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• November 14th, 2015
• Sacramento, California
• Beat The Blerch
• Sharon: 2:31:10
• Tim: 2:30:15

This run made both of us realize how much we missed doing races. Given how I felt about the last month of races during our HM project this was a surprise to me. We have decided to try to do a HM about once a month leading up to our full marathon.

We got a late start (because we are getting old and dotterly) Friday morning so we didn’t get to Sacramento until after 5pm. I think we hit the after work rush at packet pickup. Although the line was long it moved pretty fast. At one point a guy in a blerch suit worked his way up the line, handing out candy and encouraging everyone to carb load.

You must keep up your strength

We got our packets and jumped into another line to get Matt Imman (The Oatmeal) to sign our book and Exploding Kittens card game. There was blerchy merchandise for sale. Tim got another t-shirt (!?) and I got socks. We both got blerch stress balls.

Tim also got a picture with The Oatmeal like the fan boy he is (his words).

Awkward guy hug

Race morning was perfect. It started out a little chilly but was perfect running weather.

Another before picture

A lot of people dressed up. The pre-race was very festive.

I run for cup cakes

I want these running tights

The perfect couple

Donuts were a theme

Our packet came with temporary blerch tattoos but we forgot to put them on. I found a girl who put her tatto in the same place I had planned to put mine and she graciously let me take her picture.

Thanks Cinnamon – you look adorable

They did a great pre-race party. This was the funnest race I have ever done.

Motivational sign

Who are we to argue with the wisdom of the blerch?

This is before the race even started

There was a pretty long line to get a picture with these guys so we skipped it. I want to know where to get Nutella in the, bigger than a yeti’s head, size.

Did you get that at Costco?

The race itself was great. Tim had a bit of a flareup with his afib at the beginning but it settled down and he was able to run most of the race. They picked a nice route. I was surprised at what a beautiful city Sacramento is. There are lots of paths by rivers and great bridges.

We ran past the capital building.

I heard lots of people laughing when we went by this sign. I wish I had a pen on me so I could have written, “Don’t Jump!”

Fly!

As awesome as the scenery was it was the people who were the most interesting.

I think that blerch was flirting with my husband

It’s a donut parade

Tim asked if she was the Dark Ghost of Halloween. No – she was a Japanese Hornet

My favorite was the Taco Cat

Me and Tim ran together most of the race but I had to stop and go to the bathroom around mile 6. One of my only complaints about this race was the lack of bathrooms on the course. I was directed to a building (after asking at 2 aid stations) and there was someone with a blerch suit pointing out the bathroom. Because I came in the wrong door I lost about 5 minutes to 5 seconds of peeing. Tim ran ahead but I did manage to catch back up to him but I ran faster than I should have, trying to do so and payed for it that last 3 miles. I was sore and had to slow down towards the end. A race with cake and Nutella should have more bathrooms, in my opinion.

Most of the running surface was smooth pavement and nice bike paths but there was one section of bumpy wood boardwalk that tried to trip me.

Once we got close to the end Tim was trying to speed up while I had to slow down so I told him to go. Coming through the finish chute I got boxed in by a group of people in banana suits pretending to fly.

Tim was waiting for me across the finish line. The finish line and food line were too close together. This was the only other thing about the race (bathrooms being the first) that was less than ideal. I discovered that banana with Nutella is a perfect after race food.

I love my medal

Cons

• A couple more bathrooms on the course would have been appreciated (although they did have a few)
• Finish line chaos

Pros

• Great pre-party fun vibe
• Pictures and book signing at the packet pickup
• Great shirt and swag
• Well organized
• Great volunteers
• People dressed up
• Awesome food (during and after the race)
• Beautiful course
• Bridges and rivers
• Ending on the track
• Cool medal
• Fun
• Free pictures

After – I wish my hair would grow faster

This was one of the funnest races I have ever done. I was never bored even though I forgot my music in the hotel room. It was so fun to run almost the whole way with Tim. This race would be the perfect gateway drug into racing. It was beyond beginner friendly with many half marathoners coming in over 3 hours. It was almost completely flat and had lots of aid stations. Did I mention how fun it was?

Here I am looking like a beet dressed like hipster, posing in front of the Tower Bridge on our way to dinner Saturday night. After dinner we watched the Ronda Rousey fight. I was shocked that she lost.

And here is Tim on our way to dinner and the fight.

Tim gets run over by river park art

Oh Tim – you’re so silly

When we got home as soon as Tim sat on the bed he was wearing a cat.

Don’t ever leave me home alone for 2 whole nights again.

Please leave a comment.

I want to start out my HM project conclusion remarks with a big shoutout to my awesome husband, Tim. This project was as much his as it was mine. He not only agreed to do this HM project with me (I thought for sure he would tell me I was crazy)[I think I did! – Tim] for my birthday but he financed the whole thing, did all the driving, typed the blog, took pictures, and saw me through some pretty embarrassing meltdowns. Thanks Tim, this project helped me wake up from the depression I was sinking into in Elkton. It reversed my weight gain trend and helped me feel a sense of control over my life again.

On a lighter note, we still didn’t get to sleep in last weekend. Our sleeping plans were thwarted by our cat, Meowse, who has developed a strange new behavior. Between 4 and 5am, she starts walking around the apartment, meowing at the top of her voice. I have to figure out how to make this stop. Yelling, “Shut the fuck up”, does not work and I’m sure, just annoys the neighbors.

She is usually so quiet.

So here we go with one of Sharon’s favorite activities, making lists.

Worst 3 runs

1. Gateway to the Gorge (this was a no brainer for both of us)
2. Shoreline Half Marathon (Sharon)
   St. Patrick’s Day Half Marathon (Tim)
3. St. Patrick’s Day Half Marathon (Sharon)
   Mojave Marathon (Tim)

Top 3 runs

1. Bizz Johnson Express Half Marathon
2. Newport Half Marathon
3. The Enchanted Forest Wine Run

Top 3 uncoolest things about the HM Project

1. Chafing (ballsack, underarms, nipples, arms, anus, thighs)
2. The weekly commute
3. Running in cold rain (Sharon)
   Running in heat (Tim)

Top 3 coolest things about the HM Project

1. Meeting awesome people, hearing their stories and making new friends
2. Exploring new places
3. Testing our physical (and mental) limits

It was impossible for us to pick our top 3 favorite pictures so I am just going to end this with a bunch of our favorite photos. Remember you can click on the photo to make it full screen.

This is my favorite picture of us

Photography by Pat
Tim Takes the high road

Our first sign

I want to join this club

This is what happens when Tim dresses himself

Know what goes great with a hot dog – beers

Drowned butterfly and butterfly hunter

Fans with Tim Olsen

Tim Olsen – The Mad Hatter

Shoe Tree

Sharon on the beach

Tim knew

At least our before picture looks different this time

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They monogrammed our city for us – Tim

Camping at Wooldridge winery

Look closely

Awesome!

I’ve had better runs

It’s a race, don’t shoot

Normal people are all still in bed

What’s next?

This is by no means the end of our running journey. We are doing our first full marathon (Beat the Blearch) in November. I plan to write a couple blog posts about our training and of course, a longer piece after our first marathon. I’m scared about doing a marathon so soon but comforted by the fact that there will be couches (really). As this was Tim’s idea, I look forward to doing something crazy that he suggested for once.

Thank you everyone who has been reading me throughout this journey. A special thank you to those of you who took the time to comment. It’s not over yet. Please continue to read as we work towards our first full marathon.

Last chance to leave a comment on 52-Tshirts.

• July 18th, 2015
• Long Beach, California
• Rock The Ocean
• Sharon: 2:38:15
• Tim: 2:39:29

51 down only 1 to go!

It just got real. About the middle of this run, it hit me that unless one of us brakes a leg or the Zombie Apocalypse happens before next Sunday, we really are going to finish this HM project. I got a little emotional (but I didn’t cry). I have a tendency to start projects then move on to something else before completing the project I’m working on, so it feels good to know I’m going to see this through, regardless of how misguided it may have been.

Sunrises never get old

This race was a bit of a disappointment. It was both me and Tim’s least favorite Charlie Alewine Racing, race but nowhere near our least favorite race of the HM year. Charlie was out of town and Haywood was filling in for him. This is a hard race report for me to write because I like Haywood but I need to write an honest report about my experience. This was another repeat race and at this point a big draw for me about repeating Charlies races is that Charlie recognizes us and treats us like old friends. Haywood asked my name twice even though it was a small race and he had met me at 4 other races, one of which he talked to us for a while and we told him about our HM project. Unfortunately, Haywood needs to work on his organizational skills. Some examples… He told us we had 5 minutes before the start of the race at 6:14 (the race started at 6:30) so I ran to the bathroom. He thought I was doing the quarter marathon when I came through the first loop (that bothered me way more than it should have). He asked me my time as I sprinted to the finish and asked me a couple of time before someone told him to give me a minute. I was literally so winded I couldn’t talk and it was distressing that he didn’t notice something that obvious. I was making – give me a minute – hand gestures. He also had no table and had food and drink on his car hood. I like that Charlies races are low-key but all of these little things added up to a race that bordered on being sloppy. To be fair, Haywood had been up since 3am so it is not surprising that he was a little loopy.

Yay clouds – I hate it when the sun tries to kill me during a race

The weather was blissfully cloudy. It even rained a bit. A nice rain, not like the mean, cold rains that we endured in Oregon.

This just wasn’t my day. I was hoping everything would come together and I would have a chance to go after a final PR but my Achilles started hurting almost right away. Even so, I tried to run for as long as I could. It helped that Tim ran with me for the first half of the race. I made it almost 10 miles before I had to take a walk break. At the half way point Tim had to stop and deal with the parking. He lost over 15 minutes because the parking ticket machine was having issues.

There were a couple of things about this race that made it more of an obstacle course than usual. There was some sort of beach festival and trucks were parked in the pedestrian path for unloading.

Tempting to stop running and go shopping

Another issue was that A Better World Running was also having a race that day. It was a fairly large race (for a beach path) and had some oblivious runners hogging the path.

Please share the path

My body was exhausted before, during, and after this race. I was glad when it was over. My favorite thing about this race was thinking about how I only have 1 more race to run and then I get to not run for 2 weeks (or until my Achilles stops hurting). Although that makes it sound like I just want to get this project over, I am super excited to be running in my favorite city, San Francisco, next weekend. I tried to run as hard as I could but by mile 2 I knew I had no chance of a PR. I did manage a finishing sprint but my asthma does not like the humidity, so I was gasping for air and unable to talk for about 5 minutes. My Tucson lungs find high humidity like breathing soup. Nothing too awful happened this race. I didn’t have stomach problems and I didn’t feel like I was going to pass out from heat but I just couldn’t find the motivation to ignore my pain and dig deep. I missed my PR by over 10 minutes. I was sore on the way home but not as sore as last week, so that’s something. I know I really pushed this race because I was sore the next day.

Hang in there – only one more race

Haywood did a great job with the after race food and beverages. I discovered that I love Vitamin Water after running. I took a Martinelli’s to go. Haywood also had a giant bag (50 pounds) of giant potatoes. So everyone got a potato. I like potatoes. Thanks Haywood – that was a nice touch.

This wins the unique swag award

Cons

• We missed Charlie
• Haywood needs to be a little more organized
• Charlie has done away with trophies ( this is one of the few races that we actually have a chance at a trophy)
• Better World Running seems to be taking over this location
• Unloading trucks on the path
• Parking ticket machine was on the fritz

Pros

• Parking at the start/finish
• Great running surface
• Beautiful views
• Free giant potato
• Overcast
• Excellent assortment of food and beverages
• Although he was a bit scattered Haywood obviously cared about this race and was very friendly

Raul Santana doing the 50K

Although it sounds like I am so over this HM running thing I am really looking forward to next weekend. We are finishing our project in style with the The San Francisco 1st Half Marathon. San Francisco is a very special place for us. We moved there shortly after we met and SF is where Tim proposed to me. I’m going to enjoy that race if I have to walk the entire course. There will be no PR attempts next weekend. My goal is to take a record number of pictures.

I would always recommend Charlies races, preferably when Charlie is there, which is most of the time. Charlie is clearly the heart of his races and the vibe is different when he is absent. I missed his upbeat but calm and focused energy. If you decide to do this race and Better World Running is having an event as well, pay close attention to the turnaround markers. If I wasn’t familiar with this course, I would have turned around a little too soon because BWR starts in a different place and has their own chalk directions. This will not be our last Charlie Alewine Racing race. And that is the best recommendation I can give. If you read this, Sorry Charlie (I’ve been dying to write that), I know this is the most negative review I have given any of your races. We will see you some weekend as a training run, as we are foolishly doing a full marathon in November.

Only 2 more chances to leave a comment. I love comments as much as I love bridges and chocolate milk at races.

• July 12th, 2015
• Ventura, California
• Shoreline Half Marathon
• Sharon: 2:54:19
• Tim: 2:28:48

50 down only 2 to go!

Since my last couple posts have been whiny, bitch fests, I see no reason to change my tone now. Seriously – I was hoping my last 3 race reports would be positive, inspirational, and fun to read. But alas, it was not to be. This race was a mess.

The race was on Sunday so we got a hotel Saturday night planning to get a good nights sleep before the race. Alas, that was not to be, either. Around midnight a loud girl was fighting with someone and the cops came. Then, about 2am some people decided to have a party in the courtyard right outside our window. Tim asked them to keep it down and they did, for about 5 minutes. He called the front desk and someone kicked them out. We got up at 6am. Tim commented that we would have been better off if we had skipped the hotel and just got up at 3am (the usual) to drive to Ventura.

The area we stayed at in Ventura had lots of thrift stores. I love thrift stores! I bought 2 shirts (only $3 each) and helped an animal shelter.

No – I will not dress my age

The HM started out at 8am, which I think is a little late for a race in July. This was one of the most disorganized races we have done. I’m glad we didn’t opt for the day of race packet pickup. There was a long, slow moving line. The MC announced that the race started in 20 minutes and people should have gotten there earlier or picked up their packets the day before. Really? – Dont offer a service and then berate people for using it. They also said they had a bag check but no one knew where it was. A pacer who needed to get to her corral was frantically trying to find the bag check. We finally got our bags checked but some of the volunteers were downright rude.

The weather report said cool and cloudy

Standing in our corral we got talking to a guy name Dale who was doing a HM a month. He started running after beating cancer. This was his 26th HM. We talked to him and his wife after the race, as well.

Just an awesome dude kicking cancers ass

The weather report said cool and cloudy. It lied. This was the hottest race we have done this year. We have been really lucky this summer but this race was hot and I definitely got a case of heat exhaustion. I was really worried about Tim because one of his afib triggers is heat but he had a great race (yay).

I’m glad I wore my goofy looking Hoka shoes because my feet hurt more during this HM than any other race. In spite of my not running at all during the week for the last couple of weeks, my Achilles tendon started hurting almost immedieatly, as soon as I started to run. Also, a blister popped. Did I mention my black toenails. Poor feet – I promise to rest you after 2 more races.

Really – you had to show us that?

I did have some good conversations this race. I talked to a guy who was running with his son in the same way I run with Tim, meaning they were both way ahead of us. We ran together for about 3 miles. I also talked to a woman and her teenage daughter who were running together.

It was a beautiful course. At least they did that right. Unfortunately it was a popular path with agro guys on 10 speeds who appeared to be out for a training ride, very scary. You also had to watch out not to get clotheslined by dogs on leashes.

The views were the best thing about this HM

This race started out warm and got hot. No clouds. The last half of the race I was both sweating and had chills. I got to the point where I was walking every couple of minutes.

This race made the one unforgivable fuck up. They ran out of water. As a race director, even if you get everything else right (not something this race was guilty of) you have failed if you run out of water. The last 2 aid stations were out of water and one before it ran out of cups. I came in 380th out of 415, so there were a lot of people behind me who had a long way to go without water. The volunteers blamed the heat. I understand that people drank more because it was hot out but the heat made it even more dangerous for runners who now had no water. They had water at the end and someone could have taken water to an aid station. When I suggested it to a group of volunteers just hanging out (8 teenagers) they shrugged with a not my job attitude.

Weird running kit

They had tacos and beer after the race but the line was so long we didn’t even bother. I felt so awful I just wanted to take a shower and go home. This was one of the most demoralizing races of this project for me. I thought I had made a breakthrough and here I am back at my old race times. Everything hurt after this race. I practically crawled the 3 blocks back to the hotel.

Next week we are doing a repeat Charlie Alewine race. That’s the race I targeted for my last PR attempt. I may need to rethink that. I want to be able to run our last race. Even if I take it easy next weekend I will still be happy to be doing a familiar race that I know has a good running surface. Damn it feet – heal.

Cons

• Chaotic bag drop
• MC berates runners in line at packet pickup
• Very hot
• Agressive bicyclists
• Crowded course
• Uninformed volunteers
• Ugly t-shirt with lots of sponsor logos
• After finish you had to walk to the other side of expo for water
• Long line for tacos and beer
• Ran out of cups
• Ran out of water! Last 2 aid stations
• An overall lack of caring about runners

Pros

• Many very nice volunteers
• Nice beach views

But she did survive

I hated this race. Even if they hadn’t run out of cups and water this would have been a mediocre race at best. The combination of my body falling apart (sore feet and heat) and the one fuck up after another that this HM was, mentally defeated me. I do not recommend this race. I would never recommend a race that runs out of water with almost 100 runners still on the course. Shame on you, Shoreline HM. Even carrying my own water I got a nasty case of heat exhaustion that lasted about 9 hours. Come run the beach path but don’t bother with this race. It was a mess with a bad attitude.

Dinner

Oh no, what have we done? We signed up for our first full marathon. We are doing the Beat the Blerch marathon in November. I don’t think that is enough time to train for a marathon but it’s on Tim’s birthday weekend and that’s what he wants to do.

Please cheer Sharon up by leaving a comment. Come on – only 2 more chances to leave a comment.

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• July 4th, 2015
• Long Beach, California
• Summer 7 Day 7 Half Marathon
• Sharon: 2:18:27
• Tim: 2:37:37

49 down only 3 to go.

Just like last weeks race this was another, it’s the closest race to us, repeat race. We did this exact race only 4 races ago (#45 Rock The Ocean). At the end of that post I wrote, “Well damn – next month I have to run faster than 2:27:10.” At the time I did have this race pegged as my next PR attempt. I nixed that idea in a rare fit of common sense. I have been having a problem with my left Achilles tendon. It is sore even when I walk. Also, the 2 blisters on the pads of my feet, while almost gone, are still tender. Because I have been trying to let my Achilles tendon heal I haven’t been running during the week. I have also gained back 4-6 pounds (damn it). So while I did try to run most of this race I took it relatively easy, meaning I actually looked at the ocean more than I looked at my watch.

I love that Charlies races start at 6:30am. It helps beat the heat but also means that we have to get up at 3:00am to be there by 6ish.

Don’t we look patriotic

Although charlie has t-shirts we decided not to take one this race. We already have 3 of his shirts, any more and it will start to look like Charlie dresses us.

This was a special race because it was Hank Donigan’s 100th marathon! Charlie brought a cake.

Cake!

Once again my stomach was nauseous before and during the race. This time I can’t blame french fries or killer Mai Tais. Luckily, the course route had lots of bathrooms. I have had to duck into the facilities in a couple of races but this is the first time I had to use the restroom twice in one race. I’m so glad I didn’t target this race for a PR or I would have been sitting on the toilet pulling my hair out.

Did I forget to mention that my big toe hurts?

Even though I had tummy issues and my feet hurt, I enjoyed this run. This race is all run on a beautiful beach path. What’s not to love? My life is so awesome that I can choose to suffer for fun.

That girl has terrible running form

And she is really blurry

We wanted to dress a little patriotic for the 4th of July so I tried on my only pair of blue running shorts fully expecting them to cut off my circulation. They fit! These are the shorts I used to run in before I gained my Elkton weight. I am over the moon happy about fitting into my old running clothes, even if they are a little tight. I found a great shirt for Tim. I wasn’t sure he would wear it running because it’s cotton but he did. He said it gave him one chaffed nipple. Yes – just one. It’s not recommended to run in cotton. I think he looked awesome.

Damn – I’m good at shopping

This course was an out and back, done twice for the HM ( 4 times for the full marathon). I like seeing Tim. He always looks so happy to see me that I get an energy boost.

There was another, much larger, 4th of July race that started at 7:30am. I managed to time it just right. I was running towards their start line right before their race started, so the entire path was blocked. Again, I’m glad I wasn’t trying for a PR or I probably would have tried to barrel through the crowd. It wasn’t a big deal to go around them. The only reason I am even mentioning it is because it was a pretty uneventful race for me and this was one of the only out of the ordinary things that happened, except for my bathroom issues, which I am being vague about on purpose because I want readers next week.

Hah – Tim is usually the one doing the photo bombing

Tim knew

On a completely different topic I just started massage school and, so far, I love it. I’m very excited about starting a life in San Diego.

Cons

• No trophies this week (We both would have gotten one)
• Charlie’s website dosen’t work on my phone

Pros

• Another well organized race
• Close parking
• Cool medal featuring Hanks 100th marathon
• Beautiful course
• Great running surface
• Great food
• Interesting, friendly runners
• We are fond of Charlie, which make his races more enjoyable for us

I don’t think it will come as a surprise that I would indeed recommend this, or any of Charlie’s races. He puts on a well organized, fun event with great food. This is the 4th Charlie Alewine race we have run and at every race we have met some fascinating people. Being able to park next to the start/finish line is a big plus for a beginning runner, or anyone attempting a new distance. I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that this race is on a public beach path with plenty of bathrooms and water fountains, so anyone can just come out and run this course for free. That maybe true but being in a race is fun. We always enjoy Charlie’s races. And really, that’s what it’s all about.

In fact, we like this race so much that we are going to run it again in 2 weeks. OK – we’re doing it because it’s the closest race that weekend but we did have an option that was only about another hour away. We chose this race for a reason other than laziness, cost and the pleasure of Charlies company. I wanted to do this race again because I am going to make a last attempt at a PR. My A goal is 2:25 and my B goal is 2:27:09. Even if I fail I promise to run as hard as I can.

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