Racing in May & Memorial Day 2015

My first race in May this year was my second venture into the new sport of Double Racing founded by Bob Anderson, the founder of Runner's World. I did my first in Pleasanton in December and enjoyed the whole experience. This time the race was in Pacific Grove so I decided to go over the day before and spend the night. It worked out great and despite the fact that the weather was cloudy and gloomy both days it was still an enjoyable weekend. I've certainly learned the past few years that you make the best of the hand you're dealt. Control the things that you can but work with the things that you can't.

I stayed at the host hotel and literally a hundred feet from my room to the start and finish line. That was especially nice when I wanted to change shirt and socks between races because of the humidity. 

I spent a lot of time just walking along the coast and looking for otters and seals. I did see seals but no otters and I was really lucky when I was talking with some fishermen on an overlook to see a whale and her calf not to far out. I wasn't able to get a picture because it was just up and down so quickly. After watching the seals actually sleeping on small jagged rocks I don't think I'll ever have much sympathy for people complaining about uncomfortable beds.

The race was fun and as you can see, run in a beautiful location. I managed to get 3rd in my age group in both sections so I was 3rd in the combined. 

Pacific Grove is an interesting old town with an interesting history. One of the unique things that I saw while walking around town several times were plaques with the original homeowner and date the home was built. All of the dates were late 1800s and early 1900s. Another unique feature was the eclectic styles of the homes.

My second May race was a return to the Oakdale Chocolate Festival, it's always a well run event and is part of our club's Grand Prix Series. Even though I will miss multiple GP races this year because of conflicts with travel or other races I still try to participate in as many as possible.

My final May race was the Modesto Memorial Classic. It is another race put on my the club and is one of my favorite races of the year just because of the meaning behind the race and the fact that so many veterans come out and participate as runners or walkers. 

This Memorial Day weekend I was thinking a lot about my Dad's Naval service and then thought about my uncles who served. My Dad had 3 brothers and all four of them served. Dad - Navy, Uncle Ronnie - Navy, Uncle Billy - Army (Served with Elvis Presley in Germany), Uncle Denny - Air Force. He also had three sisters and their husbands served as well. Uncle Johnny - Navy, Uncle Willie - Army and Uncle Wayne - Navy. My Mom had two brothers and they both served as well. Uncle Buddy - Marines and Uncle Jerry - Army. She also had two sisters and Uncle Johnny was in the Navy. Uncle Dave was in a time period between Korea and Vietnam and I don't know if he served or not. That's a family service record that I'm definitely proud of.

Memorial Day 2014