Honoree Update

In my CIM report I told you about how great Karianne is doing, so now it's time to report on John and Dottie.

John is doing great. He continues to woop everyone on the golf course and has been known to throw a mean bocci ball as well. We are all very happy that he has recovered so well.

Dottie continues to be the amazing woman I met 4 years ago. She is currently undergoing treatment 4 times per week, juggling motherhood, and planning a vacation to Disneyland with her kids! She is scheduled to be finished with treatments in January and we plan to CELEBRATE!!! And someday she will give me a new picture, even though this one is great.

California International Marathon

Kyle running with me at mile 23.

Skip's Sprint Tri



Today was the team Sprint Tri at Stevens Creek Reservoir and it was a beautiful COLD day.


This is when getting dressed takes a little help from your friends (thanks Pete).


The air temperature was in the 40s with a brisk wind and the water was in the 50s. Now doesn't that sound inviting?

(That is Skip on the left - sitting in the water waiting for his group to go.)

For those of you who have never tried this, it's kind of like getting in an ice bath so you can't feel you feet, hands, and face. You can't talk because your mouth is numb. You force your face in the water and try to make your arms and legs move in a semi-coordinated motion. You only get about 1/4 of your normal lung capacity because your chest is constricted. You get yourself going and when you turn around the first buoy and look up to see the second buoy, all you see is the blinding sun. At this point a common tactic is to follow the feet in front of you assuming that for some reason they are blessed with super sight and are headed in the right direction. If you're not careful you might even crash into a well meaning kayaker trying to help you stay on course by "herding" you along. The good news is that it is a sprint (very short) distance event and the swim only lasts about 5-10 minutes and you get to come out and try to walk or run up to your bike and struggle to get your hands to work so you can change into your bike gear. Very fun. (More fun than chemotherapy however!!!)

The bike is when you hope you put on enough clothing to protect you from the wind chill on those wet tri clothes, but not so much clothing that you will be over heated at the top of the first hill. Again, today's event was short so more was definitely better! That's why although Skip's ensemble was coordinated with his bike, you don't know it because he needed the jacket.

For those observant folks in the group - yes that is a new ride for Skip. He still has his faithful LeMond Buenas Aires, but this is a lighter, faster, cooler toy. It's a TREK Madone 5.5. Merry Christmas!

Now you can see that his outfit was coordinated to match the bike that he is no longer on. This is about the point were his feet thawed out, with 1/2 mile to go to the finish. Although the sun is shining brightly, I am still dressed in bike shorts, sweats, Uggs, long sleeve bike jersey, sweatshirt, a swim parka and gloves..... so no, it's not warm. (Sorry, no pictures of me this time - that's my job.)

He finished in a little over 1 1/2 hours which really doesn't mean anything because we don't really know what the distances were.... it's a training race after all. The bonus of the day was that he probably burned twice the calories as normal because he shivered so much. So now he doesn't have to feel too guilty about the Phili Steak sandwich and fries at the 49ers game - oops, we don't want to discuss the 49ers game....

CIM Race Report

Well, another marathon come and gone (#25 in 6 years). It was a nice clear day in Sacramento with temps in the 40-60 range. I did a full blown training schedule for this one and was shooting for about an 8:30 pace. I did nearly ALL of the training alone which was really tough. I usually have to work the tempo and interval training and love the long runs (and feel great doing them), but this time it was just the opposite, so I was not really sure how the day would go.

It went pretty well, in large part due to my support crew. Skip was at mile 5, 10, 15, 20 and the finish. Skip's brother Mike and girlfriend Terea were at 15, 20, and the finish. My son Kyle was at 15 and then ran me in from mile 22 to the finish. And my honoree Karianne and her friend Kristen were at the finish line. It was a huge mental boost to know that I was going to see them all along the way and they were expecting me to do well. It definitely helped me stay on pace.

Kyle did an awesome job running me in. He has never done this before and really doesn't run very much (although he is in great shape). He runs a couple of miles with us now and then so about 1 month ago I asked him if he would like to run the end of the race with me since he lives nearby (he is a freshman at UC Davis). He said sure and started to run a little more often. We talked about the goal pace and his duties in regards to keeping me going. I told him that really the most important thing was just to be there so that I could mentally steal his energy. He said he could do that and one of our friends said that it explained why Kyle looked tired after the race!

What was the result you say??? I really wanted to be under 3:45 total time and I finished in 3:43.50 with splits of 1:52.34 and 1:51.16, overall an 8:33 pace. I'm happy with that!

This picture is Karianne and me after the finish. Doesn't the medal look good on her?!?!?!? (Sorry for the poor quality - it is taken with Skip's phone because we left the camera at home!)

This is a good point for a little honoree update: Karianne is now 22 years old and happy and healthy. When she was 12 she was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and underwent full body radiation, chemotherapy, and a bone marrow transplant. She is doing GREAT now, living and working in Sacramento and it was WONDERFUL to have her at the finish line!!!