- January 15, 2006 - P.F. Chang Rock n' Roll Half Marathon, Phoenix, AZ - 3:21:13 finish time sort of told us we really needed to train before doing these events. Did have a nice Saturday in Phoenix, visiting Taliesin West (Frank Lloyd Wright's home/school) which was truly fascinating. Did NOT like the course, flat and boring, through mostly used car lots and light industrial areas.
- March 12, 2006 - Arizona Distance Classic Half Marathon, Tucson, AZ - 3:17:14 finish for me, Naomi was 3:03:52. Had a great trip to Tucson, enjoyed the Sonora Desert Museum, but proved to myself that having spent March 1st thru 7th driving the Alaska Highway was NOT a good training regimen for me. But the Alaska Highway trip was truly awesome, well worth the time and effort. Not to mention being something I'd dreamt of doing since reading a book about building the Al-Can Highway when I was about 10 years old. A bit chilly (-25F our first night) but what grand scenery. Guess that's the topic for an entire new blog someday soon.
- April 9, 2006 - St. Louis Half Marathon, finished in 3:13:26, while Naomi was at her college reunion. Actually wound up Naomi was spending very little time at the reunion, her mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and most of Naomi's time in California was spent helping her mom. This was the beginning of a very challenging summer for us and our loved ones.
- May 7, 2006 - Flying Pig Half Marathon, Cincinnati, OH. Did this one without Naomi, although we had planned to walk it together, but she was with her Mom. Honestly don't recall my finish time, as it was overshadowed by the news from my sister as I was driving back to St. Louis from Cincy. Seems that SHE had also been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
- August 13, 2006 - Chicago Distance Classic Half Marathon. Naomi and I finished hand-in-hand at 3:11:27, not bad considering our limited training after her Mom died July 13, 2006. This was our second time at this John Bingham race, which we really enjoy. His events are very well managed, with good crowds but not the huge fields you see at some events. And we have discovered it's fun to spend just a weekend doing the "fly to the city, spend Saturday sightseeing, do the race on Sunday and fly home after the race".
- September 3, 2006 - Virginia Beach Rock n' Roll Half Marathon - another hand-in-hand finish, this one in 3:13:53, including that nasty hot last 4 miles on the Boardwalk. (We do not plan to walk Va. Beach again, just not one we have a lot of fun doing.)
- October 22, 2006 - Nike Women's Marathon, San Francisco, CA - Naomi did the Half, I took another shot at the Full Marathon. The 26.2 miles took me 6:34:40, longer than my target time of 6:30, but I did manage a "negative split" and make the last 1.2 miles my fastest miles!
- October 29, 2006 - Marine Corps Marathon 10K, which we did as a "recovery walk" a week after the Nike, in part to give us a chance to be in the official finish area to cheer on our teammates. 1:25:45 total time for the 6.2 miles.
We had signed up for the inaugural running of the Outer Banks Marathon on November 12, 2006 but traffic jams caused by the opening of the Marine Corps Museum at Quantico, VA made it impossible for us to make the trip to North Carolina. We'll try that one again next year.
2006 was certainly quite a year, marrred by the loss of Naomi's mother in July and my sister on August 27th, four days short of her 66th birthday.
Nothing we could do to change the effect of the cancer on Mom and Fran, but we continue to raise money to fight blood cancers. Managed another $6000 in 2006, with a comparable amount for Naomi, and they tell us our help makes a difference. Actually it's YOUR help, and we thank you.
Racewalking to save lives. Curious? Go to: http://www.active.com/donate/tntnca04/tntncaTCFarnam07
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