Marathon #6 - Hartford

About 19 years ago, my good college buddy, Tara, suggested that we try out the Army - and I said "sounds good" - and off we went to Basic in Fort Knox, KY....

and I ended up in the real Army for the next 8ish years.  (We were about six years old in that pic.)  Fast forward to 2012 - the year I dislocated my patella, became hypothyroid, and discovered I have terrible arthritis under my kneecaps.  But, dangit, I was still going to run a marathon and searched for a flat, cheap-ish one. 

So, Tara suggested that I come run the ING Hartford marathon "with" her - and I said "sounds good."  So, there I was on October 13, 2012, freezing my buns off at the 35 degree start.  Didn't sound (or feel) good. 

(We're still about 25 years old.)  And here we are with team MAD (Making a Difference) - don't hate me because my pants are cool.  This group rocked - 7 private portapotties for 44 folks - most excellent.

This was my slowest finish - but it was the first marathon where THAT voice did not creep into my head and say "maybe you can't do this."  (Somewhere along the 26.2 miles, that voice always finds me and haunts me for a mile or so - until I grab it by the throat and choke the life out of it.)  This time, I was just taking it easy, and that voice never found me - maybe the voice found the Kenyans (or Tara - who finished in a blazing 3:37ish - but that's unlikely), and it didn't get me. 

The ugly race pics did get me, however.  Here are my cold running pics along the route:

Man, the fat face got me!

And then there was the inglorious finish....through the arch

That was pretty cool.
And they announced "Sally Seeker from San Antonio" - and I did a crazy running chicken warm-up

Then, I went full out crazy running chicken to the finish - check out the chicken wings

And that I did - finish.  But why does that chick in the blue look so happy about it?

I caught up with Cliff around mile 24 and we finished the run together (nevermind that he carried that flag the WHOLE time)

and then I finally looked at my watch and said "really? you couldn't break 5:00?"

But, in the end, I did it - broken-ish elbow, bad knee, and all.  And Tara managed to capture a not-so-ugly-I-rock-this pic

And then I froze a little more

But it was good. And now, Tara says, "we should run this"

And - wait for it------I say "sounds good"
Thanks to Tara, Kevin, and Brightroom for the pics - and super thanks to Tara for hosting me - it was really a great trip (especially when it warmed up).

3M half marathon

On the heels of returning from Big Bend, I ran the 3M half marathon in Austin this Sunday.  (Note:  I normally put about 7,500 miles or less on my car per year - and drove almost 1,900 solo miles in the past two weeks!)  In the interest of full disclosure, I mainly ran this run for the swag bag of 3M products:

Also, the course is net downhill, so it should be "Fast. Easy. Fun."  No such hope.

Well, the night before, I attended my running buddy, Julia's, 80th birthday.  I actually have to create a new 80 and up age group now for the Women's Run this year.  She's truly a remarkable friend and an icon of the running community (every time she enters a new age group, most race directors add the new 'and up' 5-year age group).  I can merely hope to be running and rescuing animals like she does - at even approaching the age of 80.

Then, the race started at 0645 the next morning in North Austin, so it was an EARLY start for me.  And, after about 9 miles of downhill-ish-ness, I realized my calves still hated me after the Big Bend 25k and driving and driving, and they rebelled.  But I finished - not my best, not my worst, but still a painful drive home.

Here's the view from the finish line

And my shiny medal

While I was in Austin, I was called by compadres I served with in Bosnia - Mark and Laurie - who are now RET and passing through town.  We met up for dinners the past couple of nights, along with Jessica, another CJSOTF-Sarjevo compadre now stationed in San Antonio - and regaled each other with some old war stories.  Here's Laurie 'playing' with a monkey at Bass Pro Shop

It's hard to believe that it was over 10 years ago that we were 'playing' in the Balkan mountains over there.  Next thing you know, I WILL be 80 years old!  Until then, next up is 'just' a local 10k trail run which may hurt.

thanks to Brightroom and 3M for the pics

Back to it - home, running, and critters

So, wow - what happened?  I flew back on Monday - in from the CHI marathon, whirl-wind tour of SE WI, 20th HS reunion, and assorted craziness.  And my head is still spinning. 

But, I ran the Alamo Beer Race #4 (15k) on Saturday and felt great.  Which you cannot tell from these pics.

At the start - (Kent is shamelessly promoting the Santa Antonio 5k on December 3.  If you are in or near San Antonio, you MUST RUN it - in a (provided) Santa suit.)

And then there was the run

I was actually feeling pretty dang good - no GI issues, no 26+ miles to run, and hitting a sub-10:00 pace with no problems.  But, as my buddy, Jenna, pointed out - these finish line pics are AWESOME.

"So what DID I run that in?"

"Damn, that slow?"

"well, heck, carry the 1, divide by 60 - not so so bad"

I'm so good at hiding my emotions.

And then, it was off to Dia de los Perros  I was so busy preparing my costume for the Dia de los Muertos run  that I didn't exercise due diligence in constructing dog costumes.  So, Gwen was a lion and Dingo was a jaguar (dogs dressed as big cats - get it?)  (they have tails and ears)

 Dingo with her brindle buddy, Cappy

 Dingo teaching Cappy how to knock over my buddy, Dulce

 Gwen teaching a trainer how to give her treats even if she fakes 'down'

The remains of the leopard.

thanks to Scallywompus, SA Photographers, Kevin Saunders, and Dulce Bares for the pics.

Next up: (maybe) cruiser ride of Eastside cemeteries, last zoo run of 2011, Dia de los Muertos 8k, and Eastside cemeteries running tour - and that's all between Tuesday-Saturday. 

We're heeeeere

Well, it is that time of year again to run 26.2 miles for no real good reason.  So, we hit the expo...

where it is official, because my name is on the wall.  (yep, between the fakers - "Seegers" and "SeeLer"
And here is the view from our roof (it's okay to go up there - really - we didn't climb out of windows or anything)

and winding down from a loooong day with Bernice and Laura (Joe is the photog)

Tomorrow, we'll check out the 'hood and some of Chicago - and REST!

It is making me giggle when everyone is talking about how HOT it will be.  I probably won't be giggling around noon on Sunday, but this ain't hot.

Beach to Bay Marathon Relay

Well, this year was tough and hot.  Especially since I ran the 4th leg on the Naval Air Station and my 5th leg runner was not at the exchange point.  Eek.  But then, we got to enjoy the beach - here's before the race

and dinner with buddies from work - who, with the exception of Alexis, just came down to party (not a bad idea at all, really).  More pics will follow.  Here's the race report from the Corpus Christi Caller Times

Beach to Bay Relay Marathon: More feet, more street, more heat


CORPUS CHRISTI — Among the multitude gathered at the 36th Beach to Bay Relay Marathon finish, many runners talked about heat and suffering.


"I was dying," said Garrett Gregory, 29, of Lubbock. "This town is hot."

It was 79 degrees for the 7 a.m. race, which because of flooded beaches started on Park Road 22 on Padre Island. The 90 percent humidity made it feel like 83 degrees.

"I was hurting bad," Gregory's teammate, Thomas Adams, 22, agreed.

Runners dropped every few minutes from dehydration and heat exhaustion beginning about 7:45 a.m., with half a dozen down at the same time on Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, medical staff confirmed. One runner collapsed at the finish line about 11:15 a.m. and was carried by fellow runners and medical workers to an ambulance.

By noon the downtown temperature was 84, with humidity of 61 percent making it feel like 90.

In all, seven people were taken to the hospital.

Corpus Christi Fleet Feet Elite won for the second time in three years with a finish time about 9 minutes faster than last year at 2 hours, 17 minutes and 34 seconds.

There were 2,575 teams this year. That's 219 more teams than last year for an additional 1,314 runners.

That's a lot of feet as one volunteer learned on Saturday. Eric Willingham, 14, a student at John Paul II High School, sat watch over a killdeer's nest for more than two hours to keep it from being trampled near the foot of JFK Bridge.

Organizers of the 36th Beach to Bay Relay Marathon estimate that with runners, their family members, volunteers, sponsors and visitors from McGee Beach as many as 25,000 people packed McCaughan Park for the event's after party.

The only glitch in the new location was organizers finding they only had about 10 amps of electricity at McCaughan Park.

"That's about enough for a vacuum cleaner and microwave without blowing a fuse," said race director Doug McBee Jr. "We brought in a big diesel generator at the last minute."

He expects the new finish location to be permanent.

"We're not going back to Cole Park. It's better finishing along the seawall, but we will go back to the beach to start. Mother Nature just bit us this year."

More Big Bend 25k - the start and finish

Thanks to my buddy, Mike Escalante, for these pics.  Mike volunteered during the race and was first in on Wednesday and last out on Tuesday - and got to drive the race vehicle - FJ Cruiser. Here's me at the start (brrrrr)

and with fellow Brak Pak'ers, Christina and John

and here I am after about 15.4 miles of trail - bringing home the finish

still finishing - and bringing it in looking like a crazy running chicken in the desert

and, it's in the books (the time clock is about 1 hour off, since the 50k folks started before us - that's their time)

and here's Mike with his race ride...

Big Bend 25k

Wow, what an amazing weekend.  I drove down to Big Bend National Park on I90 - it was a 6.5 hour drive, mostly with no cars or civilization in sight and no cell phone coverage.

After the drive, I finally came to this

of course, it was another 40 minutes into the park until I made it to packet pickup and met up with my buddies.  Then, another 25 minute drive up the mountain and into Chisos Basin, where we were staying at the lodge.  Many (crazy) folks camped.  I rather enjoyed my bed, heat, minifridge, and coffee maker.  Here was the view from my balcony.

After we arrived, we hiked to see the Window - here I am on the hike, with the Window behind me (remember, 6.5 hour drive, so I look haggardly).

and along the way, we saw JAVELINAS!  (don't call them pigs, I learned - they are not - no tails and only 3 toes)

Here is the Window at sunset

The next day, we headed to Santa Elena Canyon - that's Mexico right behind me.

Then we headed to Boquillas Canyon - again, Mexico behind me, across the Rio Grande

where I saw Mexican ducks illegally crossing the border

they must have been the ones that left these trinkets for purchase

The next morning was race day.  The start was chilly, in the 40s, but dry and clear.  The first 5 miles consisted of a climb from 3,200 ft elevation to 3,600 ft on fairly technical, rocky trails.  It was pretty rough.  Then, the trail smoothed out some to this

and then smoothed out a little more, but was always Jeep trails.  Here are some pictures from along the run

and here's me at about mile 12 or so

miles 6-13 went by fairly quickly and I enjoyed the scenery.  The last 2 or so miles were a bit mushy - gravel and sand mostly.  And you could see the finish from afar, but it didn't seem to get closer, until - there it was!

After a VERY bumpy van ride back to the campground/race HQ and post-race dinner, I took a nice nap and admired my medal - it shows the three zones of Big Bend we ran through - the mountains, the desert, and the river.

I drove back on I10 (speed limit 80 mph), which was boring and painful, since I don't have cruise control.  But, I made it back and now my legs hurt (training for this run probably would have been a good thing).  While I was gone, the dogs had a ball at Green Dog Kennels - this is Gwen under the 'bridge.'

Though it was a remote destination (and I mean remote - no cell phone connectivity, spotty wifi, no televisions, etc.), this was really a great race.  And I did not fall down.  Next up - no race, trip to the frozen tundra instead.