"Know When to Say When" - June Races and Red Sox

When planning this blog the I thought I would be simply writing a summary of my June races and the Boston Red Sox - Oakland A's game that I was going to go to with my sister and my niece. Then I attempted to do the Double Dipsea race and the theme of this post changed.

I had been sick the entire week leading up to the race and only ran 3 miles and walked 6 leading up to what would be the toughest race I had run since the Pikes Peak Ascent in 2009. The race was described in the November 1973 issue of Runner's World as, "The steepest footrace in the world". While I doubt that description is accurate, it can't miss by much. The thing that made the climbs more difficult is that there were so many railroad tie stairs going east, actually the reverse direction of the Dipsea. The race begins in Stinson Beach at sea level and tops out at 1500 feet. From there the course drops down, after another stair climb, to Old Mill Park at 60' elevation. You return in the western direction where you encounter a set of 671 stairs almost immediately after beginning the return trip.

It was those 671 steps that helped me make the decision to drop out at the halfway point, 6.85 miles. (The pictures on the stairs were taken looking up and down from the same place. At this point I had a genuine concern that if I leaned to far I would fall down the steps). As it is I should have missed the cutoff of 2 1/2 hours but for some reason the changed the cutoff to 3 hours and I was there in 2:46.44. And this is the reason for the title of this post. I thought about stopping at 2 miles and again at the top of Cardiac at about 3 miles. Then just after 5 miles, I did make the decision to stop and walk back to the aid station to see if I could catch a ride back to the start. That decision was made at just after 1:51. I turned around and walked back down the hill. Then I decided that I should at least try to get to the halfway point so that I would at least know what the rest of the Dipsea Trail was like. So that's what I did and it took me almost an hour to cover less than two miles. I knew that it would be unsafe and unhealthy to try to go back. Looking back and judging how I still feel two days later as I write this it was unsafe and unhealthy to start the race. Unwise as well.

Will I attempt it again? I'm not sure. I certainly don't feel that I have anything to prove and I have not second guessed myself even once for dropping. But I also know to never say never because time usually softens the impact whether positive or negative.

The weekend after returning from Colorado and just 6 days after running the Garden of the Gods 5K I had two races in California. I ran a two mile in the Hilmar Udder Run, a race that I ran and enjoyed last year on Saturday. Then on Sunday, Father's Day, I ran a The Fantastic Father's Day 5K in Salida. It was a small race only in it's second year and was sponsored by a local church. Unfortunately I think one feature of the race could potentially keep runners from returning. After the race we had to go into the church where we were presented our awards in front of the congregation and then invited to attend the service. I don't mind going to church but I want it to be my decision where and when.

It was a good weekend of races and a nice Father's Day. Stacie sent the following collages. Great memories.

The second example of why I chose the title, "Know When to Say When" occurred yesterday at the baseball game in Oakland. Despite feeling sore, tired and sick it was a great day. We first drove to Jack London Square in Oakland for brunch. We didn't have a plan about where to eat but decided on a family owned place, "The Home of Chicken and Waffles". Good choice!

The game? The Sox took the lead and never trailed but fortunately we still chose to stay for the entire game. I spent too much of my life being the type of person who starts thinking about leaving and the hassles that I might encounter as soon as I arrive somewhere. In recent years I've been able to overcome that attitude and have learned to enjoy the event instead and let things work out. In the past I probably would have left after the seventh inning stretch when the Sox were leading 6-1. In the 8th inning the Sox started had two outs and was pulled for a relief pitcher who immediately gave up three straight hits up the middle, each one scoring a run before the third out was made. So at the end of 8 it was 6-4. OK to leave now right? Wrong! The Sox didn't score and the new Sox pitcher gave up back to back home runs. 6-6. Fortunately the A's didn't score again and the game went into the 10th inning. In the 10th David 'Big Papi' Ortiz fouled off multiple balls and then hit a home run to straightaway center field and in the bottom half of the inning the A's went 3 up, 3 down. Great finish to a good game if you are a Sox fan. Needless to say, I'm happy that we didn't leave early in spite of the fact that we dealt with crazy traffic gridlock leaving the stadium.

2014 Colorado Trip Part 2 - Estes Park

As anyone who knows me knows, books play have very important place in my life. I read incessantly, some would probably say that I spend to much time reading but they'll never convince me that is the case as long as it doesn't keep me from doing other things that need to be done. It is a good balance to the physical aspect of running and a good way to share in the experiences of others just as I hope that somebody might learn from reading these posts. This trip was bracketed by two books. The first was a classic that I first read in the late 60's when I was in the Navy. Travels with Charlie; In Search of America by one of my favorite authors, John Steinbeck. I brought a second book with me on the trip, a Vietnam memoir but didn't finish it on the trip because while I was in Estes Park I went to MacDonald Book Shop, a bookstore that opened in 1928, the year my parents were born. I was looking for a specific book but came across, Wandering Home - A long Walk Across America's Most Hopeful Landscape by Bill McKibben. The title and the cover photo appealed to me because in essence that is what I was doing myself.

I had originally planned to stay in Colorado Springs through Tuesday night because I had a late morning flight out of Denver. The more I thought about it I decided to spend Tuesday night in Aurora on the way to the airport so I would have plenty of time to have a leisurely morning, return the rental car and still get to the airport with plenty of time to spare.

After returning to my hotel on Saturday night I picked up the Steinbeck to finish it and read the following passage:

"In the beginning of this record I tried to explore the nature of journeys, how they are things in themselves, each one an individual and no two alike. I speculated with a kind of wonder on the strength of the individuality of journeys and stopped to postulate that people don't take trips -- trips take people. That discussion, however, did not go into the lifespan of journeys. This seems to be variable and unpredictable. Who has not known a journey to be over and dead before the traveler returns?"

The passage struck a cord with me, while there were still some people I would like to have seen, I was ready to be done with Colorado Springs for this trip. As I stated in a prior post the focal point of the trip was the Garden of the Gods race with friends. I decided to see how the next day played out after the race, leaving open the possibility of heading out a day early to see Rocky Mountain National Park. When I returned from the post race brunch with the guys I made reservations in Estes Park. Time to move on.

I went to RMNP and hiked the Deer Mountain Trail before going back to Estes Park to check into my hotel. It was a beautiful hike and I'm sure I plan to return to the area to do more hiking in the future. I've said it many times before and I will say it many times in the future I'm sure, I am truly Blessed to be able to travel.

The Big Thompson pictures were taken on my way back for my final night in Denver. I stopped at Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver, ate lunch at Subway and then checked in to my hotel in Aurora and went for a run. Running is such a great way to explore a new area as long as it's done at a safe time; Aurora is known for some pretty shady areas and activity. It was mid afternoon and broad daylight so I wasn't concerned. A bit of irony is that my first run in Denver was 52 minutes and my final run in Aurora was 52 minutes. Odd coincidence because I didn't know where I was actually going either time.

By visiting Rocky Mountain National Park I was able to add a stamp to my National Parks Passport, a fun addition to traveling since Clarence and I bought them in Florida.
 

2014 Colorado Trip Part 1 - Garden of the Gods

I started planning this trip months ago with hopes of seeing friends and additional hopes of getting several friends together to run either the Garden of the Gods 10 mile or the 5K. While I missed seeing some friends because they were out of town and didn't catch up with some others it still turned out to be a great trip and a "celebration of friendship".

The reasons that I picked the Garden of the Gods race were simple, it's a beautiful course, it's a historical race, I know that it is well organized and some of the guys that I was hoping to share the experience with usually run there. It turned out well, of the seven who said that they would try to run the race five of us actually did.

L-R Joe, Walter, Dana, Robert, Gerald

That picture was taken at the Rocky Mountain Brewery Roadhouse where we all went for breakfast after the race. Robert actually had a medal as well but there always has to be someone who "left it in the car".

While the race was the focal point of the trip, something that we could all plan around, it was really about much more than that. It was about making and sharing more memories with good friends. Joe, Walter and I met at a time in our lives when we were all going through some rough spots and our friendship as well as the friendship of others in the same "boat" have continued to grow over the years. Last year when I returned to Colorado the three of us raced together as well. Robert I met when I was a coach at the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs in 1985; I was the women's cross country coach the first year but Robert and I became good friends. After that first year I coached the men's program as well and even competed in one meet at Adams State as a member of the team. We lost touch for many years when he graduated and moved away but reconnected at the Winter Series in 2009. I also met Gerald in 1985, I was his 8th grade US History teacher. He was a soccer and baseball player with no interest in running but I tried talking to him about running in high school even though I had not coached at Sierra High School, where he would be going, yet. His 8th grade year I was a volunteer assistant for the girl's team and his freshman year I was hired as an assistant for the girl's program. Gerald did run cross country his freshman year but played baseball during track season. I still don't think he was sold on running. It's a good thing that Sierra didn't have a soccer team at that point or he might have never run cross country. Gerald's sophomore year I became head cross country coach and the rest, as they say, is history. He was a decent runner in high school and went on to run at the University of Southern Colorado before they dropped the program. Fortunately his love of running was deep inside of him and he hasn't stopped, racing almost every weekend. Both Robert and Gerald won the Colorado Runner Magazine Racing Series for the state in their age groups last year and are competing for the title again this year.

Here are some additional pictures from the day:

Robert - Joe - Dana

Walt - Gerald

POST RACE PICTURES

The trip and reunions really started when I arrived in Denver before leaving for Colorado Springs. The first thing I did was go for a run in the area of Denver University. Being back at over 5000 feet was tough. And then later I had the opportunity to have dinner with one of my former athletes at a favorite Denver restaurant, Hacienda Colorado.

The next morning I met Robert at Washington Park for a workout before leaving for Colorado Springs. When I did get to Colorado Springs I saw two other friends, I met Jerry to buy him some cake for his birthday. We had planned to meet at a place that had great cake, The Olive Branch but when we arrived it was no longer in business after over 30 years. I guess change is about the only guarantee when you return to someplace. Jerry went back to work and I stopped to see Randy who I try to see at least briefly whenever I return to the Springs.

That night, Friday, Joe and I got together for Pizza and beer. Saturday I met Gerald for lunch and then we went to the Garden to drive the course and discuss race strategy. (The coach part of me never goes away I guess). Later that day Walter and I met and had past at Fazoli's. A lot of laughs and good conversation.

As I said earlier in this post, last year Joe, Walter and I also ran a race together in Colorado Springs when I visited. The question now is will there be another visit and another race in 2015? Time will tell.