Daffodil Challenge Part Four: Orting

This really is the home stretch!

Orting Daffodil Parade Route

How cute is Orting? How cute is this little two-block parade??

This is what we expected: a craft and food fair set up in the city park, lots of folks already set up along the parade route, and (best fundraiser ever!) a chance to ring the town bell in exchange for a $1.25 donation. RING THE BELL!!!

We got here plenty early, which have us a chance to walk around the booths, check out the awesome quilt store, and buy an armload of amazing pastries from the Orting Bakery:

Of course, we were only going to buy this adorable cookie:

But, hey, we couldn't resist the cannoli, scone, cookies, bismarks, etc. etc. 

The real rain finally came, so we bundled up in our Gore-Tex jackets. While waiting for the porta potty (three again!) we started chatting with a man about asthma. I commented that he was wearing "my hat" -- one of the Run Happy hats we had made. He said, "do you work for Brooks?" and then "Are you Sunny?"

Turns out he was Amanda's dad, and she had seen us but wondered if it was really us. Nice to see Brooksies in the wild!

We set out on the path, moving surprisingly quickly (compared to our plan... if we ever have a plan...). We had run the path before as part of the Rainier to Ruston half marathon; but we didn't get to run the final stretch along the park. In fact, I was surprised that we didn't actually get to run along the parade route. 

But when we crossed the finish line, we got our medals... from some very wet princesses:

Still, it was nice to finish feeling relatively strong (though with a slightly hurt shin on my right leg...

Four 5Ks, four towns... One medal!!

Daffodil Challenge Part Three: Sumner

Two down, two to go. Other than a couple of visits to the Brooks distribution center, I don't think I have ever been to Sumner before -- certainly not to downtown Sumner.

Sumner Daffodil Parade Route

No, you're not imagining it -- the parade routes get shorter… yet the race courses stay at 5K. (Duh.)

This race was a little more challenging -- it had the shortest break between races (1:45, as opposed to 2:30 for the others),  and we somewhat foolishly decided to grab lunch between the runs. Oh well! 

We got to the race start with little trouble, parked a block away from the start, and just relaxed for 15 minutes. Again, we managed to mistime things, and were caught in the porta potty line at the start. (At least there were three potties at this start!)

So we essentially found ourselves sprinting through the crowd again, before just deciding to relax and enjoy it. 

The part of the race on the parade route was my favorite, of course -- lots of people watching and cheering, even a few high fives. Oh, and these cute paintings on the road:

A couple of blocks from the finish a well-meaning volunteer told us to "pick it up! You can't walk to the finish!" Umm, yeah we can, if we want to. But we didn't. We made the almost final turn and started our "finishing kick" (ha ha), zipping past quite a few people.

A quick kiss and then we started to head back to the car. Next stop: ORTING!

Daffodil Challenge Part Two: Puyallup

Just finished race number two -- the drizzle turned to rain, so we ran in our jackets. Lots more spectators out waiting for the parade to start, but that isn't surprising since much of the run followed the parade route:

Puyallup Daffodil Parade Route

 Lots of nice comments on the hats. What hats? THESE HATS!!!

Course was super flat and -- on a nicer day -- would be awesome.

Next up: Sumner for race number three. 

Daffodil Challenge Part One: Tacoma

Got to Tacoma with ease, found street parking not far from the starting area, and then settled in to wait. The weather has held up so far -- cool but dry, no wind; perfect running weather.

We got to the starting area, joined the queue for the porta potty, and waited. 

Some of the Daffodil Princesses were mingling with the runners -- and one of the Princesses was actually running the race in a daffodil yellow tutu. 

Luckily the race was chip timed, so it didn't matter that we had to start a couple of minutes late. We dashed across the timing mats and just hoped we would be able to find the route! (Thank heavens for the luminous yellow race shirts!)

We made our way through the walkers (nice to see so many families out together!) and just kept going, making little loops of the downtown core. 

One thing surprised me: there were very few people waiting for the parade to start. I figured it would be more like Torchlight, where people go out the night before to set up "camps" on the sidewalk. But there were a few people here and there, so we made a point of saying hello to all of them. 

We also ran past the Princesses a few times, though they were clearly heading to their staging area, so they were on the move. 

At one point we crossed paths with a number of women on horseback -- the Tacoma Lariettes. We were close enough for me to notice that the horses had green and gold glitter on their bums. Sparkley horsey bum-bums. I am still kicking myself for not capturing this on film. 

A few minutes later and we were done. Just like that. One down, three to go!!

Tacoma Daffodil Parade Route

Daffodil 5K Challenge pre-race report

In just a few weeks I've gone from someone who had only the tiniest awareness of the Daffodil Festival and had never been to any of the Daffodil Parades to someone who is going to run four 5K runs in one day -- one in each of the communities that will host a Daffodil Parade on Saturday.

The distance isn't challenging, of course -- other than just getting back to the start, lining up, and "racing" four times in one day. To me, the interesting part of this event has to be the logistics of it all.

Here's the schedule for Saturday:

8:45am: Tacoma 5K start, 1600 Commerce St.
10:15am: Tacoma Parade start
11:15am: Puyallup 5K start, 1110 W Pioneer Ave
12:45pm: Puyallup Parade start
1:00pm: Sumner 5K start, 1627 Bonney Ave
2:30pm: Sumner Parade start
3:30pm: Orting 5K start, 200 Washington Ave S
5:00pm: Orting Parade start




Given that this is the first year of the challenge, and there are, ahem, other large community events taking place in each of the towns on the same day that involve a lot more than a few hundred runners, I'm not super surprised that there has been a bit of a delay in getting information finalized. And, hey, they're just 5Ks. We'll figure it out.

(That said, it's 8:40pm … 36 hours before the start of the first race… and we don't have course info, parking info, or any other info from the organizers… though they did say it would be coming tonight. I trust 'em.)

Of course, me being me, I have been trying to figure out what to do. Where to park so that we don't get trapped by the parades? How to get from town to town? How many dry changes of clothing should we bring???

I did learn a few things about the challenge:

The event is sponsored by Nike and South Sound Running, and each of the 25 Daffodil princesses received a pair of yellow running shoes as well as exercise gear. (Apparently the princesses have a super busy schedule, including lots of events with local kids: NICE.)

Proceeds from the race will benefit the YMCA's Late Nite Program, which provides a safe place for high school kids to hang out on Friday nights.

At the end of the race in Orting, runners who have completed all four races will receive a Daffodil medal… FROM A DAFFODIL PRINCESS!! Can you say photo op?

And then, the challenge runners are invited to march as a group in the Orting parade. Which I admit seemed not particularly interesting (really? you want me to march another couple of miles???) -- until I saw the sweet Orting parade route: essentially two blocks along the nice park in Orting. Yeah, I think I can do that. As the organizer noted, "Orting isn't the longest parade, but once you're seen it, you have to come back. Three times the population of Orting is there. " Awwwww!

There's still time to sign up on race morning, I'm told. For more info, check out daffodil5kchallenge.com.

this year's festival theme -- apparently there are PINS!!!

Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas registration opens today

I have toyed with running this race for years now -- it's a night race, it's a Rock 'n' Roll Marathon, and it just seems like a lot of fun. 

Full disclosure: I work for Brooks, and we sponsor the RnR races. I also happen to dislike Vegas. 

But I really do love a Rock 'n' Roll race, and I hear that Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas is one of the best. And registration for 2014 opens today.

Of course, this year Team Wil-Sun will be in Disneyland, having run the Avengers Super Heroes Half that morning. (And, yes, it is completely possible to run both races... If you started in Vegas, attended packet pickup at the RnR expo, flew to Anaheim, picked up your packet, then ran the Avengers half on Sunday morning, and then flew to Vegas in time for the 4:30 start.... But that's not on our list this year....)

The half and the full are currently $125, a "half of the half" race is $65, and -- hey, it's Vegas, baby -- three different VIP packages are available. Hey, you get to run down the Strip, at night, neon glittering, and drunk frat boys and sorority girls stumbling past. And you will most likely be moving faster than a car would move on the same stretch, if the road were open to traffic. 

Tuesday Booty-Kicking

photo by The Fitness Lab

I have a love-hate relationship with Dillon Kreider. No, that's not true at all. But maybe a love-fear relationship?

Dillon is the lovely, tiny, VERY FIERCE trainer I worked out with for a while back in 2011-2012. Her gym, The Fitness Lab, moved to Ballard last year… because her old space was demolished to build a certain running company's new HQ…

I remember the first couple of times I worked out with Dillon -- and how SORE I was afterward! I always loved the workout, but I did find myself craving the outside world… which led me to the Vast Fitness Boot Camp at Green Lake (which I still miss!).

I kept thinking I should check out Dillon's cool new space (after all, it's only a mile from my house), and I was craving a little external motivation… so hooray for finding a Gilt City deal for three months unlimited + two Inbody 230 body fat testing sessions. (More on that later…)

I sent Dillon a note -- I know I'm not a "new" client, but it had been a while -- and she graciously said that she would love to see me. I told her I was in dire need of a little butt-kicking, and she said she would be happy to supply the boot!

Well, today was my third Body Revolution class. I decided I should be a bit careful, and start with 2 mornings/week. As long as I manage to hold up, I'll try adding another day per week.

Today we warmed up, did some back strengthening work as a group, and then Dillon quickly set up the circuits for us:
- a single-leg squat on a TRX (let's just say I really need to work on my balance…)
- an agility drill moving sideways over little hurdles
- curl and overhead press while standing on one foot
- another single-leg squat on a TRX
- dumbbell skiers (surprisingly, just what it sounds like, once you see it…)
- squat rows with kettle bell
- lateral raises while standing on one foot
- pushup intervals -- 5 fast, 5 slow, repeat

We did three circuits total, with short breaks in between. The workouts are fun, varied, and move very quickly. At the end, we stretched out and were done. Phew!

I admit it -- the workouts definitely kick my butt. This is a good thing. I love that I feel stiff and sore the next day. Not hurt, mind you, just… worked out. Tomorrow is a day off, but I'll be back at 6am on Thursday!

Monday Motivation: LaKeisha and Give It 100

I'm probably way out of the loop on this… and this has probably been posted/shared a gazillion times… but I saw this video for the first time today and was SO MOVED.

It's a time-lapse video of a woman named LaKeisha, who committed to going to the gym every day for 100 days. In three minutes she made me cry (0:54), laugh (1:32, when she'd dancing with her bear), and cheer (2:05, day 78, when she steps on the scale and it settles on 299.2 -- "out of the 300 club!").

click the image to watch the video on YouTube...

Then I went to the Give It 100 site and discovered other people doing great 100-day projects, from hip hop moves, to musical instruments, to languages, to pushups and headstands. There are so many things I can think of… but what to do first???

Here's something slightly shocking … in 100 days we will actually be BACK from Peru. How did that happen? 

In Peru news… two nice things. 

1) I was pretty sure that in a previous adventure, years ago, I had purchased a pair of Gore-Tex trousers. It took some digging -- I had put them with other snow/winter outdoor gear -- but I unearthed not one but TWO pairs of such trousers… and one of them even fit Wil. So we're sorted from a waterproof standpoint for our trip!

2) I've FINALLY started getting organized re: immunizations. We had looked at the CDC.gov site to determine the shots we needed, which (since we're going to the rain forest, too), are:

- Hepatitis A

- Typhoid

- Yellow Fever

- Malaria

Now, yellow fever is the tough one. Only certain pharmacies / doctors are licensed to dispense it… possibly because it has to be kept cold? I have a long list of places who, in theory, stock it… but almost all of them are out of stock. In fact, the only people I have found who have it, are the folks at the King County Health Department. But the problem with going there? You need to pay $110 PER PERSON to meet with the nurse. And then you pay for the vaccine on top of that. Other places, such as Bartells or Pharmaca, charge $50 per person. Oh, and at the Health Department, you have go to during banker's hours, on Monday, Tuesdays, or Wednesdays. So I see that as a last resort. 

Then I discovered Katterman's Pharmacy -- they're open more reasonable hours, AND they don't charge for a "travel consultation" when you can just walk up and tell them that the CDC.gov site says we need A, B, and C… They can even prescribe malaria pills for you -- no trip to the doctor required. So that's pretty amazing. 

So, anyway, yesterday we went to Katterman's, filled out some paperwork, and received our first Hepatitis A shot (we'll have another in 6 months) and picked up the Typhoid tablets -- "a vaccine in a capsule!". (We took tablet 1 this morning, we'll take the additional three on a day off, day on cycle.) We'll go in another time to get our malaria tablets organized, all the while hoping that -- as the pharmaceutical company has said -- the Yellow Fever vaccine shortage will ease in April so that we can get that without paying a $220 premium…

I loved Katterman's, by the way -- it's a proper family pharmacy, with travel supplies and scarves and Easter decorations and a staff who knew most of the customers by name. I only wish it were closer to our place, rather than a 30-minute drive away. (A big challenge: balancing the desire for shopping at independent stores with the desire to not need to drive…) I'd just like to highlight how personal the service felt, how fast and efficient it was -- I'd highly recommend them to anyone in greater Seattle who is planning a trip to a faraway land… or even just folks who need a prescription filled. 

A funny thing about race registrations...

Running is booming. Every year more races are held… and more people run 'em. It's exciting to watch so many people getting out there to run, walk, skip, or crawl their way through races.

But the boom means that many races are now so popular that they sell out very quickly. The biggest races -- such as the New York, Chicago, and Marine Corps Marathons -- have all gone to a lottery system. Boston, of course, uses qualifying times … and the faster you are, the earlier you are able to register.

I'm torn between the "it's more fair for everyone" idea of a lottery system and the "fastest fingers win" idea of just throwing open registration. For example, the year Wil and I ran the New York Marathon, we both entered the lottery. He got in, I did not… so I chose Girls on the Run as my charity and raised a few thousand dollars in exchange for a bib. It was frustrating to wait to see if I got in -- I wanted the instant gratification. But in the end, it didn't make for a weirdly stressful hour… I just put our information in the system and waited.

Today was a different story. Today registration opened for the Beat the Blerch, the inaugural "the Oatmeal" theme race.

From the delightfully disturbed mind of Matthew Inman, aka "The Oatmeal", a 10K / half marathon / marathon race based on his amazing comic, "The Terrible & Wonderful Reason I Run Long Distances."

I knew this was going to be a difficult race to get in to. It's being held on a small trail in a small town -- I believe the total number of spaces was capped at 2500 people. And people, rightly, LOVE The Oatmeal.

I knew I would be busy at 9am -- was conducting an interview -- so Wil took over race registration duties. And, well, most race registration sites aren't designed to take that kind of traffic. Heck, last year the Chicago Marathon site melted down (hence: 2014 lottery system). A lot of people banging on a site that isn't architected for that sort of traffic = slow response times. Add that to a lot of people who perhaps don't know that much about how websites work, and continually refreshing the page, well… you end up with a lot of angry and frustrated folks.

Wil managed to get us registered, but it took 25 minutes of grinding away to get it done. And since both Wil and I work on web sites for a living, we totally understand that a site that's not going to get that kind of stress 364 days a year doesn't need to be built to withstand the 1 day a year it does. It's just simple economics.

I wasn't surprised to see that people were ranting and whining on Facebook. The same thing happened with the registration for SeaWheeze, the Lululemon half marathon. Except that race had 20,000 spots. I believe they attempted to run the registration through their own e-commerce site. Well, that's not built for that kind of traffic either. So it crashed… and the disappointed turned to FB to vent their frustrations.

It did make me sad, however, to see people so angry, and so few people saying that they were excited or happy. I hope Matt knows that the disappointed will always be louder than the quietly happy. My favorite comment, however, was the person who pointed out that, okay, if the site had it's own super awesome cloud server, all the places would have been gone in under 3 minutes… because it's not as if the entries were "disappearing"...

(And maybe I'm just quietly, SMUGLY happy that we got places… )

(If we didn't get in, yes, I'd be sad… but I already had a back-up race that I was ready to sign up for if we didn't get in to the Blerch.)

(Part of me hopes that Matt takes a note of all the folks complaining on FB, refunds their money, and opens up the places to people who said, "Oh, bummer, but congrats to everyone who got in!"… Hey, a girl can dream, right?)

Then, of course, there's tomorrow's adventure:

Tomorrow general registration opens for the Avengers Super Heroes Half Marathon Weekend at Disneyland from November 14-16. This one is gonna go fast, too -- though I was a little surprised that the Annual Passholder pre-registrations stayed open for more than 24 hours for the half. Still, the 5K pre-reg slots sold out in under 35 minutes… but I guess the combination of the smaller field and the lower barrier to entry made it go faster…

Wasn't this supposed to be the year that I didn't run as many races? I keep being tempted by other races in other places… We did, in the end, sign up for the Daffodil Challenge 5K… I was unable to resist the logistical challenges of 4 5Ks in 4 different cities in one day. And the fact that a princess in a yellow ball gown is going to put a medal around my neck. Plus, I love a race where you can register and pick up your bib and shirt. It'll make race morning slightly less hectic!

Oh, and, um, did I mention that I signed up for this fella?

Yeah, it was irresistible, too. I'll be in Chicago the week before… and yes it's a long drive, but shorter than it would be to get to Iowa from here, right? Of course, for the Marathon To Marathon, I just sent a check to the race director… easy peasy…

Public musing about private thoughts...

So many races, so little time.

And I love races -- absolutely love 'em.

But I had decided to cut back on racing this year -- after the 40@40 challenge in 2012-13, plus running a lot of odd little runs in 2013 (and 15 halfs)… I was really really going to cut back in 2014.

My goals this year were to run more regularly, race less, and spend my "fitness dollars" on more key events, such as working toward the 50 States Challenge. That is, spend $$ on going to, say, Indianapolis and Cincinnati for the weekend to pick up two new states, rather than spend the money on a local race that I have already run, or seems overpriced, etc.

Of course, Spring is here, new races get announced, and my tiny, bling-lovin' heart soars…

I do know that I don't need a race to validate my running. But I also know that I love putting the effort in someone else's hands -- someone else figures out the route, hands me cups of water, and maybe even gives me a medal. Sometimes I even get a shirt -- even though I will most likely never wear it. (And I'm thrilled with races that offer a "no-shirt" option and cut $30 off the price.)

I like a race to offer something interesting -- either in experience, location, or even swag. I'm currently obsessing over a new race called the Daffodil Challenge.

It's tied with the annual Daffodil Festival and Parade. Actually, paradeS. I didn't realize that the Daffodil Parade extends outside Tacoma… but it actually is also held in Puyallup, Sumner, and Orting. Apparently, the first parade is in Tacoma, and then it travels to the next city, and then the next, and so on. Four parades in one day. (Those princesses must get tired of all the waving!)

This year South Sound Running (a really fine running store in Tacoma, should you ever be in town) has put together a Daffodil Challenge: 5K races in each of the four parade cities in one day. Run all four and when you cross the finish line in Orting, one of the Daffodil princesses will give you a medal… and you have the option of marching in the last parade.

Now, this is exactly the sort of ridiculous running event that I love. It seems like more of a logistical challenge than a physical one; 20K isn't a long day -- especially when staggered into 4 - 5K bursts. The hard part will be moving from city to city while massive parades are happening!

Of course… do I need to do something like this? Nope. Of course not. It's $80 for the four-race challenge. But I keep obsessing about it.

Another race I keep thinking about is the Cupcake Run. Wil and I ran it last year and had a good time -- and raised money for a local family. I love how low-key the race is, that the money really goes to charity (not just a buck or two per runner, but the vast majority of it), and that you get a cupcake when you finish. What's not to love? This lovely run is only $30. But, again, do I *need* to do this?

I look at my list of races in 2014 and see that I've included a few races that I've run before… for no particular reason.

I mean, why exactly am I proposing the Lakefair Run in July, other than it's a nice little race that offers a no-shirt option? We ran it a couple of years ago, had a nice enough time (no complaints whatsoever to the organizers!), but do I need to run it again? It's only $30 with if you register before 3/31 and opt out of the shirt. Still, no. But… but… my race calendar is looking so empty!!!

Maybe that's the rub -- I worry that not racing means I'm not a real runner?

Or maybe I'm just trying to be a little more frugal?

I just feel a little odd and conflicted about things.

I guess it goes back to my goals this year -- run more regularly, be smarter in when and where I race. Race only for new experiences and new challenges -- new states, new races, that sort of thing. Which means accepting that there will be fewer races on the docket, and (sniffle) fewer medals.

Still, I have three new states this year -- at least, I'm signed up for them and have the travel sorted. And I might even pick up a fourth later on. Eyes on the prize, right?