Fifty States!

Ten years ago, 2004 on Labor Day I ran my first 5K. I had always run two or three miles for fitness a couple of days a week since my daughter Stacy was born in 1991. But the summer of 2004 I met some amazing geology teachers up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula at a graduate class in mining. We blasted rocks, climbed rock piles and I ran every morning with some of the teachers. That Saturday there was a 10 mile race, the Canal run in Hancock that some of my new friends were going to run in. I noticed that while many of the runners were amazing athletes, fit with 6% body fat, many of them were like me middle age average folks fighting off those nagging few pounds. I thought maybe I could try and train for a 5K. A friend from the class coached me via email and by Labor Day I was ready to run. It took me 33 minutes to finish my first 5K. I was frustrated that I couldn’t keep up a 10 minute mile. I decided to try a half marathon and little did I realize I was hooked. The challenge of tweaking a race routine, experimenting with different distances, and meeting all sorts of people has kept me pushing and testing my personal limits for the last 10 years.

My journey since then has been a difficult one. Personal challenges: divorce, remarriage,  my son’s life against cancer, and relocating to the Upper Peninsula have kept me exhausted and pushed to my emotional limit. Running gave me a space in time that I could own and be present in. Every year I added races to my calendar. I met some runners from Tulsa that belonged to a club called the Marathon Maniacs. Some people say that my running helped me through those challenges. Perhaps, but it feels like the more life pushed me the more I pushed back. I’m not sure that that extra effort made things easier. I just felt the ownership of those accomplishments and when it seemed that life was pruning and clipping the things that I cared about the most, running was a space that I could own. Many people who have loved ones in harms way, whether it is due to deployment, hardship or medical battles, understand what it means to feel that fear, helplessness and loss of hope. Prayer is the one fortress to allow you hope, and running is the venue that my prayers are most pure.

My mission or objective is so simple, to run a marathon in all fifty states while my health and finances hold out. The beauty of that endeavor is that I have a platform to honor those who have meant so much to me. And I have shared this journey with some amazing people. My fabulously talented daughter Stacy has been with me through this story from the start. She was at the finish line of my first marathon, the Bayshore Marathon in Traverse City, Michigan and is coming with me this weekend to support me. We have battled together side by side, without her I would be lost out on some lonely road somewhere.

My second marathon and first trail marathon was shared with the man that I’ve chosen to spend the rest of my life with. At the time I was reeling from a divorce and trying to figure out what my new identity was. I was surprised when he met me at 5am at the Grand Island Ferry Dock to come support me on the trail. The Grand Island Trail Marathon in Munising, Michigan is still my favorite race and it is the only race that I have repeated. Three years later Gary proposed to me at the north beach of the same marathon.

My first out of state marathon was the Disney Marathon in 2006. It was the first time that I noticed the presence of the purple Team-N-Training folks. They had support out on the course that made me a bit jealous and annoyed, but towards the end of the race I noticed that many of their shirts were honoring loved ones who had lost their battle with Leukemia or Lymphoma. It moved me to tears out there running through Epcot. Little did I know that 6 days later I’d be admitting my beautiful and healthy 21 year old son to the hospital for symptoms that would be diagnosed as PCNS Lymphoma, a form of inoperable brain cancer.  Within three weeks I was being educated and supported by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society people as how to advocate for my son. Anyone supporting a loved one with any of these conditions can receive the same support at www.lls.org . In the next three years I continued to run marathons as we battled the dragon. Brian proposed to and married the love of his life, Katie. The cancer remitted then relapsed three times, more frequently each time. He demanded to maintain poise and grace throughout, blessing all of those people on his team and in his life. He insisted to live his life intentionally and to not let his existence be defined by the adversity in his life. The last time the cancer relapsed he was undergoing chemo. We lost him that fall. November is a difficult month and I find it fitting to conquer this journey in this month. His goal was a mission to fight social injustice in the world. As I run these races I bring his ashes with me and I spread his ashes in a body of water. He was a lover of the ocean and water. The Chattahoochee river will carry his ashes to the ocean this weekend.

Serving the global good, starts with these fifty states and in choosing the Soldiers Marathon I am looking forward to honoring those who have dedicated part or all of their lives to serve our nation. I am honoring a former student, Matt Weber who gave his life in Iraq. I will be wearing a bracelet in his memory. My two cousins Brian and Clark have dedicated their lives to serving in the Air Force. I will be honoring them by wearing pins that they sent me. I have had the honor to teach with other former service people. They now serve our nation’s youth as educators. I also want to dedicate this run to my students who have served or are currently serving in our military. I have had students in all branches of the military and have written letters of recommendation for many students that have been accepted into the Armed Forces Service Academies. I follow and am proud of their achievements.

In 2007 I ran the Green Bay Celcom Marathon and saw my first fifty state marathon shirt. From that point on I was calculating and looking at calendars to see how I could fit my races in.  That day at the finish line I met Nancy Krusic. When we first met our runs were more counseling sessions, sharing our trials and tribulations. She was there for me when I lost Brian. She and Janet are my first real running buddies. I had always cherished my alone time running, but found such a bond with these two ladies that my training runs were brought to a totally new place. Nancy and I have run many states together. She and her sisters have been brave enough to come some of my crazy adventures. My PR is thanks to Nancy. She called me on a Thursday one April day and wondered if I wanted to go to Dearborn to run the Martian Marathon with her. She knew that I would be crazy enough to say yes. That was a 4:41 race. My goal Saturday is to finish! I don’t know if the excitement of the finishing finish line might power me to a faster race or if it may wear me out. Either way, crawling or leaping I will do my best to cross that line!

In the running adventures I have met many other runners. It always seems uncanny that when I run a race with people at my pace, how many parallels our lives seem to hold. If I tried to name them all this would be a book. Cathy from Texas is one of those people. We met at the Go St. Louis marathon last spring and I asked her what was next on her calendar and she said that she was running the Wild Women Marathon in Washington in July. It was a very small new trail marathon that fielded 300 relay runners and marathoners. Out of nearly 8000 Marathon Maniacs she and I were the only two that had signed up for that race. We ran it together and talked the whole time about our lives. So many losses and joys and similarities, it was a great race.

I’ve shared many races with my friends from Tulsa. This year I had the chance to run the Bataan Memorial Death March. This is a life changing race, dedicated to soldiers and marched by soldiers from multi-national armed services. I marched with German, Canadian, Coastguard, Army, Navy and other service people whose badges I could not recognize. I saw more colors and versions of camouflage than I could have imagined. I ran with John one of our Tulsa friends. He is joining us this weekend. He has a way of finding the most marvelous and challenging race venues. Nancy and John both mentioned the Soldiers Marathon in the past. John’s son was stationed at Fort Benning and Nancy has been invited by military friends to run it before. When considering my running calendar this year I wanted a race that was meaningful and logistically easy for friends to travel to.
Lately when runners ask me how many miles I run per week it doesn’t take long to calculate. I run between 26.2 and 40 miles per week. In 2012-2013 there was a twelve month period when I ran 16 states. So I was either recovering or tapering between races. I have reached a physical milestone this last year as menopause has kicked in. Last winter I reached my pre-running weight. Before I started running I was 152 pounds. In training for my first marathon in 2005 I got down to 130 pounds and kept it off. So it was frustrating to be running so rigorously and gaining weight. The menopause upset my sleep patterns with the hot flashed and to maintain my work schedule and energy I was craving and eating high carbohydrate sugary foods. I’ve never had a sweet tooth, but to get the burst of energy before my after school run I would have a bag of popcorn. Nancy had suggested years before that I try a vitamin shake that she was taking, but at the time I felt confident in my vitamin regimen. In January of this year as I tipped the scales and was energy deprived, I was sharing my frustrations with a friend, Marco and he mentioned the same vitamin shake that Nancy had been taking for the last three years. Her times and health were improving while mine where getting worse. I decided to give Reliv a try. Marco suggested that I try the Soyesentials, Now and Innergize for starters. The first shake that I took lifted the brain fog that had permeated my experience and with a month my hot-flashes were one a day and within two months they were gone! I have lost 14 pounds and am not craving sweets. I have recently decided to choose a vegan lifestyle and am feeling stronger then I have felt in years. This was the best health decision that I made since starting to run. I wish that I had done it when Nancy first suggested it.

I am a sixth grade teacher. I spent the first 25 years of my career teaching higher grades. I’m enjoying working with the younger students and have a map of the United States posted on the wall. I have recent race numbers taped around it and have marked off the states that I finished. Last year one of my sixth graders told me that I had inspired him to try and play a golf tournament in each of the fifty states. I told him to enjoy every one of them. I think the last few years I have been rushing finishing, partly do to fears that as I age I might not be able to continue, and partly to save money. Doubles and consecutive weekend summer road trips save travel expenses. I have a friend, Houstotonic Paul, who is managing to run all 50 states in less than 4 hours, and another Cory who is trying to BQ (Boston Qualify) in all 50 states. Lichu Sloan has run the 50 states 3 times, and 7 continents twice. There is a couple from the U.P. who are running all 50 states in alphabetical order. Nancy has BQ’d twice in the last two years and is planning on running Boston. All of these accomplishments eclipse mine.

Many people have wished me well on my Grand Finale. This makes me fearful. I am not done after Saturday. As to my next mission or objective: I haven’t decided what to do next. I have a house project to finish with my dear Gary. He has been sacrificing his summers supporting and accompanying me on my marathons. I think I owe him at least one summer without a month long tri-state journey. I am really enjoying trail races. I just ran my first 50 K in Vermont with my friend Stephanie in honor of her 50^th birthday, so maybe a 50K in 50 states? I love Canada and would love to run a race in each province. Another option is to run the seven continents. Maybe I should do a race in each country in this hemisphere to start with? I feel like a kid in an candy shop. So may races, so little time. I want to be present this weekend, so that decision can wait.

Fort Benning, Georgia: here I come!!

Resonance

Recently one of my best marathon finishes was on one of the hilliest courses. It was a run in New Hampshire around Newfound Lake. I was either running uphill or down and the hills were longish and steep. But it was just right for me. I could gain momentum on the downhill and gauge the uphill ahead, plot the distance that the momentum could take me and attack the next uphill plotting the point where I would either need to walk or switch to a lower gear.
I thought about this race last weekend in Jackson, Wyoming as I plodded up the seemingly endless bike paths with maybe a 5% elevation gain. It was one of those courses where you doubt your training and stamina until later you review the course and notice that indeed it was not flat but climbed ever so slowly. After the long gradual stretches there were these little hills up to roads that crossed the bike paths. I normally love little hills, I used them to get my heart beating a little faster then pick up the pace on the inevitable down hill that follows. It felt like every little pop up hill was followed by more 5% grade. This is where I began thinking about resonance frequency. I just couldn't get into a rhythm. The sections where we were out on a road the shoulder was too narrow to trust and the paved part of the road was crowned so that the footing was never dependable.
The high altitude, 6243 feet was enough to make breathing strenuous, but not impossible. Just enough to again make you doubt yourself. I love chatting with people while running marathons. The friendships that I have formed in this journey are so priceless. I was not able to do this at first. Throughout the race I kept leapfrogging with a woman with a matching marathon maniac shirt. Hers had short sleeves and mine was a singlet. She seemed strong and was doing the Jeff Galloway run 3 minutes walk 1 minute strategy. I try to get to mile 16 then walk 100 four beats 20 four beats. On a good day this takes me one mile. Last week I started feeling week at mile 9. There were run/walkers all around me so I started my "survival shuffle" way early. The weather forecast  was 47 at the start and rain by 9 am. I have gone to races when the rain picks up and soaks you to the bone. Any exposed skin gets numb with the energy required to evaporate the rain. I decided to wear my tights and my arm sleeves. The tights are very thin and I thought that even if it was warm my sweat would cool the thin fabric. Well it never rained (until 5 minutes after I finished). So I was very warm. Maybe I should have stopped and taken my tights off. In my bedraggled mind I figured that if I had to stop at a porta-pot again ( I had stopped three times already when I started feeling warm) I would take them off and tie them around my waist.
By mile 20 I was plodding along trying to just break up the last 6.2 miles in my head into doable chunks. The cut-off for the race was 6 hours and I was a little worried that I wouldn't make it. I went by the aid station and my twin (younger looking and stronger) but in the pink marathon maniac shirt was sitting on a park bench. She invited me to join them and I said that I wouldn't be able to get back up. Soon she caught up to me and we started talking. Resonance, it is so interesting how when you find someone at your own pace it seems that you were destined to meet and how often you have shared such similar backgrounds that your parallel lives were destined to intersect. We talked about jobs and family. We told each other about our sons. Her's was born with cerebral palsy and she shared her guilt at leaving him. I told her about losing Brian and how the guilt of leaving him and Stacy to move to Manistique still haunts me. We talked about our supportive husbands and our running friends. We crossed the finish line together and shared Facebook contact information. Cory Hove took our picture and the sky opened up and it poured.
The next day she posted the awesome picture that Cory took.... Two days later she posted that her son had passed away. Lovely lady, how hard it is to lose a baby. We try to make them whole and make their lives perfect. They bless us in an infinite number of ways. Our lives are so full through them and with them. When they are gone....
We both have other children to brag about and dote on. The wound will heal but the void will always be there. My son's voice resonates in my memory "Take better care of yourself Mom." How can I do that when the very soul of me was gutted? I run. I fill that void, incompletely with amazing people. My Stacy has grown to be an amazing woman. She has blossomed in ways that fills those empty areas with joy. Katie, Brian's wife is still finding her way. Longing for the love that she lost.
Thank you Denise Carter for finishing the race with me. May your pain be eased with peace and love.

Triple Play

I often joke about the idea that I am running so many marathons that I don't have time to train. When you talk to a distance runner don't ask how many miles they run a day, rather ask them how many miles they run per week. A typical training schedule calls for 40-50miles per week at the end of the cycle. When people ask me how many miles per week lately my honest answer is 26.2 miles. My last marathon was Illinois in April so theoretically I had 6 weeks to actually train for June's trifecta. I ran 16 marathons in the last 365 days and my times kept getting slower. I was hoping to have time to rest and train enough to get back into the five hour range. My spring schedule is full. I teach full time, tutor high school and college students and. I coach the Junior High boys track team. Realistically resting is not possible, but I did manage to get a couple of long runs in.
Gary teases me about over planning the trips that I drag him on. But this time I didn't have any idea where we were staying. I bought the tickets to Hawaii and registered us for the races, but beyond that as of the end of school I had nothing.
May 31 was the last day of school, so the next day I made the arrangements for inter islands air travel. We called up Uncle David to see if we could stay with him Thursday night on the way to Nebraska. Then we left. Talk about a leap of faith. The smart phone and the navigation on the BMW would be our tools to make up the itinerary as we went.
The car was full of camp gear, clothes for all kinds of weather.
Uncle David spoiled us with Wisconsin hospitality and bratts. Uncle David and I enjoyed finishing off a bottle of wine and I woke up the next morning reminding myself to rehydrate for tomorrow's marathon. We had a nine hour drive to Nebraska to get to the packet pickup. The trip from Wausau west is getting very familiar to us and we made good time to where we needed to turn south to Cherry County, Nebraska. The expo was is a saddle shop in Valentine, Nebraska. The smells of leather boots triggered memories from my youth. Gary decided to volunteer to help during the race and the race director gave him his assignment. He would be in charge of aid station at mile nine. They gave him a tee-shirt and race packet. We asked about camping and got great directions to a campground on a reservoir and on a Friday night we were the only campers. I think everyone else checked the weather channel. It blew all night long, so I had maybe an hour of sleep and a wine hangover to start the triple trip.
I have to be honest, I was thinking that I was going to die. But Gary brought me to the start out in the middle of cow pastures. It was dark and we were the first people there. The only thing that made us think that it might be the start was a pair of portajohns on a trailer. We parked and I made sure that the pot worked. Soon other runners showed up and one fellow was carrying a shotgun. I wasn't sure what that was about. The sun came up and the wind picked up. We lined up and at 7:16 the kid with the gun said on your mark get set and BOOM. We took off. My plan was to stay hydrated as much as I could with Gatorade. My stomach was having a hard time digesting the grassfed Nebraska angus steak that Gary and I shared the night before. I was a little nervous about how much support for portajohns there would be as my tummy churned. The three mile aid station had a portajohn and about a mile up the road the portajohns from the start passed me:-) every pair of portajohns were on a trailer and pulled behind a truck. So they had a total of six portajohns and they leapfrog through the marathon. When the last runners pass the John they pull it to the lead runners aid station.
What a great system! With the anxiety about tummy issues solved I could relax and enjoy myself. The course was lovely, rolling pastures dotted with windmills. The road was trimmed with wildflowers and the cattle grazing in the fields would come over to check us out. One beautiful bull was bellowing to a rival bull in the next field so for fun I mooed seductively to him and he started galloping towards me. I looked away and picked up the pace. He got bored and jogged back over to face his rival. This race could be hot, but the weather that day was amazing. Breezy, some sun, ideal. Then the finish brought the best surprise, the finisher award is a spur with the race information engraved in it. They had a grill with angus burgers and I saw someone with a beer. "Donde estan Los cervesas?" I don't know why I asked in Spanish but the fellow who I asked cracked up and had his wife bring me a beer. He gave Gary one too. We met the financial advisor who was the sponsor of the portajohn parade. He was voted the best of show,...really... And I didn't even get to vote.

All Points West

One of the challenges of running this nation is to fit the races in a teacher's calendar, with a teacher's budget. Paul Misur is a good friend and fifty states runner who has added the goal of completing each marathon in less than four hours: 50<4. When we compared calendars he suggested that Gary and I could save money by driving west, running a couple of races then take advantage of cheap airline tickets to Hawaii. It seemed silly until I did my homework and found that there were two races on consecutive weekends the week before the Kona marathon. In 2013 the marathon calendars listed Sandhills, Nebraska and Estes Park, Colorado on the first two weekends in June. The first of the three marathons to open
their registration was Kona, so I registered early. Then. January 14, I received an email that Sandhills was opening. I couldn't get a confirmation on my phone and decided to wait until the next morning to register at the computer at work. I get to my classroom by 7:30am and logged on to the website and the race had filled in ten hours!! Argh!! Panic and desperation set in. I am not the kind of runner that bothers race directors, but I posted a tweet and an email begging to be able to register. Andrew, the race director was very nice and allowed me a second chance. Phew, now all I had to do was arrange air travel and wait for the Estes Park to open. By the end of February the calendars that I was watching changed the date of the Estes Park Marathon to June 21! Again, panic! I couldn't be in Kona on Sunday and Colorado on Saturday. No problem, Colorado has so many marathons that plan B would be easy to figure out. I pulled down calendars for Colorado marathons from every online source that I could find. I posted a plea on the Marathon Maniacs website for a Colorado race on June 14. I need to be entirely honest, there is a race in Colorado on June 14: The Leadville Trail Marathon. I love running trail marathons, but realize that they can be tough. This one has three huge elevation gains. It's elevation chart goes from 10,500 to 12,500, back down to 10,500 then up to 13,500, back to 10,500, up to 12,500 then back down to 10,500. They had an 8:30 time limit so I thought I could make it happen. I registered and arranged airline travel from Denver to Hawaii.

Five Friends and Sunshine

This Marathon came with a challenge. If we wanted to take the I-challenge we would get another t-shirt and two more medals.

 

Illinois With the Yoopers and a SCooper

ROAD TRIP!!

My marathon adventures come in a few varieties. This weekend I'm headed to Illinois with the Krusic sisters: Chris, Donna and Nancy. We are going to pick up Paul from South Connecticut in Milwaukee in route to Campaign-Urbana for the Christie Clinic-Illinois Marathon. We have shared previous adventures including the Connecticut/Rhode Island double in 2012. Some of my all-time favorite marathons were shared with these awesome people. 

New Jersey Vortex

New Jersey is my 43rd state and Ocean Drive Marathon is my fiftieth marathon. Last week was my most challenging event to date and this weekend will be the most challenging travel adventure so far. This winter I was stranded twice due to winter storms. The polar vortex weather patterns wreaked havoc on my schedule. I was planning on running the George Washington Birthday Marathon in Maryland February 16, but first my flight was cancelled then they cancelled the race.
Winter was loosening it's grip on the Atlantic coast. The weather forecast was for 48 degrees for the whole day and partly sunny. After freezing the week before in the desert I came prepared for any kind of weather. My friend Melinda from California was going to run a marathon in Maryland on Saturday and I offered to come to pick her up after going to the expo to get our numbers. Google maps said that it would be a 4.5 hour drive from the expo to Cumberland.
I am still fighting off the cold, but feeling strong and physically ready to run. My flight got in touch Philadelphia at 11:30 and I was scheduled to pick up the rental car at midnight. Hertz was amazing as always and upgraded me from an economy car to a new Honda CRV. My phone navigation took me directly to the hotel in Atlantic City without a hitch...until... I pulled into the hotel parking lot and the lot was full. People were parked two deep, blocking each other in their spots. Even before I opened the door of the car I could feel the music vibration shaking my steering wheel. As I tried to find a place to park people were leaving the hotel. Young couples with children in strollers leaving a hotel at one in the morning?? Maybe a birthday party with deafening throbbing music? I followed a family to their car and took their parking spot. I was confused but exhausted. As I walked into the lobby the lobby was an entrance to a teen hip-hop night club. There was even more pounding music mixing with the other music. Teen couples were making out in every corner and doorway.
The young man behind the front desk welcomed me. Good thing I can sometimes read lips. I could see the surveillance cameras behind him and the party with young children was still rocking with hundreds of preteens line dancing. I expressed my concerns about the noise but he assured me that the doors into the hotel are would keep the sounds out. I was skeptical but exhausted. He then informed me that I had two rooms reserved. I assured him that I only reserved one room. He said that I would have to call customer service and he was going to charge my card for both rooms. Remember this entire conversation was being shouted out over two loud music scenes. I took my key and the number to the room. The hotel was recently renovated with granite tiles covering all the walls, but the door jams were rusting metal giving a feeling of rot peeking out under a rock facade. The music was still very loud and I was upset with the fellow at the front desk. I called customer service at two in the morning. They couldn't cancel the reservation and told me that the hotel management could do that for me. She did make a reservation at a different hotel for the next day.
By 4am I was able to fall asleep and woke up at 7:30 to my phone ringing. it was Melinda. She was letting me know that she had found a ride from Maryland to New Jersey after the race. I was so relieved that I fell right back to sleep. Fifteen minutes later my phone rang again and Melinda said that the woman had changed her mind. Argh, I was sure that there was a good reason so I got up and headed down to breakfast. The food was aweful. White bread, mass produced muffins and week coffee. I decided not to try eating any of it. I went back to the room, showered and checked out. The young lady that was manning the front desk was very accommodating and understood that I was cancelling the reservation due to a need for rest the day before a marathon. I sat down in the lobby to get my bearings and to do one last check before hitting the road. As I sat there I heard the young woman relate my story to the manager,I think she was getting some grief about letting me out of my reservation, but her help was certainly appreciated and I went on my way.
There was a long white paint mark were someone had opened their car door into the rental car. What a lovely hotel!
I couldn't wait to get on my way. I found the Expo location fairly quickly. the GPS took me on two lane roads through every little berg, but it was a scenic drive. The expo opened at 10am and I was there as they unlocked the doors. I grabbed Melinda's number with no problems and bought a lovely emerald green pair of Gel Nimbus 15s. I got back into the car and the navigation on the phone said that I would be to Cumberland,Maryland by 2:30pm. I got on the highway and headed north. The GPS told me that I was headed in the wrong direction. I thought maybe there was a construction detour and so I kept heading north. New Jersey is a peninsula and I knew to get across the bridge I'd need to head to Philadelphia again. The phone kept telling me to exit the highway and head south. Normally I take a google map print out with me, but I was beginning to trust the new cell phone's navigation and I figured that it would get me where I needed to go eventually. Finally I gave in and followed the insisting voice and exited the Highway. Well I zigzagged in a westerly direction, but it was a bit southerly which worried me. After an hour and a half I reached the end of the road. I mean the end of the road at a ferry terminal. I asked the person in the guard shack where I was. He said that the ferry would take me to Delaware. I explained that I was trying to head to Maryland and he said that the ferry would take less time then going back up to the bridge to Delaware. I was so tired that I decided to pay the $31 and take the ferry. The next departure was at 1:00 and that would give me some time to eat lunch and maybe I could take a nap on the ferry.
The young men that working at the little cafe made me a bowl of chili and a turkey sandwich. We talked about my marathon adventures and they were my only true New Joisey folks with a lovely Cape May da' hoppah accent. The gift shop gave me some maps of the Cape May area and maps of Maryland and Delaware.
When Brian and Stacy were little John and I spent every summer with them on our boat on the Great Lakes and the North Channel in Canada. We took rides on the ferry called the Chi-Chi Mon (Big Canoe) and it never failed that by the end of the trip Brian would have met some of the crew and he would be captaining the vessel. This ferry that I found myself on was very much like the Chi-Chi-Mon. I had brought some of Brian's ashes with me to spread at the race, but this unexpected boat trip was a much better chance to remember him. I waited until we were well away from shore and found the wind was blowing off the port side so I went downwind to let his ashes catch the wind. It was a grey and dismal day, I was tired and feeling sorry for myself so I just let myself sob, the sound of the boat motor and the wind and waves drowned out my pitiful mourning. I walked around the deck by myself until I composed myself and went to find a spot to take a nap. In the cabin their were very nice reclining chairs and I thought that I could curl up and make myself comfortable. I closed my eyes and almost fell asleep, but there were some happy energetic people who were talking to the security guard about running marathons. Ugh, they were in the happy euphoric state of sharing adventures with beautiful strangers that I love to do, but my heart was heavy and my cells just wanted sleep induced oxygen. I decided to relocate down to my rented CRV and take a nap. As I lay down in the car on the slightly rolling deck I tasted the sensation of being rocked to sleep that I used to experience on the Ambiance and Anastasia those years ago when my babies where young.
I woke to the sound of the ships horn signalling to dock. I checked my watch and figured that I could be to Cumberland in two and half hours.  Poor Melinda, I wouldn't get there until after 4pm. My cell phone had gone dead so I plugged it into the car charger as I drove the car off of the ferry. I had four texts from Melinda asking me to call her. I pulled over in a Walgreens and gave her a call. Melinda's original person that offered her a ride saw her in the lobby of the host hotel and again offered her a ride.
Wonderful, can be expressed twoways: one with a groan and one in excitement. Both feelings came from my soul. I felt like daffy duck slobbering and confused, and all of my mental gears were shifting thinking, what do I do now? I wasn't sure, but the realization that my best way back to New Jersey was back on the ferry popped into my confused brain. I didn't think urgently about it until I bought my ticket at the ferry booth and saw no cars waiting to board. I said to the women who sold me the ticket, "Not a very full boat, eh?" She said "Oh yes it is, but everyone is already ready to sail, you have a minute to get on deck. And there are no more ferries tonight!"
"Thank You!!" I was so grateful that she let me back on the boat.
In this brief moment in Delaware I realized that I ran by that exact ferry terminal in December when I ran the Rehoboth Beach Marathon for Delaware. This trip I brought my charger up to the cabin and charged my phone. I struck up a conversation with some lovely young men from Pittsburgh who watched my charging phone while I went to the bathroom. I got back to the Jersey Shore by 4:30, laughing at myself and rested. I decided to go back to the expo in Wildwood to get early start forms and to see about doing Melinda's friend a favor and pick-up her race shirt.
I wasn't sure where I was relative to the expo until I turned on my Navigation. I was only 9 miles from the expo!! It had taken me 90 minutes to drive in a big circle that took me right back to where I started from.
Melinda and Deborah were due to arrive around 7 so I decided to go to my hotel and check in.
It was a Knights Inn in Atlantic City. After the experience from the night before I though it would be wise to check it out in daylight. It was similar to the hotel from the night before. Fancy cars (drug dealer rides?) and run down cars. I noticed a few runners so I felt a little better. I took my bag out of the car and decided to find dinner. I drove downtown Atlantic City and got really bad vibes. Casinos and strip joints and no women. I mean I did not see one female. I saw a subway and went in to buy a sub for dinner and again, no women. I got back into my car and ate my sub at the hotel. When I came back to my room the fellow behind the desk asked me how my evening was going. I said fine, I was looking forward to resting and getting ready for my race tomorrow. He looked at me with concerned eyes and said "Well, I'm having an awful evening . We've got some people here tonight who are going to give me trouble." I took note of that tip and went to the room. I have rituals the night before a run. I set out my bib, pin on the number and make sure everything is in order.
As the sun started to set the rooms above my room started rockin and rollin. I really think that people were bumping and grinding in the room above me. Not just a couple but many people. I put everything back into the bag and checked out of the hotel. Deborah and Melinda were having a rough ride on the dark rainy roads. Melinda asked if I could come get her. Unfortunately I didn't know where she was. Deborah gave me the address of her hotel so we met there. In the mean time as I was driving I found another hotel 10 miles from the start. I booked it. We reached Deborah's hotel at the same time. It turned out that she had a room with two double beds and a couch. We decided to stay with her. I was so glad to put my head on the pillow.

The Power of Angels

I am wrapping up three weekends of marathons in 22 days. If you know me well you know that I've had similar schedules before without much trouble. My lovely supporter and biggest hero Gary has taken care of me in some marvelous adventures. We have gone out west twice for a total of six marathons, camped, backpacked, climbed mountains and hiked with bears. This weekend in New Jersey and last weekend in New Mexico with work in between held more challenges than I expected. You would think that sleeping on the ground, bathing in mountain lakes, and eating fast food and Mountain House freeze dried rations would wear me out, but my best finish times have been on those weeks on the road. I felt wonderful for ten days after Lower Potomac River Marathon and kept up with my training schedule. Then on the Tuesday night before New Mexico my throat began to hurt. By the next morning I was coughing. For years I have taken Echinacea when I feel the first symptom of a cold. I still get sick but it lasts three days instead of three weeks.
With my schedule of two races in eight days I knew that it would be a great testimony to the benefit of my new nutritional system. I've been taking reliv shakes under the supervision of Marco Riolo, my reliv coach. I feel strong and more annoyed by the tickling in my throat, than anxious. The friend who I caught the cold from texted and said that her cough had turned into a bronchial and ear infection. Gary and I said goodbye as I headed to New Mexico for my 49th Marathon in my 42nd state.
I felt badly for the person that had to sit next to me on the flight to El Paso, but she was a lovely young woman from Cincinnati who followed her dreams and got a degree in music and is a professional piano accompanist. She was going to be working in El Paso for three weeks on a production of "La Boheme."
There were many service men and women on the flight and I imagined that they were going to be marching in the Death March on Sunday.
They were such disciplined dedicated people. Our country is blessed by their service. I deplaned in El Paso and headed for the hotel kiosk and dialed the hotel. They had no record of my reservation. I thought I might have not remembered the name of the hotel and tried another property with Wyndham. I was not in their system either. I tried the first hotel again and Juan found my reservation... I reserved the room on the wrong weekend! I was scheduled to arrive the following week! Juan was wonderful and gave me the room for the same price. I checked in at 10:30pm and went to bed. As I lay there over stimulated by my near debacle, I sat up in the dark. I realized that I probably did the same thing for tomorrows reservation in Las Cruces, La Quinta. I got out of bed, logged on to the internet and checked out my reservation. Ugh!! I did make the same mistake.
Let it be known that La Quinta's on-line reservation system is wonderful! It let me change from next weekend for two nights, to tomorrow for one!
Disaster averted! I'm meeting John Points at the airport tomorrow and I am sure plan B would have been to stay with him, but that would have been uncomfortable and awkward. Of the many runners that I have met on my journey, my Oklahoma friends are precious to me. They form a community for me like a church home. I have not been successful finding a place in Manistique to worship. Gary does not attend church and I feel exposed and vulnerable going to church in our little town by myself.
Integrity and principles provide the fortitude to endure and the marchers on Sunday had an exercise in both. The directive from our commander was to be at the staging area by O-five hundred. Anyone attempting to access the arena by then would be denied entry. We parked the car at 4:55 and needed to find a porta-pottie ASAP. The line was moving forward slowly because one door was closed with no one inside. We tried to Jimmie it open but it wouldn't cooperate. Maniac Dave persisted and found us later to let us know that he got in. It was about 45 degrees as we waited for the toilets, but we went to the coral for civilian marchers too early. The wind picked up and the temperature dropped to 38 degrees. It was spectacular to see the American flag blowing with the granite hills ikn the indigo dusky light. Calories were flowing out of our shivering limbs for two hours before the official start. The ceremony was amazing and the 6700 marchers huddled together began our shared challenges together with the memory of four years that the"Battling Bastards of Bataan" endured at the hands of the Japanese.
I came prepared to face the desert heat and I feel that I was flirting with hypothermia. I put my arms in my tee shirt and my buff on my head and we slowly began to run. On our right at the start was some disruption in the movement.I heard someone say that there were some of the survivors there wishing us well. The soldiers in their camo were shaking hands with them. I had bright pink colors on and the ninety four year old survivor saw me and reached for me. I gave him a kiss on the cheek and thanked him for his sacrifice.
I shuffled along with the camo clad service men and women. They were carrying fifty pounds and were marching shoulder to shoulder. This made running difficult. I don't wear a Garmin during races, but I would be curious to find out how far I really ran. Between zig zagging around them and trying to find firm ground to avoid soft sand and gravel oh, and my g.i. track was acting up so I took a few detours in the desert to find a bush large enough to squat behind. My bright pink shirt gave my intentions away. Most of the marchers were looking down at the rocks and sand, but I still felt exposed.
The first eight miles were a big rectangle of sand and gravel then we came to a highway. I kept up a pretty good pace to this point, but it felt good to be onto the asphalt. I began to feel out of breath. I was hoping that the dry desert air would help with the drainage from my cold. I slogged along, John and I caught up with Angie another marathon maniac. We walked for a while with her. I couldn't believe how exhausted I was feeling. Then we looked back at where we had just been an we had climbed up to an amazing view of the missile base in the valley framed by granite hills. It made me feel better to know that my fatigue was justified by a climb. We got to the twelve mile marker in three hours. We headed back into the desert and the rolling hills were a welcome change. We ran for a while with a Coast Guard service man, and some paratroopers, some German troops and tons of National Guardsmen. At mile fourteen there was an oasis in the desert. We were told to bring money for a burger and soda. John got a burger but with my tummy issues I thought a hot dog sounded better. I got a can of Gatorade and a bag of Sunchips. The electrolyte drink that they were serving on the course was horrible and the sugar in the Gatorade gave me a burst of energy. The next six miles were beautiful rolling hills. We kept hearing people talking about the two miles of sand. We hit it at mile twenty one. It was very hard for me. The dry sand that you slip back on as you plod forward. I walked the two miles and was exhausted by the time I got through it. John was looking strong and I encouraged him to go on ahead. He refused and stayed with me to the end. About a mile from the end he noticed that if we ran the last mile in twelve minutes we would be under seven hours. I don't think I managed a fifteen minute mile, but my official time was 6:59:28. Yeah!! Amazing experience. There was a survivor at the finish line. I kissed him on the cheek and thanked him. I want to march again. Hopefully I will be healthy and I will bring a blanket to the opening ceremony. I still see camo when I close my eyes.

Lower Potomac River Marathon

Maryland
Sunday March 9, 2014
48th marathon, 41st state
This is the first state that took two tries to finish. One of my favorite running quotes is, "The miracle isn't that I finished the race, the miracle is that I had the courage to begin." An addendum to this is it takes as much energy, God's grace, and support from loved ones to make it to the start as it does to finish. I impose my quixotic journey on my friends and family and they are my angels and champions.
I was signed up to run the George Washington Birthday Marathon. We had Presidents Weekend off of school and I was so excited to spend the four days with my cousin Clark and Elisa and their girls Makala and Tori. It was going to be even more amazing because his brother Brian was going to be in town and I haven't seen him in years. I am between them in age and Brian spent a summer helping my father build a house and we hung out and bonded. We were close enough that when my son was born I gave him my strong cousins name.
As adults we have not found the time and space to be together, but one of the luxuries of shared genetics is when we are together the moments of uncomfortable distance seems to disappear and the energy that resonates with our souls wash the unfamiliar discomfort away and all we feel is the deep and grateful love that goes beyond understanding.
I woke up at 3:00 a.m. ready for a snowy drive to the airport. I grabbed the phone off of the charger right when a text popped up. It was Delta saying that my flight was cancelled! Shnikies! I got on the phone with the airline and by 4:30 a.m I had booked another flight for Saturday. There was no need to try to go back to bed so I decided to see what was going on in the world and the weather in Maryland. It was going to be fairly warm by Sunday but it was snowing there. This year has been defined by cancelled marathons so I decided to check the website to see if they might have posted something. Sure enough! In bold red letters, the race was cancelled! Argh! Now I had to see if I could cancel my flights, reregister for another Maryland marathon and rebook flights, and ask for a day off. By bedtime I was wired, but all set to run the Lower Potomac River Marathon, March 9.
Clark and Elisa welcomed me. I didn't get to see Brian, but if you see this Bubba it will happen.
It is so interesting to find yourself looking at your little cousin all grown up and marvelously successful. Clark and Elisa are such a blessed couple. Being in their house with their girls for just two days was like salve on wounds of confusion. As children our families are extensions of our identity and family get-togethers are love filled affairs with little ones sharing baths, sleds, touch football and baseball. Never any sign of drama or discord. Then as an adult you begin to sense misunderstanding, distrust, and dysfunction under the silver lining of love. Being in the Risner home rekindled that childlike hope in harmony and love.
I was tired from travel and went to bed at 9:30. When I went downstairs to get my prerace bagel, I saw that the girls had made me signs for me on the race course. My heart was filled with happiness!
So much acceptance I still can't stop smiling. I brought each of them a Snow Angel Snowshoe Race shirt and they all wore them to dinner. Lovely Tori had her shirt on until I left. Both girls impressed me so much! Kayla at 18 is a manager of a Chic Filet. Very vivacious and outgoing. Tori is more introspective and at 16 is showing the graceful serious spirit that with the confidence that will blossom slowly into an awesome young woman. They truly reflect the beautiful parents that they are blessed with.
I had the luxury of long car rides with Clark. Like I mentioned above as teenagers I spent a lot of time with Brian, but Clark and I didn't have enough time then to bond. Now that I am all grown up, ha, ha... I feel so excited that I have had that chance. I hope there will be more opportunities to get our family members together. I have always been proud of my Uncle Richard's sons, and felt sad that we weren't able to raise our children to have the same blissful times, but perhaps our grandchildren will be enriched with family time.

Calendar:

My count down if all goes according to plan is:

10. March 9, 2014          Lower Potomac River Run               Piney Point, Maryland

9. March 23, 2014          Bataan Memorial Death March       White Sands, New Mexico

8. March 30, 2014          Ocean Drive Marathon                     Ocean City, New Jersey

7. April 26, 2014             Illinois Christie Clinic Marathon       Champaign, Illinois 

6. June 7, 2014               Sand Hills Marathon                         Cherry County, Nebraska

5. June 14, 2014             Leadville Trail Marathon                   Leadville, Colorado

4. June 22, 2014             Kona Coffee Marathon                     Kona, Hawaii

3. August 10, 2014         E. T. Full Moon Midnight Marathon  Rachel, Nevada          

2. August 30, 2014         Jackson Hole Marathon                    Jackson, Wyoming

1. November 9, 2014    Soldiers' Marathon                         Fort Benning, Goergia       

I ran my first 5K ten years ago, the Big Rapids River Run. This year, with God's Grace and safe travels, I will run my 57th Marathon in my 50th State of these United States of America. This Blog will be my personal memoir and reflection into that journey. I have 10 states to go and thought this would be a fitting time to begin relating my journey as it crescendos towards this finish. As I reach this milestone I find myself at an interesting time in my life. I am a 50 year old woman fighting off the ravages of menopause, considering retirement, and loving the adventures that life has brought me.

Ten States to Go

This weekend I am heading to run my 48th marathon in Maryland, my 41 state. I will pack my book bag tonight with as little as possible and get up at 3am tomorrow morning to make the 6am flight from Escanaba. This routine is so soothing and exciting at the same time. I know I may face freezing rain on the roads tomorrow, flight delays and rerouting. But I can't wait for the possibility of meeting people who are booked already to sit next to me on the flight, joke with the car rental folks, be welcomed by my amazing family who I will be staying with and that is all before the race gun goes off. Actually I hear that this race is hosted by a Korean Club and the start is with a gong, I LOVE IT!
So much to share. I want this to be a symphony of life to bounce off of your souls and resonate with your spirits. I want you to feel with me the joy of a mediocre runner stretching the limits of this existence.