What better way to celebrate Independence Day in Boston than to run with Bill Rodgers at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots? Maybe “run with” isn’t the proper phrase as there about 3,000 other people there too. And he was never actually in my sight during the race. But I did see him twice while warming up.



As part of Project Whip the Family into Shape (which is bound to make some relatives wish we’d move back to Arizona), my brother-in-law, Jon, joined us for this inaugural event. We met up briefly before the race and then I wished luck to him and Paul before squeezing into the starting corral at the 9:00/mile sign.

Since changing my running gait to a forefoot landing a few months ago, I have been injury-free, feeling great and running well, as evidenced by a 5K PR in my last race. I went into today’s race thinking it would be nice to set another PR…but I haven’t done any speed work and I don’t like a lot of pressure…so I’ll just see how it goes.

The course was crowded and never really thinned out as much as I had expected, but this density kept me from going out too hard. My first few miles were just over a 9-minute pace and then I slowed a bit in the second half as the heat and some mild hills wore on me.

It started getting hard around mile 4 and this was right around the time the battery in my Garmin died. Luckily, it gave a warning beep and I was able to start my stopwatch to keep track of my time, but now I was not entirely sure of where I was in terms of distance. However, when I saw my time at mile marker 5, I knew a PR was in the bag – it was just a matter of by how much.

As I tired, I found that my stride kept reverting to a heavy, heel-strike landing and so my mantra became “quick, light and easy.” (If you’ve read Born to Run, then you know I Have Caballo Blanco to thank for this.) I repeated it over and over as I switched back to short, quick steps with a forefoot landing.



The highlight of this race is undoubtedly the finish. I definitely felt the excitement as I ran into the stadium, through the giant inflatable football helmet and onto the field. I threw my arms up, let out a “woo hoo” and gazed up at the crowds in the stands. (In all the hoopla, I somehow missed the gigantic jumbotron screen with a live feed of the stadium entrance, but I’m sure it was very cool for those who did see it.) Then, I realized that I had slowed to a jog, yet still had 50 yards before the finish line! I kicked it into the highest gear I had left and sprinted across the line with a time of 58:04, a 2-minute PR.




The Pros
* One-of-a-kind finish line.
* Plenty of aid stations.
* Impressive post-race food spread.
* Boston Billy!

The Cons
* While there was a 10K walker’s division, a more beginner-friendly 5K option would have helped with Project Whip the Family into Shape.
* The aid stations could have been better staffed. Those poor volunteers were hustling!
* As advertised, parking was easy. However, getting into the parking lot was not. It took us 15 minutes to drive the final ¼-mile to the stadium.
* Finishers were funneled from the playing field into the food area and then out of the stadium. This made it difficult to meet up post-race with friends who were also racing and this is why there are no finishing photos of me and Jon. They relaxed the barriers later on and we were able to get back on the field for some photos while the walkers were finishing.

When I realized that our cross-country trek would fall over Memorial Day weekend, I decided to hunt for some races. It would be a great way to squeeze in some exercise while on the road and it's always fun to experience racing in a new place. What I found was the "Mother Road Run" Route 66 5K in Springfield, Missouri.

We pulled into Springfield the evening before and had enough time before bed to taste a local favorite, frozen custard. The best part was the free sample cones for the dogs. Rex and Molly wolfed theirs down while Mielo politely licked his.



We gathered the next morning with 124 other racers for the 8am start. It was a pretty casual group and I was surprised to find that they had chip timing for an event this small. However, they didn't capture your chip time at the start, rather only at the finish.

While the course was flat, it lacked much personality. It wound through some generic-looking neighborhoods and there was absolutely no indication that we were in "the birthplace of Route 66" as touted on the race literature. I was looking forward to diners, old-time motels and other Mother Road kitsch, but it really could have passed for any American neighborhood.

After about 3/4 of a mile, I got behind two women who were keeping a good pace and decided to try to stick with them. It wasn't long before one dropped back and I was running shoulder-to-shoulder with the other one. We ran silently, side-by-side, until she pulled slightly ahead at the 2-mile marker. I tucked in behind her and just focused on her back.

I started this race without a good idea of how I'd do, especially after spending most of the past three days sitting in a car. My PR to date was 28:39 and, after running the first two miles at just under a 9-minute pace, I realized that I could beat it if I kept pushing it. My legs felt great, but my breathing was ragged.

When I caught sight of the building at which we started, I knew we were close to the finish and so I took advantage of a very slight downhill to pick it up and pass my running mate. However, and I hate when this happens, the course took an unexpected turn. Hoping to see the finish line, I saw the 3-mile marker up ahead instead. One-tenth of a mile is not much, except when it's at the end of a race, you're trying to PR and you started your finishing sprint a little too early.

My running mate passed me for the final time, but I was thrilled to see that the time on the clock started with "27." I pushed as hard as I could to make sure it didn't change to "28" before I crossed the line and I made it with 4 seconds to spare. There's no triumphant finish line photo as Paul hadn't been expecting me for another minute or two. I love it when I can surprise him like that!



I grabbed some water and a bagel and then discovered two differences between desert and non-desert races:

1. Grass. I plopped myself down on a thick, soft carpet of green grass. In Tucson, you typically rest your tired body on a curb, rock or, if you're lucky, some hard, crunchy, brownish grass.

2. Sweat. I'm accustomed to a little sweat and lots of caked salt. At this race, I sweated buckets out of every pore on my body. I made a mental note to wear a cap for future runs as the sweat had washed the sunscreen I had put on my forehead into my eyes.

I placed 5th out of 15 in my age group, which is an unusually high ranking for me. We hung around for the awards ceremony as Paul had placed third in his age group (and 15th overall) with a time of 20:28.



As the runners gathered, the race director explained that he had forgotten to pick up the plaques for the award winners, and so each winner should just take a bow when their name was called. He assured us that the awards are very cool Route 66 plaques and that they'd be happy to mail them to the out-of-towners.

Apparently, I was a little blogged out after 31 days of blogging during the west coast adventure. But I'm back! So, what have I been up to the past month?

1. Packing, packing, packing. However, with time on our side, we've been able to do little bit each day and still enjoy this much-appreciated sabbatical.



2. Cleaning house.Our load was significantly lightened after a yard sale, a trip to Bookman's, a few visits to Goodwill and some Craig's List and Facebook postings.



We also attacked the outside of the house which resulted in a very full roll-off dumpster and Paul and I taking turns pulling cactus needles out of each other.





3. Exercise! With the summer heat upon us, we've still be getting up early most days for a run or bike ride. And, since I'm not going into an office these days, I've had time to hit the gym later in the day for some strength training or my new favorite thing - yoga!

What's next? Well, I'm currently waiting for a moving trailer to be dropped off in our yard, at which point, we'll start filling it up. Like the packing of boxes, this can be a leisurely endeavor as they won't pick it up until Tuesday.

Then, next Wednesday, we'll hit the road for 6 days of books-on-tape, doggie pit stops and Motel 6's - because dogs stay free! Oh yes, in the midst of all of this, Paul and I will continue looking for jobs.

I'll try to blog as we make our way across the country. It's sure to be another great adventure for the Vyriotes family!

We had two items to check off our list before leaving Phoenix:

1. Stop by REI to return the “waterproof” gloves I bought at the Bend REI. Those things didn’t even stay dry for one hour of snow shoveling in Mt. Shasta!

2. Enjoy lunch at Picazzo’s!



We cruised down I-10 and were thrilled to pull into our driveway. Click here for the wonderful greeting we received.

In a nutshell, this trip was AMAZING! Not wanting to take a single day for granted, I often reminded myself that this was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure that holds a spot on many people’s bucket lists. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to enjoy the journey at this point in my life and with an incredible partner.

Thanks for sharing in the journey with us!

I started the day with a short run followed by a hot springs soak. Doesn’t get much better than that.



After packing up and hitting the road, our first stop of the day was the China Ranch Date Farm whose dates are sold at the Sunday farmers' market at St. Philips Plaza. I absolutely LOVE them and so was excited to see that the farm was on our route. I was doubly excited when we got there and found that they sell the dates for half the price that I usually get them. We bought 6 pounds for later and a date shake for right then. Mmmm…





Our next destination was the Mojave Desert National Preserve, but we made a pit stop in Baker, CA for lunch at the Mad Greek. You’ve gotta love a Greek restaurant that sells both gyros and horchata amidst lots of tacky, naked statues. Paul was quite proud.



Baker is also home to the world’s tallest thermometer. Sadly, we didn’t have more time to spend in this cultural mecca.



We cruised through the Mojave Desert National Preserve fairly quickly and continued on to the north entrance of Joshua Tree National Park where we caught the sunset and then set up camp at Ryan Campground.





We thought we’d be soaking up the desert warmth by this point in our trip…but, no. A storm was passing through and, while we curled into little balls in our tent, temperatures dropped into the upper 20’s. Here is out frost-covered car the next morning.





We drove up to Keys View for some early morning photography and then warmed up with a 7-mile hike on the Lost Horse Mine trail.





While hiking, we saw a number of these cocoons filled with crawling caterpillars. Fascinating, yet gross.



From there, we drove to the southern end of the park and did the same hike that we did the very first day of our trip. How's that for coming full circle? This time, we were treated to lots of wildflowers!









We had told our house-sitter that we would return the following day, but, driving out of Joshua Tree, we realized that we could actually make it home by mid-evening if we just kept driving. We were dying to see the furkids, but, not wanting to spring our arrival on him with just a few hours notice, we opted to spend our final evening in Phoenix.

While this felt a little silly, we attended an injury prevention talk at a Phoenix running store and actually both got a lot out of it.