2012 Race Recap

2012 was a big year in races for Team Tizzel. Holly added 5 more states to her 50 Marathons in 50 States goal. Race events brought us to Disney World 3 times and Oregon for the first time. Dave did his first distance beyond 5k.

January

For the past few years January has kicked off with the race events at Walt Disney World's Marathon Weekend. This is the focused event of our Team AllEars fundraising efforts for breast cancer. Dave's Duffy the Disney Bear outfit for the 5k helped us to raise over $6,000; and the team over $70,000. Holly had fun doing the half marathon with our friend Jessica on Saturday. On Sunday they ran together again, but Holly participated in the 13.1 mile relay with our friend Jamison as a partner while Jessica continued on for the Full/Goofy. There's no relay offered in 2013 so Holly may have scored her only chance for a Chip and Dale medal.

February

February brought two unique events. First, the Jost Van Dyke Invitational 5k. This is a 2 person race between Holly and our friend Dan over the hills of beautiful Jost Van Dyke in the British Virgin Islands. Next, we trekked a few hours over to Goshen, Indiana so Holly could participate in her first indoor marathon - the Maple Leaf Marathon. 204 laps around a track with 8 other participants.

March

Saint Patrick's Day Weekend was spent in Virginia Beach. On Saturday Dave and Holly participated in the 8k event. The next day Holly ran the marathon. These events were well-run, had miles of shoreline, and great  after-parties on the beach. This became a family event with Holly's parents, brother, and nephew cheering her on along the way. Holly's favorite race this year due to her whole family being able to watch her finish and the excellent post race parties.

April

Holly was able to squeeze two marathons into April. First was the Go! St. Louis Marathon. Two weeks later was the Kentucky Derby Marathon in Louisville. With Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Michigan checked off we are running out of driving distance marathons.

May

The spring ended up being a busy travel time. A week after Kentucky Derby was the Expedition Everest 5k in Disney's Animal Kingdom Park. The night race combined obstacles and puzzles to create a really fun event.

July

Fourth of July morning kicks off with the Antioch 5k. This is a pretty big local race. Hot as heck this year. When Rock and Roll announced moving the Chicago events to July we thought they were nuts. It was warm, but not as bad as it could have been for a 5k (Dave) and half marathon (Holly). We had a fun day Saturday with Team AllEars friends and enjoyed the post-race Cobra Starship performance.

September

Back on the road this month. Labor Day Weekend was spent in central Oregon with the focus on the Sunriver Marathon. A few weeks later Dave participated in the Fox Lake 5k and got an age group award. At the end of the month Holly took off for Disney World to participate in the Tower of Terror 10 Miler - another night race. Dave stayed home for that one and attended Tizzel's Food and Wine Festival.

October

Back to Virginia for Washington's Marine Corps Marathon. A great event that Holly wants to do again. The only thing that brought the weekend down a bit was Hurricane Sandy and having to leave via rental car immediately after the race.

November and December

The winter brings shorter-distanced themed races to Chicago. November brought the poorest organized event: Hot Chocolate 5k (Dave) and 15k (Holly). December was the opposite with the Santa Hustle 5k.

2013 Plans

Currently in the plan for 2013:

• Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend - Dave and Holly are both doing the 5k and half marathon (Dave's first). Holly is adding on the marathon to earn another Goofy Challenge medal and unofficial Dopey title.
• Tinker Bell Half Marathon Weekend in Disneyland - Holly and Dave will both do the 5k and the half marathon. This will give us both Disney's Coast to Coast Medal. This will also be the end of Dave's half marathon career.
• Little Rock Marathon, Arkansas - We'll be joining a few friends for the race with the biggest medal in running. Holly will be doing the full while Dave snacks.
• Flying Pigs Weekend Cincinnati, Ohio - Pigs is a big race/party weekend. Dave is doing either the 5k or 10k (can't remember which one he registered for) and Holly is doing the 5k, 10k, and full which will earn her an additional medal.
• Chicago Rock and Roll Half - Holly should get something special at this one since it's her 5th Chicago RnR in a row.
• Atlantic City Marathon, New Jersey - Looks like a fun location for a race.

Hope we see you out there in 2013!

Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon Report and Video

Here is Holly's report on the Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon:

Another weekend another state!  

This was my last marathon for the Spring season and my legs were feeling it.  I was however a bit optimistic.   We drove down to Louisville on Friday and got there in time to pick up the packet at the Expo.  We had just enough time to make it to the last tour at the Louisville Slugger factory and museum.  It was pretty neat and I would have liked to have more time.   We had an ok dinner at Blu Italian Restaurant and then off to bed for another early start.

We could walk to the start from our hotel and it was a cool morning.   The weather was once again predicting storms.  I was hoping they would stay away.   We met up with a fellow Team Allears member, Stan Harris before the race.   It was nice to see him beforehand.  He did great in the half!   

The race start was a crowded one.   They had the bugler from Churchill Downs blow the traditional call to post.  I got emotional at that one.  It took me about 12 minutes to cross the start line and I told myself to keep it slow.   I have decided that 11:45 or so is my normal pace and I can’t go slower on race day.   Saw Dave at Mile 1 and ran by the big bat at Louisville Slugger.   It rained for about 5- 10 minutes around mile 3 and that was it for the bad weather.   It was cool for the first half and then got warm around the end.   

Saw Dave again just as we entered Churchill Downs.  It was so cool to run down in the tunnel, under the track and come out on the infield.  I stopped here a few times and got a few pictures.   I asked one woman to take my picture and thankfully she obliged.  I of course returned the favor.   

After Churchill Downs we split from the half marathoners and it got MUCH less crowded.   We then had a long out and back portion.   The course had been totally flat so far and I was feeling really good.  I switched back to Heed for my electrolyte replacement and I think this helped.   We then ran into Iroquois park around Mile 11.  This was a beautiful park, but had some serious hills.   I kind of enjoyed them.   I think it breaks up the monotony on the muscles and I felt great after leaving the park at Mile 15.   Saw Dave again here.  

Feeling good and on perfect pace up to Mile 20.   Saw Dave and then started to fall apart.   Not sure what is going on lately.  I think it is a more of a mental breakdown than physical.   I kept saying to myself, I’m too tired to keep running 4:1.   I was craving a Sprite and almost stopped at a gas station.   This was also where some serious hills were.    I ran into a 50 states member and talked to her for about 5 minutes, all while running with her at a faster than normal pace.  This leads me to believe that I am having the mental breakdown.  

I got it together at Mile 24 and finished up strong.  5:25:14.   This was my third fastest marathon.   I was happy with it, but disappointed at the same time.  I was on pace for 5:15, not a PR, but feel that should be possible more often for me.   On a happier note, I loved my medal and I checked off another state!  11 states down.   Also that Marathon bumped me up to Silver, 2 star Marathon Maniac Status!

Dave's Comments

I had a round-about route to Churchill Downs and made it in plenty of time to see Holly enter the track. While there I spent some time talking to their head of security.  His "tax season" was just about to begin.  I made it to miles 15 and 20 with little difficulty and luckily made it to the finish with about and hour of wait time before Holly would come into view.  Every marathon needs a brewpub at mile marker 26.1!  I got to sit for an hour at a brewpub instead of the usual park or corporate high-rise no-mans land on the weekends.  After the race we had a great time checking out Bluegrass Brewing, Under the Bridge, 4th Street Live, and Jockey Silks at the Galt House hotel.

Here's Holly's race video from the event - featuring our friend Stan.

The History of Louisville in Signs

For whatever reason, we seemed to notice the historical markers around Louisville. We were surprised to find out Charles Dickens visited Louisville. Here are some of the markers we encountered during our weekend.

We showed this photo in our last post, but it was one of few two-sided markers we found.

Upcoming Posts

We'll have some great reports coming up including Holly's Kentucky Derby Festival Marathon race report and video, our Expedition Everest race report, and some other posts from our recent Disney trip.   You may see a few posts out of chronological order, so don't worry if you think you missed something.

Beverages of Louisville

We spent two nights in Louisville, Kentucky this weekend. Holly ran a marathon (race report to follow) while Dave followed around. Louisville was not a town we researched much before arriving. In fact, Dave was googling the whole ride down to try to figure out where to find brew pubs and a good bourbon bar. We were lucky to have easy access to both! We stayed at Galt House, which is a large convention hotel right on the Ohio River. It's in the heart of Louisville's tourist district.

Right on the property of Galt House is this historic marker commemorating the fact that bourbon was first produced near this location. How close? Two blocks, two miles, two towns over? Does that location have a sign saying Galt House Hotel is near them?

Inside Galt House is a bourbon bar called Jockey Silks, which claims to have the largest bourbon selection in America. We'll cover more on that location later.

A block from our hotel was one of several Bluegrass Brewing Company locations. We visited the 3rd and Main location twice. Once before dinner on Friday, then again for lunch on Saturday. We both enjoyed the Nut Brown and the Porter. Dave also ordered the bourbon barrel stout, which you would think he'd like.....Nope! These two great things did not taste great together. Surprisingly he did like the Bourbon Barrel Blonde Ale he had with dinner that night.  BBC was a great place for burgers.

While Holly was running the marathon Dave got to visit Against the Grain Brewery. This business is conveniently located in the Louisville Slugger minor league ballpark and at mile mark 26.1 of the marathon course. This brewery will have beers on tap matching one of six styles including session, malt, smoke, and hop. Dave tried the malt offering of Nut Brown and the smoke offering. The nut brown was a bit light in his opinion and the smoke......since it's made with burnt wood the first sip was like drinking a pork sandwich. It got better after that first sip, but still it was an odd sensation. Good news is beers in this town are relatively cheap: $4.50 at this location.

Now onto the bourbon. Dave sampled flights of bourbon at two locations. The first location was at Maker's Lounge in the area known as 4th Street Live! Maker's Lounge was a modern style lounge/high-end bar and we felt a little under dressed in shorts and t-shirts. They had a large cocktail menu that featured drinks with or without bourbon. You could buy bourbon individually or in flights of three (1/2 oz each). Flights were grouped by style and you were instructed to sample left-to-right. Flights were served straight-up with a glass of ice on the side. After you take your first two sips of each one you were supposed to add ice to help dilute and mellow the alcohol. Dave tried the Wheated flight that contained Maker's Mark, Old Fitzgerald Prime Bond, and Weller's Special Reserve.

Maker's Lounge is where we learned about Blanton's Bourbon. There was a display on the bar that had a bottle of Blanton's with 8 bottle tops circling around a merchandising display. The bartender explained that there are 8 different ones, each with a letter in Blanton's on it. Each jockey had a different pose. Looks like a new collection may be forming.

Later on that night we went to Jockey Silks in our hotel. This was a great space and reminded us of The Chart Room in Key West. Dank, lots of wood, popcorn machine. Dave wanted to get flight, which was available, but I had to come up with my own. We were handed a piece of paper with the names of all their bourbons and prices. No groupings or flight pairing suggestions. Dave expected a little more from America's biggest bourbon selection. He ordered a Blanton's and asked the bartender to give him another one with "a horsey painted on the bottle" and a Buffalo Trace.

Dave also sampled another Kentucky favorite, the mint julep. Tasty as always. It was fun to get a glimpse into how bourbon influences Kentucky from tourist attractions to beer. Maybe a return trip for distillery tours is in order.......