Im lucky to be on a great team (team name: DNR) of runners who are doing this years Reno-Tahoe Odyssey relay race again next month.
Four of them are so good that they qualified to run the 2009 Boston Marathon, which takes place this Monday, 20 April.
So please think good thoughts for pleasant weather, legs that dont cramp, and negative splits to my four friends:
Lisa Duke
John Maretti
Paul Smith
Sean Murphy
Have you ever driven down Bayliss Road on your way to I-5 and wondered about the little library there?
In my first post about Ashland I wrote about how this small town lures me in ways beyond its well-known Shakespeare Festival. Now I’d like to acquaint you with an area that unfortunately many visitors miss: the Railroad District.
Continue reading “Destinations – Ashland’s Railroad District” »
ASHLAND, OREGON
(from the Ashland Chamber of Commerce with permission)
Don’t get me wrong.
The reason I first went to Ashland in 2002 at the not so tender age of 46 was to see some plays. And that’s always a great reason to go there.
But Ashland’s appeal goes far beyond the great stuff taking place on its stages. Keith and I have made several trips there over the years in which we did not take in a single performance and still had a marvelous time.
How could that be?
Continue reading “Destinations – Double shot of Ashland, Hold the Shakespeare” »
After hemming and hawing due to the trouble with my left foot shortly before the Bidwell Classic, I threw my hat in the ring (along with the $95 entry fee) for the Eugene Marathon on 3 May.
I still have wiggle room. If the foot misbehaves a few days before the race in a way that doesnt bode well for a spin of 26 miles, then I can cancel my hotel reservation and only be out the race registration fee.
Its appropriate that my first marathon in nearly 19 years be in the Pacific Northwest. All of the 7 marathons I ran between 1986 and 1990 were either in Seattle (where I lived) or Vancouver, B.C.
Continue reading “Running Im in for the Eugene Marathon” »
OK, I thought Id scare you with this ominous, 1984-ish term. Are you shaking?
Really, you shouldnt be. Heres all that you need to be ready for.
Effective 1 May 2009, the Transportation Security Administration requires that airlines and travel agencies obtain the following from each passenger at the time of booking:
– Complete name (first, middle, last)
– Date of birth (month day year)
– Gender
Rather than paraphrase what the T.S.A. has already written, heres a link to the Secure Flight website where the details and goals of the program are explained.
Ah, for the good old days. Heres a story that would not be possible today.
Knowing the ins and outs of airline fares as I do, in the early 90s I bought a full-fare round-trip ticket from Spokane (where I had been on Amtrak business) to Mazatlan, Mexico on Alaska Airlines. (I needed to get to Seattle quickly for a friends graduation and the price of a restriction-free ticket from Spokane to Mazatlan wasnt all that much more than the one-way just to Seattle.) Because the fare allowed stopovers and it suited my purposes, the ticket was written in three segments: Spokane-Seattle, Seattle-San Francisco, San Francisco-Mazatlan, and the same in reverse.
All of the ticket was left open (no reservations) except the first leg from Spokane to Seattle. Naturally this was a paper ticket electronic tickets had not yet entered the picture.
Over the next nine months or so, I had the opportunity to use all of the pieces except the last Seattle-Spokane flight coupon. How did I dispose of it? I sold it to an acquaintance in Seattle who needed to fly one-way to Spokane. He made a reservation under my name and used the ticket no I.D. check!
When booking a car rental two common membership discounts you may qualify for are either AAA or AARP.
While Hertz is AAA’s official car rental partner (and offers a number of special deals and extra benefits to AAA members), Budget also provides a AAA discount.
As for AARP members, Avis, Enterprise, Budget and Hertz all offer discounts. If you quality for both AAA and AARP, then you should compare them but at Hertz usually AAA will trump other discounts.
Here are the codes you need in order to check the rates on-line or with a call center:
Continue reading “Car rental – AAA and AARP discounts” »
When coming back from the Bay Area have you ever sat in traffic on 80 or 680 waiting to pay your bridge toll, gazing enviously at the folks zipping past you in the FasTrak lanes?
Well then, why dont you just sign up for FasTrak?
Heres what you need to know about getting a FasTrak account.
– You dont need to live in the Bay Area
– There is no minimum usage required
– It doesnt cost a penny to get FasTrak
Continue reading “Destinations – Bay Area Fast Crossings with FasTrak” »
I first read about a new Butte County brewery in an Enterprise-Record article from 6 February. A new brewery close by was intriguing enough, but when its location was the old Western Pacific depot in Oroville the value proposition further increased for me.
The brewery and restaurant are appropriately named Western Pacific Brewing & Dining.
Last Saturday my partner Keith and our pals John & Cathy Maretti headed over for dinner to put it to the test. John is an accomplished home brewer so his opinions carry extra weight.
Continue reading “Destinations Orovilles Western Pacific Brewing & Dining” »
.. HALF-MARATHON, JUST BEFORE START OF RACE
This years Bidwell Classic took place under perfect conditions. Last weekends rain turned into yesterdays sunshine and temperatures custom made for a splendid 13-mile run in the park.
Congratulations to all of the finishers and especially to my Reno-Tahoe Odyssey (RTO) teammate Paul Smith, winner of the 5K with a blistering time of 15:50! (Paul was the second place winner in last years half and is running next Sunday in the Shamrockn half in West Sacramento.)
..HALF-MARATHON START
Sean Murphy, another RTO teammate of mine, did what I think might be a personal best in the half with an excellent time of 1:24:23.
Speaking of Sean, he is running the Boston Marathon next month (along with Paul Smith) and in conjunction with it hes raising money for Livestrong, Lance Armstrongs cancer-fighting foundation. Sean has a personal connection with cancers nastiness because of fights his father and stepsister have waged against the disease.
To understand why Sean is committed to this effort please click here to take a look at his Livestrong page.
An interesting and fun detail about the half-marathon winners is that they (Tim Tollefson and Lindsay Nelson) are former Chico State runners and, as Sean Murphy (yes, the same Sean Murphy as above) reported for the E-R, engaged to each other! Hows that for an early wedding present? Congratulations for the wins and the upcoming nuptuals!
Personally it was disappointing. On a slow (too slow, I think) run around lower park on Wednesday I developed a pain in my left foot that only got worse on Thursday and Friday leaving me me no choice but to scrap the race. Ironic, since the last couple of months of marathon training (including a laddering thus far of 14, 16, 18 and 20 mile runs, and two 10-mile workouts for speed and pacing the previous week) has gone so smoothly .
Oh, well.
To put things in perspective, I recently read the same article in the Bee about star triathlete Jamie Whitmore of whom fellow blogger Dennis Schmidt wrote recently. My aches and pains are a mere nuisance in comparison.
Useful links:
– Article from the Enterprise-Record
– Race results (half marathon, 5K, relay)
– Dennis Schmidts blog post (congrats, Dennis on a PR!)
Recent NorCal Blogs Posts
