157.2 down, 157.2 to go

Miles, that is.

Six marathons equals 157.2 miles. Today is the halfway point of the marathon a month effort for 2009.

My day began when I woke up at 4:45 a.m in San Francisco. The alarm was set for 5, but I woke up on my own thanks to my body being set to Central Time. Not a big fact, but my hotel has in iPod docking station for the alarm in my room. I've never used one for a hotel alarm, so I set it up, made sure it worked, and attached my iPod to the clock. The key was that since I woke up on my own, I turned the alarm off and forgot to bring my iPod with me for the run. I probably won't be placing my iPod in an alarm clock again.

I left the hotel at 5:15 a.m. for the 90 minute drive to Aptos, California, which is the location of Aptos Village Park, site of race registration and the start/finish line. Since it was early on a Saturday, the drive was pretty easy. However, you know you are in California as the Jeeps and pickup trucks loaded with surfboards fly past you on their way to the coast.

The race began at 8 a.m. Pacific Time, so I arrived in plenty of time. For the race start, the temperature was 52 degrees with no wind and sunny skies. In other words, it was a really nice day for a very long run.

The Forest of Nisene Marks Marathon is a small event relative to many other marathons. For the marathon (there was also a half-marathon and a 5k race), my guess is there were fewer than 100 marathon runners today. There are no timing chips, since everyone starts at the same time. There are no loudspeakers and no starters guns. The race directors counts down 3-2-1-go, and you go.

The first four miles are either on pavement or a very firm dirt road that is a main road for the park. The challenge really begins at 4.8 miles. But before the work really starts, I took a picture of the "sign of the day." If you look at the sign, right below Aptos Creek Trail you will see "Earthquake Epicenter." We did not run to the epicenter but, as you can see, it is only about a half mile hike from this sign. The earthquake centered in this park is officially known as the "Loma Prieta Earthquake," but you will recall it better as the earthquake that interrupted the 1989 World Series Game 3 between the Oakland A' s and the San Francisco Giants.

Trivia question: Who won that World Series?

As I mentioned earlier, the work began just past this sign.

The good news about the Forest of Nisene Marks Marathon is there is only one hill on the course.

The bad news about the Forest of Nisene Marks Marathon is that hill begins at the four mile mark and continues all the way up to the turnaround point at mile 13.1.

Several weeks before the race, I exchanged emails with the race director regarding entry and location details. She mentioned in one of her emails that she hoped I trained on "hills," as in plural. Since Birmingham is filled with hills, I answered that hills are a part of my regular runs. She should have said, "I hope you train on a hill that extends for nine miles." Not that I would have listened to that advice.

Much like the May marathon in Prescott, Arizona, I had to walk for extended periods of time on the way up. The picture to the left shows one runner heading down the trail, with several others up ahead of me. Unfortunately, the picture does not do justice to the incline but it does allow you a chance to see part of the course. (The guy on the left in the white shirt is running down the hill, everyone else is heading toward the top).

In addition to the runners, check out the trees leaning over the trail. Just to the left of the picture you can see Redwood Trees, which lined the entire course. These aren't the giant Redwoods you see farther up the coast in Northern California, but they are impressive nonetheless. The picture also shows the forest canopy, which kept most of the sun from making it to the forest floor. The lack of sun helped keep the temperature in the mid-50s for the entire run. In addition to blocking the sun, the forest canopy is so think my GPS watch was not always able to receive a satellite signal. As a result, I could keep track of the elapsed time of the marathon but I did not know the accuracy of the distance I had completed.

Once you make it to the top, you unceremoniously turn around and run back down the hill. I could feel my legs were shot early in the downhill run. It was interesting to feel the "deadness" in my legs because I had just run a similar course in Arizona and my legs came to life during the downhill.

There were two great memories for me today. One occurred at the nine and 15 mile marks (remember, you run up and back on the same course) where the forest opens up and you can see the Pacific Ocean in the distance. It is the Kodak moment of the race.

If you look at the picture of my premature celebration (the raised arm thing), you can see the Ocean in the background.

The other great memory was at mile 19. Remember, I left my iPod back in the hotel room. That meant I had to just tough it out with no music to help overcome the pain. More importantly, it also meant I had the chance to visit with a bunch of runners on the way up the hill. It also meant I was able to enjoy the forest sounds. At mile 19 I realized I was all alone on the trail. I could neither see nor hear the runners in front and behind me, so I just stopped and walked for about five minutes. The only sounds were from the crunch of my shoes on the dirt path, the birds singing in the trees above, noise from squirrels jumping from tree to tree, and the occasional snapping of a limb. If it reads as a relaxing moment, it was.

So, why do I run these things? Well, I now know where the epicenter of the World Series Earthquake is located. I proved I can make it up and down a nine mile hill. I talked to Tom from Monterrey, who invited me back to run the Big Sur Marathon next April. I saw Redwoods and the Pacific Ocean. I saw a new part of the United States, which included a chance to walk slowly while enjoying the "silence" of the woods.

We all should walk slowly in the woods more often.

Oh, and I took a painfully cold ice bath as soon as I returned to my hotel room.

And the trivia answer is: The Oakland Athletics were the 1989 World Series Champion (in four games)!