Tim Smit's is #179 for IM Switzerland

Tim Smit is busy preparing for IM Switzerland and has this update for us on his number and inspiration.

22 April 2008

War on ALS and IM Switzerland!

I was checking out my tri-bike transportation options for IM Switzerland and noticed the Bib # selection option for the race. Immediately, I checked out the availability of bib # 179 (Jon Blais’ IM number). It was available (key word – WAS) until it was reserved – by me!

The moment I received confirmation that I had bib # 179, I contacted Blazeman Dad, Bob Blais, to let him know that I will be with Jon all day during IM Switzerland.

No more then did I send that note to him and my phone rang (area code (508)). I knew exactly who it was (as I am typing this, I am getting my goose bumps on top of other goose bumps).

I answer and the voice calls out, “Ranger’s definitely lead the way!” We talked for about ½ hr about the race and ALS updates and life.

Bob informed me that any Blazeman Warrior that is given bib # 179 for any IM race earns the honor to carry the original Blazeman Battle Flag during the race!

The race is 81 days, 23 hrs and 36 minutes away and I am so excited to get there (like the lil’ boy in the Disneyland commercial – I am too excited!!

http://www.active.com/donate/teamblazeman/TSmit

I can not wait to represent the War on ALS and RTB in Switzerland!

Tina Coleman's Whidbey 1/2 Marathon report

What a weekend. Started out the journey with my Husband and my Sons on the Ferry from Mukilteo to Clinton. It was a gorgeous day, the sun was shining down on the Sound and making it sparkle as if there were millions of diamonds floating on the water. My Guys were amazingly supportive and didn't complain one bit about the excursion. The ferry ride was much shorter than I had anticipated and basically I only had time to use the bathroom and walk Nico out to the bow of the ferry and back to the car. I had the directions to the rental house with me, and it sounded like we were going to be the first ones to arrive with Jenn, Clint and Elizabeth not far behind. The rental house was perfect and had just enough beds for the 8 of us. We (the Boys) unloaded the car and put away the food, and headed out to the expo to pick up my packet. Jessi was not going to be to the Island in time to pick up her packet, so luckily I was able to pick it up for her and got the pleasure of convincing the girl behind the table giving me Jessi's packet that I really did want a Medium shirt. "are you sure? they run small" as she's looking me up and down. Just give me the shirt toothpick, I didn't say that but wanted to. The Guys were pretty restless at the expo, as there were only healthy snacks and no "good" food to eat. They were hungry, so we headed back to the rental house. But, I insisted on driving the course first. Not sure that was the best idea, but I had to know. It was bad, but at least I knew. Funny how you can do your mileage on a workout, but when you are driving a new course that you've never seen, those 13.1 miles seems like forever. Plus it doesn't help when your husband is gasping around every turn at the hills.

Shortly after we got back to the house, Jenn, Clint and Elizabeth arrived. I was so happy to see them, it was like reuniting with family you hadn't seen in awhile. We talked about our goals for the race and what our game plans were. I told them that I drove the course and mentioned 2 hills that seemed pretty steep. In hindsight, I realize there were at least 4-6. We talked for awhile and the girls and I took a 30 minute walk (1 pt) around the neighborhood while our husbands started the BBQ. We had a wonderful steak dinner with grilled asparagus, green salad and garlic bread (which I charred pretty good). I think we went to bed about 10'ish and I woke up at 4:51am to the sound of animals running on the roof. At the time I would have thought it was a pack of wolves up there, but in the morning realized it was probably racoons. I didn't get back to sleep but stayed in bed until 6am and decided to get up and take a shower. I planned on wearing makeup for the race too, because I was planning on it being a great photo op day. Good call on my part.

We got to the start and had to park a couple of blocks from the start, as the parking was limited at Oak Harbor HS where the race started and finished. The walk to the start was a great warm up but we all needed to use the bathroom and we couldn't believe the line to the sani-cans! We got a tip from a passing runner that there were about 20 stalls in the HS stadium and we all sprinted for those and she was right, 20+ stalls and no line! After that we headed to the start which they started late to wait for some more runners to show up, as they were having problems finding parking. That's when I started to panic. Jessi was so calm, Elizabeth was so happy, Jenn was taking it one step at a time and was not putting any pressure on herself, and I was crying. I know, shocker, I was crying. I had so many expectations for myself and I was feeling doubtful. I put my sunglasses on but knew my lip was quivering. The girls and I huddled and Elizabeth led us in a pep talk/prayer. Suddenly all the voices of reason were popping into my head. I heard Ang telling me to set 3 time goals. 1 would be my backflip time 3:00, 2 would be my happy time 3:15, 3 would be the time I know for sure I could do it in, 3:45. The loudspeaker was playing "tequila" and I was wishing I had some. I could hear Teresa telling me to have fun and not to put pressure on myself. And I was reliving the presentation at the last RTH meeting that Connie M and Shaun gave. Live in the moment, live in the moment, live in the moment. That was my mantra for this race and it worked.

Jenn's and my plan were to do the 1/4 run, 1/4 walk, walk the hills and sprint on the downhills. I had the GPS to keep track of the distance and our pace and she had the watch to keep track of our time. I think Jenn and I would both agree that the first 2 miles we were both pretty quiet other than just telling her when we needed to walk or run. I knew I needed to start talking or my monkey brain would start thinking too much and I would end up sabotaging myself. Live in the moment. We both started talking and we really shared and opened up a lot about our thoughts, fears and life. Before we knew it, we were running longer and faster. According to my GPS we went as "fast" as 9:39 at one point. It was amazing to have someone to race with like that. Jenn pushed me, not verbally, but just having her there pushed me. Jenn is a great athlete and to be able to keep up with her was a great boost for me. For most of the race we had Elizabeth in our sights and she even ran a bit with us, but she was long gone when we approached mile 10. I can't remember at what mile we saw our husbands and my sons for the first time, but it was awesome. My heart was full and I really pushed hard in front of them so they'd know that I was ok. At that moment, I felt so grateful for what I have in my life. A wonderful supportive family, great friends, 2 legs, 2 lungs and a strong heart. Live in the moment. We saw the guys again at mile 9 or 10 and we ran hard for them there too. They drove past us after that while we were walking and I have to say I didn't like being caught walking. We picked up the pace again and didn't stop until the next hill. At about mile 11.5 we hear from behind "Raise the Bar!" It was Kathy Morrisson! I don't know about everyone else but I get star struck when I see our elite athletes in a race, it was awesome. I'm glad we were running when she saw us. Jenn said that's why she wears her RTB tank in every race, because you never know when you'll see a teammate. It was right about then that I was starting to drag. Live in the moment, yes you are tired, but take one step at time, live in the moment. At about mile 12 we see Jessi coming up one of the last hills, she was looking for us. She just did 13.1 miles and she was back tracking to come find us and take us to the finish line. Who does that? I will never forget that, ever. She talked us up and over the last hill and we sprinted the last 1/2 mile to the finish with the last 1/4 mile being around the track in the Oak Harbor HS stadium. Just as we are entering the stadium, there was Teresa shouting for us and cheering us on. That was awesome and it helped me push. Being on the track was nice and as Jessi was talking us through it she reminded us of the nice cushy feel of the track under our feet. With the last 25 ft in front of us, Jessi asked us if we had anything left and she told us to push it. We did and it was good.

After crossing the finish, I hugged my Brooks, DJ and Nico, Jenn, Clint, Elizabeth, Jessi and Teresa. (I apologize now for the stink). At this time we saw Kathy Morrisson and Karen Nolting in their aluminum blankets and took some group photos. Karen asked me how I felt and I told her mentally I was great but physically I was beat. Then I said, if I didn't feel beat up then I didn't give it my all did I? She agreed, with a smile. According to my GPS, our finish time was 3:10:28. My official chip time was 3:12:01. I did it. I had been training for this day for 12 weeks since January 21st and have logged 138 miles and 34 run workouts leading up to that day. Was it worth it? ABSOLUTELY. Would I do again? ABSOLUTELY. Will I do another 1/2 marathon? ABSOLUTELY. Will I do the Whidbey Island 1/2 marathon again? NOT ON YOUR LIFE.

Patty Morrison's Epic Catalina Island Marathon Adventure...

RECAP: Planes, Buses and Boats: The Catalina Island Marathon Adventure
Hello! I'm FINALLY back! OK, get ready for the quick 'down and dirty' cliff notes on my weekend adventure to Catalina Island!

Thursday morning: Life of leisure, get to airport with no problem. Greet Carla, Yipee! We're free and easy and ready to go!

No lines to check our baggage, woo hoo, life is good........oopps, computer just went down. Not a problem, we're free, easy and happy to go-with-the-flow. Besides, we're there in plenty of time and not in danger of missing our flight. All is good!

On the plane - giving high-fives, ready for our adventure....oopps, mechanical difficulties, please wait for a few minutes while they're fixed, no need for alarm....again, we're free, easy and still not razzled! All is good!!.....

Fast forward to 3 hours and several magazines later...sitting in the terminal, waiting....not dampening our spirits, though....thanks to Carla, we have plenty of time between our flight and our boat departure to Catalina....now we won't have to wander around in LA trying to find something to do....all is good!

Touch down in LA, sunny weather, yippeee!!! There's our shuttle we booked in advance, ready and set to take us to the boat terminal in San Pedro!! The shuttle rounds the airport looking for more fares for the second time and now I'm starting to worry..."excuse me, but we do have a boat to catch?" No problem, lady, we're on our way now....

Fast foward to San Pedro terminal....ghost town...boat left 15 minutes ago....No, there's not another boat until the morning. OK, we're still free and easy and thank goodness we decided to pad an extra day in our travels before the race!!! We'll catch a cab and head for a hotel for the night - all is kind of good still...

Hotel is nice...a little pricey, but at least we have somewhere to plant our travel-weary butts. Oh, are we sure the boat tomorrow is leaving out of San Pedro? There's is a terminal in Long Beach and maybe we should check? Yes, it's leaving out of Long Beach (we silently celebrate since this terminal is much closer). Maybe we could walk there? No, but there are free buses within the area and we can just catch one across the street. Did I mention how many flippin' boat terminals there are within a 15 minute radius??? Yep, we got on the wrong bus....but quickly caught our mistake (did I mention were shlupping all of our luggage thru all of this?). After pissing off everyone on the bus we just squeezed onto, by sqeezing ba ck off after only 5 blocks, we are still laughing...really...this is pretty comical. We shlupp back up the hill and stand and the correct stop and wait (now we are, of course, in danger of missing our boat once again....) Alas, here comes the bus, nice people on board, we are going to make it!!! Lovely seating inside the upper cabin of the Catalina Flyer (did I mention I forgot about the fact that I get seasick when I'm inside any water floating vessel?) Met a wonderfully funny and sweet runner next to us, but I couldn't continue my conversation as I had to make a quick exit to the lower deck and freeze my ass off while watching the horizon on our 1 hour boat ride (gale force winds that day).

There's Catalina Island!!!! OK, I really need to calm my stomach. (Note: I never did loose my cookies, although that ride was the talk of the weekend on Catalina as many people did get sick). Check in at our hotel....find some grub...nice and sunny...beautiful island. We are so very thankful and happy to just finally be there!!

Next morning, 4am...alarm goes off, we have to catch a boat at 5am that will take us to the other side of the island for the start of the race. Again, gale force winds, this time I'm smart and sit outside. I have no problems with the rocking boat, but Carla and I listen while several others loose their breakfast....what a way to start the race!!!

Miles 1 thru 3, straight uphilll. This is a beautiful, trail marathon. Extremely hilly, also extremely stunning! Not a problem, we are enjoying the scenery and having fun. Runners start 1/2 hour after us walkers and blow by us about mile 3.5. I am noticing that Carla is having some troubles and it is increasingly hard for me to keep her going. We really think she has asthma of some sort and she feels never able to fully get a good breath. We laugh, cry and climb our way up the mountain until mile 13...Carla is done and has decided to catch a ride to the other side at this rest stop. We hug, I apologize for wanting to continue on....then I start to run....(did I mention I have not been running a lot and this was suppose to be a nice walk in park?). It took us 4.5 hours to make it to mile 13. We really haven't seen anyone in a whi le and I'm now shifted into competition mode....gotta catch up, gotta catch up...gotta finish in under 7...bla bla bla....what the ***** does that to my brain??? There they are....people - I quickly gain momentum and run my heart out. There they are....more HILLS...oh my gosh, this is like hiking Mount Peak...seriously!! I walk these very steep parts....(did I mention the gale force winds are now back and my eyes are so full of sand and dirt that it's hard to see...) Still making good time...feeling really good - hey, there's Carla!! Nice people have brought her up the mountian to mile 18...yipeee, go, run, see you at the finish!! More hills, more sand, last 3 miles are down hill and I finish in just under 7 hours. What a course...I'm so doing this again next year....hee hee

Wow, we find out the wind is really whippin' and they've cancelled boats leaving the island for the afternoon....are you thinking what I'm thinking????.....

Up at 6am - gotta catch our boat which leaves at 8am. Boats cancelled, nothing coming or going...check back at 10am. Seriously, now we truly are laughing so hard we're crying. Plus, we're still thankful, because now we can go sit and have breakfast!

Yey - boats are running again and we leave at 11:45am. By this time though, we have already missed our flight to Seattle which left at 11:26. Not a problem, I know there are tons more flights leaving LA to SEA today. We check in and tell our sorry story, the lady is nice and tells us to try standby and we head off to security....yep, we've been flagged and get the total security search. I wanted to laugh so hard...but thought that would probably get me arrested!!! The last flight leaves at 9:15pm.....that's the one we catch, after sitting at LAX, trying to fly out on oversold flights the entire afternoon.

Arrive home at 1:45am. Carla and I figure we could have traveled to Italy and back by now. There were lots of wonderful people we met on the way, we really did have lots of fun!!! Here's to next year!