It Is Going to Happen Again This Year, (Ann)

Consider this the official announcement. We are doing the fun runs again this year. We hope it will get bigger and better every year. This year we are going to get together with anyone who will be in Tucson so we can all run out the old year, and run in the new one.

Another thing we are going to do differently is that we are collecting donations for a local charity that we can make sure any donations raised get where they should. Last year one of the charities we endorsed came under fire for some shady business. To avoid that this year we are going to try to raise gift cards (not cash) to Payless shoes for the school Amy works at. It may not seem like much, but when I hear Amy's stories about kids showing up to school with their shoes falling off their feet, or being three sizes to small it really makes me feel awful for even thinking about buying a $50 mountain bike tire. We know for a fact that any donations will go directly to a kid who needs shoes badly. We are asking for a $5 gift card for adult registration, and a $3 gift card for kids. The lady that runs the Family Resource center has a good relationship with Payless, and gets a good deal on shoes for the school. So your dollars will go farther than they normally would.

The other exciting news is that all finishers will receive an award, but not just any award. Lara from Rainbow Signs has donated her time and materials to help make this year's awards the best ever (you should Like Rainbow Signs on facebook). Not only are they going to be super cool, but they will be part of other events throughout  the year.

So mark your calendar, and get ready to run on New Year's Eve, and New Year's day to help put some kids in new shoes that they will truly appreciate. If you are going to be in town make plans to come run with us between 11:45pm December 31st, 2011 to 12:15am January 1st, 2012.

Tyler

The other day my little buddy Tyler (Brett and Michelle's son) ran up to me and was really excited to show me his battle scars. Where else should they end up but here on Broken, Beat & Scarred.

Not only did he get his elbow..............

but both knees too. That must have been some scooter crash. Don't worry Tyler, chicks dig scars.

Turkey Trot 2011

I wasn't going to post on the Turkey Trot this year for several reasons. Amy was in Phoenix, and I didn't do as well as I had hoped so i was just going to ignore it. Then I looked at my pictures and changed my mind.

It gets more crowded every year. There were over twice as many runners this year compared to the first time I ran it six years ago. It is getting to big for the course in my opinion.

Here is why I decided to post about this year's race. Brett and Michelle ran it with me. Here Michelle clears the first water hazard. She ran well, and came in several minutes under what she had anticipated she would run. Nice job Michelle! Brett did well too, but since we were both in the men's race I didn't get any pictures of him.

There I am #107. The guy right in front of me is Chad Miller. I went to school with his wife, and live across the street from his in laws. This is  the closest I have ever run to him in a race. He beat me by ten seconds instead of minutes like normal. He is the principal at the elementary school I went to.

As I was leaving they started the fun run. I just turned on my hazards, and enjoyed watching all the little kids running like mad.



Iron Maiden - Run To The Hills

Since it is Thanksgiving week I thought I would post my favorite Thanksgiving song. You may remember it from last year, but I never get tired of listening to it.

Moby Dick

What do you get when you mix four guys, two ropes, two racks, and a big piece of granite? A really good time. It was a dawn to dusk day with a two and a half hour drive one way, and an hour long bushwhack approach. It was also really fun.

 Can you see why it is called the Whale Dome?

 Mike caught up to Ryan and me at the first belay.

 Mike climbing the third pitch which was really fun. The first, third, and fifth pitches were the best. Ryan was nice enough to let me have them. I felt a little badly about it because two of his pitches weren't nearly as good. I  guess we will have to go do it again so I can repay the favor.

Ryan at the top of the second pitch. It was sure nice of that little tree to provide an anchor for us.

Ryan soloing the last pitch. It just wasn't hard enough to protect, and was barely fifth class. It would have been a nasty fall though, but a climber would have to be trying really hard to fall off there.

Paul, Mike, and Ryan on top. Good climbing, beautiful country, and great friends. What more could you ask for?

The rap off was a little scary too. Once we were over the edge it was 170 feet of free hang. the wind was really blowing, it was getting cold, and we were tired. All the reasons climbers hate rappels. We were careful, and all made it down safely.

That bent up hanger was really confidence inspiring too.

(Sorry about the alignment of this post. I am having blogger problems again, and it won't let me make all the text either centered or aligned left.)

Race Etiquite

I thought I would share my rules for racing since many of us will be running turkey trots, and all of us will surely be running the Team Brenton, Broken, Beat & Scarred, Running Around on Empty 5th and 6th bi-annual charity fun run (this is your second notification that it will be happening again this year (Ann)). I think my rules are pretty much common sense, but after my experiences at several races over the past few years sense apparently isn't so common. Please note that every rule has it's exception, and I will address several here. My general rule is if it doesn't take away from another runner's experience, and doesn't give you an unfair advantage it is probably OK.

1. Be prepared. Do your training, and know you can run the distance. When races start to get longer, like say half marathon or longer, that is not always possible. You may have to walk a water station. Just try not to hold anyone else up.

2. Try to line up with others of similar pace. I always try to line up with the 8:00 milers. I know from experience that is about my race pace. I will look for the guys I  recognize from the finish of other races, or ask a few guys what pace they plan to run. If you are a 9:00 minute miler don't line up with the 6:00 minute pace guys. You will only look clueless, and make it harder for someone to run their race.

3. If you are going to move, slow to a walk, spit, or make any other changes look around so you don't collide with another runner. Pretend like you are on a freeway, and you need to look behind you before you change lanes.

4. If the course is a loop where you have to make several laps look for people coming up behind you so you can give them room to pass. This is why I am against walkers in a race. I had a trio of very voluptuous walkers hold me up for quite a while at a trail race. I had to get two laps in to make the ten miles. I came upon them in a section of single track, and there was no good way around them. They saw me, but wouldn't give me any room to pass. I ended up off trail to get around them. I wasn't very happy, and had to bite my tongue to keep from making the pilot car, and warning flag joke I cooked up while trying to get around them.

5. Have fun, and be friendly. You will meet some very cool people with similar interests. You might even learn, or teach, someone something.

The Agenda

It is fall in Tucson again. Well, I guess it is fall everywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, but fall is a special time in Tucson. The  weather is finally good enough that being outside, even at noon, is not only bearable, but enjoyable. That only means one things. I need to come up with a plan. Lots of events, and individual things to do. Which ones should I pick?

I will be running the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, and the Team Brenton 5th and 6th bi-annual 1.55K New Years Run (that would be your notification that it is on again this year, and that you should make plans to do it (Ann)). I am in the process of coming up with a list of ten climbs that will be either challenging, adventurous, fun, or all of the above. Ryan is coming up with his own list. I'll bet that Steve's Arete makes it on both lists. After that the "agenda" starts to get a little cloudy.

There is the Tucson Marathon, the Pemberton 50k (that I have threatened to run for the last three years, but who's counting), 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo, an April J-Tree trip, Rim to Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon, and a few other things I've been considering. Can you think of something I have left out? Is there something you think I might like to do? What is on your agenda? What do you think should be on mine? I really am interested in your opinion. Help me sort out this mess that is jumbling up my head, please.

Team Brenton Halloween

Since the kids don't Trick-Or-Treat anymore we decided to make Halloween at the Brenton home (and gear storage unit) something special.

What else would Team Brenton carve into their pumpkins besides skulls. I did this one, and..........

Caitlin carved Jack the Pumpkin King. Philip was at soccer tryouts so he didn't have time to carve one.

We decided to dress Gus up for Halloween too. We called him Gus the Haunted Surf Bus. Complete with Jack-O-Lanterns, spider webs, skeletons, ghosts surfboard, Halloween music, black lights, and longboards (not pictured). We had fun.

Not a great picture, but you can get the idea if you use your imagination.

Gus the Haunted Surf Bus really played the part.

Another shot where imagination is mandatory. The black lights worked out pretty well though.