2014 Race Roundup

I thought that I hadn't managed to run many races in 2014. Especially given how few miles I ran! But looking back, I still managed to run:

12 half marathons
3 10Ks
6 5Ks (including the 4 in day)

and I volunteered at a race, too.

Of course, the other "marathon" was the multi-day trek along the Inca Trail -- which was tough and well deserving of the medal, darn it! (And the one-day Rim to Rim trek in the Grand Canyon, which deserves a medal, even if we didn't have them!)

It's hard to pick my top three race moments, but here goes:

1. Indy Mini Marathon: seeing the first little sign that said, "SPEEDWAY" made my heart pound a little, and seeing the grandstands looming up in front of me made me cry. Then stopping to kiss the bricks made me a little euphoric. Plus I wore checkerboard knee-highs, so I think this was my favorite race this year.

2. Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon: running in the driving Santa Ana winds along the Santa Ana River Trail, and suddenly coming across a massive group of cosplayers in excellent costumes. I got lots of love for being dressed as Ms. Marvel ... especially from the ladies who were themselves dressed as Ms. Marvel or Captain Marvel.

3. Not a race, per se, but the Inca Trail Marathon Adventure: arriving at the Sun Gate on the fourth morning and suddenly seeing Machu Picchu... and bursting into tears. Dirty, dusty tears.

And now for some awards...

Best Costume: Hulk and Ms. Marvel, Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon

Hands down, our costumes for the Avengers Super Heroes Half were fantastic. I'm still super pleased how they turned out, despite being so simple.

Runner up: my Cheshire Cat costume for the Tinker Bell Half. Not the easiest thing to run in, but I looked great, right?

Best Learning Experience: Oso United Mudslide Benefit 5K

Me not knowing the course at the Oso Mudslide 5K ... missing the turnaround, and adding a quarter of a mile to the distance. I'd feel much worse about this if I hadn't managed to run a PR later in the year.

Best Race Mascot: Sage Rat Run Half Marathon

Okay, so it's the only race with a real mascot... but Dusty the Sage Rat from the Sage Rat Half Marathon was amazing.

Runner up: Blerches at the Beat the Blerch Half Marathon

Best Medal: Sage Rat Run Half Marathon

The medal from the Sage Rat Run Half is GINORMOUS and beautiful. I love this race! What's more, if you ran a race the second day, you earned a third mega medal. As they say, "don't wear these medals near water" -- you might drown.

Runner up: the medal from the Rock 'n' Roll Vancouver Half. I love those lions on the bridge!

Most Room for Improvement, Medal Category: Emerald City 10K

Yep, this medal has a typo on it. An otherwise handsome custom medal, spoiled by having the name of the city misspelled. Oops. And this isn't a photo of the finished product... it's clearly the design proof!

Best Race Shirt: Indy Mini Half Marathon

Admittedly, I'm never going to wear a red shirt. But the long-sleeve shirt from the Indy Mini Marathon is one of the best-looking shirts I've ever received. It's tech fabric without looking techy -- and is the sort of shirt you could wear in the real world without looking like a freak.

Runner up: the handsome, black and green technical long sleeve from the Beat the Blerch Half Marathon

Best Race Logistical Challenge: Daffodil 5K Challenge

I almost called this "Best Race Logistics", but that would be wrong. (The race had more than a few hiccups, but it was an ambitious race and I would hope they'd fix them for the 2015 running.) But moving from city to city to run 5Ks along 4 different parade routes, well, that was pretty fun -- especially while wearing these ridiculous daffodil hats. And we got to see princesses.

Best Race Branding: Flying Pig Half Marathon

Wow, did they have the branding down pat. The blend of a repeating race logo and a different twist on the theme every year, meant that they had a great range of merchandise at the expo, and everything looked great.

Runner up: Beat the Blerch Half Marathon ... which isn't surprising, because the race is based on the comic...

Best Post-Race Nosh: Marathon to Marathon

Every runner received a voucher good for either a post-race breakfast or lunch in the town auditorium. Omelets, pancakes, and hashbrowns cooked and served by local firemen, eaten at tables shared by the sweetest little old ladies imaginable.Perfection.

Runner up: Hagg Hybrid Half Marathon

After the race, the organizers served up breakfast (for those faster than us!) and then burgers and veggie burgers for lunch. We sat in the sun and ate and drank soda out of our very nice medals mugs.

Best Race-bag Swag: Flying Pig Half Marathon

In addition to a handsome "suitable for framing" print, a good-quality shirt, and a wide range of Proctor & Gamble Products, runners were given a "race premium" .... which I think was a waterproof backpack. Either that or a very smelly backpack. But I suspect it's waterproof.

Runner up: Boring Half Marathon

Another handsome race shirt, and -- I love this -- a BORING race sticker. I still can't believe more races don't make these.

Best Mid-Race Food: Beat the Blerch Half Marathon

Birthday cake? Nutella sandwiches? Grape soda? I had it all. AND managed not to throw up. Awesome.

Single Toughest Day: Rim to Rim Hike

To be brutally honest, I didn't know if we'd be able to do this. It was harder than we thought, but I think we did better than we feared. And coming out of the canyon at the Bright Angel Trailhead to cheers from our fellow trekkers -- and being greeted with a shot of tequila -- will stay with me a long time.

Best Run Over a Historic Bridge: Santa Runs Tacoma Donner and Blitzen 21K

We got to run over the Murray Morgan Bridge in Tacoma -- a beautiful old industrial bridge, now named after a local historian. Doubly sweet.

Best Race Featuring a Giant Inflatable Colon: Get Your Rear in Gear 5K

'Nuff said.

What was your favorite race moment in 2014? What awards would you give?

Inca Trail Marathon Adventure "race report"

It's hard to believe that it's been two weeks since we got back from our Inca Trail Marathon Adventure -- it seems both forever ago, and like we've only just gotten home.

We felt as if we had 4 vacations in one -- spending time in and around Cusco, four days trekking the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu, a few days in the Amazon rain forest, and an extended city break in Lima. Somehow, we managed to do this with one suitcase each. (Ha!)

Wil and I aren't all that keen on "group activities". We don't run with a running group, and we rarely do large group things at home. But this was great -- a fun group of runners, Coach Jenny Hadfield cheering us an every step of the way, and Erik and Myra making everything work. I can't say enough good things about it, should anyone come across this blog while debating a future trip.

The Inca Trail was hard -- but in a way, it was hard because of all the repeated days of travel. And, of course, the altitude. But reasonably fit adults can do it with little trouble. If I could change two things, I would just bring along a small scrubby washcloth and a half-length Thermarest. I wouldn't change anything else!

As usual, I wrote too much and we took too many pictures. But should you wish to learn more about the Inca Trail Marathon Adventure, here are links to the individual days:

Day 0 we spent a Long Time in Houston and traveled to Lima

Day 1 we traveled to Cusco and met the gang

Day 2 we explored Pisac -- the ruins, a trail hike, and a great big market

Day 3 was a free day, so we explored Qorikancha and the San Blas neighborhood

Day 4 we celebrated Inti Raymi with all of Cusco

Day 5 we visited the ruins at Ollantaytambo and started our Inca Trail Trek

Day 6 we continued along the Inca Trail, crossing Dead Woman's Pass

Day 7 was the long day, distance wise, along the Inca Trail

Day 8 we arrived at Machu Picchu!

Day 9 we traveled from Aguas Calientes back to Cusco

Day 10 we traveled to Refugio Amazonas via Puerto Maldonado and a nice long ride upriver

Day 11 we climbed to the top of the canopy, fed piranhas, and went inside a Strangler Fig

Day 12 we trekked to a clay lick to see macaws (because of their claws? no, because they're macaws)

Day 13 we left the rainforest behind and arrived in Lima, where we met lots of cats

Day 14 we explored Lima and its beautiful cathedral… and drank the best Pisco Sours in the world

Day 15 we visited Barranco, watched a parade, and said farewell to Lima… and made our way home

We want to send out HUGE THANKS to our fellow travelers for making this trip so memorable, as well as our friend Coach Jenny Hadfield for putting the trip together… and making us laugh and laugh and laugh. Finally, thanks to Erik and Myra from Erik's Adventures for arranging every detail and continuing to smile while herding cats for 2 weeks.

Finally, a couple of stories I managed to forget in the giant set of blog posts -- I'm sure I'll come up with a few more...

- at one point I gave Jenny a coca candy.
Jenny: "These are so great, I wish we could get these at home."
Wil: "Oh, but you can… it comes in a more concentrated, POWDERED form…"
Jenny: "Really? Wow!"
Wil: "Umm, yeah. You're in Chicago, right? Probably on a lot of street corners…"

- one night someone came in with her pocket stuck to her thigh. Seems she had decided to unwrap the fiddly little coca candies (which were indeed a pain to unwrap) in advance, and put them in her pocket. But the humidity and her sweat hat melted them into a sticky mess. It occurred to me that she had actually created a coca "patch" and was ingesting it transdermally. She laughed and said, "Well, I did feel pretty good today!"

Inca Trail Marathon Adventure Day 15+ - Lima -> Houston -> Seattle

"today will be the best day of your life. tomorrow too."

Had a relaxed morning, including a nice long breakfast on the terrace. Got ourselves packed and ready for the day's adventure and the long night of travel…

We checked out of the hotel around 10am, leaving our bags in storage before heading out for one last day.

We walked along the cliff top to Barranco, thinking how gorgeous it would be in summer with the bright sunshine and the blue ocean. Still, a pretty spectacular view. Also, the pavement is marked in 500m increments (maybe more frequently?) and measures out a perfect 5K. This did seem like an amazing running path!





We arrived in Barranco to find a big parade seemingly about to take place. We traveled backward along the staging area (potentially the route, though no one was parading?). First a large reviewing stand, already full of local officials. Then group after group of school kids, government employees, office workers, and some groups that seemed quite random. Though people were obviously practicing, it didn't seem as if anyone was moving forward. Or anything was really happening.

this building was pretty amazing

We ended up in the little square in front of the handsome local library and church, watching more parade prep … along with a woman using her very young children to pass out flyers about the dangers of drugs and booze.



We made our way to the Bridge of Sighs… but it was closed for renovation. (Sigh.) Not that we particularly cared… so we made our way down underneath it and along a very handsome path towards the seafront. Lots of little restaurants and B&Bs on this path -- seemed like a potentially nice, quiet place to stay.

path down to the seafront

We walked along the seawall, past lots of weirdly empty buildings. There were clusters of large buildings where one would be a restaurant that was clearly closed down, a bit dusty, but available for lease; the next building would be a restaurant doing well enough to have a huge staff (we saw their pre-opening meeting); and the next building had a collapsed ceiling and a speedboat being stored inside.

again, wouldn't this be lovely with blue skies?

Eventually found a path back up to the cliff top, then walked around to Larcomar, a famous upscale mall on the cliff. Weird place: really high-end shops, plus a food court with everything from fast food to "fast casual" restaurants including Chili's and Tony Romas. (Weird.) We got food at Bembos, which is the Peruvian fast food chain -- fried cheese, yucca fries, onion rings, and a darn tasty veggie burger. Perfect lunch.

Larcomar … so odd!

paraglider over Larcomar -- there were several floating overhead

lunch at Bembos -- mmmm, fried food

"at the request of our cows" is what the headline says

We decided to go back to the park to see the kitties again. I heard a man say, "No, no, you can't take one home." I figured it was just an American dad talking to his kids -- but it was Ken! Yes, we all had a little, "Yeah, we know people in Lima" moment. Nice to see them and hear their experiences -- they'd been on a food tour as well as a running tour, both of which sounded very cool.

our lady of feral cats

Saturday afternoon dance party

We moved on, stopping to watch part of the Costa Rica / Holland World Cup match over the shoulders of others gathered around a television in a cafe. We also just wandered around a little, taking pictures of the street art.

loved this random art of a giant man

With still more time to kill, we decided to finally pop in to the "Barcelona" bar/restaurant near the hotel… where we had our final Pisco Sours while watching the end of the game. Sorry Ticos! That, my friends, is Lima.



(We were also a little sorry that we waited until the last minute to check out Barcelona; the hotel receptionist had suggested it on our first day, but it didn't seem right by daylight. But by night? Perfect. We should had stopped in for a nightcap every night.)

With a few minutes to spare, we went to the hotel to collect our bags, then waited for our Peruvian Shuttle to arrive.

I'm embarrassed that I don't remember our driver's name, but I can't say enough good things about Peruvian Shuttle's service. A very nice, well-maintained car with AC, driving smoothly and quickly to the airport. He even helped with our bags.

Because the ride was so fast, we had LOTS of time to kill at the airport.

First the long, slow-moving line to check in … though because different flights had different agents, we basically got moved to the front of our flight line once we'd passed the person who was sorting folks by flights.

Moved through security quickly (can't get enough of that Samsung ad with Rooney, Ronaldo, and Messi… that was on nearly endless repeat on the big video screens…), did a bit of shopping (becoming, somehow, obsessed with finding a sticker and a patch… but managing to avoid buying a hat, t-shirt, or poncho…), and had dinner, including our final Cusquena beer.

Last-minute search before getting on the plane -- no liquids in the carry-ons. Then on the plane, where we tried to sleep.

Sadly, no vegetarian food options -- so I just turned off my light and tried to relax.

Arrived in Houston, cleared immigration using weird electronic machines that take the worst photo of you you have ever taken. No, really. A cursory customs check, and then we were through.

Had a surprisingly good breakfast somewhere in the sprawling airport… though there was no booze anywhere available. (Is that a Texas Sunday thing? I mean, it really was just a late Saturday night for us…).

mmm, breakfast burrito!

Flight to Seattle quick and painless, well, apart from being kicked in the kidneys for a few hours by a shrieking child… then we collected our bags and light railed / Ubered home. Arrived to find mellow kitties and a clean house -- we were HOME!!!

Inca Trail Marathon Adventure Day 14 - Lima

We got up and declared our independence from dirt -- given a hot shower, amazing water pressure, and a lot of soap, we clean up really nicely:

Grey skies again. Still, it's winter, so what did we expect? We had read about the whole Lima gloom -- the white fog called the garua that cloaks the city from April to September. Herman Melville, who visited Lima in the 1800s, writes about it in Moby Dick, saying it's:

the strangest saddest city thou can'st see. For Lima has taken the white veil, and there is a higher horror in this whiteness of her woe.

We're also no stranger to gloomy winter skies… but somehow it was still a little surprising.

Really nice breakfast on the top floor of the hotel. We got a table out on the balcony and enjoyed the bread, cheese, fruit, and potatoes. I tried something called "purple bread" -- regrettably, it was sweet and had raisins in it.

purple bread sounds cooler than it is...

sad defunct restaurant across the street from the hotel

We had decided we would spend the morning walking the 6-ish miles to downtown. We walked all over, getting a little lost. At one point we made a wrong turn and just kept walking, ending up in the area where cars get turned into taxis. Everywhere we went, people were watching the world cup -- in restaurants, through windows, in cafes, even listening on the radio. It was cool to feel "involved". Also saw lots of vendors selling mini Esto es Guerra toys -- clearly this show is HUGE.

odd modern art scattered around this neighborhood

much preferred this...

stumbled into a shopping mall food court, where folks were watching the futbol

yeah, I'd say that was a church

heading to the Plaza San Martin

Finally back on track, we walked through pretty parks, lovely plazas, and increasingly handsome buildings. We came across some sort of advert being filmed on a square -- there were literally filming a big block of ice melting. And people were watching.

watching ice melt

in the Plaza San Martin

Madre Patria, the symbolic mother of Peru.. what's that on her head?

Oh. It's a llama. 

According to Lonely Planet, the statue was "commissioned in Spain under instructions to give the good lady a crown of flames, but nobody thought to iron out the double meaning of the word flame in Spanish (llama), so the hapless craftsmen duly placed a delightful little llama on her head."

We headed to the northwest corner of the square to the Gran Hotel Bolivar, where we poked around a bit in the historical hallways. (What a pity that the turkish bath and steam rooms appear to be no longer in operation…)





But the reason we were there, of course, was to visit the cathedral of the Pisco Sour -- the El Bolivar restaurant and bar. The restaurant was very 1960s-70s in decor -- smoked glass mirrors and such -- and we perched on a velvet love seat against a wall. A bow-tied waiter took our order -- a pair of Catedral Pisco Sours, of course -- and we settled in.

La especialidad de la casa!

Let there be no debate here: these were the FINEST Pisco Sours of our trip. In fact, I suspect they were the finest Pisco Sours in the world. They weren't too tart, they weren't too sweet, not too much foam on top, and they were blended perfectly.

the best Pisco Sour in the world

#piscosourusie

It was funny to sit there in our travel-tired clothes amongst the Lima elite -- business folk, retired moguls, ladies who lunch… it was fantastic. It may be the don't-miss activity in Lima.

plus, it's a swanky restaurant with these statues around the walls

We then made our way from the cathedral of the Pisco Sour to the Cathedral of Lima. Something -- we weren't sure what -- had closed off some of the streets near to the cathedral. (Now that I think about it, those gates seemed semi-permanent?) But we weren't challenged trying to go through, and most people were just walking through the gates.

Here's something we didn't realize about Peru -- it has a very strong baking / pastry tradition. Lots of pastry shops, high end and low end, all selling amazing-looking pastries. Also, crazy stuff like this:

I think they baked Vanellope von Schweetz in here.

I'm pretty sure this is Jell-O cake.

c'mon kids, put your hands in here

Lima has some gorgeous buildings in it -- most of which stem from the colonial period. We spotted these along the pedestrianized Jiron de la Union:

the Iglesia de la Merced, originally built in 1541

fat cherub helping hold the whole thing up

this amazing art nouveau building -- a former photography studio

nicely restored plasterwork

At some point we stopped at a McDonald's -- always interesting to see what's different and unique. Yucca fries? Okay! (Wil later realized that he's eaten at McDonald's on 5 continents…)

yuquitas -- steamed and mashed yucca, shaped around a chunk of cheese, then fried. What's not to love?

Got to the Plaza de Armas to find it filled with police vans and armed guards. Perhaps a visiting dignitary meeting with the president? Who knows. Wil made me pose for some photos… yeah, that's subtle.

with my guidebook, I think I look like a nun

yeah, this one was super subtle

oh, just taking a picture of the cathedral, officer

pretty buildings on the other side of the square (and rescue vehicles…)

a pleasant shot of the blocked off central square

oh, and riot police

and the handsome Palacio del Gobierno

and more riot police...

and actually lovely Palacio del Gobierno

We made it to the Catedral de Lima, which clearly understood its mixed mission as "spiritual home" and "tourist attraction". We were given a surprisingly useful guide map, where each chapel was described. Each chapel, in turn, had a diagram pointing out who was who in the religious art. Helpful, educational, entertaining!

Lima cathedral

Palacio Arzobispal on the left, Catedral de Lima on the right

lovely interior

Pizarro's skeleton

John the Baptist chapel

chapel close-up

this is my favorite moment in Biblical art -- "I've got a secret." "Me too!"

The cathedral also had some very cool crypts, as well as an excellent museum of religious art.

not sure who he is, or who he's stepping on, but he's quite pleased

less pleased

now THAT'S a nativity scene!

exhibit about the Swiss Guards

Oh, and they had a gift shop and cafe with some very strange baby-topped cupcakes.

I didn't actually see these -- Wil did -- I would have insisted on eating one

We left the cathedral and discovered that a mounted guard was massing inside the front gates of the Palacio del Gobierno (Presidential palace)… accompanied by a marching band… on horseback. Weirdly awesome.

that horse with the kettledrums must be the mellowest horse in Peru

unless it's the horses with the tubas -- they're definitely close runners up for mellowest horses in Peru

this dog couldn't care less

Also had a quick wander around the "Casa de la Literature Peruana" -- formerly the city's main train station, now a cultural center devoted to Peruvian literature. But I think we were both just feeling a little tired and a little "done", so we decided to figure out how to get home.

El Metropolitano is an electric bus system that we'd spotted en route to the cathedral, so we decided to try and figure it out. We bought a reloadable card for 5 soles (think an ORCA card) and loaded 5 soles onto it in credit -- enough for both me and Wil to take one ride. We first stood in the "buy your ticket" line, and then went back and stood in the "get through the turnstile" line. All was very organized and calm. Well, other than us not knowing what to do!

We were trying to figure out which bus would take us to Miraflores, when a helpful lady asked us where we wanted to go, and told us we could follow her and she'd point us to the right bus when we needed to change.

onnabus

The bus had a dedicated lane through the city -- like a light rail, sorta, but on wheels. So we moved quickly, and soon arrived at a big underground station. The lady motioned for us to follow her, told us which bus to get on next, and even which stop to take. Sweet!

the underground bus station

#busstationusie

Ricardo Palma!!! Ricardo Palma!!!

Once you leave downtown, the bus has special express lanes that run in the middle of the otherwise crowded highway. I think the other passengers -- mostly business folk heading home from work -- were slightly amused by us… until we both pulled out iPhone 5s, which stopped the whispers. (Very odd.)

We managed to get off at the right stop, find our way back to Parque Kennedy, and thence to the hotel. The maid had carefully tidied the bedside table and desk. I think the earplugs are my favorite part.

tidied bedside table

tidied desk

Went out for dinner at Bircher Benner, the odd vegetarian shop / restaurant we'd spotted the first night. The place was nearly empty, so we had Very Attentive Service -- and ordered incredibly delicious, totally vegetarian food. I had the cheesy corn dish I had been wanting since before we arrived in Peru: the giant, starchy Inca corn smothered in local cheese. So good!

giant corn and lovely cheese = heaven

I also had vegetarian lomo saltado, which was super tasty.

vegetarian lomo saltado

Wil had a vegetarian cordon bleu … nice, but maybe not as awesome as my choice. :)

vegetarian cordon bleu

After dinner we had a random international pop star sighting. There was a huge queue of giggling girls outside of the record shop. We asked a couple of girls just excitedly coming out, and they showed us the signed CD by 5 Seconds of Summer. ("We're not a boy band." Okay.) Additional rock star pre-sighting: we saw a flyer and posters for The Mission, who would be playing in Lima in August.

from Phantom's Facebook album -- look how cute these girls are!

We wandered over to the park, saying hi to the kitties, seeing someone adopting a kitty (yay!) and stumbling across a dance party with singers, musicians, and dancers… including Miss Very Enthusiastic Dancer Who Lacks Rhythm. (Darling, there's no need to wiggle that much during a waltz. I promise you.)

feeding the cats

Lima dance party

After the dancing, we stopped in at the adorable Cafe Haiti, which felt like a 1950s Parisian street cafe. We scored a table on the sidewalk and ordered a slice of lemon meringue pie and a pair of Pisco Sours from the bow-tied waiter. The only spoiler was a car, parked badly, whose alarm kept going off. Really, who still uses a car alarm?

Cafe Haiti

Pisco Sours and lemon pie

Then back to the hotel, where we booked a car service to the airport for the next night before going to bed.