Salmon Run 5K race report

It will come as NO SURPRISE to readers of this blog that the running fell off. A combination of a couple of injuries (Damn that hip flexor! What's going on with that ankle?) and alternate areas of focus (Kilimanjaro! Fuji!) meant that I essentially switched from running shoes to hiking boots. But I miss running. I never ever thought I would say that, but I really do.

So I decided to set myself a part of my 2020 Vision challenge of running at least 5K at least 20 times. And, of course, that made me look at races, and well, I signed up for some. More on that later.

By SkagitRiverQueen at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=47474503

I love the town of Concrete, and visiting their Eagle Festival had been high on my list for 2020. So when I saw the festival included a 5K run/walk, well, how could I resist?

We drove north from Seattle on a quiet Friday after work -- so great to have so little traffic because most people were still not back in their offices after the holidays! We had decided to treat ourselves by booking a cabin at Rasar State Park -- really lovely, and I would love to stay there again (perhaps in nicer weather...).

Saturday morning we got up and drove out to the Double O Ranch, which was hosting the race on their land. During the drive we had big splatting rain, drizzle, and sunshine -- including seeing a rainbow as we turned down the lane.

We went to sign in, picking up our cozy fleece neck gaiters, and looking at the course map. Yeah, I took a picture of it... though I will say they had good markers and people at the various turn / split points.

We could have waited till 10am for the official start... but given that we seemed to have a little break in the weather (and we weren't going to be running the whole thing, therefore not in contention for any award), we set out at 9:45, walking down the hill toward the river, breaking into a trot when it leveled out.

We turned right just before the river, following the edge of a field, on a bumpy, grassy track. We walked this, too -- I'm too blind and clumsy to run on a rutted path!

Then up into some foresty area, and on to the water stop. We admired the very handsome pug who was working as a mascot, exchanged chitchat with the volunteers, and moved on. We walked a bit, ran a bit -- but mostly walked. Eventually we turned back toward the water stop to complete the first, larger circuit, and noticed some runners on the other side.

Past the water stop again, through the forest on the small loop, and then we turned left (no third loop!) and headed back to the start. As we got pretty close, we noticed a runner coming up behind us, so moved well off to the side. We stopped a few yards short of the finish line to let a second runner cross, and then essentially just smiled at the people and went to the car. It was a *little* weird that they didn't acknowledge us in any way, but whatever. We weren't wearing our neck gaiters so maybe they thought we had just walked off the street? Eventually we made a point of telling them our names in case they worried later that we hadn't finished... but it was still weird.

Still, we got out, did a little running, and it was a little like the old days. And it was my first run of 2020!

Tunnel to Viaduct 8K

Long time readers will know that I love running where pedestrians usually cannot tread. I mean, I love nature, hiking, forests, wilderness, etc.... but I also love the built environment. Tunnels, bridges, highways, you name it. I love running on it.

Ever since I knew they were building a tunnel under Seattle's waterfront I have hoped that -- before the opening -- they would allow a run through it.

AND THEY HAVE!!!!

I don't look at Facebook very often, but today I randomly had it open at work, and noticed a local running store adding an event... the Tunnel to Viaduct 8K Packet Pickup.... we were going to have a race!!!

And not *just* a run through the new tunnel ... it's also a final run across my beloved Viaduct!!!

The race is scheduled for February 2, 2019, and registration is available now. Registration for the race is $35, which includes a t-shirt. Medals are available for an additional $12 ... which, yeah, I ordered one. There are free packet pickup options, you can pay to have your packet mailed, or pay to pick it up on race morning.

Come join us! Learn more about the Tunnel to Viaduct 8K. 

C25K W5R3

Just a very quick post to say that this morning Wil and I went to Green Lake for our run. See, today was Week 5 Run 3 of the NHS Couch to 5K plan ... which meant that we did a huge jump and ran 20 minutes non-stop -- and the previous longest single run was 8 minutes. 

I wanted to go to Green Lake so that I didn't have to think, to plan, to wait for traffic -- I could just trot along on a relatively flat surface. And though it was drizzling turing the first few minutes, it actually cleared up a little as we ran.

We started with the usual 5-minute warmup walk. Then the first 10 minutes of running felt hard -- I was relieved when "Laura" (the podcast host) said we were at halfway through. I felt surprised, however, when she said we were at 15 minutes -- I think I was finally warm and loose at that point.  And then I was happy to hear "just 2 minutes left", and really pleased and more than a little tired when we finished.

Then we did our 5-minute cool down walk, and then extended that a tiny bit so Wil could hit 3 miles on his GPS. Twenty minutes! Nonstop! I'm really pleased to be making progress. 

2017 Tinker Bell Half Marathon race report

Of course we were going to do this. Even if the weekend is an awkward one -- sorry, Mom! -- the race is less than amazing -- sorry, Anaheim! -- and we might be losing our Disney passion a little more every year. (Sorry, Mickey.)

This year was a little different: because we -- as legacy runners -- were given the opportunity to register early, so we did. However, we were only allowed to register for the half marathon, not the Pixie Dust Challenge. So we decided to let that "streak" lapse.

That meant we could shift our trip, a little -- fly in on Saturday morning, fly home on Tuesday and have a couple of semi-quiet (ha!) weekdays in the park.

We flew into Long Beach, our favorite airport in the world, and drove straight to the expo. It took us a while to get into the parking lot, largely because they were moving equipment around the finish area near the hotel.

We somehow had to clear security ... and then leave the secure area ... to get to the hotel. That was a hint of what was to come. Another hint: the ramp down to packet pickup wasn't decorated very much... just a generic runDisney sign, no Tink decoration at all. No special carpet -- not even the fun "track" carpet. Just... carpet. So boring that I didn't even take a picture of it.

But packet pickup was quick and easy, and the volunteers -- no, wait, this year they were paid employees -- knew to fuss over us as legacy runners. I was pleased, a little, that we got special bibs, though the color combination made them a little hard to read.

We also picked up our pre-ordered pins and my necklace. The necklace is pretty disappointing -- I don't think I'll pre-order another since it's clearly a risk to assume they'll be nice. It looks like children's jewelry, and won't even work as a charm on my bracelet. Another lesson learned.

The necklace reads "Earned My Wings 2017" -- amusing, because this is the first year the medal hasn't been a set of stylized wings! Thanks to Suz for picking up the medal pin, too.

Then back upstairs to the main expo hall, where at least they had decorated that entrance!

We picked up our shirts -- a strange dove grey color for the half -- Pixie Dust challengers got a luminous green-yellow, and I think the 10K was pale blue? But, again, pickup was simple.

We made a quick pass through the merch area, very picked over (as one would expect on the last day of an expo). Suz had been through the previous day and had managed to snag us a pair of half marathon medal pins and the coveted 2017 runDisney Tinker Bell ornament (thanks Suz!!!). Needless to say, the ornament was long gone when we went through. Amusingly, here in year six, Disney added a glass tumbler to the selection. But it was a strange size, wouldn't have matched anything else in our cupboard -- you know, like a PINT GLASS -- so we passed. There were dozens left.

This ornament is the best souvenir from a runDisney race EVER!

Then I wanted to see the New Balance shoes ... because I had heard that one had a Haunted Mansion theme:

GRIM RUNNING GHOSTS!

Let's just cut to the chase here: of course I bought a pair:

And, no surprise, I managed to lose one of the "wallpaper icons" within a day of having them. Sigh.

We also picked up our discounted park tickets (thanks GET Travel!) and then headed over to the hotel. I'm super glad Suz warned me that the name had changed and the lobby had been remodeled.

Our beloved Anaheim Plaza is now the Anaheim Hotel ... with a much swankier lobby, a better restaurant, and nicer pool furniture. The rooms are in the process of being upgraded -- ours had nicer sheets and curtains, but no other changes, it seems. The quirky old staff is gone, as is the THIS ROOM IS CLEAN smell of cleanser. And they wouldn't honor the check-in time, or parking rate on the rental agreement I was sent when I booked the room in September, 2016. Pity. Ah, change.

We spent the rest of the day going on a hike (gorgeous!), trying In-n-Out Burger's "Animal-Style Fries" for the first time (meh.), and visiting an art festival (nice!). But we had an early night ... because Sunday would be a long day.

Security changes -- including metal detectors -- meant that runners were told that the gates across the plaza would be closed "promptly at 5am", so we decided to leave the hotel by 4:30, and set an alarm at 4. While this is still clearly better than being on a shuttle by 4 at WDW.... well, it's still a big change from last year where we set the alarm for 4:45 for the 5:30 start.

We left the hotel at 4:23, and joined the non-moving line at Harbor Boulevard at 4:25... just as a bunch of buses disgorged a few hundred runners. The lines sometimes inched forward, sometimes surged... as a dozen overwhelmed security guards tried to screen a few thousand anxious people, most of whom carried nothing more than their phones. Of course, some of the people carried supplies for their multi-stage race, with changes of shoes, clothes, food ... oh, wait, what? Everyone was running a half marathon in good weather? Huh. Wonder why some people were carrying BAGS OF STUFF.

Anyway, we cleared that security in 20 minutes (!!!) and then headed across the plaza and through Downtown Disney, where soon we joined another bottleneck near the Earl of Sandwich -- a narrow space where they were squeezing runners two by two so they could check their bibs. Seriously, this can be done more effectively. And perhaps it wouldn't have been such a mess if the security lines had flowed more evenly.

Finally we were through that, and got to the corral split at 5:25. There were still a LOT of people behind us at this point, but we entered our corral and tried to relax a bit.

Of course, we took the obligatory photos. I like this photo because you can see "our" screen, plus the screen at the actual start waaaaaaay in the distance at the bottom of the pic.

Obviously, we took the obligatory pre-race photo... We're clearly out of practice, because we didn't put our our RACE FACES.

And this was the view back up the starting corrals ... is there anything more Californian than lines of palm trees along a road? I don't think so.

The race hosts were clearly stalling and struggling to fill time. I always think it's funny that they don't have enough banter/chatter to make up for delays, and they just walk off stage. I mean, seriously, you can't find enough to say to fill 30 minutes, unscripted?

About 10 minutes after the scheduled start, they rushed out to say that they were going to start the handcycle racers ... all three of them. A few minutes after that, they sent out Corral A. Corral B was allowed to move up, and our corral followed.

A few more minutes, a tiny bit of banter, the release of Corral B, another shift forward, and finally, it was our turn to...

I'm always a little sad that Disneyland doesn't do fireworks at the race start. It must be out of consideration for the neighbors, I suppose.

We set off down the road, and I already felt tired. The course was different again this year, due to all the construction for Star Wars Land, and we turned into the park before even going up the "hill" on the overpass. I never like that set-up -- it's nice to have a mile or so for the corral to stretch out before getting into the narrow roads in the park. But backstage we went, winding around. Too soon, frankly -- at just over a mile in -- we ran through the castle. We didn't have too much bunching here, but in later corrals people stopped cold. runDisney needs to learn that the castle is always a slow point as people stop to try to get photos ... so having it later in the race means the crowds are much thinner.

I barely remember running down Main Street -- I had to look at the map to make sure. We did a lap around California Adventure, then crossed the plaza back into Disneyland, and ran a little more there.  Then into THE TUNNEL which was the steepest hill of the entire course. And how the people whined!

There is VERY LITTLE elevation change in this course. Seriously.

We did our first pass on the long road around the outside edge of California Adventure -- I wonder how many people jumped over to cut the course by 8 miles? Last year clearly a few did. We didn't see anyone already on their second lap (phew!), and by the time we came through on our second lap, no one was left on the first.

Then out into the quiet streets of Anaheim. People always complain about the neighborhood and how quiet it is, but I think these people suffer Disney enough, don't you? Up until this point we had been run-walking at 3:1 intervals. I was tired and felt like my legs were dead. Not sore, just heavy and dead. So at the halfway point we decided to walk. Ahhhh.

We crossed I-5 at the usual spot, but the usual dance troupe wasn't there... I don't think? Then over to "downtown Anaheim", past Anaheim Ice, and, thankfully, STRANGERS WITH CANDY.

Yeah, that picture is blurry because I was running, er, WALKING SO FAST. Seriously, eating a Red Vine at this point is the best thing in the world. I still wax poetical about the little girls handing out Dixie Cups with a handful of mini pretzels and a couple of Red Vines in them during one runDisney race. Now, I love downing a tiny cup of beer when the Hash House Harriers are on a course, but I ADORE a Red Vine.

Then the long haul down Harbor, a little mileage-padding spin behind Gardenwalk, and we were back  on the long road with less than a mile to go. Our feet were hurting, it was getting warm, and I was so ready to be done. Oh, did I mention that neither of us had run more than 3 miles since... summer 2016?

But we finished, hand in hand, trotting across the line in 2:50 and change. Not our finest performance, but better, frankly, that we deserved given our nonexistent training.

I'll be honest, I don't have a ton of memories from this race... just a few impressions.

I didn't feel like I saw a lot of character stops -- though I know there were some, unlike during the 5K. I do remember Peter and Wendy at the train station, because I thought that was a nice placement.

I don't remember seeing a lot of Castmembers in the park. Usually you have nice moments with custodial crews and gardeners, but the only group I saw was firefighters. And it was sweet, people were taking pictures with them because who doesn't love firefighters?

I don't remember seeing many people cheering as we crossed the plaza -- more just people annoyed while trying to cross the course.

The lack of on-course entertainment -- I think there was a cheer squad with a drumline (who weren't playing while we passed, but the cheerleaders were perky), a band (who weren't playing when we passed), and a random DJ on the side of the road. No Red Hat Ladies, no dance troupes, not much out there.

The paid workers vs. volunteers issue. Was it due to not being able to execute background checks on volunteers? (Actually, that's possible to do -- but perhaps Disney didn't want the hassle?) Was it due to the woman who sued Rock 'n' Roll because she was STUNNED that it wasn't all for charity? I refuse to believe it was a cost savings -- after all, free park tickets don't really cost Disney anything. Who knows. I felt the water stations were decently managed, but the "self serve" Clif Shots on a Table was a little weird. (Hey, it's not as bad as at Rock 'n' Roll Seattle last year, where there were individual "blocks" just sitting out on a table ... I'm not germaphobe, but EWWWWW.)

The race seems to have lost its magic, just a little. runDisney isn't stupid, they'll read the feedback and make changes. They learn quickly -- note adding character stops back into the 10K after the outcry with the 5K the previous day. So maybe they'll find a way to bring some magic back.

One nice touch: legacy runners were stopped in the finish chute and given special legacy medals. Okay, the medal was the same, but we had an additional, different ribbon with "Legacy Runner" on it. It's a sweet little way to honor the people who stick with you, and I appreciate it.

Of course, I think the medal is cheap and gaudy looking -- apparently due to the influence of Pandora, which makes me realize that I am clearly not the target audience if they make stuff like this:

SaveSave

Getting back on my feet

A few months ago, not long after I lost my job, I decided to throw myself into fitness. I needed something to keep me busy.

Since I can remember, I've always felt a little "catch" in my hip joint -- or what I always assumed was my hip flexor -- when doing certain moves, specifically bicycle crunches. Not a pain, per se... but a "twang" ... as if a rubber band was being snapped.

Add in a lot of lunches and squats, and well, there's a lot of action in my hip joint.

One day, while walking down the street with Wil, I got a sharp pain in my hip that hurt so much we had to turn around and go home. I hadn't stumbled or tripped, hadn't stepped badly off a curb -- it just suddenly hurt.

I figured I had just overdone it in boot camp or something ... and figured that I would be fine after a couple of days rest. But a few days became a week, then two. I would wake up in the night with pain in my hip. And, at the height of my pain, if I got in my car, I had to lift my left leg into the car with my arms. Something I remember seeing my dad do after he fell and broke his hip. Walking was painful; running impossible.

I broke down at that point and went to the UW Sports Medicine Clinic.

sing along if you know it!

Dr. Wilder examined me and then ordered an x-ray, just to rule out anything crazy.

Nothing obvious here, but interesting to note that, while neither hip is bad yet, the right hip has more arthritis. Something to look forward to...

Rationalizing that treatment would always start with physical therapy on the area, Dr. Wilder referred me to Therapeutic Associates in Ballard for ten sessions, asking me to check back in after 5 or 6 weeks.

That's where I met Emily Wood, my physical therapist. Over the next several weeks, Emily gave me exercises and stretches to do at home, monitoring my progress and cheering me on. We tried a few additional things, like wearing KT tape -- guaranteed to make anyone feel like a boss -- and ASTYM, a "scraping" therapy that hurts, feels great, good heavens it hurts, feels great, etc. But while I got stronger and had less pain, things still weren't back to normal.

I went back to check in with Dr. Wilder, and she recommended I have an MRI to see what was going on with the soft tissue. More specifically a MR Arthrogram, where dye is injected into the joint.

My helpful pamphlet tells me that: 

An MR Arthrogram is a form of MRI that demonstrates the joint space in even greater detail than a standard MRI by filling the joint with a specialized fluid... Because some of the joint structures appear dark on MRI, it can be difficult to assess parts of the joint on a routine MRI. When these dark structures are separated by fluid that appears bright on an MRI, the contrast dye significantly improves the ability to diagnose abnormalities of these structures.

Dr. Wilder also recommended that, while I was there, I get a cortisone shot in my hip --- reasoning that they would already have the needle in my hip joint to inject the dye, so....

A couple days later I was lying on a table, watching a technician insert a needle deep in my hip joint and trying not to flinch. You'll forgive me for not having a picture of this, k? Again, here's my helpful pamphlet's description:

First, a procedure is performed under x-ray ("fluoroscopic") guidance whereby a needle is used to access the joint. Iodine "x-ray contrast dye" is injected to confirm that the joint has been properly accessed. This is followed by gadolinium "MRI contrast dye" that makes the fluid look bright on an MRI.

The dye injected, it was time for the MRI. I lay on the table and was half swaddled, half immobilized by cushions, warm blankets. Amusingly, to keep my legs in the slightly awkward position required, my feet were masking-taped together. I must have looked AMAZING.

The experience of the MRI was jarring -- the machine makes a lot of loud clunks and whines and whirrs ... each one different. It all felt very mechanical. My job was to just lie absolutely still. One of the "imaging passes" sounded almost exactly like an old fashioned klaxon / evacuation alarm. I just lay still, wondering if the building was on fire and everyone else had fled. I started counting to 120, having been told that each pass took about two minutes, and figuring that if it didn't end, I'd just get up and run. When I mentioned it to the technician afterwards, he said, "Don't worry, I would't have left you."

A few days later, we had the results. The good news was no labral tear. The bad news is that we're still not 100% sure what's up, other than a "mild chondrolabral separation/degeneration". Which means, my hip has some tissue generation, but nothing that can be repaired. 

side view of my hip

straight on cross-section

That said, the cortisone definitely helped -- and not just because I felt like a badass for having STEROIDS injected in my HIP JOINT. NFL, here I come!

Emily says that the cortisone helped me get ahead of the inflammation -- to heal faster. While in Britain I was able to ramble along the Welsh Coast and through the Yorkshire Dales, so clearly I'm feeling better. And this week Emily put me through my pass on a "return to run" program. I passed all 8 tests, so I am cleared to run again!

(Which is good because, well, I'm on week 2 of the NHS Couch to 5K program...) 

A confession that will surprise very few people: I don't run very often at the best of times. I mean, if someone isn't going to hand me a medal at the end, why run? So getting back to running -- even these tiny baby steps -- has been great. And, as of today, I have run FIVE times in ELEVEN days. Despite not being given a medal. I'm proud of sticking with it ... but, obviously, I have so far to go. I hope that my hip holds up -- so far, so good -- and I can stay on track. Here's hoping that 2017 is the year of the runner again!

Tanzania Tuesday #21 : Mimi mbio leo! (I ran today!)

A few words, in English and Swahili, about running...

Today's post was going to be about basic greetings in Swahili... but on this momentous day... well... I decided to change topics.

And by "momentous day", of course I mean ... it's the day I decided to start running again!

Since hurting my hip -- too many lunges? Too many squats? Over enthusiastic participation in boot camp??? -- I haven't been able to run. I DNSed one half marathon that I had targeted as a chance to run a new PR. I decided against chasing new states at 4 other races. (Can you IMAGINE???) And I haven't run a step. Not even to catch a bus.

Sure, I've gotten around. There have been stairway walks, Welsh wanders, and Yorkshire rambles (more on those later). But other than the exercises and stretches assigned by my beloved physical therapist, Emily, there's not a lot of movement going on. But thanks to the PT hours ... and, probably, the cortisone shot in my left hip ... I've been feeling a little better. Weaker, sure, but in less pain. And I have been feeling antsy.

Today's weather here in Seattle was glorious -- 68 degrees, bright blue sky, sunny. And I had been inside all morning ... and, well, awake since half past three ... so I decided that today was the day.

I'm a huge fan of the National Health Service's Couch to 5K podcasts -- "Laura" plays upbeat music, offers tips on running and recovery, and tells you when to warm up, run, walk, and cool down (though she says "warm down" which always makes me giggle). Given that I have been hurt and semi-sedentary, they seemed like a good place to restart my running.

Today I ran the first run of the series ... 5 minute warm-up; then 60 seconds of running and 90 seconds of recovery, eight times; and then 5 minutes of "warm down". A grand total of 8 minutes of running ... but 8 minutes more than I have run in more than 3 months. And over the course of the 33 minutes, I slowly traveled 2.36 miles. Better than nothing.

Some relevant vocabulary:

Mimi mbio leo. = I ran today.
mbio = ran
kuendesha or mbio = run or running
kilomita = kilometers
maili = miles
kitanda = couch
Mimi mbio zaidi ya maili mbili leo! = I ran more than two miles today!
kitanda kwa 5K = couch to 5K (ha!)

P.S.: If you'd rather learn "election-related" terms in Swahili, the awesome and clever folks at SwahiliPod101 put one together. Learn how to talk politics in Swahili at SwahiliPod.com. Remember, Kila kura ni muhimu! (Every vote counts!)

A childhood dream realized! I'm doin' the Puyallup!

Like a lot of people who grew up in western Washington, I see the Puyallup Fair as an annual tradition. And, no, I don't care that it's been renamed the Washington State Fair. It's simply THE Fair to me.

I try to go every year, and I love it every time. I love seeing the biggest dairy cow, the biggest bull, and the biggest pumpkin; voting for the best grange display; eating food on sticks; watching the hucksters (to whom I mean no disrespect with that label!) selling their wares; cheering at the draft horse show; and trying to decide if *this* is the year when we'll finally buy that wooden sign for our house. Oh, and the people watching.

And I love the Hobby Hall. Every year I walk through it thinking, "some day I'll submit one of my collections" ... but I never do. Until now.

I submitted my paperwork not long before the deadline; first completing an online application, then sending in photos of my collection... And then I waited. And then I got THE LETTER!!!

And then there was panic. I had been assigned a "medium case", dimensions approximately 4 feet high by 6 feet wide. OMG, would I have enough medals to fill it? 

I pulled all of the medals off the picture rail in my office, and lay them down on the floor ... 

Well, yes, I *do* appear to have enough medals. And then some. But then the problem of how to display them? I pretty quickly came up with the idea to have some wooden supports with hooks in them, with curtain rods resting on the hooks. I realized the structure would be even stronger -- and allow for a better "tiered" display if I leaned it back on the wall ... and then I realized that I didn't need a "back" and "feet" ... I could use the case itself to support the display.

I used my 9th-grade geometry skills (Mrs. Nixon, I know you were smiling down on me!) to sketch out the support, figure out the length of the hypotenuse (yeah!), and the correct angles so that the boards would lean evenly against the back wall and the floor. A trip to Home Depot with some precarious lumber hauling, some help from Eric and his Very Big Saw, and I had the support boards ready to paint.

if you look closely, the boards say STUD

A lick of black paint later, and it was time to get the hooks on. I decided just to put one coat of paint on the boards, which left them with a "stained" look that I liked.

Okay, the "getting the hooks on" part was ... rough. Our ancient drill seems to have finally given up the ghost, so there was a night-time trip to Home Depot to buy another drill, some cursing, and such ... but I did get them on, along with some anchor brackets on the feet, and then tried it out on a wall in our bedroom. Woot!

Honestly, I can't tell you how satisfying this was!

Then yesterday I loaded up my car with tools, the boards and rods, a bunch of fabric for a background, and a whole lotta medals and drove down to Puyallup. I was super nervous and excited ... when the security guard met me at the gate, I could barely explain what I was doing there and why. I'm guessing he's seen it all before. I got a parking pass and was told to just drive around to the Hobby Hall.

I parked across the "road" from the Hobby Hall, trying to stay out of the way because I knew I would be there more than an hour.

The Hobby Hall ladies welcomed me with a smile -- gave me my paperwork and two one-day passes to the Fair (a nice surprise!) and showed me to my case, #38.

First I staple-gunned fabric to each side and just around both back corners. I cut the fabric a little longer than I needed to so that I would have some overlap on the bottom.

I then installed the support pieces, quickly bolting them to the floor and installing the top hook on each one (which, because of the length of the screws, actually was bolted to the back wall too). The side supports were just a little way from the side walls to allow for room on the rods, and I just drilled through the fabric.

Then I staple-gunned the fabric to the back in two sections, overlapping it around the center support. I left the fabric long so that I could drape it on the bottom of the case and cover the brackets. I seriously can't tell you how relieved I am that it all worked and looked nice and clean.

The case next to mine (playing cards) was partially decorated when I came in, but there was no one else who came in to set up their cases until midday on my side.

Then it was time to start hanging up the medals. I had some some rough organization at home, just for a sense of what should go where, and had decided that the first two rows should be my runDisney medals. What's funny is that, as I was working, the Hobby Hall ladies would come by to check in, see how it was going, whether I needed any help, etc., and one of them told me later that she thought my collection was of Disney stuff. Well, looking at the top row, I can see why!

I had decided that rather than try to hide the ribbons, I would just use them as added color on the background. So each medal is pinned by its ribbon and hangs off the rod.

The two runDisney rows done, I turned to my Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series medals -- apparently I had enough not to need to feature multiple "Heavy Medals" (earned for running two or more events during a year) ... in fact, I wasn't able to display either of the new series of Heavy Medals. And since RnR medals tend to be a little smaller than the honkin' runDisney medals, I was able to "stagger" them a bit and put more of them on the row.

Then I decided to display some "unique" medals, such as my two glass medals (Wineglass Half and Center of the Nation Full Series medals), my wooden medals (Oak Barrel Half, Lakefair Half, Grandpa's Half Bone, Grandpa's Wish Bone, and Run Like the Wind Half), the funny painted metal  medal from Hartford Half; our Mainly Marathons series medals; the massive Sage Rat Run medals, and then some other fun ones (Beat the Blerch, Valley of the Trolls, Inca Trail, Caribbean Running Cruise, Chips 'n' Salsa).

On the fifth row I decided to feature a bunch of my "50 States Challenge" medals, in no particular order ... along with a few from Seattle.

And then in the sixth and final row, a bunch of other race medals, mostly from Seattle. Phew!

Then came the big decision ... do I keep it simple, like this? Maybe add in my Half Fanatics and Double Agent shirts? Or do I add some of my race bibs?  In the end, I went for adding a bunch of my favorite race bibs, along with my HF and DA shirts. Originally I tried safety pinning the bibs to the fabric on the sides, but that was too difficult, so I pulled out my handy staple gun again and just attached them that way.

And that, my friends, is my medal display. Gaudy? Oh yes.

The Puyallup Fair .... okay, Washington State Fair ... runs from September 2 - 25 (closed Tuesdays). The Hobby Hall doesn't need to be your first stop -- by all means, get scones or a crusty pup first -- but do swing by and check out all the quirky collections.