Chuckanut Footrace

Last Saturday was the 50th annual running of the Chuckanut Footrace. I was there.

I've done this race a number of times over the years, though I certainly wasn't at the first one. I suspect there were one or two locals who did the event in Year 1, and were here again this year. I stash my t-shirts because of long-running events like this. I used to have t-shirts from the 1980s, but they passed on some time ago. These days, I throw the old ones in a plastic bin, which will probably be unearthed after I pass on.  Hopefully though I'll dig through these now and then and be "that guy" at the race with the t-shirt from the middle earth days.

My time was slow, as has been frequently reported here. For the record, I felt like I had a bad day, despite my lack of fitness. Sometimes the hips and calves engage better than others. Onward with the stretching, the core exercises, the continued signing up for events.

The race itself was terrific, and terrifically run. The seven mile course starts down by the ferry terminal in Fairhaven, and then traverses the Interurban Trail out to Larrabee Park. The first three miles have a mild case of the uphills, and the final four miles are flat or slightly downhill.  Lots of healthy, happy people moving down the trail.

Congratulations to the Greater Bellingham Running Club for keeping this marvelous race going, year after year, and special thanks to RD Kelly for her years of work on this race. The bottle opener medal was a fine token to remember the race by, whenever I need a cold one.

Wind Horse Half Marathon

I ran the Wind Horse Half Marathon today in Bellingham.  The course is an out and back on the Interurban, out to Clayton Beach and back to Fairhaven Park.  The race is a benefit for the Blue Sky Education Project, who's mission is to assist with child education in Mongolia.  The race also seems to honor Bellingham's sister city relationship with a city in Mongolia, amongst others.

For me, this was the right measure for this Saturday.  After many days of relative heat, today we had light rain, light wind, and cooler temps. Perfect for running, and questionable for alternative adventures in the high country.

As far as my running goes, I struggled, with start and stops on the way out.  It seemed like I cracked things after that though, and there was some genuine running for parts of the way coming back. Mostly, though, this horse was winded.

The last few months and even year have been full of big change--as things settle down, I'm hopeful to find my legs again. I'm not worried about how much endurance I build--I just want to have a steady, good run. Might have to mix in some bike and other activities. I was pretty happy though when I finished up today.

The picture above is the bridge in Arroyo Park. Could've worked harder on pics, but it's the Interurban, which is not news for local trail runners. The Interurban is a rail trail most of the way, with a bit of single track in Arroyo. I run this trail routinely, and it's part of many other races, such as the Chuckanut 50k, the Chuckanut 7 Mile Run, and at least part of a few other events.  As familiar as it is, that doesn't change the good fortune we have to have such a gem in our community. The race had a few aid stations which serve double duty, since its an out and back. The course is slightly slower than a road half marathon, I think, because of a few small hills and gentle up and down inclines.

Great medals and shirts with a horse on them, and mongolian beef kabobs at the finish line. Good to see Bill, Lindsay, and a few other familiar faces.  Thank you to the Race Director and the volunteers for all their work too. Success!

Great way to start the weekend. I'll just keep at it.

Race Beneath The Sun

Early June presents so many different terrific race and backcountry options.  I chose to run the Race Beneath The Sun 5 miler this Saturday morning, hosted by the Greater Bellingham Running Club (GBRC). The sun didn't cooperate, but we didn't get rain, so it was a fine enough day.

This 5 mile race starts and finishes in Fairhaven Park, in the exact same place as the old start/finish for Chuckanut.  It's mostly suburban trail.  After leaving the Park, there's a little downill towards Fairhaven, that has everyone running a step quicker. What goes down must come up---there's some work to do, to complete the course, including the C. Moore Loop. It's sort of cool to take that final turn, and finish just like the old C-nut. Not as many people watching though--I think less than 100 did the race. I'll take the small event any day.

I finished somewhere north of 47 minutes, which is about 9 minutes slower than the last time I did this race, some ten years ago.  I remember the course pushing me that day too. There is slight improvement as compared to last weekend, but I still fought shin pain and shortness of breath a bit, causing me to walk in 10 yard stretches a few times.

My plan is to keep doing smaller and shorter events right now, and work my way up to the longer distances.  I'm happy for now to try to focus on diet, core, and consistency.  I need to stick with the PT exercises better.  There will be some longer races down the way, but these short events are fun!

Good to see so many GBRC friends, like Rick, Polly, Julie, Dave and so many others volunteering. This is club running at its local finest. Thank you volunteers. My best to all my friends running elsewhere this weekend---Cougar Mounatin, Vashon Island, the San Diego 100, and wherever else. Run strong, be happy.

Running for Boston

Like everyone, I was horrified by the Boston Marathon bombing last week. 

Across the country, running clubs and groups responded by holding group runs to reaffirm all that is good about running. And human nature. Our own Greater Bellingham Running Club had just such a run on Monday night. I was glad to wobble down the trail with my friends.

My best wishes go out to all who were impacted by this terrible event. I suppose that’s all of us. Run strong, Boston.

 

Run for the Honeywagon Half

 

It's looking more and more like I'm the proof that slow people can blog too. I really struggled today at the Honeywagon 1/2 in Everson. The left leg was uncooperative--it just doesn't kick--and laying off hasn't helped much either.

But nonetheless, the Honeywagon remains a favorite of mine, covering the half marathon distance through north country fields, with raspberry bushes tied, horses standing in their fields, and cows watching you go by.  I was telling a friend that the course reminds me of rural Virginia, where my family still lives.

I've been doing this Greater Bellingham Running Club race for years, but this year it really seemed to increase in number of participants. More people running is a good thing, but it does change the complexion of a race a bit. Besides the crowd, this year's race will go down as the "headwind year," as there was a hard wind blowing, most noticeable on Mile 11 to 12, where it almost stood me up, probably slowing that mile pace down by a minute or more.

Great as always to see so many friends at this event, including Bryan, Steve, Charlie, Heather and Craig, John, Jim, and others. Larry L. has graciously taken over the mantle of RD--there's a great story of how I first met Larry-- and good to see Grant out there too, helping out. 

Listened to Saturday Night Fever and John Mellencamp on the way up. Saturday Night Fever is 35 years old now.

 

 

John, Boston, and Cancer Research

John Schick is a friend and frequent runner/volunteer in the Bellingham running and triathlon community.  A wonderful guy.  This winter, John is raising cancer research funds for the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in conjunction with his training for next year’s Boston Marathon. John is specifically dedicating this effort to his father.  His father was diagnosed with cancer this year. 

I too have had persons close to me diagnosed with cancer in the last few years.  It is a terrible thing on so many levels.  John has looked into the Dana Farber Institute, and speaks highly of the organization. 100% of the funds raised go directly to research.

Please consider making a donation in this holiday season.  Here are some of his links, with more information:

For John’s donation request letter:

https://sites.google.com/site/johnsbostonletter/

John’s blog:

http://runningboston-john.blogspot.com

Jim Bailey

On Thursday I had the privilege of hearing Jim Bailey speak regarding his experience of running the first sub-four minute mile on U.S. soil.  The event, hosted by the GBRC, was very entertaining, and a whole lot of club members showed up.

On May 5th, 1956, Bailey knocked out the 6th sub-four minute mile ever, and 1st on American soil, down at the LA Coliseum as part of a USC-UCLA track meet. I think he said his previous best was a 4:05, and although he was certainly fast, the sub-4 and the win over John Landey was unexpected. We got to watch old film footage of the race, and the man came out of nowhere on the backstretch to catch Landey, who had been leading. There were 40,000 people in the stands.

Both Bailey and Landey are Australians. Bailey apparently was a brash roughneck of sorts, to hear him tell it, while Landey was the crowd favorite. Bailey said he can relate more to the runners in Chariots of Fire than to the incredible runners and their training today. He also ran for the University of Oregon, and it was interesting to hear him describe his own experiences of Bill Bowerman, who was a much younger coach when he was there. Not quite the legend he later became.

Bailey answered questions about spikes, cinder tracks, training, and his racing history. He was ever amusing and entertaining, and somewhat wistful I suppose about his relationship with his native Australia, which really didn’t take to his comments after winning over Landey.

Blaine Newnham of the Seattle Times wrote a great little profile on Bailey roughly five years ago, which tells more details. Here's a link.

Off to run.

Lake Samish Half

There were a lot of events to choose from on Saturday, including the Tiger Mountain Fat Ass 50k, the Bridle Trails 50k, and the Foolish Gerbil 50k up in Vancouver. I'm sure all of these would be good, but then the Seahawks snuck into the playoffs with a losing a record, with the game on at 1:30, and I kind of wanted to catch that. And I sort of ran a 50k last weekend. Plus, my two week cold lingers--and it's pretty bad, probably because I don't let myself heal.

So, I opted instead for my old close-to-home favorite, the Lake Samish Runs. I chose to run the half-marathon, as sort of an internal compromise for not doing any of those other silly races. I really shouldn't play these mental games, but I do, sometimes.

The Lake Samish Runs are put on every year in January by the Greater Bellingham Running Club. Lots of old friends present, which is always a good way to start a Saturday, and the running year. We all get older, but we all keep running. One lap around the lake gets you 6.5 miles, two laps get you a half marathon. I'm not sure where the .1 comes in for the half--maybe it's actually 6.55 around. We had great weather, despite mixed forecasts, and it seemed to me that the turnout was more than I could ever remember. Chip timing--moving on up in the world! As always, thank you volunteers.

Snotdragons captured my nose, and so I was not a good runner. I knew this going in. I just kind of went with it, putting in my due diligence miles and enjoying the beautiful lake and country roads. I got tired pretty quick--I think that's the cold mostly. I was ready to be on lap 2 after 3.5 miles into the run, and starting on to the second lap was a bit tough. These ankles do not favor roads. All that said, I was able to run like a tug boat to the end. Awesome. The End.

I saw Black Swan this week. Whoa--that is some movie! If interested, I'd say catch it in the theaters, or with home surround sound, because music is so essential to the movie. Hoping to catch True Grit soon too--I've heard good things about that one too, and that I should see it in the theater.

And congratulations Seahawks on the greatest upset in playoff history! That was fun to watch.

Fairhaven Frosty 10k

The GBRC Fairhaven Frosty 10k lived up to its namesake today, with frost on the benches, frost on the road, frost on the grass--frost everywhere. Perfectly clear skies, temps in the 30s. A good morning for running. A lot of the regulars from the GBRC and the Wednesday night track group showed up, either to run or volunteer. Always good to chatter. That second loop drags a bit. Love that Great Harvest Bread at the finish, that Tony's coffee afterwards, and that Apple Cup at the end of the day.

Thank you volunteers!

I ran poorly--my legs felt like dead weights. I had no circulation and extremely tight hamstrings. It seemed like I rarely could get anaerobic--the legs and stomach just wouldn't cooperate. I attribute this all to the cold, a slow recovery from last week's Seattle marathon, and unwisely eating at the Taco Truck last night. No big, but I would like to run a good 10k (by my standards) sometime in the next few months. So, I'm a little dissapointed that my bad days aren't better. But you have to get out there to find out these things, and a little bit of honest self-assessment is good for me.

OR...."maybe I should chug on over to Mamby-Pamby Land where I can find some self-confidence for me, you jack wagon." (It's a commercial, if you haven't heard it. Cracks me up.)

Fairhaven Frosty

25 degrees this morning in the Skagit. Brrrrrr. It took 15 minutes to warm up my truck, and I was slightly concerned about the water to antifreeze mix. I lost a $500 Peugeot for that reason years ago. So, I made a game-time decision this morning to do the Fairhaven Frosty. Love the Frosty. I do it most years. It’s a 10k put on by the Great Bellingham Running Club, with two loops for the 10k, one loop for 5. Lots of B'ham and Skagit friends I’ve been seeing at these events for years. The “race” starts at Fairhaven Park, the same place that C-nut starts, and the run then goes up C-nut Drive, take a left on Old Samish, left on the Interurban (trail that you finish C-nut on), and then loop back to the Park. I like the race because I always seem to do it with friends, usually at less than full speed. It's great to just hang out in the cold weather. Last year we were throwing snowballs. Also, the Frosty is a great bounce back run from the Seattle M, and I’m still a touch sore from that.
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Afterwards, it was lattes at Tony’s with friends. Of course I check my phone because I’m curious about Western States….and there’s an email from Alvin. Unbelievable....I got in! It's like a 17% chance. Completely unexpected, except that it was out there in a "you gotta play to win" sort of way. I'm excited, of course, and very surprised. It sure changes things for next summer, as I was beginning to put together plans to visit the ANWR in Alaska, which I still might do.
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So…here it is, reader(s)….the Top Secret key to winning ultra lotteries….the key is to hang out with Dean T. on the day of the lottery. Seriously. It’s worked every time. Same thing happened last year—we were running Alger Alp when the HR lottery went down. Dean’s the real deal. Also, I’m a Pisces. Someone was asking this week, so maybe that matters.
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Actually, my first reaction was to feel for those who didn’t get in. I don’t lead packs, I don’t run races every weekend, and I guess I'm a little self-conscious with regard to everyone else. I think of myself more as a trail guy who likes to run races because you don't have to pack a lot. I feel like there are others who would die for this, who are faster than me, that are more worthy. Make no mistake—I really want to run Western States. I love trails, I read Ultrarunning Mag cover to cover, and this is a granddaddy—that’s why I put in. Still, I really feel for those who did not get in. I guess I’m just very thankful for this terrific luck-out, and I’m going to make the most of it, especially as we sail through these winter months.
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