Bob the runner

My wife claims I became obsessed with running.  She thought it became too important in my life.  She claimed I was imbalanced.  I sure did enjoy running and thought about it often. Ask my wife, I even talked about it often!  Planning my next race and destination and how to train for it was definitely high on the priority list.  Was it an addiction?  Was I out of balance? I can't answer the question but I do know when I wasn't running my thoughts weren't far off from running.  Strava, Garmin connect, and how to improve became some of my best friends.  When I couldn't run I became cranky. When I was running 4-6 days per week, I could eat what I wanted and not gain weight.  I looked really good and my jeans fit great.  My blood pressure, cholesterol, and other medical results were always great. It all happened so quickly and has hit me like a ton of bricks.  Friday the 13th.  A normal day?  Perhaps not!  Thinking back, I can blame it on several things.  Was it runnin

Mercer Island Half Marathon. 22 March 2015 I was nervous about this race. Somehow I hurt my foot on March 13th, just 9 days before the race.  I was out for an easy 5 miler and about 4 miles in, the pain was so bad walking was necessary. Walking was slow and painful.  I rested the foot for a couple days and the pain subsided somewhat. It may sound strange but I really couldn't find the exact origin of the pain. I knew my foot hurt but why?  A visit to the Dr and X-rays showed nothing definitive. The Doc called it an overuse injury (in other words I dunno why it hurts you) and said try it out and let pain be my guide. With that advice, I knew the state of Washington medal would we earned but hopefully not at a prolonged injury cost. Julie and I flew into Seattle on Friday. The foot was sensitive but not really painful. We rented a small lake house on Lake Sammamish so headed there after we picked up our rental car.  The house was small but had wonderful lake views. 

I had never been to Mississippi before this race and not sure I will ever return. T he name "Mississippi Blues" and some of the reviews attracted me to this race.  I love old country songs and many of them talk about the blues, so, I thought "why not run a half marathon there and hear some good music?". We arrived at our hotel Thursday evening and were instantly concerned by all the abandoned businesses and homes near the hotel. The Hilton Gardens in downtown Jackson seemed safe and was a decent hotel but they also warned us not to go walking around after dark. Seems there are a bunch of homeless people in the area that are considered dangerous. We are not downtown people so we were a bit uneasy and decided to eat dinner at the hotel Thursday evening and it was very good. Friday we walked about 10 minutes to the Expo. It was held at the Jackson Convention Center and was lots of fun!  We found some good bargains on clothes and listened to some good B

2014 was quite the year for this 55 year old!  As I reflect back, I am truly humbled that the good Lord has given me the ability to do all this.  Especially at my age!  I don't plan on slowing down any in 2015 but for now I wanted to celebrate my accomplishments for 2014.  Here they are: First full marathon (26.2 miles). First Olympic distance Triathlon (Swim 1500 meters, 24.8 miles bike, 10K run). First Century (100 miles) bike ride. Ran at least a half marathon race in 6 different states. Earned my first "Beat Your Age" award in the Bolder Boulder.  Longest open water swim ever (1.2 miles). Completed a Sprint Triathlon. Completed a Metric Century ride (62 miles). 3 Half Marathon Personal Records (PR) Ran over 1000 miles. Biked over 1248 miles. Monthly details: January:  Earned my 26.2 sticker by running my first full marathon in Maui!  Hawaii was state number 5. February: PR'd in the Daytona Beach Half Marathon!  Florida was state number 6.

States I have run a half or full marathon in.   12 states down! 38 to go. 10/09/2011 - Colorado: Denver Rock'n'Roll Half Marathon: 02:06:19 (PR) 01/20/2013 - Arizona - Arizona Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon: 02:02:16 (PR) 06/02/2013 - California - Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Half Marathon: 01:55:20 (PR) 11/17/2013 - Nevada - Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas: 01:58:36 01/19/2014 - Hawaii - Maui Oceanfront Marathon: 05:03:47 (PR) 02/16/2014 - Florida - Daytona Beach Half Marathon: 01:55:06 (PR) 05/10/2014 - North Dakota - Fargo Half Marathon: 01:53:04 (PR) 06/01/2014 - Wyoming - Casper Half Marathon: 02:02:45 09/27/2014 - Nebraska - Platte Valley Companies Monument Half Marathon: 01:59:20 11/01/2014 - Indiana - Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon: 01:51:08 (PR)   01/10/2015 - Mississippi - Mississippi Blues Half Marathon (01:54:09)  03/22/2015 - Washington - Mercer Island Half Marathon (02:00:40)   Create Your Own Map

Be Monumental! That was the goal for Indiana (state number 10)! I was afraid of the weather starting about 10 days out. High 20s with 18 mph winds.  I kept checking my weather channel app but the forecast did not change.  Finally I prepared myself for a cold windy run and lowered my expectations. My wife and I flew into Indianapolis on Friday and it was cold, windy and raining. We had planned to check into our hotel "The Alexander" and walk to the expo. The walk would have been a little less than a mile. The problem: once we arrived to check in to the hotel they wanted $27 for us to park our car there. "What a ripoff" we thought as we refused their offer and consulted with one of the locals who told us we could park one block away on the street for free after 6pm. We checked in then drove to the expo and parked across from the convention center for $1. The expo was in the convention center and was decent size, very organized, and had  plenty of vendor

State Number 9 (Nebraska) is in the books! When I moved to Colorado in 1988, Nebraska was the enemy!  The University of Colorado actually had some decent football teams in those days and beating Nebraska was always the goal.  Colorado didn't win many of those games and  I developed a distaste for Nebraska, even though I hadn't spent any time there. After spending the past weekend in Gering and Scottsbluff, that distaste, just like the old rivalry, is gone.  The people in Nebraska are so friendly and the Monument Half Marathon was top notch.  The expo and everything about the race was so well organized and fun.  I would definitely recommend this event and a visit to the Gering/Scottsbluff area. On Friday, my wife and I drove 3 hours to Gering and checked into the Monument Inn and Suites. The hotel wasn't fancy but the price was right and it was real close to the race start. The highlight of the trip (other than the race) was seeing the scenery just outside Gering and