Fired Up Randomness

Marathon #3, It's a Wrap.

Trust me, no one looks their best after just having run 26.2 miles.

Last Sunday I ran the Skagit Flats Marathon in Burlington, WA, which is about an hour north of Seattle.  It was not Boston friendly, at least for me.  Monday, September 9 was the last official day to qualify for the 2014 Boston Marathon so I thought I would give it one more shot.  Here's a brief recap.

I ran the Vancouver Marathon in mid June, took a little time off, then pretty much stayed in marathon training mode thinking I may want to give  Boston one last try because I still feel like I have the ability to qualify within me, call that naivete or false bravado or whatever you want, but I feel like I can do it, even though my previous results have proven otherwise.  I didn't tell anyone that I was going to run the race, I wanted to have a clear mind, not think about it at all and really just wake up and do it.  So Sunday morning I got up at 4 a.m., prepared myself and drove to Burlington for the race.  When I got there and checked in they gave me a rules sheet that said "No iPods" because the course was on roads open to traffic.  I was not pleased, but what could I do at that point.  The course was relatively flat and was an out and back; meaning we would in essence run 13.1 miles northwest of Burlington, turn around and come back the same way.  Not ideal, especially with the roads being open for cars, but again, it was what it was.  I was going to go for my Boston time of 3:15, that was why I was running this race so there was no reason to hold back.  I went out really hard and felt really good for the first 10 miles or so, then the humidity really started kicking in.  Turns out it was literally 100% humidity and the sun was shining bright and got to 80 degrees.  After only a few miles I was completely drenched in sweat and uncomfortable, but nothing you can do about it but keep going. The next 5-8 miles weren't too bad, I was missing my iPod by about now as we were on country roads with virtually no spectators, running through farm land, no funny signs, quite isolating.  Around Mile 20 I knew I was slipping off pace but tried to stay strong, but I was really starting to hit the wall. Around Mile 22 I knew I had 4.2 miles left and I used to run a 4.2 mile loop around my neighborhood that I called my Tillman Loop based on the Tillman Race I ran last spring.  That gave me life, but for only about a minute.   At a certain point for everyone in a marathon your brain is just shot and I remember thinking, "all right 4.2 to go, Tillman, you got this", then all of sudden I felt like I got hit by a truck.  I could hardly see straight, I couldn't run straight, every step I took felt like I was stomping into the ground, my mind was completely gone, it was brutal, so I had to walk at points and eventually this last stretch destroyed any respectable time I was going to attain, certainly not Boston and I ended up finishing yet again, just like before, time-wise.  But I was okay with it because I went out hard and went for the qualification, I wouldn't have done it any different.  A marathon is just a long ways and you can feel great, awesome in fact, at points, but eventually you hit the wall and have to try to grind through.  My cousin Matt came to the finish and sat with me in the grass afterwards while I recovered and then we went to eat somewhere, but I'm not entirely sure where as I was still kind of out of it. At one point my friend John Eloff called me, not knowing I was running a marathon that day, he said I was babbling incoherently and he was right.  Funny now, actually it was kind of funny then too.  After a few hours I was fine both mentally and physically, some soreness but hardly anything noteworthy.  In the end I did what I could, it just wasn't meant to be for me this year.  But I will not give up, I really believe I have a 3:15 in me and I am going to keep trying including running the Seattle Marathon on December 1.  I'm still Fired Up!




Meanwhile back in Portland...

LARPing.  Not a woman in sight.  Coincidence?

Wait this isn't in Portland, it's in Seattle?!?!  Oh no.

When my friend Kevin visited recently and we had our adventures around Seattle, at one point we went to Gas Works Park on North Lake Union.  A great spot to get a view of the downtown Seattle skyline, watch the float planes take off and land, view the floating houses, watch the Duck Boats carrying tourists float by, lay in the sun, and Kevin got some great pictures.  Well as we were walking back to the car, behind the Pavilion we came upon this.  LARPing.  If you're not familiar with the term, lucky you, but it stands for Live Action Role Playing and is basically a bunch of people that try to act out their fantasy worlds in full costume.  It is every bit as stunning, awkward, disturbing and hilarious(although not to them) as you can imagine.  I found it completely comical as one guy was trying to teach another guy the proper technique for dispensing his weapon.  Think about that for a second.  Proper technique for a FAKE BATTLE!  Not sure technique is very important for your pretend storming of the Fantasyland castle, Knights of the Dork Table.  I suppose since Microsoft is based here and we have lots of other techno geeks we may be prone to this type of activity, you know by the kind of guys that were actually excited about this year being the 25th Anniversary of Willow and couldn't wait to the get the new Blu-Ray version with extras.  Definitely not my type of thing.  We moved on quickly, but only after a few laughs.  Make that many laughs because you know there's nothing better on a hot summer day then putting on your fake suit of armor and having a pretend battle with your Renaissance fair friends, with proper technique of course.  Nice work LARPers.  Good luck in mom's basement.



Yeehaw, it's Rodeo Time!

8 seconds doesn't seem too daunting, until you see these bulls up close!

10 gallon hats, boots and spurs and belt buckles the size of the Wimbledon trophy; yep, it's Rodeo Week and I got to take part for many, many, many days.  Well not really that many, but more than I hads ever envisioned I would in my life.  Seems that Ellensburg, WA, also known as Rodeo City, is a stop on the National Rodeo Tour and I had to, or should I say, got the pleasure of,  hosting clients there for the weekend.  It was definitely a new experience for me as I've not only never been to a rodeo, I've hardly been to anything that would be even quasi similar.  So with my own preconceived notions I went forth to the Gold Buckle Club at the Kittitas County Fairgrounds and proceeded to learn all that I could have ever wanted to know and witness regarding a rodeo.  The big Super Bowl of Rodeos, if you will, takes place in Las Vegas every year and I was familiar with that as I have some cousins that are way into it and go every year and my Uncle Al, who lives near Las Vegas has told me all about how big it is.  For you city folk, like me, think March Madness, but for cowboys.  From what I understand the Ellensburg Rodeo is the last big stop before Vegas where the cowboys can qualify for their respective events, so the rodeo tends to draw all the top names, thus making this a big deal.  The good news was that we were in the Gold Buckle Club and therefore in the VIP area, ostensibly, so we could sit out of the sun, were close to action and had all the food and drink one could want.  After watching the bucking broncos, the barrel runs, calf roping, and a contest that involved trying to milk a running cow, it was time for the main event, bull riding.  Again, I know nothing about this, but even if you're not all that into it, sitting that close to these snarling, angry bulls and watching the cowboys try to ride them for at least 8 seconds, which is required to get a score, it was exciting.  The scoring, however, seemed to remind me of Olympics in that you have to stay on for 8 seconds but beyond that how the judges determine how to score each ride seemed subjective.  Although there didn't not appear to be any Eastern European Bloc judges from what I could tell at least, but there was definitely controversy.  In between each event was the fabled Rodeo Clowns, hilarious by any standard, except for anyone that has a standard.  Well that may be a bit harsh, but it was clearly pratfall humor for the masses.  Kenny Bania would be proud, I wasn't.  At any rate after 5 days of rodeo I'd seen enough, one day would have been plenty.  I definitely learned how much of a city slicker that I apparently am.  But if I have to go again, and in all likelihood I will, I still won't be wearing any chaps.  Giddy up.




Battle of the Basement

SafeCo Field, a beautiful stadium, but not so beautiful baseball.

I had the chance to take in a Seattle Mariners baseball game the other night at SafeCo Field.  The weather was perfect, our seats were very good(as you can see above), it was a great summer night to watch the second to last place Mariners take on the last place Houston Astros.  Thus it was going to be a pillow fight for futility and neither team disappointed.

My cousin Matt and his friends go to Mariners games fairly regularly and they asked me to join them, so I did.  When I first got to Washington I went to a game the first or second night I was here for work, but the weather was lousy and the Mariners got hammered right out of the gate and it was not a great experience, so I was happy to go again and hope for a better time.  Well both teams have struggled all season, although at one point Seattle was threatening to be at least a .500 team,  but their play the last month has taken away that hope, while the Astros have been awful from Day One.  So the game was lousy, neither team could get a hit, although at the same time, neither team's pitcher looked dominant, it was clearly a battle of last place teams.  However in the 7th inning a newly called up Mariner hit his first career home run giving them the lead heading into the 8th, 3-2.  Seattle's Charlie Furbush pitched a solid 8th leading to the Mariners turning to their closer who proceeded to not close out the game, but rather give up 4 runs.  Houston, not to be outdone, nearly gave it back away in the bottom of the ninth but eventually held on to win 6-4.  Not great baseball for the electric crowd of maybe 5K.  However, SafeCo Field is fantastic!  The views throughout the park are great, the concourses and food selections are tremendous and of course they have a million IPA's for your choosing, although SafeCo also has the highest beer prices in MLB, sweet!

As we were watching the game my friend Doug texted me about the Monday Night Football game going on at that moment and I told him I was at the baseball game, to which he replied:

"Didn't anyone tell you baseball season ended Aug. 30 when the football season began?!?!?"

Great point Doug.  Baseball, you're done, now let's get back to the pigskin.




Spartans that can actually score and win!

MSU vs. Louisville? Not quite.

When I was trying to find a place to live here in Metro Seattle I went east of town and as I was driving to my new place I went right by the high school that is a mere stone's throw away, Skyline High School.  The reason it stuck out, they have a big sign out front of the school with the Spartan head, the same one and the same colors that Michigan State uses.  Having grown up in the shadow of Sparty, I took this as a good omen. But as I was soon to learn, these are not your George Perles smash mouth, always close but never quite there, Spartans.  The Skyline Spartans are a powerhouse.   Seems the school has only been around about 15 years and in that time they have won 7 state titles in the state's largest division, including 6 in the last 8 years.  Running a high octane spread offense, these Spartans are a true dominant force and have had the #1 rated high school QB for the last 6 years in a row.  Clearly they don't have the same problems MSU does in scoring points, maybe State could learn a thing or two from these kids.  At any rate, as cool as it is that the Spartans are in my backyard I then found out that the other state power is Bellevue HS. Bellevue is in the next division and they have won state titles 10 of last 12 years.  Their nickname, the Wolverines and they use the same colors and logo as scUM.  I found this all completely fascinating. There must be former scUM and MSU people in this area to have made this happen.  They are both completely dominant, so much so that since they are in different divisions there has been talk of a +1 game after the state championships the last few years because they both destroy their own divisions and yet, don't get to face each other.  At any rate, I think it's great that I moved to a new state and yet I can still cheer for the Spartans and completely hate the Wolverines even though I'm 3,000 miles away from Michigan. More importantly it's nice for once in my life to see Spartan football as the dominant force.  Go Green and Screw the Blue!



Seattle Desert?

Palm Trees, where am I again?

If you've never been to Seattle, no matter where you are from, the first thing you will notice when you get off the plane and step outside is how green everything is and how there are so many trees and such.  I guess all of that rain counts for something.  But when I went to Vashon Island to visit my cousin Matt for the first time after moving here, we went to a local pizza place and outside the restaurant I did a double take and noticed that there were two palm trees.   At first I felt like my mind was playing tricks on me.  I mean coming from Arizona there were palm trees everywhere so it wasn't anything new for me to see some, but here in Seattle and not in the desert?  Turns out here in Seattle, because we rarely get any snow and it rarely gets below freezing, there are certain types of palm trees that live and thrive here.  They may look a bit different than the your typical tropical palms, but seeing them made me feel more at home.  Spartans, palm trees, is Seattle trying to make me feel my roots or something?



The History of Cactus Chip

If you are, or ever have been, a Chippewa then you are Forever Fired Up!

I have had a few people ask me why the name of my blog is "Cactus Chip" and what does that mean, so here is the story.

I went to college at Central Michigan University and I often think about how that period in time was some of the greatest moments of my life.  I made life long friends, won a national championship and had about as much fun as anyone can have in college while still actually going to class and getting their degree.  CMU's nickname is the Chippewas, based on the Chippewa Indian Tribe whose land that area of the state once dominated. Thus for nearly 100 years the chant of Fire Up Chips! has been heard at any CMU sporting event or really any kind of CMU event for that matter.  It is our alma mater rallying cry, if you will.   Anytime you see someone wearing CMU clothing  a mere shout of "Fire Up" in their direction will undoubtedly be well received.  When I started this blog I was living in Arizona and since I am a "Chip" I came up with the name Cactus Chip.  Now that I live in Seattle I suppose I could change it to SeaChip or something like that, but I plan to leave it just as it is.  But Fire Up! has become something I live by and say quite often.  In fact when I went to the Space Needle for the first time I was wearing a CMU shirt and two fellow Chips recognized the logo and we had a nice chat as they were visiting from Ft. Lauderdale, FL.  Nationwide Chips!

For all my road races I write "Fire Up" in red ink on my arms, a way for me to see and feel some inspiration as the race gets difficult.  I am a Chip for life and I say that proudly.  I grew up in Lansing, also went to Michigan State and still have great affinity for all things Sparty, but I am and always will be first and foremost a Chip and Forever Fired Up!

Marathon war paint, I am always Fired Up!

Thanks again for stopping by.  There is plenty more ahead including an epic night with Trucker Todd, that I am still debating about posting but ultimately will, and an upcoming trip back to Scottsdale, can't wait for that! Stay tuned.