Tonight we ran the 6th Street hill that is mile 11-12 the America's Finest City Half Marathon. Considering all the miles I've covered around Balboa Park, it's amazing that I missed the 6th Street climb. It's a bugger even though it's only a mile with about 300 feet of elevation.
There are some real corkers in the middle of the climb - spots where it shoots up quickly. It's not nearly the beatdown that mile 6 of the La Jolla Half Marathon, but still tough. Of course, the hill in AFC comes at the end of the run. Hopefully, the long downhill and flat will give me plenty of easy miles before the long climb toward the finish line.
It was hard, but I made it without stopping. I was "running" pretty slowly in parts. Guess what I'll be doing every Monday between now and August 17?
AFC Half Marathon Preview Run
Calendar Management Skills Fail
I somehow managed to get behind on my training calendar and I haven't been doing enough running mileage to be fully prepared for San Francisco. Normally, I like to increase my long run by a mile a week. If I follow that plan, I'll have only run 10 miles before San Francisco. That's actually enough to do the race, but I really want to have 12 miles of running under my belt.
That means I need a more aggressive plan than bumping it up by a mile a week. Here's the new long run plan through the AFC Half Marathon in mid-August:
July 12 -9 miles (+2),
July 19 -10.5 miles (+1.5),
July 26 -12 miles (+1.5).
August 3 - 13.1 mile (+1.1). San Francisco Half Marathon
August 9 - 14.5 (+1.4)
August 17 - 13.1 (-1.1) America's Finest City Half Marathon
Of course, this is silliness. I can walk a full marathon. If I can't do the full distance running, I can always fall back on my walking to finish the race.
But I'll be really, really disappointed if I can't run the whole way.
Off to an Annoying Start
Grrr. I went to meet my new running group, the San Diego Striders, at the scheduled time and location. Unfortunately the coach decided to change the starting time to be a half hour earlier. At the team meeting on Wednesday I heard her say she be adjusting the times during the summer to have us running before the heat of the day. What I didn't hear her say is that the hand out she'd just given me listed the wrong time for the first session.
One of the other coaches was there and said I could still run if I wanted. However, the route was a 6 mile out and back along Camino Del Rio Road. It's a boring, ugly road that runs right next to US Highway 8. Who doesn't love running in a cloud of exhaust fumes?
I declined the offer to run there and decided to go run at Balboa Park instead. Luckily a few miles into my run and bumped into my normal training group. They were scheduled for 9 miles and I was only scheduled for 6. I pretty much ran the first 6 and walked the remainder. Also, since I was only planning for 6 miles, I didn't take along any nutrition - by the time I got to the Embarcadero I was already feeling hungry. By the end of the run I was shaky/weak. Lesson learned, always pack something.
We did a challenging course for a short distance - Balboa Park, downtown San Diego, up the Convention Center steps, around the Embarcadero, through Little Italy and the up-up-up the canyon hill back to the Park. Take note San Diego Striders - this is one of the most beautiful cities in the country. There's no need to be running along ugly stretches of highway.
Bonus - Extra Triple Crown
When I sent in my registration for the San Francisco Half Marathon I got some good news. There's a new Triple Crown - The California Dreamin'.
California Dreamin' Racing Series - The San Francisco Marathon has partnered with Surf City USA Marathon and Long Beach International Marathon to form the California Dreamin' Racing Series. Runners who complete the full or half marathon in all three events in two years will receive a special medal and Racing Series jacket.
The best part is I'm already scheduled to do all three of these events. It's a bonus medal! And did you see the part about a Racing Series jacket? That will rock my sneakers!
I'm such a marathon/medals dork.
Avenue of the Giants Half Marathon
I did not want this "race" to end; I wanted to walk another few hours in the Redwoods. The course wasn't crowded with runners; there was a lot of time to simply enjoy the woods.
I hope to come back and do this race again.
Heaven Looks Like This
After a hectic early morning of travel, I arrived in Humboldt, California for tomorrow's half marathon. We're staying at the cutest B&B, the Gingerbread Mansion. It's lovely here and smack in middle of the beautiful California redwoods. The redwoods are every bit as awesome as you might have heard.
The area has a very small town feel which I love. Well, except for the fact that medical (and recreational) marijuana is Humboldt's big industry due to the extremely high THC content in the local crop. In other words, Humboldt weed is the good stuff.
Still it's a conservative small town. I knew what I was getting as soon as I landed at the local airport and bait shop. Okay, it's not the bait shop, but it's a pretty darn small airport. In the ladies room there is the following sign:
Please notice the wording - not just California law but Common decency demands that you wash your hands. When is the last time you saw a sign that appealed to your common decency. In a small town, that's where you get signs like that.
Anyway, it's lovely here. A small, Victorian town snuggled in the majestic forest of redwoods.
Revised - The 2008 Race Calendar
For the last few months I've been revising the 2008 race calendar. I added on a bunch of races mostly in beautiful places. Last year, when I'd consider a race I thought - is it pretty there? Now I only ask, is it flat?
It struck me that I hadn't mentioned all of the changes when I realized I had another race this weekend. On Sunday, I'm doing the Avenue of the Giants Half Marathon up in the gorgeous California Redwoods. At least I hear it's gorgeous. This will be my first trip there. This is strictly a girls trip and it should be a very, very slow "race". We're planning to stop and take pictures along the path. At the start of last week's race I told Marcy that I just wanted to get through La Jolla, but I was looking forward to the Avenue.
For 2008, I ended up dropping the only short distance races I had on my calendar, because I needed the longer miles to train for La Jolla. I'm also dropping my century ride, Disneyland and Reykjavík. I'm really bummed about missing Disney.. Nike Women's Marathon lost my interest when they went to a lottery system. It is a nice race, but it wasn't worth the lottery hassle.
Anyway, here's the new calendar - 13 medals is the goal for 2008. That's one more than I originally planned to accomplish.
| January 20 | Carlsbad Half Marathon | ✔ Complete |
| February 3 | San Francisco Half Marathon | ✔ Complete |
| February 10 | San Dieguito Half Marathon | ✔ Complete |
| April 6 | Carlsbad 5000 | Hill training for La Jolla |
| April 13 | San Diego Mud Run 5K | Hill training for La Jolla |
| April 27 | La Jolla Half Marathon | ✔ Complete |
| May 3 | Avenue of the Giants Half Marathon | ✔ Complete |
| May 18 | Bay Bridge Run/Walk | |
| June 1 | America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride | I didn't like bike riding in traffic |
| June 22 | IronGirl 10K | |
| August 3 | San Francisco Marathon | I'm going to run on the Golden Gate Bridge. Whee! |
| August 17 | America's Finest City Half Marathon | |
| August 23 | Reykjavík Marathon | Not enough vacation time available. :( |
| August 31 | Disneyland Half Marathon | Family wedding |
| September 6 | Big Bear Half Marathon | Added this one because Steve likes Bear Shaped finishers medal |
| September 13 | Heartbreak Ridge Half Marathon | |
| September 28 | Lake Tahoe Half Marathon | Added just because it seems pretty. |
| October 12 | Long Beach Half Marathon | Added because it's a local event. |
| October 19 | Nike Women's Marathon | The Lottery was stoopid. |
| November 9 | Big Sur Half Marathon on Monterey Bay | Added because it's at Big friggin' Sur. |
| December 13 | Rose Bowl Half Marathon |
Race Notes: La Jolla Half Marathon
Hot. It was so very hot. In fact, today was record setting heat. Bless Noel's heart. As we got out of the car this morning, she pointed off into the distance and said, "I think I see the marine layer!" It wasn't the cooling marine layer; it was heat squiggles. Some people do well in the heat. I am not one of them. If I was supposed be in direct sun and hot weather, then I wouldn't be so pale skinned. Given the choice of a full marathon in the cold or a half marathon in the heat, I'd take the cold every single time.
Here is the picture of the race for me using the brutal course elevation map.
A: Feel great. I'm hot, but I'm fast - just banking minutes for when the heat kicks it up a notch and I have to slow.
B: This is where I stopped to heave on the side of the path along with a lot of other runners in the middle of "The Hill". Before I got unwell, I knew it was going to happen. For a few minutes, I had black spots swimming in front of my eyes and my stomach was churning. Honestly, I couldn't wait to get sick so I'd feel better. It didn't work. Afterwards, I still felt puny.
C: What I'll call the "shocker vomit." I felt sick and got sick within seconds. No warning. I was sure I wouldn't finish at this point. Luckily I was close to the side of the road. About a minute later someone showered the runners with a garden hose. I love this person with my whole heart.
D: Someone who I won't name, but her initials are Lynne, met me here with ice cold beer. There is a place in Heaven for her, I'm sure. Normally, I'd pass on beer on the course. However, I was already sick and the beer was cold and wet. Plus, my stomach was completely empty. I've never enjoyed a beer more.
E: Steve and one of the cycle mentors rode up on his bike to check on me. I was in the full-on Bite-Me mode. Bite-Me mode is awful and it happens to everyone eventually. Steve has done enough endurance events to recognize the Bite-Me's. He checked on me, cheered me on for a minute and then rode away on his bike.
F: Stomach stabilizes. Damn if that beer didn't help! I started to feel good and strong. This is when I knew I'd finish. There is a special spot in Heaven for the people along the course who hosed down participants. I don't think I could have made it without a relief from the heat.
G: Flying. I'm flying. Here I start to be me again, cheering on other runners and walkers. I start having fun.
H: Princess St. hill - why? Why another hill? Why?
I: Go, go, go! Passing on your left. I'm sure a few people wanted to slap me when I passed them and I'm not talking about giving me a high five.
I'm sunburned and blistered, but I came home with this.
After the race we hung out in the shade of the post race beer garden. Traffic made it impossible to get out of La Jolla Cove and we decided to simply hang out there instead of getting in the car. We finally headed out after about hour. On our way out of La Jolla, we saw (what I hope) were the last few finishers turning onto the last mile. We cheered for them, but they were in the throes of complete Bite-Me. I doubt that they heard us.
Bend to My Will!
Why won't the weather cooperate with me. I need to have Sunday be a cold, cold day. Everyone is faster when the weather is chilly.
The forecast?
Average High Temperature: 69° F
Record High Temperature: 86° F
Oh - and I just think this is so cool - there are always two cyclists who lead the pack of runners. The cyclists show the path of the course so that the lead runners don't get lost. Trust me, the pack would simply follow the leaders. It would be Moses in the dessert out there. Any way, Steve is going to be one of the two cyclists this year. We may be the first couple in La Jolla Half Marathon history to have both the first and last finisher.
Training Notes
Planned mileage was 10-11 miles and I ended up doing closer to 12 because I missed the turn onto Neptune Street in Encinitas. This is amusing because the course is incredibly narrow going North to South - Highway 101 is about 2 blocks to the East, and nothing smaller than the Pacific Ocean is the West boundary. Still I managed to get wayward and add a mile. That puts me over my training plan which is always a worry this close to the event.
I'm still trying to get faster - I'm so close to the goal, but narrowly missing it. I tried to mix up my faster jog and walk pace to see if I could increase my overall mile pace by a few seconds per mile. It worked in general but I got tired and lost time in the back miles. Between the extra running and the extra miles, I was a little worried that I'd be very sore today. Luckily, I feel great. I did skip the Carlsbad 5000 this morning though. That much extra running seemed like courting injury.
A few observations and things I need to change -
- It's far, far easier to jog at a 11 minute pace than it is to walk at a 13:30 minute pace. Of course, jogging is harder on my knees so I need to limit that.
- My beloved Saucony sneakers have come to the end of their usable life. After 1 marathon, 5 half marathons and all the training in between they simply are finished as running shoes. Goodbye old friends, hello Zappos.
- I drank a lot more than usual. I guzzled an entire 24 oz bottle of hydration mix in under 7 miles. I'm always a big drinker on the course, but that's a lot even for me. It was a cool, breezy day and I shouldn't have needed that much hydration. It must have been the running.
- My old fuel belt is unacceptable for faster running. The big single bottle keeps hitting me in the back. I need use multiple bottle belt. Of course since I'm drinking tons, I'm worried that it won't hold enough hydration fluid. Also, learning to use a new type of belt takes a bit of practice so that I can drink quickly without losing a few seconds with fumbling to grab or reattach the bottles. It sounds trivial but if I lose 5 seconds every time I take a drink that could easily add a few minutes to my time. This is another little complexity to add before a time pinched race. This is the fourth fuel belt that I've tried since I started training 15 months ago. I just can't seem to find the perfect belt.
- I need to reconfigure my Garmin - the front panel needs to have: current pace, current mile pace, race pace and total distance. Luxury information such as elevation/grade and time of day are out - it's all about pace now.
- When I run more my nutrition becomes problematic. In the past, I had about a 10 minute window from the time I noticed that I needed a Power Gel to the time I bonked. Yesterday, I bonked in about 10 seconds. In the past, I could easily go to about 10-11 miles without fear of the bonk. Yesterday, I crashed out at just under 10 miles. I'm going to need to rework my hydration/nutrition plan. This may have something to do with the fact that I'm eating a lot less carbs in my overall diet.
La Jolla - The Prep Work Continues
I'm starting to get a little worried about not completing the La Jolla Half Marathon within the required time frame for a medal. It's a hilly course and I haven't been training hard enough particularly on hills. Since this is the second race of the triple crown if I can't make it within the time frame, I'll be tanking on both the La Jolla medal and the Triple medal. That would be sucky.
The obstacle is that I have two more weeks of travel before the race. That always throws a wrench into my training schedule.
Really, I know that I can't get any stronger in the next 25 days. Also, I know I'm more than strong enough to complete the event. I'm worried that I may miss the finish time by a few minutes.
Race Notes: Hansel and Gretel Host a Marathon
Did the San Dieguito Half Marathon this morning. My first inkling that this event was a little jacked was on mile 6. The course marshal drove by and said he was doing his last pass through. He asked if I needed anything. That struck me as incredibly strange. I was halfway through the race and on pace to complete within the time frame. Yet, the course marshal - the person responsible for the safety of event participants - is driving off the course.
After mile 9, we never saw another person from the race event staff. This is incredibly, incredibly irresponsible. You have people out there without water available, without anyone to help them if they get hurt. It was a warm day today - not terribly hot, but warm. To have no course support when you know people will need it is a horribly reckless choice.
While we couldn't find anyone from the event staff, we did see some lost participants. The roads there are very winding. At most turns there was some flour used to mark the course direction. However, at some spots the flour was completely gone. This is not surprising considering cars and tons of participants had trampled on the course. There were no signs, no flour and no course staff. We ended up off the course and waving down motorists to get directions back. In total we did about 16 miles - three miles beyond the half marathon total. At the end of the race, I hunted down the race organizer and the course marshal. Steve went to alert the EMTs that there were people lost out on the course.
We found the course marshal in the beer garden. He was happy to tell us that he'd been there for nearly 90 minutes. Good for him, too bad for the competitors that are his responsibility. He saw no need to have volunteers on the last few miles of the course. The course marshal maintains that the course was marked with flour. He neglected to consider that cars and runners may have obliterated the flour markings. Dude, you left the course nearly 2 hours ago. I left it 10 minutes ago. Which one of us is a better judge of its current condition? Flour markings aside, when there is a turn in the course there needs to be a volunteer there to direct people. I've done tons of races in the last year - this is the only one with no marshals or volunteers on the course. Those volunteers don't just provide direction, they also can call for help if it's needed.
I told the marshal that I thought he needed to drive the course and surrounding area to look for participants in trouble. His response, "No, I've been drinking beer. I won't drive." Fine. Get someone - anyone - to go drive the course. In retrospect, we should have gone and driven the course ourselves. We passed quite a few people, but there are 6 people that I'm worried about - a much older man, a guy in his twenties, 2 women who were half running/half walking and two teenage girls. They all looked as though they were struggling. Some of them didn't have full water bottles and were relying on course support. I hope that they all made it safely home.
Race Notes -
- It was hilly and challenging, but certainly within my abilities. My left hip was a little cranky with all the hills, but I was fine.
- Nutrition and hydration were good. Used a new electrolyte tab; it was fine.
- I'll start carrying my own map in case the event staff abdicates responsibility for the safety of race participants.
Race Notes: San Francisco Half Marathon
What a race.
The day started beautifully for an event. The weather was crisp and lightly windy, but no rain. It was a little bit of a hassle getting to the race location, because the cab driver couldn't figure out the directions. I had to walk over a mile to get to the race and missed the start by a little bit.
I was pleasantly surprised that it was a Team in Training event. There were a lot of purple jerseys out there and I met tons of really wonderful people.
It was a good race for the first 6 miles. That changed when I turned onto the Great Highway. It's right along the ocean and I expected the winds to be intense there. What I didn't expect was that the skies would select that moment to open up a downpour. I had bought a bright yellow plastic rain poncho the night before the race. It was so windy I couldn't get the thing on me. The poncho kept blowing all over the place and I couldn't find the spot for my head. The cold, wet plastic was slapping me. My efforts to continue walking while putting my poncho was like a Jerry Lewis sketch. Nice to be the comic relief for the runners.
The rain and the wind got to be so yucky that I squatted down and made a sort of teepee out of my poncho and tucked the bottom under my sneakers to that the wind couldn't blow it away from me. Why I bothered, I'm not really sure. By that point I was completely drenched - my hair, pants, shoes and socks. I got rid of my gloves because they were soaked and making my hands even colder. I squatted there in my yellow poncho teepee and ate my Chocolate Powerbar gel. That was the closest I've ever come to just giving up during a race.
When I got myself going again, the skies mostly cooperated. There was some light rain, but nothing horrible. I finished the last few miles in relative ease.
Notes:
- It's long past time that I learn to run my own race. I love walking with people and encouraging them, but I'll slow down to support them. It's not good for my own finish times.
- The weather did not bother the San Francisco locals nearly as much as it bothered me. They were trained for it, while it was a completely new experience for me. There's nothing that can replace training in the same conditions as the event conditions.
- I'm not sure what my actual time was for the race. Between the late start and the teepee, I was slooowww. Unfortunately, the race didn't have chip timing, only gun timing so I'm not sure how long I was on the course. It was slow.
- As wet as my feet were, I did not get blisters. All hail the miraculous Injinji running sock.
- Feel great today. The tendons in my right knee were tender yesterday, but today I'm fine without ice or ibuprofen. I'm going to try to baby my knee this week.
News Flash - It's Cold
Growing up we were never allowed to say,"I can't." My Dad would always respond, "Can't means won't." Sure it was annoying, but it instilled in us a "Can do" attitude. When my nieces would say that they couldn't do something, I would always parrot back, "Can't means won't."
Tomorrow is the half marathon. While I'm sure I can do it, I'm not sure I want to do it. Here are 5 good reasons to skip it.
- It's cold and windy and rainy here. It's an unholy combination of bone chilling misery. Who thought February would be a good time to hold a race in San Francisco?
- I've finally gotten over the cough I picked up last week.
- We walked quite a bit today and my legs are a little tired.
- Rest would be a good thing. I start training for the century ride this week and I'm doing another half marathon next Sunday.
- If I do the half marathon it'll be a big inconvenience for everyone.
Race Notes: Carlsbad Half Marathon
Not a bad day, but not the race I was hoping to have. My goal was to break 3 hours, which for a walker is pretty darn good. Our training has been spotty for the last few weeks - we haven't really been doing long mileage. Other than last week's 10 mile training, I haven't done a training longer than 5 miles since the Pasadena event in December. To break 3 hours, I needed to maintain a pace of 13:43. That was certainly optimistic, but not unrealistic.
I think my race finish was about 3:05. Not horrible, but not what I wanted. I was nearly 25 seconds per mile over my target pace. Grrr.
However, it's good to remember that less the 8 months ago I had never done an event longer than 10K. That's a scant 6.2 miles, and to be honest my 5K and 10K days were long, long ago. To have come from where I was a year ago and to be able to crank out a half marathon with minimal training is quite an accomplishment.
Race Notes:
- Please, please, please learn to hydrate better the day before events. I was thirsty all day yesterday.
- Parking always takes forever at these events. Steve and I barely got there in time to go to the bathroom and queue for the start. We didn't really get to stretch. I did some high steps and some leg circles as we walked toward that start. That was not really enough stretching.
- Oatmeal is the perfect pre-event meal, particularly my beloved Coach's Oats.
- Until the final mile, never go faster than my optimal race pace. I've heard this a bunch of times. On Friday, I listened to a talk given by one of the "pace team" leaders and it really sunk in for me. Essentially for every minute you go faster than your optimal pace, your body is going to take that minute back and 3 more as a surtax later in the race.
- If I want to break 3 hours, I need to lose weight. Every extra pound forces me to work harder or go slower.
- Get a decent night of sleep. Going to bed at midnight and waking at 5:30 is no way to go into a race.
The 2008 Race Series
Update! - I forgot the Disneyland Half so I had to add it into the schedule.
I spent a few hours putting together my race plan for 2008. It was tough because there are tons of races I want to do, but there's only so much time and budget. Also, from February until June all of my Saturdays are taken with Team In Training sessions while we prepare for our century ride.
Here is the list with some commentary:
Carlsbad Half Marathon, January 20 - The first (and easiest) race of the Triple Crown.
San Francisco Half Marathon, February 3 - This one sneaked on to the list since we're going to be in San Francisco that weekend anyway. So this is an extra, bonus event.
San Dieguito Half Marathon, February 10 - It's close to home. Plus, the event is hosted by the Hash House Harriers, everyone's favorite drinking/running club. I'm expecting a very good beer garden.
Carlsbad 5000, April 6 - Just because my friend Don promised to buy me pizza at my favorite pizza place after the race.
San Diego Mud Run 5K, April 13 - This just looks like so much fun.
La Jolla Half Marathon, April 27 - Triple crown part two.
Bay Bridge Run/Walk (San Diego) or Bay to Breakers (San Francisco), May 18 - I'd love to do Bay to Breakers, but this is almost the end of TNT season. I'm 99% sure we'll do the San Diego one instead.
America's Most Beautiful Bike Ride (Century), June 1 - My TNT Spring Event.
IronGirl 10K, June 22 - I loved this event last year. Wouldn't miss it.
America's Finest City Half Marathon, August 17 - The final (and hardest!) race of the triple crown.
Reykjavík Marathon, August 23 - Steve and I have been batting this one around. I want to do this one or Athens on November 9th.
Disneyland Half Marathon, August 31 - Whee! Disney!
Heartbreak Ridge Half Marathon, September 13 - This one is questionable since there is NO MEDAL. It's at Camp Pendelton Marine Corps base.
Nike Women's Marathon, October 19 - Redo. Steve had to sit it out in 2007; this year he'll be on the course.
Rose Bowl Half Marathon December - It's such a beautiful event and so well organized.
I'm still looking for races in March, July and November. I had to pass on the Palm Springs Half Marathon this year, because that race is February 17. That would have been 4 half marathons in 5 weeks, plus the start of TNT cycle training. I thought that was simply too much.
If I follow the current plan, I'd earn 10 11 medals this year. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Rose Bowl Half Marathon Photos
How incredibly cute are these to volunteers. They were giving our pretzels and licorice. I love kids who give me candy.
The flickr set is available even though I look completlay dorkay in all the photos.
Rose Bowl Half Marathon
It was a beautiful event and I don't think that's the 4 beers I had in the post-race beer garden talking. Steve and I weren't the fastest we've ever been, but we both loved the course even though it was 8 miles of uphill. Today, everything about the event was well done. Yes, the trails were muddy after two days of rain, but they were easily passable. The course volunteers were fantastic and supportive. It was one of the most lovely courses I've ever raced.
It was certainly a reward after yesterday's comedy of errors. Lets just say that getting to Pasadena was not a smooth journey. It culminated with Steve and I driving back to parking lot where we'd been 30 minutes earlier to find something that had fallen out of the car. Oh, and we were searching the parking lot in the dark and in the rain. It was an adventure.
Kudos to the event organizers for putting on a great inaugural race. And 3 cheers for allowing finishers to tour the Rose Bowl stadium. For a Big Ten girl like me, that was an extra treat.
Silver Strand Half Marathon ✔
Finished.
That might have been the boring course ever. I'm probably more sensitive to that after the Dublin Marathon. There every turn lead to another fabulous sight - Phoenix Park, Kilmainham Gaol, Trinity College. Also, in Dublin people were out cheering. Today, there were maybe 100 spectators on the entire course.
All in all, today wasn't my best day. It wasn't that I felt awful or even uncomfortable. I just wasn't at my best. That said, I think my time was about 3:05 or 3:07. Certainly not bad for a walker, but I think I could have easily beat 3:00 if I'd been a bit more together.
Just when I think I'm out...
they keep pulling me back in.
I thought I'd selected all of my events for the year, then I saw this:
How can I possibly ignore a half marathon that has such a fabulous finishers medal? I'm not that strong. Must.Get.That.Medal.
Looks like a good course. It's a lovely area of Pasadena - partly road, partly trail, some hills. Who am I kidding? I wouldn't care if the race went through the town dump and alongside the sewage treatment plant. That medal is awesome!
