A scarcity of towns...

Ah, the joys of winter running...

Now that it's February, I took a moment to check out the 2013 calendar at www.coolrunning.com to start getting organized.

All I can say is, wow! Out of dozens and dozens of races already scheduled, exactly one is in a New Hampshire community that I've yet to run in: Whitefield!

Of course more will be scheduled, but gone are the days when I could choose from several places each weekend. Now, with nearly 140 communities under my belt, it's much harder to find someplace where I haven't run.

So this reinforces the idea that I need to ramp up my quest by visiting "non-race" towns and running a minimum 5K. If I do two back-to-back, that's 10K. So I could net quite a few.

One problem is distance. Even in a relatively small state such as New Hampshire, some of the northern communities are a three-hour drive from where I live.

For those, I'll probably go up in the evening, do a "double run," then spend the overnight. Next morning, I'll get up and do another "double" before heading home.

And because I'm supposed to be training for a trek up the summmit of Mount Kilimanjaro, that might lead to a more aggressive schedule than in recent years.

What's a reasonable goal? Well, I'm going to Kilimajaro in September, so by then I should have done...let's say 25 more towns. Ambitious, but do-able.

This month, my main opportunities will come on Saturdays in the next two weekends. (The last weekend of the month, I'm out of town.)

So if I get going and the weather cooperates, I could have conceivably colored in four new communities by the end of month.

And that would be a great start to 2013. So stay tuned!

Tuesday, Jan. 29: Adding Florida, or thank God for Merry Weather Avenue

The Embassy Suites hotel and conference center that we called home in Orlando, Fla.

On the final morning of a four-day printing conference in Orlando, I fell out of bed at 4:45 a.m. and logged 7.3 miles on the roads and byways west of the Embassy Suites, where we're staying. It was enough to add Florida to the "Running in All 50 States" list as No. 10, pushing me into digits. I'm one fifth of the way there!

I suppose if you're going to add Florida, then January is the time to do it. New Hampshire had been in the grip of a prolonged spell of sub-zero Arctic weather when we left last Friday. Meanwhile, Orlando has enjoyed daytime highs about 80 and overnight lows in the (gasp) upper 50s!

So on Tuesday, Jan. 29, I ventured into the predawn darkness, but only after two "practice" runs earlier in the conference. The area we're staying is a commercial zone near the airport -- a land of hotels, chain restaurants, warehouses, rental car storage lots, and the occasional gated community. The bad news is that it embodies the worst in disconnected sprawl development. But the good news is that it's all so bright shiny new and filled with coconut and palm trees!

Seriously, while it's nothing like an authentic place ("This is not the retail district," said the clerk at the hotel when I asked about renting a bicycle), it does boast sidewalks (unbroken by frost heaves!) and some really elaborate landscaping. Alas, the sidewalks often wind their way through the elaborate landscaping, zig-zagging back and forth instead of in a straight line, which can be kind of a pain when you're on an extended run.

Still, that's no reason to complain. However, what is a reason to complain is that the sidewalks sometimes just give out altogether, forcing a runner (or walker) onto the road. Apparently it's up to developers to include sidewalks and landscaping, and some properties didn't get them or haven't yet been developed.

Here's the route I scratched out on a piece of hotel stationery, with the help of Google Maps.

Anyway, it was cool and calm when I set out into the pre-dawn void, first circling an Orwellian office development next to our hotel, then heading east on Hazeltine National Drive, which is all office parks, and then north on TCP Drive, which is all warehouses. Up ahead loomed my first big road, Lee Vista Boulevard, and even from a distance I could see I was in for trouble. The road was a wide, four-lane divided highway with a 45 mph speed limit, and busy, even at 5:20 a.m.

Really! I reached it during a lull in traffic and so crossed over to a sidewalk, but after that cars were pretty much constant, as Lee Vista is apparently a major east-west route. This wasn't a problem until the sidewalk ran out. With uneven turf lining the road and it still being dark, I really had no choice to run in a narrow bike lane, with cars and trucks whizzing by at top speed mere inches from my side.

This was not fun.

I began passing gated communities with names like "Crescent Vista Estates," with Semona Boulevard, a big north-south road, with its chain hotels and lit-up restaurant signs looming in the distance. The sidewalk resumed, but now included occasional sprinklers with nozzles pointing over the sidewalk. A ground fog had formed, giving the whole scene a certain Steven King ambiance, with pairs of car headlights tracing beams through the gray gloom.

I lucked out at Semona, crossing the busy street when no vehicles were approaching. But then the run got really interesting, as the road narrowed to a curvy two-lane highway with no sidewalks and no bike lanes, either.

For awhile, I thought I was screwed. It didn't feel safe, and with Lee Vista Road heading into undeveloped country, I didn't expect things to get any better. I was just beginning to formulate 'Plan B' for my run when I noticed that yes, across the road was an actual sidewalk.

The first break in the traffic, I scooted over, got on that, and kept going. Yes, the sidewalk soon disappeared, but there was enough of a shoulder for me to feel comfortable, and I was facing the eastbound traffic, which wasn't nearly so heavy. So my moment of crisis has passed.

Lee Vista Boulevard soon turned into Judge Road, and I stayed with it through open country -- westward, ever westward. To the south, jets were taking off from Orlando Airport, swooping overhead and sounding like a leaf blower and whistling tea kettle at the same time.

Conway Road was my next landmark, and the sidewalks started up again a few hundred yards before I reach it. Traffic on this north-south thoroughfare wasn't nearly so heavy, so I got across and continued west on Judge. For the next quarter-mile, the sidewalk ran alongside a brick wall, which I later found was a gated community, one of several that I would trudge by in this area.

After about a mile of this, I was getting kind of tired of brick walls and big iron gates. Good think I hadn't planned to run on any of the streets inside! I began yearning to see just one driveway or front door or chainlink fence. And then, just in time, I turned onto Merry Weather Drive.

Holy cripe! A perfectly ordinary street -- one lined with modest single-story homes! Through shrouded in pre-dawn darkness, the outlines were plain enough: the garbage cans along the sidewalk, the 'Beware of Dog' signs, the lawn ornaments. It felt like a real place! Even the slightly down market name (Merry Weather instead of the more uppity 'Meriwether' or something like that) felt right, like I was among real people who lived real Florida lives, even though most of them were sleeping just now.

About a half-mile of this was all I needed to feel refreshed. Turning onto Conway Drive to begin the trek back, I reentered the anonymous suburban sprawl. Well, at least Conway had generous sidewalks. In fact, for a short stretch, the sidewalks themselves had sidewalks! Seems like a recent rebuild of the road had included sidewalks, but a section of existing parallel sidewalk had been left in place. This created "express" and "local" sidewalks, something I'd never seen before.

(Sorry, no photos of all this. The hotel was miles away, and with no car and no time later, it wasn't possible to return to the scene of the crime. So here's a photo of coconut trees near the hotel instead.)

So I trudged back along Judge Road, returning to the more familiar sprawl near our hotel. Along the way, I passed the Renaissance Hotel on Semona Boulevard, which I visited the other night because it's the only place around that had a piano on which I could practice. (I was thrilled that any place would have a piano in this area.)

Approaching our hotel, I began to see other folks out for morning runs at more reasonable hours. One looked just like my business partner, so I greeted him a little more heartily (and insultingly!) than he was perhaps expecting. Of course he wasn't my business partner, but why let a little thing like that get in the way of reaching out to a fellow runner on the road?

Upon my return to the lobby, the clock read 6:45 a.m. So 1 hour and 37 minutes to do 7.3 miles. That's 13:12 per mile, which isn't too bad, considering that I haven't been running or doing any kind of exercise recently. And it was enough to add Florida to my list, which puts me at 10 -- double digits, and one-fifth of the way there.

Not sure when and where the next one will be, but stay tuned!

About to add another state...

Right now I'm in Orlando (that's our hotel, above) for a printing conference, which gives me the first chance of 2013 to pick up a new state: Florida! Land of the low-hanging fruit, and also the hanging chad.

The weather here is pleasant, with a mid-day high (right now) of about 75 degrees, which is a big improvement on 0 degrees in New Hampshire, which we left behind yesterday.

I went for a brief run this morning (2.5 miles) to gauge the area and climate prior to attempting an 8-mile circuit on either Monday of Tuesday. Unfortunately, there's no easy way to rent a bicycle where I am (hotels near the airport), so it's running.

There's a pool, too, so I may go swimming today (Saturday, Jan. 26) and tomorrow as part of the prep. I need to do more swimming anyway if I'm going to do better in any triathlons this summer.

Today I got a nice e-mail today from a guy named Andrew Cushing, a guy who was race director of a 5K I did in the town of Grafton this past fall. To help in my question to run in all of New Hampshire's cities, town, and unincorporated places, Andrew proposed organizing a few 5K runs in the sparsely populated hill communities north of Interstate 89: places such as Dorchester and Orange.

Not sure if this proposal was made out of pity, but I'm game. So I look forward to joining Andrew and his running pals some day when the weather warms up to bag as many as three towns in a single day. Thanks, Andrew!

And you know, I just cruised the N.H. race listings at www.coolrunning.com and out of something like 100 races already scheduled for the 2013 season, I think I saw maybe two towns that I hadn't run in before.

So this is the year, it seems, where I have to seriously broaden my effort to include non-racing towns, just as Andrew has suggested. It's the only way I'm ever going to get to finish this silly quest by the self-imposed deadline of May 14, 2016.

Also, one more note to myself. As motivation to keep things going this winter and into the summer, I have to remember there are plans afoot to join an expedition to trek to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in August or September of this year.

As a climb, Kilimanjaro isn't technically that difficult. With its big broad profile and steady slopes, this immense mountain is like a gigantic version of New Hampshire's Mount Washington. Even so, conditioning will improve my chances of making it to the summit, which is (gulp!) 19,341 feet.

So I have a specific reason to push myself in the months ahead, don't I?

And so maybe this will be what gets me to complete another list-in-progress: the 48 4,000-footers in New Hampshire, where I've been stuck at 30 since the season before last. We'll see.

Getting organized for 2013

Okay, a few thoughts about the new year, which is already in progress...

• December 2012 was a fairly quiet month. January 2013 will also be a quiet month if I don't get organized. So get organized.

• One reason December was a wash-out is that I'm having trouble finding time to work out. This has to change.

• For 2013, I need to run more regularly and avoid injury. This means taking time to stretch and warm up. And running regularly with our three dogs to give them the benefit of the activity as well.

• For 2013, it would be nice to get at least 40 new towns added to my "run in every place in New Hampshire" quest, and a total of 12 new states in my "run in all 50 states" quest.

• For biking, I need to come up with some plans to make the most of this. The 100-mile loop around the White Mountains would be doable. Another trip to Harrisville or the beach? To Brattleboro, Vt.?

• I also need to make time to hike to a few more summits so I can complete all 48. I could actually do that this year, if I plan it correctly.

• For now (January, February), I need to make arrangements to spend some time in the gym, when I'm not shoveling snow, which is the best excerise I've gotten lately.

• Speaking of now, we actually have a nice snowpack going this year, so I need to break out the cross-country skis, and also get to a few downhill areas. I'll have to call Peter Noonan and see what he things.

• I think in general, I need to shoot for the goal that I set for myself for my next physical exam, which is in June. Can I do it? I don't see why not, if I can remain focused and not distracted.

Okay, that feels a bit more organized. But it hasn't gotten me outside or more active, so I'll sign off here and make it happen.

All the best and Happy New Year!

Manchester (N.H.) half-marathon round-up: 13.1 miles on Sunday, Nov. 4

Yes, that's me running in front of Manchester's iconic City Hall. All that's missing is a zig-zag black stripe on my shirt to make me a dead ringer for Charlie Brown.

Time for a quick account of the Manchester (N.H.) Marathon before the details as remembered are completely swallowed by the onrush of the holidays and everything else.

My hometown marathon, run this year on Saturday, Nov. 4, was of special interest because it was scheduled for the same day as the New York City Marathon, which was abruptly cancelled thanks to Hurricane Sandy.

So hundreds of NYC Marathon refugees, many of them international runners who'd come a long way for their bite of the Big Apple, came a bit further to the Queen City instead. Organizers were on the ball, too, allowing late registrations and somehow handling it all with nary a hitch.

Race morning dawned clear and cool, with a chilly wind occasionally kicking up out of the northwest. Earlier, it wasn't windy at all at my house, hence my decision to run the half-marathon (13.1 miles), in just shorts and the official Manchester Marathon long-sleeved t-shirt.

My usual "wear a sweatshirt" point is 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and the morning was somewhat above that. But when the wind began gusting downtown, I felt it, especially when out of the sun. Brrrr! Things never truly warmed up, although that wasn't a problem considering how we all were spending the morning.

And I have to say, if you just showed up for this race, you'd get the impression that this was one small city that really had its act together. (Those of us who live around here know better.) The event was well organized, the streets were clean, and the course took runners through some of Manchester's most distinctive cityscapes, parks, and suburban enclaves. A festive air prevailed.

I took it slow -- slow enough for the trailing police cruiser to be burbling along behind me at one point, holding back traffic. Even so, I was surprised when my right Achilles tendon flared up just four miles in. Damn! It gradually worked its way out, however, and by the time we were descending Campbell Street towards Livingston Park, I was back to full form.

The half-mile through Livingston Park was a new part of the course, and it was one of my favorite segments. The place, with its rambling trails and ledgy outcrops, reminds me of the more remote sections of New York City's Central Park, and is a nice break from the street-running that makes up most of the course.

A long stretch on Belmont Street was made bearable by local residents cheering on runners, and then we veered west onto a quiet section of Bridge Street for a loop out underneath Interstate 93 and back.

At about the 10-mile mark, two things happened. 1) My feet really started to feel it, and 2), the marathon runners kept heading east while we half-marathoner cut off to the right, looping over to Hanover Street to head back to downtown and the finish.

The genius of this shortly became apparent when the marathon runners rejoined us on Hanover Street, only they were now at Mile 17, while we were working on Mile 11. The result was that us plodding half-marathoners were now carried up and over the last big hill on Hanover Street by a wave of marathon runners who were keeping much faster paces than we were.

So the half-marathon's last two miles were run concurrently with Mile 17 to Mile 19 of the full marathon, which was a nice way to keep us pushing. The half'ers split off to the left only on Elm Street, right before our finish line, while the 'thoners (is that a word?) peeled off to the left for their final seven miles.

I finished in an elapsed time of 2:32:19, a mile pace of 11:38 -- pretty slow for me. I came in 730 out of 816 finishers, pretty near the back of the pack. Despite this slow pace, I was surprised to find that just three full marathoners completed the course before I finished the half.

Post-race wrap-up: I felt okay that afternoon, but later in the day began feeling the effects of what amounted to serious chafing on the inside of both thighs. Ouch! Must be the shorts I was wearing, as the same thing happened (same shorts) in Chicago last month, even with a generous layer of BodyGlide.

A night of rest and Gold Bond Medicated Powder helped quell that, but Monday morning brought severe cramping in my left foot, to the point where it was hard to walk without hobbling around. Wearing an icepack (attached to my ankle with a rubber band) helped a bit, and later I felt reasonably well.

In an example of extremely poor planning, that Sunday and Monday were the days when we moved my mother from one assisted living home to another. Ouch! I'll try to avoid such a situation in the future.

One bonus of the Manchester City Marathon is that it allowed me to claim my home state of New Hampshire in my quest to run a 10K or better in all 50 states. This brings me to a total of nine, so I'm almost one-fifth of the way there. Baby steps, I know, even when running 13.1 miles.

Another postscript: I just learned from Andy Schachat's running column in the Union Leader that while the number of full marathon runners increased by several hundred this year, the number of half-marathoners went from 815 up to 816 -- an increase of exactly one. I take full credit! Andy did a great job as announcer, by the way. I associate his voice so much with New Hampshire road races that they just don't seem complete without him.

The images in this post, by the way, are courtesy of nuvisionactionimage.com, the marathon's official photography partner. Their Web site allows you to search for images of yourself by bib number, and you can download them for no charge. Nice!

Looking back at October, looking forward to November

What I got when I finished the Manchester (N.H.)Half-Marathon back in 2007.

October has been a fast month, with a lot of distractions. But I've managed to stay sane in part becaused I've managed to stay active, at least somewhat. Not so much in terms of making progress on my separate projects, but enough to be ready for something big next week.

That something is the Manchester (M.H.) half-marathon, set for Sunday, Nov. 4, and I'm planning to join in the fun. Not only will it be a good long run, but will also add State #9 (my home state of New Hampshire) to my quest to run at least a 10K in all 50 states.

Looking back at October, the 50-state quest is where I found most success, starting off with a wonderful early morning run through the streets of Fayetteville, Arkansas on Tuesday, Oct. 2 and then continuing with another long run, this time through the much more active streets of downtown Chicago on Monday, Oct. 8.

However, I missed two other chances due to cancelled travel plans. I had hoped to get to Texas and North Carolina this month on business, but in both cases the jaunts got scrubbed due to an overcrowded schedule and an ailing mother and her adventures with rehab hospitals and assisted living facilities.

In the New Hampshire category, October saw only one new town, Grafton, back on Saturday, Oct. 6. After that, things conspired to limit further progress. But I really need to get going on this if I'm going to complete it no later than May 14, 2016. If there's a mild winter, I hope to do a few more back-to-backs to begin filling in the holes on the map.

Still, the month saw continued running (and some biking) in between many other commitments. I would love to be below 200 pounds at my next check-up in December, and it's still quite doable if I manage the nutrition side of things a little better and stay active.

And November brings with it a Thanksgiving Day race in Sandwich, a huge town that will be nice one to color in.

Saturday, Oct. 6: Grafton, Town #139

The course was once the main railroad line linking Boston and Montreal.

Ran a 5K this morning in Grafton, an up-country towns in the state's western hills. Finished in 29:58, a minor miracle for me. The fact that there was actually an official race in Grafton was a minor miracle as well.

The morning was warm--warmer than you'd expect for the Saturday on Columbus Day weekend. Grafton is a small town on Route 4 about an hour away from home base, and it's far enough up for you to still see Ron Paul for President signs on the side of barns.

I know Grafton as one of the towns on the "Northern Line," meaning a railroad that linked Concord, N.H. with White River Junction, Vt. by snaking through this part of the state. At one time the corridor was part of the main linking connecting Boston and Montreal, and was very busy both with passenger and heavy freight.

Alas, the line was abandoned in the 1980s, and the tracks have since been removed. But the corridor itself remains intact, and still runs through the small towns of western New Hampshire -- often straighter and more level than Route 4, which parallels it. These days, it serves as a route for fiber optic cables as well as a recreational trail in Andover, Danbury, and yes, Grafton.

As such, it played host to today's race, both the 5K (which I ran) and the 8K course. The event was a fundraiser in support of the Grafton Historical Society's efforts to restore a local carding mill that dates from 1823.

Getting ready to run.

The race started from a recreational field off Route 4. An interesting side adventure was a lone portable toilet that I made use of. The thing was in a state of almost comical disrepair, and felt like it was about to tip over when I stepped inside. Here's a picture:

About 40 people turned out, with most walking or running the 5K; the course for the latter would be entirely on the railbed of the Northern Line, which at least meant a level course. (The 8K included hills outside of town and then a leg back on the railbed.)

I knew it would be an interesting race when I overhead organizer Andrew Cushing mention that he wasn't sure if the rail trail has been mowed lately. And the next thing I knew, a young gal was crazily shouting "Who wants to SAVE THE MILL!?" And that was our signal to start.

The course was level, yes, and took us past the usual railroad archaeological sites: old depot platforms, etc. I was surprised to see not one single tie or spike, so the salvage folks were very thorough. I found it strange to be jogging exactly on a path where immense steam locomotives once ruled.

Not sure of my order of finish, but I wasn't the last 5K runner, so I can say at least that much. The 29:58 time was encouraging, as I haven't done too many timed races in recent weeks. Hoping to push that down to below 29:00 before the season is over.

I couldn't stay for the cookout that followed, but I saw some quirky signs on the ride out. Just down the road, the Grafton General Store was promoting soft serve cones for "100 cents," and in Danbury, I passed the Route 104 Auto Repair and Computer Service. Guess they still have to wear a lot of hats out in these parts, ayup.