Distance: 26 miles
Total ascent: 6320 ft
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Seattle Marathon
Good race! Great times in Seattle seeing my brother!
Data from my GPS:
Total Distance: 26.54 miles
Total Time: 3:12:46
Average Pace: 7:16/mile
Total Ascent: 3936 feet
Total Descent: 3877 feet
Start was south tip of plot (top of picture). End was downtown.
Next up, Leadville...this weekend!
Data from my GPS:
Total Distance: 26.54 miles
Total Time: 3:12:46
Average Pace: 7:16/mile
Total Ascent: 3936 feet
Total Descent: 3877 feet
Start was south tip of plot (top of picture). End was downtown.
Next up, Leadville...this weekend!
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Kansas IronMan 70.3 (DQ)
This was a 1.2-mile swim, 56-mile bike, and 13.1-mile run event held at Clinton Lake and vacinity just outside of Lawrence, KS--home of the KU Jayhawks.
As much as I would love to have a success story to tell, I don't. This weekend I came face-to-face with epic defeat--something I certainly am not used to. Being an acceptable runner and biker--and possessing what I thought were "fair" swimming skills (based on my very limited pool work), I went into my first triathlon experience planning to wing the swim and rock the bike and run. Halfway through the 1.2-mile swim, I came to realization after being passed by the last swimmer that I wasn't ready for this. This was a huge wake-up call for me: I am not an effective swimmer! It was naive of me to believe I could wing a swim of that distance within the time-allotment. About 400 yards from the swim finish, a kayak race official comes up to me and announces I have 10 minutes before the cutoff. I knew it was over at this point. The official said I could either finish the swim segment or jump in a boat for a ride to the end. To that I snickered and kept paddling along to the finish. They would not allow me to continue the official course because of the DQ. After beating myself up mentally in the car for about 20 minutes, I knew this behavior was counterproductive. I quickly threw on my running shoes and took off on a 13-mile run anyway.
Cardio was not the issue for me during the swim. It just became painfully obvious to me that I was putting forth quite a bit more effort than the average swimmer to make forward progress in the water. The best analogy I can come up with is: I tried to race Nascar when I had only been behind the wheel of a car one time in my life!
Despite skipping the bike portion of the race and not getting an official time, I hardly considered this event a "waste of time". I got to experience most of the triathlon experience and, more importantly, learned a lot about the swimming aspect of said event. Swimming (unlike biking or running) is not something the average person inherently knows how to do well (efficiently) without proper coaching and/or spending significant amounts of time in the pool. While fitness level is just as important in swimming as in biking/running, technique in swimming is paramount!
Water temperate was in the upper 70's--one degree below the "no wetsuits allowed" level. I opted to not wear one. In hindsight, I probably should have--not for thermal reasons obviously--but for extra buoyancy. I don't float. At all. The amount of energy I spent trying to keep my head above water was astounding!
The bike course (known as "The Iron Cross" to the locals) was mostly to the south of Clinton Lake and consisted of out-and-backs across an elevation profile ranging from ~850 feet and ~1050 feet (hardly very "hilly" by a Coloradan's definition).
The official run course was, frankly, simply retarded: out-and-backs along paved roads. My impromptu 13-mile course was much better in my opinion! ;)
Humidity was very high--but the temperature wasn't bad (for KS) on Sunday.
Outside of the triathlon itself, I had a simply fantastic weekend! Got to spend some quality time with friends/family, jump on the trampoline with my cousin's little kids, kick up some mud on the 4-wheelers, and visit a handful of Lawrence bars and restaurants! Did a fair amount of running around the KU campus as well.
I don't know if I am sold on triathlons yet--but I certainly don't have enough experience at this point to make a fair assessment. Nonetheless, I have a personal vendetta against the Kansas IronMan 70.3 and I have vowed to myself that I will go back and tackle it next year...after I learn how to swim! ;)
An experimental event I thought it would be--and an experiment it turned out to be. All-in-all, I chalk this one up to a "successful failure". I'll take a DQ over a DNF anyday!
It is a very humbling experience to be disqualified from a race--but ultimately this did me more good than anything else: it lit a fire that will motivate me over the next year!
---
Putting that behind me, I have three weeks before the Seattle Marathon. I really want to run it sub-3:10. Back to speed work on Tuesday's and gotta get a few more 20-mile training runs in.
As much as I would love to have a success story to tell, I don't. This weekend I came face-to-face with epic defeat--something I certainly am not used to. Being an acceptable runner and biker--and possessing what I thought were "fair" swimming skills (based on my very limited pool work), I went into my first triathlon experience planning to wing the swim and rock the bike and run. Halfway through the 1.2-mile swim, I came to realization after being passed by the last swimmer that I wasn't ready for this. This was a huge wake-up call for me: I am not an effective swimmer! It was naive of me to believe I could wing a swim of that distance within the time-allotment. About 400 yards from the swim finish, a kayak race official comes up to me and announces I have 10 minutes before the cutoff. I knew it was over at this point. The official said I could either finish the swim segment or jump in a boat for a ride to the end. To that I snickered and kept paddling along to the finish. They would not allow me to continue the official course because of the DQ. After beating myself up mentally in the car for about 20 minutes, I knew this behavior was counterproductive. I quickly threw on my running shoes and took off on a 13-mile run anyway.
Cardio was not the issue for me during the swim. It just became painfully obvious to me that I was putting forth quite a bit more effort than the average swimmer to make forward progress in the water. The best analogy I can come up with is: I tried to race Nascar when I had only been behind the wheel of a car one time in my life!
Despite skipping the bike portion of the race and not getting an official time, I hardly considered this event a "waste of time". I got to experience most of the triathlon experience and, more importantly, learned a lot about the swimming aspect of said event. Swimming (unlike biking or running) is not something the average person inherently knows how to do well (efficiently) without proper coaching and/or spending significant amounts of time in the pool. While fitness level is just as important in swimming as in biking/running, technique in swimming is paramount!
Water temperate was in the upper 70's--one degree below the "no wetsuits allowed" level. I opted to not wear one. In hindsight, I probably should have--not for thermal reasons obviously--but for extra buoyancy. I don't float. At all. The amount of energy I spent trying to keep my head above water was astounding!
The bike course (known as "The Iron Cross" to the locals) was mostly to the south of Clinton Lake and consisted of out-and-backs across an elevation profile ranging from ~850 feet and ~1050 feet (hardly very "hilly" by a Coloradan's definition).
The official run course was, frankly, simply retarded: out-and-backs along paved roads. My impromptu 13-mile course was much better in my opinion! ;)
Humidity was very high--but the temperature wasn't bad (for KS) on Sunday.
Outside of the triathlon itself, I had a simply fantastic weekend! Got to spend some quality time with friends/family, jump on the trampoline with my cousin's little kids, kick up some mud on the 4-wheelers, and visit a handful of Lawrence bars and restaurants! Did a fair amount of running around the KU campus as well.
I don't know if I am sold on triathlons yet--but I certainly don't have enough experience at this point to make a fair assessment. Nonetheless, I have a personal vendetta against the Kansas IronMan 70.3 and I have vowed to myself that I will go back and tackle it next year...after I learn how to swim! ;)
An experimental event I thought it would be--and an experiment it turned out to be. All-in-all, I chalk this one up to a "successful failure". I'll take a DQ over a DNF anyday!
It is a very humbling experience to be disqualified from a race--but ultimately this did me more good than anything else: it lit a fire that will motivate me over the next year!
---
Putting that behind me, I have three weeks before the Seattle Marathon. I really want to run it sub-3:10. Back to speed work on Tuesday's and gotta get a few more 20-mile training runs in.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Bolder Boulder
Set a new PR at the Bolder Boulder this year (42:26). Surprising given I have done zero speed training this year--so far...
On-on to Lawrence, KS tomorrow for first triathlon...
On-on to Lawrence, KS tomorrow for first triathlon...
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Jemez Mountains
The Jemez Mountains Trail Races took place in the scenic Jemez mountains in North-Central New Mexico. The course was on technical trails with a substantial amount of elevation change. The 50K and 50M events included extremely steep climbs and descents on very technical terrain. On the course, runners experienced high altitude (over 10,000 feet above sea level), scree fields, stream crossings, fallen trees, and other obstacles.
Our trip began after an 8 AM breakfast at Purple Castle with Katie Throndsen, Jon Teisher, and Lauren Kennedy. The four of us planned to drive down together in two cars--as some of us were planning on sleeping *in* the car. We ran into Tanya Anderson and Susan Mopper that morning too.
[JT, Katie, Lauren, Tanya, Susan, Matt]
~5 hour drive to Los Alamos with a stop at Colorado's oldest church in Conejos, Colorado. Arrived in Los Alamos, NM late afternoon and found a couple of camping spots around Bandelier. Los Alamos is adjacent to the Santa Fe National Forest and Bandelier National Monument. After getting settled in and paying the camp site fees, JT and I hot-footed it over to the packet pick-up and to take advantage of the free pasta. Caught up with our buddies from Austin, TX (Pete Mehok and Naresh Bhagavatha)--as well as some local yokels: Brooks Williams, James Kaminski, Sean Kute, and Andy Henshaw. Quick stop at the local supermarket for beer and ice and we all headed back to the campground.
I hate pre-race nights! Everybody is always in a great mood and wants to party--but as any runner knows, the act of partying has inevitable side-effects the next morning. Did we get to bed early and wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed...no. We stayed up into the early AM drinking booze. Finally Nacheaux (Lauren) gives me the ultimatum to "Go to bed BLOS!"...and so I did. ;) About 3 and 1/2 hours later we're waking up in a hungover frenzy and driving to the starting line. At the start, Katie and Nacheux pull JT out of the back of the truck, brush him off, explain to him that he is running a 50M race, and tell him to get going. I wish the 50-mile guys the best and head back to my car to finish waking up. An hour later I'm ready and out with the 50K group.
The best part of the trail (I thought) was climbing a ladder next to a waterfall in a very lush, shaded area of the trail. After about an hour of trail running at a pretty decent pace, my motivation was fading. A few hours into the trail, I pass some of the 50-mile runners running in the opposite direction. I pass JT and he tells me he is bailing at the next aid station due to injury-related issues. I pass Brooks at another point to hear him say, "Man, I don't think I'm gonna make it!" None of this did well for my motivation. Nonetheless, I was determined to finish this race--especially after my soapbox diatribe the night prior against people that DNF.
For the first time in my running career, I discovered the benefits of salt tablets. Somewhere around 22 miles into this race I noticed my fingers were swollen. Never had that happen before and, frankly, didn't know why. Suspecting it might be a hydration issue or hyponatremic reaction, I started popping those Succeed! caplets at the aid stations. Swelling started to go down and I discovered new-found energy.
Somewhere 24 miles or so into this race my GPS got tired of waiting for me to finish and died. So, I'll post this GPS plot from the race website instead:
The last part of the race was pretty boring as we were going down from higher altitude: hot, windy, dusty desert wasteland...
~8 hours later I'm finally wrapping this thing up. Whew! No finisher medals for this race--but we all got this cool poster:
...and our choice of a hand-crafted figurine made by one of the locals. I selected this:
I don't know what it is. I suppose it is some kind of candle holder--but it looks more like a urinal to me.
Start/End: Posse Shack, North Mesa in Los Alamos, NM. 6 AM start for 50K.
Result: 48th overall, 8:14:14
Group photo after the finish:
[James, Andy, Nick (overall winner of 50-mile), Brooks, Matt, Sean, JT, Pete]
Back to the campground for a short-lived evening before everyone was out for the count. Pete and Naresh needed to hit the road back to Austin so they took off shortly after we got back. Less than an hour later, Pete's car breaks down on the way out of town and Nacheaux went back to pick them up. I spent a good hour gazing at the stars after everyone had turned into pumpkins.
Sunday morning we were off to Taos, NM. After getting Pete and Naresh back on the road, we got lunch and hit Eske's Brewery in Taos. We went slightly out of the way to check out the Taos Gorge Bridge on the way out of town.
Excellent weekend with good friends. Next up, IronMan KS 70.3 in Lawrence, KS in less than 2 weeks!
Our trip began after an 8 AM breakfast at Purple Castle with Katie Throndsen, Jon Teisher, and Lauren Kennedy. The four of us planned to drive down together in two cars--as some of us were planning on sleeping *in* the car. We ran into Tanya Anderson and Susan Mopper that morning too.
[JT, Katie, Lauren, Tanya, Susan, Matt]
~5 hour drive to Los Alamos with a stop at Colorado's oldest church in Conejos, Colorado. Arrived in Los Alamos, NM late afternoon and found a couple of camping spots around Bandelier. Los Alamos is adjacent to the Santa Fe National Forest and Bandelier National Monument. After getting settled in and paying the camp site fees, JT and I hot-footed it over to the packet pick-up and to take advantage of the free pasta. Caught up with our buddies from Austin, TX (Pete Mehok and Naresh Bhagavatha)--as well as some local yokels: Brooks Williams, James Kaminski, Sean Kute, and Andy Henshaw. Quick stop at the local supermarket for beer and ice and we all headed back to the campground.
I hate pre-race nights! Everybody is always in a great mood and wants to party--but as any runner knows, the act of partying has inevitable side-effects the next morning. Did we get to bed early and wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed...no. We stayed up into the early AM drinking booze. Finally Nacheaux (Lauren) gives me the ultimatum to "Go to bed BLOS!"...and so I did. ;) About 3 and 1/2 hours later we're waking up in a hungover frenzy and driving to the starting line. At the start, Katie and Nacheux pull JT out of the back of the truck, brush him off, explain to him that he is running a 50M race, and tell him to get going. I wish the 50-mile guys the best and head back to my car to finish waking up. An hour later I'm ready and out with the 50K group.
The best part of the trail (I thought) was climbing a ladder next to a waterfall in a very lush, shaded area of the trail. After about an hour of trail running at a pretty decent pace, my motivation was fading. A few hours into the trail, I pass some of the 50-mile runners running in the opposite direction. I pass JT and he tells me he is bailing at the next aid station due to injury-related issues. I pass Brooks at another point to hear him say, "Man, I don't think I'm gonna make it!" None of this did well for my motivation. Nonetheless, I was determined to finish this race--especially after my soapbox diatribe the night prior against people that DNF.
For the first time in my running career, I discovered the benefits of salt tablets. Somewhere around 22 miles into this race I noticed my fingers were swollen. Never had that happen before and, frankly, didn't know why. Suspecting it might be a hydration issue or hyponatremic reaction, I started popping those Succeed! caplets at the aid stations. Swelling started to go down and I discovered new-found energy.
Somewhere 24 miles or so into this race my GPS got tired of waiting for me to finish and died. So, I'll post this GPS plot from the race website instead:
The last part of the race was pretty boring as we were going down from higher altitude: hot, windy, dusty desert wasteland...
~8 hours later I'm finally wrapping this thing up. Whew! No finisher medals for this race--but we all got this cool poster:
...and our choice of a hand-crafted figurine made by one of the locals. I selected this:
I don't know what it is. I suppose it is some kind of candle holder--but it looks more like a urinal to me.
Start/End: Posse Shack, North Mesa in Los Alamos, NM. 6 AM start for 50K.
Result: 48th overall, 8:14:14
Group photo after the finish:
[James, Andy, Nick (overall winner of 50-mile), Brooks, Matt, Sean, JT, Pete]
Back to the campground for a short-lived evening before everyone was out for the count. Pete and Naresh needed to hit the road back to Austin so they took off shortly after we got back. Less than an hour later, Pete's car breaks down on the way out of town and Nacheaux went back to pick them up. I spent a good hour gazing at the stars after everyone had turned into pumpkins.
Sunday morning we were off to Taos, NM. After getting Pete and Naresh back on the road, we got lunch and hit Eske's Brewery in Taos. We went slightly out of the way to check out the Taos Gorge Bridge on the way out of town.
Excellent weekend with good friends. Next up, IronMan KS 70.3 in Lawrence, KS in less than 2 weeks!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Collegiate Peaks
Fighting a cold on Friday, I took it easy and avoided contact with everyone. Threw down a lot of Airborne and cranberry juice and hit the sack at 9:30 PM. Up at 2:30 AM and on the road to Buena Vista by 3:30 AM for race start at 6:30 AM. By the time I got to BV, I felt pretty good (mostly over the cold)--but not entirely 100%.
This was my fourth big race for 2010: a 25-mile trail run beginning and ending near the Arkansas River and consisting of mostly Jeep and single-track trails--some along part of the historic Midland Railroad.
GPS:
This was my fourth big race for 2010: a 25-mile trail run beginning and ending near the Arkansas River and consisting of mostly Jeep and single-track trails--some along part of the historic Midland Railroad.
GPS:
Conditions were better than anticipated: cool and clear skies (forecast was for snow). I learned a hard lesson from my recent (and first) trail marathon in Salida: took plenty of water this time...and glad I did.
Ran pretty strong through mile 21 or so. I started to bonk during the last few miles, consequently losing about 15 slots to other runners. Ultimately finished in ~4:11:30.
Finished off the BV visit drinking at the new Eddyline Brewery with a bunch of hasher and Colorado Springs friends (and, of course, a mandatory stop at the Green Parrot) while waiting for a few of our other buddies to finish the 50-mile.
Excellent day!
www.collegiatepeakstrailrun.org
Next up, Jemez 50K in three weeks and lots of training to do before that!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Time to step it up a knotch...
Good weather is back, DIM hash season is now upon us, and I've got some serious races coming up...
* Collegiate Peaks 25 miler
* Jemez 50K
* Half Ironman KS 70.3
...all within the next month and a few weeks. Sheesh. How'd I get myself into this one. I'm trying to step up the mileage a bit each day and work in more time on my road bike as well. Tryin' to hit the pool a couple of times a week. The trite expression "sink or swim" couldn't be more appropriate right now.
* Collegiate Peaks 25 miler
* Jemez 50K
* Half Ironman KS 70.3
...all within the next month and a few weeks. Sheesh. How'd I get myself into this one. I'm trying to step up the mileage a bit each day and work in more time on my road bike as well. Tryin' to hit the pool a couple of times a week. The trite expression "sink or swim" couldn't be more appropriate right now.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Salida Marathon Weekend
Departing from the Springs around 6 PM on Friday, I was expecting a great weekend--and a what a weekend it turned out to be!
Kerry Page, Bill Ewell, Lauren Kennedy, Jon Teisher, Katie Throndson, Rick De Pena, Gordon Barnett and myself all spent two nights at the Salida Simple Hostel and Lodge and participated in the Salida Marathon Weekend. This race was only 40 bones and the hostel was a bargain. The hostel was just around the corner from the start/finish of the marathon--and within stumbling distance of all the cool bars. More friends from the Springs joined us race morning--including Brooks Williams and James Kaminski.
Turned out to be the second worst trail conditions on record for this race (which has been going on for 5 years now). This didn't bother any of us--as we suspected pretty sloppy conditions in the mountains in the spring. The last 8 miles or so was the worst. It was mostly downhill and they at least saved us the trouble of having to posthole through two feet of snow this year by graciously dropping a set of Snowcat tracks for us to follow.
Being my first *trail* marathon, certain obvious things slipped my mind--like bringing water. Yes there were aid stations--but there was probably 8-9 miles between the last aid station and the end--a little longer than I could go without hydration. While slipping and sliding around on slushy/muddy trails, I experienced mild hallucinations. Stopped a few times to eat handful after handful of snow. The mountain views were superb though--so who's complaining!
I was making pretty acceptable time for the first half (~2000 ft net ascent). No more than 3/4 of a mile or so behind JT and Brooks, I was determined to catch up on the downhill part. These guys apparently had much less problems that I did getting through the forthcoming slop. JT finished in just under 4 hours and Brooks in a little over 4 hours. Me, just under 5--plenty of time for the boys to knock out a half dozen PBR's outside of the Salida Steamplant and Events Center. I still managed to take 40 place overall out of 108 or so. Que sera sera. See http://www.salidarec.com/ccrc/results/2010-Run-Through-Time-Results.htm for the official results.
According to my GPS, ~6400 ft of total ascent/descent:
Two epic nights of partying with the crew, plenty of Moonlight Pizza consumption, and a great workout/race experience!
Kerry Page, Bill Ewell, Lauren Kennedy, Jon Teisher, Katie Throndson, Rick De Pena, Gordon Barnett and myself all spent two nights at the Salida Simple Hostel and Lodge and participated in the Salida Marathon Weekend. This race was only 40 bones and the hostel was a bargain. The hostel was just around the corner from the start/finish of the marathon--and within stumbling distance of all the cool bars. More friends from the Springs joined us race morning--including Brooks Williams and James Kaminski.
Turned out to be the second worst trail conditions on record for this race (which has been going on for 5 years now). This didn't bother any of us--as we suspected pretty sloppy conditions in the mountains in the spring. The last 8 miles or so was the worst. It was mostly downhill and they at least saved us the trouble of having to posthole through two feet of snow this year by graciously dropping a set of Snowcat tracks for us to follow.
Being my first *trail* marathon, certain obvious things slipped my mind--like bringing water. Yes there were aid stations--but there was probably 8-9 miles between the last aid station and the end--a little longer than I could go without hydration. While slipping and sliding around on slushy/muddy trails, I experienced mild hallucinations. Stopped a few times to eat handful after handful of snow. The mountain views were superb though--so who's complaining!
I was making pretty acceptable time for the first half (~2000 ft net ascent). No more than 3/4 of a mile or so behind JT and Brooks, I was determined to catch up on the downhill part. These guys apparently had much less problems that I did getting through the forthcoming slop. JT finished in just under 4 hours and Brooks in a little over 4 hours. Me, just under 5--plenty of time for the boys to knock out a half dozen PBR's outside of the Salida Steamplant and Events Center. I still managed to take 40 place overall out of 108 or so. Que sera sera. See http://www.salidarec.com/ccrc/results/2010-Run-Through-Time-Results.htm for the official results.
According to my GPS, ~6400 ft of total ascent/descent:
Two epic nights of partying with the crew, plenty of Moonlight Pizza consumption, and a great workout/race experience!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Austin Weekend
This last weekend I traveled to Austin for the marathon. Did the half last year--and wished ever since that I had run the full. Running this marathon may become an annual thing--I at least need my Austin fix once a year! I'm debating going back for the Austin City Limits Music Festival later this year.
This time around I decided to take Bart Yasso's advice and run negative splits. I ran the first 4-5 miles just under an 8-minute mile--letting people pass me all along the way and resisting temptation to speed up too soon. Around mile 5 I threw off the jacket and gloves and slowly crept towards a 7-minute mile. I took mental note of all the people (who passed me earlier on) that I would pass later on. About three miles from the finish my friend Shelby started cheering me on and running with me alongside the course. I kicked it into overdrive for the last few miles (maybe a 6-minute mile). At no point did I slow down--but I never quite managed to catch up with the 3:10:00 pace group.
This time around I decided to take Bart Yasso's advice and run negative splits. I ran the first 4-5 miles just under an 8-minute mile--letting people pass me all along the way and resisting temptation to speed up too soon. Around mile 5 I threw off the jacket and gloves and slowly crept towards a 7-minute mile. I took mental note of all the people (who passed me earlier on) that I would pass later on. About three miles from the finish my friend Shelby started cheering me on and running with me alongside the course. I kicked it into overdrive for the last few miles (maybe a 6-minute mile). At no point did I slow down--but I never quite managed to catch up with the 3:10:00 pace group.
This marathon re-assured me that a 3:10 Boston qualifier is definitely attainable in the next "regular" marathon I run--later this year.
Official result: 03:12:26
On-on to Salida next month...
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Disney results...
Goofy Challenge:
Kerry: 1:39:53 (half), 3:50:53 (full)
Karen: 1:45:01 (half), 4:08:34 (full)
Jesus: 1:39:09 (half), 4:32:16 (full)
Matt: 1:30:57 (half), 3:48:59 (full)
Marathon:
Lauren: 4:32:17
Charlie: 3:54:04
Josh: 3:08:56
Kerry: 1:39:53 (half), 3:50:53 (full)
Karen: 1:45:01 (half), 4:08:34 (full)
Jesus: 1:39:09 (half), 4:32:16 (full)
Matt: 1:30:57 (half), 3:48:59 (full)
Marathon:
Lauren: 4:32:17
Charlie: 3:54:04
Josh: 3:08:56
Disney Marathon Weekend
Thursday (Jan 7):
It is almost midnight on Wednesday, July 6. I've got to get up in a few hours to begin our journey to Orlando, FL for the 5th Annual Disney Marathon Weekend. 2:45 AM came way too early! At 4 AM I'm pulling up outside Kerry Page's house on the opposite end of town. An hour and a half later we're aboard a plane to Orlando.
We arrive delirious in Florida and, after spending a good 30 minutes trying to find out what we're doing, we jump onto a shuttle taking us to the Walt Disney Pop Century Resort at the far southern edge of the Disney World property. A budget motel it was--with a bit of Disney gusto: different buildings representing different decades from the 50's through the 90's. Each building had oversize icons representing what was popular during that timeframe: large bowling balls, a 60-foot-tall "Hot Wheels Big Wheel", laptop computer, cellphone, Rubik's Cube, et cetera. We'll just call it a spiced-up Motel 6. Good enough for a bunch of runners who plan to do little more there than sleep!
It is almost midnight on Wednesday, July 6. I've got to get up in a few hours to begin our journey to Orlando, FL for the 5th Annual Disney Marathon Weekend. 2:45 AM came way too early! At 4 AM I'm pulling up outside Kerry Page's house on the opposite end of town. An hour and a half later we're aboard a plane to Orlando.
We arrive delirious in Florida and, after spending a good 30 minutes trying to find out what we're doing, we jump onto a shuttle taking us to the Walt Disney Pop Century Resort at the far southern edge of the Disney World property. A budget motel it was--with a bit of Disney gusto: different buildings representing different decades from the 50's through the 90's. Each building had oversize icons representing what was popular during that timeframe: large bowling balls, a 60-foot-tall "Hot Wheels Big Wheel", laptop computer, cellphone, Rubik's Cube, et cetera. We'll just call it a spiced-up Motel 6. Good enough for a bunch of runners who plan to do little more there than sleep!
We immediately note that it is not warm in Florida this particular weekend--in fact, Orlando was seeing record lows while an arctic blast is hitting the rest of the nation. So much for those shorts!
Hours later Karen Evers arrives in Orlando with blood-shot eyes. Her first plane out of DIA had mechanical problems and the second flight was delayed.
Acquiring Karen (and with much to take care of), the three of us scurry off to the Disney Marathon Expo to pick up our race packets before the bulk of the crowd arrives.
At the expo we run into another Colorado Springs runner: Todd Norman. Todd joins the three of us as we then displace ourselves to Downtown Disney for dinner and drinks at Captain Jack's Seafood. The meal was rubbery, yet satisfactory (our stomach's were in such knots we really didn't care). While roaming downtown we run into Jesus Jimenez walking with an old friend of his. Jesus plans to meet us later at the hotel.
We then discover a comfy-looking Irish Pub (Raglan Road) and settle ourselves in for the evening.
[debauchery intentionally omitted]
Friday (Jan 8):
At some odd hour of the morning I recall opening my eyes just in time to see Karen and Kerry dash out the door for the 5K race that begins at 7 AM. Jesus and I opt to sleep in. Later that morning the girls awaken us and Kerry announces that she "won the race"! Kerry was the overall female winner! She even got some TV time I think!
Kerry, Karen, Jesus, and I decide that park day 1 of 3 will be spent at Epcot Center (one of four indepedent theme parks that make up Disney World). The park is partitioned into two main sections: Future World and World Showcase.
Future World is full of attractions--as well as inspiring entertainment and shows, all of which focus on technological advancements, innovation and wonder. The Epcot theme park icon, Spaceship Earth (the giant golf ball rising high above the horizon) welcomed us as we entered the park.
The World Showcase is a series of 11 pavilions that surround the central lagoon. Featured countries are Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, United States, Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom, and Canada.
The Disney staff (referred to as "cast members" throughout Disney World) that work in each country that make up the World Showcase are actually from that part of the world to add to the overall feeling of authenticity.
We stopped in the U.K. for a beer/fish-and-chips break earlier in the day, a street skit outside of the Campanile of St. Mark's Square in Italy, and finally in Mexico to meet Mexican Donald and drink Tequila flights. Andiamo!
Being the adrenaline-fueled individuals that we are, it should be no surprise that we particularly enjoyed the attractions in Future World--namely "Mission: Space" and "Soarin" (one of Epcot's newest attractions). On "Mission: Space" the four of us took on the roles of Navigator, Commander, Pilot, and Engineer to fly a rocket into Space. We experienced G-forces very close to what real astronauts feel during lauch (~3 G's). The attraction "Soarin" simulates hand-gliding over various terrains simulating the rock of the glider, wind, and even the smell of orange fields.
At the end of the day we return to Pop Century Resort for some quick carb-loading. We then learn that Josh and Lauren Johnson, and Charlie Grumbine (all with the intentions of running only the full marathon) and Ai Lee Kuan (with the intentions of spectating) have just arrived in Orlando. Knowing what kind of partying we would be in for if we tried to track them down and given the amount of partying we had already done, we opted to quickly lock the door and hit the hay!
Saturday (Jan 9):
This marks the first serious race day: a half marathon through various parts of Disney World. Naturally this race has to begin well before the park opens (5:40 AM again), so Karen, Kerry, Jesus, and I are up and stirring at 3 AM--a whole 3-4 hours after we all finally put our heads to rest.
Before you know it we're just outside of Epcot Center listening to loud tech music...at 4 AM in the dark...in humid 31 degree weather. To add to the ambience, throw in some light sleet. We're at Disney World! We're pumped! Break out the white-boy dance moves!
Race begins promptly at 5:40 AM after a stage greeting from Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy--as well as a firework count-down. The four of us are off!
The half marathon took us through the Magic Kingdom and then back to Epcot for the finish. It was barely dawn when we completed--but there is something really cool about running through a fully-engaged theme park devoid of people. Some "cast members" were out greeting us and, in typical Disney style, in a really good mood!
Weather is less than desirable and we shunt the idea of hitting the parks in the afternoon. So the day ends with more exploration of Downtown Disney--along with dinner and drinks at the Rain Forest Cafe with the other Colorado Springer's.
-> 1:30:57 for the half--a PR by 3 seconds.
Sunday (Jan 10):
Serious race day number two is upon us. This time a full marathon through more parts of Disney World. Up again at a God-awful hour, we frantically throw on our apparel in time to catch the shuttle back to Epcot.
We're one person short this morning: Jesus, sporting a rolled ankle, reluctantly decides to skip the race and take on the spectator roll instead. We pick up Josh/Lauren Johnson and Charlie Grumbine for this race. Lauren decides to run with Jesus' time chip in her pocket.
Weather feels colder today (~29 degrees)--but no precipitation. Much of this race felt like Deja Vu for thoseof us that did the half marathon the day prior.
It was nice to run in some daylight for a change. The experience of the theme parks and cast characters along the way helped pass the time. The course took us through all four Walt Disney World Theme Parks starting at Epcot, continuing on to the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios--and finally back to Epcot.
Lauren runs well (for being out of the running circle for a while)--and manages to give Jesus a 1-second-better marathon time that she gave herself. ;) Josh rocks it with another Boston Qualifier, Charlie suffers mild hypothermia, and Kerry/Karen run well (given they ran a strong half the day prior).
The Goofy Challenge runners got three finisher medals and three long-sleeved tech shirts: one for the half, one for the full, and one for completing the challenge.
We wrap up the evening with a trip to Planet Hollywood, back to Raglan Road, and finally Jellyrolls (a piano bar in the Disney Boardwalk area).
[debauchery omitted intentionally]
We've got two days of our trip left and more theme parks to visit!
-> 3:48:59 for the full.
Monday (Jan 11):
Running completed. Today, the eight of us decide to hit the Magic Kingdom (the original of the four theme parks).
The Magic Kingdom is broken down into a series of lands: Fantasyland, Liberty Square, Frontierland, Adventureland, Tomorrowland, and Main Street USA.
We made the most of the day, experiencing as many attractions as we could, including: Swiss Family Treehouse, The Enchanted Tiki Room, Jungle Cruise, Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, The Haunted Mansion, and The Hall of Presidents.
We probably had the most fun on the "Mad Tea Cup" (where we attempted to load 5 adults into one tea cup and spin the thing as fast as we possibly could) and Space Mountain (a 180-foot-high indoor-mountain roller coaster in the dark).
We stuck around for the Electric Light Parade and the nightly fireworks show (synchronized to music played throughout the entire theme park). We end the day with dinner back in Downtown Disney on Fulton's Crab Boat.
Tuesday (Jan 12):
For our last day at Disney, we opt to check out Hollywood Studios (once called MGM Studios): Animal Kingdom and the waterpark will have to wait until next year! Karen checked out yesterday and Kerry, Jesus, and I have to split at ~2 PM to head to the airport.
Our plan: The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror, Aerosmith's Roller Coaster, and Star Tours.
The Tower of Terror Legend:
Classic stars of the silver screen sought rest and relaxation at the grand Hollywood Tower Hotel during the Golden Age of Hollywood. In the late 30's, during a gloomy Halloween night, 5 unlucky souls were riding down the Hotel's maintenance service elevator when a violent storm struck the building--and they were never seen again. Black scorch marks still scar the Tower of Terror facade where lightning left its autograph.
This "falling elevator" adventure is a ride on the "fright elevator" beyond the eerie boiler room in the hotel basement. The elevator randomly falls and ascends--every experience is different and randomly selected by the Tower itself--so there's no way of knowing which direction you'll go!
The Aerosmith Roller Coaster:
This is an electromagnetically-fueled roller coaster that took us from 0-60 MPH in 2.8 seconds--producing G forces of 4-5. To contrast, Space Shuttle astronauts feel only ~3 G's on liftoff. Each roller coaster car contained 125 speakers and 24 sub-woofers blasting various Aerosmith hits. The ride was indoors in the dark and all that could be seen were illuminated street signs. Word has it, the electrical engineers of Hollywood studios were worried that if two elevators in the Tower of Terror were released at the same time one of the Aerosmith roller coasters was launched, the electrical load would take down the entire theme park electrical grid! So, an independent electrical substation was installed just for the roller coaster.
This ride, needless to say, blew our hair back!
Star Tours:
We boarded a Starspeeder 3000 (a large hydraulic-powered simulator) for a "relaxing" tour of the Moon of Endor. The ride was hardly "relaxing" as our absent-minded droid pilot sends our speeder careening out of control through the solar system--nearly slamming us into the Death Star. Josh is a total Star Wars geek--as he was quick to point out the accuracy of this simulation!
We filled some time checking out the animation studios and Josh and I had a cigar with the "bad people" over in the smoking area.
Eventually time runs out and we have to split for the airport. All good things must come to an end. There is a lot more that we could have done in that theme park given more time. Pop Century took care of getting our bags checked--so all we needed to do was get to the airport.
At DFW we were desperately searching for chicken nachos. We belly up at Chili's, order a few drinks, and then discover they don't have any nachos. Thumbs down to Chili's.
We load up on alternative Chili's food and bring it on the airline to COS. Slightly liquored up, I'm sure we made plenty of friends on the way home...
A trip to remember...
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