Nordstrom Beat the Bridge 8K Race Report

What a great morning to run a race.   Sunshine and temperatures comfortably at 60 degrees with the sun blazing.    Woke up at 5:30 am feeling better than I have in the last 5 days with the head and chest cold finally starting to lose its grip on me.   As I said in my last blog posting,  it's been a terrible week of being sick losing four days of training and barely even being able to work.  

Decided to race in my lucky Boston 2016 Marathon technical and got a laugh at my bib number being 2001 (Ethan's was 2000).    Fueled up with a few hundred calories with some high octane carbs on board, warmed up, rolled, and did the normal routine stopping at Starbucks for an American before picking up Ethan (who was out late last night at his Senior Prom for Bellevue High School and still wanted to run).     We were across the 520 bridge and parked on the UW campus by 7:30 and jogged easily over to Husky Stadium and the start of the race.     A few bathroom stops and an easy mile of running with strides to warm up and we were ready for the race to begin at 8:30.

I really had no idea what I was going to run today but after running a 6:00 .90 mile on the track yesterday I thought I might be able to pull something OK out after running 35:39 and 35:41 the last 2 years (with a 2010 PR of 34:12) over the slightly hilly 8K track through Montlake and across the University Bridge and then back through the U. District.

At the gun it took my about 15 seconds to get across the timing pad as a lot of folks crashed the gate from the front right before the beginning of the race which overloaded the first few minutes of running.     Once I got moving I new immediately this wasn't going to be my day.   I was lactic and laboring right out of the blocks.    I'd secretly hoped to run something sub 7:00 on the first mile and just hang on -- it took all I had to run a 7:24 mile-1 which I am sure is the slowest first mile I've ever recorded in running this event 11 times now.   Mile-2 which features some slight uphill and ends just before the right hand turn onto the University Bridge was 8:05 and I was gassed.   Heart rate was 166 beats a minute, sun was blazing and my legs were lactic city.      As I ran uphill across the bridge (the bridge is uphill about 2% - 3% for about 600 meters I just slowed down and said screw it -- accepting my fate.  

Mile-3 was a labored 8:20 before I finally got a little mojo back trying to run a couple of short downhills as fast as I could to make up time without losing it.   I settled in and ran mile 4 in a steady 7:55 -- again with my heart rate redlined and a final .97 uphill mile-5 in 7:28.      

So I guess this is what happens after you've been super sick.    It could've been worse but at the end of the day it was a beautiful morning.  I got to run with Ethan who also labored in the sunshine running a 32:19 and off his PR of 31:58 and well off his race day goal of sub 30:00.     There will always be this race next year and years to come.  

The big races are now on the horizon with the Marathon in September and a smattering of 5K's, an 8K in July and an August Half Marathon (not sure which one yet) -- marathon training formally kicks off on 29 May.  I need to get my butt in gear.

Sick Man

I've been really sick this week.  I really hate being sick -- but especially so when I am on a good training track and trying to peak for a race.

The last 3 weeks since my last race were all about continuing to build my aerobic base while sharpening my tempo and interval work for my favorite race of the season -- the JDRF Nordstrom Beat the Bridge 8K.   I had no inclination whatsoever after wrapping up an easy 8.3 mile on Monday with my heart rate in a great place that I was going to suddenly come down with a massive head and chest cold which hit me like a hammer on Tuesday night and continued to crush me Wednesday, Thursday and Friday wiping out what was going to be a couple of more short, but sharp intensity runs leading into Sunday's 8K.    

As anyone in Seattle is well aware, it's been a terrible stretch of weather here from October through this week (today being really the first nice day in a long time with more to follow).   Choosing to run outside as much as I can which means braving the cold and windy rains of the last 5 months has taxed my immune system as I've often come back completely drenched even when in full rain gear.     I heard on the news this morning that today (Saturday) is only the 6th sunny day in Seattle year-to-date with four of those prior sunny days actually falling in January.    Breaking a 110 year record for the most rainfall from any 7 month span in the history of weather keeping records in Seattle coupled with 145 days of rain the last 6 months has been a challenge to say the least.      The good news -- it looks like it's finally behind us -- and I am hoping this is the last of the nasty colds to pass my way at least until I get through my September marathon.

Tomorrow's race strategy and expectation is pretty much reduced to running mile-1 as fast as I can and then holding on to see what happens.   If I can get through mile-2 in around 14:00 and hang on over the uphill stretch of mile-3 maybe I can roll something respectable.     If it's not there it's a good 5 mile tempo run with my son Ethan who's hoping to break the 30:00 minute barrier.    And -- it's going to be a gorgeous morning for a run with temps at race time around 55 with blue sky.   I'll take it!

Race Summary - Top Pot 5K Donut Dash

It's already been 2 weeks since Ethan and I raced the Top Pot Donut 5K at Green Lake in Seattle.

It was a grey and rainy Sunday morning as Ethan and I got up early and made the 15 minute drive from Bellevue over to Green Lake in Seattle.   We quickly found parking near the starting line of the race about 45 minutes before race time and started our typical 5K warm-up routines jogging for a mile and then doing a mile of strides and 5K surge sprints to get the fast-twitch muscle fibers activated.

Coming into this race, I really didn't have high hopes for running a great time as my training intensity has been spotty especially in my tempo and interval workouts over the course of March and April.     My hope coming into the race was to comfortably run 7:30's and do something around 23:00 for the 5K -- which is a slow time for me when in peak shape -- but a reasonable goal after coming off a winter of rest after 3 marathons in 2016.    Ethan had just come off running a 1600 PR of 4:56 at a track meet on Thursday and was looking for something in the 18:00 range and under his cross-country PR which is around 18:30 for 5K.  

There were about 2000 racers that showed up for the race so the race chute at the start of the race was a little crowded; however Ethan and I positioned ourselves within the first few rows of runners (Ethan at the front) so we could get out of the blocks quickly and not be impeded by slower runners.  

At the gun we took off and Ethan quickly left me behind running his first mile in 5:45 or so.   I had already lost site of him at the mile-1 marker as I crossed it at 7:05-- feeling surprisingly comfortable and locked into a good tempo and breathing pattern.   I was worried I might pay for my aggressiveness but really didn't suffer too bad during the first half of mile 2; although, I felt myself slowing as the lactate was building in my legs.   As we ran along the Green Lake trail on mile-2, at about 1.7 miles there's a slight hill climb of maybe 50 meters from the lake path to the road which really gassed me.  I checked my garmin and saw I had slowed to 8:00 pace and my mile-2 split was up to 7:40.   I did everything I could to get my pace back up and managed to re-gain some composure (with higher suffering!) and drop down to 7:31 for mile-2.    With 1.1 miles to go I really tried to lock in and get my legs to turnover but I was stuck at this point at 7:30 pace and just went with it passing mile-3 in 7:30 and then picking up my pace to 6:39 over the final .14 or 220 meters or so to the finish line.    My official race time was 23:04 for the 5K; however, according to Strava I ran the Top Pot Donut 5K in 22:54 according to Strave Segments (If it's not on Strava - it didn't happen -- right?).   I placed 6th in the 50-55 age group (the 50-55 AG winner ran an incredible 5:31 race pace).  My PR in this race from 2010 was 20:12 so I was well off that accomplishment from 7 years ago. 

Ethan ran an 18:52 and 6:02 average pace having a bit of an off-race relative to his expectations.   He nonetheless finished 2nd in his AG and has a nice racing t-shirt to show off for showing up.    I expect Ethan to drop down into the low 17:00's this summer in road 5K's.      

Next race is the Nordstrom Beat the Bridge 8K next Sunday.      

The 2017 Racing Season Begins

I'm back!   I haven't posted to my running blog since my Tunnel Light Race Report last September.  In retrospect, racing 3 marathons in the span of 9 months -- each of which included a full 14-week training cycle may not have been the wisest thing.   After running a 3:35 last September in which I felt my fitness had peaked and began to decline in early August, I really fell into a "training pit" managing very little running output the last few months of 2016    I don't think it was as much a lack of motivation versus me simply needing a mental break after so much high intensity training over the preceding 9 months.      I started to really re-engage with my training while we were on Maui for two weeks over Christmas and New Year's 2016/2017 getting runs in nearly every day; albeit the quality of those runs were low as I'd lost even more fitness than I expected.

Family vacation to Cabo San Lucas April 2017 to the Resort at Pedregal.   My three year old daughter Jayden snapped this retro-looking picture at Mi Casa in downtown Cabo.  

 As of mid-May 2017, the quality and volume of my training is finally starting to trend positive as I am seeing my VO2 max and lactate threshold numbers trending positively as well as marked improvements in my running efficiency when running aerobically for volume.  

I'm planning on racing only one marathon this year.  The September Tunnel Light Marathon which I will run for the second consecutive year and use as my attempt to re-qualify for the 2018 Boston Marathon.   I ran a disappointing 3:35 there last September after hitting the half marathon mark in just over 1:41:00 and then fading over the last 10 miles as I hadn't prepared for the extra pounding my quads would take on a somewhat rocky 1.5% decline route.    I'll be better prepared this year doing a number of hard downhill tempo runs on that very route so as to prepare my quads for the extra wear and tear on race morning.  

What makes this year extra special is that my wife Vennessa will be running her first half marathon in early September (Labor Day Half Marathon in Redmond, WA) and my son Ethan (who just ran a 4:56 1600 PR) will be running his first marathon with me at the Tunnel Light Marathon in September.  It will be a late Spring and Summer filled with lots of training and run talk which is fun when it's at the family level.  

My approach to training this year is to continue to build on my aerobic base while increasing my running volume to 6 - 7 hours and over 40 hours a week.   At this point in mid-May, my annualized weekly running volume is just about to tick up over 30 miles as I begin to pick up my training intensity starting to touch 40+ mile weeks again.      From a training strategy perspective, I plan to stay focused on (re)building my speed base over shorter distances in May and June from the 100m, 400m, 1000m levels at sub-5k pace rates before transitioning into more of the strength-endurance portion of my marathon training where interval duration will expand to 1600's, 2000's, 3200's, etc.    From a tempo running perspective I will incorporate my standard progression from 8, 9 and 10 mile tempos throughout but will also build more tempo and marathon race pace simulations into runs where I've already run 10, 12, or 16 miles before then speeding up to tempo pace.    I find that the Hanson's method of marathon training - focusing on simulating the last 16 miles of the marathon from a stress perspective is what my body responds best to when it comes to translating months of training into a strong race-morning performance.    I recently heard someone say it was important to not be "a training day hero and race day zero".    Appropriate.

I'm still thinking about specific race goals for this year, but in summary I hope to re-qualify for the Boston Marathon which means I probably need to run a sub 3:27:00 in the marathon.  I also hope to remain injury free which is always a challenge as well as drop another 10-12 lbs of weight through the summer.  

Stay tuned as the 2017 racing season begins!

Tunnel Lite Marathon Race Report

It's been an incredible year of training and racing in celebration of turning 50 last December. Last Sunday's Tunnel Lite Marathon concluded a 12 month stretch that included three full marathon training cycles (December 2015 Honolulu Marathon, April 2016 Boston Marathon and the September 2016 Tunnel Lite Marathon),  two half marathons (Rain Day Half January 2016 and Seattle Rock-n-Roll Half June 2016) as well as the Ragnar Relay in July (Sub-Masters team win) and an 8K and 5K for good measure.  In total the last 52 weeks of training was just short of 2000 miles at 1940 total -- which included limited mileage in the winter due to a nasty lower right leg tendon injury I fought from February through April.    Suffice it to say that my run last Sunday was coming on tired mind and body -- knowing full well that I'd also managed to hit peak fitness/speed sometime in late July and was starting to fall off my top training times and heart rate levels.    

Somewhere around mile 15 of the Tunnel Lite Marathon.  My quads were starting to take a real beating from the downhill here as I passed the photographer trying to look strong and knowing I had another 10 miles in front of me.

I loved this marathon for its beauty, simplicity and that it was just 600 total runners and executed like a finely oiled machine.  And lest I forget the primary selling point -- it's a 2000', vertical drop for 23 miles or about a negative 1.6% to the finish line just east of North Bend, WA from mile 3.    The other main feature of this race is that at about the 1/2 mile mark, you enter into an old railroad tunnel that is devoid of light (other than hundreds of headlamps and flashlights) through which we ran 2.3 miles to the light (hence the name of the race -- "Tunnel Lite Marathon").     My goal was to run a sub 3:30 BQ here and get back to Boston for 2017 (as the race fell right in them middle of the 2017 Boston Marathon entrance window) -- but realistically I knew that I had peaked a few weeks earlier and had been suffering the last month or so from some cumulative fatigue that had set in which would make a great time on this downhill track an uphill challenge.   I was however resolved to see if I could dig it out and decided to run an aggressive opening half to see if I could hang on over the back half of the race.

It was nice simply getting up around 4:30 AM for an 8:00 am race time, fueling about 150 grams of carbs which included a "roadie" smoothie" -- and driving the 25 miles on the freeway to the bus pick-up point just east of North Bend.     I parked my car in a non-descript parking lot before sunrise and simply walked over to a waiting yellow school bus which in turn took off and drove another 25 miles or so eastward up and over Snoqualmie Pass to Hyak (just short of Keechelus Lake) off Interstate 90.

Of my 9 marathons, this was my 3rd fastest time -- and easily the best racing weather I've experienced.  7 of my 9 marathons have featured simply terrible to non-ideal weather so it was great to catch a weather break this time.

In terms of racing strategy, if I was going to run below 3:30:00, I believed I had to get out strongly and take advantage of the downhill, building a time buffer and then hold on over the last 5 miles -- ideally running 8:00 pace or at least nothing slower than 8:20's for the final 5 miles.    

The terrain for the course was a converted railroad track that was mostly compact dirt and rocks becoming gravel over the latter stages of the course.    Nearly half of my training this last year has been on the Cross Kirkland Corridor trail which is also a converted railroad track composed of soft gravel and compact dirt - so I felt comfortable that I'd be fine on the terrain.     As it turns out, the first 10 miles of the trail was actually quarter or larger sized rocks, some gravel, dirt and smaller ruts and undulations -- that were easy to navigate -- but really made the run more jarring on the quads.   I knew was going to be a problem later in the race (in comparison, running on a smooth asphalt or gravel trail is less jarring and one is able to glide and be more economical with muscle movement which conserves energy that's required for the last 5-6 miles of the marathon).    

I got through the first 5 miles (which included the 2.3 mile jaunt through the tunnel which was a little harder to run quickly than anticipated) in 7:46 pace and 38:51 and 10 miles in 77:38 and 7:45's.   At mile 10 I was feeling a lot more quad weariness than I expected (it felt like I'd already gone through 18 miles or so in fact) from the jarring but I was able to press on and get to the half marathon point in a great time of 1:41:30 and 7:46 pace.   I was right on my race strategy and within 7 seconds per mile pace of my PR at 3:20:00.    However, the quad soreness and fatigue was mounting and I knew I had to back it down a bit.   

At mile 14 I had been running with a group of men all shooting for sub 3:25:00.  We were running comfortably for 10 or so miles together, chatting and just getting into the groove as the miles passed by.   However, I stopped to walk the water station before mile 14 to see if I could gather a bit and decrease the quad fatigue before resuming running -- cutting my pace back to around 8:00 or even a little slower as I had a good buffer of time built up.    I ran miles 14 - 20 in about 50 minutes or 8:17 pace and got to mile 20 in just under 2:40:00 (which is 8:00 pace).   I was still in the game late in the race for a BQ -- if I could simply just muster and rally through the quad fatigue.    In my training in the summer,  I consistently ran fast-finish long runs where I'd cut-down miles 16 - 22 below 8:00 pace and even miles 21-22 in around 7:40 pace to practice for this exact moment.      

But the downhill grade was really starting to take a toll on me.   I slowed running mile 21 in 8:36 and then the dreaded 9:00's set in and I ran 9:15, 9:11, 8:55, 9:16 and 9:05 in (20-30 seconds of each mile was walking trying to re-focus and then rally to something below 8:00 pace).  But as the final miles clicked off I realized I was out of reach of a BQ and I relaxed and got through to the finish line in 3:35:39.     I was very very pleased with my race outcome given the fact that I'd peaked in late July, been feeling run-down the last 6 weeks but still at mile 22 had a 3:30 in my gun sights.  

I also realized on the back half of the race that racing Boston in 2017 would require me to get back into marathon training in early January which felt overwhelming giving I've come off 3 races in 9 months and 5 marathons going back to Portland in October 2014 over 23 months.  

My opening half was 1:41:30.  I then faded running the concluding half in 1:54:00 or so which is a large positive split -- but I made a conscious decision to go out hard and try to hang on -- and this is the sort of thing which happens with aggressive race plans.   I wanted to win big or blow up trying. I had nothing to lose anyway, right?    

Subject to my next blog posting -- the leg pain from Monday-Thusday this week was incredible.  It didn't help I jumped on an airplane and flew all day Monday morning after Sunday's race, but suffice it to say running a downhill marathon requires a little more specialized training than I anticipated.   

I can't wait to do this race again.  The next running of it is June 2017 and I will be laced up and ready to go!  Can't wait. 

Looking to the SW at sunrise from Hyak.   The full moon is visible through the wispy fog/clouds at 2500' elevation.

Sunrise with a full moon over Hyak at about 7:00 AM.   Pre-race temperatures were in the upper 40's and a little cool -- but absolutely perfect for racing a marathon.

Looking at one of the ski runs at Snoqualmie Pass at about 7:30 AM.

The race route feather 4 high elevation overpasses that were breathtaking. I tried to run as close to the side as I could to see down and distract myself from the growing pain in my quads as I ran towards the finish line which was still some 10 miles away at this point of the race.

WE WON -- Men's Submasters Win at the Ragnar Relay NW Passage

I am proud to say tonight that my son Ethan and I were both members of the winning Men's Submasters team "Sandbaggers" at this weekend's Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage covering 196 hilly miles in 26:00:35 which was 7:55 average pace per mile.

Team Sandbaggers enjoying the ferry ride back from Whidbey Island to Mukilteo after completing the 196 mile Ragnar Relay Northwest Passage.  It was perfect weather for this year's event.

Sandbaggers take first place by over 30 minutes.  The 2nd place team was on the first mile of the 36th and final leg when we crossed the finish line 4 miles ahead.

For anyone not familiar with the format of a Ragnar relay, a team consists of twelve runners who are broken into two vans of six runners each.   The entire relay consists of thirty-six legs beginning at the U.S. / Canadian border at the Peace Arch in Blaine, WA and then works its way south through Bellingham, the Skagit Flats, Burlington and then onto Widbey Island across Deception Pass and into Oak Harbor, Coupeville and then Langley for the finish.   

The six runners in van-1 run six successive legs of varying length before handing off to the six runners in van-2 who then do the same succession before handing back off to the runners in van-1.   

When the runners in a van hand the baton off to the other van, they drive to the next rally point  where they will resume running once the other van has covered its next six legs which typically is around 25-30 miles and 4-5 hours in duration.  During this 4-5 hours, runners are able to try and grab a quick meal, rest, replenish and prepare to resume running their next leg of the relay.   

For this year's relay, I ran legs 7, 19, and 31 with distance of 3.85, 10.5 and 6.1 miles.    Each leg featured significant hill climbs with leg-7 being the easiest and leg-19 the hardest with 3 major hill climbs and a start time of 12:30 am.    My son Ethan received the baton from me running legs 8, 20, and 32 with lengths of 6.0, 5.5 and 7.7 miles.   

My first leg was a bit of a joke running through downtown Bellingham and late afternoon Friday traffic (I had to stop at a light for 20 seconds before traffic cleared).   I hadn't run since Monday and rolled the first mile in 7:22 before fading in the heat and running an 8:40 final .85 mile up a hill and being passed by 2 runners.   It wasn't a great confidence builder.  

My second leg was far better, coming at the hand-off from van-1 who had just completed leg-18. Leg-19 is probably the 2nd hardest leg of the whole relay spanning 10.5 miles and 750' of hills in the pitch black of some rural roads leading into Anacortes, WA.  I was armed with a green strobe on the back of my running t-shirt and a headlamp with front and back lights.  The front headlamp was just OK for spotting potholes and other variations in the terrain as I ran (Ragnar is supposed to be run on sidewalks when possible, but I determined early in the blackness of this run that it's far safer to simply run in the road while keeping a careful eye on the incoming traffic so as to avoid a nasty sprained ankle from missing a curb).    I was passed fairly early in the race by 2 runners easily running sub 6:00 pace (both of whom were probably 150 lbs) before hitting my own rhythm and settling in and passing 20 runners (representing 20 teams; each pass for a runner is called a "road kill") and running a solid 7:51 average pace through 3 hill climbs and descents that easily rival the Newton Hills of the Boston Marathon.    My splits on this leg were 7:42, 7:58, 8:41, 7:13, 7:51, 8:00, 8:11, 7:08, 8:20, 7:41, and a final 1/2 mile in 3:26 for a 7:10 closing speed.     The most memorable moment occurred near the end of the leg with a runner about 25' in front of me falling hard having missed a deep pothole in the road on the hill climb through mile 8.   

My third and final leg came after van-2 completed leg 24 at about 6:00 AM.   We arrived into Coupeville, WA about 6:30 am (30 minute drive from the end of leg-24 to the start of leg-31) which provided me just enough time for a quick shower and some eggs and sausage at the school cafeteria before laying out my sleeping cushion and bag and grabbing 75 minutes of rest before getting up and getting the hand-off from the final van-1 runner (see picture below) between legs 30 and 31.    My final leg-31 was arguably the most scenic of the whole relay starting in downtown Coupeville and then heading out to the Admiralty Inlet on a slight downhill track before climbing a significant 1 mile length hill between miles 2 and 3 before then wending its way towards Admiralty Bay.   My legs were absolutely screaming in fatigue after the hard, hilly 10.5 miler just 7 hours earlier.  On this leg  I passed  a total of 10 runners (and was passed by a sole runner) and ran splits of 7:12, 8:38, 8:01, 7:10, 7:51, and 7:45.   I gave this leg all I had and was rewarded with an average pace of 7:45 across some fairly hard terrain.     

Quick Tips on Running a Ragnar Relay

• Be prepared to not sleep and get two good nights of rest on Wednesday and Thursday
• About a month in advance, try and do 3 very hilly runs spanning 18-21 total miles in a 30 hour period.
• As soon as you are done running -- Immediately hydrate with electrolytes and a great recovery drink with a 2:1 carb/protein grams mix within 10 minutes of concluding your running leg.  If your stomach will tolerate it, take 400 - 600 grams of ibuprofen.  
• Wear compression socks between your running legs
• Even if you can't sleep during the 4-5 hours of downtime, be sure to take in 500-1000 calories of nutrition and lay down for 60 - 90 minutes and be off your feet.   Sleep outside under the stars if you can; and not in the gyms which are hot and stuffy and loud.
• A location-sharing app like Glympse is great for providing up to the second information on where a runner is at on her/his running leg.
• Don't drink during the 2 breaks between vans and caffeine is your friend.  
• Bring toilet paper with you for your runs.

Ethan and I at the exchange point in Bellingham, WA between leg 6 and leg 7 (which was the starting leg for van-2)

Little did I know when this picture was taken this easy leg of 3.85 miles would be by far the easiest -- and my slowest leg of the relay.   I hadn't run since Monday coming into my first leg on Friday as I was feeling beat up from a 50 mile training week last week.   I only passed 1 runner and was passed by 2 runners at the end which made me more than a little grumpy.  

Ethan and I sleeping under the starts in Oak Harbor after completing leg-12.  We had about 90 minutes of downtime before resuming our running on leg-13 about 12:40 AM.

Elevation map for my 10.5 mile leg-19 which featured 3 long hill climbs of .80, 1.5 and .50 miles in duration. The final climb was at 7% incline.

Pace chart for Leg-19.  Couldn't be more pleased.

Hand-off at the conclusion of Ethan's 5.5 mile leg-20 to a short 2.5 mile leg-21.  

Grabbing a quick 75 minutes of downtime before resuming our running on Saturday morning in Coupeville, WA.

31st leg of the relay and my 3rd and final.   I gave it all I had and passed 10 runners enroute to passing the baton to my son Ethan for his final 7.7 mile leg-3.

Inspired hand-off between leg-30 and leg-31.   It's amazing what coffee does for the heart and soul after no sleep.

Me and Ethan at the conclusion of his 7.7 mile final leg (32nd leg overall).  Ethan's first and third leg featured major hill climbs which he handled with ease on his 17-year old  fresh legs.

The winning Sandbaggers team shot at the finish line of the Ragnar Relay NW Passage.

Who Says You Can't Go Home

I was born and raised in Walla Walla, Washington which is situated about 250 miles to the SE of Seattle in Southeastern Washington just north of the Oregon border.    Walla Walla had an established Indian (Nez Perce) trading post as early as1818 but really didn't become settled until the arrival of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman in 1836 and the establishment of the Whitman Mission.  The Whitman's were later killed by the local Cayuse Indians due to their bringing disease to the tribe which resulted in an epidemic leading to Cayuse Indian deaths.  

Eventually Fort Walla Walla was established by the U.S. Army in the 1850's and the settlement of Walla Walla really began in earnest eventually leading to it being the largest town in the Washington Territory before growth in Seattle overtook it (and even considered as the eventual Washington State Capital in the latter 1800's).      

Today Walla Walla is largely known for it's outstanding wines with over 100 wineries alone in and around the town itself.    As a kid growing up, Walla Walla was known by us "townies" as the home of the Washington State Penitentiary, Whitman College,  Walla Walla Sweet Onions and miles upon miles of golden wheat fields among other crops.   Many of us are descendants of Italians who migrated to the Walla Walla Valley in the 1890's who were enroute from California to a gold strike in northern Idaho when the gold strike dried up.   Many of the Italians stayed and farmed and brought some of the traditions of onion farming and wine making from the old country which have since grown into the economic backbone for the region.    

My mom's side of the family (Mele's, Frazari's, Locati's, Leonetti's) generally migrated from Calabria (southern Italy across from Sicily) in the 1890's and early 1900's.   My great-great grandma and her parents arriving around 1904 to Walla Walla.    

Setting aside all of the history of agriculture, Walla Walla is simply a fantastic place to train.   I never miss a chance when I am in town to steal out on a 10-20 mile run out to the Blue Mountains and back just to soak up the fragrant air, smell of the wheat fields and general peacefulness of running far into the country side at 6:00 AM on a Sunday before anyone but the farmers are up and about.    

It was here during the summer of 1984 as I prepared to enter active duty in the U.S. Army that I trained running 6-8 miles and cycling 25-30 miles 5-6 days a week.  I simply loved training and getting out on the hot and clear mornings with temperatures already in the upper 70's and getting miles of training in.     I still feel this love today when I am home 32 years later -- often running some of the very same routes I did as an 18 year old preparing for Army basic training in September of 1984.  

Since then, I've only run a single half marathon in Walla Walla (2010 Walla Walla Half Marathon) and regret not getting back and running the Walla Walla Marathon which was raced circa 2008 - 2015 before being cancelled (not sure what happened with the race director or its postponement).  

I'll be back in Walla Walla in a few weeks and plan to roll a nice easy 22 miler out to the Blue Mountains and back -- and I will soak up and relish every moment of growing up a small town boy and having the chance to get back to my roots as frequently as I do.  

Who says you can't go home!

About 3 miles from downtown Walla Walla, Main Street is Cottonwood Road which 5 miles from the base of the Blue Mountains and a left hand turn onto Foster Road. It's about 1-1.5% hill climb all the way out.

The golden wheat fields of July looking up towards Cottonwood Hollow from Cook Rd.

Looking south into Oregon about a mile away.

Lavender-lined driveway of Walla Walla Vintners and A'Maurice Vineyards on the Mill Creek Road.