11 I think that seemed all slightly uphill the whole distance, plus the winds of about 25-40 MPH were right into your face. It was tough, but it was where Lucio and Peachlynn’s banners were too – so it was the extra kick needed when we passed those.

We both had good runs. I weaseled into the top 4% overall at 1:45 and Kimberly hit 2:11 which was top 20% in her age group and woman overall. After the run they gave out Carl’s Jr. burgers – HA. Funnier yet, we both had a half. We walked around a little more, dropped off our bibs with special messages for Peachlynn and Lucio at the fence, then hit a real lunch and within a couple of hours were sitting on the porch with our Grandson on the lap. Life is good….

SOME PICTURES IN OUR RUNNING FOLDER HERE

There are a lot of things that make the Lake Pleasant ‘Dam Good Run’ one of our favorite local running events. It is sponsored by, takes place in, and of course supports the Maricopa County Parks. Between Kimberly and myself we use “our local parks” multiple times every week and much appreciate having them. So to me when they get a chance to showcase (if you will) a Park it’s a great thing. Plus the fact that the Rangers and folks who work for the Parks are all really great people who do one of heck of a job with the resources they are given. This event is one of the places this is highlighted for sure and I love to see the passion they bring to what they do.

I also really like the course. It combines many way cool aspects that most local runs don’t share. The biggie for me being about 2 ½ or so miles of the 7 Mile course is Trail. And cool trail at that. Aside from the Cactus ChaCha, and a couple of long ones by the Arizona Road Racers there are just not that many organized local trail runs. You also get to run across (and back) the New Waddell Dam as part of the course, and it is the only day of the year that you can do this.

Kimberly and I got out to the Park about 8:00 to check in. The race did not start until 9:00 but they have a nice little setup and it’s always good to have a few minutes to check in and say hello to some of the folks you have come to know from other races (or friends in general – Hi there Coulson family ). They have a nice little setup for the races including some cool birds, snakes, and lizards which you know the young runners dig.

There are 2 courses, a 7 Mile and a 4 Mile. While the 4 Mile does get some runners, for the most part I think a lot of the Hikers do the 4 mile and Runners do the 7 Mile. Overall there seemed to be about the same amount of people as last year, maybe a little more. As a quick side, I think this year they would have gotten a ton more runners had it not been the same day as Emma’s Run, the Pioneer Days Run, the Havasu Half, and the Sabino Canyon Tucson event (see report from running friend Pat HERE).

We were running the 7 Mile course. The race started on time from the 10 Lane Boat Ramp Parking lot. You head out and almost immediately begin a fairly quick decent down toward the Morgan City Wash. While not a true ‘technical trail’ per se, with such a steep decent and the loose gravel, washes, etc you have to be pretty careful running down. When you get to the wash maybe 1/3 mile into the run the next 1/3 mile or so presents a good challenge on the ankles as you are essentially running in the dry river area and it’s that quick sand type of gravel where you sink in some. Good thing this lasts just a bit and soon you are running along water in a true Riparian area. It’s amazing how this seems to come from nowhere. If you drive around Lake Pleasant area you would never guess this type of topography could be there. It’s really nice for the next ¾ or mile or so as you duck branches, cross the creek a couple of times hopping on whatever to miss the water, squeeze between trees and the such. I wish the whole track could be this.

As soon as you head out of the Wash you begin an accent that lasts about 2 miles and 400 foot or so of elevation gain. For a bit of this you are still in the dirt before hitting the service road. While 400 feet may not seem like a lot, the steady, for the most part even, climb up sure makes you happy when you see the Dam finally and know the uphill muscles get a rest (1200 ft elevation gain and decent total for the race). Right before the Dam there is a paved quick drop, maybe 100 foot but you do it in about 10 seconds – so it is very steep (umm… nice to fly down carefully, but you know on the return you will have to climb it). You get to run across the Dam for what seems to be about a mile then return, a quick left off the service road and then a nice mostly even trail run for the last 2/3 mile or so.

The race is really non competitive, but they did do a ‘trial run’ this year for timing the folks who wanted timed. They also gave out medals for the Top 2 runners in each race (2 is odd I know?). This was nice however because I managed to weasel into 2nd Place overall in the 7 Miler this year. The medal was cool with a Lake Pleasant logo and the year customized it. Kimberly while unofficial I am sure was first among any females close to her age and about 12th overall. We also were lucky enough to win one of the better raffle prizes too - a whole basket of rubs and BBQ sauces from Famous Dave’s.

We of course will be back next year. I hope the timing lines up different with the other races though as we would have loved to do Emma’s run up in Anthem and hang around with family that live up there or even Havasu would be a riot.

We finished the day by heading over to the Glendale Blues and Jazz show for some good Blues, chair loungin’ and a really good caramel apple. That’s what I call a nice Saturday.

MY RUN INFO HERE

COURSE MAP HERE

“This weeks race” (almost seems the proper way to say it lately seeing we have been finding a local run almost every weekend the last month or so) was the Safe Baby Haven 5K. We chose this one over some other options for a couple of reasons. First the cause seemed pretty good. Safe Baby Haven is an organization out there to promote the Safe Baby Haven Law that allows protection for unwanted newborns. Basically gives the mother an opportunity to relinquish the baby at birth without fear of legal and criminal consequences. You can check out the site by clicking here at Arizona Safe Baby Haven. Second reason was the event is really just up the street from us. We can hop on the 101 and be there within 15 minutes or so. Add that to a nice (late) 8:00 start and it meant we could actually ‘sleep in’ until 5:45. We also liked that the event was at Westgate, the new(er) Sports and Entertainment complex in Glendale that houses the Coyotes and Cardinals stadiums and a bunch of stores, restaurants, a movie theater, etc.

The event production was handled by Red Rock Company. They seemed to do a real good job, it was even chip timed (some old school ones). I have not seen them do this type event, they seem to be more the ‘local triathlon event production company’. Maybe some personal tie-in, not sure? The course was decent, nice and flat for the most part. A great starting and finishing location right by the fountains. You run out to the end of the complex, a little loop back and some zig-zags in the parking lot (the only weird spot) and back. There were no real squish spots save for the first little bit where they wanted everyone on the sidewalk – but you could go out on the street too without compromising the mileage.

For the second week in a row we got to see an amazing young (14 years old) runner tear up the track. Sarah Fakler I believe is her name and it will be interesting to see how she does if she keeps at it. She did sub 6 minute miles again at this race. I’m not sure on the whole age-grade thing but that has to be National Class level speed for her age. She seems to run so easy too. This race had a young man also rip it up. I think his name was Oscar and he had a 5:54 Pace and he is 15! Ahh to be young again….

Kimberly and I had a respectable run. Kimberly came in first in her age group and I came in second and 11th overall with a 6:51 pace. Sadly, there was no “medal bling” at this event (for age group winners) but there was a very cool shirt. The actually customized the event shirts with your name and bib number which I thought was way cool. We also liked the bi-plane fly-overs which was also very cool. Hard to beat the whole thing for a good wake up Sunday morning. Oh and BTW, we needed more miles so we went off and did another 8 after the race. And yes.. there was a nap in the afternoon

Note to self – Never plan a get together celebration dinner party thing the night before you have to get up early for a morning race. This is particularly true when the party crowd happens to be Belly Dancers.

Kimberly and I ran in the Kids Camp USA 5K race this weekend. Considering with the above mentioned get together at our house we both ended up with about 3 hours or less sleep, I think we did pretty good. Heck, we did good just getting up at 5:40 seeing our heads didn’t even see a pillow until after 1:00.

Anyway, enough of the complaining (err excuses), we had a great time both at the race and of course with the friends at the get-together. Kids Camp USA seems a great cause. We of course found the race, then found the group behind it. Kids Camp sponsors various events for young ones such as (what this event was supporting) a camping trip to Apache Lake for 100 plus kids. There is no criteria per se for the kids to attend, just youngin’s in need of some adult support for a good time. They really seem like a good group and we will for sure see what we can do to help ongoing.

The 5K was at Thunderbird Paseo Park. One of our favorite venues as it is fairly close to home, is in the SPR canal, and makes for a good out and back track. A couple mini hills up on the course but nothing drastic. The event was run by Arizona Running Events Company and as always, good folks who make these small races as professional and fun as possible.

The race itself was fairly typical, although it ended up being a tad short for a 5K. My Garmin showed 2.8 miles and in fact when they posted the Results they listed it as 2.8. While I do look down on occasion at my Garmin timing watch, I had not for the last mile or so. You can imagine my surprise seeing as I was coming up to the finish line and seeing a little over 19 minutes (I’m not that fast in a 5K)!

Again with the qualifiers, the Mrs. and I had good runs. I think I felt as rough as I have during a run for quite some time, but still managed to come in 8th overall (19:30) though I was 4th in my age group (dang old guys need to stay home ). Kimberly took home the “Bling” for the family with a 3rd place medal in her age group. I told she was a rock star – 3 hours sleep and still getting in on the metal action!

After enjoying the post race festivities and grabbing the medal, we hung out and did another 7-8 miles or so in the canal – got to keep up with those long runs you know. And of course, as always, there was a Sunday nap…

Today Kimberly and I competed in the Kiwanis Litchfield Park 10K. It was about a perfect race scenario as far as they go. The event was fairly close as we are only about 30 minutes or so away from Litchfield Park. The race was a 10K which is really the ideal length for us as we like to get at least this length run in on the weekend. With a 5K we still need to do another run. With a 10K we can justify ‘good enough’. It was also a perfect day weather wise. A little nippy, but not too cold. In other words, a great day for a morning run.

We got to the event with a little time to spare, got a great parking spot and headed over to check in. The event was being held right in the heart of Litchfield over by the Wigwam Resort area. They really had a nice setup with some vendors, a huge food supply and ‘real’ bathrooms even as it was right next to the community park and center for the Kiwanis. We hung in the park for a bit checked out a couple of the vendors, and listened to some Navel officers.

The course basically winds through the neighborhoods there and is an out and back. The 10K went off first, as they also offered a 5K, and even a 1 mile fun run afterward. While decently marked it seemed, there was some issues with the track though (covered below). The course was near pure flat, and I mean flat, I think my Garmin showed less than a couple hundred feet net elevation change for the whole race.

Kimberly and I both had good runs. Kimberly had a PR time for a 10K of 53:46. She was booking, I was going to take a shot of her crossing the line and nearly missed it (as you can see from the photo in our gallery) because she came in faster than I was expecting! I had a 7:12 pace (44:42) which was good enough for 12th overall place and a 2nd place metal in my age group. Sadly, the first 4 or 5 guys were disqualified (I would have been in 3rd instead if they were not) because they missed a turn on the course. I feel bad for them because obviously they did not intend this and put in a good effort either way. I think one of those cases where 1 person misses a turn and the others in the lead pack follow. For those of us back a little and more spread out, less of an issue.

In any event, another great local weekend race that we will be sure to attend next year. The shirts were pretty cool too…

As of lot of our friends know, Kimberly and I have really gotten the ‘running bug’ over the last year or so. Almost seems to have turned into a mini obsession. I think we both run somewhere between 4-5 times a week now. We do short runs (3 miles or so), long runs (10 or more), trail runs with hills, interval runs, speed drills, hill sprints, and plain old around the neighborhood runs. But our favorite ‘kind of runs’ are races and what we (and others) like to call ‘destination runs’. Destination runs are basically going someplace cool to run. Seeing most of the time you are running in a gym on the treadmill, or around your favorite park hills (cool but still you have seen them before) so when you get a chance to run around someplace new it is great. And if it is a very cool place (i.e. like we did the Grand Canyon, or Saugatuck, etc) then it is even better. Races of course are just opportunities to run with others and be a little competitive so as to help push yourself on occasion.

This weekend we had a chance to combine theses two favorites with a ‘destination run race’ in Apache Junction at the Lost Dutchman’s Marathon (Half Marathon, 10K, 8K Trail Run and 2 Mile fun Run). The Marathon (and all races too) is considered one of the best ‘small town races in America’. There are lots of reasons of course, the race management team, the city support, the way cool way they treat the runners with campfires and good grub, plus many others. But the main reason being the beautiful Superstition Mountain Course and backdrop that you get to run in whatever race you chose.

As we have blogged before, the Superstitions are one of our favorite Arizona locals. We love to hike them hills. The variety, beauty and challenge of the hikes make them some of our most memorable in all of AZ. Plus we really enjoy the old-west-laid-back-we-are-all-family vibe of Apache Junction. Hard to beat sippin’ a cold one on the patio there at the Mammoth Steakhouse and Saloon looking out at those Mountains, or grabbing an ice cream at Tortilla Flats after a long day hike in the Mountains.

We decided to stay over near the race because it would have required a little too much of an early morning to drive over race day for us. From up North West Phoenix we are a good 75 miles or so from Apache Junction. We found a good rate at the La Quinta off 60, and scooted over a bit early on Saturday to make a full day of it. First thing was to hit the Expo and get our bibs and race goodies. The Expo was small, but nice and also well organized for an event of this size. The Apache center where the Expo was held is very nice for a community center. After snagging a Cliff bar and our shirts (nice long sleeve race shirts by the way which is kind of unique) we headed over to hang out and walk around Goldfield Ghost Town where we had a burger on the Patio at the Saloon. We stopped at an Art festival just up the street a piece (notice the old West lingo there) and walk around for a bit. We took some pictures and they are in the 2009 Misc folder if you want to check out the scenery in that area.

After a near perfect day we headed back to the Hotel where we had a dinner of our homemade pizza and protein bars for desert. Yep, we packed over the cooler because it’s just the best pre-race night meal we know and we love pizza made like that with the whole grain breads and such. We watched a little tube, then did the old {let’s try to actually get at least 4 hours sleep before 4:30 when we have to admit we are up and can’t sleep anymore anyway mode}. One day I’ll have to Blog on the trials and tribulations of sleeping the night before a race and how early you have to get up to run (with all the pre-race stuff required).

Anyway, 4:30 came about, we got up, I got coffee, Kimberly got the Herbal Tea and we started moving. I packed the car, we showered, brushed the teeth, attached the iPods and were off over to hopefully find a parking spot semi close to the race start. By the time we got there it was a little after 6:00. Sadly the parking lot was full as was about ½ mile of the road heading into the park. It was a great morning, though quite abnormally cold (good for running, bad for beforehand), but the sun was rising and you knew it would be perfect. It took us about 20 minutes to walk from the car to the starting area. We were doing the 10K this year. It started in the same spot as the Half, 8K trail Run and 2 Miler (all out and back as best I could tell). The Marathon guys finished here also.

With the various races staggered start time throughout the morning, most everything went off without a hitch. Considering there were some 2200 odd racers and more support and volunteers here everything was very smooth – there was even a ‘real’ bathroom with little or no wait most of the morning (umm Chang’s could learn something here). About 15 minutes before the race we checked our gear (the jackets and gloves, etc) and headed over to the start.

The 10K is basically out one road and back. You are headed pretty much (at least what feels like) due East into the Superstitions then back. What a great feeling as you run up and down the little hills. Most of the course is fairly easy with the minor little up and downs, with the exception of the turnaround spot that has a nice little hill that while not bad at all will have your heart rate up a bit. With the decent weather we both had a pretty good race considering all. I was ‘out of the metals coming in 5th in my age, but I was 29th overall out of the 540 runners doing the 10K. Kimberly had some aches going in but still had a respectable 10th in her age group out of 44 and was in the top 70 of all woman. We both got a great finishers metal - way cool hardware in this race!

There is no doubt we will do this race again. I think next year perhaps the Half Marathon. We sure do hope that it falls on a different weekend than the IMS Marathon on the West side – we sure hated to miss that this year.