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San Diego Marathon - June 5, 2005
This Could Get Ugly...and it did.
May 2005
Alright, so maybe I could have been a little better prepared....Yup, I had been paying such
close attention to my grueling exercise plan that the sign up date for the San Diego Marathon
that it kind of snuck right by me. So, I hopped in the car and headed down there on the day
before the race and signed up at the convention center. I was also able to purchase a pair of
socks, which I had neglected to pack, so that came in handy.
Anyhow, I got my bib and a pair of socks and off I went to find some suitable lodging...at the
Ezroj's house. Yup, I got to hang with Leon and it was good times! For a pre-marathon meal,
Leon led the group to Felippe's, a San Diego staple (where they've had the same table on the
same night every week for a decade) and it was an absolute riot. Joining us were Aran and
Melissa as well as some family friends and Melissa's brother, Micheal, who would also be
running the next day while sporting a brand new CTTC t-shirt. What a prince! And seeing as
Mike is generally challenged in the wardrobe department, this was a massive improvement...I
mean, you should have seen the pants he wore to his own sister's wedding...yeah, it was like
Scotland got sick and barfed up every kind of hideous plaid that ever was, and it all landed in
Mike's lap!!
I digress. We dined on some fine Italian fare and after the banquet, we returned to the house
for a night's rest. However, being what medical professionals might consider 'a spaz', I just lay
there and stared at the ceiling. Knowing that there are 286 tiles on the Ezroj's living room
ceiling is a fact that I'm proud to share with all of you. Anyhow, 4am finally rolled around and
Mike and I set off (in the dark) for the starting line. Once there, we got directed to our starting
corral to get stretched out, and meet up with some of the folks who were in from out of town.
Then, after fueling up with some of that 'carbo-goo', we were ready to go and with the shot of
the pistol, we were off!
Right out of the gate, Mike looked like a Kenyan...seriously, he was right up in the front (by
Kenyan, I mean 'a hairy creature from the wild'...true story). The good thing about that was that
when The San Diego Tribune took a picture for the front page of the next day's paper...the shirt
was front and center along with Mike's ridiculous mug. Good times.
Anyhoo, with the commencement of the race, things were getting interesting. If you are not
familiar with the San Diego 'Rock'N'Roll' Marathon, there is a reason for its name. With every
mile marker, a new band is playing, right on the marathon course! It's great. Not only that, but
while I was running, I tried to keep pace with these four guys that were decked out in full Elvis
regalia (circa 1974). Yup, sideburns, gold-rimmed glasses, and the JUMPSUIT!. It was genius.
They also had a little red wagon that they were towing along with them. It housed their
'sound-system', consisting of a mostly broken boom box and continually churning out all of
Elvis' big hits. But, after hearing 'All Shook Up' about 300 times and singing along for about half
of those, I had to stop and ice the knees. Yup, they began to haunt me again.
So, there I was, tooling along at mile 14 when I slowed down to get some refreshment at one of
the many water/fruit stations. But what I had thought was a fuel station, turned out to be just
some dude with a card table and some sausage. Yup, so I stop and I'm like "what are you
doing?" and he says "What? I'm making some sandwiches for my friends, why?"
"Oh, I, uh...nothing...never mind"
"No man, do you want one?"
"Yes I do" I reply.
So, he hands me the knife and makes room for me at the table. And I spend the next 2 miles or
so, running along with a giant ham and pepperoni submarine sandwich in my hand with cheers
raining down from the crowd:
"Go Sandwich Man!"
Sadly, that was the highlight of the race. Subsequent to the sandwich, things got pretty ugly
with the knees...and as I passed mile marker 16, one of the people on the medical staff asked if
I was 'OK' as I limped along. I said I was OK and she recommended that I stop for a moment.
As I did so, she took a look in my eyes with the little doctor light and asked if I was "always this
pale". I said that I am generally considered by friends and associates to be the whitest guy on
earth but she still suggested that I maybe bow out gracefully. And seeing how graceless I
usually am, I thought it might be a good idea too. And running is just torture anyway, and now I
had an awesome excuse to stop, so I did.
__________________________________________________________________________
April 2005
OK, does anybody want to tell me what I was thinking!?!? Yeah, the other night, I'm sitting at
home, just having a slow night when I get the brilliant idea to sign up for the San Diego
Marathon.
Hey Genius, Newsflash!!!
IT"S NEXT SATURDAY!!!!
Yup, nailed it!!! As if I wasn't already familiar with my own story of what happened in the LA
Marathon. However, my training regimen has been unbelievably strict lately. I figure that all of
the cardiovascular work I do between the fridge and the couch has kept me in tip-top condition,
while the laps around the buffet table have kept my form and technique honed to the utmost in
athletic precision and durability.
So, I will be departing this Saturday, June 4th, for San Diego. I am just hoping that making a go
of the Marathon might get the word out and maybe help a few people along the way. A little
sun and exercise might be good for my pale, lazy self as well. And I'm sure I'll be returning with
some yarn to spin and maybe give us all a chuckle. In the meantime, please feel free to send
pastries, donuts or cans of Crisco to my address. I'll be needing to gorge myself in order to
pump up for the big day. This weekend, however, please take a minute to imagine me, soaked
in sweat, adorned in some ridiculous, 'little-guy' running shorts, flailing through the streets of
San Diego in order to honor the birthplace of my wonderful brother as well as get the word out
for people to help in the fight against all that is bad, scary, uncomfortable, and sad.
Please, check back next week to see how things go. I am sorry that I will be unable to post my
training schedule prior to the race. In recent conversations with my management, we feel that it
is best to keep our 'secrets to success' under wraps for the time being. One hint that I will
extend to my fellow competitors for a great 'pre-race energy surge' ..."Taco Bell".
Wish Me Luck!!!
Alright, so maybe I could have been a little better prepared....Yup, I had been paying such
close attention to my grueling exercise plan that the sign up date for the San Diego Marathon
that it kind of snuck right by me. So, I hopped in the car and headed down there on the day
before the race and signed up at the convention center. I was also able to purchase a pair of
socks, which I had neglected to pack, so that came in handy.
Anyhow, I got my bib and a pair of socks and off I went to find some suitable lodging...at the
Ezroj's house. Yup, I got to hang with Leon and it was good times! For a pre-marathon meal,
Leon led the group to Felippe's, a San Diego staple (where they've had the same table on the
same night every week for a decade) and it was an absolute riot. Joining us were Aran and
Melissa as well as some family friends and Melissa's brother, Micheal, who would also be
running the next day while sporting a brand new CTTC t-shirt. What a prince! And seeing as
Mike is generally challenged in the wardrobe department, this was a massive improvement...I
mean, you should have seen the pants he wore to his own sister's wedding...yeah, it was like
Scotland got sick and barfed up every kind of hideous plaid that ever was, and it all landed in
Mike's lap!!
I digress. We dined on some fine Italian fare and after the banquet, we returned to the house
for a night's rest. However, being what medical professionals might consider 'a spaz', I just lay
there and stared at the ceiling. Knowing that there are 286 tiles on the Ezroj's living room
ceiling is a fact that I'm proud to share with all of you. Anyhow, 4am finally rolled around and
Mike and I set off (in the dark) for the starting line. Once there, we got directed to our starting
corral to get stretched out, and meet up with some of the folks who were in from out of town.
Then, after fueling up with some of that 'carbo-goo', we were ready to go and with the shot of
the pistol, we were off!
Right out of the gate, Mike looked like a Kenyan...seriously, he was right up in the front (by
Kenyan, I mean 'a hairy creature from the wild'...true story). The good thing about that was that
when The San Diego Tribune took a picture for the front page of the next day's paper...the shirt
was front and center along with Mike's ridiculous mug. Good times.
Anyhoo, with the commencement of the race, things were getting interesting. If you are not
familiar with the San Diego 'Rock'N'Roll' Marathon, there is a reason for its name. With every
mile marker, a new band is playing, right on the marathon course! It's great. Not only that, but
while I was running, I tried to keep pace with these four guys that were decked out in full Elvis
regalia (circa 1974). Yup, sideburns, gold-rimmed glasses, and the JUMPSUIT!. It was genius.
They also had a little red wagon that they were towing along with them. It housed their
'sound-system', consisting of a mostly broken boom box and continually churning out all of
Elvis' big hits. But, after hearing 'All Shook Up' about 300 times and singing along for about half
of those, I had to stop and ice the knees. Yup, they began to haunt me again.
So, there I was, tooling along at mile 14 when I slowed down to get some refreshment at one of
the many water/fruit stations. But what I had thought was a fuel station, turned out to be just
some dude with a card table and some sausage. Yup, so I stop and I'm like "what are you
doing?" and he says "What? I'm making some sandwiches for my friends, why?"
"Oh, I, uh...nothing...never mind"
"No man, do you want one?"
"Yes I do" I reply.
So, he hands me the knife and makes room for me at the table. And I spend the next 2 miles or
so, running along with a giant ham and pepperoni submarine sandwich in my hand with cheers
raining down from the crowd:
"Go Sandwich Man!"
Sadly, that was the highlight of the race. Subsequent to the sandwich, things got pretty ugly
with the knees...and as I passed mile marker 16, one of the people on the medical staff asked if
I was 'OK' as I limped along. I said I was OK and she recommended that I stop for a moment.
As I did so, she took a look in my eyes with the little doctor light and asked if I was "always this
pale". I said that I am generally considered by friends and associates to be the whitest guy on
earth but she still suggested that I maybe bow out gracefully. And seeing how graceless I
usually am, I thought it might be a good idea too. And running is just torture anyway, and now I
had an awesome excuse to stop, so I did.
__________________________________________________________________________
April 2005
OK, does anybody want to tell me what I was thinking!?!? Yeah, the other night, I'm sitting at
home, just having a slow night when I get the brilliant idea to sign up for the San Diego
Marathon.
Hey Genius, Newsflash!!!
IT"S NEXT SATURDAY!!!!
Yup, nailed it!!! As if I wasn't already familiar with my own story of what happened in the LA
Marathon. However, my training regimen has been unbelievably strict lately. I figure that all of
the cardiovascular work I do between the fridge and the couch has kept me in tip-top condition,
while the laps around the buffet table have kept my form and technique honed to the utmost in
athletic precision and durability.
So, I will be departing this Saturday, June 4th, for San Diego. I am just hoping that making a go
of the Marathon might get the word out and maybe help a few people along the way. A little
sun and exercise might be good for my pale, lazy self as well. And I'm sure I'll be returning with
some yarn to spin and maybe give us all a chuckle. In the meantime, please feel free to send
pastries, donuts or cans of Crisco to my address. I'll be needing to gorge myself in order to
pump up for the big day. This weekend, however, please take a minute to imagine me, soaked
in sweat, adorned in some ridiculous, 'little-guy' running shorts, flailing through the streets of
San Diego in order to honor the birthplace of my wonderful brother as well as get the word out
for people to help in the fight against all that is bad, scary, uncomfortable, and sad.
Please, check back next week to see how things go. I am sorry that I will be unable to post my
training schedule prior to the race. In recent conversations with my management, we feel that it
is best to keep our 'secrets to success' under wraps for the time being. One hint that I will
extend to my fellow competitors for a great 'pre-race energy surge' ..."Taco Bell".
Wish Me Luck!!!
