RR Boston 2014

RR Boston

Race Results:
Mon, Apr 21/14
Boston Marathon
Boston, MA
4:51:41
Marathon # 371

 This was supposed to be my last race report? Due to health reasons most readers knew that this race would be marathon # 371, my 8^th and final Boston and my final marathon! Well 2 out of 3 ain’t bad!

As most of my readers know, a few months before Boston along came a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to run Kosovo and I couldn’t pass it up. More about that at the end of this report.

 So I changed my story to “this would be my 8^th & final Boston & my final ‘domestic’ marathon”. I have run the Boston Marathon seven times before and when I am undoubtedly asked “what is your favorite marathon” I always answer “Boston”. I like the mystique and tradition of Boston and it is one of the few marathons in the world that a runner must qualify to run. Out of my previous seven Boston Marathons there are a few that are memorable and I want to reminisce about:

    1)      My 1st Boston in 1987. My 2^nd most disappointing Boston.
 I had just run my 1^st sub 3-hr marathon to qualify and my goal was to break 3 hrs at Boston. I was on pace at 24 miles to narrowly break 3 hrs. When I passed the CITGO sign at mile 25 my pace started to slow and as I neared the turn on to Hereford St I was afraid that I would not break 3 hrs? Worse- I might finish in 3:00 and a few seconds and I would be very mad at myself. So I deliberately slowed my pace and cruised across the finish line in 3:01:51. Later I realized that if I had only sucked it up, ignored the pain and pushed to the finish line I would most certainly have broken 3 hrs. I vowed that I would never ‘give up’ again in a race. It was a valuable but painful lesson – and the only chance I ever had to break 3 hrs at Boston!

 2)      My 5^th Boston in 1996. My 100^th marathon & 100^th Anniversary of Boston. My funnest Boston.
Runners knew that this would be a special Boston – a 26.2 mile party. And it was! I decided not to worry about time or goals – except to join the party along with 38,000 runners, the largest Boston field in history. The runners and spectators were joyous and it was the most fun I ever enjoyed in a marathon.

 

3)      My 6^th Boston in 2004. My most disappointing Boston.
        Since I would turn 60 a few weeks before the race and I was still running close to 3 hrs I figured this was my best chance to win a coveted AG award at Boston. I trained hard and seriously for this goal. I was running mile repeats @ 6:30 pace and bridge repeats @ 6:45 pace and I felt confident. Three weeks before the race while running a final speed work on a track I tore my left hamstring – my dream was shattered in one short moment. With aggressive physical therapy and meds I was able to go to Boston and ‘jog’ the race in 3:58:06. I promised myself that if I was still running at age 70 I would try a 2^nd time to achieve my dream.

         4)      My 7^th Boston in 2005. My proudest Boston.
                I had no intention to run Boston this year until a good friend, Frank Ouseley, aka ‘the Mad Monk had quadruple bypass surgery and then declared that his wish/dream was to run Boston only nine months after the surgery. I helped Frank qualify for Boston and volunteered to accompany him to Boston and guarantee that he cross the finish line. We did well for the first 10 miles but Frank had trouble starting at 16 miles and wanted to quit. I had to play serious mind games with him to coax him to continue. After walking through the hills at Newton I once again had to play serious mind games to coax him to ‘jog’ the final 5K so we could finish under the time limit and collect our finisher’s medals. I was very proud of Frank and his courage and determination to run – and FINISH - Boston under such difficult circumstances.

So now we return to the present and Maddog is returning to Boston also with heart issues but not even close to what the Mad Monk experienced and overcame.  I knew I wasn’t going to be able to keep my promise made 10 years ago. There would be no competing for AG awards in my 7^th decade. I had to accept and be happy with the fact that I was still running and able to enjoy what would be another memorable Boston due to the unfortunate events that happened last year. I didn’t expect the mood to be joyous or festive like it was in 1996 but I did expect the 2^nd largest running field in Boston history to be united and determined to show that a couple of crazy/fanatical terrorists could not intimidate or deter runners from enjoying their passion. All 36,000 runners would be BOSTON STRONG!

 I arrived in Boston on Sat afternoon and after checking into a hotel in Cambridge I made my way over to the Expo. It was a zoo! Actually bib pick-up was smooth and easy but trying to get into and around the expo was difficult. I have never purchased any Boston memorabilia in all my previous races but since this would be my final Boston I decided to treat myself and buy a T-shirt and a Boston Marathon jacket. After squeezing my way through exhibits for about an hour I met a friend at a designated spot. Malcolm is writing Maddog’s marathon book. He explained that he was having problems with the size of the book. Each marathon/country needed about 4 pages and there are (will be) 121 countries. Nobody is going to read that many pages! We decided to focus on a specific number of Maddog’s goals and include a specific number of Maddog’s most memorable races.

 My hotel was located in Cambridge and there are not a lot of restaurants or shops in that area and few of them are open on Patriot’s weekend. Rather than mess with the subway I decided to skip my traditional Chinese/rice dinner and enjoyed a nice seafood dinner at a Legal Seafood restaurant near the hotel. But I did order rice with my delicious seafood casserole.

 On Sun I had arranged to meet a new member of the Country Club for lunch. After a few minutes discussion we realized we had met and spent a lot of time together in the past but didn’t remember it? Jeurgen and his wife (from Germany) were on the same ship as Nicole and I when we ran the Antarctica Marathon in 1997. We will meet again in Kosovo in May.

 Mon (Patriot’s Day) was M-day! This year, because of the large field (36,000) of runners, there were 4 waves of runners with 9 corrals in each wave. I was seeded in the 3^rd wave and 7^th corral. The 3^rd wave started at 11 am – 1hr after the start of the elite men. Runners in the 3^rd wave had to board a bus in Boston Commons by 8:30 am for the Athlete’s Village in Hopkinton which is the typical time frame that runners have to begin their odyssey to the start line. I had watched weather forecasts closely since it can be very cold waiting in the Athlete’s Village. With extra security measures in place this year it was not possible for runners to take bags to the start area so I visited a Goodwill store at home to purchase several layers of throw-away clothes to wear before proceeding to the start line. They came in handy since the temps were in the high 30s when we arrived at the Athlete’s Village. However I had discarded all the warm-up clothes before moving to the start corral. But I was glad I had them while waiting in line for more than 30 minutes to use a port-o-potty (they did not have enough for 36,000 runners?).

 The 3^rd wave was instructed to make their way to the start corrals at 10:30 am. We barely made it into our corrals when they started the 3^rd wave at 11:00 am. It took 6 minutes for me to reach the start line where I started my watch and began the race.  As most runners who have run Boston know the 1^st few miles are downhill and you can see runners ahead of you for at least 1 mile. I remembered to run my pace and not get sucked in by the pack but I still passed mile 3 in 30:06 and a split of 10:48. I stopped on the top of a hill at mile 7 (1:15:03 and a split of 10:19) to take a photo of the pack chasing me. I passed mile 10 in 1:46:23 and a split of 10:28 – I was running faster than expected. Runners were serious but joyful and we were inspired by a record 1,000,000 spectators that lined the entire 26.2 miles of the course who were jubilant and noisy. It was the best crowd I have ever experienced at a race!

 As I passed mile 12 in 2:07:43 and a split of 10:41 I could hear the ‘Wellesley tunnel’ ahead. My only disappointment with the race was that they had limited the Wellesley coeds to only the college side of the road whereas the coeds used to form a tunnel and narrow the road down to single or double file for runners. The noise this year was not near as deafening (or thrilling). However the coeds did their best and still held signs up asking for kisses. I almost stopped for a cute coed whose sign said “kiss me – I’m from Florida” but I would have had to cut off other runners to reach her. So I stopped and took a photo of the Wellesley tunnel. I passed the Half in 2:20:36 and I was feeling good. I was way ahead of my predicted pace but figured the 2^nd half would be slower because of the hills.

 When I passed mile 16 in 2:51:21 and a split of 10:41 I figured that if I ran the final 10 miles at a 12:00 pace I could break 5 hrs so that became my goal. When I helped Frank complete his dream in 2005 I had noted after the marathon that it was the 1^st time I ever “saw the course”. In previous years I had been too focused on competing to actually see the course. As I continued at an easy and smooth pace I think I noticed hills that I had never noticed before? I passed mile 20 in 3:36:52 and a split of 10:55 and started up Heartbreak Hill. I always thought it was much tougher and steeper? Half-way up the hill my right calf started to tighten and I became concerned about cramping. I refused to walk until I crested the hill in 3:49:35 and a split of 12:42 (my slowest split of the race). At that point I could tell that the calf was on the verge of cramping and locking up so I wisely stopped and stretched the leg and walked for a short distance to let the muscle relax. I hoped that preventative action would get me to the finish line without cramping?

 However as I passed mile 24 in 4:24:00 and a split of 11:43 the calf started to cramp and I was forced to stop and stretch again. I knew that a sub 5-hr race was in the bag if I could prevent the calf from cramping. When I passed the CITGO sign at mile 25 in 4:39:17 the calf started to tighten again but this time I decided to ignore it and just slow my pace down a little and try to get to the finish line. Thankfully I held off the cramp and crossed the finish line in 4:51:41. Needless to say I was very HAPPY to finish my final Boston and final ‘domestic’ marathon under 5 hrs!

 After a long hot soak back at the hotel I decided to attend the Mile 27 party hosted by Sam Adams at a pub near Fenway Park. Bad mistake! The subway was packed. Every restaurant and pub near Fenway was packed and noisy and the line to get into the party was over two blocks long! I turned around and went back to the area near the Hynes Convention Center where I had noticed lots of pubs and restaurants. Another bad mistake! Everything was packed and noisy. I returned to my hotel in quiet Cambridge and enjoyed a snack of greasy food and fries before going to bed. I had been looking forward to a delicious meal to celebrate my success.

 I am back home and trying to restart my training program for my final marathon and country. As I mentioned at the start of the report a ‘one of’ opportunity came up. I completed a marathon in every country in Europe in Oct 2005 but then Kosovo declared independence in 2008. I have been trying for the past six years to find or organize a marathon in Kosovo. A few months ago I managed to contact an American expat living in Kosovo who volunteered to help me organize the ‘first-ever’ marathon in Kosovo. She is returning to the USA in June so it was organize a race in May or lose the opportunity ‘forever’?

 Fortunately ten members of the Country Club were able to arrange/change their schedules to join me. We will have about 20 runners for the marathon and once again I will re-establish my World Record of completing a marathon in every country in Europe.

 Stay tuned!

 

TR Tanzania

TRIP REPORT

Tanzania

2/27 to 3/4/14

Race Results:

Sun, Mar 2/14
Moshi, Tanzania
Kilimanjaro Marathon
5:17:50
Marathon #370 – Country # 120

 A visit to Tanzania and Mt Kilimanjaro has always been on my bucket list. There were two items in the bucket list.

 1)  Run the Kilimanjaro Marathon  
  2)  Climb Mt Kilimanjaro after the race.
Sadly with recent health issues – especially a heart that doesn’t seem to do well at high altitude anymore I had to forgo the 2^nd item. But I could still accomplish two goals:
  1)      Run the Kilimanjaro Marathon & complete Country #120
  2)      Run my final country

Well, the first goal was accomplished but more about the 2^nd goal at the end of this report.

 I was not looking forward to the 30-hr journey to get to Kilimanjaro – especially in economy class – but I did arrive safely late Fri night. On the 45Km drive to our hotel in Moshi I met a few other runners including a member of the Country Club, Domitilia Dos Santos from NYC, that I had not met before. I didn’t even know she would be there? Most of us in the shuttle were being lodged at the Keys Hotel Annex that was located about 5 miles outside of Moshi and was not convenient to the town or race events. And the hotel was pretty rustic as the brochure had promised. A very poor and slow Wi-Fi was one of my many complaints about the hotel.

 After a midnight beer to relax and unwind I enjoyed about 4 hrs. of sleep before I was wide awake and could not sleep anymore?  Jet lag? At breakfast I met with my new friends and we decided to taxi into the main hotel in town to check out the race HQ. I was supposed to meet up with a photographer/cameraman who was making a documentary about the race and had requested an interview with Maddog about country #120. The documentary film will be broadcast throughout Africa and later be available on You-Tube. After a 15-min interview I joined my friends to continue into the shopping area of Moshi. I was able to find all of my mandatory souvenirs in a few hours and then we enjoyed a pizza for lunch. We quickly learned that Tanzania, like most 3^rd world and hot countries, operates on a different time scale.  Nobody is in a hurry!

 I was supposed to meet other friends/CC members but I did not realize that I was being housed at the Annex and they looked for me at the main hotel and we never connected until the start of the race. I was not happy about the hotel arrangements and the fact that it was not made clear to me that I would be staying at the Annex! Because of the remote location I did not feel like taking a taxi into town for a pasta dinner and was forced to eat a terrible buffet pasta dinner at the Annex.

 The race started at 6:30am in the Stadium in Moshi and the race package included transport to/from the stadium for the race. I asked for a 4am wake-up call knowing that it would never happen (it didn’t) so I woke up at midnight and every hour on the hour so that I would not miss the bus to the start line.

 The temps were in the low 70s at the start but the humidity was low so it felt cool. Fortunately Domitilia and I were able to find the other 2 members of the Country Club and take a group photo at the start. One friend, Jay, who I ran with in Ecuador in 2007 was running his 30^th country and qualified for the CC at the finish of the race.

 My stomach and GI system were feeling better than my previous marathon so I hoped I wouldn’t have any problems or many pit stops? However when I hooked up my heart monitor a few minutes before the start I experienced the same strange problem as the previous race? My HR was only 32 bpm? When I reached 2 Km in 13:07 it had only climbed to 88 bpm but on the 3^rd Km jumped suddenly to the normal range of 130 bpm. I felt less worried about my heart rate but was starting to suffer mild stomach cramps so I knew a pit stop would be needed before the Half. However the first few miles were along a route by our hotel and there were lots of spectators and few bushes and no port-o-potties? There weren’t any at the start either for more than 5,000 runners in the various races?

 As I passed 8 Km in 53:49 and a split of 6:51 another new and strange thing happened? My HR dropped suddenly to 85 bpm and stayed there for the next 4 Km even though I was running a series of hills. How can my HR be 85 bpm when I am running hills? I started to worry again.

 As I passed spectators they were shouting and cheering “Babu”, “Babu”. I confirmed with a fellow runner that word was Swahili for “grandpa”. How did they know I was a grandpa? At least they were cheering me on and not laughing at me! After the course made a turn-around at 10Km I started looking seriously for a bush or tree and managed to make a discreet pit stop near 12 Km. Ahhh! I felt much better and seemed to have more energy and my HR had surprisingly increased back to a normal range of 130 bpm. So I increased my pace and started to pull in two of my fellow CC members who had left me behind at the start. I passed Domitilia near 18 Km as we approached the stadium again. At 20Km the half marathoners returned to the stadium and the marathoners started a long 11Km climb up Kilimanjaro. The ascent wasn’t steep but it was constant and relentless. I passed the Half in 2:28:04 and a split of 7:21/Km but I knew the 2^nd Half would be much slower because of the climb and the temps had now climbed into the 80s.

 I passed another CC member, Klaus from Germany, near 23 KM and continued a slow methodical climb up the mountain. I was able to keep the old legs shuffling until 25 Km and then I had to start walking. I would take short walk breaks or walk short steep sections of the ascent but otherwise I tried to keep the old legs churning until I reached the top of the loop near 31Km in 3:51:29 and a split of 8:20. The next 9Km were back down the mountain. For the next 4Km I felt like I was flying down the descent but when I passed 35Km in 4:22:42 and a split of 7:45 my legs were totally trashed and I knew I had to slow my pace if I wanted to avoid a crash!

 Around 37Km the cameraman came by on a motorbike and started filming and interviewing Maddog in action. What a bitch that was! I was trying to run a smooth easy pace, smile and look like I was having fun while I was pleading under my breath for him to screw off and let me die or at least walk in peace.

Fortunately he finished filming as I passed 38 Km in 4:45:21 and a split of 7:09 and as soon as he was out of sight I started to walk. My legs were totally thrashed from the ascent and then the constant descent and I had to walk/jog the final 4 Km along with a few other runners that were struggling to reach the finish line. Finally as we approached the stadium at 42Km I was able to summon up enough energy to run/sprint the final few hundred meters into the stadium and cross the finish line in 5:17:50.

 I was quite pleased with my time & performance. That was the hilliest and toughest course I had run in a long time. And it was very HOT when I crossed the finish line. After a mandatory finish line photo I went straight to the hospitality tent provided by the travel agency where food and drinks were available. I drank a coke and ate some chocolate to restore my blood sugar levels. However it was so hot that I couldn’t cool down so I took a shuttle bus back to the hotel. I wanted to take a hot shower to soothe my beat-up legs followed by a cold shower to cool down. There was no hot water in my building so I had to make do with a quick COLD shower. Suddenly I felt extremely tired and sleepy and laid down for a ‘short’ nap and woke up 2 hours later.

 I was ready for a greasy snack and some local African beers brewed in Tanzania. My friends joined me for some beers and we swapped stories about the race. Everyone finished much slower than expected? I was looking forward to a nice (beef) steak dinner to replace protein and repair damaged muscle but the damn hotel was only offering a buffet again for Sun dinner. I was too tired to taxi into the city so I managed to talk the chef into cooking me a chicken steak with fries.

 The service at the hotel had been so terrible that Domitilia found the owner and chewed out his butt. He agreed to let us stay in our rooms on Mon until we left for the airport at 7 pm and he also offered us a huge discount on a tour to a Maasai village on Mon. Since our flight didn’t depart until 10 pm we wanted to spend our last day seeing part of the country. We really enjoyed a 1-day tour of the Maasai village of Olpopongi. We learned a lot about their culture. They still live like they have for the past few hundred years. They herd cows, goats and sheep and do not use any modern conveniences – no electricity, no running water, no TV, no internet. Marriages are arranged and a man can have as many wives as he can afford – 5 to 10 cows for a wife! Ten to twenty wives and up to 100 kids is common for many men! Sounds good but each wife must have her own house/hut and divorce is not allowed. The Maasai explained that they don’t have any doctors and rely on herbs and natural medicine from local plants. I am thinking of spending a few weeks at their village to see if the witch doctor can cure my UC?

 When we returned to the hotel to check out I was treated to a steak dinner – a real beef steak with fries – the best meal I enjoyed during my 4 days in Tanzania. But then it was off to the airport for the long, 31-hr journey home.

 I am back home. The jet lag isn’t as bad this way and I am able to sleep most of the night.

 I can start to prepare for my next race. And this where things get confusing. My next race is the Boston Marathon. It was supposed to be my 3^rd goal and final marathon before hanging up my racing shoes? Kilimanjaro/Tanzania was Country #120 and my final country! BUT - a few days before leaving for Kilimanjaro that plan fell apart?

 I completed a marathon in every country in Europe in Oct 2005. However in 2008 Kosovo declared independence and I have been trying (unsuccessfully) ever since then to organize a marathon in Kosovo. Well, I just recently discovered that I have finally been successful. I won’t go into details but I had a ‘one of’ opportunity to organize a marathon in Kosovo in May or lose the opportunity forever. I accepted the challenge and the ‘first-ever’ Kosovo Marathon is scheduled for May 25/14. That will be my final country and final marathon! I can’t think of any other opportunity that could entice me to postpone my ‘retirement’ once again.

 Stay tuned!

 

 

RR Gainesville

Sun, Feb 16/14

Five Points of Life Marathon

Gainesville, FL

5:08:22  - 2 AG

Marathon #369

 

I decided to run this race for a 3^rd time because I needed to run a long training run. My longest run since the Haiti Marathon had been only 16 miles and that doesn’t build a lot of confidence when preparing for an important race. After Haiti I decided to cut back on my training program and just do the minimum amount of miles needed to get me through the next few marathons. I decided to run a marathon as a long training run and I chose Gainesville because it was close and I could drive to it and I had run this race twice before.

 

You would think after 368 marathons that it would be difficult to experience a ‘first’ in a marathon so I was shocked to experience TWO ‘firsts’ in this race. Let me explain.

 

I drove up to Gainesville on Sat and picked up my race packet and enjoyed a nice pasta dinner at Carrabba’s where I usually eat so no ‘firsts’ yet. Sun was ‘M’-day. The weather was cool with a temp of 39 F at the 7 am start – the first time I had enjoyed cool weather for a race in a long time – but not really a ‘first’. There were about 200 runners in the marathon and 500 in the Half. The race starts and finishes on the UF (University of Florida) campus. I wore 2 layers of clothes on top plus a garbage bag and gloves to keep warm – the first time I have had to do that in a long time – but not really a ‘first’. I had to make two last-minute pit stops before the race. That concerned me but wasn’t a ‘first’.

 

A few minutes before the start I hooked up my heart monitor and checked my HR. It was only 32 bpm? That was a ‘first’ (for the start of a race) and really concerned me. I ran a few sprints to see if I could get my HR to rise higher but it never got above 39 bpm. I had bought a new heart monitor/watch to replace the old one that had malfunctioned in the past 2 races. I had wisely practiced with it on a few training runs to be certain that I knew how to use it. But my HR hadn’t been that low since the ablation over a year ago? I wasn’t sure if my HR was actually that low or had I screwed up a setting on the heart monitor? I didn’t want to mess with the watch in the dark so I took off with the pack when the race started. Although I tried not to be concerned I watched the heart monitor every few secs during the 1^st mile to see if my HR would rise? It never rose above 40 bpm during the 1^st mile. Now I was becoming concerned! Shortly into Mile 2 the monitor jumped suddenly to 130 bpm which is the normal race rate for that new watch and I was able to relax after confirming that it stayed in that range. Whew!!!

 

As I reached Mile 2 in 20:51 I took off the garbage bag. At the same time I started to suffer severe stomach cramps and knew what that meant – an emergency pit stop! There was a port-o-potty but it had a line so I found a bush for pit stop #1. Two miles later the stomach cramps started again and this time I was able to use a port-o-potty. Now I was concerned again. The cramps and diarrhea are symptoms of UC (Ulcerative Colitis). Was I suffering a flare-up of my UC? I haven’t had a flare-up in more than a year? At mile 3 I removed my throw-away sweat shirt so that I was now running in a long sleeve T-shirt and shorts – the sun was up and the temps were in the low 40s. At mile 4 I got my answer to the UC question when I suffered severe stomach cramps and had to make another emergency pit stop behind a bush! Two more pit stops were necessary by the time I reached mile 10 in 2:06:18 and a split of 11:58. This was not the second ‘first’ – I had experienced this problem before when my UC was severe.

However as I approached the UF/Gator football stadium at 11 miles I could feel stomach cramps starting again so I decided to use a port-o-potty near the entrance of the stadium for a pre-emptive pit stop to prevent an embarrassing situation in the stadium. On previous pit stops I had noticed that the elastic band in my race shorts was starting to lose its elasticity so I had tightened the drawstring.  I couldn’t waste time trying to untie the drawstring so I yanked the race shorts down and –Oh Crap!- both the elastic band and the drawstring broke. When I pulled my shorts back up they just fell to my knees! There was nothing left to hold them up. This was certainly a ‘FIRST’!

 

I had visions and concerns about running and holding my shorts up for the next 15 miles! However my Boy Scout and military survival training took over. I removed two safety pins from my race bib and folded each side of the waist band and pinned them. The fix seemed to work but I was concerned about how long since the pins were very small and not very strong? After I passed the half in 2:32:33 and a split of 11:56 I noticed a medical station so I stopped and asked if they had any large safety pins. Unfortunately none. When I explained my problem the medical staff used stretchy/sticky medical tape to wrap around my shorts and waist. The shorts felt much more secure but I was going to have a problem if I needed another emergency pit stop!

 

The next 4 miles were my fastest of the race. I had enjoyed lots of unplanned rest stops and now had no worry about shorts falling down and there were no more stomach cramps or pit stops! I recall reaching Mile 15 in 2:54:54 and a split of 11:16 and reminding myself  how good I felt compared to the last time I ran this race in 2012. At that race I was sick with a flu and totally crashed at mile 15 and had to struggle for the last 11 miles. Not today! I felt good!

 

However as I approached Mile 18 in 3:38:39 and a split or 10:37 the stomach cramps returned. Another emergency pit stop was needed. I didn’t want to wreck the ‘fix’ on my shorts because I didn’t think there was any way to re-fix the fix? I won’t provide graphic details (TMI) but suffice it to say I found a way to make an emergency pit stop without dropping my race shorts – and without making a mess. I was back on the road and still feeling good. When I reached mile 20 in 3:53:44 and a split of 11:23 I felt really good energy-wise but my legs were starting to tire due to the lack of long training runs. So I stopped and walked for 1 minute and decided to follow that strategy (run 2 miles and walk 1 minute) for the final 10K. I had no more problems during the final 10K and crossed the finish line in 5:08:22 and 2^nd AG.

 

I was a wee bit disappointed in my time because I knew that I could easily have finished the race under 5 hrs if I had not experienced all the problems. It would have been nice to finish a marathon under 5 hrs before hanging up my racing shoes because I don’t believe I will have another opportunity. But I was happy that I felt strong and good at the finish and now have confidence that I can complete my personal goal # 2 – country # 120 – at my next international adventure.

 

I plan to join a few Country Club friends in Tanzania to run the Kilimanjaro Marathon on Mar2/14.

 

Stay tuned!

 

TR Haiti

TRIP REPORT

Haiti

                                                                                  1/3 to 1/6/14

 

Race Results:

Sun, Jan 5/14
Cap Haitien, Haiti
Let’s Go Haiti Marathon
Marathon # 368 – Country # 119 
5:02:00

 At the end of my last report I stated that I had three personal goals to complete before I hung up my racing shoes. Well this race enabled me to accomplish my 1^st goal – but it wasn’t easy. This was ‘The trip from Hell’! Let me explain.

 After the last race it took about 1 month of difficult and frustrating work to organize and book travel to the start line of the marathon in Cap Haitien. There is no tourist infrastructure in Haiti and the few businesses (hotels, airlines) that do serve tourists have no idea what ‘service’ means. They would not respond to emails, were difficult to reach by phone, had no website or it didn’t work and few spoke English. I thought I lucked in when the race director referred me to a manager at a local airline (Haitian Aviation) who booked flights to Haiti for me and was working on hotel reservations. Unfortunately 2 weeks before the race (a few days before Christmas) I learned that the airline went out of business. He hadn’t even bothered to call me to inform me of this issue! I scrambled to find a travel agency located in Port-au-Prince that was reliable and knowledgeable who helped me book alternative flights and confirm a reservation I had made at a hotel (the hotel wouldn’t respond to my emails to confirm the reservation). The last-minute alternatives cost me twice the original price (that I asked my credit card to refund?).

 I drove to Miami on Thu afternoon and overnighted at the airport to catch a 7 am flight to Port-au-Prince (PAP) on AA. The AA flights were easy but the problem was getting from PAP to Cap Haitien (CAP). There are a few local airlines but it is impossible to book them from outside Haiti. My original flight/route was to fly to PAP and take a shuttle (provided by the airline) to CAP – a 6-hr drive. Boy am I glad that didn’t happen. As it was the travel agent forgot to mention some critical details such as I would arrive at the International airport in PAP (no surprise) – but the domestic flight left from a small domestic terminal at the other end of the airport. I was waiting at the gate for the local airline in the International terminal and was lucky a curious employee finally asked me where I was flying to? He arranged for a taxi to rush me to the domestic terminal ($10 US taxi fee for a 1-mile drive) and he demanded a tip for his help. I quickly learned that everybody scrambles (or begs) for money/food in Haiti and they expect ‘rich’ tourists to hand out money like candy! I made it safely to CAP on a small 12-passenger plane that flew right over the Citadelle Laferriere, a large 19^th century fortress built on top of a mountain about 17 miles south of CAP. I also noticed that the country is very mountainous and barren. A 6-hr drive would have been very boring – and long!

 During the 5-mile taxi ride to my hotel I wasn’t surprised at the poverty and filth along the route but I was surprised that there were no – I mean NO – nice shops, buildings, etc.? My hotel was the nicest building I saw in the whole city during my 4-day stay. The Hotel Roi Christophe was built in the 18^th century but has been updated and is very luxurious by Haitian standards. It was conveniently located near the ocean and close to the city center. I spent the rest of the day and Sat morning walking around the city looking for my mandatory souvenirs (a souvenir teaspoon and silver charm) but I already knew that I wasn’t going to find them in CAP or Haiti.

The entire city is a dump filled with old, dilapidated buildings. There are a few small shops in some buildings but most of the ‘shops’ are stalls in the streets or at the Central Market and sidewalk vendors. The shops and market sell ‘life’ essentials – food, soap, clothes, etc – to locals. There are no souvenir shops. Well, I lie – I found one small corner near the hotel with 3 or 4 stalls that sold local arts and craft – mainly carved wood, etc to tourists. Only local handicrafts (read dust collectors) – no souvenir teaspoons or silver charms. In fact I could not find a jewelry store anywhere in the city?

 Although I did not feel unsafe walking around CAP I did not feel comfortable because I stood out like a Christmas tree with lights – white skin, blonde hair. I was a walking magnet for every local who would approach me and ask (in French/Creole) where I was from and then ask for money. If I had $100 in $1 bills I would have been broke within the 1^st hour! I found it frustrating and intimidating not to be able to help. So I walked to the local city gym to pick up my race packet and final instructions and then returned to the hotel. I decided not to leave the hotel again during my stay except for the marathon!

 I ate and drank at the hotel. It had a beautiful restaurant but it also had problems. Half the items on the menu were not available. I tried to order fish for dinner – no fish available so I ordered goat. I hadn’t enjoyed goat since the Sahara Marathon. I ordered a glass of red Chilean wine (cheaper than French wine) – no Chilean wine available? On Sat for lunch I ordered a pizza – no pizza so I ordered spaghetti bolognaise. It was OK so I tried to order it again for pasta dinner that night – no spaghetti bolognaise available? At that point I started to ask what was available on the menu before I ordered.

 I had already decided to stay in the hotel and watch the NFL playoffs. Problem – only 3 channels on the TV in my room. So I went to the lobby where the TV had satellite – sadly the major US networks were blocked! No NFL playoffs! I was not a happy camper. I was able to get status reports and scores on ESPN.

 I requested a wake-up call for 4 am but figured it wouldn’t happen (it didn’t) so I woke up every hour after midnight to check my watch so I could walk to the gym to catch a bus at 5 am to the start. But first I had to find a guard (sleeping in the lobby) to unlock the gate to the compound to let me out. I was first to arrive but shortly other runners started to arrive - a total of 80 runners including 8 (Caucasian) foreign runners. The bus was supposed to leave sharply at 5 am but the bus was too small to accommodate 80 runners so they had to scramble to find a bigger bus. We finally left at 7:30am - 90 minutes after the race was supposed to start! The local runners starting chanting/singing a derogatory song in Creole about the delay and incompetence of the race (organization) and were finally requested to stop. The foreign runners were just riding the wave knowing that we were helpless to the situation. As we drove on an ancient dilapidated bus (worried about whether it would make it to the start line) I became concerned about the amount of traffic and pollution along the course at 8am. I thought the course would be traffic-free on Sun morning? I commented to fellow runners that it was going to be ugly – and dangerous- when we returned to the city later. We drove 42 Km south of CAP although I became concerned that I might have to run my 1^st ultra because it seemed that we drove a long time? We stopped at one point and the locals starting getting off the bus but were ordered back on because we had not arrived at the start line. We finally arrived at 8:15 am. – and waited another 30 minutes before the race actually started. It was 8:45 am! We had missed an hour of dark, cool temps and the cooler temps of early morning. It was going to get hot and ugly! There were no distance markers on the course – NONE! However the highway had markers every 5 km. We started at the 35K marker and I located every marker to 10K so had some idea of distance and pace. There were supposed to be water stations every 2 miles but by the time I reached the 2^nd one there was no water left. I had wisely anticipated this probability and had worn a belt with a 20 oz. water bottle. And fortunately a race (support) car would pass by every 20 minutes or more and I would get water to fill up my bottle.

 I didn’t bother starting my stop watch. It was a good thing I didn’t need it because my useless heart monitor/watch crapped out again and would only function as a watch. I was hoping it would last a few more races but I will have to junk it and buy a new one before my next race (and only use it for a few races?). I reached 10 Km in 1 hr and 20Km in 1:59. I was surprised that I was doing so well. Since there weren’t enough distance markers I set my strategy to run 40 min and walk 3 min. I kept that cycle until I reached 25Km in 2:40 and then the sun/temps started to get brutal so I reduced the cycle to run 30 min and walk 3 min. Half of the runners were young locals – teenagers and early 20s- who had signed up for free in hopes of winning prize money. By 10Km many started to drop out and hop on buses that served the small towns we ran through. I wondered why there were so many course monitors –every 2 miles? It was to record bib #s every 2 miles to prevent cheating! Another annoying thing I quickly noticed was that all the spectators along the course and in the villages would laugh as I ran by. I had experienced this behavior before in S America and in East Timor. I was the oldest runner in the race and the locals were shocked that such an ‘old man’ would/could run a marathon. Their response was to laugh and make crude remarks in French/Creole that I understood because I understand French. I soon learned to ignore them and point out that there were many young local runners behind me! As I approached 30Km (no more distance markers on the highway) the course started to enter the city and traffic became a problem and danger. There was no traffic control. A that point a young male race volunteer joined me and started to run with me. He was wearing a bright red shirt and directed traffic around us so at least I didn’t have to worry about being run down from behind. I only had to avoid cars, buses, donkey carts, bikes, wheel barrows and street vendors in front of me or approaching from side streets. The other benefit was that he carried bags of water in a back pack and became my portable water station.

 At that point I passed a young couple from Montreal who had succumbed to the heat and were walking (it was now 12:45 pm and the noon sun was beating down on us). They thought they only had about 5 Km left to the finish line. I didn’t have the heart or meanness to tell them that I figured it was at least another 10 to 12 Km to the finish? As I approached what I figured was close to 32K I asked my ‘guide’ how far it was to the finish line. He stated ‘about 4 km”. I knew that was incorrect. I even hoped it was incorrect or I would finish under 4 hrs which meant the course was short? Not knowing how far it was to the finish line started messing with my mind because I couldn’t determine how hard to push myself. And I didn’t want to run a ‘short’ race! So I said “screw it” and reduced my cycle to run 20 min and walk 3 min. After I ran other 4 km we were joined by a UN police jeep that stayed directly behind us to prevent vehicles/traffic from running us down from behind. They stayed with us until the finish line and provided water. I quickly realized that they also had no idea how far it was to the finish line. I kept asking “Combien de kilomètres de la finition”? The answer always seemed to be ‘deux kilometers’! 

When we finally approached a main intersection near the city center I recognized where we were but still had no idea where or how far the finish line was. But I did get a different answer to my question. This time it was “Environ cinq minutes”.  I took a final long rest/walk break so I could run across the finish line in 5:02.

Marathon # 368 and Country # 119. And more importantly I had accomplished my 1^st goal – to maintain my WR #4 of completing a marathon in every country in N. America.

 The award ceremonies were already under way –in French/Creole – as I cooled down and after a mandatory finish line photo I walked back to the hotel for a soothing shower. It was already 4 pm! I enjoyed a greasy snack and a beer and decided to enjoy a nap before dinner. I never woke up. I slept until 7am Mon morning!

 After breakfast (I was starving) I walked to the Post Office to mail postcards (the hotel had some) to my family. I was shocked to learn that it cost $300 HG/$7.50 US to mail a card to N America. That is more than many locals make in a week? Needless to say the postcards did not get mailed from Haiti. That is the 1^st time I ever had to bring cards home to mail them?

 Finally and HAPPILY it was time to leave. And I was lucky to get on an earlier AA flight in PAP to arrive in Miami 4 hours early. But Uncle Sam took care of that opportunity. I was pulled aside at Immigration (not Customs) and detained for 2 hrs while they checked my biometrics – fingerprints/photo, etc. They didn’t ask a single question or answer a single question that I demanded.  Two hrs later they handed me my passport without an explanation or apology and told me I could go? I am still very pissed about the power and abuse that the government has (and uses arrogantly)! I have been in/out of the country hundreds of times and never experienced that problem/abuse before.

 Now I am trying to forget the “Marathon Trip from Hell”. I felt good during and after the race in spite of the problems and heat so I am ready to start planning my next trip and adventure. I will accomplish goal #2. It is not hard to guess what that is – Country # 120!

 Where? Stay tuned!

TR - Belize

Trip Report

BELIZE

                                                                               12/6 -12/11/13

 

Race Results

Sun, Dec 8/13
Placencia, Belize
End of the World Marathon
Marathon # 367 – Country # 118
5:11:27

 Where do I start? I would have ran the inaugural marathon in 2012 (hence the name to reflect the end of the Mayan calendar) but I was on a sabbatical from running to rest and resolve health issues. One year later not much has been resolved and I did not have much confidence or enthusiasm as I walked to the start line. I feel it is important to tell my medical history during the past year that got me to this point for my own records and so that my readers can understand my mental attitude and dilemma at this time. It may be boring so feel free to skip the first page and go to the start of the actual race report.

 When I finished the Guernsey Marathon in Aug 2012 I was in bad shape health-wise. My two health issues had become serious: the UC (Ulcerative Colitis) was in a major flare-up that could not be controlled by normal meds and my heart was back in A-fib. I knew I wasn’t feeling well and announced that Guernsey might well be my ‘final’ marathon. A cardio version was needed to jump start the heart back into rhythm but that only lasted for a few months. The cardiologist refused to perform another cardio version and recommended an ablation procedure to stop the heart from going into A-fib. I reluctantly agreed to have an ablation procedure the day after Christmas. During this same time the GI doc had increased my meds to a cocktail of toxic meds to force the UC into remission and this cocktail had some nasty side effects. When I was released from the hospital a few days after the ablation I was able to walk a few miles without problems. However when I tried to run after one week it was a total disaster – I couldn’t run more than 500 ft. without collapsing from fatigue and shortness of breath. One week later my heart went back into A-fib and another cardio version was needed to get it back into rhythm. I was very discouraged at that point and agreed to follow the cardiologist’s orders NOT to run for a few weeks to give my heart a chance to recover from the ablation.

In early Feb I started training again. I was determined to train wisely and slowly. I would walk and add a few short runs until I suffered shortness of breath. Once I built the run up to 1 mile I would slowly increase the distance to 2 miles and then add another mile. It took 2 months to build my run up to 10 miles. During this period the cocktail of toxic drugs finally forced the UC into remission and I was able to quit the cocktail and return to my normal (1 toxic) meds. However my ‘long’ run had become limited to 10 miles? After 10 miles I would become fatigued and suffer shortness of breath? So I added 1 and then 2 miles of walking to my 10-mile run. Finally after I reached a total of 13 miles I reached a significant breakthrough – I was suddenly able to run 12 miles. I became exited and optimistic that I might again be able to run another marathon. I set a goal to run an inaugural marathon in St Kitts in May 2013. As my trip report indicated that race was ugly and slow but I did manage to run/walk and finish. I was hopeful that Maddog was on the road to recovery. Unfortunately that optimism was short-lived and came to a painful and screeching halt at the Vietnam marathon in Sept. I felt so bad during and after that race that I knew my health problems were not resolved! I asked the cardiologist to perform another echocardiogram to compare my current heart condition to the initial echocardiogram done before the ablation. I was not surprised but I was disappointed/discouraged by the results and diagnosis: cardiomyopathy with an EF (Ejection Fraction) of 30%. A normal EF is 50 to 70% so that means my heart is so weak that it is only pumping half the normal amount of blood volume and can’t support strenuous exercise. The cardiologist stated that he would not order me to “NOT” run because he knew I would only ignore his advice. But he was concerned that the marathons were stressing my weak heart and could cause further damage?  I denied this medical fact/truth for almost one year but could no longer deny the fact that there had been no change or improvement in the past year. I was hoping that a wise exercise program would strengthen my heart. I still tried to go into denial and decided to try one more test. I ran Bill’s Beer Run – a popular and fast 5-mile run in Sarasota. I wanted to see how fast I could run? Since I was struggling to run an 11-min pace in my daily runs I figured a 9-min pace was a good/realistic goal. I gave it everything I had – and I mean EVERYTHING – and all I could manage was a 9-min pace for the first 3 miles and then I slowed to a 9:30 pace to struggle to the finish line. That test and result hit me like a sledge hammer. I was screwed! My ‘running’ life was over! I immediately went into a ‘funk’ – not quite depression – but close! My emotions and attitude were on a roller coaster ride! But the worst part was that I mentally gave up. I no longer had the desire to race/run or the mental toughness to overcome/ignore the pain that is encountered in training and racing. And as all runners know, marathons are 30% physical and 70% mental! Three weeks later I ran a marathon in Fort Myers. It was a disaster from the start for the above reasons. And to make matters worse I started to suffer leg cramps and tightness in both hips at 8 miles. The emotional roller coaster continued and ranged from denial/ignoring everything and run till I dropped/died or quit right now! But wait – just when things seemed like they couldn’t get any worse – they did! For the past few months I had been feeling tired and sleepy all the time. Both the cardiologist and GI doc claimed that the cardiomyopathy and UC couldn’t cause those symptoms so I went to my GP. After many blood tests proved negative I was referred to a sleep doc for consultation and sleep labs. Once again I wasn’t ready for the results: Narcolepsy – an incurable sleep disorder- and the 3^rd nail in Maddog’s running coffin! It can be managed with meds (narcotics) but so far Medicare refuses to authorize or pay for the prescription because the drug is too expensive. I’ll be damned if I will pay for the drug since I am paying for a Medicare Prescription Plan. (Consider this a forewarning about Obama Care and government control of your health!)

Now I am up to date with my health issues/woes and facing an international marathon that I had already booked and paid for. What should I do? After many heated discussions with Maddog we compromised on a plan. I want to complete three more personal goals that I won’t announce because Maddog would then consider them etched in stone and I would be forced to do them no matter what. This plan/goal requires that I run four more marathons over the next five months. I am not sure that I can do that so we have wisely agreed to run each marathon ‘one-at-a-time’ and re-evaluate after each race. So now I am ready to leave for Belize and run the next marathon.

 Race Report:

The most positive thing to come out of all the above (bad) news and roller coaster rides was that I had finally accepted the truth and decided to run within my limitations. I set a race strategy to run 3 miles and walk 3 minutes. During the rest/walk break I would also stretch my quads and hip flexors to prevent the tightness/soreness problems I have been suffering for the past month in training runs. I expected that the only fun part of the trip would be re-uniting with four of my fellow Country Club members.

 I flew from Miami to Belize City where I connected with a small 8-passenger airplane for the final leg to Placencia. It has been a long time since I flew on such a small airplane. We never flew above 2,000 ft. as we followed the coastline and made a short stop to drop off passengers in Dangriga. Finally I arrived in Placencia and joined my roommate Edson from NYC. We soon bumped into another CC member Brent who joined us for dinner. We stayed at the host hotel (Robert Grove Resort) which is expensive and remote (only 4 miles from the village but a $10 taxi ride). On Sat we took a taxi into Placencia to explore the village. I was surprised that the village is so small (1500 people) with only one paved road? It is very basic and laid-back – not modern and upscale as I expected. It took only a few hours to explore the entire village and enjoy a pizza for lunch. Later we picked up our race packets at the hotel and joined the final two CC members (Yen and Peter) for a pasta dinner at the hotel.

 Sun was M-day! The race started at 5:30 am to benefit from at least one hour of darkness and cooler temps. The race started in the center of the village, ran 13 miles north on the only paved road and returned to the finish line in the center of the village. On Sat we had noted how hot it was at 10 am so we were hoping for cloudy skies and maybe rain on race day? The weather Gods were kind to us. The skies were overcast at the start with temps in the low 70s F. Peter and Yen slept in and just made it to the start line as the gun went off so we weren’t able to get a group photo at the start of the race. Brent started fast and the other four CC members ran the first few miles together. At 3 miles I stuck to my race strategy and stopped to stretch and walk for 3 min. When I passed 4 miles in 44:56 it started to rain which cooled the temps and my bod and I started to leave my three friends behind. We enjoyed light rain showers for much of the first half. I reached 12 miles in 2:01:05 and stopped and walked. So far I felt OK – actually good- and had no problems with cramps or tightness. I passed the Half in 2:26:17 but I knew the 2^nd Half would not be that fast because the sun was starting to break through the clouds. I was concerned that the sun would bake the wet road and we would be running in a steam bath. We were lucky! The skies remained overcast for much of the 2^nd half also and I don’t think the temps rose above 80 F? We passed some gated communities at Maya Beach and the Placencia Hotel which were modern and upscale which is what I expected to find in Placencia Village. When I reached mile 20 in 3:35:30 I started to tire and my legs started to get tight so I changed my race strategy to run 2 miles and walk 3 min. When I passed mile 23 in 4:15:50 and a split of 13:26 I had an notion to run the final 5K but that silly idea didn’t last long as I started to struggle. After another walk at Mile 24 I was able to cruise to the finish line in 5:11:27.

 I was happy with my time and performance based on the struggles I had experienced in my training runs for the past month. I had completed Marathon # 367 and Country # 118 without suffering any problems and I was one marathon closer to my first goal. Brent had already finished in 1^st AG (60+) and we waited for our friends to finish. Peter and Yen had to jump into a cab immediately to return to the hotel, shower and catch a 2 pm flight home. I remember when I used to do silly things like that before I retired? Edson and I returned with them so we could shower, relax and enjoy some food and beer.

 Brent and Edson left Mon morning and I moved into the village where a hotel was cheaper and I could walk to all the bars and restaurants. I had booked a 6-day trip hoping to visit some Mayan ruins after the race. Unfortunately there were few tourists in Placencia at this time and I wasn’t able to find or join a tour to any ruins. The only tours available were snorkeling tours and I didn’t feel like snorkeling. Instead I explored the village and met many locals and transplanted Northerners at the local bars where the beer is good and cheap. There seemed to be a lot of Northerners who came to Placencia on vacation and never left? Each night I would enjoy a great seafood dinner and a nightcap at one of the bars with my new friends.

Since I couldn’t book a ruins tour I used the time to start writing my trip report and managed to complete 90% of it in Belize. On my last night I treated Maddog to a fine lobster dinner to spend my remaining $BZ. A lobster appetizer + lobster (Creole style) + drinks cost $80 BZ = $40 US. The flight home was uneventful except the small 12-passenger plane flew directly over the marathon course and I was able to take some great aerial photos of the course.

 I am back home now and feeling more encouraged and optimistic about my running. Since I was able to complete the Belize marathon without any problems I have booked the trip for my next international marathon in early Jan. That race will allow me to accomplish my 1^st personal goal. I also plan to reduce my training program from 50 miles per week to 30 miles per week to see what effect and benefit that produces?

 Where is that race? What is the goal?

 Stay tuned!

 

 

RR - Fort Myers

Race Report

Sun, Nov 10/13
Fort Myers Beach Marathon
Fort Myers, FL
Marathon # 366
5:44:39 – 6 AG

 This will be another short report. After running a 5:05 marathon 3 weeks earlier I had high hopes that I could break 5 hours in this race. Alas, it was not to be.

I could come up with a few excuses such as the temps being hotter than expected and a terrible course but the bottom line is my mental toughness was sadly lacking this day and I paid dearly for it.

 I drove down to Fort Myers the afternoon before the race to pick up my race packet and meet with a fb friend, Sandy McCallum and her husband Jim. Sandy holds the WR for running the most Ultras in  desert/sand races and is training for another Ultra in Oman in Jan where she will pass 4,000K of racing on sand. Jim is also running the Ultra in Oman. As part of their training they both planned to wake at 1 am on Sun and run 4 hours on Fort Myers Beach. Then Sandy would change to run the marathon while Jim continued to run another 4 hours on the beach. And you thought Maddog was crazy?

 Later I joined my sister Mary Lou and husband Tim for a pasta dinner. They are vacationing for one month in Fort Myers.

 Sun was ‘M’ day. The race started at 7am with 1500 runners in the inaugural marathon and Half. Unfortunately the weather had warmed up above norms in the past week so temps were in the low 70s at the start. The race started and finished at ‘Nervous Nellies’, a bar on Fort Myers Beach. After a few hundred meters we were running up a short steep bridge over the ICW (Inter Coastal Waterway) to the mainland. I passed Mile 3 in 30:14. The skies were overcast for the first 2 hours which helped keep the temps from soaring.  As I reached mile 5 in 52:36 and a split of 10:55 I could feel both legs starting to tighten. When I passed mile 9 in 1:39:03 and a split of 11:52 to the cheers of Mary Lou & Tim both legs and hips were so tight and sore that I felt like I was running on 2X4s? I stopped to stretch my hamstrings & quads which provided short-term relief but for the next 4 miles I had to stop almost every mile to stretch. Just before I reached the Half my legs were so tight and sore that I had to stop and do a thorough series of stretches. That took over 5 minutes and I passed the Half in 2:38:23 and a split of 17:47 but my legs and hips had finally relaxed and loosened up. At that point the course got really confusing and I thought I had missed a turn? That messed up my mind and the sun broke through the clouds and the temps started to soar and my mental toughness and willpower to ignore pain vanished. When I passed Mile 16 in 3:18:46 and a split of 15:59 the race was essentially over for me. I didn’t care anymore! I knew there was no hope for a sub -5 hr finish and I wasn’t willing to ignore or accept a lot of pain to push my old bod beyond its limit so I started to walk and run. Believe me it is a lonnnnggggggggg way to run/walk/struggle when you have 10 miles to go – and you are hurting like HELL! I did play a few mind games telling myself that if I could make it to 20 miles then I could walk the final 10K. I knew once I reached 20 miles – in 4:14:43 and a split of 14:20 – that I would not quit and I would continue to run and walk as much as possible to get to the finish line. That final 10K was HOT, ugly and painful but there were a few other runners suffering the same fate and we kept each other going. I tried to run back up the bridge at 25 ½ miles but just didn’t have the energy or mental toughness to keep the old legs churning. I did manage to run down the bridge and cross the finish line in 5:44:39.

 I was very disappointed in my time and performance and am now very worried about my next race in 3 weeks. The weather will be much hotter and more humid! If that race is as bad (or worse) than this one I will have a difficult decision to make about my running career/life. Actually I have already made the decision but I am not ready to announce it yet.

 Stay tuned!

 

 

RR - Apalachicola

Race Report

Sun, Oct 20/13
Running for the Bay Marathon
Apalachicola, FL
Marathon # 365
5:05:31  - 1 AG

 This will be a short race report since I was unable to record any race data due to a watch/heart monitor that malfunctioned.

 I had no plans to run another marathon until mid Nov. The last race in Vietnam really tired me out and the constant heat & humidity in FL made it difficult to run long training runs. In fact my longest training run since Vietnam was only 13 miles. I planned to increase my long run each week until I reached 18 miles in early Nov. However this race caught my eye on the marathon calendar. It could serve as a long training run to beat my old bod back into (marathon) shape and It was a good excuse to visit the ‘Forgotten Coast’ along the Florida Panhandle.

 I registered the week of the race and decided to leave a few days early to explore the area. The 1^st glitch was no hotel rooms in Apalachicola the night before the race. I stayed in Apalachicola the first night and had to move to Carrabelle for the 2^nd night. I spent Sat morning driving along the ‘Forgotten Coast’ to explore Port St Joe and Cape San Blas. After picking up my race packet I drove the marathon course that started in Apalachicola and ran across two long bridges and causeways to St George Island – a total of 16 miles of concrete bridges and causeways – to return to Apalachicola.

 The 2^nd glitch was no Italian restaurants anywhere on the ‘Forgotten Coast’. I had to make do with a seafood pasta at a seafood restaurant – there are lots of them!

 Sun was “M” day. The races started at 7:15 am to take advantage of the light at sunrise. There were about 400 runners in 4 races that started a few minutes apart since the courses all jumped on to the John Gorrie Memorial Bridge (Hwy 98) after a few hundred meters and runners could only use the emergency shoulder to run. The temps were in the high 60s and the skies were overcast. The bridge climbed steeply for ½ mile and then declined to a long causeway and another bridge. Due to the lack of room there were no manned water stations on the bridges – only cases of water bottles that runners had to stop and collect on their own.

 When we passed Mile 1, I tried to check my split but my watch/heart monitor was acting up. It was not recording splits? I tried to fix the problem but there was still not enough light (and poor eyesight in the dark) to see what I was doing and I only seemed to make the problem worse. Of course this problem started to mess with my mind and I wasted/lost about 5 minutes over the 1st 5 miles trying to fix the damn watch! I asked another runner at 5 Miles what our time was – 57:22. Out of desperation I reset the watch and it started to work and I was finally able to focus on running – just in time to start crossing the Bryant Patton Bridge at Mile 6  – another 4 miles of concrete bridge and causeway over to St George Island. When I reached St George Island at Mile 10 I hit the ‘lap’ button to check my split and the watch went crazy again? It reset itself to ZERO and I lost all my data. I was pissed and flustered.

I screwed with the watch until I reached the Half in 2:29 (a digital clock) where I tried to reset it again figuring I would record a complete/correct 2^nd Half? No go! The watch completely failed! It stated “memory failed” and went blank. I was so pissed off that I wanted to rip the damn watch off my wrist and throw it in the Gulf.

 However I calmed myself and decided that maybe that was a good thing. I would have to run the 2^nd half based on what my body told me – and not my watch! (Been years since I did that?) I kept the pace slow & easy – close to my normal training pace. It was a long boring 4 miles back across that bridge. Thankfully the skies were cloudy and overcast because there was no protection from the sun – or the constant headwind!

 I passed a few runners on the Patton Bridge and caught a few more runners as we approached the John Gorrie Bridge at Mile 21. I asked a runner what our time was at that point – 4:10. I figured it would take about 1 hour to run the final 5 miles so I just kept the pace slow & easy. I had expected there would be a lot of walking required during the final 10K but maybe the walking in the early part of the race while I tried to fix my f***ing watch saved my ass? I was able to run the entire final 10K including the climb back up John Gorrie Bridge.

 I crossed the finish line in 5:05:31 so I was happy – and surprised to learn that slow time was good enough to place 1^st AG. I jumped in the car and drove 3 ½ hours along the Gulf Coast to Cedar Key where I had booked a ‘Honeymoon’ suite at a motel overlooking the Marina and Gulf. The ‘Honeymoon’ suite was the only room that had a 2^nd story verandah (with a porch swing) overlooking the Gulf. After a much-needed hot shower I enjoyed a few beer while enjoying the swing and view before I went off in search of a great seafood dinner.

Actually the best part of the whole trip was the scenery and great seafood. The race was just an excuse to go! And now I have more confidence that I am in better shape that thought and I will be ready for my next race. And with ‘winter’ forecast to arrive in FL later this week the cooler weather will help with my training and make long training runs easier and more pleasant.

 Stay tuned!

 

TR - Vietnam - Part 2

TRIP REPORT

Vietnam

8/25 – 9/11/13

Part 2

 

Now where were we? Oh yes. I just finished the Da Nang Marathon, puked up my guts and now felt much better and was ready to continue my tour through Vietnam.

 On Mon we drove south from Da Nang to the ancient city of Hoi An. In the 16^th century Hoi An was an international trading center for VN. The Old Quarter is well preserved with many of the original buildings and temples. Much of the Old Quarter is restricted to walking - with no scooters. At night it is lit up with thousands of lanterns and is very colorful and lively. I saw more Caucasian tourists in Hoi An than all the rest of VN. Our guide toured us around the Old Quarter for an afternoon and then we had the evening to do our own thing. I found a ‘real’ French restaurant and enjoyed a wonderful (but expensive by VN standards) dinner. It was a much-needed change from VN food.

 On Tue we flew to Hanoi where we were picked up again at the airport and taken on a tour of the city. We visited all the main historical and tourist sites: Ho Chi minh Mausoleum and Museum, Ho Chi Minh’s house, One Pillar Pagoda, and Temple of Literature. We concluded the city tour with a show at the Water Puppet Theatre. That was quite interesting. My 3* hotel was on the edge of the Old Quarter in Hanoi and the streets are a maze so it was difficult to find my way around (safely) with all the scooters.

 On Wed we drove for 4 hours to the coast to Halong Bay for a 2-day cruise. I was looking forward to this cruise. I had seen many photos and scenes of Halong Bay (used as a location in two James Bond movies). Halong Bay has been designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO. The scenery was as spectacular as imagined. Although it was cloudy and rainy for the two days the scenery was still awesome. We had private cabins on the Victory Star that accommodated 30 passengers. Although the ship looks like an old junket it was quite luxurious and the food and service were great. In the afternoon we were taken on sampans to Vung Vieng Village, a fishing village near Cat Ba Island. It is very picturesque but that would be a tough life. That evening Colleen and I enjoyed a great dinner with a bottle of wine (wine is expensive in VN). On Thu morning I rose early to get photos of the sunrise over Halong Bay but sadly the weather was still overcast. But I was ready for an early visit to Sung Sot Cave, one of the biggest grottoes on Halong Bay. It has three chambers with many stalactites and rock formations and great views overlooking Halong Bay.

 I wish I could have spent more time on Halong Bay. I strongly recommend that you add Halong Bay to your ‘bucket list’. Now it was time for the long drive back to Hanoi and the end of our formal tour. Our tour guide’s surname was Duoc so we called him ‘Duke’. I had worked out an itinerary with Duke for my extra five days in VN.

 On Thu Duke & I drove west of Hanoi into the mountains to the Mai Chau Valley that is near the Laos border and the ‘Golden Triangle’ – the drug center of Thailand, Laos and Burma. It is also the home of many hill tribes. The main tribe in that area is the Thai tribe. They have their own small villages and maintain the same culture and lifestyle of the past 100 years. Well almost. All homes are built on stilts and many still have animals living (& shitting) in the bottom level whereas others now have scooters parked there. Most homes have electricity, few have plumbing but a few have satellite dishes and I noticed a few cafes with Wi-Fi? They still spin and weave silk by hand for their traditional dress but few wear it except for festivals and ceremonies.

I stayed at the Mai Chau Lodge – the only (luxury) resort in the area. It was the nicest and most expensive room I enjoyed in VN. The room cost more for one night than most VN people make in a month and probably six months for the Thai tribe. I was feeling kind of guilty about that until Duke suggested I could enjoy a ‘home stay’ vacation where you live with a Thai tribe family and share their home and common room (& outdoor plumbing) with up to 10 people. I explained that “I didn’t feel that guilty”!

 We spent two days visiting the Thai tribe in their rice fields and their homes. It is a tough life.

On our way back to Hanoi Duke told me that his in-laws who were farmers living near Mai Chau had invited us to stop at their home for a home-cooked lunch. After stopping to buy a gift to present to them upon entering their home we arrived at their home/farm in a small village. Home was a single common room where they had raised six children. Dad had been a colonel in the VN army. Sixty-five men from his village had been conscripted into the army – he was one of three that returned after the war! He & I got along well even though we could only communicate through Duke. I had asked Duke to explain that I might not eat everything because of concerns about GI problems but I was able to eat almost everything Mom cooked for their special guest. They had killed a duck for the occasion and believe me after they take off the feathers they cook and eat everything! I passed on the organs (hear, liver, intestines, etc.) but did eat the meat. They were shocked that I didn’t eat all the fat and small bones? There were also a few veggies and leaves from trees that had been steamed or boiled that didn’t look very appetizing but tasted OK? The VN people eat anything and everything that can be eaten. Fortunately Dad had some home-made rice wine to wash all this delicious food down. It was served in shot glasses. The custom was that Dad would offer a toast to his guest – we would down the glass/shot of wine and then show everyone the empty glass. Then we would say “thank you’ and shake hands. Then the guest had to reciprocate with the same protocol. The first few shots of rice wine tasted like kerosene and had a kick like wood alcohol but after a few the taste buds and throat became numbed and it was easier to drink.
I don’t know how many ‘toasts’ we enjoyed but Duke finally told me his father-in-law was getting drunk so I politely stated that I didn’t want any more wine. At that point they brought in grandma – the matriarch of the family and 96 years old who lived next door- to challenge Maddog to one final toast. I really had a fun time and sincerely thanked the whole family for their hospitality. 

 When we returned to Hanoi Duke booked a nice 4* hotel for me in the Old Quarter that was close to Hoan Kiem Lake where I could run each morning. There was a path/sidewalk around the lake without cars/scooters that provided a 1-mile run with pleasant scenery. I shared the path with thousands of runners/walkers and locals doing their morning Thai Chai each day. I soon became familiar with the Old Quarter and could find my way around the maze of twisting streets without getting lost (or run over). I revisited some of the tourist sites for more/better photos and a few that we had missed such as Hoa Lo Prison or the ‘Hanoi Hilton’ as American POWs called it.  I found many streets in the Old Quarter that contained shops for specific products such as the ‘Toy Street’ that only had shops with toys for kids. My grandkids will be happy that I found that street and that I had to use up my VN money before leaving. I was glad when my final 2 days in Hanoi were over and I headed to the airport for the long trip home.

 It was an interesting and exciting adventure. The marathon sucked – not due to any fault of the race organization – but due to my inability to handle and run in extreme heat anymore. But I am already booked for my next tropical country/marathon and planning the one after that. So I guess I will never learn – or give up?

 What’s next? Stay tuned!