Long Overdue - Birmingham Bust - Awesome Atlanta

It's been quite some time since I last posted a blog entry, and really quite a bit has happened over the last few months.

Start with my house:

Late last summer, while mowing, I noticed some shingle fragments laying on the ground behind my house. I took a couple of steps back and noticed that several shingles had come off the edge of the roof.  I was able to get a recommendation from my nephew's girlfriend for a reputable roofing company and started work on getting some repairs done.  Not only did I have the damage to the roof, but they also found damage to the siding.  The entire story of the repairs is probably one most of you have already heard in person, but bottom line is that, after some time I was able to get my entire roof, including the decking, replaced, as well as all of the siding on my house.  While I was at it, I was able to get the roofing company to remove the old, non-working, insert AC unit from the side of the house and patch the hole that it filled, and also put new porch lights and mailbox on the house for me.  I am so much happier with the way my house looks now (at least on the outside).

In February I was scheduled to run the Mercedes Benz Birmingham Half Marathon.  That would also be the race where I would meet my IRUN4 buddy for the first time.  Unfortunately, I woke up to a lot of snow in Columbus, which led to my flight being cancelled and having to scrap the weekend.  While there was some disappointment in missing out on the weekend, and an out of state race, it ended up working out for the best.  I did lose some money on the hotel room (because I cancelled with less than 72 hours notice) and on the race registration, Brett's mom ended up not feeling great and some illness went through the family that weekend, so travelling for them would not have been a great experience.  One other thing I learned from that experience was to stick with the Hilton brand of hotels.  I had decided to get a room at one of the "host" hotels for the Birmingham race.  Now I understood when I reserved the room that there was a 72 hour requirement to cancel the reservation without losing the cost of the hotel room for the evening.  However, when I called to cancel I was told by Sheraton that "some of the Sheraton properties were giving an exception to the 72 hour rule due to the weather conditions around the country cancelling travel."  Apparently the Sheraton property where I was planning to stay was NOT one of those properties, so I lost the cost of the hotel room for the night.  Again, I knew that going in, but I've found that Hilton is much more considerate of "special circumstances" and doing what they can to keep their customers happy (more on that later).  Over the past year I have traveled quite a bit, mostly staying at Hilton brand properties.  In one case I stayed at a  Marriott property.  While that hotel (Fairfield Inn) was fine, the employees were not what I would consider "friendly".  The other non-Hilton situation was the Sheraton in Birmingham.  Lesson learned....stick with what works.

In March I did get the opportunity to meet my IRUN4 buddy Brett and his family.  I traveled to Atlanta for the Publix Georgia Half Marathon.  I had heard some scary things about the traffic in Atlanta and was honestly a little bit concerned.  I considered cancelling my rental car and using my feet and a taxi for anything I did while in Atlanta, and maybe only renting a car one day.  I was glad I decided to go ahead and keep the rental though.  Fortunately I did not experience many problems with the traffic.  I always happened to be travelling in the right direction at the right time of the day to avoid heavy traffic.

I arrived in Atlanta on a Wednesday evening.  If you've never traveled to Atlanta, let me tell you something...the airport is huge!  Nice long walk from the gate to baggage claim.  And because I walked instead of taking the train across, I almost had a luggage issue.  My bag was the last on the belt when I arrived and was being removed by an employee as I walked up.  Fortunately I saw him grabbing my bag and was able to get it before it went to a "lost luggage" office somewhere.  I got to the rental car area with no problem, and thanks to "self-service kiosks" was able to by-pass standing and waiting in line while rental car employees did sold customers on extra insurance and GPS units on their cars.

Traffic from the airport to the hotel was light and I made it there with minimal issues.  When I arrived at the hotel I was surprised to find that, despite using the early bird check-in on line, there was not a room available for me at the Embassy Suites.  However, they had made arrangements for me to stay at the hotel across the street for the first evening.  In exchange for the inconvenience, Embassy Suites paid for my hotel room the first night and my breakfast the following morning.  The next day I went back to Embassy Suites to try and check in early.  They informed me that my room was not ready yet, but I could leave my luggage and it would be in my room when I returned.  More on that later.

I headed out to Douglasville where I finally met the Smith family.  Brett showed me his lego village that was set up in his bedroom.  Emma showed me her Elsa dress.  We all played a game of Yahtzee.  Then we went bowling.  I haven't bowled in a long time and I will say this.....I SUCK at bowling.  But we had a good time.  After bowling the Smith's took me out to dinner at Outback Steakhouse.  Most of had a good dinner, although Emma's home health care person must have gotten some bad chicken wings, because she apparently woke up sick later that evening.  We had a nice evening though, and by the time we finished dinner, all of the traffic was now trying to get out of Atlanta, while I was driving back in to Atlanta.

When I returned to my hotel I was informed that my room had been upgraded to make up for the inconvenience of not having a room that first night.  I went from Embassy's basic two room suite to the "King Executive Suite".  Although my luggage was not in my room when I got there, it was delivered shortly after my arrival, along with a large plate of fresh fruit and a note from the manager apologizing for the inconvenience the first night.  Also in the envelope was a $25 voucher for Ruth's Chris Steakhouse.  As I posted on Facebook....THIS is why I remain a loyal Hilton customer.  I didn't fuss, I didn't yell, I didn't complain, when the issue happened.  I wonder now if maybe that had something to do with the nice treatment.  Is it possible that the manager who checked me in was so relieved that I took the issue in stride and even joked with her, that she did more to make up for the issue than she would have?  Or did she do the same she would have done with any other guest in the same circumstances?  Or would she have done even more had a caused a fuss?  I don't know, but what I do know is that my stay was more pleasant than it would have been otherwise, and complaining about a situation that I really couldn't have changed, would have started my trip out on the wrong foot.

On Friday I was able to find my way to the race expo.  It was pretty much the same as most other race expos I've been to.  It didn't take me too long to pick up my race packet and check out some of the vendors.  I was able to pick up a couple quick items that I would need for race day, then I headed back out to Douglasville to the Smith family home again.

This evening they took me out to dinner again.  Because Brett and I both like crab legs, we did a seafood restaurant.  A place called the Marietta Fish Market.  We kind of lucked out pulling in to a packed parking lot on Friday evening, to find two empty parking spots right near the front.  We expected a wait...probably a lengthy one, which told me this place must be pretty good.  Well, again we got lucky, maybe due to the size of our party, but a table opened up fairly quickly.  Again, a very good dinner!!  And once again, I headed back in to Atlanta at a time when most people were heading out of Atlanta.

On Saturday we all met at the Atlanta Zoo.  It was one of first really nice weekends in Atlanta, so the zoo was pretty busy.  It seemed like Emma was enjoying things a little less at the zoo, maybe more because it was difficult for her to see some of the animals while she was in her wheelchair and a lot of kids would move in front of her and block her view.  But, I also found that Emma and her mom are frequent visitors to the zoo in Atlanta and to the zoo website, so they keep up on the animals in the zoo, the babies that have been born, and I could see that Emma got more excited when she was able to see some of the animals that she'd been hearing about from the website.

After the zoo we made our way to lunch at Johnny Rockets.  Any time I've been to a Johnny Rockets they are usually pretty busy, and rightfully so.  A 50's style hamburger joint that serves up good burgers and root beer floats!  After lunch we headed over the World of Coke.  A whole museum dedicated to Coke.  For me, the best part of the World of Coke was the tasting room.  Although it was crowded and there were a lot of people pushing their way in front of others, it was interesting to try different Coke products from different parts of the world.

Sunday morning was race morning.  One of the nice things about where I was staying was that I was able to literally walk out the front door of my hotel and directly in to my starting corral for the race.  This allowed me to sleep in a little later than I would for most races, especially those that are as big as this one.  It did rain for most of the 13.1 miles.  It was a steady rain though, not storming, so it ends up not being too big of a problem.  As a matter of fact, it is sometimes nice to have some rain falling to keep from getting too hot.  Brett and his mom were at Mile 13 to cheer me in to the finish.  I was really great to have someone there cheering me in to finish.  It's been a while since I was fortunate enough to have that experience.  People are usually at the finish line and cheering in all the runners.  But to have someone specifically cheering for me, holding up a sign with my name on it, is a great motivator!  The fact that they stood out there for me, especially in the rain, meant a lot!

I ended the weekend heading back to Columbus.  Again, avoiding too much traffic by leaving a little bit early.  I made it through security fairly quickly, again avoiding the large rush that typically comes with Monday mornings in an airport as big as Atlanta.

On Monday morning I arrived back in Columbus, and while still waiting for my luggage, got a call from work.  Someone had called off sick and coverage was needed....so back to work I went, relaxed from a nice long weekend away.

Long Time - No Blog

Wow....it really has been a while since my last blog entry.  Since my last post I have now moved back to first shift at work.  This is most definitely a busier shift than the first shift that I left last year, and the third shift that I've worked for the past year.  It took me a little bit of time to get used to the activity level, and I'll admit that I left work a couple of times mentally exhausted.  But again, as I've said in the past, that is where running really helps out.  It's the outlet I need.  The weather has been cold, which caused some "motivational issues" on my end, when it came to running.  But the last couple of weeks have been decent and I'm preparing now for my first race of 2015, the Mercedes Benz Birmingham Half Marathon.

Because of training that is going on at work, Birmingham will be a quick 3 day trip.  I fly down on Saturday and fly back Monday.  I will finally get to meet my IR4 running buddy and his family.  They are going to drive out and spend a night in the Birmingham area to meet me and cheer me on in my race.  That will make for a fun weekend.  This will be my 22nd state in my quest to run a race in all 50 states.

My times over the past year have gotten really bad compared to where they were in 2013.  I've been running in the 2:20 area for my last few half marathons, and am really expecting to be even slower for this one.  But as I get back to a more "normal" routine, I'm hoping that will improve my times.  Even if my times don't improve though, as long as I continue to have fun and continue to stay active, I'm ok with that.

This will be a busy few months of races for me.  After running Birmingham next week I will be back down south just four weeks later for the Publix Georgia Half Marathon in Atlanta and state #23.  A short four weeks after that I will be headed south again, this time to Oklahoma for state #24 and the Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon.  This year marks the 20 year anniversary of the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.  Funds raised from that race go towards the Oklahoma City Memorial and museum.  One week after running in Oklahoma City I will be lacing up again for the Cap City Half Marathon in my hometown here in Columbus.

That means four half marathons in nine weeks.  Then I have a break.  The next race I currently have scheduled after that will be the Shawshank Hustle.  This race starts and ends at the Mansfield Correctional Institute, where much of the movie The Shawshank Redemption was filmed.  The course passes by many locations where different parts of the movie were filmed.  This will be the second time I've run a "movie based" race, the first being the Christmas Story 5K in Cleveland last December.

After that race I'm registered for the Columbus Half Marathon in October and then the Space Coast Half Marathon in Cocoa, FL in November.  A slightly lighter year of running, at least so far, than I did last year.  However, 2015 will be a year to do a little bit of re-grouping and having some fun.

Let's Review

The last couple of years I have posted answers to several questions regarding what I did in the past year and what I plan to do in the upcoming year...so why mess with what works...here we go...

1 - What did you do in 2014/will you do in 2015, that you have never done before?

Not really a lot of "new" experiences in 2015, and probably won't be in 2015 either.  I did do a lot more travelling, but I've traveled before, so I can't say that's new.  I am always saying that I'm going to do more cross-training and trying to so some other type of exercise besides running, so in 2015 I do plan to join a fitness group that meets once a week at church in order to get motivated and do some cross training to "mix it up".  The different activity should also help with my running, so it's a win-win.

2 - Did you keep your 2014 Resolutions and will you make more for 2015?

Short answer...no/yes.  I did make resolutions for 2014, which I didn't end up keeping, but I will work on more in 2015.  Probably go back to my 2014 resolutions and try a do-over.  Of the three I made, I was able to keep one for most of the year, but it dwindled towards the end, and I expect to get that one back early in 2015.  The other two will take a good bit of the year to accomplish.

3 - Did anyone close to you give birth?

No.  My nephew's wife is due within the next few weeks though with their 3rd child.

4 - Did anyone close to you die?

No.

5 - Which countries did you visit?

Again, I stayed in the United States, however I did do a lot of traveling inside the country.  In 2014 I went to Phoenix, Nashville, Maryland, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, California and Florida, adding many more states to my quest to run a race in all 50 states.  If all goes well, I hope to run races in Birmingham, Atlanta and Oklahoma City in late winter and early spring.  I also plan to hit Florida again later in the year to run the third year of the Space Coast Half Marathon.

6 - What would you like to have in 2015 that you lacked in 2014?

Again, I think I did pretty well in 2014, so if I can just keep things progressing in 2015 I'll be in good shape.

7 - What in 2014 will remain etched in your memory?

I keep looking for something "huge", but really that rarely happens.  I can say that in 2014 I had the opportunity to meet 3 Olympic Medalists and met someone whom I consider to be a mentor for me in the running world.  I also had the extra opportunities to "pay it forward."  One of the most notable of those was in joining a group called "I Run 4".  I have mentioned it before on my blog.  I Run 4 matches "runners" with "buddies".  The group started as a way for runners to run for those who do not have the ability to run themselves due to illnesses and/or disabilities.  It expanded to include siblings of those with disabilities and I've been paired with a young man from Georgia who is the older brother of a young girl who has been diagnosed with Mitochondrial Disease.  Brett's a great young man, but does have one flaw that I'm trying to overlook....He's an Alabama fan.  But, at least he's not a Michigan fan, so I think I can overlook it.  In all seriousness, getting to know a little bit about Brett and his family has really encouraged me try and remain positive, even in the most adverse circumstances.  I plan to meet Brett and his family this year when I run a couple of races close to where they live.

8 - What was your biggest achievement of the year?

I think I added 11 - 12 states in my quest for 50 this year.  That was the most traveling I've ever done in a single year, and to have done that while working so much overtime was not something I would have thought I'd be able to do.

9 - What was your biggest failure of the year?

I had decided for 2014 to try working night shift at work.  The days off worked better for the races I wanted to run in 2014.  However, it did make it a little more difficult to maintain a proper diet and running regimen.  I allowed that difficulty to get the better of me, resulting in some weight gain and not running near as many miles as I should have this year.  I plan to fix that in 2015, starting with moving back to day shift.

10 - Did you suffer any illness or injury this year?

OK....I had made it a personal goal of mine to get a "Perfect Attendance" award at work for 2014.  I was SO CLOSE.  But, in November I did end up with an upper respiratory infection.  I tried to fight through it, and went a work a couple of days that I probably shouldn't have.  But I finally gave in to the illness and did end up calling off sick a couple of days in November.  So, I'll try it all over again in 2015.

11 - What is the best thing you bought?

I really didn't buy anything really "special" or "outstanding" for myself in 2014.  I guess I might be able to say I bought a few vacations in 2014, the most special being my trip back to Monterey, CA in November and my whale watching trip I took while I was there.

12 - Whose behavior merited celebration?

I have to give credit to my sibling buddy Brett on this one.  Now Brett is 11 years old, and 11 year olds may not always be on their best behavior.  But, based on what his mom has said, Brett has dealt with a lot of adversity in the past year or two, yet he's still be great big brother to his sister and handled more than any 11 year old should ever have to handle with the maturity of someone far beyond his years.  I have said this before to his parents, and I will say this here for anyone who reads this.  Brett's ability to deal with the issues he has in the way he has, is a tribute who how he's been raised.  I will say the same for his sister too.  Two loving parents teaching good Christian moral values have lead to two great kids.

13 - Where did most of your money go?

Well, I've mentioned already all the travelling I did in 2014.  Gas isn't free, airplane tickets aren't free, hotel rooms aren't free...so there ya go.

14 - What did you get really really excited about?

All year I was really excited for my trip to California.  I had done a lot of planning to get back to a place where I had been stationed in the Army so many years ago.  I couldn't wait to see it again, and see some of it for the first time.  I did enjoy that trip!

15 - What song will always remind you of 2014?

Let it Go.  Not because I'm a fan of Frozen.  Honestly, I haven't seen it.  But when you've got three young nieces and a sibling buddy with a little sister...well, I've heard the song so many times there's not way that I could NOT be reminded of 2014 when I hear the song.

16 - Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder?

I think I was in a pretty good place this time last year.  But I think I'm in a little bit better place now, so I'm going to go with happier.  It's not that I have much more than I did a year ago, it's just that I think I continue to appreciate what I do have even more and continue to realize what it and who are the truly important things and people in my life.

17 - What do you wish you'd done more of?

Running, my mileage took a hit this year. (I know, you were probably hoping for a more "insightful" answer..but there it is).

18 - What do you wish you'd done less of?

I think last year's answer can certainly carry over...eating Christmas cookies (or just "crap" in general).

19 - What's your favorite TV program?

- Survivor
- Scandal
- Sleepy Hallow
- The Black List
- Grimm

20 - What was your favorite film this year?

Didn't have one.  There are a few movies out now that I would like to see though, so they may make the 2015 list.

21 - What was the best book you read?

I didn't read any books this year (That's right Lauren, you read correctly).

22 - How would you describe your personal fashion concept for 2014?

I don't know why I even continue to put this question in these year end blog posts.  Seriously, I have never in my life made a fashion statement.

23 - What kept you sane?

Running and my friends.

24 - What political issue stirred you the most?

Events that should never have been politicized in the first place.  I think it's very difficult to have "open, honest" discussions when the conversation starts based on lies.

So there it is.  My 2014 in a nutshell.  Happy 2015...I'll see you in the new year.

A Promise and A Request

Normally I'd be posting about Christmas right now.  I'm a big Christmas person, have always loved the season and all that it symbolizes.  I've loved both the secular and religious parts of the holiday.  That will be a blog post for a different day.  For today I want to speak specifically to those I work with.  The responders...the men and women I work with daily who go out and put the uniform on.  Whether you are a police officer, firefighter or EMT, this post is directed to you.

I was reminded, somewhat harshly recently, of the awesome responsibility I have each day when I go to work.  In nearly 17 years doing this job it's something I have always had in the back of my mind.  I've always known it, and I've always tried to make sure I live up to that responsibility.  However, in light of the events over the past few months, and more specifically over the last few days, I felt the need to put this out there.

Each day when you go to work you rely on your partners to be there for you, to back you up, to "have your six".  You also rely on me.  You rely on your dispatcher.  Your wives, your husbands, your girlfriends, your boyfriends, your parents, your children; anyone who cares about you, rely on me.  Part of my responsibility, sitting here in this room, surrounded by locked doors and what they tell me are bullet proof windows, is to do everything I can to make sure you go home safe at the end of your shift.

Some of you are people I've built relationships with.  Some of you I know only as a badge number or a crew member.  I may or may not have met your family, they may or may not have met me, yet they put their most precious possession in my care, your safety.

So to all of you, and to all of your loved ones, I make these promises:

From behind my mic and through my phone, I will do everything in my power to keep you safe.
I will ask the questions that need to be asked.
I will make sure I understand you when you tell me where you are, and I will ask you to repeat that location as many times as it takes to make sure I've got it right.
I will relay to you any information I find to enhance your safety.
No matter how many times you tell me you don't need to be checked up on...I WILL continue to check up on you.

To all of you I have some very simple requests:

Tell me where you are.  You can be as upset with me as you want when I ask you to repeat your location.  There can be any number of reasons why I need you to repeat that location, none of them will be that I wasn't paying attention.  Be as upset with me as you want for asking you to repeat it, but repeat it.

Speak as clearly as you can in to your mic.  Again, if I ask you to repeat something, it's not because I'm not paying attention.  Nothing beats speaking directly in to the mic.  I know conditions are not usually the best on your end, and you're trying to get the information out there quickly, while not taking your eyes off a suspect, trying to drive, wind blowing through your mic and sirens in the background.  All of these are conditions that neither one of us can do anything about.  So again, feel free to be upset with me all you want if I ask you to repeat something, but repeat it.

If I send you with backup on a call, don't cancel the backup until you're sure they're not needed.  Please please please, let your backup keep coming until you are 100% sure they will not be needed.  When I call someone back who's hung up on 9-1-1, they are probably going to say it was an accident.  They usually do, and I pass that on to you.  I know you know this, but please remember...the person who answered my call back may very well be the reason 9-1-1 got called in the first place, and now they know it's been called, and now they know you're on the way to their house.  So, take the backup.

Watch out for each other.  I can do only so much from inside this room and behind this mic.

Please be safe.  Please know that most people out there really respect what you do.  It may not seem that way sometimes, but they do.  Right now it's the ones who don't that are getting all the press.  

Vacation/Destination Run - SUCCESS!!

Well, back now from California and I will say it was the best vacation I've had in a long time.  The opportunity to travel to a place where I had once lived, to see what has changed and what has stayed the same, was amazing, so much fun, and very relaxing.

I'll split this blog entry in to two parts, first the vacation part, then the destination run part.

For the vacation, I was able to head out west on the 12th.  I got through the flights just fine, but I will give some credit to Meredith and the rest of the flight crew from Southwest who handled the flight from Chicago to Los Angeles.  They had to deal with several rude passengers, most of whom couldn't understand the basic instructions they'd been given time and time again.  The fact that most of the rules enforced by flight crews are not rules they just make up on the fly, seems to be lost on a lot of people, or at least the people on that flight.  But I got in to San Francisco fine, got my bags and got the rental car just fine.  I had to laugh at them offering "50% off" an upgrade, then after I turned it down ended up getting a free upgrade because they were out of the size car I had originally reserved.

I got down to Monterey without too much hassle, although one of the roads my Garmin had me travelling was filled with a lot of twists, turns, hills, hairpin turns and drivers who were much more comfortable driving those roads than this half blind, out of state driver in the dark was.  But I made it ok, got in to my hotel and settled for the evening.

My first day I spent some time just looking around the Fisherman's Wharf/Cannery Row area of Monterey.  When I was stationed there back in the mid-80's, I would spend a lot of my free time in this area.  It was fun going back to Fisherman's Wharf.  So much of it was just how I remembered it.  Tourist shops selling trinkets, candy stores and some restaurants.  At the end of the wharf were the sea lions staking out their spots to lay around all day.

Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey

Harbor Seals taking in some sun in Monterey

Cannery Row has changed some, new parking garages where parking lots used to exist, new shops in the buildings and a few new buildings where none used to exist.  The biggest change to the area for me though, was the recreation path that runs from Fisherman's Wharf to Cannery Row, and on down the coast through Pacific Grove.

This building is how I originally found Cannery Row back in 1985.  Today it's a movie theater, but back then it had a huge carousel inside and was filled with shops and restaurants.

I also took the time on Thursday to go get a roast beef sandwich from Compagno's Deli.  It sits just a couple of blocks from the Defense Language Institute.  When I was stationed there I would walk to Compagno's every Monday during football season, get a roast beef on french flat bread with mayo, mustard, lettuce, tomato and pickle.  I would take that back to the barraks and watch Monday Night Football.  So, there was no way I was going to go to Monterey and not get one of those sandwiches.  It was every bit as good as I remember it being!!

On Friday I had the opportunity to get a tour of the Defense Language Institute.  It was great being back on the facility again.  I went in to the building where I used to spend my days in class, drove by my old barracks and also saw some of the newer buildings that have gone up over the last 30 years.  I met the head of the German Dept., who informed me that my instructor from 30 years ago had just retired the previous year and was still living in the same place he lived back then.  I thought several times about looking him up, but decided he probably wouldn't remember one of the thousands of students he's had over the years, so I never made the call.

 

Three sections of the Berlin Wall now reside at the Defense Language Institute-Foreign Language Center at The Presidio of Monterey, CA

This was the classroom I spent 8 months in learning to speak German.  The building is now home to the Arabic Languages and this room is now an office.

On Saturday I went on a whale watching trip and saw some amazing sites.  For me that was definitely a "bucket list" moment.  I was able to get some great video and pictures.

Dolphins following along side as we headed out for some whale watching

Video of sea lions and hump back whales feeding

I spent most of my time in Monterey just travelling up and down the coast line and admiring the beauty of the area.  It really was a beautiful trip!

Part of the rocky Pacific coastline in Carmel, CA

Took a drive down the Pacific Coast Highway from Monterey to Big Sur on Sunday

This roadway is part of the Big Sur Marathon course, held in April





Enjoying the scenery along 17 Mile Drive

As for the Big Sur Half Marathon held on the Sunday of the trip.

For my running friends, if you're not aware, the Big Sur Half Marathon is not part of the Big Sur Marathon.  Although both events are put on by the same organization, they are two completely separate events, in different places, at different times of the year.

The Big Sur Half Marathon starts and ends near the Fisherman's Wharf area of Monterey.  It is, without a doubt, the most beautiful course I've run for any event.  After circling through downtown Monterey, the course head south through the Cannery Row area and in to Pacific Grove, then turns and comes back up the coast line.

The entertainment along the course is great, with everything from bands, to cheerleaders to kodo drummers.  The course was well manned and well maintained throughout and the entire race experience was very well organized.

Challenges on the course....well it was, what I would describe as a "rolling course".  A lot of hills, but no hills that were too terrible to deal with.  There were a couple of steep hills, but those were short lived.  I would say to just make sure you do some hill work if you want to run this event, but it is nothing like the hills in Nashville or Lexington.  The only other challenge would be the wind.  Running along the coast, there did seem to be a wind significant enough to tire out runners who tried to hard to fight against it or weren't prepared for it.  But the beauty of the course outweighed any challenges.  I had an amazing week that lived up to my expectations.

Back to the Land of the Living

I found some humor in my "Time Hop" entry I saw the other day.  Time Hop is an app that looks back on social media at things that someone posted a year ago, two years ago, three or more years ago on that date.  Just over a year ago I posted a link to my blog entry, which discussed the changes at work, our move from Dublin Communications to the Northwest Regional Emergency Communications Center (NRECC).  I also wrote about the fact that I would be moving to third shift for 2014 because the days off would allow me to do more of the races I wanted to do this year.  I can't deny that I have been able to do a lot of races this year.  So far in 2014 I've added eight states to the number of out of state races I've run.  I was able to run races in Arizona, Tennessee, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, New Jersey, Virginia and Maryland.  A couple of those races were even ones that I was able to run as "last minute" registrations.  Six of those states were not races I had planned on running this year, but the timing worked out well.  I will add one more state in a couple of weeks when I travel to Monterey, CA for the Big Sur Half Marathon.  I'll travel to Florida the following week for year #2 of the Space Coast Half Marathon medal challenge.

But moving to night shift had another affect.  In September 2013 I ran the Philadelphia Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in a personal best time of 1:57.  Less than a year later I ran the Virginia Beach Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in 2:43.  Moving to nights, I've been eating things I shouldn't eat, not running as much as I should have been running and you can see what it did to my race times.

I have gotten a little better over the last couple of months.  Since August I've been teamed up with Brett through the IRun4 Sibling program.  Dedicating my runs to him and knowing that he and his family are cheering me on and following my running has helped me to refocus a bit.  I'm already starting to see the results of that focus.

The next step though is getting back to a normal schedule, or as normal a schedule as one can have when working in public safety.  So next year I will return to first shift.  Having Brett out there to dedicate my runs to, being back to a little bit better sleep pattern and eating pattern, and refocusing my running efforts should bring my race times back to where they were in 2013, or at least close to that.  

I'm glad that the increase in my race times didn't discourage me in my running and I'm glad that the races still continue to be fun.  I am very much looking forward to the two trips I have planned in November.  I get to travel back to Monterey, CA and see places I haven't seen in nearly 30 years as well as having the opportunity to see what all has changed out there in 30 years.  I will do some site seeing that I should have done 30 years ago, but didn't and I will add state #21 to my quest to run a race in all 50 states.  Then I'll head down to Florida.  I'll collect the second medal in the five year dedication to the Space Shuttle program, I'll visit the Kennedy Space Center, on the way back I'll stop and visit an Army buddy and his family in North Carolina and I'll enjoy a little break and some time away.

The week after I run the Space Coast Half Marathon I will be heading up to Cleveland for the Christmas Story 5K.  That race runs from downtown Cleveland to the Christmas Story House, complete with Leg Lamp in window!

The races and traveling will continue next year also.  In March I'm registered to run the Publix Georgia Half Marathon in Atlanta.  My IRun4 buddy Brett lives close to Atlanta, so I'll have the opportunity to finally meet him and his family in person.  Brett's mom has told him that he can take a day off school while I'm in town so that we have an opportunity to spend some time together and do some fun things around Atlanta.  That race will give me state #22.

State #23 will come in April when I run the Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon.  2015 will mark the 20th anniversary of the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City where so many people, including 18 children, were killed.  The site of the building is now home to a Memorial and Museum and funds raised from the race help to support those.  Having had the opportunity to hear some first hand experiences from one of the public safety workers who was on duty that day, I'm interested to be in the area and see more of this tragic part of our history.

Tentatively, I also have plans to run races in Washington and Texas in 2015.  That, of course, may change, but that's my plan as of right now.  I've registered to run the Cap City Half Marathon here in Columbus in May, and I plan to go back to Florida in November, 2015 for year #3 in the Space Coast Marathon medal series.

Busy Running Season

Well, after a little bit of time with a few races scattered here and there, I'm entering in to a busy race season.  This morning I ran a race in western Maryland.  The Great Allegany 15K Run.  The first five miles of the race were all downhill, which made for a nice run.  In addition to that, the temperature was great!  A nice cool morning that never really heated up much, so it stayed comfortable for the entire run.  And if that wasn't enough, running through the mountains of western Maryland in early autumn made for some beautiful scenery!  The pictures I took with my cell phone on the way down the mountain didn't do justice to the beautiful fall colors that surrounded us on all sides.

Prior to the race I also took a trip on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad.  The train left from Cumberland, MD, where I was staying, and traveled up the mountain to Frostburg, MD.  There was a 90 minute layover for people to check out the town, then it headed back down the mountain and back to Cumberland.  Once again, I don't think my pictures did justice to the colors that I saw on the trip.

My taper starts this week in preparation for my next half marathon, but I will be running one more race between now and then.  On Saturday I'll be running the "Maria's Miles 3 Mile Race" here in Columbus.  Maria's Miles benefits the Maria Tiberi Foundation, which was started to bring awareness to the issues of distracted driving.  Last year, Maria Tiberi, the daughter of local sports anchor Dom Tiberi, was killed in an automobile accident when she ran in to the back of a semi truck that was stopped on the freeway.  The Tiberi's have since made it their mission to bring awareness to the dangers of distracted driving.

The following weekend is, of course, the Nationwide Children's Hospital Half Marathon.  My only goal/expectation for this race is that I do much better than I did in Virginia Beach.  I do plan to take a little more time to recognize all the children that are honored each mile and to recognize the children in the Angel's Mile.

Then, a few weeks later, I head out for the race that I'm looking forward to the most this year.  The Big Sur Half Marathon in Monterey, CA.  As I've said before, this race will be more about the trip back to Monterey than it will be about the race.  However, the race will also give me an opportunity to see some of the area and remember the fun I had while I was stationed there nearly 30 years ago.

Two weeks after that I will travel down to Florida for my second year running the Space Coast Half Marathon, picking up my second medal from that series.  Because of all the travelling I've done I have been able to book my hotels for the Florida trip using my HHonors points, so I don't have to pay for my hotel rooms for that trip.

One week later I'll head up to Cleveland where I'll be running the Christmas Story 5K.  This run starts in downtown Cleveland and runs to the house used in The Christmas Story movie.  That house is now a museum dedicated to the movie.

With my run this morning, I have now run races in 20 different states.  California will make 21.  In March I'm scheduled to run the Georgia Half Marathon (#22) and in April the Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon (#23).

My "quest for 50" went a lot further in 2014 than I expected it to.  Many of the new states I raced in this year were "last minute" races.  Times when I found myself with a free weekend, or the ability to get an extra day or two off for a long weekend and make the trip.  Now that I've pretty much raced in those states that are within a few hours drive from home, I expect that those new out of state races will have to be scheduled more in advance, and I really don't expect to knock out as many states in future years as I did in 2014.

Post by The Mito Life - Living Life As Zebras & Butterflies.