Exciting days in Ewa Beach...my first solo book, "The Lawyer's Guide to Microsoft Outlook 2007" is now available for pre-order!

You can buy it thru the American Bar Association exclusively for the next few months - at some point it will be released to Amazon.com and the bookstores.

Hopefully I'll have some copies in print in the next week or two.

-B-

O.K., I've been lax about posting and this post won't be much to write home about.

As of Thursday morning I'm in Seattle to attend John and Patricia's wedding reception and visit with some friends.  Flight out was uneventful, the nice folks from Avis upgraded me to a sharp Red Mustang and the Sheraton gave me a lovely room.

Emmanapped!

Came down to get my car from the Valet yesterday at the Sheraton, went to punch my destination into Emma and...no Emma!  Somebody swiped Emma out of my rental car at the Sheraton!  I filed a report with the valet guys but I seriously doubt anything will come out of it.  There was no sign of a break-in and the valet guys say the car was locked so I'm guessing whoever took her had the keys.  You do the math...

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

This morning John, Patricia, M and I did the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K - a charity event to raise money to fight breast cancer.  Before and after shots...

We didn't really press it - just cruised and enjoyed the fair Seattle weather.  After the run collected our t-shirts and headed back to the hotel for showers and brunch.  Tonight we'll have a lovely dinner at Pasta Freska.

Tomorrow is the wedding reception and Monday morning I'm heading for home.

-B-

Just a quick hit...Hawaii Red Magazine is finally getting some of their content online, including my first column.  You can read it here: http://www.hawaiiredmagazine.com/lifestyleColumns/redtech/

-B-

Haven't posted in a few days and thought maybe I'd throw something quick up...

• I certainly don't mean to minimize the tragedy and this will probably be controversial but one of the scouts who was involved in the terrible tornado the other day said this:
  
  "The grace of God helped us for sure"
  
  I realize that religion is primarily an emotional thing but not a logical thing but I have to wonder how we reconcile "God's grace" with the four young men who lost their lives to that tornado.  How do you thank "God" for a tornado that kills and injures so many young people.  And I have to admit that I have to wonder if the families of those four young men are really feeling the "miracle" today.
  
  Is there something inherently illogical about praying for the victims of an act of God?
• The darned cold/flu is poking it's head up again.  Not nearly as bad as it was, but the last day or two I'm having a little coughing and a tiny bit of congestion.  Like one last hurrah?
• The Mentos "mouth watering" commercial is clever in concept but it's something you don't want to think about too much.  In the ad a fellow sits next to the office water cooler and eats a "Mento"(?)  Then a very attractive young woman coworker walks over, tilts his nose and "drinks" from his mouth as if he were a water fountain.  She straightens up and walks away and he sits there smiling - as you would having just enjoyed a lengthy "lip lock" with an attractive woman.  So far, so good.  And I have to try and just leave the story there because if I consider what it was that she was drinking....yeah. <shudder>  Doesn't make me want to buy Mentos.
• Congrats to Stephanie for winning on Top Chef!  She's a great chef, and seems like a real sweetheart. 

 

Today's Workout:  Hopefully the cough won't slow me too much - I'm hoping to do a 7 mile run tonight.

Quote for Today:

"He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home."
   -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe-

-B-

Spending much of today working around the house or taking care of a few things for work.  A few random weekend thoughts...

• Went for a run last night - just an easy 3 miler.  First run since San Diego Marathon and it felt good.  I'm about 99% health-wise now and it felt great to be able to run AND breathe at the same time.  I could definitely feel my lack of training lately, but felt well-rested and ran without pain.  Time to get back into my regular training program.  Maui Marathon is coming up on September 14th.
• Started watching "The Next Food Network Star".  Feels like a poor-man's version of "Top Chef" but it's entertaining and should tide me over until Top Chef or Biggest Loser comes back on. 
• Cory was the first to go but she needed to - she might be a good cook but her on-camera presence was not very good for a woman who is supposedly a comedienne.  In fact she's supposed to be a comedienne but I don't think she said or did anything funny that whole episode.  Maybe it got edited out.
• Lisa isn't going to last long.  She's a quirky bird; all style and has that sort of pretentious nature that causes her to use extravagant and often foreign verbiage when diminutive mots would be sufficient. 
• Alton Brown made an excellent point when one of the contestants said he was understated because he "wanted the food to speak for itself."  Brown said "Yes, but this is food TELEVISION."  The audience can't taste the food, it's up to the presenter to make it come to life for them.   Food speaks thru flavor, aroma and appearance.  Two of those three things don't translate well over television (and you can guess why I'm not a big fan of "food radio"). 
  
  This show IS a little different from Top Chef in that this show is at least partially about personality in addition to cooking.  At Top Chef you just need to be the best chef and do the best in the competitions - you don't have to be a sparkling television presence.
• Speaking of food - yesterday I made a new dish - a grilled vegetable dish with three different kinds of marinated peppers, some mushrooms and tomatoes.  It was an experiment and I basically chopped a bunch of vegetables I had in the fridge, marinated them in a homemade experimental marinade, tossed them on the grill for 3 minutes and put them in a bowl.  It wasn't bad, though it was a little on the sweet side.  Next time I might add rice, onions or bean sprouts or ... something else.
• I get to stay home for a couple of weeks - then off to Seattle around the 19th or 20th.  I'm reminded of something my mother told me was in Bob Hope's autobiography - that he knew he was traveling too much when he was about to leave on a trip, went to say goodbye to his young son and his son said "Goodbye Mr. Hope."

Today's Workout - Doing some core strength work this morning; have a softball game at noon, and planning a nice run this evening.  Probably a 5 miler, but we'll see how I feel.  The time off has me feeling a little too soft right now, so I'm anxious to get back in my routine.

Quote for the Day:

"Only I can change my life.  No one can do it for me."
   -Carol Burnett-

-B-

Last week I got a rare opportunity to take an amazing trip.  I got to go to Midway Island the focal point of the battle that turned the tide of World War II in the Pacific.  It's a place that very few people ever get to go and as a history buff, and especially a World War II history buff, and ESPECIALLY as a World War II in the Pacific history buff...there was no way I wasn't going.

Trivia:  One of the first books on World War II that I ever read, when I was but a young boy, was Gordon Prange's "Miracle at Midway".  Great book.

So I showed up at 8:45AM to catch our charter flight, got checked in, met up with some of my friends, listened to a briefing from one of the Fish and Wildlife experts, then we boarded the charter plane.

The flight to Midway is about 2.5 hours and it went pretty smoothly.  One very clever thing - on the flight over they showed the movie "Midway" starring Charlton Heston. It's a pretty good movie; has a remarkable cast (including Pat Morita, Eddie Albert, Henry Fonda, James Coburn, Robert Mitchum and others...) and was a fun and entertaining way to tell the basic story of the battle of Midway.  It's not a documentary, it's Hollywood, but it is pretty good and gave everybody at least the essentials of what happened there.

Arrival

Flying in the pilot took the islands down the left side of the aircraft first, then swung around so that those of us on the right side could get a look too.  Very nice of him.

We touched down, every face pressed to a window, and were immediately struck by just how many Laysan Albatross there are on this island.  Hundreds of thousands of the big birds, everywhere you look and most places you step!  In fact you really can't walk more than a few steps on this island without checking to make sure you don't step on one of these fellows.  They aren't unfriendly, but one ranger cautions us that they sometimes bite if you get too close so we're careful.

 

We disembark the aircraft - they tell us we can leave our bags on board (we were only allowed carry-ons, but that's o.k. because it was just a day trip) if we want to and we get down onto the tarmac and then the cameras really swing into action.

 

 

First up on the agenda was a ceremony to commemorate the anniversary of the battle.  Our guest keynote was General Stackpole of the Marines and our guests of honor included Master Chief Chuck Wheeler, who served aboard USS Enterprise (CV-6) during the battle.

After that ceremony concluded we went over to the Battle of Midway memorial and had a lei laying ceremony featuring a couple of the battle veterans who were in attendance.

With that ceremony concluded we broke up into four groups and took guided walking tours into the main part of the "town".  We heard the story of the island, saw a lot of great buildings and were taken finally into the theater to see a 17 minute film about the Battle of Midway including a lot of footage shot by John Ford during the battle.

Wandering the Island

After the movie we were dismissed to spend the next few hours wandering the island on our own before gathering for an evening reception prior to our flight home.  Konrad, Neil and I decided to make a loop around the east side of the island to check out some things we hadn't seen yet and, honestly, we couldn't have planned that much better.  We saw pretty much everything we wanted to on our loop and made it to the reception just about with perfect timing.  

Considering I had run the San Diego Marathon just a few days before I did have some concerns about being sore, but I have to say that for the most part my legs felt pretty good during the hike.

Here are a few highlights:

The Albatross - Like I said, there were Albatross (AKA "Gooney Birds") EVERYWHERE.  One of the fascinating things was getting to watch their elaborate mating dances and hear their unique sounds.  They make some sounds that sound sort of like a horse whinnying and sometimes they click their beaks in such a way that actually sounds like applause.

The white ones (pictured) are the adults.  The dark colored ones are juveniles; many of whom are not yet capable of flight.  We did see quite a few of the  juveniles stretching their wings which the rangers told us was them working on learning to fly - even though they weren't quite strong enough yet.

The Stores - Like most "towns" Midway does have a few small stores and buildings to service the residents.  There was a barber shop, a bicycle repair shop (bicycles and golf carts are the two primary modes of transportation on the island), a store and even a bowling alley!

The Bowling Alley - One of the bigger surprises was that Midway has a fairly nice bowling alley that was as well-equipped as just about any bowling alley I've seen.  I'm not sure how much use it gets, but I'm sure it's a popular gathering place in the evenings.

 

The Monuments - Less surprising was that there are a number of monuments on the island.  Monuments to the battle, to service personnel, even to the Japanese who died in the battle. 

 

 

One of the more unexpected monuments was erected years BEFORE the battle and that is a monument to some Japanese fishermen who died near Midway Island.  An interesting tribute to the men of the American forces is that even after the  battle, while we were at open war with the Japanese, this monument (which is not military in nature) was undisturbed.  Any animosity they might have had towards their enemy did not affect their respect for this monument to the fallen Japanese fishermen.

We were told that while the monument is maintained, it has not been restored.  It's in remarkably good condition considering that.

 

The Buildings - most of the buildings we saw were present and in service during the battle 66 years ago, and some of them do reflect battle damage suffered back then.  The seaplane hangar (pictured at left below) is actually only half of the original building.  If you've seen the footage of the battle you may have seen the building burning furiously from the attack - it was the other half of this building, which used to be in the empty area on the left side of this building.

The command post (pictured at right below) took a lot of hits during the battle and even some hits before the Battle of Midway; a couple of Japanese destroyers shelled Midway on 7 December 1941 and one of those rounds entered the command post through a second-floor window causing serious injuries and even one fatality.

The Animals - Midway is a nature preserve and in addition to the ubiquitous albatross there are also monk seals and turtles hanging around on the beaches.  We spotted one big monk seal taking a nap on the beach by the pier and looking VERY comfortable, and several giant sea turtles sunning themselves a short distance away.

 

The Landing Craft - There is a big scrap pile not far from the seaplane hangar and among the items there (which include several trucks, small boats and miscellaneous metal and other trash) is this landing craft.  Apparently they're having trouble finding somebody  willing to come pick up this scrap and take it away - if I had a big barge I'd be tempted to. 

Anyhow, Konrad and I couldn't resist so we stepped up onto the ramp of the landing craft and had Neil take a few pictures for us.

This doesn't look like a combat landing craft to me - rather it looks more like a supply vessel but it's still an interesting craft and was fun to see in that environment.

 

The Cable Houses - Midway Island was a stop on the first transpacific cable line and these buildings are the oldest on the island.  This complex was constructed in 1904-1905 and though heavily in disrepair now they are still fascinating to see.

 

The Albatross Sculpture - Carved by a Navy dentist in 1972 this very tall wooden sculpture of a Laysan Albatross stands in front of the Navy monument.  It was carved from a single piece of Mahogany that washed ashore and is proudly maintained to this day by the rangers on Midway.

It's actually seems taller in person than it looks in this picture and you can't see it in this photo but they have "banded" the left foot with a red band.  An inside joke that the Fish and Wildlife folks get a good chuckle out of. (with the statue banded they can more easily keep track of where it goes)

The lady on the right in this photo is one of the conservationists on the island and the wife of the assistant director.  She spent a few minutes telling us about the history of the statue before directing us to the seaplane hangar (where her husband happened to be).

 

 

The Veterans - One of the highlights of the trip, of course, was getting to spend some time talking with the veterans who served thru the battle and on the island.  Chief Wheeler and Alan Lloyd had some of the best and most interesting stories about their experiences and the war in general.

The Evening Reception

Our day on the island concluded with a reception on North Beach at Captain Brooks.  Finger foods, drinks and good company was a nice way to end our day.  After all day walking around the island, drinking our bottled water, it was nice to get a flavored drink (Pepsi in my case; beer for some of the others).

Finally it was time for us to head back to the airfield and catch our flight home.  One interesting thing - for the safety of the albatross our aircraft has to wait until after dark to take off.  I'm not completely clear on why that is, but we assume that after dark the birds don't fly much so the chances of the plane hitting and killing any of them goes way down.  And sure enough, after take-off, the pilot came on the PA and announced that we did not hit any birds on take-off.

An amazing trip.  The photos you see here aren't even 10% of the pictures I took on the island and I'm looking forward to seeing the photos that others from our group came up with.

Couple of interesting Midway facts:

• There are between 30 and 40 full-time residents of the island; all of whom are involved in the conservation of the island and its wildlife or supporting that mission.  Many of them are Thai nationals.
• There are only a few motor vehicles in use on the island; including the ambulance.  Most people get around on foot, bicycle or in one of the many electric golf carts.

-B-

How is it that the judges of America's Got Talent are David Hasselhoff, Sharon Osbourne and some angry British guy I've never heard of.  Jerry Springer is the host?

Hmm....why does this sound like having Stevie Wonder judging "So You Think You Can Dance?"

I Guess I'm Just Not Cool - Part II - Somebody named "Rogan" is designing clothes for Target.  I can't help but think....so?

-B-

O.K., Marathon #6 is finally in the books - barely.  It was the Rock 'N Roll Marathon and I had my MP3 player loaded with my best running songs.  I'll be interspersing some lyrics from the songs I listened to during this race into this entry as appropriate. 

Those of you who read my blog regularly...o.k., both of you who read my blog regularly know that I've been battling with a cold that has knocked my training completely off track and has left me with a persistent cough that has ranged from annoying to debilitating.  Well in San Diego, as expected, both of those issues came into play.  In fact at some point during this run each of the health issues that has plagued me in the past made an appearance, however briefly.  Hamstrings, calves, knees, back, hip flexor...all stopped by to say "hello" at some point.  In the first half the calves were the bigger problem - in the second half the knees.  But all the way thru the real story was the lungs.  More on that later.

Good Morning!

My 0410 wake-up call came way too early, which is to say it came at 4:10AM.  I managed to shake off the grogginess, eventually, get dressed and get my gear together.  We were on the road by 0445.  Good thing too as we got to the 5 freeway and found ourselves at the tail end of a MASSIVE traffic jam trying to get to the parking area.  The last shuttle to the start line was supposed to leave at 0600 which didn't seem like any big deal...until 0545 came and we were still staring at the back of the same pickup truck.

"I'm through with standing in line at clubs I'll never get in
it's like the bottom of the 9th and I'm never gonna win
this life hasn't turned out quite the way I want it to be."
   -Nickelback-

Luckily we just barely got into the "Adjacent Lot" and parked in time for me to make a trolley over to the start.  The trolley ride was uneventful; to my left two guys were quipping with each other about this being a "2 hour run" and wondering if they might be too fast for the chip timers to register.  Funny, they didn't look Kenyan. :)

Gentlemen (and ladies) Start Your Engines!

The timing actually worked out just about perfectly.  I got into my corral 5 minutes before the starting gun, which was fine by me.  Temperatures were good; it was nice and cool and overcast at the start; just like last year.  Much like last year I never heard a starting gun, the crowd just started surging forward at the appointed time and away we went.  Crossing the starting line I felt that familiar joy of being out on the course with 22,000 of my friends.

It was pretty apparent, early, however that this was not going to be a fast day for me.  The big problem, as expected, my lungs.  I wasn't coughing much, but right from the start I couldn't really take a deep breath.  I could feel the congestion and constriction.  That lasted for the next 26.2 miles.  It was pretty discouraging to have my breathing be a little labored and measured right from the outset.  It's especially contrary to how I run.  As anybody who has ever run with me can attest, I tend to be extremely conversational when I run.  My breathing is usually comfortable enough that I can talk the whole way (and sometimes I do; much to their dismay).  Not today.  Today just getting good air required a lot of my attention so unnecessary conversation was mostly out of the question.

Seen on the Course:  A surprising number of mobile phones.  Not just folks approaching the finish calling loved ones to announce their imminent arrival; but runners in mid-race apparently having actual conversations on their mobile phone. 

The First Half

All in all, however, I was o.k. with my first half.  I turned in a respectable (for me) 2:45 through the first 13.1, which is not THAT far behind my L.A. pace.  I knew I wouldn't be able to maintain though, since it was a struggle between the breathing and the tightness in my calves (my near lack of training over the last few weeks catching up to me).

"Forgetting all I'm lacking, completely incomplete, I'll take your invitation, you take all of me."
   -Lifehouse-

Seen on the Course: Two young ladies in nearly matching tank tops running together.  On the back of the girl on the left it said "This was her idea." followed by an arrow pointing to the girl on the right.

The first few miles of this course winds thru downtown San Diego and though it's hillier than it appears it's really a fairly pleasant way to start.  The bands are plentiful and energetic and the crowd energy is great.  I was a little surprised when we got down around Petco Park that the Padre's mascot was nowhere to be found this year.  Maybe the Padres are on the road?

Seen on the Course: There are quite a few Porta-potties at various intervals, including the start.  One smart move I made...as the crowd surged forward to start, but BEFORE I crossed the mat at the start, I ducked out of the corrals to the now empty Porta-potties in the starting area.  I knew I was going to have to go anyhow, and this way I got it out of the way without having to wait in line and without it counting against my chip time.  Despite the numerous Porta-potties at various points along the route there were still quite a few folks just ducking into bushes and alleyways.  Not quite as obvious as last year but still.  One lady picked a fairly public spot to drop trow and was perhaps a little embarrassed to look up and realize that she was essentially squatting behind a dandelion in almost full view of the thousands of passing runners.

 

"Working so hard to make it easy."
  -Van Halen-

The sun got out on us a lot earlier this year than last - by mile 8 or so we were bathed in sunlight, but thankfully the temperatures stayed cool and a cool breeze was with us nearly the entire race.

Around the 13 mile mark there were a couple of folks with huge pouches handing out individually wrapped Aleve - clearly a manufacturer's promotion.  I had intended to just take 1, but the young lady shoved four into my hands.  Boy am I glad she did.  I took one almost immediately.  A second a couple of miles later.  A third a few miles after that.

As I approached the half-marathon mark the thought entered my brain, briefly, that I could just pull into the Half-Marathon finish and call it a day.  My breathing was still difficult, my calves were tight and painful, I'd gotten a glimpse at the knee pain awaiting me in the future miles and it was clear that today would not be a PR.  But as I approached the Half-Marathon finish I glanced over at it and said under my breath as I passed "Yeah, that's not happening."  I was pretty determined to finish the full 26.2.

"I'll try to do it right this time around, it's not over, cause a part of me is dead and in the ground."
    -Daughtry-

The Second Half

Pressing on into the second half of the race the Aleve started to kick in which helped quite a bit.  Though at mile 12 I was really unsure of how far I'd actually be able to run today, by mile 15 I was settling nicely into my rhythm and making steady, if slow, progress.

One thing I really noticed on the course was that the bands were more present this year.  I don't know about there being "45" of them - but last year it seemed like by the time I arrived a number of the bands later in the course had packed up and their stages were manned just by DJ's spinning CDs of music.  This year nearly every band had a live band on it, actually playing.  (I could have lived without the rap group around mile 2, but hey...)  Also the cheerleaders were a lot more apparent this year - high school groups all I think.  Last year I saw only a handful of cheerleader groups and most of them weren't doing much cheering.  This year there were a LOT of them and they were almost all in full cheer, often at impressive volume, as we went by.

 

"I'm living for the only thing I know,
I'm running and not quite sure where to go,
I don't know what I'm diving into,
just hanging by a moment here with you."
  -Lifehouse-

One area this year didn't seem to do as well at, though, was aid stations.  They were plentiful enough, and there was Accelerade at nearly all of them, but often they seemed to be short of volunteers and so some aid stations turned into self-service affairs as the scrambling, but outnumbered, volunteers couldn't keep up with the demand.  Some of the aid stations were themed: Hawaii, Margaritaville, Pharohs and Egypt, Elvis/50s.  That seemed to add an element of fun for the volunteers.

Seen on the Course:  A large contingent of running Elvi (Elvises?) again this year.  It looks like fun, and I would have considered doing it, but to be honest I just didn't have the enthusiasm for such shenanigans this year.  Maybe next time.

You Have To Respect the Distance

Though I've become increasingly comfortable with 26.2 there were reminders on Sunday of how much of a toll it can take.  From mile 20 on I increasingly saw fellow runners who were exhausted, dehydrated, suffering from blisters and other discomforts.  At mile 25 I saw a woman sitting on the curb who looked like she was dehydrated - I detoured to the side of the course a short ways ahead to flag down a police officer and ask him if he could have somebody check on her. 

On the one hand it was really good to discover that even on one of my worst race days as far as health/training I can still cover the distance and walk away from it.  On the other, it was a sobering reminder that 26.2 is not to be trifled with.  If you're going to do a marathon, take it seriously, eat, drink and train properly, and respect the distance.

Finishing the Race

By mile 18 I knew that a PR (5:25) was out of the question today.  By mile 21 I knew I had almost no chance at a San Diego best time (5:46).

Play That Funky Music White Boy: My hopes to have "My Hero" by Foo Fighters playing on my MP3 player as I hit the finish line was foiled...the battery in my MP3 player died at Mile 25.

"Don't the best of them bleed it out
While the rest of them peter out"
  -Foo Fighters-

Crowd support on this race was great.  Nearly every house had signs on the balconies or residents in lawn chairs on the yard cheering for the passers-by.  There were a number of informal aid stations.  Not as many as L.A. but still - the oranges on Denver Street were a welcome relief. The Team-in-Training folks were out in force again, a sea of purple.  At two points along the course they had their own cheerleaders as well - a group of big, oft-bearded, men dressed as outrageous cheerleaders in short skirts, with wigs on and giant balloon "breasts" under their tops.  They jumped and cheered and had a great time - as did the rest of us.

Speaking of cheerleaders...one thing that really helped keep my spirits up was that M kept popping up at various points on the course. I think I saw her at least 4 or 5 times during the race.  She was taking the trolley to stay ahead of me and I never knew around which turn her smiling face might appear.  It's fun to have a cheering section and she held aloft a big sign that read, appropriately enough, "Breathe Ben Breathe!" 

So I tried to.  I also tried to have a good time out there, which really wasn't as hard as it sounds.  I high-fived every kid (and even most of the adults) who held out their hand.  I encouraged my fellow athletes whenever I could.  I thanked every aid station worker who handed me water or Accelerade.  Around Mile 21 I came across a fellow who was clearly hobbling and in some pain.  I had the extra Aleve in my pocket so I offered it to him; which he gratefully accepted.  I didn't see him after that, but hopefully it took the edge off and helped him finish.  All in all I tried to stay positive, enjoy the day, enjoy my fellow runners, and not worry about the fact that this race was going to be slow.  It was still a great event and something I'm glad I did.

Seen on the Course:  As I passed one of the Medical Aid tents the workers, having no customers at that moment, said "Hi" to me as I trudged past.  "I don't need medical aid." I quipped "I need psychological aid.  But I think it's 19 miles too late for that."  They laughed.

My final time was a not-great 5:59 (watch time, not gun time), but all things considered I feel great to have finished and to have actually felt fairly strong at the end.  As promised I finished with one hand triumphantly in the air and ready to start thinking about Maui on September 14th.

"Can't stop the spirits when they need you
this life is more than just a read-thru."
  -Red Hot Chili Peppers-

Will I do it next year?  Probably not.  For a few reasons.  First I'd like some variety.  I've done San Diego twice now - if I do a June marathon next year I think I might like to try someplace else.  Maybe one of the European marathons; have to check the schedule.  Secondly I'm hoping to do the Kona 70.3 Ironman next year - and that was on May 31st this year so it would likely conflict with this marathon next year.  Third...I'm not crazy about the San Diego course.  It looks fine, scenic enough, great weather, good crowd and good organization...but it's a surprisingly tough course because of the nature of the terrain.  Lots of concrete freeway on and off ramps and such and the road surfaces are often cambered or crowned pretty severely.  Imaging trying to run on a surface that is inclined 10 degrees or more to the side.  Not just for a few steps but for a mile or more.  It's really tough on your ankles, knees, back and hips - this course sort of beats you up more than the other marathons I've done.

The finish area is really well done at San Diego with the one minor complaint that there's no shade to speak of.  The photos and chip removal are smooth and efficient.  The water, fruit and goodies tables are lined up nicely, staffed with friendly folks and VERY plentiful.  Almost TOO plentiful, in fact.  By the time I got to the end of the row I had so many granola bars, bananas, bagels, fruit cups and such that I didn't have enough pockets or hands to hold them all.  They need to give you a bag or a basket or something.

She Runs Like a Girl (try to keep up): Beth really brought it on Sunday breaking off a sweet 3:41 effort and Boston Qualifying!  Attagirl Beth!  Joe ran a very strong 4:22 himself.

"What have you done today, to make you feel proud?"
  -Sarah White-

I guess I'm a slow learner.  Having parked in the "adjacent" lot again, we discovered the trolley lines were epically long so we decided to just walk it.  Again.  Somehow the walk seemed a little shorter this year, but it was still a pretty long trek from the finish area to the car.  It was great to finally find it and be on our way.

Final Thoughts and Acknowledgements

• I wonder if there's something about San Diego that causes problems with satellites.  Emma was really struggling to navigate us around San Diego; she often seemed lost or confused about our position and required frequent resets.  She was fine in L.A.
• The post-race concert on Sunday night was sort of fun.  Pat Benatar sounded great, she hasn't lost a step, and her band was rocking.  Unfortunately it was an outdoor venue and a little chilly.  I'd neglected to bring a jacket and was wearing flip-flops so I was shivering before her 3rd song.  Secondly it was a "concerts on the lawn" sort of affair which meant...no chairs.  With thousands of people who ran a marathon that morning making us sit on (and more importantly get up off of) the ground seems like a bad decision.
• San Diego is like L.A.: no finisher's t-shirt.  There's a shirt they give you at the Expo, but everybody who registers gets one; no finishers shirt.  There is a finisher's medal which is nice, though.
• To answer the inevitable, but silly, question...of COURSE I went to In-N-Out Burger immediately after the race. 
• All of the pics you see in this post are from Maureen.  I have some in my cameras (yes, plural) too but won't be able to upload them until Tuesday night or Wednesday at the earliest.  If any are worth sharing I'll do a post and upload them.
• A few big thank yous I need to send out:
• Mom and Dad, for your great hospitality as always
• Nickelback, Van Halen, Incubus, the Foo Fighters, the Pet Shop Boys, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and others for getting me thru this race.
• Patricia, Sue-Baby, Ox-bunny, Jana, Brian and others for sending along well-wishes and congratulations; thanks for your support!
• The biggest of them all...to Maureen who gave up her weekend to come down to San Diego and hang out with me, was a terrific support crew in helping me get stuff together, great company out and about and hustled her buns off just to cheer, photograph and wave her sign at me as I lumbered by.  You ROCK.

 

    

 

-B-