Bling won in 2018

Sept 23nd, 2018: Did Viva Calle with Virginia. It was the kickoff event for the car free streets celebration. I did it at a walk, averaging about 20 minute miles. Mainly that was because of my bad back. Virginia did it at closer to 12 minute miles. Turns out her friend Becky also had a bad back, so we walked trading stories and learning about each other. She's a mom with teenagers who was born in Redwood City and has spent most of her life in this area. Nice lady with a day job who is looking forward to her kids getting launched. The miles went by quickly.

October 2nd, 2018: Did the election officer training in Cupertino. That was an abbreviated refresher course for people that have done the job before, so we were done after a couple of hours work. At the end they gave each of us one of these pins to wear on election day.

January 2019: Did Hot Chocolate again with Virginia. This time we were in the first batch that got turned around at the beginning of the Great Highway leg. Kind of embarrassed by that.

Sept 2nd, 2018: Did the RACE TO THE END OF SUMMER with Virginia. We were a couple of mile from the end when some guy on a bike going the other way told us "The party at the end is going strong already." When we got there it was mostly over. The volunteers were gathered for a group shot in the finish line chute when we got there. They gave us a nice cheer. After that dissipated learned that there was a big box of last years metals. Picked up the small version of that medal, because I like the license plate theme. Goes nicely with the bronze and yellow thing I earned this year. That was also available in a small version, bit I liked the fact they gave me a big one. Don't remember another time when medal option seemed to be a fashion choice.

September 15 or 16, 2018: Virginia and I signed up to be "course monitors" at the Red Rocks Challenge. We showed up on the tandem and did a lot of scouting to find out how many people were still on the course. Helped the people running the water stands know when their jobs were done. Also gave Chris a break so she could relieve herself while waiting for the stragglers at the 20K turn around. Worked out great. Virginia's Garmen said we pedaled 20 miles. When it was all said and done they gave us each a medal for being part of the event. Thanks for sharing!

May 23rd, 2018: Did the election officer training at the Registrar of Voters office. At the end of the training they gave those of us who completed it each one of these pins. Wore it on election day. Not sure anybody noticed.

July 28th, 2018: Did the Bad Bass half marathon with Virginia. Our time was nothing to brag about, but we knew it wouldn't be. Started an hour before the "race" with the hiker division. That meant we were about half way around the course when the first of the runners started passing us. The really fast ones were poetry in motion. Very fit guys hauling ass. We did our best to stay out of their ways. Then it was like being a spectator with an awesome seat (if you don't count the fact that we were sometimes in the way due to narrow trail issues) for a few miles. Then for the last few miles it was almost like running in place, in that the people ahead of and behind us didn't change much as the miles melted away. Gotta do some getting in shape!

Unlike most of the races we've been involved with, Taji 100 is a month long challenge. The idea is to go 100 miles (or more) on foot in the month of February. Virginia was bent on getting 300 miles this month, and did it. I ended up going for 200, far more than I was expecting at the beginning of the month. Feeling stronger than I have for a long time because of all the walking. Also unlike most races, what makes the experience compelling is the online component. All of the fun of following a favorite baseball team in the paper, except that I was the team. Go! ME! GO! The leaderboard at Taji100.com gives you a sense of your place in the race that makes working out so much more than just a good reason to eat delicious food. The exercise log component has lots of outings on it. So fun!

March 19th, 2018: This was another beer that was already in the fridge. Celebrating in the FINISHER cup I got instead of yet another medal from the GO GREEN St. Patricks Day. Wore as much green as possible. Finished the half marathon in 3 hours, 27 minutes, and 17 seconds, another PR for me. Now my finish time is under the cutoff for more races than it used to be.

April 8, 2018: Did the San Francisco Rock 'n' Roll half marathon with Virginia. Didn't do as well as I wanted, but still took 20 seconds per mile off last years time in the event. Think now part of the problem was that the air filter in my living room was clogged, causing me to have an almost imperceptible (except in stuff like half marathon performance) decrease in lung function. Replaced that the next day.

April 15th, 2018: Did the Silicon Valley half marathon with Virginia. Did it with a finish time three and a half minutes under last weeks, but still not a really good time. I'm thinking the problem is that I have been eating too much and gaining weight. Thanks Willie Nelson.

December 29th, 2017: This was the bling collection that I wore at my festivus party. People asked what my feat of strength was and I said "Carrying around these medals all evening." In the case of the eclipse medal, the real feat was getting to Tennessee on the Greyhound bus to participate in the run. Loving the fact the "San Francisco Berkeley Challenge" covers two cities that elected Green Party members. Forgot to refer to the guy on the Summit Rock medal as "Han Spotted Owl" too many times. Did all those runs with Virginia, plus many others. Looking forward to more of that in 2018!

February 4th, 2018: Did the Super Guadalupe River Run with Virginia. Since it was only 6.2 miles along a river bike path, I focused on going as fast as I can. Did every mile at a pace at or under 15:45. Better at race walking now then I ever was before that experience. Used a new pair of Saucony shoes for the experience. That turned out to be a mistake. They'd done okay out walking with Virginia, but under race conditions they ground a huge blister in my heel that popped and got very sore by the time I crossed the finish line.