More like, running in hell, or running uphill in hell, or .. you get the idea. After multiple rounds of the 13.1 mile run (Dallas, Cowtown, LSRC Spring Half), on our way to the Gorges Half, we met Jack the bartender in Scranton, PA. After describing our aspirations to run up big hills in Ithaca, Jack suggested we should consider the Steamtown Marathon, an evidently well-known event that lets people qualify for the Boston Marathon by providing a 26.2 mile downhill event with over 1000 feet of elevation drop on the course. For those of you who don’t run, 26.2 miles is a looooong way, and going downhill the entire distance makes a lot of difference in how fast you can get through that. Probably a combination of exhaustion, drinks, and lack of common sense had us agreeing that we would be back for Steamtown in 2016.
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We Went To Paris … Texas
Tour de Paris
Trying to find the combination of a Saturday morning, a reasonably close bicycle ride shorter than 50 miles, and a location of interest has been an ongoing challenge since picking up the cycling bug a few years ago. We discovered the Tour d’Italia in scenic Italy, TX, last year and really enjoyed it. However, this year’s run conflicted with our half marathon run in Ithaca, NY (linked here). The organizers of the Italy ride do two others each year as a part of the European Tour of Texas, with a ride in Paris (Tour de Paris), the Tour de Norway (in Clifton), and the Tour d’Italia. If we can’t get them all in one year, guess we’ll make a stab at getting all three over three years …
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I’m Afraid We Used The Washer
Continuing a theme of turning the back or front end of work trips into productive exercise time, and with a week in NYC coinciding with the weekend for the Gorges Half Marathon in Ithaca, it was time for another very busy weekend. The fact that Ithaca is the home of Cornell University, of which at least one family member is an alumni, just added context. Running a half marathon for which we were minimally prepared was less a concern than seeing upstate New York – it’s on.
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The Agony of the Palo Duro Canyon Half
So … we appear to be committed to long, painful runs that result in exhaustion, days of soreness, and spending lots of money for a t-shirt, a big clunky medal, and a few pictures we manage to catch along the way. Figuring that we’ve seen and pounded enough miles of pavement, we decided to branch out. Trail runs seem to happen on more frequently on Sundays which makes schedules a bit easier, but to offset that, it’s always a good idea to pick one that is at least 5 hours away – convenience is not a watchword we adhere to. Hence, the LSRC (Lone Star Runner’s Club) Palo Duro Canyon Spring Half – 13-point-something miles in the bottom of Palo Duro Canyon State Park. The club also hosts the Palo Duro Trail Run in the fall each year, but getting both of us there on a Saturday has proved tough. One of us walked the 20K (12.2 miles or so) two years ago, and ran (well, jogged) it last fall. While not a walk in the park (sound effect here for bad pun), it seemed like a do-able half marathon. Ummm, yeah.
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graveyardsandghosttowns 