Excalibur Ten Mile Relay - March 1, 2015

We headed down to Florida and met some family at Downtown Disney (now Disney Springs).  I wanted to stop at Disney's World of Christmas store to get some ornaments made from our previous runs.  We put our order in and had lunch at Splitsville while we waited.  This is how they turned out...

 We stayed at the Holiday Inn Club Vacations Cape Canaveral Beach Resort (formerly owned by Ron Jon's).  It was just a stone's throw away from my parents' place so it was perfect!

The next day we headed to packet pick up and the Running Zone store in Melbourne.  They had a photo opp there so, of course, we had to partake...

We headed to the local mall to do a bit of shopping after picking up our packets.  My nieces were visiting as well, so we met them there.  The weather was cloudy and rainy so after shopping and dinner, my brother and nieces (who were staying with my parents) came over to our resort to use the game room.  It was a large area with pool tables, air hockey, and many other games.  We had a lot of fun, but I was looking forward to seeing some sun the next day.  Nope....

So, we all went to a movie- McFarland, USA.  Great movie!  And later we enjoyed more perks of our resort, their gym.  I especially liked their Landice treadmills.  Very nice!

After a brief workout we went down to their fabulous pool area to enjoy some time in the jacuzzi.  Hard to tell with this night picture, but it is an amazing area. 

The next morning was the day of the race!  We got up early and put on our "costumes."  I tell ya, it was hard to find an outfit with this medieval theme!  I got a pirate shirt for Dan to wear and my outfit was basically a warrior princess Halloween costume.  Here we are in the lobby of our resort.

I was worried about the weather and, sure enough, it started sprinkling again on our way to Viera High School where the race is held.  Little did I know, it would turn out to be the nicest day of our trip!  

For this race, we signed up for the relay, each of us running five miles.  Usually when we do this, I run first since I'm the (WAAAAAYYY) slower runner.  Unless the mileage is lopsided like our first run together - the Latin Music Miami Beach Half Marathon - where the first runner ran eight miles and the second runner ran five.  Here I am running to the start.  Dan was shuttled to the halfway point.

We started in a field just outside the high school track.  A couple of "knights" from the local Medieval Times restaurant have a "joust" before the start.  One represented the blue team and one represented the red team.  When you signed up for this race, you had to pick a team.  Of course we picked blue since we are Team Smurf.  I honestly don't remember who won, but as soon as they were done, they sent us off.  

We were in a field and all charged to the road.  I remember passing the Space Coast Stadium, which is used for spring training for the Washington Nationals.  There were some puddles but it had quit raining.  I remember getting quite warm in my outfit and was ready to be done by the time I met Dan at the relay exchange on Power Line Road, which is a gravel/dirt road with nothing but power lines! Here is the very unique course map taken from the race's website http://excaliburrun.com/

After I finished I walked down the road where there was a shuttle bus to take us back to the high school and the finish line.  I got back in time to see Dan finish.  I was a little worried I'd miss him as he's pretty speedy!  Runners finished by running through a castle decorated finish line.  

And instead of medals, runner received a crown! (Note :  We ran it the second year and beginning in 2016 runners will receive a medal, although you can still earn a crown if you run three of the four next races!  They started a Game of Stones theme! )

There were many photo opportunities after the race!

Lord and Lady Smith!

After the race, we hurried back to the beach to enjoy our only sunny day of our whole trip!  

Here's a closer up version of our crowns...

-Sue

Marine Corps Marathon - 2014: Sight-Seeing Around D.C.

Marine Corps Marathon

Arlington, VA

Oct 26, 2014

Split Times: 

Location	Net Time	Pace
5k	25:57	8:20/mi
10k	51:11	8:14/mi
15k	1:17:25	8:18/mi
20k	1:44:41	8:25/mi
Half	1:51:06	8:28/mi
25k	2:14:56	8:41/mi
30k	2:48:31	9:02/mi
35k	3:25:49	9:27/mi
40k	4:03:01	9:46/mi
Finish	4:19:28	9:53/mi

Total Time:	4:19:28 (9:53 pace)
My Rank in Age Division (M45-49):	524 out of 1525
My Rank Overall:	5782 out of 19688
Unique State:	12
Overall Marathon:	15
Under 4 Hours:	No
Weather:	59°F at the Start Line

Quick Facts:

• This was my 12th unique state and my 15th overall marathon.
• I ran the Chicago Marathon 2 weeks prior to the Marine Corps!
• Sue's cousin's family took great care of us while we were in the area!
• I remember the day & time that I found out I was accepted into the marathon!  I read the email while eating lunch in Sue's classroom!  I think it was even on the same day that I ran with a 4th grade class for a friend of Sue's.  What a good day!

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

2014 ... This was the year that I first tried for some lottery marathons.  I put my name in the hat for Chicago, Marine Corps, and New York City Marathons.  At the very beginning of the year, I registered for all three.  Within a short month or two, I was lucky enough to get into 2 of the 3 marathons!  I got into Chicago & Marine Corps.  Yeah!!!!  The problem with this, if there was any problem at that time, was that these 2 races are only 2 weeks apart from each other, but ... I don't worry about that anymore.

Chicago was a fantastic experience with tons of spectators and a great route.  Now, I was ready for the Marine Corps Marathon weekend to begin!  It was great to head to Washington, D.C., where I've been a couple of times before with my 2 kids.  Grandma (my Mom), Stephanie, Brian, and I have explored the Mall with the beautiful memorials, statues, cherry blossoms, etc., but now I got to experience it all with my wife!  She has a cousin in the area, and we were fortunate enough to be able to spend some time with her, her husband, and their twin daughters!  They were so nice to put up with us!  I went for a nice run with Sue's cousin's husband, they took us around town to see some sites, and we had a feast-of-a-carb-loading session at Olive Garden.  Yum!  Being able to spend time with them made this marathon weekend extra special, and, actually, the time they took ... the entire family of four along with Sue ... to spectate and watch me run 26.2 miles ... was spectacular!  They took the day to watch me run "The. Worst. Parade. Ever."  I'm very thankful for Sue's cousin's family!!!

We enjoyed the Expo.  Sue spent lots of money at it.  She's good at that.  Ha.  She spent so much money, in fact, that I got a VIP pass to the VIP porta potty place before the race.  Yippee!  That means I got to go to the exclusive trailer set up for special people to use one of only a few real live toilets with official toilet inspectors to ensure only VIP people go in those bowls.  Some think it's a luxury.  I, personally, like very, very private pooping with plenty of time to ensure I'm properly pooped out prior to the long journey.  Not that you ever get that before a race, but you get it even less when very special people (even if there's fewer of them) are in a short line, staring at you with great intensity to get out of the very few, but very nice toilets.  At least in the non-VIP closets, there are dozens of them, and, if any one of them stays closed for an extended period of time, it's harder to tell!  Ya.  That's my opinion.  Haha.

Because of that lack of privacy, this race didn't start well from a running perspective.  I will say, however, that the start line events were truly inspirational.  I was surprised to see no official waves.  We just lined up where we felt appropriate.  The Marines were all around assisting.  I had my usual Mtn Dew (I starve myself of my favorite drink, Mtn Dew, for days or weeks prior to marathons.  Then, on race morning, I splurge with a can of Dew to get the caffeine flowing.).  I didn't want to finish the whole can, but I also couldn't find a garbage can ... anywhere!  I finally asked a Marine who was helping out, and he was kind enough to take it from me.  Thank you!  As I mentioned, the start line events were inspirational.  Skydivers began to rain down from above ... dozens of them.  Many of them eventually spread out the American flag as they descended further.  I have some pictures below ... and even videos below ... displaying the flags as they landed on the ground right next to my spot at the starting line.  We also saw and heard the beautiful Osprey Helicopters fly right over the start line.  Awesome.

... and the race is on!!!  I think by mile 4, I was already feeling what I normally feel at about mile 15-18.  Hmpht.  My favorite part ... where I remember seeing lots of spectators, including Sue and her crew, were miles 17-20 or so along the Mall.  I do, however, also remember feeling like giving up at that point.  Ugh, I was struggling.  I kept going, though!  Then mile 26 approached.  The climb up what felt like a huge mountain made the finish at the Marine Corps War Memorial (aka, Iwo Jima Memorial) even more difficult but even more inspirational & worth it.  No pain.  No gain.  The gut-wrenching sprint-at-a-snail's pace to the memorial lined with military personnel allowed me to give it all I had ... to expend every last drop of strength and stamina.

In the end, I loved the race ... but I love every race.

Partial Solar Eclipse of Oct 23, 2014

The entrance to the expo for the Marine Corps Marathon - 2014!

Glass Harpist (Jamey Turner) on the streets of Alexandria, VA

Sue, Dan, & Abe

Jefferson Memorial

Washington Monument

Ummmm.  ... but I need to go more than pee?!?!

Metro Map

VIP Porta Potty Place - Sue was nice enough to spend lots of money at the expo, so I got free VIP porta potty usage.  Not to be ungrateful, but ... with fewer people staring at you to get out, they stare at you with more intensity!!!

Marine Corps Marathon Starting Line

Skydiver - A dozen or more skydivers came flying from the sky before the start of the race.  Several of them had United States of America flags flowing freely as they descended from the skies.  Great way to start the race.

Skydivers

The skydiver is preparing to land.  Awesome sight to see as we started our race.

Osprey Helicopter at the start of the race.

Osprey Helicopter

Where's Waldo?!  I spy with my eyes someone wearing a red shirt (and arms up) ...

Yes, I'm in there as plain as day!  ;)

Marine Corps War Memorial showing the 2nd flag raising on Iwo Jima

-Dan

New York City Marathon Update - 2016: I got in!!!!!!!

I just had to give a quick update on the latest news about the NYC Marathon:  I got in!!!  Yahoo!!!

~-~-~-~-~- ~-~-~-~-~- ~-~-~-~-~- ~-~-~-~-~- ~-~-~-~-~- ~-~-~-~-~- ~-~-~-~-~-

Here's my first glance at my status for the morning in anticipation of getting accepted into the big race.

Before 9:30am CT, I was happy to see that they took my money!!!  My first indication was an email from my credit card saying the $255 was removed.  Even though I already received this email from my credit card, my status on NYRR still indicated "In Drawing."

By 10:34am CT, I now see that the "My Upcoming Races" section has the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon listed!!!

Finally, my status indicated "Accepted!"

... and by 4:46pm CT, I received my email from them indicating, yes, I really got in!!!

After 3 consecutive tries, I got in!!!

Space Coast Marathon - 2014: Dolphins, Sunrise, & a River

Space Coast Marathon

Cocoa, FL

Nov 30, 2014

Split Times: 

Location	Net Time	Pace
10k	50:47	8:11/mi
Half	1:47:50	8:14/mi
20mi	2:54:09	8:42/mi
Finish	4:06:28	9:25/mi

Total Time:	4:06:28 (9:25 pace)
My Rank in Age Division (M45-49):	45 out of 215
My Rank Overall:	436 out of 2729
Unique State:	13
Overall Marathon:	16
Under 4 Hours:	No
Weather:	48°F at the Start Line

Quick Facts:

• This was my 13th unique state and my 16th overall marathon.
• Sue's parents often stay in this area every winter but only January through March.  It was a bummer that they weren't here a month early this year.
• My most memorable moment was seeing the dolphin in the river to my right near mile marker 25!
• Also enjoyed seeing Sue while she was nearing her finish line for the Half.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

This was a fantastic chance to spend Thanksgiving weekend with 2 of the best people I know:  my wife & my son!  It was especially nice to have Brian, my son, with us, since he doesn't get the opportunity as much.

Once we arrived in Orlando's airport, we were able to show Brian the general area where Sue's parents stay near Cape Canaveral.  Grill's Seafood Deck & Tiki Bar in Port Canaveral is our favorite restaurant, so we ate there, watched Disney's cruise ship leave the port(!), observed lionfish at the nearby store, and saw the beach.

The Expo was a good way for us get into the mood to run the route.  We picked up our bibs, saw the merchandise, and even got Bart Yasso, the Chief Running Officer of Runner's World, to sign a couple of books that we purchased.  I've been able to listen to him speak a time or two at previous marathons, and I enjoyed his discussions of running in faraway lands, like his trip to Africa to survey a potential race route that was found to be too close to rhinos.  Ha.  He has some very good stories.

During the morning of the race, Sue & I arrived at the start line, and I hung around the Half starting line for quite awhile to keep her company.  Just as her Half was about to start, I went over a block to go to the restrooms & get in my "waiting area" which waited for the Half to start before weaving over to the actual start line.  I recall cutting it a little too close with the potty.  We actually had a real restroom, but it had a long line by the time I worked my way over from Sue's starting line.  As always, it worked out.

The full marathon route, as shown on Sue's post, did its first 13 miles or so by an out-and-back north of the start / finish line.  Then it finished the last 13 miles or so by running the same out-and-back going south that the Half Marathoners were running.  I enjoyed the route.  The sunrise was spectacular that morning.  I was keeping my eyes peeled to see Sue on that southern loop, but I still missed her until she practically ran into me to catch my attention.  Hmmm.  It was great to see her, though.  I remember seeing quite a few Jeannies (from I Dream of Jeannie) handing out water or running.

The sunrise was beautiful earlier in the race, and running along the Indian River was wonderful for the entire race.  The best part was spotting a dolphin close to the shoreline at about mile 25!  As I finished up the marathon, I strolled around the finish line and consumed all that I could as I normally do, but then I had to catch the shuttle back to the hotel to get back with Sue & Brian.  Then we drove off to the Orlando airport, so we could fly on to our final destination.  Another good trip.

Be sure to also read Sue's post of the same experience doing the Space Coast Half Marathon!

One of my favorite sites along the drive between Fargo and Minneapolis ... near Mile Marker 117.  I make this trip often;  this picture is taken during my drive to Minneapolis to start off my journey to pick up my son to spend time with him before running in the Space Coast Marathon - 2014.

Eating a delicious meal in Port Canaveral, FL

Chicago Marathon & Space Coast Marathon Christmas decorations that Sue got me!

Sue getting into the groove to start her Half.

Running at about mile 16.5 along the Indian River during the Space Coast Marathon - 2014.

Space Coast Half Marathon 2014

Thanksgiving weekend 2014 we traveled down to Florida for the Space Coast Marathon and Half Marathon.  After checking into the Hampton Inn Cocoa Beach, we drove to the Space Store in Cocoa Village so I could pick up some souvenirs for my class. I had previously researched online a store that sold space shuttle erasers.   Sure enough, they had them!  Here I am right outside the store.

A Space Shuttle eraser!  I had to get them something since they helped with my race (as you will see later in this post).

The next morning we got up and went to the expo which was being held at the Radisson Resort at the Port in Cape Canaveral.  We picked up our bibs and did a little expo shopping.  I found a jacket I liked, a shirt for our son/stepson who was with us, and a Christmas ornament for our tree.  We have ornaments from all our Disney races as well!  

We also saw Runner's World CRO Bart Yasso!   We took our picture with him and he signed the two books we bought from him.

There were plenty of photo opportunities at this expo! 

The Space Coast Marathon currently has something called The Big Bang Series where a different space shuttle appears on the medal each year for five years.  A special extra medal is given to those runners who run three out of the five races (Milky Way Finisher) or all five races (Intergalactic Finisher).  This year the Challenger Shuttle was on the medal.  Sidenote:  For those of you interested in anniversary years, the upcoming Space Coast race in 2016 is also their 45th Anniversary race!  They had a display at the expo with all the medals for all the years, both half and full marathons.

Here is a picture of my bib, shirt, and -a first for me at a race, but fitting - a Moon Pie!

After getting back to our hotel from the expo, we decided to relax at the beach for most of the afternoon and have an early supper.  

We had an early morning wake up the next morning.  We drove to Cocoa and found street parking.  I took a picture of the street signs so I would remember where we parked, as the plan was for me to drive the car back to the hotel when I finished.  That way I could shower and get ready, while Dan would take the shuttle back to the hotel.  We were checking out that day so we had to have a plan!

We stopped at some porta potties while walking to the beginning of the half marathon.  We had someone take our picture.  This has almost become a tradition.  We were joking that our prerace pictures always have porta potties in the background.  A gal heard us and offered to take our photo off to the side of the porta potties. 

Since Dan was running the full marathon, he was wearing his usual marathon shirt.  You will see this shirt often in his marathon posts.  

Since this year's medal was the Challenger shuttle, the one with the teacher (Christa McAuliffe) as part of the crew, I wanted to tie in the fact that I was a teacher, too.  I had a local sporting goods store help me design a sparkly space shuttle on the front with the words "Mrs. Smith accepts the challenge."  On the back, I had them put enough white stars for my class to each put their name in one.  I had them use a black Sharpie to write their name.  I told them this would help me finish the race!

The start line was at the beautiful Cocoa Village area where we had picked up the Space Shuttle erasers a couple days earlier.  They had loud music to pump up the runners.  Dan waited with me till it was almost time for me to start since the half marathoners started a half hour before the marathoners.  In keeping with the theme of the race, they played a video on a big screen of a shuttle launching off!

The half marathoners went south right away in an out and back loop.  The marathoners went north in an out and back loop, then south in the same route as the half marathoners.

It is a beautiful course!  You are running by water the whole time.  It's a flat course, awesome volunteers.  Even homeowners along the route were cheering runners on.  It was amazing to see the sunrise as I was running.  Here is a shot from the beginning of the race, provided by Almost There Photography.  MarathonFoto was also there taking pictures which were available to purchase.

As I was getting closer to my finish, Dan and I crossed paths as he was into his South loop.  He was so in the zone I had to almost jump out in front of him to get his attention!  It was awesome to see him at this point, as I was very tired and ready to be done!

The finish area was in a pavilion in Riverfront Park.  I received my medal, finisher towel, and some snacks.  I sat down for a bit, but then knew I had to hurry back to the hotel so we could catch our plane.   The circular area was a bit confusing.  I wasn't sure how to get out of the "circle" as most of it was roped off, being it was part of the course. I managed to escape the circle, but was still pretty confused on which direction to walk.  It was dark out when we started.  Luckily I had my photos on my phone that I took of the street we parked on and used my GPS to get me there!  With any race, it can be tricky trying to drive out with many roads closed, but I was a little familiar with the main roads since this is near where my parents live three months out of the year.  I took a long way back to the hotel, but it was a route I knew.  I hurried back and showered while Dan finished his race.  I will provide a link to his recap when he gets it up.

Here is my medal and finisher towel....

-Sue