THE SECOND HALF OF MY FIRST DOUBLE: WHITEFISH, MT

PHOTO: Steve, Erika, and I. Notice the black finisher's medals! Hurray!

After the Salmon Marathon was over and I'd packed my things, I headed off for the Two Bear Marathon in Whitefish, MT. Once again, it was rough traveling on US-93.

Since I hadn't had much to eat so far, I consulted the Yelp! app on my iPhone and it suggested I eat at Nap's Grill at 220 N. Second St. in Hamilton, MT. I ordered the 12 oz. burger with cheese. On their condiment bar, there was a nice assortment of "fixins", so I loaded up. A sign on the wall proclaimed that all the beef was from Montana and it did taste fresh and un-fastfood-like. I also ordered a huckleberry milkshake, since the huckleberry is a local delicacy. It was excellent!

After this late lunch, I hit the road again, looking to buy a GPS watch in Missoula, MT like Louise's. First, I checked at Trail's End, but they don't normally stock them. Next, I tried the REI. They had Garmin GPS watches, but not the one I was looking for. I ended up paying $350 for the Garmin 450 with heart rate monitor. I also picked up some of the Honey Stingers that Louise turned me on to. They're just like Gummi Bears, but they don't stick to your teeth. Awesome!

Once you get past Missoula heading north on US-93, you're in for a real treat! For many miles, large sections of the roadway were demolished, forcing you to drive on a gravel road. To make it even more fun, I was "escorted" by a water truck that started shooting water profusely whenever we reached a gravel section. The speed limit was 35 mph. The truck driver kept his truck hammered at a blistering 20 mph pace. Crud! Mile after mile ... did he pull over to let anyone pass? N-o-o-o!

Once I got past this turkey, I set my sights on Whitefish, still a few hours' drive away. Upon arriving in town, I headed up Big Mountain Road to Kandahar Lodge. It's a really nice, wide road with a double yellow line down the middle, but don't be fooled ... the speed limit is only 25mph and I heard later on that it is a bit of a speedtrap. Ah, wonderful Montana!

The Kandahar Lodge is actually a fairly large complex of multiple buildings and I was staying in the main lodge. Since I was starving, I ate dinner in the onsite restaurant. I had a buffalo tenderloin and a salad with candied pecans in it. For dessert, I had a dish of ice cream with a berry medley. All for the reasonable price of $70. Ouch!

After dinner, it was off to bed. The room I stayed in was nicely appointed, had two queen-size beds and was probably 50% larger than your typically hotel room.

It was nearly midnight before I finally got to bed. I called the front desk for a 5:00am wake-up call and headed off to sleep. I woke up around 4am and decided to get ready for the race. Since I was off to the airport in Kalispell immediately after the race, I had to be all packed up.

As I was heading for the door, I got my wake-up call ... right on time! I got in my rental car, a Nissan Quest mini-van, and drove to The Wave aquatic center where I'd catch a bus to the starting line.

After riding on the bus for several minutes, we reached the starting line. Since I didn't make it to packet pick-up on Saturday, I needed to get my race packet. I was behind a few guys in the same boat. When it was my turn, the race director couldn't find my packet ... uh-oh! Thankfully, eventually she found it.

Once the race started, I was faced with a mile-long uphill forest service road. It wasn't particularly steep, just long. The next eleven miles were mostly service roads with a few relatively short single-track sections thrown in.

I met two great people early on, Steve and Erika. Steve's a seasoned marathoner and a 50 States finisher, but Erika had just recovered from knee surgery and this was her first marathon! What kinda nut-job chooses this place for their first marathon! She's tough as nails, though.

Miles 13 through 15 featured some steep uphills and downhills. The footing was also unstable ... lots of roots and rocks to trip you up, break your toes, and roll your ankles.

By mile 16, you've reached pavement. Initially it was fairly flat to slightly uphill. The next three miles were scenic, with nice views of Whitefish Lake, but the uphills were relentless. The final five miles were flat to uphill, with the finishing chute in the parking lot of The Wave.

I had hoped to finish in under six hours, but the marking of the course prevented this. I used my GPS watch to keep track of my mileage. We were warned at the start that the forest canopy would prevent accurate readings. As I left the trail portion of the marathon and hit the pavement, my GPS watch was about a mile off. Erika, who had been strong up to this point, began to fade and fell behind Steve and I. My broken foot began to hurt around mile 20. I plotted my pace to bring me in at my time goal. A few miles later and I was still on target, but I could no longer keep up with Steve, so I fell behind. When my GPS approached 24 miles, I was thinking "OK, that's really 25 miles", since my GPS appeared to be one mile off. Unfortunately, the approaching mile marker read "24 Miles". What?!?! No way! That's wrong! It should say "25 Miles"! Some time later, the 25 mile marker showed up. I'm screwed. I realized the mile markers were messed up and I had about 3 minutes to complete the last 1.2 miles. I ended up finishing a disappointing 6:11. At the finish line, my GPS watch read "26.2 mi". At least something worked right!





- Posted From My iPhone

38 WEEKS OF WII FIT!

I hit 38 weeks today ... of course, these were minimal workouts while I'm trying to get my broken foot healed.

- Posted From My iPhone

THE FIRST HALF OF MY FIRST DOUBLE: SALMON, ID

On Friday, September 11th, I flew to Kalispell, MT, rented a car, and drove to Salmon, ID. On paper, the drive looked simple. In actuality, it is a difficult trek with construction projects that had me drive on a gravel road in several places. I've never seen a road with so many speed limit changes, some with no warning at all, requiring thirty-five mile per hour reductions in speed. Some towns, you were permitted to drive 70 mph, while still others brought you all the way down to 25 mph. I managed to avoid all the speed traps but one, in Darby, MT. If you're driving in Montana, remember focus on the speed limit signs and the speedometer, not the road ahead of you.

After arriving in Salmon, ID around 11:00pm, I found my motel, Motel Deluxe, and checked it out. The room was very old and in need of renovation, but it was clean and comfortable. It had a full-size refrigerator and a small stove/oven. The front room had two queen-size beds, like a traditional motel room, and the back bedroom held the third queen-size bed. For $58, I thought it was quite a bargain. I'd stay there again and would recommend it.

Saturday morning, the participants converged on the Stagecoach Inn in Salmon. They provided a nice continental breakfast. There were bagels, cereals, DIY waffles, and juices. We were bused to a one-room schoolhouse in Tendoy, ID for the start. Since I had the fractured metatarsal in my right foot and another marathon the next day, I planned for a very slow run, wanting to finish in the 6-to-7 hour range. I "networked", looking for suitable running companions. After a few miles, I settled in with Lynn and Louise (from this point on, they would be known as "Thelma & Louise"). After about nine miles, Thelma was holding a pace faster than Louise and I cared to maintain and she went on head. Louise was a great companion, keeping me sensible. She had a Garmin 205 GPS watch that did an excellent job keeping us apprised of our mileage, time, and speed. I remember saying at the twenty mile marker "If we push the last 10K, we can make it in under six hour . With 5K remaining, I said "If we really hoof it, we can still make it in under six hours.", but she resisted the temptation to shoot for a meaningless goal. My final time was 6:18:03, right in my target range.

At the end of the race, we met up with Louise's husband, who finished more than two hours ahead of us. Louise suggested that we go down to the Salmon River and soak to help us recover. I was very surprised that I did. The water was very cold, but my body didn't resist like it normally would. That cold water felt so good on my legs and thighs! I don't know whether the water deserves the credit or not, but I didn't feel stiff and achy the next morning.

Overall, I'd say this was one of the easier courses I've run. The hills weren't numerous nor terribly steep, the road was mostly gravel (not as smooth as asphalt, but not as treacherous as a trail), and the temperature was quite good until nearly the end. The back of my neck, back of my arms, and back of my legs were sunburned to nice shade of red.

Pluses: beautiful scenery, very doable course, great volunteer support, near-perfect weather, a nicely-equipped medical tent that you passed twice (courtesy of a three-mile loop)

Minuses: NO FINISHER'S MEDAL!, instead you got a "finisher's poster". I didn't even unwrap mine because there was no way I would try to bring it on the plane. I threw mine in the garbage. Someone told me it was just a photo of running shoes and it had the race name and date on it. This was a major disappointment, since most reviewers of the 2008 race really liked the medal.

Neutral: Fan supporter - I wouldn't hold this against the race, as it's impossible to get thousands of screaming fans at ANY rural marathon, but the volunteers were great! There was quite a bit of "washboarding" on the gravel road, making footing a little tricky.

WII FIT IS VERY PERCEPTIVE!

PHOTO 1: Ummm .... yes, I do have plans!

36 WEEKS OF WII FIT

Once again, a very light week to: 1) allow the fracture to heal, and 2) prepare for my first double marathon weekend. I had a busy day in the operating room today. The orthopedic surgeons were teasing me, discussing what sort of surgery I'd need on Monday. Thanks a lot, guys!


- Posted From My iPhone

FINAL TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS FOR THIS WEEKEND

PHOTO 1: Motel Deluxe in Salmon, Idaho.


PHOTO 2: Kandahar Lodge in Whitefish, Montana.


Last night, I made the final arrangements for my first double this weekend. I'll be staying the Motel Deluxe in Salmon, Idaho on September 11, 2009. The rate was really low ... $58 for a room with THREE queen-sized beds. There were smaller, cheaper rooms, but they were SMOKING rooms! My airways would be a wreck in the morning, so I opted for the only NON-SMOKING room they had. On September 12th, I'll be at the Kandahar Lodge in Whitefish, Montana. It's a bit more expensive ... around $150. I'll be renting a compact car from Alamo. With mileage charges, the car will cost around $200.

A VIDEO FOR CRAZY STEPH ONLY!

Well, Crazy Steph, YOU want to see AquaJogger in action! So .... here's a clip from an advertisement! Enjoy!

RUN FOR YOUR LIFE 10K

Well, I had a nice 10K run today in Portsmouth, Ohio. Thanks for pacing me, Amy! My right foot didn't bother me much and I was able to complete it wearing the fracture shoe the entire race. Several weeks back, I was thinking about trying for a sub-50 minute 10K. With a broken foot and this "viral illness", I knew that was an impossibility today. I did complete the 10K in 1:01:50, a modern-day record (meaning my times as teenager are excluded). It beat my previous best by two minutes.

Addendum: This race had a very nice dark grey technical shirt, which was surprising, given the twenty dollar registration fee. They must have had generous sponsors!


- Posted From My iPhone

MY NEXT TRIAL

The next trial for my broken foot will be the "Run ForYour Life 10K" in Portsmouth, OH tomorrow. I'll be wearing the fracture shoe on my right foot during the race. Not only do I have to deal with a bad foot, but since Thursday, I've suffered with a viral illness that is hopefully not influenza. Because of these two factors, I've set minimal goals for tomorrow. First, I need to finish. Second, I'd like to finish in under 90 minutes (in order to finish next Sunday's marathon in Whitefish, MT, that's more-or-less the pace I'll need to hold). Finally, I need to have no right foot pain. More than just a twinge of pain will cancel the Idaho/Montana double marathon weekend.

- Posted From My iPhone

AQUAJOGGER - ON THE WAY!

I purchased an AquaJogger system from a vendor listed on Amazon.com. Unfortunately, the vendor is thousands of miles away in California and their shipping method via UPS is slow as mud. Interestingly,UPS says it will arrive September 8th, but Amazon says it will arrive a day later, on the 9th. Go figure!

I tend to purchase a number of things online. I'm currently using the iPhone app called "Deliveries". It can track packages from numerous sources, such as UPS, FedEx, and Amazon.

35 WEEKS OF WII FIT

I've managed to keep my streak going, in spite of my injury. My current Wii Fit workouts have become minimalist affairs out of necessity. I've also supplemented it with a few brief sessions at the local YMCA, just to try to get a handle on how badly I've screwed up my foot.

- Posted From My iPhone

TRIAL OF STATIONARY BICYCLE

I signed up for a 45-minute cycling exercise class at the local YMCA. The sadistic instructor had us standing up on the pedals about half the time ... not so comfortable on my foot! I tried standing on my heal to keep as much weight off the metatarsals as possible, but in this position, my foot often came off the pedal. That was the toughest workout I've had in weeks!

- Posted From My iPhone

YMCA INDOOR TRACK .... AGAIN

I went to the local YMCA and used the indoor elevated track. I ran the first mile (17 laps) at a nearly 9 minute mile pace, which I thought was quite good in a fracture shoe. Next, I rode a stationary recumbent bicycle for 7 minutes, then an mile on the track ... this time a bit slower, just under 10 minutes for a mile.


- Posted From My iPhone

34 WEEKS OF WII FIT FUN!

I guess with all the "excitement" surrounding my broken foot, I forgot to post this last week. I'm still doing very light daily workouts to keep my streak going.

- Posted From My iPhone