Welcome to the World of Paperwork

Rob and I had our first "home study" visit on Friday.  It was an hour long, and the purpose was really to let us know what paperwork we needed to complete.  The stack they gave us of waivers, forms, etc. was at least an inch thick.  We each have to get a medical exam, as does my mother (who lives with us) and Alan.  We and my mother have to be fingerprinted for our criminal background checks.  We had to list every address we lived in since we were 18 years old.  We have to take 10 hours each of training.  Wow!  It's no wonder that the home study process takes six months to finish.  Tracking down everything we need might just take that long.

The next step is to complete all the paperwork.  We will then have two more home study visits at the BCS office in March/April, and then finally they will come out to our home for a safety check.  Hopefully, by then, the house addition will be completed so they won't have to "ding" us for safety issues around the construction site.

The biggest decisions we have to make right now involve the type of child we are willing to accept.  The checklist is three pages long, and covers things from birth parent background to child disabilities (both minor and severe).  Your continued prayers and support are greatly appreciated throughout this process.

Bring Sissy Simon Home

Pershendetje miq! (Hello friends!)

Many of you know by now that the Simon family has decided to follow God's calling to adopt an orphan from Albania.  Since we don't yet have a referral child, we are calling our little girl "Sissy Simon," as she will be Alan's new little Sissy.  The journey will be very long (could be 2-4 years) and expensive ($25k to $45k).  We welcome your prayers, most importantly.  We have also set up a fundraising site to assist us in raising the money for the adoption expenses.  The  sit e can be accessed here: http://www.anython.com/running-for-sissy-simon?participant=6613

Here's how our journey began (spoken from Rob's perspective):  "Even before Alan was born, she and I had given consideration to adopting at some point. After Alan’s birth, the first two years were tough on our family, mostly because of my work schedule and how much of the burden of care that placed on Liz. During this time, we largely never thought about adopting. Then, after my career change to a more regular position close to home, I started to feel God’s pull again. There were times that I felt he was constantly reminding me of the need for forever families for these children that are in the orphanage and foster care systems. Towards the latter part of 2014, Liz and I went to an information session at Bethany Christian Services (BCS). We knew that the road was tough, and when you see the numbers, it is a reality check. Still, we felt this is what God wants for our family."

So, why Albania?  We discussed with BCS both domestic and international options and prayed about our first major decision in this process.  Domestic adoptions are either newborns or older than age five.  This is because the U.S. exhausts all options within the biological family before releasing the child for adoption, which can take anywhere from 3-5 years, making the child five years or older.  We want to maintain birth order, so we don't want a child older than Alan, but I would prefer not to have an infant in my house either.  So we began to explore international options.

We were approved for most of the international programs that BCS works with; however, most of the programs that had a child in our preferred age range (1-4 years of age) were all special needs.  I know my limitations, and I would not be the best parent for a special needs child.  That's where Albania came into the picture.

Children at an Albanian Orphanage

ALBANIA: The Albania program is open to families interested in adopting a waiting child with identified special needs, or non-waiting children with a range of needs, from healthier children to mild/moderate special needs. Profiles of waiting children can be found on the Bethany Portal. Families must be open to an age range of 0-4 years old for a non-waiting child, and children will most likely be a minimum of 12-18 months at the youngest. We cannot guarantee you will referred a young child. For Albania (and for any other country where children have spent significant periods of time in institutional care), it is important to note that all children will probably have some developmental needs (of varying types and degrees, depending upon their particular situation). Two trips are required: 1) 4-6 weeks and 2) 7-10 days with 15-30 days in between trips. Families may choose to take one trip, however it could potentially be a stay of up to 3 months in Albania. One parent may leave after court if necessary.

Albanian children

The most important thing we need from you is prayer.  God is leading us on this journey, and we want to hear his guidance throughout the process.  There will be many decisions to make along the way, and many steps to get us to our final "destination."  We will have to trust God in a number of different areas, particularly in the financial area.  This will stretch us financially, and we will really have to trust God to provide over the next couple of years.

Rob and I have the financial means to support a second child.  However, we don't have all of the upfront money that will be needed for adoption expenses.  Think about trying to pay for a new SUV with cash - that's about how much money it will take to go through the adoption process.  As such, in addition to the fundraising site, we will be hosting several fundraising events.  We will keep you updated as to what those will be, but some possibilities include quarterly dinners at local restaurants where 5% of the sale of your food (before tax and tip) would be donated to our adoption fund and a 5k or 4-mile race,

Alan and I have begun to learn some Albanian in anticipation of his sister knowing that language when he meets her.  I'm learning for that reason, and also so I can feel more comfortable staying in a country for 4-6 weeks where they do not speak English.  Unlike many other European countries, from what I've read anyway, Albanians do not learn English in school.

We have our first Home Study visit at the BCS office on Friday.  From my understanding the Home Study will take about six months to complete, and must be done before we receive any child referrals.  Be praying for us, as we don't really know what to expect from this first visit.

Falemnderit (thank you) for joining us on this journey.  We look forward to sharing our story with you as it unfolds.

Albanian orphans

Marathon #24 - Pennsylvania

The Race:  Steamtown Marathon, Scranton, PA, October 12, 2014

My training plan:  Steamtown was the second marathon of a back-to-back marathon weekend, so my training plan was the same as the Hartford Marathon.

Weather:  The weather was perfect.  It was much colder than expected at the start, but warmed up nicely throughout the run.  When we were packing on Thursday for the trip, it said the lows would be in the 40s.  The lows ended up being mid-30s at the start, but warmed up to about 59 by the end of the race.

Running attire:  I wore my newly purchased arm warmers/sleeves with my short sleeved Liz shirt with the Hebrews 12:1 verse on the back, black running tights, Balega socks and Asics shoes.  I also used my iFitness belt to carry my phone and GUs, my Delaware marathon running hat, and a pair of purple gloves.

Who I ran with:  I didn't start off running with anyone, but did pick up a few people along the way.  I ran with a girl named Meredith for about 8 miles or so.  Toward the end around mile 19, I passed Mike and Kelsey, and they followed close behind me (encouraging each other) almost to the finish line.  They passed me at the last water stop and sped up so much that I couldn't catch them in the end.

The Course:  The course is a point-to-point course.  It is a net downhill race, and goes downhill about 90% of the course.  There are a few uphills scattered throughout, and especially at the end.  The course has a few "packed gravel" trails in the middle.  I say that with quotation marks because some of the trails had some big gravel rocks, and some of it had some unpacked sand (felt like running on the beach).

The views along the course were breathtaking.  The fall colors were spectacular.  Coming down off the mountain toward miles 3-4, we were on a little country road, and you could see ahead of you for miles over the other mountains with all the trees showing their colors.  On the trail portion, we ran next to a river, which was also beautiful, but I couldn't find a good place to take pictures.

The end of the race, as I mentioned, was uphill and a little bit of a teaser.  As you were coming toward the hill, you could see a banner across the road, which looked like the finish line.   But, alas, it was not, and we trudged on.  Again, another banner across the road could be seen, but again it wasn't the finish line.  People were yelling, "just three more blocks."  And finally, at the top of the hill, the finish line banner could be seen.  Relief!

Organization:  The organization was fabulous!  This might be one of the best organized races I have ever been to.  The Assistant Race Director sent race update emails as the race approached, and daily the weeks before the race.  The emails were both fun and informative.  Anyone who actually read them would know almost anything they could want to know about the race.

Unfortunately, I was unable to go to the race expo, as it closed at 6pm and we were still driving from Hartford, so I don't know if it was good, bad, or otherwise.  But they did offer race-day packet pickup at the high school where the starting line was and offered some race attire for sale at the finish line.

The aid stations were fully stocked and had plenty of enthusiastic volunteers.  There was both Gatorade and water at each official water stop.  They also had several medical stations set up with Vaseline, Tylenol, and Advil.  They had porta potties at most of the aid stations, and clearly pointed them out in the race information packet.  They did not offer any GU along the course, but that didn't matter at all, and you will see why when I talk about the fans below.

One recommendation I would pose for the future is to have a printed map of the course in the race information packet.  The interactive map online was hard to use and even harder to transport with you as spectators try to go watch the runners.

Swag:  I typically find that smaller to mid-sized races have good swag.  That wasn't the case for this race.  This is probably the most lacking category I review.  The only swag we got was the long-sleeved dri-fit shirt, medal, and some little green "wind glasses" (as Rob calls them).

Starting line:  The starting line was at the Forest City Regional High School.  The whole school seemed to get involved.  The cheerleaders were there to greet the runners as they got off the bus.  The marching band was there to play songs during the first mile of the race.  There were students handing out ribbons and water bottles.  There were plenty of porta potties lined up outside the school (labeled Men and Women).  The school was open so the runners could stay warm until the starting cannon (yes, I said cannon) went off.  The race was started by one of those old cannons from the Civil War, with men dressed in Civil War attire shooting it off.

Because the starting line and finish line were in different places, they offered bus service from the finish to the start.  I didn't use the service, because my husband was there to drop me off at the start, but I saw the buses of runners coming to the school.

Fans:  The fans were much better than I ever could have expected.  When I looked at the  map online, it looked like there would be several lonely spots along the course with no spectators.  Now, don't get me wrong - it wasn't lined from start to finish with fans, but with the frequency and quality of the fans, you completely forgot about the lonely stretches.  Every town that we ran through had crowds of people cheering us on and handing out goodies.  There were probably more unofficial water stations than official stations.  Along the course I ate a granola bar (the only thing provided at an official station), orange slices (both real and candy), gummy worms, and two bananas (cut in half).  They also had people handing out ice pops, water, and beer at various places along the course.

The fans really showed pride in their town.  They had signs saying "Such-and-Such Town Welcomes Runners." The schools got into it with bands playing and cross country teams manning water stops.

Finish line:  When you crossed the finish line the happy volunteers were there to congratulate you and give you your milar blanket, metal, and a bottle of water.  You were then directed toward the food tent.

The finish line had the best post race food I've seen yet.  They had the usual bananas and bagels, but they also had chicken soup, and every kind of pasta dish you could want (Mac n cheese, penne with marinara, shells and Alfredo).  They also had pizza and Krispy Kreme donuts, granola bars, coffee and juice, cookies, yogurt, and probably other things I'm forgetting.  The one improvement I would mention is that, other than the bottle of water, there were no other rehydrating liquids to take with you.

The finish area was right downtown Scranton in a green area.  They had post race massages (although by the time we went there after we showered and ate, they were closing down).  They also offered showers for the runners a few blocks away.  The parking around the finish was easy to find and free.

Results:  3:44:56.  Pretty good for a second marathon that weekend.  It's actually my second best time ever.

How I felt:  At the start, my calves were tight in the cold, and I was worried that I might have a bad race.  I took the first mile as slowly as I could, with the crowd and steep downhill slope, and ended up running an 8:48 first mile - much faster than I had intended for a warm-up mile.  The second mile, I decided to take advantage of an open porta potty, and still ran a 10 minute mile.  The next two miles I stopped and took pictures so that I could slow my pace down (those miles were under 8:30, even with the picture stops).  By then I was pretty warmed up, and decided to just go with the slopes.  I felt better the second half than I did during the first half and decided to go all out and try to negative split the race.  I felt pretty good the entire race until about the 26th mile when I could dig any deeper to catch up with the two people I had been running with, but I still finished strong.

Travel/tourism:  We were in the Scranton area less than 24 hours, so it's hard to rate this area.  We drove in from Hartford, arriving around 6:30pm on Saturday.  We stayed at Nichols Village Hotel and Spa, in Clark's Summit.  The hotel was nice, but wasn't anything special.  Since we arrived after dark and left in the morning before the sun rose, I didn't get a very good look at the hotel and amenities.

When we arrived, it was dinner time.  We asked the hotel where we could find a sports bar so Rob could watch the games.  The hotel clerk suggested JJ Bridges, which is just a few doors down from the hotel.  The bar was packed as the Penn State game had just started.  We managed to get a table and invited another couple to join us, since they weren't going to get a table otherwise, and ours was big enough for four people.  Rob had two of the local beers, and I had the parmigiana chicken with a baked potato.  The bar had a local group playing live music that started a little while after we sat down.  The food was good, the band was better, and the company was even better.  The people of Scranton seem like great people.

For lunch after the race, someone suggested Pizza by Pappas.  They said anytime they go to downtown Scranton they have to stop there.  It was a nice little pizza joint with 10 inch personal pizzas.  We each had our own, and they were quite delicious.  The outside of the crust was a little crisper than I'm used to, but still good.

After the pizza, we headed back to Hartford.  One more state down, and now I finally have an answer to the question I always get asked: "What was your favorite marathon so far?"  Definitely Steamtown!

Marathon #23 - Connecticut

The Race:  Hartford Marathon, Hartford, CT, October 11, 2014

My training plan:  Because I knew I was going to be running back-to-back days, I started in mid-August running back-to-back long runs on weekends.  I did two 20 milers followed by 15 milers and a 20 miler followed by a 13 miler before race weekend.  I also started running consecutive weekdays:  Tuesday through Thursday.  The mid-week runs ranged from 6-8 miles in length each day.  I took Mondays completely off and cross trained on Fridays.

Weather:  The weather was cold and rainy.  It started in the upper 40s with a drizzly rain. It probably got into the lower 50s at some point, but it felt like it was getting colder as the race went on.  There was also a light wind to factor in.  At the end, it was so cold that I didn't even stretch before we headed to the car.

Running attire:  I bought a pair of arm warmers/sleeves at the expo, so I wore those with my short sleeved Liz Digeez shirt, white running tights, purple and white shorts, Balega socks and Asics shoes.  I also used my iFitness belt to carry my phone and GUs, my Delaware marathon running hat, and a pair of pink gloves.

Who I ran with:  I ran with the 4:45 pace group, headed by a guy named Kim and a girl named Jeanne.  There were also several other people who stayed with us for some or all of the way:  Susan, Megan, Michelle, Cathy, and some others who I didn't catch their names.  From about mile 15 to 19, Rob jumped in and ran with me for about five miles.

The Course:  The course was a rolling hills,

out-and-back course, for the most part.  The beginning takes you around downtown several ways, and then goes out on a long, out-and-back leg from mile 10 to mile 17 and back into town to the end.  There were plenty of places for spectators to stop and cheer for their runners.  It also went by some very pretty views (or they would have been pretty if the rain and clouds weren't around), and ended through the arch.  Very picturesque.

There was one part where we ran along what appeared to be a park bike path.  It was probably a little too early in the course (mile 6 or so), because it was pretty crowded with no room to pass other runners.  But the parks were pretty.  There were several places where we ran along a river.

While there was some fall foliage out, there was also a lot of green left.  I'm not sure if this is typical, or if it was just because of strange weather this year.  For better colors, I would suggest moving the race back a weekend.

Organization:  The organization was good, but there are several suggestions I would make to improve.

The pre race expo was a great size for a mid-sized race (about 19,000 runners total between the marathon, half, and 5k).  They had a lot of local booths with massage, chiropractic services, GI services and other runner-related services.  They also had some national runner gear booths like RunSEEN, Sketchers, Janji, Fleet Feet, The Stick, etc.  They didn't have a lot of free giveaways, though.  Some of the booths had open samples, but no free samples you could take with you.

I got to meet Kathrine Switzer (the first woman to have an official number in the Boston marathon).  This was back when Boston didn't allow women to compete, but she registered as K Switzer.  They didn't know she was a woman, so they accepted her application.  When the race director saw a woman with a number running, he tried to pull her off the course, but her boyfriend knocked him down, and they kept running.  She has started a movement for women called 261 Fearless (261 was her race number in Boston) and had a booth at the expo.

I loved that the Hartford Marathon offered pace teams, and that they had two pacers for each group (just in case one had to stop at the bathroom or something).  They had a wide variety of pace options (4:40, 4:45, 5:00, 5:10 all around the pace I was looking for, and obviously more ahead and behind me).  

There were bands and DJs along the course to motivate you along the way.  They weren't Rock n Roll marathon quality, but they were frequent and effective, even in the cold, rainy weather.

They utilized cutting edge technology.  They had an app that gave you information about the race, parking, maps, expo, etc.  They also had athlete tracking where you can sign up to have your splits posted on Facebook (or another social media site) and texted to up to three phones.  They had real-time results at the finish line where you could look up your time as soon as you got to the post race expo.  They also sent some race update emails, but they were mostly about the sponsors of the race and didn't have much relevant race information.

The hardcopy race information guide had a lot of cool articles to read about some of the runners and how the race was organized.  It did not have enough information on parking.  In fact, I don't think it even mentioned parking at all.  We had to go to the app to find a map of where you can park, which is hard to look at on a phone.  It also didn't talk about where GU/candy/food was located on the course, which is critical to plan race strategy.  The maps of the course weren't drawn to scale, so it was hard to gauge how far some of the roads were before you made a turn.

The water stops could have used more volunteers.  There were several where only one or two people had cups in their hands, or they were frantically filling cups in order to have some to hand out.  The volunteers that were there were very nice and supportive; they just needed more help.

The course had a 6-hour limit, and they were ultra strict about it.  While I made it in well below the time, other people in the 50 States Marathon Club were commenting about getting pushed onto the sidewalk when they had only been running 5 hours and 45 minutes.  When they say 6 hours, apparently Hartford means 6 hours from when the gun goes off, not from when you cross the start line (which most other races mean).

Swag:  The swag was minimal at this race.  Of course we got the shirt and medal, and the shirt was a long-sleeved dri-fit shirt.  They also had a small reusable tote that they put the race information guide and some coupons.  I heard they were also giving away cowbells, but we must have gotten there too late.  In their attempt to be "green," they also gave away water bottles at the finish line filled with hose water.

One of the semi-good things about this race (and necessary since there is NO race day packet pickup), is for a small fee (I think it was $15) they will mail your bib and shirt to you.  Since I was coming from out of town, and I never know if my flight will have issues, I opted for a mailed packet.  It arrived in plenty of time before we had to fly up there, and I got to leave the shirt at home instead of cramming it into my suitcase after the race.

Starting line:  There was plenty of close, free parking at the starting line.  Once we found them (they desperately need to put up more signage), there were plenty of porta potties, in three different places, too.  I think they had a starting line map and a finish line map in the race information packet, but we didn't have it with us when we were looking for the porta potties, and they weren't in an obvious location.  They could have used more signage for gear check and pacers too.  I heard a guy ask a police officer about gear check, and the officer had no idea where to send him.

They did not have any corrals, which I don't necessarily think are needed.  I think they had a self seeded area, but I don't remember seeing the signs.  The large pacer signs were helpful but they didn't necessarily line up in order either.  By the time the pace groups left their meeting area to head to the start, the starting line was crowded, and it was hard for them to get in line with others already there with that pace in mind.

Despite the rain, they had a huge TV or projection screen where they were projecting the crowds and other information to the runners.  That is the first time I have seen something like that at any race (again, cutting edge technology).

Fans:  My personal favorite fan was my sweet husband, Rob.  He came to cheer me on, and I saw him five times along the course.  There were several spots along the course that were easy for fans to get to, so there were a lot of fans scattered along the course.  There were definitely places with no fans, but there were enough fans to get you through.  This is especially surprising due to the weather.  But the towns and neighborhoods got into it, and even tailgated in some places to watch the race.

Finish line:  At the finish line they had a post race expo.  They had a lot of the vendors from the pre-race expo also attend the post race expo, which was nice, although it was too cold to stop to look at them.  The food tent had a lot of good items, and you had to have a ticket to get in, which limited the number of non-runners who could take the runners' food.  They started out by handing you a plate so you could put your stuff on it.  They had granola bars, bagels, bananas and orange slices, apple cobbler, some kind of protein shake, and grilled cheese sandwiches.  I hear they had soup, but by the time the 4:45ers got there, it was gone (plan for more next year so all runner get some!)

Results:  Since I ran with the 4:45 pace group, my finish time was 4:43:23

How I felt:  During the race, running slow is tough.  It wears you out because you're running so much longer than you're used to.  I was getting pretty tired around the 25 mile mark, but I pressed on with the group to finish in the paced time.  We ran pretty even 10:45 minute miles throughout. Running slow is tougher on your body while you're running the race, but easier/quicker to recover from.

Travel/tourism:  We flew into Bradley International Airport in Hartford.  The airport is small (about 22 gates), but services most of the major cities.  It is about 30 minutes away from downtown.

We rented a small SUV from the Budget at the airport (the SUV was actually cheaper than an economy car).  They have several car rental places to choose from (Avis, National, Dollar, Hertz, Budget) that are all a shuttle ride away from the airport.

I traded my timeshare points so we could have a hotel for this race and cut down on some of the expense.  We stayed at the Extended Stay America in Farmington.  There wasn't anything special or amazing about this hotel, but it gave us what we needed.  It is one of those hotels that caters to long-term guests and only services the room once per week, so we had to ask for additional towels and washcloths if we wanted fresh ones.  It had a full kitchen, which was helpful to store my ice packs in the freezer.  The fitness room was pretty small (one of each cardio machine).  They had coin laundry facilities for those who needed it.  They did allow pets, although we didn't bring Nacho with us.  It is located right off the interstate, about 20 minutes from the starting line and downtown.

Anytime I visit the New England area, I have to stop at Friendly's, because we don't have them in the south.  Friendly's is sort of like Steak n Shake, a very casual dining restaurant.  They have delicious ice cream.  We ate there twice, both near the airport (when we first arrived and before we dropped the rental car off to leave).

IHOP is my traditional pre-race dinner place, and CT was no different.  We found an IHOP in Newington, CT.  I'm pretty sure everyone knows how IHOP is, and this one was about the same as all the rest.

After the marathon, we showered and hit the road to Scranton.  On the way out, we stopped at Subway and Tiramisu Italian restaurant in Waterbury, CT.  I had penne with meatballs.  The meatballs were good, but the marinara sauce wasn't my favorite.

We returned to Hartford from Scranton late on  Sunday night.  It was dinner time, so we went to a local restaurant and bar called J Timothy's Tavern in Plainville, CT for a celebration dinner.  I had some delicious New England clam chowder and chicken and waffles for dinner.  Rob had some wings with sweet red chili sauce.  The chicken and waffles were good, but weren't anything to write home about.  Rob said the wings were good, but the sauce really burned his mouth (I guess that's what it's designed to do).  We also had a Rasberry bliss martini (me) and a local beer called Olde Burnside Ten Penny Scottish Ale (Rob).

Downtown Hartford was a typical mid-sized New England city with some older buildings mixed with newer buildings.  There seemed to be enough to do to keep you busy (provided it wasn't a holiday like Columbus Day).  They had the Science Center, art museum, cultural center, capital building, parks, etc.  We stopped at the Bushnell Park and drove around town on Monday before departing for the airport.  Overall great visit to Connecticut, and one more state checked off the list.

Marathon #22 - Washington

My 22nd state was Washington. This was Washington-Take-Two, as last year I was injured and had to cancel my race. I could have done the Seattle Rock n Roll race, but I didn’t have the Tour Pass this year, and the RnR races are quite expensive. I decided to look for another race near the Seattle area that might be cheaper. After searching on marathonguide.com, I found the Green River Marathon. The race website stated that the race was free. FREE?? Hmm…

My goal of running a marathon in every state has become quite expensive. Each race can be up to $1,000 with airfare, hotels, race registration fees, shoes, car rental, etc. So when I saw a free race, I was very intrigued. I also noticed that the course was a Boston Qualifier, which gave me no doubts that I could count this race as part of my 50 states based on the 50 State Marathon Club requirements. 

The Race: Green River Marathon, Seattle, WA 

My Training Plan: For this race, I had about five weeks between races. I was planning on doing some speed work as well. I did one speed session, but my hamstring started bothering me halfway through. After that, I just did my normal runs and gave up on speed work, as I could feel my hamstring hurting slightly during normal runs. I ran four days a week, and my typical week was as follows: Monday – 6 miles, Tuesday – 8 miles, Thursday – 7 miles, Saturday – long run. I used the Providence Marathon and another 20 miler two weeks afterwards as my longest runs. 

Weather: The weather was nearly perfect. It started out in the 50s and ended in the 60s, but there was no humidity or wind. The skies were partly cloudy to mostly sunny the entire time – not at all what I imagined Seattle to be like. 

Running Attire: I wore a Lululemon tank, some purple Nike running shorts, and a purple Nike sports bra. I also had my yellow Delaware Marathon hat and my iFitness belt. I wore Asics shoes and Balega socks. And, as usual, a lot of Body Glide. 

Who I Ran With: I met a few people along the way, but ran by myself for most of the race. I started out at a slower pace to warm up for about two miles, then took off. I ran for a few miles with a guy from the area who was a fellow Marathon Maniac. Toward the end, I ran for a short while with another guy from the area that was nice enough to let me know when we only had a mile left. 

The Course: The course was beautiful. We ran along a lot of water and on bike paths. We were probably on bike paths 80-85% of the time. There was one part around mile 6 where the bike path was being worked on, so we were routed onto the nearby streets. 

For the 10-15% of the time on the roads, the course was completely open (no police at the intersections) , so on a couple of roads we had to cross, I had to wait for cars to pass or for the light to change before I could cross. There was one part where we crossed the road and had to run on the (very narrow, right-hand) shoulder of the road. Another part toward the end was on the roads as well. At one point, we were running next to an active train track. I could hear the train coming (although they go pretty slow in the populated areas), and had to speed up so I could cross the tracks before the train delayed me. 

Organization: I could not say better things about the organization of this race. I met the two guys who started this race. One of them told me the story about how, back in the 1990s he paid $50 for a marathon, and didn’t get much out of it. He thought to himself, “I could buy all of the Gatorade for the entire race for $50.” So he decided to start this free marathon. 

There was no expo and no race bibs to pick up. The race director did organize a “pasta lunch” at a local restaurant, where you could come and purchase pasta and pick up your shirts that were purchased at cost. The race director was there, was extremely nice and answered any questions runners had. 

The race was small (about 200 people on the course at a time including the relay runners). But the water stops were fully stocked and manned. There were a couple of times where there was just one volunteer and multiple runners at the table at the same time, so I picked the cup off the table myself. But there was water and Gatorade at each water stop. And there were multiple flavors of Gatorade too. It wasn’t just that lemon-lime stuff that tastes horrible. I also felt like the water stops were spaced well along the course. 

My only complaint about this race is the lack of bathrooms along the way. I knew it was a small race, and that bathrooms would be scarce, but I didn’t realize just how scarce until I ran it. I figured that bike paths would have some park bathrooms here and there, but I didn’t see any. Granted, not having the option to stop did improve my time, but by the end of the race, my mantra was “the faster you run the faster you get to the bathroom!” 

Swag: The marathon is free, so there are no perks. If you wanted to, you could purchase a long-sleeved technical shirt at cost ($15). Other than that, there was nothing. No metals at the end of the race. No awards for age groups or winners. No extras. But what can you expect from a free race?? 

Starting Line: At the starting line, they had two porta potties and a table for check-in. Each runner was supposed to check in at the table and find out what their number was. There were no bibs, so the volunteers wrote your number on your arm or leg with a Sharpie. The actual start line was a short walk down the bike path to a chalk line on the ground. 

Fans: With only 200 people on the course and not a lot of publicity, I didn’t expect a lot of fans cheering me on along the way. If you need fan support to run your race, don’t pick this race. The biggest fans were the runners who started early that I passed along the way and the volunteers at the water stops. Other than that, there really are no fans. Like I said, the race is mostly run on a bike path, so there aren’t many spots for any fans to wait. 

Finish Line: The last mile of the race was beautiful and frustrating at the same time. Since I had never run the race before and didn’t know the area or where the finish line actually was, the last mile felt like the longest mile I’d ever run. However, during that last mile, we were running right along the water, with a beautiful view of the Seattle skyline. Once we rounded a bend and the skyline was out of view, we came across the beaches and ran on the road along the beach until the finish line at the end of the beach. 

The actual finish line was pretty minimal, as was most of the (free) race. They had a guy with a stopwatch and a woman with a clipboard to record the times of the people who finished as they crossed a crack in the pavement that served as the finish line. There was a table with cups of water and Gatorade. And to my delight, there was a park bathroom down the stairs at the beach. 

Results: 3:37:08, which is 3 minutes faster than my Boston Qualifying time. I also was the first place female finisher and 16th place overall! 

How I felt: I didn’t see any mile markers along the way, and I had no electronics recording my distance. This meant that at most times, I had no idea what mile I was on. I was just enjoying running, enjoying the moment. I also didn’t know how fast I was going, so I relied on my body to tell me how fast to go. I think this really helped. Sometimes, I feel like knowing how fast I’m going actually makes me slow down. If I’m going 8-minute-miles, my mind tells me that’s too fast of a pace to maintain the entire race, so I slow down. At the halfway point, one of the guys I was running with told me that I was running at a sub-3:30 pace. Instead of slowing down, I said “I feel great. Let’s see how long I can keep it up.” 

Another mind game that I played with myself during this race (and the Rhode Island one before it) was to remind myself that this is not a training run. It’s a race. I should treat it as a race, and run as fast as I can. Also, I knew that I wasn’t going to be running another marathon until October, so I really wanted to make the best of this race. 

I think that the lack of electronics, the fact that I treated it as a race, the fact that it was a small field, and trying to make the best of it, since I wouldn’t be running another for several months, all helped me win the race and qualify for Boston. 

Travel/Tourism: Seattle is very expensive. Taxes there are high. Minimum wage is high, which drives prices high as well. But the city and the surrounding area is very people-friendly. The amenities that they have encourage an active lifestyle. There are bike paths just about everywhere. People driving will stop happily for pedestrians and wave them past, even when the pedestrians are jay-walking. I’ve never seen drivers so considerate of those not in cars. If someone from Seattle moved to Atlanta, they’d probably be killed by our crazy drivers in the first week. 

I stayed with a friend (and former co-worker) of mine, so I didn’t have a hotel cost or a hotel to review. I also didn’t need a rental car, as my friend took me to and from the airport, left me his car and rode his bike to work on Friday, and took me to and from the race on Saturday. 

Kevin (my friend) lives in the Ballard area, which is a northern suburb of Seattle. Ballard used to be an old fishing village, but has recently become a trendy area because of the Amazon.com headquarters and the younger Amazon employees moving in. 

I arrived late Thursday night. On Friday, I went to the Ballard Market to buy my traditional race breakfast of a bagel, banana, and Gatorade. Then I headed down to Seattle toward the pasta lunch to pick up my shirt. I stopped in at the Hard Rock Café to buy my Seattle shirt on the way. 

The pasta lunch was at Galliano's Cucina located at 16435 Military Road not far from the Seattle airport. I prefer a hamburger for lunch the day before the race, so I opted for the meatball sandwich and sweet potato fries. This was probably not the best dish to get to provide a review of the restaurant, as you can’t do much to hurt or improve a meatball sandwich. It was very good, but nothing to write home about. 

After lunch (and a short stop at Dick’s to get some GUs), I headed back to Ballard. I was pretty tired, so I took a short nap, then decided to go for a walk. I walked over to Green Lake Park. The park has a 3-mile packed gravel loop around it for runners (and bikers). It also had a very nice view of a snow-capped mountain in the distance. 

Near Green Lake was Red Mill Burgers. I decided to try a burger, as I had heard good things about them. They only take cash, so I had to visit an ATM to get some before venturing into the restaurant. The restaurant is small. You order at the counter, and then they call your name when your food is ready. They had a lot of burger options as well as all different flavors of milkshakes. I got the most basic burger and a mint truffle shake. The burger had a “special sauce” which was some sort of mayonnaise based sauce that had a kick to it. I’m not really much of a sauce person, and really don’t like spicy food, so I had to wipe some of the sauce off. I think if I had asked for no sauce, it would have been a delicious burger. 

For dinner, Kevin, his girlfriend Lauren, and I went to my traditional pre-race dinner location, IHOP. Nothing special to report about this place; I think everyone knows how IHOP is. 

After the race on Saturday, Kevin and I went to Chinook’s at Salmon Bay, which is a self-proclaimed casual, high-energy seafood restaurant located in Seattle's Fishermen's Terminal. The tables are set up in a way that every table has a view of the Salmon Bay and the fishing boats. The bread they give you before the meal is excellent. I ordered the halibut taco (less the salsa), which was delicious. I also had the strawberry shortcake with locally grown strawberries – WOW! I don’t think I have ever tasted strawberries so delicious! 

After lunch, we went to downtown Seattle. Seattle has a Smart Car service where you can rent a Smart Car from a suburb and drive it down to the city (and vice verse). They have certain parking spaces reserved for the Smart Cars. This makes it easy to park and relatively cheap to get from the outlying areas to the city. We found one that was close to where we were and drove it down to the city. 

We went to the Space Needle first. Kevin left me to go up on my own, as he had done it plenty of times. It is actually not too expensive to go up there with General Admission (somewhere between $10 and $20). As the weather was clear, there were some beautiful views of the city from the top. 

After the Space Needle, we walked around Seattle and over to the waterfront. We went to the Pike Place Market, where the famous fish mongers are who throw fish to entertain customers.  By the time we arrived, though, the market had already closed (it was about 6:30 or 7pm by that time). We also went to the gum wall, which is exactly what it sounds like – a wall where people stick chewed gum on it. After all that, we took the bus back to Ballard. 

Seattle is a beautiful and interesting city. I really enjoyed my visit (and the only marathon that I will likely ever win)!

Marathon #21 - Rhode Island

I chose this race primarily because of the title sponsor.  I wanted to run the only marathon sponsored by my company.  And I hadn't run one in Rhode Island yet, so off I went.
 
The Race:  Cox Providence Marathon, Providence, RI

My Training Plan:  For this race, I had eight weeks to train after my last marathon.  I didn’t do a lot of speed work.  Pretty much the only speed work I did were some unintended tempo runs where I was running with co-workers who are faster than I am.  I ran four days a week, and my typical week was as follows:  Monday – 6 miles, Tuesday – 8 miles, Thursday – 7 miles, Saturday – long run.  My longest run was a 22-miler three weeks before the race. 

Weather:  The weather was nearly perfect.  It started out in the low 50s and ended in the high 50s.  The skies were partly cloudy, with clouds slowly rolling in (it rained that night).  It wasn’t humid at all, but there were some pretty high wind gusts.  That would be my biggest complaint – the wind.  There were times when I was running with my head down so my hat wouldn’t blow off.

Running Attire:  I wore a custom LIZ shirt with Digeez (Cox’s mascot) running on the back, some purple Nike running shorts, and a purple Nike sports bra.  I also had my yellow Delaware Marathon hat and my iFitness belt.  I wore Asics shoes and Balega socks.  And, as usual, a lot of Body Glide.

 Who I Ran With:  I met a few people along the way, but ran by myself for most of the race.  I started out slow to warm up, and was running with a girl I met at the start named Latisha.  It was her first marathon, so I gave her some tips to use later in the race.  She was pretty much the only person that I ran with for any length of time.

The Course:  The course was beautiful.  We ran along a lot of water and on bike paths.  We passed parks and golf courses.  Some of the roads were a little rough (there are a lot of potholes in the northern states).  There was one road toward the beginning that had a slight bank to it (but it didn’t last long), and there was a small part toward the end where you had to run on an old brick path (or maybe it was cobblestone) and had to watch your footing. 

I don’t know how they got the elevation chart, but I don’t think the second half was very accurate.  The elevation chart basically showed a short uphill and a long downhill between miles 6-9 (which was there), and a mirror of that on the back side (around mile 20).  I did not notice the hills toward the end, except for one hill at mile 22 that was super steep (but not very long – maybe a quarter of a mile).  It just didn’t seem like what I remembered the elevation chart to depict.

Organization:  The organization was excellent.  They kept us informed ahead of time with the appropriate number of emails.  Their website is very good and provides a lot of information you may want to know.  Their facebook page was very informative, and they answered your questions right away.

The expo was smaller than I expected.  It was set up along a hallway inside the conference center.  You picked up your bib on one end, then walked through the hall past all the vendors, to the other end to pick up your shirt.  Pretty smart design, actually, because you had to pass by all the vendors to get the two things you want (bib and shirt).  But they just didn’t have a lot of vendors.  I guess I expected it to be a lot bigger than it was.

The water stations on the course were about every 2 miles, and a little more frequent toward the end.  I felt like they were appropriately spaced and mostly well manned.  There was one spot (around mile 3) where there were some cups and some gallon jugs of water with no one there manning it.  I’m not sure if that was really supposed to be a water station there on the way out.  I think the stuff had just been delivered for the water station at mile 23 (which went past that same place).  The hydration on the course was water (of course) and Gatorade.  The Gatorade was in different flavors at the different water stations.  Over the course of the race, I had blue, yellow, and red Gatorade at different stations.  They also had Boom gels, and after the halfway mark, they had them at almost every water station, along with bananas (cut in half).   There were about two porta-potties at each water station also.

Swag:  The swag wasn’t anything special.  The shirt is a unisex technical shirt.  Both the shirt and the medal did have 26.2 on it, so you can tell you ran the marathon.  The swag bag did have some samples in it that I ate after the race, but nothing special.

The best swag at this race are the free pictures.  They have cameras set up as often as other races, but all of the pictures are completely free to download afterwards if you "Like" the facebook page of the photographer.

Starting Line:  One of my favorite things about this race was an amenity at the starting line.  They had “mobile lockers” that you could rent to put your stuff in.  This is so helpful when you are driving a rental car with a huge set of keys that don’t fit in your running belt, but that you don’t want to leave them in a bag that could potentially be compromised (at the bag check).  The $5 locker was small, but I was able to fit a pair of pants, a light jacket, my rental car keys, and a protein bar.  The starting line also had plenty of porta-potties.

Fans:  The fans were sporadic, but when they were there, they cheered on all the runners (not just the one they came to see).  If you require fan support for motivation, though, I wouldn't choose this race.  As the race is a medium sized race, there are a "medium sized" amount of fans.  So there were plenty of places (especially along the bike trail) where there were no fans.
The runners acted like fans during some of the course, as there seemed to be a lot of little out-and-back shoots off the main course.  There were several times that I high-fived another runner going the opposite direction that I was passing.

Finish Line:  One opportunity for improvement is the finish line.  While the volunteers were fabulous as they put your medal and mylar blanket on and gave you bottled water, they had very limited food choices.  I believe there was Gatorade, bananas and some very unappetizing-looking vegetable wraps.  Other than that, there wasn't much of anything.  And I finished under 4 hours.  So it wasn't like the food was all gone once I got there.  Maybe I just missed it??  That's another thing - there weren't any signs or direction as to where you were supposed to go to get the food.

Results:  3:56:30.  Sub-4.  Rhode Island - check!

How I felt:  I felt pretty good for most of the race.  I started out slow, but then gradually increased my speed until I was practically "racing" the last 20 miles of the race.  I caught up to the 4:30 pace group around mile 10, then the 4:45 group around mile 15, and finally passed the 4:00 pace group around mile 22.  

I've had a nagging hamstring issue the past several marathons.  Sometimes, usually when I go fast (8:00 minute miles or faster), my knee will want to lock up, my leg will start to get numb, and I will lose control of the leg.  (I've been tested for Multiple Sclerosis, but the test came back negative, so I have no idea why my leg does this.)  My leg acted up again in this race, but it wasn't too bad.  It actually started early (around mile 7) when I started running fast and then again around mile 12.  After those episodes, though, I was mostly able to control it through the rest of the race.

Travel/Tourism:  Rhode Island is a beautiful state, and Providence is a nice sized city (not too big, and not too small).  Since the state is small, I could see most of it during the two days I was there.  I flew into Providence airport (not too big - only 20ish gates) and went to my hotel to check in.  

I stayed at the Ramada Seekonk hotel, which was about 15 minutes from downtown and actually located in Massachusetts.  The hotel was a recent purchase of Ramada, and it looked like the room was recently renovated.  I was chosen for an upgrade to an Executive Suite.  My room had an enormous walk-in closet.  I have no idea what any traveler needs with a closet that big, so it seemed like a waste of space to me.  The bathroom was your standard bathroom and was pretty small.  The bed was located toward the back of the room with a door that closed it off from the other part of the room (thus the "suite").   It was nice, but nothing really special.  The hotel had complimentary breakfast, which consisted of cereal, yogurt, waffles that were prepared ahead of time and put into a warmer (I do no suggest this, as the outside of the waffles just get really dry and crunchy), and other pastry/bread type items.  There was also a small gym with two treadmills (among other things).

The Expo was located in the Rhode Island Convention Center.  There is very limited non-paid parking in downtown Providence.  In fact, I had to pay $12 just to pick up my race number (I was probably in there for an hour max) and $13 to park on race day.  There really should be some other option for the runners at least!
 
After picking up my race number, I went to my normal pre-race meal location - the IHOP.  This IHOP was actually the best IHOP I've been to.  It look like it had been either recently built or recently renovated with very modern features, like an area that looks like a bar.  I'm not sure why IHOP would have a bar, but the design was neat anyway.  Both the service and the food were very good.
 
After the race, icing, and a shower, I headed to Newport. For dinner, at the recommendation of co-workers, I ate at The Mooring Seafood Kitchen.  It was delicious, but expensive.  I had the special, which was a salmon over creamed cauliflower with green beans.  They also provide warm bread, which is soft on the inside and slightly crunchy on the outside.  For dessert I had the Devil Dog chocolate cake.



Newport, RI is famous for its cliff walk.  The cliff walk is a paved path along the Atlantic Ocean.  On the non-ocean side of the path are beautiful mansions.  Some are hidden behind a fence and the overgrown greenery (vines, trees, bushes) that grow near the fence, but there are some that are easily seen from the path.  Unfortunately, some of the cliff walk was closed due to construction to repair damage from Hurricane Sandy, but I was still able to get some good pictures.

 

On Monday, my flight was late in the day, so I went to the Cox office to meet some of the co-workers that I work with on a regular basis, but have never met in person.  Our security manager was nice enough to take me around to meet various different people, and then drive me around to see some of the other sights of the state.  We drove our to Narragansett Beach and to the Point Judith Lighthouse.
I'm sure this isn't how it normally is, but when we parked near the lighthouse, the car was smothered by mosquitoes.  I had to wave them all away before getting back into the car, and still some got in. 

 












After the lighthouse, we drove up the coast and back to Providence.  We arrived back at Federal Hill in Providence around lunch time.  Federal Hill is an old Italian community (possibly a meeting place for some Italian families traveling between Boston and NYC back in the day...if you know what I mean.)   For lunch we ate at Andinos Italian Restaurant.  It was very good, authentic Italian food, and not as pricey as the place in Newport.

Although I don't have to return to RI, since I got my sub-4 hour marathon, it is definitely a state I would love visiting again.