Baby Abigail
Luckily the schedule fell into place, such that I could run the marathon on October 2nd and return to Houston in time to celebrate Daniel’s birth on October 5th. I jetted off early Friday morning to arrive in Minneapolis at 11am. Whole Foods had a line of ravaged runners waiting to try their organic snacks too. Anne and I got in a picture with local elite runners Antonio Vega and Jennifer Houck. They signed my race number, which I will send to Abigail.
I eventually made it to the St. Paul Saturday Morning Farmers Market, where I found vendors selling all kinds of tasty and fresh foods, decorations, clothes, etc. I stepped inside and bought a pound of dark chocolate covered treats, to share with family when I got home.
Around the corner was the Fitzgerald Theater, home of Garrison Keillor’s A Praire Home Companion. I waited in line, hoping to get tickets to the 5pm live broadcast. I organized my race gear for the morning and after reviewing some race day logistics, I headed early to sleep.
The medal I gave Daniel from Twin Cities is in his room.
Anne and the Houston crew drove to St. Paul to take the bus into Minneapolis on race morning. The gun sounded and over 8,000 skinny people were off on a 26.2 mile journey from Minneapolis to St. Paul. Leading up to mile 10, I was running with Matt, an undergrad at a college in Wisconsin, running his 2nd marathon. We crossed the half marathon in 1:30:13 as the unofficial 3 hour pace group. The Twin Cities Marathon tops the list as being one of the most scenic urban marathons. After finishing her 10 miler, Erinn caught sight of me near mile 25 and ran alongside me for a ways to cheer me on and encourage my 3 hour effort. I took my time through the finish shoot, grabbing fruit, chips, bread, warm broth, chocolate milk and water. I picked up my sweat bags then received a massage. We joined the 10 milers at Eagle Street Bar and Grill to replenish and reenact our race experiences.
Follow this link to read the entire report.
In the months leading up to this year’s Chevron Houston Marathon I had the privilege of working with the Marathon Committee and other BCRR members (Ron, Joe, Dewey, Anna and David) in developing new and improved plans and procedures for the Elite Fluid Stations. We borrowed ideas from New York, Chicago and Boston and addressed the lessons learned from the US Olympic Trials hosted by Houston in 2012. All the planning and preparation came together and was implemented without problems on race day. Unfortunately we will not be able to use these plans and procedures for the next Olympic Trials, since USATF awarded the bid to Los Angeles, butwe will use them for the future Houston marathons and US Half Marathon Championships we are scheduled to host over the next years.I also signed up to help lead the 3-hour pace team with Kerry Lee from BARC who led the group the previous year. I was excited for the chance to help lead a lot of friends who were trying to break that elusive time. Heidi was one of the handful of ladies. I got a chance to meet some other runners at the Marathon Expo on Saturday during the Pacer Orientation. I was glad to answer their questions and calm their nerves about how we would run Sunday. Sketchers was this year’s sponsor, so I got to leave the Expo with some awesome swag. But before I left, Trey waited patiently for me while I stood in line to meet Meb, eventual US Half Marathon Champion, to capture some pictures of us posing in a running stride with me beating him. I had Meb sign the Houston Marathon Sketchers shoes I received, which I will not be wearing.Our group has reduced in size but those that remain are running strong with 4 miles to go.
It was fun running with balloons up until mile 10 when they got annoying – haha! Kerry and I were spot on for most of the race. The most challenging part is to keep the group from not running the first miles too fast. We started off with about 50 runners and by mile 20 we had about 10 runners left in our pace group, which is still a great size for this pace. Some of the 10 felt good and went on ahead of us, most stayed with us and others fell off pace a little but still BQ’ed. It was very helpful having the pace bands in the later miles when our brains were getting less oxygen to do the math. It was definitely no walk in the park but together we had the breath and energy to rally the group and keep them going. I could have hydrated more as I felt slight spasms in the legs, but luckily being in better shape than the pace we were setting affords some mistakes. Overall it felt so great to have had a helping hand in runners break that 3 hour mark, qualify for Boston and PR.
The trip didn’t start off good; my check in bag did not make it when I arrived to Managua on Thursday evening, so all I had was my carry on. Luckily when I travel for races I pack all my essential running gear in my carry on, just in case such a thing would happen. My bag would not make it until the next flight from Houston, due in Friday night, but I had to be on the island by Friday afternoon to pick up my race packet. So I adjusted my race strategy slightly without having any of my drop bags and I’d have to wait for clean clothes until I returned to Managua on Monday. Usually I don’t get excited about the race T-shirts but this time it’s needless to say I was over grateful for the clean race T-shirt.
The 100km, 50km and Survival racers all lined up at the start line on Saturday at 4am. The survival racers held live, flapping, squawking chickens in their hands as part of their first challenge. They would face other challenges and obstacles along a 75km course, such as carrying 50 lbs of logs, climbing a coconut tree and hiking a volcano with an egg (apparently the chicken comes first in this race). I would only have to run, at least that’s what I was still thinking when I got to the 1st aid station.
The streets and trails were flooded with a blur of bouncing head lamps as we continued on our journey. The path was marked with blue ribbons, and blue arrows and race logo symbols painted on rocks, trees and poles. The sun started to light our path around 6:30, which made it hard to see color with the shadows. I found myself with a group of runners, when after 20 minutes we decided to turn back around because we hadn’t seen any markers. Sure enough, the blue flagging marking a turn that we missed earlier was clear in the direct sunlight. I was ready to go bananas, literally, because the path led us through banana trees. I finally made it to the 2nd aid station at Ojo de Agua where I ate and refilled my water bottles.
I continued running with my new buddy, Aaron, from D.C. We ran across some rolling hills where cattle were out for pasture to a 5k stretch along the beach. The breeze off the water was refreshing and the sound of crashing waves took our minds off of running. We saw a heron standing in the water, followed by others standing the same way about every 500 meters. It felt like I was having déjà vu and really going nowhere. But the Volcan Maderas did get closer and we made a turn to lead us to the 3rd aid station at the trail head.
Shots of Flor de Cana Ron were among the refueling options that the supporters brought to the aid station atop Volcan Merida
I did manage to pack a drop bag at the 3rd aid station with socks and hiking boots in case I decided to hike up Volcan Maderas. Upon seeing the path at the trail head, that turned out to be the best course of action. The terrain was steep with a mix of roots, loose rocks, boulders, mud and dirt. I continued ascending and stopped every once in a while to take in the scenery and sounds of the rainforest. I was surrounded head to toe by a canopy of rainforest vegetation. I could hear the wind rustle the leaves, birds singing and howler monkeys off in the distance. Eventually I caught up to a couple Germans and we arrived at the 4th aid station located by the lagoon in the crater of Volcan Maderas. Among the gallons of water and pounds of food that the volunteers carried up, they remembered the most important, a 1.5 Liter bottle of Flor de Cana Ron. A shot of rum was exactly what I needed after a hike like that.
Descending the volcano was very challenging and without the company of Aaron, Laura and Steve, it would have been even more so. We had to free climb a short section of rock wall and trapeze across a narrow ledge just to enter the infamous ‘jungle gym’. Here there is no trail to speak of. We were literally hiking on roots and swinging on branches. There were drops of over 10 feet where I found the best strategy to get down was to just sit on my butt and slide down. We sank 6 inches deep into mud that threatened to steal shoes, so I was glad to be wearing my hiking boots. To get around obstacles I would do a 360 by lifting myself up, then swing my legs around. I can’t tell you the number of times I hit my head on branches overhead. After about 2 hours of this we were glad the volcano flattened out with solid ground. But we still had more to descend and run until we got to the 5th aid station. Once Aaron and I got to the main road, we ran into small store. He got a 1.5 liter bottle ice cold water and I got an ice cream cone. It was the best tasting ice cream cone I had ever had! From there it was a short jog to the aid station.
Cooling off with a beer halfway through the 100k
This marked 50km. Aaron, Laura and Steve were finished and I was only halfway, but that didn’t stop me from celebrating Laura’s second place female victory. We carried a Tona cerveza with us into the lake to cool off and cheered each other. I grabbed another beer to drink while I dried off and got ready. Needless to say I was feeling pretty good to start the 2nd half. I got back to the beach and caught up with another 2 runners, Siebrig from The Netherlands and Andres from Guatemala. We ran in together to the 6th aid station back at Ojo del Agua. One of the volunteers verified the rumor I heard of fresh coconuts being sold here, so I stuck around a little extra for the tasty treat and great service too! She ran off to get it for me, while I sat and rested. Then when I finished drinking the water, they were able to cut it open and we eat the meat.
Great support at aid stations
It was now the heat of the day and the sun beat down on the wide open and dusty road. Dogs just looked at me as they lay under trees and pigs and chickens scurried away as I approached. Horse and cattle quietly grazed behind wire fences. Sometimes a car or horse and buggy would pass stirring up a cloud of dust. I entered the first store I saw when I arrived in the town of Altagracia and bought the most refreshing, cold Coca-Cola I’ve ever drunken. I enjoyed running through the rest of the quaint little town to the 7th aid station located at a park, which was alive with families gathered having a party with music. I watched and listened to the fiesta while the volunteers helped me refuel and rehydrate, then I got on my way.
I was moving pretty slow through the next 5km, which was probably a good thing because the streets were filled with kids playing ball and riding bikes. Then the caffeine from the Coca-Cola must have kicked in because I started moving pretty quick. I soon caught up to Siebrig and Andres and with the sun starting to go down. My original race goal was to finish before dark, but missing the turn early on set me back from that pace. Then when I started climbing the first volcano, I concluded that this was an extra-long, glorified hike and I changed my goal to just surviving the race without any broken appendages. I told my running buddies that I’d wait for them at the 8th aid station so we can hike Volcan Concepcion together at night
The path was a tunnel of darkness, but we created a beacon of glowing light with all 3 of our headlamps turned on. As they say, safety in numbers, so having 3 pairs of eyes looking out for course markings and flagging kept us on course. Our companionship also made it a more pleasurable experience and kept us moving along. We didn’t attempt to run anymore at this point, one because it was dark and two because of the steep and technical terrain. We kept ascending and were nearly blown away by very strong winds once we got above the tree line of the volcano. We soon saw the tent of the 9th aid station, which signaled our summit of Concepcion. I tried crawling the rest of the way up to avoid being blown over by the wind, but that just led to my entire right leg cramping up. A volunteer came up to me and asked if I was alright. I thanked him and just sat there for a while to stretch and rest.
After about 10 minutes we were all ready to start the decent. On this side of the volcano only grew a short grass, probably because it did not receive much precipitation and we could smell sulfur gas emitting from the crater. The slope was very steep with very loose sand and rocks. Andres and Siebrig exhibited great descending skills, which I could not replicate as I kept losing my footing and falling. Sensing my struggle, Andres let me use his trekking poles, which helped me keep a close pace with them. Eventually we reached flatter terrain and forever grateful, returned them to Andres. We hiked for another hour or so to the outskirts of Moyogalpa at which point we were escorted through the streets to the finish where we crossed together hand in hand. I was proud to share that moment with great friends and to celebrate Siebrig’s first place female victory.
Done and Dirty
Pump repair team
Part of my training for the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon was to learn about the sport of horse racing, so when Leno sent out a timely invitation to watch quarter horse races at the Sam Houston Horse Race Track in northwest Houston, I joined him,
Churchill Downs
Francisco and David to experience the sights and sounds of the horses thundering down the track. Aside from horsing around, I added an ultra marathon to my training schedule. Two weeks prior to the marathon I camped out in Huntsville State Park with the Runners High Club to run the Hog’s Hunt 50k. I held on to 2nd place, crossing the finish line in 4:33. That following week, I primed my legs with a couple of short distance races in HARRA’s Tour de Bayou series and the LP Track Race. In the last 37 years the city has added the marathon, a hot air balloon race and a steamboat race. Within the first mile we ran past the venues on Museum Row; Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, Muhammad Ali Center, Louisville Science Center, 21c Museum Hotel, Frazier History Museum, Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Glass Works, Kentucky Show! It was an amazing experience to be running where so many great races have taken place. After mile 9 the marathon turned south onto Southern Pkwy, while the mini turned north. By mile 11 we caught up to the 3rd place female and encouraged her as we passed.
On the ascent, we saw the lead runners leaving the park, passing their 15 mile mark. By the 21st mile I had reeled in my reference runner and continued running ahead. I was in
Celebrating with a flight of Bourbon
line with Julius, who just finished his cool down after placing 3rd overall in the marathon. Melissa stayed tough throughout the marathon and finished with a PR of 5:24:43. Melissa enjoyed a blended treat of coffee with cookies and cream. It was a tasty reward after running 26.2 miles through the streets of Louisville. We walked past a couple memorials of horses that won people’s hearts. Melissa crushed me at the trivia game and racing game we played. I continued the Kentucky Derby Festivities the following weekend at my running club’s Cinco de Mayo 5k run then watched the race with Dullahan finished for show.
Read the full report at this link
The Schwiet Life 