Lake Pleasant Dam Good Run (Morristown AZ) April 4, 2009

There are a lot of things that make the Lake Pleasant ‘Dam Good Run’ one of our favorite local running events. It is sponsored by, takes place in, and of course supports the Maricopa County Parks. Between Kimberly and myself we use “our local parks” multiple times every week and much appreciate having them. So to me when they get a chance to showcase (if you will) a Park it’s a great thing. Plus the fact that the Rangers and folks who work for the Parks are all really great people who do one of heck of a job with the resources they are given. This event is one of the places this is highlighted for sure and I love to see the passion they bring to what they do.

I also really like the course. It combines many way cool aspects that most local runs don’t share. The biggie for me being about 2 ½ or so miles of the 7 Mile course is Trail. And cool trail at that. Aside from the Cactus ChaCha, and a couple of long ones by the Arizona Road Racers there are just not that many organized local trail runs. You also get to run across (and back) the New Waddell Dam as part of the course, and it is the only day of the year that you can do this.

Kimberly and I got out to the Park about 8:00 to check in. The race did not start until 9:00 but they have a nice little setup and it’s always good to have a few minutes to check in and say hello to some of the folks you have come to know from other races (or friends in general – Hi there Coulson family :-) ). They have a nice little setup for the races including some cool birds, snakes, and lizards which you know the young runners dig.

There are 2 courses, a 7 Mile and a 4 Mile. While the 4 Mile does get some runners, for the most part I think a lot of the Hikers do the 4 mile and Runners do the 7 Mile. Overall there seemed to be about the same amount of people as last year, maybe a little more. As a quick side, I think this year they would have gotten a ton more runners had it not been the same day as Emma’s Run, the Pioneer Days Run, the Havasu Half, and the Sabino Canyon Tucson event (see report from running friend Pat HERE).


We were running the 7 Mile course. The race started on time from the 10 Lane Boat Ramp Parking lot. You head out and almost immediately begin a fairly quick decent down toward the Morgan City Wash. While not a true ‘technical trail’ per se, with such a steep decent and the loose gravel, washes, etc you have to be pretty careful running down. When you get to the wash maybe 1/3 mile into the run the next 1/3 mile or so presents a good challenge on the ankles as you are essentially running in the dry river area and it’s that quick sand type of gravel where you sink in some. Good thing this lasts just a bit and soon you are running along water in a true Riparian area. It’s amazing how this seems to come from nowhere. If you drive around Lake Pleasant area you would never guess this type of topography could be there. It’s really nice for the next ¾ or mile or so as you duck branches, cross the creek a couple of times hopping on whatever to miss the water, squeeze between trees and the such. I wish the whole track could be this.

As soon as you head out of the Wash you begin an accent that lasts about 2 miles and 400 foot or so of elevation gain. For a bit of this you are still in the dirt before hitting the service road. While 400 feet may not seem like a lot, the steady, for the most part even, climb up sure makes you happy when you see the Dam finally and know the uphill muscles get a rest (1200 ft elevation gain and decent total for the race). Right before the Dam there is a paved quick drop, maybe 100 foot but you do it in about 10 seconds – so it is very steep (umm… nice to fly down carefully, but you know on the return you will have to climb it). You get to run across the Dam for what seems to be about a mile then return, a quick left off the service road and then a nice mostly even trail run for the last 2/3 mile or so.

The race is really non competitive, but they did do a ‘trial run’ this year for timing the folks who wanted timed. They also gave out medals for the Top 2 runners in each race (2 is odd I know?). This was nice however because I managed to weasel into 2nd Place overall in the 7 Miler this year. The medal was cool with a Lake Pleasant logo and the year customized it. Kimberly while unofficial I am sure was first among any females close to her age and about 12th overall.

We of course will be back next year. I hope the timing lines up different with the other races though as we would have loved to do Emma’s run up in Anthem and hang around with family that live up there or even Havasu would be a riot.

We finished the day by heading over to the Glendale Blues and Jazz show for some good Blues, chair loungin’ and a really good caramel apple. That’s what I call a nice Saturday.

MY RUN INFO HERE

COURSE MAP HERE

Safe Baby Haven 5K

“This weeks race” (almost seems the proper way to say it lately seeing we have been finding a local run almost every weekend the last month or so) was the Safe Baby Haven 5K. We chose this one over some other options for a couple of reasons. First the cause seemed pretty good. Safe Baby Haven is an organization out there to promote the Safe Baby Haven Law that allows protection for unwanted newborns. Basically gives the mother an opportunity to relinquish the baby at birth without fear of legal and criminal consequences. You can check out the site by clicking here at Arizona Safe Baby Haven. Second reason was the event is really just up the street from us. We can hop on the 101 and be there within 15 minutes or so. Add that to a nice (late) 8:00 start and it meant we could actually ‘sleep in’ until 5:45. We also liked that the event was at Westgate, the new(er) Sports and Entertainment complex in Glendale that houses the Coyotes and Cardinals stadiums and a bunch of stores, restaurants, a movie theater, etc.

The event production was handled by Red Rock Company. They seemed to do a real good job, it was even chip timed (some old school ones). I have not seen them do this type event, they seem to be more the ‘local triathlon event production company’. Maybe some personal tie-in, not sure? The course was decent, nice and flat for the most part. A great starting and finishing location right by the fountains. You run out to the end of the complex, a little loop back and some zig-zags in the parking lot (the only weird spot) and back. There were no real squish spots save for the first little bit where they wanted everyone on the sidewalk – but you could go out on the street too without compromising the mileage.

For the second week in a row we got to see an amazing young (14 years old) runner tear up the track. Sarah Fakler I believe is her name and it will be interesting to see how she does if she keeps at it. She did sub 6 minute miles again at this race. I’m not sure on the whole age-grade thing but that has to be National Class level speed for her age. She seems to run so easy too. This race had a young man also rip it up. I think his name was Oscar and he had a 5:54 Pace and he is 15! Ahh to be young again….

Kimberly and I had a respectable run. Kimberly came in first in her age group and I came in second and 11th overall with a 6:51 pace. Sadly, there was no "metal bling" at this event (for age group winners) but there was a very cool shirt. The actually customized the event shirts with your name and bib number which I thought was way cool. We also liked the bi-plane fly-overs which was also very cool. Hard to beat the whole thing for a good wake up Sunday morning. Oh and BTW, we needed more miles so we went off and did another 8 after the race. And yes.. there was a nap in the afternoon :-)

LINK TO MY WORKOUT REPORT

LINK TO COURSE MAP

Kids Camp USA 5K

Note to self – Never plan a get together celebration dinner party thing the night before you have to get up early for a morning race. This is particularly true when the party crowd happens to be Belly Dancers.

Kimberly and I ran in the Kids Camp USA 5K race this weekend. Considering with the above mentioned get together at our house we both ended up with about 3 hours or less sleep, I think we did pretty good. Heck, we did good just getting up at 5:40 seeing our heads didn’t even see a pillow until after 1:00.

Anyway, enough of the complaining (err excuses), we had a great time both at the race and of course with the friends at the get-together. Kids Camp USA seems a great cause. We of course found the race, then found the group behind it. Kids Camp sponsors various events for young ones such as (what this event was supporting) a camping trip to Apache Lake for 100 plus kids. There is no criteria per se for the kids to attend, just youngin’s in need of some adult support for a good time. They really seem like a good group and we will for sure see what we can do to help ongoing.

The 5K was at Thunderbird Paseo Park. One of our favorite venues as it is fairly close to home, is in the SPR canal, and makes for a good out and back track. A couple mini hills up on the course but nothing drastic. The event was run by Arizona Running Events Company and as always, good folks who make these small races as professional and fun as possible.

The race itself was fairly typical, although it ended up being a tad short for a 5K. My Garmin showed 2.8 miles and in fact when they posted the Results they listed it as 2.8. While I do look down on occasion at my Garmin timing watch, I had not for the last mile or so. You can imagine my surprise seeing as I was coming up to the finish line and seeing a little over 19 minutes (I'm not that fast in a 5K)!

Again with the qualifiers, the Mrs. and I had good runs. I think I felt as rough as I have during a run for quite some time, but still managed to come in 8th overall (19:30) though I was 4th in my age group (dang old guys need to stay home :-) ). Kimberly took home the “Bling” for the family with a 3rd place metal in her age group. I told she was a rock star – 3 hours sleep and still getting in on the metal action!

After enjoying the post race festivities and grabbing the metal, we hung out and did another 7-8 miles or so in the canal – got to keep up with those long runs you know. And of course, as always, there was a Sunday nap…

Kiwanis Litchfield Park 10K

Today Kimberly and I competed in the Kiwanis Litchfield Park 10K. It was about a perfect race scenario as far as they go. The event was fairly close as we are only about 30 minutes or so away from Litchfield Park. The race was a 10K which is really the ideal length for us as we like to get at least this length run in on the weekend. With a 5K we still need to do another run. With a 10K we can justify ‘good enough’. It was also a perfect day weather wise. A little nippy, but not too cold. In other words, a great day for a morning run.

We got to the event with a little time to spare, got a great parking spot and headed over to check in. The event was being held right in the heart of Litchfield over by the Wigwam Resort area. They really had a nice setup with some vendors, a huge food supply and ‘real’ bathrooms even as it was right next to the community park and center for the Kiwanis. We hung in the park for a bit checked out a couple of the vendors, and listened to some Navel officers.

The course basically winds through the neighborhoods there and is an out and back. The 10K went off first, as they also offered a 5K, and even a 1 mile fun run afterward. While decently marked it seemed, there was some issues with the track though (covered below). The course was near pure flat, and I mean flat, I think my Garmin showed less than a couple hundred feet net elevation change for the whole race.

Kimberly and I both had good runs. Kimberly had a PR time for a 10K of 53:46. She was booking, I was going to take a shot of her crossing the line and nearly missed it (as you can see from the photo in our gallery) because she came in faster than I was expecting! I had a 7:12 pace (44:42) which was good enough for 12th overall place and a 2nd place metal in my age group. Sadly, the first 4 or 5 guys were disqualified (I would have been in 3rd instead if they were not) because they missed a turn on the course. I feel bad for them because obviously they did not intend this and put in a good effort either way. I think one of those cases where 1 person misses a turn and the others in the lead pack follow. For those of us back a little and more spread out, less of an issue.

In any event, another great local weekend race that we will be sure to attend next year. The shirts were pretty cool too…

Lost Dutchmans 10K

(Copied from my personal Blog)

As of lot of our friends know, Kimberly and I have really gotten the ‘running bug’ over the last year or so. Almost seems to have turned into a mini obsession. I think we both run somewhere between 4-5 times a week now. We do short runs (3 miles or so), long runs (10 or more), trail runs with hills, interval runs, speed drills, hill sprints, and plain old around the neighborhood runs. But our favorite ‘kind of runs’ are races and what we (and others) like to call ‘destination runs’. Destination runs are basically going someplace cool to run. Seeing most of the time you are running in a gym on the treadmill, or around your favorite park hills (cool but still you have seen them before) so when you get a chance to run around someplace new it is great. And if it is a very cool place (i.e. like we did the Grand Canyon, or Saugatuck, etc) then it is even better. Races of course are just opportunities to run with others and be a little competitive so as to help push yourself on occasion.

This weekend we had a chance to combine theses two favorites with a ‘destination run race’ in Apache Junction at the Lost Dutchman’s Marathon (Half Marathon, 10K, 8K Trail Run and 2 Mile fun Run). The Marathon (and all races too) is considered one of the best ‘small town races in America’. There are lots of reasons of course, the race management team, the city support, the way cool way they treat the runners with campfires and good grub, plus many others. But the main reason being the beautiful Superstition Mountain Course and backdrop that you get to run in whatever race you chose.

As we have blogged before, the Superstitions are one of our favorite Arizona locals. We love to hike them hills. The variety, beauty and challenge of the hikes make them some of our most memorable in all of AZ. Plus we really enjoy the old-west-laid-back-we-are-all-family vibe of Apache Junction. Hard to beat sippin’ a cold one on the patio there at the Mammoth Steakhouse and Saloon looking out at those Mountains, or grabbing an ice cream at Tortilla Flats after a long day hike in the Mountains.

We decided to stay over near the race because it would have required a little too much of an early morning to drive over race day for us. From up North West Phoenix we are a good 75 miles or so from Apache Junction. We found a good rate at the La Quinta off 60, and scooted over a bit early on Saturday to make a full day of it. First thing was to hit the Expo and get our bibs and race goodies. The Expo was small, but nice and also well organized for an event of this size. The Apache center where the Expo was held is very nice for a community center. After snagging a Cliff bar and our shirts (nice long sleeve race shirts by the way which is kind of unique) we headed over to hang out and walk around Goldfield Ghost Town where we had a burger on the Patio at the Saloon. We stopped at an Art festival just up the street a piece (notice the old West lingo there) and walk around for a bit. We took some pictures and they are in the 2009 Misc folder if you want to check out the scenery in that area.

After a near perfect day we headed back to the Hotel where we had a dinner of our homemade pizza and protein bars for desert. Yep, we packed over the cooler because it’s just the best pre-race night meal we know and we love pizza made like that with the whole grain breads and such. We watched a little tube, then did the old {let’s try to actually get at least 4 hours sleep before 4:30 when we have to admit we are up and can’t sleep anymore anyway mode}. One day I’ll have to Blog on the trials and tribulations of sleeping the night before a race and how early you have to get up to run (with all the pre-race stuff required).

Anyway, 4:30 came about, we got up, I got coffee, Kimberly got the Herbal Tea and we started moving. I packed the car, we showered, brushed the teeth, attached the iPods and were off over to hopefully find a parking spot semi close to the race start. By the time we got there it was a little after 6:00. Sadly the parking lot was full as was about ½ mile of the road heading into the park. It was a great morning, though quite abnormally cold (good for running, bad for beforehand), but the sun was rising and you knew it would be perfect. It took us about 20 minutes to walk from the car to the starting area. We were doing the 10K this year. It started in the same spot as the Half, 8K trail Run and 2 Miler (all out and back as best I could tell). The Marathon guys finished here also.

With the various races staggered start time throughout the morning, most everything went off without a hitch. Considering there were some 2200 odd racers and more support and volunteers here everything was very smooth – there was even a ‘real’ bathroom with little or no wait most of the morning (umm Chang’s could learn something here). About 15 minutes before the race we checked our gear (the jackets and gloves, etc) and headed over to the start.

The 10K is basically out one road and back. You are headed pretty much (at least what feels like) due East into the Superstitions then back. What a great feeling as you run up and down the little hills. Most of the course is fairly easy with the minor little up and downs, with the exception of the turnaround spot that has a nice little hill that while not bad at all will have your heart rate up a bit. With the decent weather we both had a pretty good race considering all. I was ‘out of the metals coming in 5th in my age, but I was 29th overall out of the 540 runners doing the 10K. Kimberly had some aches going in but still had a respectable 10th in her age group out of 44 and was in the top 70 of all woman. We both got a great finishers metal - way cool hardware in this race!

There is no doubt we will do this race again. I think next year perhaps the Half Marathon. We sure do hope that it falls on a different weekend than the IMS Marathon on the West side – we sure hated to miss that this year.

Super Sunday 5K

This year’s Super Bowl at least brought some ‘happy football feelings’. In a season where my team (err umm the err umm Detroit Lions) set a record for futility, my current hometown boys had made the Big Dance. It was a perfect Winter weather day, the sun was shining and the temperature was perfect for a good morning run.

Before knowing that the Cardinals were making it to the Super Bowl, Kimberly and I had signed up for the second annual ‘Super Sunday 5K’. It was just up the street at Thunderbird Paseo Park and put on by the Arizona Running Events guys. Seemed a perfect opportunity to get ourselves out of the sack and do a little exercise on a Sunday. For me it was all about humping it so I could then eat all the good stuff all day long while I watched the game, the pre game, the pre-pre game, the post game…. you get the picture.

Paseo Park really is a good place to run. It’s basically in Salt River Project's Arizona Canal at 59th Ave and Thunderbird. The Canal is one of the longer ones in Phoenix and makes for great running, biking, etc trails seeing you don't have to cross any roads (all run underneath for the most part). This part of the Canal makes for a near perfect 5K just by marking out a half way point in the sidewalk for an out an back easy 5K. Kimberly and I have even used this area for our long runs as you can go from 75th all the way to Tempe and more!

It was of course well ran, and a nice group showed up considering it’s a small local event. The best was they obviously had the shirts made after the Cardinals had won the Championship game, or they decided to have them changed, because the “Super Sunday” race shirts were customized with support for the Cardinals. How cool is that for a race souvenir (would have been much, much better had they won…).

We both ran a good race, I came in 7th overall and 2nd in my age group with a 21:36 time and Kimberly also took second in her age group (we always seem to do that same thing - thing) at just under 27 minutes. We hung out for a good while afterward. First we plopped down and enjoyed the banana’s and Snicker Protein Bars from the race promoters, and afterward decided to do a little more running and biking – so we just did the same 5K two more times. I figured I could now go home and let the eating in front of the TV begin…..

P.F. Chang's Rock N Roll Half Marathon

Race: PF Chang’s Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon by Mike Miller
January 18th, 2009

Well… after several months of training and hard work Kimberly is officially a “half-marathoner”. Of course we are talking about the PF Chang Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon held here in Phoenix which she had a great run that was surrounded by a whole couple days of running focused fun. I too actually ended up running the race with her. Originally Clay was going to come into town to race and I was going to be the drop-off man, but he had an injury that kept him sidelined until just recently, so I stepped in.

The whole thing was more of experience surrounding the sport of running than a race per se. In fact, I would say things kicked off on Friday. You are required to pick up your race bib and packet before the race at the fitness Expo that runs Friday and Saturday. Knowing it would way crazy busy Saturday we headed downtown on Friday lunchtime. The expo was at the Phoenix convention center and was actually quite a lot of fun. After getting our bibs and packets we walked around all the booths. It was nice because almost everything was really related to running. The biggest was all the PF Chang’s official race cloths. Sadly most of the items just did not fit Kimberly, so she ended up with just a hat and a shirt that is more to wear than run in (of course you do get a regular t-shirt in your race packet too).

Some of the highlights of the Expo was the Cliff Bar booth (hey I got a free bar and you know I live on those), the ‘nutrition designed specifically for you via a DMA profile’ booth (cool), the ‘one more mile’ booth that has a ton of cool saying running gear, and finding some rub on ibuprofen. The show was actually so big a couple of hours flew by before we got out of there.

With an early morning wake up coming Sunday, we wanted to have a chilled out day Saturday so we decided to walk around old town Scottsdale. They had a special Art Walk for the Race and I was able to have lunch with a friend and business acquaintance that was in from Portland. It was a beautiful day and I think we spent several hours walking the shops and checking out the art before heading back to our side of town for dinner at Buca Di Beppo.

When deciding to do the race Kimberly joined a running group up at our club, and the group was all getting together (I guess as is tradition) the night before the race for a dinner together. They are some great folks on ‘the team that Kimberly has really gotten to know (and me too somewhat) over the last few months. The dinner was early (for obvious reasons), we all enjoyed some ‘pump up’ conversation, carbed’ up on a ton of pasta and bread and called it a night about 7:00 or so. We got home, laid out all our stuff – which is a ton, you would be surprised – and hopped in bed with hopes of actually getting SOME SLEEP before having to wake up at 4:00 tomorrow and head to Tempe. I emphasize try to get sleep because for both Kimberly and me it seems so hard to sleep the night before something like this. Kind of like Kids on Christmas Eve I suppose. But unlike Xmas Eve, we had to run 13.1 miles starting less than 11 hours time we finally crawled under the sheets.

Luckily, we both fell asleep fairly early for us and actually got about 4 hours sleep before we decided to get up (15 minutes before the alarms went off – not sure why we even bother to set them). We pounded the oatmeal, packed the car, and did everything else and were out the door headed to Tempe about 5 minutes after 5:00am.

Seeing the race is a point-to-point race, you have to park at the end (Tempe) and then get shuttled to the starting area (Downtown Phoenix). We got parked an on the bus without much issue. After a grueling 45 minutes we finally got off the bus in Downtown. We had the stinkin’ heater seats and as cold as it was outside we were about dying of heat on the bus before she turned it off at my request (I was sweating!). Being a little spoiled we headed over to a pre arranged location called Stage Rock. Basically it was a boxing gym with attached tents near the race start. The good was it had heat, bathrooms that you could get into within a minute (versus the 30 minute wait plus around the start line) and a good place to stretch, etc. We enjoyed it for sure and I think it helped having an inside place the last hour before the race to relax and have a coffee.

Thirty minutes before the race we started heading over toward the start. I needed to use the bathroom but with 30 minute waits and (was was by then) only 15 minutes before the gun, it wasn’t going to happen. Hopefully next year they get more facilities! Anyway, with 26 ‘corrals’ (places you are assigned from the start based on projected finish times) we darn near were running to get to ours. Kimberly was in 10 and I was in 4. When we got to corral 10, we had a kiss and I reminded her (and myself) to enjoy. This was going to be a riot. Yes it was something that would be tough for old folks like us, but we trained for it and we were going to enjoy soaking it all in.

13.1 Miles, a lot of bands, a ton of smiles, and a couple hours later Kimberly and I ran into one another again at the gear pick up area where we planned to meet. Each of us were wearing our finisher medals and a couple of big grins. It was really a special experience. Kimberly said for sure her favorite race that we have done to date. I dug the vibe of Bisbee maybe a little more but this was way special for me too. We both had remembered to soak in the experience of doing our first (of what I am sure will be many more) half marathon. We smiled, slapped the hands of the young well wishers along the run and huffed and puffed our way to some pretty decent times for old folks like us :-). There is no doubt this will be an annual thing for us. So next year, put it on your calendar and come out an join us.

BTW have I mentioned: I am proud of my woman!

Race Photos

We Support our Troops 5K (actual 3.95 Miles)

When we did the Frosty’s Race in December we saw a little flier for an upcoming run that was in support of the Arizona Veteran Program Association scholarship fund. Being it was to be held at Scottsdale Reach 11 Park, has a dirt track, supported a great cause, and was fairly close meant of course we had to do it. So another early rise Sunday morning it was.

The Reach 11 Horse Lovers Park really is a great place to run. Like all races here the run starts out on a little paved loop then heads you out in the dirt. Today the trail had much less water and mud spots to avoid versus the Frosty’s run. Plus it was a little warmer for the start – but still chilly pre-race. Overall a nice sunny day though and great morning for a run.

It was pretty cool to see a bunch of current military guys there for the run, including a couple older gents that were obviously veterans. In fact jumping forward for a second I think having the military youngin’s there helped push me as over the last couple hundred yards of the race I was neck and neck sprinting with a Marine.

So a fairly typical 5K race, well ran but the local Arizona Running Events folks again, but with one big exception. Kimberly and I of course got the Garmin watches for each other for Christmas that show distance ran among other things. So it was with much surprise that when we came up to the 1 mile marker on the trail and I looked at my watch, it showed like 1.3 miles. This then seemed to be the case the rest of the race. When my watch showed we hit the 5K (3.1 Miles) we were still well out on the trail with another looked like mile to go! This may not seem like too big an issue as we of course run longer, but your body tends to pick a speed based on distance. And at 3.1 Miles my body said ‘hey we gave you the 3.1 mile speed and there is not much more there old man’. So needless to say, the last bit to the finish line was a little more ‘heart beats’ than normal.

At the finish line everyone was talking about the distance being longer than a 5K. I figured when they did the awards and such that they would tell us it was longer because the military always “goes the extra mile for us” so we did the same or something like that. Well, not really, seems it was really nothing more than a boo-boo on the distance marking that morning. The total distance ended up being 3.95 Miles so over 6K even.

The best news about the race is I finally got my first 1st place showing in my group (Kimberly already had one from another). Kimberly placed 2nd too. After the event there was a nice raffle, some good food and a chance to say hello to some of the troops. Hard to beat starting a Sunday morning like this….

Frosty's Run (10 Mile Trail)

They call the race ‘Frosty’s Run’ and this morning it felt aptly named. We Kimberly and I first arrived at Horse Lover’s Park (Reach 11) in Scottsdale I think the temperature was in the low 40’s. It was clear and it warmed up real quick, but definitely one of those Scottsdale Winter mornings we get here – clear and cold!

The race was the 3rd annual event for “Health and Hope’ and is supportive of a local Hospice for the Valley. The run covers 10 miles and is as of this date the longest competitive run the we have done (a few longer in training of course). The course is basically packed dirt in the park and an ‘out-n-back’ track for the 10 miles. With the exception of some occasional puddle hopping or avoiding and minor up and downs it really is a great trail to run. Nearly like the road, but with much less stress on the knee dirt.

About 350 showed up for the two events, there was a 2 mile fun run too, and it was well managed by the Arizona Running Events Co. Those guys always seem to do a good job with these local races and the guy on the mic is also always good for a couple of good morning chuckles which also helps when you are cold and tired still.

We were really using the event as our training ‘long run’ for the week for the upcoming PF Chang Half Marathon so we did not push too hard. Still we had a decent showing as I came in with a time of 1:21 and Kimberly finished in an 1:35.

We will be there next year – with scarves and gloves I am sure.

Learning For Life 10k

Race: Learning For Life 10K (Peoria, AZ) by Mike Miller
Friday, November 14th, 2008

For those who maybe didn’t know, Kimberly has been training very hard over the last few months for her upcoming PF Chang Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon. The event is getting very close now and her run schedule is ‘amping up’. As part of her training she works with a team up at our Country Club that all practice and train together. This week for one of their training runs they decided to all do an organized event together. Seeing it was local and on a Saturday morning, I decided to participate as well.
The event called Learning for Life has a 10K and a 5K. We did the 10K because the Arrowhead group was looking for about that many miles today. It’s a great smaller event that is focused on supporting youth groups. A lot of the adult runners seemed to be local police and fire officers (as it was also part of the event). In fact, Kimberly ended up running a big part of the race just behind the local SWAT team.
We had a great time. It was right up the way from us at the Peoria Stadium where the MLB players do spring training. The course ran along 83rd street to the viaduct, down past 75th a little then back for the 6.2 miles. After the run they had a magician and other activities for the participants. I got Kimberly a charity Police Bear.
For the first time of any run we have done together Kimberly and I both got a medal. I came in 6th overall and second in my age group a little over 49 minutes. Kimberly was FIRST in her age group! This was of course something she pointed out to me a few times… . Then again, I had to remind her that this was my second top 10 overall in the last 3 races!

Race for the Cure

Komen Race for the Cure 2008
Sunday, October 12th, 2008
by Mike Miller

Last year’s Komen Race for the Cure was about as special a day as can be in life. It will be a day that stays with me forever. We talked a little about it in THIS BLOG. There was something special that day and I doubt there will ever be another one like it. But having said that, every Komen Race day is pretty amazing and special for us, and this year was no exception.

For those maybe not as familiar, the Susan Komen Race for the Cure is one of the biggest events that support the foundation. They have many of them throughout the US in the bigger cities. Phoenix this year had near 40,000 runners and walkers, including about 800 plus Survivors (woman who have had Breast Cancer). It’s a day of celebration and remembrance. Everything is based around the run, but they always have a neat setup of ‘walk around’ activities and vendors at the Race location. The vendors all really do a great job, as does the Komen group, of making the Survivors feel special. This year even included a Survivors parade before the race that Kimberly participated in (in the 10-14 year Survivor Group!).

A couple things made this year very special as well. Mostly because this last year my mother was diagnosed and treated for Breast Cancer. In fact she really just finished the radiation treatments about the time for the Race. So we both of course were ‘running for Mom’ this year. As you would expect the runs are really about celebration and remembrance too – in fact we always wear the signs that say who’s survival we are celebrating (and others who are being remembered).


Kimberly was pretty pumped up for the day. She had the added motivation of celebration for Mom to add to her Race. In case you didn’t know the Misses is pretty competitive. And while the Komen is ‘non-competitive race’ (not chip timed) they still give awards and recognition to the top 3 finishers overall and among Survivors. Having finished 7th or so last year, and knowing she now is a couple of minutes faster on her 5K time, there was a decent chance she could move up paces and maybe even had a shot at Top 3. She of course did amazing improving to 5th overall and cutting a huge amount of time off her last year results. I was so proud again, it’s pretty cool to have a wife with that kind of drive, strength and commitment.

The day started way too early – about 4:30, in order to get ready, get down there, walk around, park, do the parade, etc (so little sleep of course). The rest of the day beside the race was walking around, getting the pink goodies, eating some banana’s and taking lot’s of pictures. Kimberly even got to see a couple of her Racer/Survivor friends she met last year (pretty cool). She did an interview with Channel 12 just before the Race (she’s quite photogenic you know). Speaking of photo’s I was the camera man again and had to quick run over to the car to drop off the bag so I could run the race as well when the rest of the group started. I had a good run considering I ran in the ChaCha yesterday morning as well.

We of course are already looking forward to next year’s race. We will raise more money for the great cause, celebrate 12 years for Kimberly and 1 for Mom, and we will have better race times

Cactus ChaCha

(From our Personal Blog)

As we have talked about in a lot of this year’s Blog’s, Running has become one of our ‘gig’s’. When now officially even look for races and unique cities to run around for our weekend fun. It’s a riot, healthy and cheap… all hard to beat. From an event standpoint, most all runs are some sort of street run of a fixed distance (5K, 10K, half marathon, etc.). So these have been our focus, as that’s really what the options are. Having said this, occasionally there is a unique event that is not just the typical street run. For example our upcoming Bisbee 1000 which is 4.4 miles and 1000 plus stairs (yeah sounds like fun huh?). And another I just had a chance to compete in; the Cactus ChaCha Trail Run.

The Cactus ChaCha is right up my alley. While I am still fairly new to running, I will always identify more with Trail Running. I enjoy the dirt and rock much more than the street or a treadmill. Sadly though, there are not just many organized trail running events. In fact, aside from the ChaCha, the only other one in our area each year that I know of is the Lake Pleasant Good Dam Run we did in April and that is only ½ trail.

In any event, the ChaCha has a 3 mile and a 7 mile race. I had planned on the 7 miler (fairly close to what I do a couple of times a week now) but with the ankle still a little jacked (I wrap it) I thought I better stick to the 3 miler. I had a great time. The course was at the White Tank Park Competitive track. It is a good track, small rocks everywhere but not too much elevation changes. The exception being a nice little wash near the end. I ended up coming in 14th place overall (7th gender) out of 170 in the 3 mile race. My time was 23:19 which I was mostly happy with considering the ankle and the trail conditions. The event was well ran and a good group of folks out there (trail runners are a little different breed I think). As example: the ChaCha had breakfast burritos for the runners at the end along with the typical banana.

I am looking forward to next year, no ankle issue, and hopefully it will not be followed the next day with another race as this year’s was (we do the Komen Race for the Cure tomorrow).

Dam Good Run

Lake Pleasant ‘Dam Good Run Hike’ by Mike Miller

This last weekend Kimberly and I traded in the weekend Hike for a local event at Lake Pleasant called the 3rd Annual “Dam Good Run Hike”. It turned out to be a really fun day, and we enjoyed the Lake Life vibe all morning and afternoon.

The ‘Good Dam Run Hike’ offered two tracks - one 4 mile and one 7 mile. Wanting to get a good workout in we opted for the 7 miler, and glad we did. The event is in it’s third year and while still smaller (maybe 100 people total for both runs), the group was a perfect mix of young and old and all nice people. The fees you paid went to support Lake Pleasant and they had a good group of sponsors, so entry included a T-Shirt, hat, snacks, and some other miscellaneous stuff. All in all a very well run event.

The seven mile track was about half trail and half road. This was good news for me, because I am still much more comfortable running on trails. Seeing the first 2.5 miles are so where all trails, I knew I could get a little head start on Kimberly and maybe hold on for the Road portion and beat my little gym rat - runner wife (not that we were being competitive or anything ). You start from a parking lot and quickly descend down into a wash riparian area. The trail follows the wash/creek for a couple miles before you head up and out. There were 4 creek crossings and several spots where you had to duck under the trees. Heading out of the creek, you climb up a service road that gains a thousand feet or so elevation in about a mile - a nice painful stretch for this old man. After the climb you head toward the New Wadell Dam (hence the name of the race). The Dam is an earthen Dam and what holds the Aguia Fria to make the lake. As far as I know this is the only day of the year us regular folks can be on the Damn. So pretty cool you get to cross it and then head back. After coming back on the Dam you have another mile or so of trail run.

Just for the purposes of documenting the day for future years… I have to say I did end up crossing in 1:09 which was enough to get there ahead of Mrs. Miller . Considering we had 7 miles and 1800 ft. net elevation gain, had some creek crossings, and had a wine and tequila night the night before with good buddy Shane - I think us old folks did pretty good.

After the race we found a nice little Ramada with a view of the lake, setup my trusty grill and had a great lunch. then we headed over to the Marina and partook of a glass of Vino and a cold one. Once again…. life is good!

April 2009 Races

Susan Koman Race for the Cure 2007

(from our personal Blog in 2007 - see also 2008 report)

I love my woman – she has always made me very proud to be her man. Her kind soul, passion, giving personality, relentless determination in pursuit of her desires, and her ability to drive through the challenges that life will sometimes thrust upon us are but a few of the things that make her so special and me a lucky man. I always have this realization with me, but every once in a while there are days, or moments perhaps, in life that stand out and the pride you have for a loved one is so strong it gives you that ‘smile and a tear’. Sunday, October 14th 2007 was one of those days. One that I will remember forever – it was just perfect, and I couldn’t imagine it being any better.

Kimberly and I raced in the Susan Komen Race for the Cure on the 10th year anniversary of Kimberly’s diagnosis of Breast Cancer. My little baby went out and ran her sweet little behind off and finished in the Top 10 of all 3000 or so Survivors that participated!! Talk about determination…. Just like she plowed through all the challenges that the cancer had brought her 10 years back, she used that special something to push herself and accomplish something special. You should have seen her: up front, taking off in the lead (that's her the Redhead in the picture out front), a 42 year old, cancer surviving grandmother looking like nothing in the world was gonna’ stop her. It was pretty freakin’ cool – yep, that ‘smile and a tear pride’ from this old man.

The rest of the day was perfect as well. The Race for the Cure really puts on a great event, for a great cause. You should all join us next year – walk, run, or just hang out and see or hear the stories of survival and loss – it’s for sure a day of perspective that we can all use sometimes. And while I am at it, next time you’re headed out to a restaurant, stay at home with someone you love instead, turn out the lights, light a candle, cook some pasta with a little sauce, and send the tip money you saved to the Komen Race for the Cure Foundation – Cancer is a bitch, it needs to go away.

I love you baby – RUN HARD!