2014 By the Numbers

RUNNING

Since the title of this blog begins with running I decided to look back at the year in running first. My first race of the year was the Polar Plunge 5k in Tracy, California. I ran it with my niece Brandy and it was a good event. It was cold but they kept a big bonfire going and then served mimosas after the race. We actually planned to run it again in 2015 but when I went online to sign up I found the race was no longer posted. I called and they informed me that because entries were slow coming in they decided to cancel it. That was disappointing.

My 100th race since turning 60 in 2008 was my 3rd race of 2014 and was run in New Smyrna Beach, Florida outside Daytona Beach. I ran the Go Dog Go 5k. It was a pretty competitive race for my age group. I think all the old people were running in Florida for the winter. 

I got to run in some iconic, historical destination races this year and that was certainly a highlight. In April I ran a 5k on the road and the MSAC cross country course in Walnut, California. It was special for me because I ran cross country and track at Mt. Sac and I raced on that cross country course for four years of high school.

In June I returned to Colorado Springs to run at the Garden of the Gods Ten Miler with friends, Robert Spell, Gerald Romero, Walter Miller and Joe Brazil. They did the 10 mile while I chose to run the 5k. The race was a great chance for us to all get together while I was there and run in a beautiful location. Also in June I went to Stinson Beach, California to run the historic Double Dipsea race. Unfortunately I was sick prior to the race and should probably have not attempted it. I wound up making it a "single" Dipsea and had to drop from the race at the turnaround. It was the first race that I dropped out of in over 50 years of racing. It was definitely the right thing to do though because I was sick. 

In July I went to Eugene, Oregon and ran the Eugene Half Marathon that finished on the historic Hayward Field track. It was a great trip because I got to spend time with old friends and attend the World Junior Track and Field Championships. 

The day before my birthday I drove to Laguna Hills, California to housesit for my nephew Tim. I spent almost two weeks there and was able to reconnect with several friends from the 60's, run on some great trails as well as the beach and race at the Orange County Fairgrounds.

In October I went to New Jersey and raced with my daughter, Stacie and then with my son in law Tom. Both races were good. In the 5k that I raced with Stacie, even though I placed in my age group and received a nice medal, the highlight was actually getting beat by Stacie and watching her pick people off on the last hill to the finish line. The race that I ran with Tom was actually a make up race that was canceled last year because of the government shut down; the Jersey Shore Half Marathon. Tom ran a personal best and I surprised myself by running my fastest half marathon in 2 1/2 years.

My final race of the year was actually two races. I did my first Double Running race in Pleasanton, California. It was an interesting day that was a lot of fun. I met Bob Anderson the founder of Runner's World magazine. It was an interesting way to end the racing year. 

I started the year with 97 races since turning 60 and finished with 139 so I ran a total of 42 races in 2014. It'll be interesting to see what 2015 brings.

Another running highlight from 2014 was finishing 10th overall and 6th male in the ShadowChase Running Club Grand Prix. There were a total of 412 club members who competed in at least one Grand Prix race. In 2013 I was 17th overall. As far as 2015 I will run some Grand Prix races but the Grand Prix will not be a priority. I want to do some new races in new places.

Miles Run in 2014 - 1037

READING

For the past several years I have kept a record of the books that I read. I do it just for fun but there is also a practical reason. I sometimes forget that I have already read a novel by a current author and more than once have wasted money buying a book that I have already read. This year in addition to a large number of novels written by some of my favorite mystery writers I went back and reread several books by John Steinbeck. As a result of reading Steinbeck I read some additional novels by early American authors including one that I got halfway through and quit. I also tried to read a Steinbeck biography as well as a Walt Disney biography. I read hundreds of pages in all three of those books and decided to not finish them. The reality is that there are just to many books and too many books that I want to read to force myself to finish something that is a chore rather than pleasure.

In my never ending quest to satisfy my wanderlust I read many travel books including rereading Steinbeck's Travels With Charley. I really believe that if you can't go yourself, you can still learn and enjoy a lot by reading what others have written about their travels. It is also a good way to learn about a place before you make the trip yourself. This year, 2015,  my plan is to spend time studying the life and works of John Muir. I read some of his works a few years ago after a visit to Yosemite with my nephew Mark and his son Andrew. Tomorrow, New Year's Day, I am planning to meet my daughter and her friend at Muir Woods before she returns home to New Jersey. 

Books Read in 2014 - Total 105 Fiction 67 NonFiction 38

I was Blessed this year with good health and opportunities to travel to see friends and family. I'm excited about starting a new year tomorrow with new adventures. We'll just have to see what 2015 has in store.

Foul Weather Training, Holiday Racing and Much Needed Rain

I'm sure if I looked back at last year's notes I would see that there was plenty of foul weather training then as well but it sure seems as though there has been a lot more this year. I haven't been able to run along my usual irrigation canal routes because they are so thick with mud it's almost impossible to clean shoes between runs. I've done most of my training on the roads and even that has been somewhat retsricted because of dogs that are sketchy at best. As a matter of fact I finally had a dog encounter that was to up close and personal during one of those runs and it was in an area with four rotweilers that have never bothered me. Here is a picture of the aftermath of the encounter. Fortunately just a scratch and not a bite.

Despite the bad weather and dogs I have managed to keep my training pretty much where it usual is mileage wise. The whole goal is to stay in shape enough to be able to continue participating in races. When it rained to bad and there was no chance of getting outside for a run I was fortunate enough to have the indoor horse arena to run in. It is approximately 16 laps to the mile but I just run for time so don't bother counting laps except once in a while to get a sense of how far I am running. You can see in the one picture that I had to wear mud boots just to get from the house to the arena before putting on running shoes.

Here are some additional pictures showing how wet it has been (and we need every drop) on some of the days that I have been able to get outside on the roads.

And here is a good picture of the canal that I usually run on.

In addition to the rain the fog has been around a lot and creates its own challenges for working out. 

While the weather has sometimes made for some cold and wet running I have been fortunate when it comes to racing. I have only run in one race when it was cold and rainy and the weather was perfect for the event because for the second year in a row it was a poorly run event. The weather was just the exclamation point. That race was the Turlock Turkey Trot. Amazingly it was the 40th annual. I say amazingly because I was told that the same guy has been race director for over twenty years; you would think he could get it right in that amount of time. Probably won't put that one on my schedule next year. Last year I thought might be an anomaly so I gave it another shot this year. Two for two says no anomaly and there are too many other races to run. And that's not blaming him for the rain.

I ran another repeat race from last year on Thanksgiving Day, the Modesto Turkey Trot. It was followed by a first time race for me, the Hot Cocoa 5k in Patterson, I have been wanting to run a race in Patterson. Then I ran another repeat race, The Spirit of Giving 5k in Modesto, a well run, well attended, fun event.

My final race of 2014 was actually two races in the same day. Bob Anderson the founder of Runner's World magazine started what he calls; "Double Racing: Running with a Halftime". I chose to run the 8k that consisted of a 5k followed by a break, followed by a 3k. The whole event was fun and created quite a remarkable festival atmosphere. The 15 k is the "headline" event so they gave 5 year age group awards in it. The 8k gave 10 year age group awards and I finished 4th in the 60-69. Had they given 65-69 I would have won my division. No big deal it was a fun event that I will definitely do more of in 2015.

Besides the fog and the much needed rain the weather has brought us some incredible sunrises and sunsets. I feel truly Blessed to be able to see them and enjoy them.

And this is one of the trees in our backyard the day we had probably our worst weather with rain and strong wind. I was glad that I had just cut down some large broken limbs or Mother Nature would probably have taken care of it for me.

A lot of natural beauty the past month or so from what would be considered less than ideal conditions from many people.