Presque Isle Full / Half Marathons

Caring for the environment goes on!

One of the special sections of the island:

Walking on the beach, Lake Erie side, the day before the races.

A great day for races!

For a super report of the marathon, see minnesotadon.blogspot.com.


Sweet Pea and I did the half marathon, with a better-than-usual time.
More about that later.

Mushroom ??

This is growing on the end of a log in our woods.

Team Continuum

And a note from my Runner Dude husband:

I'm now running on behalf of Team Continuum, raising money for people living with cancer, while I pursue my goal of running a marathon in each of the 50 states. We three have a full schedule of marathons for the rest of 2011, including the New York City Marathon, the Marine Corps Marathon, and several others.

You can help. If you go to my new E-Race Cancer Facebook Page and "like" it, a donation will be made to Team Continuum by a third party. We invite you to do that - there is no cost to you.

While you are there, you are certainly also welcome to click on the Team Continuum link and make a further contribution to the cause.

Thank you!

Allergy Season

Goldenrod and thistles in full bloom. . . .

But precious little children are still out there.



And so are we!

Walking / Running in the Park

Summertime

In the county park . . .




Click on pictures to enlarge.

Summertime! Enjoying the fresh melons and organic berries. . . and other fresh fruit.

Making sure we get some good protein every time we eat:
ground bison, grass fed pesticide-free beef, organic free-range eggs and chicken, organic low fat yogurt, small amounts of a variety of nuts.

... And trying to work a few fresh local seasonal vegetables in to our menus.

Some supplements I'm taking right now:

D3 5,000 mg (in addition to a good supply of sunshine)
turmeric extract
NOW brand Thyroid Energy
COQ10
Resveratrol (in addition to eating those fresh organic grapes)
Rainbow Light, Active Seniors multivitamin
some calcium and magnesium when I think of it . . .

This past week Sweet Pea and I went to the park every day for an hour at around 7 or 7:30am and another hour at 5pm.
Temp at 5 was usually in the low to mid 80's with substantial humidity. Ugh.
We are training for . . . well, we are training for something I guess.
Also hoping to lose a little extra weight. Needing to travel a little lighter!

Providence Half / Age Group Award

This award arrived in the mail last week... much classier than it looks here.
The clever photo reveals no evidence of flabby flesh older than age 50!

My choice of dessert ... a fresh fruit bowl ... bare and undressed (that's a little plain yogurt on the side)

Last weekend we discovered a new route for a training run.
Minnesota is in bloom.

Missoula Marathon / Half Marathon - Delightful Community particpation and support!

Huge thanks to Sweet Pea for posting these pictures and taking many of them.

Great finisher's medals with double silk ribbons

Even the flowers were great for marathon weekend.

Hundreds of school children, ages 5-13, ran their final mile of a 26.2 mile year-long project, running a mile at a time throughout the year. With unmatched enthusiasm, some appeared to be as young as 5 years old.

Weather was just right for the outdoor expo, too. . . . .


. . . .And the Farmer's Market. Attractive organic berries and vegetables were offered.

One of Missoula's many parks, well-used on Saturday afternoon. . . .
(All pictures here can be enlarged with a click.)

Race morning was high-forties chilly. Sun on the mountains promised a beautiful day for a race. Pines lined the roads along the course on the way in to the city.

Missoula is graced with huge marvelous maples lining the streets. Small round abouts at intersections are alive with flowers.
More than the usual number of folks came out to support in residential areas. Here, and also in the finish area, families brought their children of all ages. Community support was unusually evident for marathon races events.

The Good Food store, a race sponsor, hosted a great spread of post-race food. The Good Food store rivals any "good food store" we have seen.

We FINISHED!
With plenty of time to finish and walkers welcome, it was heartening to see more than the usual number of amateur runners of every age, including over 65 groups.
Participation in the races contributes to the community spirit and general health of the people, I think!

The Clark Fork, which flows west and north from Missoula, is part of the Columbia River watershed. Water was unusually high for this time of year, as it was on the Yellowstone River which flows west across Montana to the Missouri River. Gives reality meaning to the predictions that global warming will cause more storms (greater snowfall) and higher water.
Across the river, see the restored Milwaukee train depot.

Don had a great marathon race.
Be sure to read his report of our marathon weekend. minnesotadon.blogspot.com

Casper Marathon / Half

Another half marathon age group award for Sunshine


Ready at the start line

Finisher's medals have a movable center

"Run with the Herd" in Wyoming
Shirts are long sleeved technical shirts


That's Sweet Pea at the finish enjoying some of the incredible offering of fresh fruits and vegetables. Food at the finish also included gluten and sugar kinds of treats and pizza.

The ARRL (American Radio Relay League) flag in the picture is on the truck of the licenced amateur radio operator who volunteered communication assistance.
Sweet Pea's grandfather was a ham radio volunteer at Grandma's Marathon in Duluth every year.


Be sure to see Make It a Masterpiece for a complete race report.

Rhode Island Races Finishers' Medals

Classy medals, complete with printed satin ribbon


They are mailing out the 3-deep age group awards.