Dublin Marathon Race Report

Race day dawned at 6am, much earlier than I would normally get up for a 9 o'clock start. My usual routine would be to wake up closer to 730 or 745, change into my race gear, grab my bag and a Clif bar, and head out the door to the start. Not this time. This time, I was following the instructions and race day plan put together by Mary, my friend and coach, and I do nothing if not follow directions well when I decide to, and when I'm paying for them. So I got up at 6 and went to have some breakfast – three pieces of toast and two glasses of cranberry juice – just like I was told. There were quite a few people in the hotel's dining room, all runners trying to fuel up before the race. As a guy who has a hard time eating first thing in the morning, I sat in amazement watching some of the others wolf down a full Irish breakfast of eggs, ham, sausage, tomato, and toast.

I was back in the room by 645, where I cracked open my bottle of PowerAde (my favorite flavor – blue - brought over to Doha for me by my boss in Houston a few days before I left for Dublin) and a Clif bar. The next hour was spent sipping the PowerAde, dithering over what to wear during the race, and driving Holly nuts with text messages as she was trying to get ready. In the end, after all the back and forth in my mind between various outfits and jackets and whatnot, I ended up wearing what I originally picked out the night before. Go figure.

At 8am, I piled on all my layers (wind pants and a jacket to get me to bag check, lovely grey Qatar Airways PJs to wear to the start) and went to meet Holly and Eva in the lobby. No rain, but it sure was a cool (43 degrees), damp, foggy, and overcast morning. I was thankful for my hat and gloves. We walked to the bag check area in ten minutes or so, and Eva and I promptly got in line for the porta potties. We figured if we were going to stand around waiting to find Kevin, we might as well do it in line since they were already quite long. A lady from the race kept trying to be helpful by announcing over the loudspeaker that there were more porta-potties near the corrals, but since we were already in line, we opted to stay put. Good thing, too, because it turned out there were only four of them at our corral with a line twice as long as the one we stood in. When I got to the front of the line, I said my good-byes and good luck to Eva, and then Kevin, Holly, and I dropped off our bags and left for the start.

The starting area was one of the more poorly laid out ones that I've been to. The street you walk down to get there dumps you right at the front of the corral. With all the fencing and gating in the way, there's no place for you to go to easily get into the corral. They ought to take a page from Disney or Marine Corps and have you approach from the back of the corrals so you don't end up with a bunch of people, including us, climbing over the barriers near the front in order to squeeze in. Our timing worked out pretty well. We arrived just as they were playing the national anthem and sending off the wheelchair racers, giving me time to eat my pre-race gel, ditch my extra clothes (but keep my hat), tie my shoes, and get ready to go. Ten minutes later, we were off.

And then we stopped. The poor design of the start extended itself to the first turn. Less than 1/4 mile into the race, the course made a hairpin right turn of 120-130 degrees, and needless to say, there was mass congestion and a huge slowdown. We didn't actually stop, but we sure ended up shuffling pretty slowly around the turn before we could start running again.

A few miles into the race, as Kevin and I were yakking about our pace (I was determined to stick to my instructions from Mary which were to stay at 8:50 for 18 miles and then see how it feels from there), a guy running next to us mentioned that he wanted to break four hours too and asked if he could run with us. We told him we'd be happy for the company. We ended up with a really nice tour guide. His name was Steven, he'd run the race twice before, and knew all of the twists and turns and ups and downs of the course. He pointed out all kinds of interesting things along the way, gave us fun facts like Phoenix Park being the largest walled-in park in Europe, and made sure we knew when the inclines and hills were approaching and how long they'd last. As it turned out, his name might be Steven but he really goes by Steve or Sneggers judging by the signs his family and friends were holding up as we ran by them.

Anyway, back to the race. I did my part to keep us on pace, and Kevin did his part to keep pushing the pace so I paid attention. He was also great at reminding me when it was time to take my gels, which Mary had me doing every 30 minutes. That's a shitload of gels to be downing during a race, and I had some difficulty getting the ones down at 90 and 120 minutes. There's nothing like gagging on a chocolate Clif Shot and trying not to throw up as you're passing the photographers at the halfway point in the race. That might explain why there were only six pictures of me when I checked the MarathonFoto web site. I really don't remember too much of the course up to this point. Normally I'm just running marathons for fun and take time to look around at the scenery and the spectators, but not this time. I was in race mode the whole way and totally focused on running my pace, though we did have some good conversation too. I like to talk when I'm running, and fortunately Kevin and Steve do too.

18 miles came and went and I still felt pretty good. Running at pace was definitely getting harder, but I wasn't struggling any. Neither was Kevin. He was still trying to push us faster. I did notice that my gels weren't lasting a full 30 minutes anymore. I could feel my energy fading after 20 or 25 minutes, and Kevin noticed it too as he started prompting me earlier. I felt like I was in a Snickers commercial because once I got the gel down, I instantly felt better.

Just after mile 22, after we went up the last hill and highway overpass and started our way back into the center of the city, Kevin started pulling ahead and I gave up trying to keep up with him. He looked back a few times to make sure I wasn't falling apart and then took off like a rocket. The dude is just naturally fast. I ate my last gel, chatted with a woman who had been running with us for a few minutes about who was going to buy the beer after the finish, and tried to figure out a plan for the last few miles. I knew I'd be under four hours even if I slowed down a lot, so I thought about just cruising in, taking it easy, and having a look at the scenery on my way to the finish.  Then I came to my senses and just went for it. I wanted to see how well I could do based on all the hard work I'd put in.

The last two miles were extremely tough because I was out of gel (who knew that bringing 7 gels to a race wouldn't be enough), and I could feel my energy reserves declining rapidly. I didn't hurt any, there was no feeling of the dreaded Wall, and the wheels weren't coming off. I simply had to turn my brain off and let my competitiveness come out. I kept telling myself to RACE, not run, and just go as hard as I could until it was all over. I vaguely remember the huge crowds lining the streets around Trinity College, and never saw Kevin's wife Keri at mile 25 though I'm sure she was there. I was 100% in a zone where I kept my cadence high, my pace quick, and my eyes focused on finding the most efficient way past and around all the people in front of me.

Once I made the last left-hand turn around the College, I knew the finish was straight ahead and kicked into whatever high gear I had left. Crossing the line and seeing this on my watch was when it hit me that I'd done it. I'd busted my ass all summer long in the heat and humidity, I'd set a goal and trusted Mary's coaching and training to get me there, and I'd done it. I wasn't quite as choked up as I was after finishing my first marathon in Richmond seven years ago, but I did take a few minutes to pull myself together before finding Kevin for celebratory congratulations. He put three minutes on me in the last 3.5 miles. Like I said, the dude is fast.

While we were hanging out in the finishing area, the woman we'd been chatting with earlier came up and wanted to know how we did. She knew she'd finished after Kevin but before me, and joking said I'd been beaten by a girl. I asked her what her time was, and when she said 3:55, I showed her my watch and said "not beaten by a girl, first beer is on you." Sneggers also found us and was ecstatic that he'd finished under four hours. He was really grateful to have been able to run with us, and we really enjoyed having him along too.

After we received our medals and finisher shirts, we made our way over to the bag check area to get our warm clothes. The day hadn't really warmed up any, and the sweat evaporating made me colder and colder. Thankfully, I can overpack with the best of them and had some wind pants, a fleece top, and a windbreaker stuffed into my bag. A few minutes later, Holly arrived and was as thrilled with her new PR as Kevin and I were with ours. Off to the bar we went to celebrate and rehydrate. Nothing like a fresh pint of Guinness to toast a great race with good friends.

My official time of 3:53:46 is an 8-minute improvement over my previous best. It came with no bathroom stops, no cramps, and no Wall. And no rain either, which considering the race was in Dublin in late October I'm quite thankful for. All told, I couldn't have asked for anything more. I ran a great race, had a great time running with Kevin, and can finally put that 3 in front of my PR.

Speaking of PRs, everyone in our group of runners got a PR that day. Kevin - 3:50, Holly - 4:02, and Eva - 5:17. Can't beat that.

Day 4 - Baa Atoll

We only had two dives planned today because the captain wanted to make the crossing to North Ari Atoll in the afternoon. He made the right choice because the weather got worse as the day went on, making for another rough ocean passage. Once we reached North Ari, though, the weather improved dramatically. We saw the sun and blue sky for the first time all trip, the winds calmed down, and we had a peaceful night at anchor before our big five-dive day on Sunday.

Dive 1 - Dhonfan Thila
Camera stopped working during this dive. When I opened it up back on the boat, there were a few drops of water in the housing. Definitely need a new o-ring. Really nice swim-through at the start of the dive. Opening at 35', exit at 75'. Really fun to poke around inside. Fish highlights were a manta, Napoleon, turtle, snapper shrimp, and two morays getting cleaned by a shrimp under some coral.

Back on the dhoni, the dive crew dropped the screw-down piece of my regulator yoke overboard. Now I have to use theirs for the rest of the trip. Not happy!

Dive 2 - Horubadhoo Thila
Our last dive on Baa Atoll. Pretty much the same things we've seen before, although there were some bigger grouper & jacks. Got some really good shots of a mantis shrimp hiding in a hole. Found two grouper at a cleaning station at the end of the dive. So fun to watch the little fish dart in their mouths and out their gills.

Some shots of the seas as we crossed to North Ari. Not as bad as the first night, but still an uncomfortable 4-5 hour ride.

Day 3 - Baa Atoll

Dive 1 - Kaka Thila
Really nice dive to start the day. Strong current meant not working hard & drifting along the wall. Lots of eels, a few lionfish, and several sting rays. The first was 3-4' and swimming along the top of the reef. The second was on the sand next to a turtle. Got some really nice shots & video of the turtle. He was very patient with us taking so many pictures.

Dive 2 - Daravandhoo Thila
Two octopi! One was hiding in a hole along the wall. The second was out in the sand, so we got to see him changing color as he moved from the sand to the coral. Always amazes me how they do that. We spent a good 5 minutes or more watching & taking pictures. The end of the dive was spent surrounded by hundreds of thousands of tiny baitfish. They move like a wave or a cloud as they swim along the reef, always being watched by hungry jacks.

Dive 3 - Tupulu Wall
Long drift dive along the wall. No big fish, but one very large ray hiding under an overhang. Maybe 3-4' body and 3' tail. Very fun to watch. Lots of anemones and clownfish to play with. Hayat found one anemone totally closed up with one little clownfish peeking out from inside. Really cool! Some eels and lionfish to take more photos of. Very easy safety stop on top of the reef.

Dive 4 - Dhonfan Beru
Very relaxing afternoon dive. The clouds & rain made it necessary for us to have flashlights to be able to see at depth. Tons of giant clams. There was one or two almost everywhere you looked. I took some pictures of one group that had two large ones, one with a small one growing on the side of its shell. We came across 3 turtles during the dive, but they were much more skittish than the one this morning. Once we got within 3-4', they took off into the open water.

Only in Doha

Bernardo and I are sitting down at lunch at Thai Smile, a restaurant near the Corniche, when a security guy walks in. He starts asking people if they have a black Nissan parked out along the road. When I let him know that I think he's talking about my truck, he says I need to come with him. We head out to the road where I'm quite surprised to see that my truck is no longer there. He shows me it's now parked in the slip road lot on the other side of the street, a 6-lane one that runs parallel to the Corniche, and points me to the police officer. I asked the officer what happened, and he said the police had to move it. No explanation as to why, just that it had to be moved. Bernardo thinks the Emir must have been heading that way and they wanted to make sure no cars were parked on the side of the roads that he was traveling on. Good thing the security guy came by because I'd have been really confused had I finished lunch and found my car missing and moved like that. This place never ceases to amaze me.

Day 2 - Baa Atoll

We did four dives on Baa Atoll today. The first one doubled as a the check-out dive that we skipped on Wednesday afternoon. This was the first chance for the dive guides, Zinah and Panda, to see how everyone conducted themselves in the water. Because we were sharing a room, Hans and I got paired up as dive buddies. I figured this would be the arrangement for the week since Hans said he had hundreds of dive all around the world and had spent several months working and diving in the Florida Keys. Boy was I wrong. He had no steady buoyancy control and kept going up and down and all over the place, he crashed into a few people a couple of times, and ran out of air well before anyone else did. Zinah, poor guy, tried to get me to go up with Hans since we were "buddies," but I refused. I paid good money for my trip and wasn't going to have my dives get cut short by someone else's poor diving skills. I apologized to Zinah once back on the boat, and he understood completely. Before the second dive, he told me I'd be diving with Hayat, a really nice young woman from Bombay, for the rest of the trip. That worked out much better.

Dive 1 - Nelivaru Haa
A pretty dull dive. The rain & clouds made for a thoroughly grey environment underwater. No real colors at all. We did see two mantas, though, so the dive was a success in the end. The second manta came cruising by us as we were doing our safety stop. Very cool to have it so close. Other highlights - eels, mantis shrimp, and a lionfish.

Hans ran out of air really early, so I stayed with Flo & Dusanka. How can he burn through a 15 liter tank so quickly? Yikes! Good thing I can hang with the Swiss.

Dive 2 - Vilu Haa
More mantas. Lots of sand. Took pictures of eels, scallops, and small fish. This dive would've been really boring if the mantas hadn't come around. We saw 4 at different points of the dive. Tons of them feeding at the surface too. The plankton that's bringing them in is why the vis is so poor.

Dive 3 - Dhigu Thila
Saw a whale shark next to the boat during lunch. By the time the dhoni got back with the snorkel gear, he was gone. At least we got to see him for a few minutes from the boat.

Morays, big blue jellyfish (medusa?), lionfish, 2 scorpionfish. Had great fun watching Hayat play with a few clownfish. It kept sitting and rolling around in her palm. A very nice & relaxing dive drifting along the wall with the current. My picture taking is barely improving, but I'm doing the best I can. Need lessons.

Dive 4 - Aidhoo Wall
Very nice sunset dive. The four of us are making a really good buddy group. We use our air at similar rates, so no one has to feel bad about going up early. Lots of good pictures of eels and lionfish. So far, those are my most common subjects. Need to learn how to change F-stop and other settings to try to improve how the shots turn out.

Great first day of the trip. The boat is wonderful, the crew is super friendly & helpful, and the cook has been making us curries (lentil, chicken)! Yum!

Day 1 - Arrival

My flight arrived at 7:45, and it took less than 15 minutes to go through immigration, pick up my bags, and leave Customs. A group of us then hopped on a bus to the hotel down the road from the airport. It wasn't the best hotel I've ever been to, but it wasn't a bad place to spend the day. $55 got you use of the beach, pool, bar, shower facilities, and a 10-minute massage. After flying and sleeping in an airplane seat, that neck & back massage was the best part of the day.

Finally around 2:15, we all went back to the airport to meet the boat's crew and head out to our home for the next week. The dhoni has more room for divers than most dive boats I've ever been on.

The Carpe Vita

My room for the week. It's only slightly bigger than the bedrooms at ARV.

The main lounge where we had all of our dive briefings. Thanks to a good naval architect, the dining area was up one deck outdoors.

The weather was starting to turn nasty, so rather than do a check dive near the harbor, we all agreed to have the boat make the crossing to Baa Atoll right away. Turned out to be a good choice because the weather in North Male was even worse the next day, meaning we'd have been stuck there for two days, and the diving there isn't nearly as good as in the outer atolls. Even leaving when we did, it was still a pretty miserable crossing, seven hours of pounding into rough seas. A few people skipped dinner because they were feeling nauseous, and a few more popped pills afterwards trying to ward off becoming seasick.

I met Hans, my roommate for the week, just before dinner. First words out of his mouth were "you better not snore. If you do, we're going to have serious problems." I'll give you one guess who snored like a freight train during the whole trip. Needless to say, he's quite a piece of work. German guy, 62, bodybuilder, with earrings, nipple ring, and two old, faded tattoos. He was literally a walking caricature like Hans & Franz from the old SNL skits. Throw in the goofy faces he made all the time, and we had almost endless hours of unintentional comedy to laugh at.

Trip Note #1

First interesting trip note: the flight attendant just came to introduce herself to me because I'm "a special Privilege Club member," and then asked if I wanted a newspaper or anything else. She didn't do this with anyone else that I could see. I guess being a high mileage Silver member gets you a pseudo-personal flight attendant, but not an upgrade to First. Go figure.  

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Farewell, Steve

I found out today that a friend from many years ago died the other day. His name was Steve, and he was the bartender at Bayview Yacht Club in Detroit for over 30 years. When I was going to school in Michigan, I spent a lot of time at the club sailing and socializing, and he's a huge part of what made it such a great place to hang out. He had great stories to tell, greeted everyone with a smile, and when he saw you walk in the door, he had your favorite drink waiting for you by the time you reached the bar. He did me and my first wife a favor and gave up a Saturday afternoon and evening, the busiest time at the club, to be the bartender at our wedding reception and the party afterwards. He was a big reason we all had as much fun as we did. I haven't seen him in close to 20 years, but he'll always be one of my friends and my favorite guy behind the bar.

My favorite story about Steve is from the day that Jerry Garcia came to visit Bayview. He was a huge Deadhead and often wore a Stealie tie-pin at work, his way of livening up the black-tie outfits the Bayview bartenders had to wear. Jerry's wife had a friend who was a member, so he stopped in with them one afternoon before they played shows in Detroit the following two days. Steve couldn't believe Jerry was actually in the bar hanging out with us (there were only a handful of people there), and the three of us spent the better part of a hour or two talking about music, sailing, and diving. Before he left, Steve asked Jerry to sign an autograph for him, and Jerry told him he could do even better than that. He took one of the large white cloth bar napkins, drew a Stealie on it, and signed it for him. Steve was beyond excited, and that signed napkin artwork hung behind the bar for the rest of the summer.

Farewell, Steve. I'll have a Mt. Gay & ginger in your memory tonight.

Madrid Marathon 2012

I took the Metro over to the expo on Friday afternoon. I had no idea where I was going, just that the race info gave the name of the closest station. This didn't really help me much, and it took me quite a bit of wandering around before I found the entrance to the park, Casa de Campo, where the expo was being held. The park is huge and there were absolutely zero banners advertising the marathon or the expo. In hindsight, this was just the first of many signs of the tension between Competitor Group, who owns the Rock n Roll race series, and the local organizers. More on that later.

Inside, the expo looked a lot like one you'd see at a small or medium-size race in the US. There were a few dozen vendors selling shoes and gear, promoting upcoming events across Europe, and giving away free samples. One interesting thing I noticed is the lack of competition between the vendors. Each brand, be it Asics or Brooks or adidas, had only one seller. Even the few local equivalents of Fleet Feet made sure not to sell something someone else also had. The oddest thing, though, was the actual packet pickup. There were separate areas for the 10k and the marathon, and that's it. You could walk up to any one of the very friendly volunteers to get your envelope, no segregation by bib number at all. Since they didn't let you know your number in advance, they had to do it this way (or by last name), but it sure put a strain on the people handing the materials out. They had to go back and forth across the area constantly depending on each person's last name. Very inefficient for a race with ~15,000 runners. I'm guessing this is one thing Competitor will change next year.

The race goodies are pretty nice - adidas tech shirt, arm band for an iPhone or iPod, and a backpack. The 10k runners got a mug instead of the backpack; don't think they were too thrilled with that. I cruised around the expo a few times checking things out but didn't buy anything. Not much I needed coupled with high prices kept my wallet closed. If you want to make some quick cash, find a way to buy Vibrams in the States and sell them in Europe. The Bikilas I bought at Fleet Feet for $100 were €120. Ouch!

Hopping on the Metro on Sunday morning presented an interesting contrast of lifestyles. At 745am, 80% of the train was filled with runners on their way to the race. The other 20% were on their way home from their Friday night festivities. I'm not sure which group found the other to be wearing the most interesting attire. Dressed in my Qatar Airways pajamas, I certainly looked like I didn't belong to either group. If it wasn't for the gear check bag over my shoulder, I could easily have passed for one of the beggars or street performers found all over the city. The PJs may not be pretty, but they sure do make wonderful throwaway clothes.

We walked past the finish line to drop our bags off

Getting to the start was an adventure in itself. Bag check was beyond the finish line, so you had to walk 10-15 minutes from Metro to drop off your bag at one end of Retiro Park, and then another 15-20 minutes from the finish to the start line at the other end. I passed some people as I was leaving the park near the start who were on a dead sprint to bag check. I doubt they made it back up on time. In addition to all the walking around, the dearth of porta-potties was an even bigger problem. I had been tipped off by a Team in Training member the night before that there were only 50 at the start. I was pretty skeptical but got there and in line early just in case. Sure enough, there weren't even 50 at the finish/bag check area, and I didn't even bother to look for any at the start. The park's trees worked just fine for me and lots of other guys. Oddly, no women hit the bushes, something you see plenty of them doing at home. Side note: no one, guys or girls, dared use the bushes at the Dubai marathon.

The gun went off about a minute later

For all the walking around I had to do, I managed to time it pretty well. After a brief photo stop at the monument, I arrived at the corrals with just the right amount of time to shed my PJs, tighten the laces in my shoes, get a "before" picture taken, and listen for the gun to go off. Fortunately, the corrals weren't really corrals like at the typical RnR race. They were more like guidelines and weak ones at that. The 4:15 and 4:30 pacers and their huge balloons were lined up well in front of the corral 4 sign, almost to the sign for corral 3, which is strange because seed times slower than 4:00 were supposed to be in corral 5. I feel bad for anyone who wanted to run 4:15 and lined up where they were told to. I was able to just meander my way through some of the crowd and start a hundred feet or so behind the two pace groups. I didn't really have a goal time for the race because I planned on stopping to take pictures of the city along the way, but I figured running with pacers in sight would keep me moving steadily along.

As the masses moved forward, I was amazed to actually be up to speed as I crossed the line. That's when I realized that the stories about this being a pretty serious and fast marathon had some truth to them. I didn't have to weave or dodge a single person doing the Galloway program and walking 1/4 mile after the start. Everyone was off and running and running fast. A few kilometers into the race (I love how the numbers go by faster in non-American races), I became aware that my usual m.o. when running a race alone - find people to chat and run with - wasn't going to be an option. You'd think I would've realized this sooner, but I guess I assumed that a RnR event would draw plenty of non-Spanish speaking runners.  Nope. I was alone in the midst of 15,000 runners. Bleh.

To give myself at least some hope of having the same people around me to look at and feel like a pack with, I cruised up alongside the pace group and settled in for the long haul. Suddenly, I heard two voices in English asking me about my WISH shirt. I looked over my shoulder to find Amy, a TNT member from Colorado, and her coach Jennifer. They were as happy to see me as I was to see them because Jennifer wanted to leave Amy to go and help the other TNT runners at the race. And thus began a beautiful friendship. Ok, it was more like a temporary running partnership, but it worked. Amy and I had the best time together. We talked up a storm about past race experiences, the cool buildings and monuments we were passing (note: the Real Madrid stadium is not a very impressive place from the outside), and the dirt dished out by the head of Competitor Group at their TNT dinner the night before the race.

Running with Amy is how I found out about the biggest conflict between RnR and the local race people: when to start the sweeper for the 6-hour time limit. The locals wanted to start it immediately, making it more of a 5:45 time limit for the people who crossed the line last and really needed the extra 15 minutes the most. RnR, thankfully, won the argument and the sweepers didn't start until the last runners had crossed the line and gotten several kilometers up the course. Amy also told me they learned at their dinner that the race was 80% men, down from almost 90% the year before. That sure explains why we kept hearing "Vaya chica!" everywhere we went. The locals were surprised and pleased to see women out there running. Well, most of the locals were, anyway. I heard from another woman afterwards who was subjected to more than a few catcalls and insults during her race. Kind of sad there are assholes all over the world.

Back to the race...I barely glanced at my watch the entire first half. I was having too much fun taking in the sights and trying to keep track of where we were going. We ran past all kinds of parks, cool buildings, funky neighborhoods, and even down a few alleys barely big enough to get a car through. It's a good thing there were people in front of me because I never would have thought a race in a large city would leave the streets as many times as we did. The crowd support was decent most of the way and excellent in places like the Plaza del Sol, where we ran right through the square and thousands of people cheering. I was in the midst of one of the most effortless marathons I've ever run and was loving every minute of it. We hit the halfway mat in 2:04, and I didn't feel tired or under pressure at all.

Unfortunately, Amy wasn't feeling quite as good. I found myself a few yards in front of her more and more frequently as we made our way past the palace (absolutely stunning!) and down the hill to Casa de Campo (hooray for running in the shade). Each time, I slowed slightly to let her catch up, but eventually I had to go on. We had slowed to a 10 min/mile pace, which seemed way too slow for me given how good I was feeling. Finally, just after mile 17, I wished her luck and pushed ahead. I quickly settled back into my previous pace and did a quick check of how everything was doing. Feet, ankles, knees, and legs all felt fine; no need to do anything differently. I was in the groove and motoring right along. I even hit sub-9 several times going down the hills. I generally don't fly downhill, but I had the voice of David Hoffman, a running friend from Houston, in my head. The last time we had run together, he kept after me to just lean forward and let gravity do the work, to not try to trash my quads by intentionally slowing myself down. David, you'll be happy to know I followed your advice on all the hills in the race, and there were quite a few of them.

I finally began to slow down as the course left the park, crossed back over the river, and turned uphill towards the center of the city and the finish. The last four miles or so were one really long climb interrupted by a handful of flat spots. That's not exactly the terrain we can train for here in Doha, but I didn't really care. I kept my cadence the same and trucked on up that hill as best I could. When I finally reached the top, just 2k from the finish, I felt like I was in the middle of the Tour de France. The crowd was so big, cheering so loudly and wildly, and pressed into the course so much, I could barely run side-by-side when I had to pass someone. In one case, I actually had to body punch a guy on a bike who thought he could make it across the course and ended up stopped right in front of me. I know, violence has no place in the world, but it was either that or get my toes run over.

The crowds were thick and noisy the entire rest of the way to the finish. The barriers set up to give us a nice long finishing stretch didn't even keep them at bay. It wasn't until the last 400 or 500 meters that security managed to clear us a path wide enough to allow everyone to sprint for the finish without fear of tripping over fans or fellow runners.

Coming into the finish, I was trucking along pretty good, passing as many people as I could while trying to keep from getting passed. According to the fancy results that the Spanish provide online (much more interesting than the boring ones in the US), I picked off several hundred people in the last 2km. All these years of sprinting at the end of every run like my first coach told me to finally paid off. I came to a crashing halt after I crossed the line, literally. A woman in front and to the right of me decided she was going to just stop and start walking to her left. I didn't have any time to react and unfortunately plowed right into her. I ran her over with a pretty good head of steam on, and thankfully neither one of us was hurt. Bet that's the last time she finishes a race and stops suddenly instead of slowing down gradually like everyone else.

4:12! Done!

The finishing chute was nice and long, with the various stations spread out well to keep crowding and standing around to a minimum. Unlike Houston, which has the worst post-finish layout I've ever seen, this was very well planned. Water and PowerAde bottles were handed out first, just after the line, followed by mylar blankets, then medals, and finally two places to get food and snacks. There was little or no waiting at all, so my legs had a chance to keep moving and cool down slowly instead of setting up while standing still.

Approaching the bag check area, again, I noticed that two security guards were trying to prevent people from grabbing their bags and turning around to come back into the finisher's area. They wanted you to keep going and head out into the park where all the families and friends of the runners were waiting. I wasn't quite ready to fight my way through the crowd at the exit gate, but I really wanted to get my bag and change my shoes. Tough call. I ended up sitting down under a tree, loosening my laces, and munching on the bag of snack mix. Nice to have a race where you can relax on the grass instead of being in a parking lot.

Eventually, the snacks were gone and it was time for me to move on. I retrieved my bag, fought my way through the hordes at the exit, and started wandering through the park back to my hotel. I didn't get too far before I came across a small building surrounded by tables and chairs filled with people relaxing after the race or simply enjoying a beautiful day in the park with friends. Looked to be the perfect place to sit down and change my shoes. Besides, there aren't many better ways to celebrate the end of a really great race than in a park on a sunny day with a cold beer.

Perfect place to relax after the race

It really was a great race. The course was beautiful and very interesting with lots of monuments and other sights to see along the way, the weather was perfect for running, and I ran a pretty decent time without even working very hard. I felt comfortable and relaxed the whole time. Maybe that's due to running by feel because I was so busy talking and having fun, I barely glanced at my watch. Maybe it's the faster long runs on Friday mornings. Whatever made it happen, I'll take it.

Post race rehydration

Other races could learn a lot from this one, and not just the finish in a park with a café serving beer. They could also learn how to handle on-course medical assistance. There were several dozen medical people roller blading the course with the runners right from the start carrying Vaseline, spray cans of bio freeze, and backpacks loaded with all kinds of other things that runners might need during the race. If you wanted something, you just flagged them down and they handed you what you wanted while you were running. No stopping required. It was the most brilliant thing I've seen at a race, ever. Runners got assistance exactly when they needed it, the medical tents could focus on the runners with serious problems instead of minor ones, and the overall load on the volunteers was greatly reduced. If any race directors reading this want to know how to improve their races for everyone involved, this is one easy and effective way to deliver medical care.

RnR always has cool medals

Dive Pictures

The dive master gave me these great pictures from our dive yesterday morning. He's got some others of the manta, but this is a good first start. The eel was quite a good sport in posing with me like this. :)

Maldives, Day 3 (Our Anniversary)

The staff here went all out to help us celebrate our wedding anniversary. First they came and found us at dinner last night to let us know that they were going to set up a dinner for us on the beach in front of our bungalow. We had originally tried to schedule it for tonight only to be told we had to move it to Thursday because they had no openings, so having it moved back to today was really nice. The dinner turned out to be more than just a table on the sand. We got candles lighting a path from our porch to the table, white linens, and an arch made of palm fronds decorated with fresh flowers overhead.

To top it all off, this is what was waiting for us when we got back to the room. Wow!

Maldives, Day 1

Today is the first day of our Maldives vacation. We left this morning on a Qatar Airways flight that was supposed to depart at 815. We left closer to 9, but that's okay. As long as the dust and haze was in the rearview mirror, I was happy. Not the best flight I've ever been on. There were several open seats in first class, but not a single passenger was upgraded. What's the point of having 2nd-tier or 1st-tier elite status if the airline isn't going to upgrade anyone? They don't even let you check in and select seats in the bulkhead or exit row. Thankfully, the people who were supposed to be in the bulkhead row in front of us never showed up, so I was able to move up and give each of us our own row. The only downside was having to see the people across the aisle decide to change their toddler on the seat. Heading to the lavatory must've been too much trouble - 50 feet is obviously too far to walk - so they just took care of business on the seats. Lovely.

Anyway, once we arrived in Male, everything was smooth and easy. We were the first ones through immigration, our bags were the first ones out, and we walked across the arrivals area directly onto the dock where a boat awaited to zip us the 10 minutes across the water to our resort. The cool lemongrass-infused towels during the ride over just made things that much better. Ahhhhhh.

Leaving the airport

Once we arrived, we were taken into a little lounge area and given another cool towel and a small glass of coconut sorbet. I don't even like coconut and thought it was delicious. After some paperwork and an overview of the resort and the benefits of the package we had booked, we were on our way. I went to the dive shop to get set up for my diving for the week, and Heather went to the room to crack open the bottle of wine waiting for us. I think I got the better end of that arrangement. My dives are all set - the guys set me  up with a bin for all my gear, will have it assembled on the tank by the time I get there in the morning, and will wash, rinse, and hang it all to dry when we get back after each dive. Heather, meanwhile, got stuck drinking a lovely screwtop 2010 Sicilian syrah that would really be better served as vinegar several months from now.

During dinner, we got to watch five baby and juvenile blacktip reef sharks swimming in the water alongside the restaurant. Considering the water depth was only a foot or so, it was impressive to see the bigger ones in there meandering around. Hopefully I'll see a lot more of them out diving in the days to come.

Arriving at Kurumba

The Beach Bar

Dubai Marathon Race Report

I left Doha at 8am on Thursday morning, arriving in Dubai at 10. My plan was to go to the hotel, check in, and head to packet pickup before it got crowded in the afternoon. With 1500-2000 people in the full and another 12-14,000 in the 10k and 3k, I figured the expo would be of decent size. Boy, was I wrong. There was only one other person getting their bib while I was getting mine, and only one store selling anything. A local running/tri store set up a table of GU, a few racks of compression clothing, and a couple of fuel belts, bottles, and hats. For a race with this many entrants, it was quite disappointing. Sure made it easy to get in and out of there, though.

I spent the rest of the afternoon shopping for lamps at IKEA. As an aside, no, our brand-new, fully furnished townhomes do not come with lamps. All the lighting is industrial strength bright fluorescent white. It's like living in a hospital.

Moving right along…I had a delicious pre-run dinner at the Japanese restaurant in the hotel. The fish was nice and fresh, and the chef managed to avoid giving me the typical standard five boring kinds like many other sushi places do. Afterwards, I went back up to my room to get everything set for race day. I will say it's kind of nice running a marathon where you know the weather will be sunny and warm at the end of the race. It made packing my drop bag that much easier – flip flops, money for a cab, and a Clif bar. The poor huge orange bag looked kind of sad and empty without the jacket, pants, and hat that I lugged to DC for Marine Corps. With the bag done, my bib pinned on, and my race belt stuffed with goo, bloks, and beans, I climbed into bed to relax before going to sleep.

530am (430 on the body clock) came pretty early, though that's not far off of when I get up for my weekly Friday long runs. Besides, compared to the 330am wake-ups for Goofy, it's nothing. I got dressed, grabbed my gear bag, threw on a long-sleeve top to protect against the cool breeze, and went to the lobby to find myself a cab. Even though I chose a hotel within walking distance of the start and finish, I wanted to try a cab first to save the 20-minute walk if I could. I really wanted to take the Metro, as I'm sure did thousands of other people, but the city didn't want to open it early. They opened the stations near the race so you could walk from one side of the highway to the other through the stations, but the trains were on their normal Friday schedule and wouldn't start operating until 2pm.

Much to my surprise, the cab had no problems in getting me close to the start. They hadn't fully closed the roads yet, so we were able to head straight to the designated drop-off area. They did this part of the race-day transportation puzzle really well. Three lanes of traffic come in, make a U-turn, drop off participants by the Burj sign, and three lanes heading out. Very efficient considering the number of people coming to the race. The organizers also set out plenty of restroom facilities, most of which were segregated for Men or Ladies. These weren't just simple plastic porta-potties either. They were small buildings similar to the VIP ones that the Rock n Roll group tries to get you to sign up for by spending ungodly amounts of cash on Brooks' apparel. Still nowhere near as quick and convenient as the porta-urinals that the Brits used at Sonisphere, but since those have barely made an appearance in the US, I'd be shocked to see them in a more modest country like Dubai.

While waiting for the race to begin, I sat down next to a tree and did some people watching. From serious runners like you'd find at any American marathon to a group of 30-40 Malaysians in matching head scarves and long-sleeve shirts, there was a really refreshing mix of people milling around. I didn't see any women getting ready to run in burqas or abayas, but I did see some expat women in jog bras and running skirts. Scandalous!

The start was in Downtown Dubai next to the Dubai Mall and the Burj Khalifa. From there we wound around the mall, going past some gorgeous hotels. By the time we left the mall area and turned left onto the city streets, the sun was rising, the spectators had vanished from the roadside, and the runners were spread out enough that I was already up to my planned pace. My strategy for the day was to run nice and steady 9:30 miles, stop and take some pictures of interesting things along the way if I found any, and just enjoy being out there for the day. I didn't really have a time goal other than wanting to be in under 4:30, so I was perfectly content to cruise along and take in the sights.

The first part of the course took us by the financial district and the Dubai World Trade Center, and my hotel. I looked over it at knowing full well that 34km later, it'd be mocking me. That's the downside of staying in a hotel near the finish. The hotel I stay at in San Antonio is at mile 25, and it's no fun to run past that, either. Being passed by a pack of Kenyans and Ethiopians like I was standing still instantly brought my mind back to the race. The 15 minute head start the marathon had over the 10k wasn't quite enough to get me past their turn-around before they caught me. Damn, those guys are fast and so fun to watch. Even though their legs were churning a mile a minute, so to speak, they just seemed to be floating in the air as they went by. Unlike me, with my stride that starts out fairly smooth and gentle only to morph into cringe-inducing totally-over-pronating heel-striking by the end of a race. Nothing like seeing the entire sole of your shoe with your ankle rotated 30 degrees in a race picture to make you realize your mechanics are all fucked up. But I digress yet again.

In contrast to the deserted stretch past the hotel and WTC, the road leading out to the beach actually had some people standing around watching the race. Most were groups of workers waiting to cross the road or families out for breakfast, both with confused looks on their faces wondering what we were doing and why, but at least they were there. About halfway to the beach, I heard some women next to me laughing and joking and telling stories, so I decided to try to join in the fun. They were kind enough to let me run with them, a funny story of my own being the price of admission. Approaching the beach, you can't help but notice the giant flagpole looming behind the intersection. Kristin told me that no matter what year she's run this race, the flagpole is always an important landmark. Last year, when the race started in a different part of the city, it marked the 13-mile turn-around point for the out-and-back. This year, it would mean the end of our out-and-back along the beach and the right turn back towards the finish.

The four of us kept knocking off the miles at a steady pace, our conversation ranging from Kristin's upcoming relocation back to the US to the annoying rattle of the beads in Vera's hair to the massage parlor named Hooty Girls we ran by. I was tempted to stop and take a picture of it, but Kristin told me a better photo op lay ahead just after the turn-around near the Burj Al Arab, the Happy Ending salon. I don't remember seeing places with such great names when we were in Thailand. I can't believe they were really here in Dubai.

As we approached the halfway point, we saw Kristin's husband heading back on the other side of the road just in front of the 4-hour pace group. She shouted and waved at him, but he had his game face on and wasn't very responsive. I think this set off the competitor in her because a few minutes later, she asked me if I had any time goals for the race. I told her no, to which she replied by asking me if I wanted to pick up the pace and try to catch the pace group. Seeing as we had just finished the first half in 2:05, this would be no small undertaking. I mulled it over, trying to decide if putting the hammer down and trying for a 4 or 4:05 was worth giving up on what was shaping up to be a relatively easy 4:10. I hemmed and hawed a bit, thought of Ange and Mary and how they race, and I knew what they'd do. They'd tell me to man up and go for it, so that's what I did. Off we went, cranking up from our comfortable 9:30 miles to ones coming in between 8:45 and 9:05. It felt really strange to be winding up so much during the second half of a marathon, but we both figured "what the hell." Neither of us were after a specific time so why not push it and see what we could do. This caused me to miss the picture of Happy Ending, though. Bummer.

The return trip on the beach road was pure hell, and not because of the new speed we were running at. Rather, that damn flagpole just stood out in the distance beckoning us but cruelly never getting any bigger. I had flashbacks to the finish line and adjacent stage at the RnR Virginia Beach half marathon. That was my very first half, and the finish right on the beach. You run directly at it for over two miles at the end of the race, and it never seems to get any bigger or closer either. About the only good thing about that part of the course in Dubai is the fact that the numbers get ticked off much faster when the course in marked in kilometers. There were actually a few pockets of spectators along there too. Not many, but some clusters here and there cheering for their friends/relatives/family members and the rest of us too. No signs, though. I know a lot of the ones in the US are cheesy, but I really enjoy reading them and find them to be good entertainment.

Somewhere around mile 19, I blew up. I went from 8:50 pace to 9:40 pace almost instantly. I sent Kristin on her way and told her I'd see her at the finish. One of the highlights of the last few miles was making the final turn at the Mall and seeing three women in full burqas and abayas out there cheering us on. A very unique sight that you certainly won't find too many places. I got a great boost in the homestretch from my running club friends, too. They were a few hundred yards in front of the line yelling and screaming like crazy for the rest of us going by, just the motivation I needed to keep my finishing kick going to pass a few more people before crossing the line. I managed to cross the line in 4:17, not a bad time, but certainly not the way I thought I'd get it. I can't say I'm disappointed with my result because I didn't have a goal going in. Plus, I learned that it's okay to throw caution to the wind and just go for it. Might be smarter to have a plan to just go for it, but still fun to try.

With the race over, it was time for some picture taking and a nice walk to cool down before hopping in a taxi back to the hotel. A few Guinness and an ice bath later, I was good to go. Nick and Lesley, DBRC members who moved to Dubai back in November, invited us over for a party that afternoon. We had a great time swapping stories of new PRs (15 people set PRs, I think), eating great food, and rehydrating with beer, wine, and champagne. Celebrating with friends is always a great way to spend time after a race.

Packet Pick-up

Just got my bib and goodie bag at the "expo." With one store selling GU and Nathan's gear, it's hard to call it an expo. Still, made for an easy trip. Now off to IKEA for lamps and organizers.


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Zikreet Desert Run

I joined some of my friends from the running club this morning for a run in the desert near Zikreet. It was really nice to run along the sea instead of on the road for a change, although my legs got pretty tired pretty quickly. I forgot how much extra effort it takes to move in sand and dirt and climb over rocks. After a fast 15 miles yesterday, I decided 7.5 was good enough for today and opted to hop in Emile's car at the halfway point.

As we drove back to the start, we stopped for some picture-taking while we waited for the last runner to pass by. Pretty cool place. The caretaker is a guy from Sudan named Mohammed. He likes to have visitors and insisted we sit down for a glass of tea. He brought out a very hot pot of tea and some warm bread for us, which was quite a nice gesture. Sure made my first trip out in the desert a memorable one.

Hard to believe there's this much green in the desert

Scenes from Doha

I figured I'd put up a few pictures of what we've been up to the past week or so. The first one, of Roger Federer getting ready to serve, was taken at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open tennis tournament. I don't think I would've gone to a tournament in the US, but when your company sponsors the local one, you don't think twice. How often are we going to get to see Federer and Nadal play from 30 feet away?

This picture is of one of the cars driving through the parking area at the tournament. There's a lot of conformity here, so it's nice to someone show some creativity. It'd be right at home in the Houston Art Car Parade.

These last few are just some random shots taken while we were enjoying the nice weather and walking along the Corniche. Got to get out and enjoy the city while we can.

Museum of Islamic Art