Let's just say John2635 warned me, but it happened anyway.

I woke up really early to catch my flight from Long Beach to Sacramento Saturday morning - where I picked up Karl (his plane arrived 10 minutes after mine). We caught the shuttle to the rental car company, got our upgraded car for no additional money (which was helpful in spite of what's to come). I decided to drive the 1st leg, so once we got the car, I hightailed it out of Sacramento in search of the big, giant redwoods. Everything was going according to plan so far, it almost seemed too easy.

I was free-wheeling my way through the country roads when all of a sudden... I saw a cop! I IMMEDIATELY slowed down and held my breath. Looking in my rear view mirror, he didn't move. I thought, whew.. that was close. I must have slowed down on time because he didn't move from his spot. A few seconds later... he starts up the road... but he wasn't in my lane.. whew.. maybe he's going after someone else... but nooooo.. quickly he changes lanes, tracks me for another 1/2 mile then the lights go on. DARN DARN DARN!! As I sat in the car waiting for him to approach, I'm trying to think of an excuse.... but nothing comes to mind. I roll down my window and in a stern manner, the officer informs me I was going 81 miles per hour in a 65 mile per hour zone. I try and engage him in a conversation, he looks at my driver's license and asks if the address on my license was still good. I said yes.. and figured, I'll throw in that I was traveling through the area to run the Avenue of the Giants Marathon... like that might win me some points or something. He rolled his eyes and said, "whatever that is, I have no idea".. and went to write up my ticket. Oh well, apparently he's not a runner.

I immedately gave Karl the keys to drive, no reason to risk another ticket for me! Karl then drove the rest of the way 1 mile below the posted speed limit.

We found the campsite easily, saw SloJim, Mrs SloJim, Ileneforward, Mr. Forward and his brother, Labduck and Mrs. Labduck. Karl and I quickly got our race packets and headed back to camp, where we met up with TammyM and John2635, Econo and little Econo. Once everyone was together, we headed off to the past dinner, ate like kings and talked race strategy. My strategy??? The same as always, enjoy myself and have fun.

I had the opportunity to share accommodations with TammyM. The hotel in Eureka must have been the furtherest hotel in the city from the campsite, but it had a very comfy bed, fluffy pillows, running water and of course.. a wakeup call from the front desk. Taking advantage of those comforts, we set the wakeup call for 5:30, met John at 6:30 and headed off to the race.

It was a beautiful day, no rain. In fact, it was actually very warm for this time of year. The course is beautiful, although the potholes were difficult to deal with and I had to keep my eyes on the road to keep from tripping. There is nothing more grand then running through a forest of beautiful trees and running streams, especially for a city dweller such as myself. I had a wonderful time. I finished at a respectable time for me, 2:24. I talked to several people on the course, in particular this 78 yr gentleman who leaped frogged me nearly the entire distance. We finished at the same time. I later saw him with his wife, sweet couple.

After meeting up with TammyM and John again, we said our goodbyes and wished each other well. I was so happy that TammyM did so well. I had so much fun meeting her. And with that ticket now sitting in my wallet, sharing the room expense can now offset the added expense of my trip.

With an early 10:00 am flight back home this morning, I mapped out I would have to wake up by 3:00 am to make it to the airport on time. Wakeup call set, Karl and I made it on the road by 3:30, got to the airport on time... and best news of all.. no tickets.

I forgot to mention that Mr Forward ran his 1st 1/2 marathon. He was a speedster, that guy can RUN. He did awesome 1st time out, I have a feeling we'll see him run another 1/2 soon.

All in all, a grand time for sure. It was so much fun meeting up with current boomer friends and new boomer friends. 2 boomers went home with hardware.. Labduck and Econo.

A big thanks to John for his help. I really enjoyed meeting him again this time, having met him earlier in the year at the Pacific Shoreline race. He's so funny and is quite the fashion statement in mens running apparel. I look foward to seeing him again in the future, it would be fun to run with him and Tammy again.


http://This message has been edited by SherieRanier (edited May-07-2007).