Marathoning

Wachau Marathon

Published September 29, 2019

Hillside vineyards, alpine meadows & die river Danube. Race DAY!

10k, Half & 42k distance. Sis & I would wait an hour to board a marathon bus to Emmersdorf. Rest of the trip family, an 8am start. WhatsApp pics started flooding our phones by mile 12. Family showered & beautiful by the Wonder Twins’ afternoon finish.

High sun, skies warming. Edelweiss AND fish-on-a-stick. Pre-race FISH? PipiBox – check. Kleider bus ‘bag drop’ – check, check. Last to-do’s to-done. Run ready.

Fünf, vier, drei, zwei, eins. Go, go, go!

Keep the heart rate down. Gonna get warm today. Steady even pace.

5k bike-path loop ’round Emmersdorf before darting on Austria’s B 3 river-road (Donau Bundesstraße). Easy flat course – not a Boston qualifier, but a PR for many. Road-run exposed/open to traffic. Comfortable temps early, didn’t overheat ‘til 2 hours in.

Mile 10. PipiBox queue. Managed a legit washroom for Sis at the Fire House (3 semesters of college German/I can talk toilet). Sie ist mein Schwester. LOL> Short, quick stop — oompah oompah accordion music — & on our way. Danke, viel danke.

Where are you from? Colorado, always. Folks know the Rockies. Generally takes politics outta the conversation. One officer wanted to Trump-jabber. No sprechen sie. Danke 😊

Town tour of Spitz. Waved to boats on the Donau. Whatta experience!

Mile 20. Head demons, got quiet, went dark. Notta warm weather runner. Sis tried but even Pollyanna couldn’t quell the Kraken. Was throwing water cups by 23. Took a walk break. Helped turn the frown upside down. Easy walk/jog pace last 2k into Krems.

Could hear German now, half-mile to Finish. push, PUSH, push. SEVEN on holiday, SEVEN wore medals. Well done, us! Check & done. AUSTRIA! Two kids from Possum Holler – look at us now, Ma! ❤️

Train transfer back, my Amazing Race ended. Airport hotel, flight home 5am early.

First Stop: Ukraine. Fingers crossed. Europe on a Budget.

22. Int. WACHAUmarathon 2019

Ergebnisliste Marathon – 42.195m

2019-09-29

8835 Haga Keenan USA Colorado 2:21:53 4:53:57

: marathon START

: FISH on a STICK

: Aggstein Castle

: Danube cruise

: Wehrkirche St. Michael

: Weißenkirchen

: Fire House relief

: Pipi Box 💩

: Wachau Valley wine

: die Wonder Twins

: last 2k into Krems

: push, PUSH, push

: alpine FINISH

: SEVEN medals 🥇

: thanks Sis ❤️

Wachau Marathon

Posted in Europe, Marathons/Ultras | Tagged kyrkan, watercraft | Leave a comment

Roll ‘n Roll Montréal

Published September 22, 2019

Sometimes anticipation ruins a long nite’s sleep. Rock ‘n Roll day! my first RnR event since 2015. Host hotel registered. Could see the African elites stretching outside…12 flights down. 85 & sunny this afternoon – in Montréal – closest I’d see elite athletes today. Slow, steady, hydrate.

Walk, walk, walk. Long way to my corral start. Either goofed the kilometer-mile conversion again, or gonna see thousands break the 3:15 marathon barrier. LOL> Back-of-the-pack. Walk, walk, walk. Faaaaaaar in the distance, could almost sound out the O’ Canada theme 🇨🇦

And we’d wait. And wait. 9 o’clock now. Temps warming. My corral peeps sitting on pavement. Still, lotta buzz. Runner chatter. Mix of Québécois & Toronto Anglo. Marathon day in Québec!

FIREWORKS. Voulez-vous, qu’est-ce que c’est, vive la France – & we’re off.

An hour of dodge-n-weave (no hatin’ on walkers, honest). Few mind-numbing suburbia/bike-path out-n-backs after the Halfer split – but overall, Rock ‘n Roll does a good job showcasing city sights.

Day fave? Olympic Park. Outskirts of Montréal, 1976-dated & I get crazy emotional.

Indoor Stadium ran. Olympic rings decaled near the big screen. Allez, allez, Keenan, allez. Très bon. Energy from the experience overwhelming/tear-welling. Allez, allez, Keenan, allez.

Walked part of 19. Heat struggled last 10k. Post-noon, no food & crazy humid. More fluids spewing out than going in. New PW finish time for Canada – but a FINISH & a medal. Très bon! 🏅

$20 shower negotiated at my hotel, taxi to the airport. Crazy quick turnaround.

Monday work-day, passport-readied again. Family vacation with Sis – to AUSTRIA! #noregretlife

Oasis Rock ‘n’ Roll Montreal Marathon

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Bib Name Time

22166 Keenan Haga 05:16:52

: FIREWORKS Start

: heat-struggled last 10K

: Parc Olympique

: fire engine COOLDOWN

: 6th weekend marathoning

: push PUSH push

: Vive le Montréal

: Canada Quest 2020

: Saturday EXPO

: 1500 miles away: DISCO DEADLIFT @ Bro’s gym

Roll ‘n Roll Montréal

Posted in Canada, Marathons/Ultras | Tagged sport | Leave a comment

Breck Road Marathon

Published September 15, 2019

Not often I register race-week & NEVER EVER a double. Until now.

Plan A. Motor after-work, mountain hotel, Saturday marathon, interstate-commute to Wyoming. Reality. Room-search in Colorado ski country proved crazy expensive (even in September). Plan B? 3am alarm. Road-trip! Run shorts, hydration vest, layers & a V8. Who doesn’t dig early morning tomato? LOL>

I-70 West. Denver ⇨ Continental Divide ⇨ Breckenridge. Same east-west where all the great hikes happen. Same Silverthorne exit where Ash & Tom married two years prior. Notta lotta snow on the peaks this late in summer – but WOW, whatta sunrise! Nothing/nowhere/anywhere, our Rockies. Stunning. Always.

South Gondola parking. 20-minute bus ride. Start temp just above freezing. Race elevation 10,000ft. Lodgepole pines, thin air, sun now a-blazing. First couple miles like a REVEL event – straight DOWN. But unlike REVEL, whole lotta climb thereafter. UP 800ft, down next mile. Another push UP, lungs burning/O2 searching. Colorado-native no big deal, right? Reality. BIG elevation jump – my backyard @ 5500ft vs today’s 8800ft average. Past month of flat-world running also done me no favours.

High-altitude sunshine. Muy bueno scenery. Hills? Oh mama. That last climb at mile 22? Mountain folks are crazy tough. No crocodile tears, no regret. 5-hour finish, all FIGHT, NO FAIL 💪

Gas station cola & a bag of salty chips. Journey on. Day One.

Texted a friend – please find/contact the Race Director in Cheyenne, gonna miss bib pick-up. Burning trailer near Georgetown. Highway accident. Need a Plan B. 6pm Wyoming arrival (thanks Larry).

Hotel, shower, sleeps. Sunday 5am at the Depot (RD bib meetup). Body tight/achy after Saturday’s all-day hill repeats, skin still radiating sunshine. But — I’m here. Wyoming. THIRD time this year. Cap off, National Anthem. Cowboy country & I LOVE it 😊

Day strategy. Hit it hard first Half. Walk/run after mile 15. Elevation similar to home, easy comfortable course. Tunes early. Notta lotta runners. Several miles on an empty military base. Hill at marker 9 or 10…but not Breckenridge hilly, just an incline. Day 2. Perspective. Push, push, push. 2:05 first Half. Sun high, getting warm. Legs like lead.

Walked mile 14. Called it two miles later. Sorry Cheyenne – ya deserved better. Mentally not plugged-in for a March-of-Dimes walk. Montréal next week, Europe week after.

17 miles. Check, done. Colorado HOME by noon.

Lick my wounds, run another day. Well maybe…in two or three other days. LOL>