July Newsletter, 2011

·         Like NWFTC on Facebook! 

·         Interested in volunteering?  We could use some help for the upcoming races, email president@nwftc.com to help out!

·         There was no newsletter in May. Computer issues were to blame. If you have free time and a computer, you could become the next newsletter editor. Ask one of the officers.

Announcements

·   Tony Bordogna is still collecting race T-Shirts to send out west. He’ll collect clean shirts, any and all sizes, jackets, sweats, etc. Bring them to any of the club races. They will be boxed up and sent out right after Bowlegs.

·   We normally don’t publish a June/July newsletter. It seems everyone is too busy with suffering through the heat and humidity trying to train and there aren’t many races either, Oh, and many are off taking vacations too. Well, as the result of computer problems, you didn’t get a May newsletter so we are sending out (at least) a July newsletter.

·   The Blackbird Memorial 8K was held on 6/11/2011 at The Landing in Ft Walton Beach. It was a unique distance for a summer race but that was because the 8^thSpecial Operations Squadron at Hurlburt Field organized the event. It was a successful race with over 200 participants crossing the finish line. You can see results athttp://www.blackbirdmemorial.com

·   Don’t forget about the Election Run on Aug 13 at 6:00 p.m. at El Matador Condominiums. Once again, it will be a 5K Prediction Run up Santa Rosa Blvd and back, through a few neighborhoods. You must contact Brian McMahon (treasurer@nwftc.com) by Aug 11^th if you intend on participating. This is two-fold: we need to purchase enough meats and El Matador requires and access list by Aug 12^th. Please don’t wait until the very last minute. The Track Club provides the meats, beverages, and disposables. Bring a side dish or dessert to share.

Welcome to Our New Members and Recent Renewals

Alyce Halliday Fields    Mark Stogsdill               Steven Rausch           Jim & Bonnie Cardow

Mark & Ava Compton  Kathy Harkleroad         Ronnie Leslie             Richard & Kathy Duke

Kim Stransky                Charles Batson              Velina Sweatt             Lee & Carole Wright

Leslie Morton                Tiffany Plunkett            The Fraser Family      Joe Hill Jr.

Moller/Fields Family     Lisa Lewis                     Lauren Nicholson      Keller Family

The Johnston Family     Connie Nieto                 The Crist Family        The Mitchell Family

Karen & Lance Burdette

The Following is a list of our Members Celebrating Anniversaries

This list goes up thru July 31  (Hint-Time to Renew!)

Henry Hannisee            Robin & Kyle Kramer    Greg Barnes            Caroline & Gary Dietzen

John Wimmers              Nancy Skinner                The Lenz Family     Jasmin Roser  

Snyder Family               Denise Pifer                    Katie Hopper           The Logan Family

Rob & Patti Bohnsack   Coral Chumbley             Lynn Burdick          Tammi Croteau

Earnestine Carswell       Michelle Davis                Pat Schaller             Lydia Wood

The Polite Family          Jolyon Thornhill             Risa Garner             Jamie & Angela Huggins

Patrick McCorry            Randy Frith                     The Scott Family     Richard Dickinson

The Arkin Family          The Cox Family              Tom Kaltenbach      The Wild Family

Ashley Smith                 Richard Rounsaville       The Campfields       Al & Carol Stearns

Gigi Blalock                  Caroline Levesque          Jim & Diana Grant  Jason Stokes   

The Evans/Winters Family                                   Steve Rogers/Laurie Gaviola          

                                      Flying Pig Marathon and Half-Marathon

Cincinnati Ohio

May 2011

Once upon a time in the fairy tale city of Cincinnati... (oh wait, wrong story).  This about a marathon called the Flying Pig, in a town nicknamed "Porkopolis."  Cincinnati takes the Flying Pig serious, or as serious as you can when everything has a pig theme.  Everything.  People wear pig costumes, noses, tails, you name it.  Highly decorated pig statues are everywhere.  Everything pig.

Okay, the marathon.  Bonnie and I picked the Flying Pig Marathon and Half-Marathon for this year's trip, part of our "buy American" plan to ensure money stays in this country.  This was the 13th running of the Pig.  Let me say from the start, this is a great marathon and a well-supported event.

We watched the weather carefully.  April had been the wettest April on record for the city, the rivers were rising.  At the Cincinnati Reds baseball game on Friday night we heard several worrisome issues: the rising river had caused the fireworks display to be canceled (launching pad flooded),  rising water could cause bridges to flood and the course for the marathon to be rerouted, rain was expected at 6 AM on Sunday (race start is 6:30).  Bonnie said if it rained, she'd wait for me under the covers and watch the marathon on TV.

On Sunday morning at 5 we checked the weather; it was in the mid-60s but no rain.  We had a short walk to the starting line from our hotel, still no rain.  Right after we dropped off our bags, the rain came.  Oh well.

The starting line is just outside the Bengal's stadium.  A crowd of about 10,000 had gathered for the start of the marathon, half-marathon and marathon relay.  Great music, plenty of porta potties, but a very difficult time getting into the starting corrals (if you hid from the rain too long).  Once started, the course passes the Reds stadium, over the first bridge into Kentucky, through Covington, over a small bridge, back over a larger bridge that bounced with thousands of runners and back into the city.  Okay, that took care of the flat part of the race.  The rest was hills.  Oh, and somewhere in there Bonnie got rained on again, but I didn't-or don't remember it.

Hills. ( Yeah, I did look at the elevation map, but those of you that know me know I don't pay attention.)  Miles 1 to 5 have a very gradual rise of maybe 50 feet.  Miles 5 to 8.5 go up another 300 feet, in some rapid climes.  We just don't get much hill work here do we?  Somewhere in that climb I was struggling up

a short, tough climb.  I was about to walk when I looked in front of me.  Immediately at eye-level was the back of a girl's shirt with the message "Suck it up Buttercup."  I had to laugh and take the hill, and those that followed.  From there the course roller coasters back down to the river.  I had a faster second half than my first half.

Bonnie's half split off around mile 9 and went back to the city and the river, somehow going uphill again the whole way.  Ask her!

All events finish back at the sports complex along the river.  A good finish line, great medal, and a nice party along the river.  I hoped to hit about 4 hours, I was really close (and I claim the course was long at 26.5 miles--so I made it).  Bonnie did great, but had a lot more hills and rain.  Course support, water stops, cheering, expo, everything was great.  I'd highly recommend this one, but train for the hills, or suck it up buttercup and bring your “squeal.”

 Back to "Buy American" we tried really hard to buy only American made products.  Sadly, the marathon expo and souvenir shops didn't carry many American made products.  In a city built on industry, I find that sad.

Billy Bowlegs 2011

Bowlegs participants with over 10 years                Overall winners Adam Saloom (3x) and Lisa

             running the event                                   Lewis with Winston Howell (run all 37 Bowlegs)

The View From Behind

by Trey

     The View From Behind

     Back in the saddle again is easier said than done.  I spent 14 weeks with little to no running, gained a ton of weight, got a new set of custom orthotics made, started running again ever so slowly, and decided that entering Azalea would be wise.  And while it may not have been the smartest thing to do for my foot, it sure did wonders for my head.  I think as long as expectations are tempered, disappointment can be minimized.  I have run the Azalea Trail Run thirteen times, and 2011 was my slowest by far.  But running pain free is a victory in itself.  I felt like I was going faster than I was, but the clock doesn't lie.  It was a very humid day, and some may use that as a reason for slower than usual finish times, but for me, I know better.  When you don't run, you slow down.  Simple.  I know runners who will not enter a race if they aren't in top shape.  I think constantly striving for PR's and awards is admirable.  But for some of us, the thrill is in the doing, and the finishing.  Not everybody can be faster every time out.  But we can all take pride in the effort, and celebrate the doing.  Work to get faster if that is your goal, or enjoy the moment for what it is.  I got a first hand lesson in what stagnation can do to me, and I know that I have to keep moving to avoid the results of it.  Still, it was better to be there than not; better to be slow than at home.  And I can always work on my time for next year.  The bus ride home was a hoot as always.  Some may think I'm crazy for wanting to sit in the back seat next to the bathroom, but it's the best seat in the house.  Everybody comes to visit when the have to go, and everybody has to go!  Once we started for home, the line for the bathroom never ended. I mean never!  There was always someone waiting to go, usually 2 or 3 people.  I guess a busload of runners, cases of beer, and a bouncy bus will do that.  

     Running again after an injury can be scary.  You remember how much it hurt every time your foot hit the ground, and while it was happening, you overcompensated to take some of the weight off of that foot.  This put extra stress on the other leg, and soon, that was sore.  An over use injury like plantar faciitis has you stepping lightly, hoping the pain won't appear this time, but until it is completely healed, it always comes back.  So with new orthotics and new shoes, I started back running.  The brain says "You can go out for your easy three mile loop just like old times", but fear of re-aggravating the foot kept me at a mile at a time.  Patience and perseverance will get me there.   

     And then there was Trailblazer.  I can remember the first time I did this event.  The finish was at the pavilion at the pond.  I had no idea what I was in for. We ran through the woods like a bunch of escaped felons, blindly trusting the person in front of us.  And that can become a problem.  All it takes is on missed arrow or ribbon, and a stubborn lead runner who refuses to slow down and admit there may have been a mistake, and before you know it, a whole group is lost.  I have never gotten lost doing this race.  Maybe it is because I'm going to slow, but then again, there are slower people behind me who get lost.  All I know is that if I go without seeing a trail mark for more than a minute or two, I stop and go back to the last mark.  It seems to work.  The trail this year was mostly the same, at least as far as I could tell.  There were times that I was completely alone, but I kept chugging along, always mindful of the markers, and finished

without incident.  Finding the right balance between looking for markers and watching your footing is crucial, and this year I had the right mix.  No spills and didn't get lost.  I hope everyone who participated in this race and got lost takes responsibility for their own misdirection.  Unless they were following someone else's lead.  Then blame yourself for choosing a poor leader, and blame him/her for getting lost!  There was a great spread of food at the finish line, as well as beer and soda.  Doing this race is one of the perks of membership, as it is free to members.  Everyone should bring a non-track club member to next year's race.  If someone can finish this event and still not want to join the NWFTC, then something is wrong with them. 

     Thanks to everyone who has asked about my foot.  I hope to see everyone at the Billy Bowlegs 5k.  It was the first race I participated in when I started running years ago, and still holds a strange draw over me.  The race has changed over the years, evolved is more like it.  For those of you who don't remember, or weren't around, it used to start on Hollywood Blvd. near the police station, and ran a straight shot down Hollywood all the way to J.C. Penney's parking lot.  And yes, it did start at midnight.  Or at least that was the plan.  Runner's parked at the mall and took busses to the start.  And of course, the race never started on time, because runners would always try to wait for the last bus.  The cost incurred in hiring the busses, and the inevitable delay in starting the race, led to a change in the course.  Several runner protested the change, but they weren't the ones putting on the event.  It was rewarding to see Gate to Gate change their course and eliminate the hassle and expense of bussing runners to the start several years later for the same reasons.  I like to think we were visionaries.  I can remember the post race in the mall parking lot was lackluster and poorly attended.  We were lucky if the awards got started by 1:30am.  And even luckier if clean-up and break down was done before 4am.  The current course, time, distance, (yes, the original distance was only 3 miles, not 5K!), location, and post race party are all improvements over the past.  Drag a friend or family member to the race this year and help them start a new tradition.  Tell them if they can't be fast, they should at least be there!