Tick, tick, tick. Last tourist stop. Marathon bib pick-up @ MiCo (Milano Convention Centre) via Metro. Easy navigation. Modern, well-marked/labelled (used both red & yellow lines).
HUGE marathon, nice-sized Expo. NYC & San Francisco bigger, but this one – soooo international, many countries represented. Like walking a row at the UN (United Nations). Runs represented from France, Czech Republic, Switzerland, UK, Poland – and host country Italy, of course.
FREE is for ME. Entered a drawing (& WON entry) to a far far-away December location but… still gotta get there. Fingers crossed I receive a lottery ‘thumbs-up’ from JAPAN, where ideally I’d tag Continent #7 over Thanksgiving break. So it’s Osaka or Abu Dhabi (no joke). Either way, all signs pointing to SEVEN CONTINENT completion in December 2019 (life goal, half-year early).
(Strangely, geographically, much the Middle East is technically Asia.)
Just 26.2 miles of cobblestone to go AND a big plate of PASTA. Pre-race carb-loading in ITALY — HIGHLY recommended. Tomorrow we run, tonite we EAT. Gracie mille, Milano. Molto bene!
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- MiCo bib pick-up
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- International Expo
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- tomorrow we RUN 🏃
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- tonite we EAT 🍴
Milan Running Festival
“Dogs do speak, but only to those who know how to listen” – Orhan Pamuk
dig a good Reuben ❤️
March 2019 update: After marathoning 63 consecutive months, the streak ‘lived or died’ on March 30th. Wise words from Dave Bell haunted me all week: ‘never schedule your marathon last week of a month.’ STRESSFUL lesson learned. Had Saturday’s all-day RAIN EVENT included lightning, the buck would have stopped in Carmel, Indiana. Yikes! Too close for comfort.
Dave Bell? The guy who’s streaking ahead of me – by 8 FULL years. All hail the Chief.
February/March training miles met, but no progress on past sins.
Little too late? Memorial Day is comin’ fast!
Next month: Italy 🍝 🇮🇹 Eat, eat, eat!
Race ReCap: 3 medals, 1 DNF. Arkansas, Arizona & Indiana. 4 states shy of all 50 😊
Marathoning Streak: 64 months; EVERY month, FIVE+ years.
Mileage ReCap: ended March at 1675 miles (only 605 miles to GO!)
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- ended March at 1675 miles
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- my postcard journey
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- Mile 1675: Winslow, AZ
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- niece & nephew holidaying in sunny Dominican Republic
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- dog MODEL 🌟
Marathon Calendar:
- 04/07/2019 Milano Marathon (Milan, ITALY)
- 04/27/2019 Frisco Railroad 50k (Willard, Missouri)
- 05/05/2019 Eau Claire Marathon (Eau Claire, Wisconsin)
- 05/17/2019 Nutmeg State Marathon (Hartford, Connecticut)
- 05/19/2019 Colfax Marathon (Denver, Colorado)
- 05/26/2019 Rocky Mountain 50k (Laramie, Wyoming)
- 06/02/2019 Deadwood Mickleson Trail Marathon (Deadwood, South Dakota)
- 06/15/2019 Big Horn Ultra (Dayton, Wyoming)
- 06/28/2019 Black Hills 50k (Sturgis, South Dakota)
RAIN. Not a question of if & when, question of how much & how heavy. Weather app check’d & recheck’d & recheck’d. Thunderstorm cringe. Let it only be rain, they cancel runs for thunder – even just the potential of lightning (Minneapolis 2014).
March 30th. Crazy late in the month to assure ‘the streak’ continues. Wednesday/Thursday researched Plan B options. Only 2 races NATIONWIDE where I could physically travel from Indianapolis to an alternate Sunday 31st Start line (with race day registration & same day bib pickup). Would spend $1k on last-minute airfare & not get home ‘til Monday the 1st. No April foolin’. Notta option.
Conservative in politics & life, always show with a back-up plan. Live alone, survivalist mentality. Extra credit card. Food/water in the backpack, names of restaurants near my hotel. I come prepared. Maybe too much so. This time no Plan B, it’s a Plan A only weekend.
It’s gonna rain; I’m gonna get wet. BUT I’m also gonna run the Carmel Marathon AND finish. Positive energy, all in. Streak maintained, 50 State count reduced to 4. Worry isn’t gonna change the situation. “Cast all your cares upon him, for he careth for you.”
The 9th annual Carmel Marathon on Saturday, March 30, 2019. Photo by Tony Vasquez.
Friday a.m. flight. 3pm touchdown, Indiana. Rental car, bib pickup, hotel digs in nearby Carmel (Carmel like the candy, not the posh California town). Early dinner, early to bed. Heaviest precip expected at 7am. Fingers crossed. Plan A only weekend.
Marathon alarm. Outta bed, drapes pulled, eyes at the window. Sometimes weather folks are right. Ho hum. Quick Internet search. No word on cancellation. Just rain. Lotta rain. Cold rain. Raining ALL day, rain. But just rain. 3 choices on jackets, pair of throw-away shoes. Focused, layered. Dressed for SUCCESS – large black trash bag, neck to knees. Dude’s styling. Hoosier Day.
Heaviest of the downpour, walk to the Start. Way/way/way in the back. Car-waited 8 minutes to kick off. Combined FULL, Half Start (car-waited wee too long). THOUSANDS of runners. Corral starts cancelled. Free-for-all first 2 miles. Ok by me. I generally go out too fast anyway.
Comfortable easy course, few inclines – wouldn’t call anything a hill. Shed my ‘Oscar the Grouch’ outerwear before mile 3. Steady even pace ‘til sideways rain blew mile 9. Two separate loops intersecting at the Half finish. Thanks Indiana, notta fan of laps – appreciate seeing 26 unique miles.
Sideways rain again at marker 22, finished the day in drizzle. FINISHED. Monthly streak continues. First 50 State progress of 2019. Hands apex-cramped like claws, all dexterity gone. Hadn’t felt this cold since Antarctica. Mile walk to the car. Rain soaked my core.
Hypothermic, stripped down in a random mall parking lot in Carmel Indiana (one of those proud moments only another marathoner can appreciate). Discarded jacket, shirt, shoes, socks, hat – dorm room style in the back seat. HEAT set to HIGH. Duct in my dashboard hovered, FULL 20 minutes.
North Indy YMCA. Wore my bib & my medal – and asked for a hot shower. THANKS! Me & the 200 people on my Southwest flight HOME very very much appreciate your generosity 😊
Airport dinner. HOUR-half wait on the runway, unexpected season change. Indiana SNOW ❄️
Carmel Marathon
March 30, 2019 in Carmel, IN
1747 K R Haga 2:06:46 4:43:21
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- touchdown Indiana
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- state’s 2nd largest
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- Indiana RAIN ☂️
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- Indiana SNOW ❄️
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- ‘Plan A’ SUCCESS
