Making History

Now as promised the day of the race had arrived ...

By now I have explained how I took a month off of running due to a stress fracture in my foot, as well as the week of the race I caught a cold. So spending a pretty horrible night tossing, turning, coughing, and blowing my nose at around 3am in the morning with very little sleep I was beginning to think that running the marathon might not be in the cards. I as tired, sick, and a little bit angry that I had to deal with all of this when I had already gone through so much just to get here. With lots of pressure in my sinuses and ears, I was able to finally get some quality sleep from about 3:30 to 5am. I got up and ate a bowl of oatmeal to get my system ready for the big race. About 5:15 I crawled back into bed hoping to get just a few more precious minutes of sleep. Other than dosing for a few minutes here and there, sleep was no longer in the cards. I guess I can't blame all my sleeplessness on the cold as I was very anxious about the race and what would be in store for me. So around 5:45 I got up to get myself ready. I figured I try to clean out my sinuses with a sinus rinse devise I got years ago. Well, that only caused the pressure in my ears to worsen and didn't clear me up in the slightest. I should have known.

So I took a decongestant and some cough medicine hoping that would help by the start of the race and if I needed more I could get some from my wife along the trail. Laying next to me all night, my wife was concerned that without adequate sleep and being so sick, that maybe I shouldn't run the marathon. Being the wonderful lady that she is, she was worried about my well being. For about half a minute, I agreed with her. After that half a minute all the doubt about running melted away and I knew that I should do it. I might not finish, but at least I should try. I have worked too hard for too long to give up now. I reassured her I would be fine and the medicine would help me during the run.

I spent the next 10-15 minutes stretching and getting myself ready mentally trying to clear out the negative thoughts since I can't seem to clear out all the gunk in my throat and nose. Knowing my buddy and his family would be arriving at 6:30 I helped gather up all the snacks for the kids as well as get them ready so we could be out the door when the time came, which it did. With the kids in the car and everyone ready, we left hoping we would get to the race on time and without getting into too much traffic. We got 50% of what we were hoping.

There was crazy traffic for race in its first year of existence. We knew where we were going thanks to our day before drive through, but apparently over 1000 other people thought the same thing. So, we improvised. We didn't park in the authorized parking for the race, but we found adequate space just across the street. It was much colder at the race location that it was leaving the house. I was hoping to shed my jogging pants, long sleeve shirt, and my hat, but it was just too cold. Since we knew we would see our families throughout the race, I knew I could ditch whatever I needed at those key points along the trail. By now the pressure in my head had lessened and I was feeling well enough to run a few miles. I still had the cough, but I was hoping that the medicine would kick in soon so I wouldn't be hacking the whole race.

It was a nice set up and one thing I really liked better at this race than at the mini-marathon was the lines to the port-a-potties. It only took us 5 minutes instead of 25 it took for the mini. After a few more minutes stretching and downing a last minute gel (see below) we were ready to go.

Last minute preparations

We kissed our families and headed off to the start line. We were shooting for a time under 4 hours. So we nestled into a spot around 3 hours and 40 minutes. The race had thoughtfully placed runners with fake hands on a stick with the projected finishing time on them so we'd know where we are both before and during the race. Then came the countdown. 10 ... 9 ... 8 ... all those months of training had come down to this ...7 ... 6 ... 5... though the situation was not ideal, me coming off an injuring and having a stinking cold ... 4 ... 3 ... now it is here and it is time to get it started ... 2 ...1 ... BANG!

Its hard to see, but I'm in the red circle with the black cap. I just started a marathon!

Just like the mini-marathon, we started jogging only to slam on the brakes before we'd run into the people in front of us. It only took us a little less than 2 minutes to get up to the start line and then we were off with one final wave to our families, we had 26.2 miles in front of us and at the moment we had each other to keep ourselves company. Running on pure adrenaline and excitement the first mile was cool as we were actually running the marathon.

The first 3 miles were a blur, but we were running a good pace, probably too fast for me in my condition, but I was hoping my body could keep up at least for the first few miles. These early miles were spent chatting with my buddy and trying to keep up with him. I was also enjoying all the outfits as this marathon was Halloween themed and participants were encouraged to run in costume. My favorite was a guy dressed like one of the Blues Brothers. I mean running in a suit took a lot a guts.

Miles 4 and 5 we began settling into the run. The first 3 were a bit hilly, but not so bad. However, I knew my tune would change as we would have to run these hills again on the way back in miles 22-24. But miles 4 and 5 were smooth as it was flat and we got off the main roads and onto a bike path. Physically I was feeling fine, no muscle pains yet and my foot was fine. My cold wasn't much of an issue at this point either, but I was coughing every so often to remove loose phlegm though my breathing was fine.

Mile 5 was the first time we saw our families, which really gave me a big boost for the next 3 miles as I knew I would see them again at the end of a long loop. They were very supportive which helped us struggling runners keep going. We saw them again around mile 8 and I was still amazed that I was keeping pace with my buddy who was blazing quite a trail. The next section was all hills.

Here we are passing by our families. I needed to stay hydrated.

Going into mile 9 I was still side by side with my buddy, but I could tell our pace had slowed and I was the reason for the slowing. We had just started the hilly section and I mean really hilly section. We were close to mile 10 when a group of folks came loudly up behind us and then passed us. A guy in the front of the pack held a stick with a hand on it and a sign that said 4:00:00 meaning we had now gotten behind the 4 hour finishing time, which is what we were aiming for. We were running up a hill and a little distance began to separate me from my buddy. I stopped to walk at the aid station and I was concerned because I started to get lightheaded and knew I couldn't keep up the pace anymore. My buddy turned to look at me and I gave them the sign to keep running. We had a deal that if one of us couldn't keep up with the other, the one who was faster could keep their pace. We made this deal in our first run together, the 10K, but it wasn't until now that we had to use that deal. With all that had happened to me, I knew I would be the one to fall behind. As he kept running I walked a few minutes to get my head back in the right place.

I was tired, my body hurt, my head was full of mucus and I still had 16 miles to go. These 4 miles were very difficult. I walked most of it trying to get my body to cooperate. I was not feeling well and I could only run for a few minutes on these hills before I had to stop. I knew I would see my family after mile 14 and I began to contemplate quitting when I saw them and my wife could drive me back to the finish line so I could turn in my chip. I kept saying that if I started feeling much worse that this is just what I would do. While that would have been a shame, I think with all the factors that I had to go through it was still amazing I was able to make it this far.

Finally I stopped running/walking uphill and started running more downhill. I did feel a little better being out of the hills, but not like I did at mile 5. I turned onto a main road and I knew that my family would be coming up soon. The decision was to be made and soon. I heard them before I saw them and their cheers and shouts of encouragement persuaded me that I could keep going. I must not have looked very good because my wife asked if I wanted Sudafed the next time I see them. I said that would be great. I gave her a kiss and I was off again. However, once I was out of sight of them I started walking again.

You can't tell, but I'm really struggling at this point and its only mile 14.

The next few miles (15-17) were a mixture of running, walking, and coughing, though with the mixture of walking once or twice a mile (usually at aid stations) I began to feel much better. I didn't like having to walk all that time, but there was nothing really I could do about it. Sometimes the coughing was bad enough to wear I would need to stop and get out whatever gunk was in my lungs. After the hacking session I would feel better and continue running. The miles went by slowly, but it was nice to see my family again so soon after seeing that 3 miles before. This was wear my wife gave me some Sudafed hoping that this would help at the end of the race as I still had an hour and a half left (minimum).

I know it looks like I'm barely moving, but I'm going as fast as I can. Also, I just passed my youngest daughter being held by my wife's sister. Seeing the family is always a big boost while running.

Just as I thought that those 3 miles went quickly so too did that 1.5 miles from 17 to 18.5 when I saw them again as I just ran a quick loop. At the turn around point they had an aid station that was blaring the tunes. I never realized Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline would be so inspiring while running a marathon, but if I ever get an iPod I'll be sure to put that tune on it.

I have to give a shout out to my buddy's family who stayed and waited with my family for me to pass by both times before they left all for the finish line. I wasn't expecting them to do that and it was extremely uplifting for me to know that they wanted to stay to see me pass by many minutes later.

After mile 18 I begin to count down the miles I have left. At mile 19 I said to myself that I only have 7 more miles. I would run that no problem during training. Mile 20 meant I only had 6 miles left. I ran that the Monday before the marathon and I did it in 55 minutes. Mile 21, only 5 miles left. At this point I really began to believe that I was going to finish this and I was just hoping that I would break the 5 hour mark. It was around this time that my buddy was crossing the finish line. I didn't know it at the time, but he had accomplished his goal by finishing with 11 seconds to spare (3 hours, 59 minutes, 49 seconds).

Here's my buddy finishing his first marathon at 3:59:49. Great Job buddy!

The last 4 miles I was back on the street retracing my steps from about 4 hours before. It was hillier than I remembered, but I would simply walk up the hills and try to pick it up a little bit on the way down. On what happened to be the last big downhill run I saw an aid station and a sign that said mile 25. This is it, only 1 mile left (well 1.2 miles left). At this point I was around the same group of people that would pass me when I needed to walk and then I would pass them when I started to run and they were walking. There was a girl dressed as Wonder Woman ahead of me and I vowed I would pass her, because if I could finish before Wonder Woman that would be an amazing accomplishment (like just running and finishing a marathon wasn't accomplishment enough ... all I can say is that after running 25 miles, your brain isn't thinking clearly anymore).

I had a half mile left. I was ahead of Wonder Woman and it looked like I was going to pass a guy further up who was walking. I had said I wasn't going to walk the rest of the way. I heard someone shout from a car I had barely noticed say, "GO MORONI!" I had no idea who that was. I looked and it was a lady with brown hair. That's all I knew. I waved, but at the time I had no clue who that was. I knew they knew me because they pronounced my name correctly (as it turns out it was my neighbor who's husband had ran the same marathon only ran it much, much faster than I did).

There was a slight hill at the sign that said mile 26 (I was almost there!!!!) and I see my buddy sitting with his sons waiting for me. He said its just down there and I looked to the left and I saw the finish line. At this point I had taken off my cap and long-sleeved shirt so they could see my number as I crossed the line. This was where I picked up the pace and sprinted as fast as I could for the finish line. I couldn't see my family yet, but I was just focused on crossing that line. I heard the MC announce "And here is Moronie Mills finishing strong!" (Not too many people pronounce my name right, but this time it was a beautiful sound)

I crossed the finish line and exhaled. I had ran a marathon and I finished. I didn't care what the time was. I look to my left because I heard people shouting and I saw my beautiful family. I went over and hugged my wife who had teared up, which caused me to get a little misty. She said, "You did it! I'm so proud of you." I did do it. I continued down the line and they gave me my medal and a neat silver shiny ... blanketey .... wrap of some sort. I'm not sure what it is, but it was supposed to keep you warm after running, but it was as thin as tin foil. My legs ached as did my feet, but it was done. I had ran a marathon.

I am now a marathon runner! I got the medal to prove it!

2 good lookin' guys who ran a marathon and are in desperate need of a nap.

My wonderful family who ran back and forth from place to place for 5 hours to see me and give me encouragement, which I so desperately needed. They are so great!

I can't believe it is over. 8 months of work came down to 5 hours. As it turned out I finished my first marathon in 4 hours and 40 minutes. Not what I was shooting for, but an amazing feat and proof that I can do anything. I'll post again on my feelings in retrospect as it seems like it has been a marathon just to post this story. I'm just grateful for my buddy who invited me to join him on this journey. Thanks, buddy. Lastly, I have to say thank to my family for supporting me for 8 months and thank you to my wife who has had to deal with me gone most Saturday mornings as I was running my long distances and was always supportive. It is because I her I was able to finish this goal so thanks baby!

Well, you know by now my usual closing, but it will not be true as I'm taking some time off to rest my legs, feet and body. However, this isn't the end of my running so I'll see you all again sometime soon. Done running for now ... but not for long.

Feelings the Day Before

Well, this might be weird, but i have already completed the marathon, but before I go into that I want to explain my feelings the day before and what was going on with me, then my next post will be all about the marathon.

(Friday October 29, 2010) - I am excited to get this over with. I wish it was over that way I'd be done. Most weeks feel like they zoom by real fast, but this week has dragged on as if time has started to tick backwards. This is probably due to the fact that I'm sick. This past weekend I've had a sore throat, but nothing too serious. Then Tuesday in the evening I started feeling warm in the head and chilly all over the rest of my body. I tried to ignore the symptoms, but ignoring them doesn't mean they go away. I took some medicine that night, and woke up with the fever gone, but in its place was sinus pressure and a cough. Not exactly what I wanted to deal with the week of the marathon. I shouldn't be too surprised as it seems like everything has been thrown at me to keep me from completing this goal.

Over the next few days the pressure didn't improve and the cough got worse so I had to use Sudafed to relieve the pressure and cough medicine to keep me from coughing up a lung. I'm a little concerned about how I will do tomorrow for the marathon with this. I was expecting all of this to be out of my system by now, but I was mistaken ... again. So we'll see what happens tomorrow morning. I plan on waking up tomorrow at 5am, eating some oatmeal to get something in my belly, go back to bed, get up at 6am, get ready, stretch, help get the girls ready to go and then leave the house at 6:35-6:40. Then I will eat a banana in the car and down a gel 15 minutes before the race.

Something fun we did was drive around the course after picking up my packet of stuff (bib, tracking chip and other stuff) to find the best places for my wife and family to stand and see me and my buddy pass by. It was nice to see the course before the race, but it also showed me how long it is going to take. Yikes. I think we got some good spots so we'll see what happens tomorrow. The next time I type I will be a marathon runner. Gotta Run.

The Last Week

Well, I now have 5 days until I run my very first marathon and I am excited, nervous, and eerily calm as well. I'm not sure how I can be feeling all of these emotions at once, but I am. I am excited to say I ran a marathon, yet I am nervous about how well I will do and if I can finish at all, then again at the same time I feel calm that everything will be fine. Weird, I wonder if every new marathon runner feels this way.

As far as last week, I ran a 6 miler on Monday and my pace was 9:30~ish so, right where I should be. Then I biked Tuesday for an hour just to keep up on exercising. Then I ran another 6 miler on Wednesday, but my pace was 9:15~ish. I didn't realize I was really pushing it, but I felt great, the legs, feet, and lungs were all functioning properly without any hint of pain, or over exertion. Thursday I was suppose to bike, but I didn't and Friday I was way too busy with life to bike either, but I ended up running 10.41 miles on Saturday in the pouring rain. Well, the rain didn't pour the whole time, but it drizzled most of the time. After 10 minutes we were soaked anyway, so it didn't matter how much it rained after that. It turns out our pace ended up being 9:17~ish I believe. I wasn't planning on running it that fast, but it was nice to get out there and run about as fast as we should be for this time in our training. It seems like I didn't take that month off, but inside I know I have and that I would feel so much more comfortable with the upcoming marathon if I had been able to train for that month.

Other than that and the butterflies about the marathon as well as curiosity about the weather (the forecast says it will be a low the night before of 37 and a high of 56 with sunshine). Let's hope the forecast is right and its not snowing. Since this is a race close to Halloween we have the opportunity to dress up in costume for the run. Since I've never run a marathon before, I'm dressing up as a marathon runner who is running a race in late October (I'll be dressing in warmer clothes). Well, I plan on writing one more time before the marathon and then again after with pictures of the event. Wish me and my buddy luck as well as my wife who gets to take care of the kids for 4 hours in the cold while I run my guts out. Gotta run.

One Week of Training Left

Now that I am cleared to run, I felt that with my limited miles that I can run, I should still bike on my off days to keep my body used to some type of exercise everyday as that might help me during the marathon. So after my first run this past week, I planned to take a 3 hour bike ride as I can't run a 20 miler before the marathon. Since it would take me 3 or more hours to run that, I figured biking for 3 hours would be beneficial. My route was very hilly and much more than I bargained for. At my half way mark I turned to head back home, but my legs were not as fresh as they were the first hour and a half. I found it difficult to bike the flat sections much less the uphill parts. I did more walking up those hills than I would like to admit, so I hope it will translate for me as far as running the marathon is concerned.

In the end it took me well over 3 hours to complete my workout. My legs were dead. Even now (Sunday) I still feel the soreness of Wednesday's bike ride. I've decided to interpret that as a good thing. Needless to say my in Thursday run, my legs were not as fresh as they were on Tuesday, but I still ran the 5 miles with a 9:40 minute mile. Anything under 10 minutes for me right now is good (at least I think so). I had a 9:35 minute mile on Tuesday so I'm feeling pretty good about how I'm faring.

Then Saturday was a 21 miler, though I could only run 5 of those miles, it was great to be out there again running with a buddy and feeling pretty good. I was tired at the end of my 5 miles (it was actually 5 and a half miles, but who's counting?), but I think that I'm beginning to think that I'll really will be able to finish this marathon. I might not do it in under 4 hours, but at least I feel like I'll be able to finish. It is very encouraging.

Now I have this week of 2 - 6 mile runs and 1 - 10 mile run. Then I will run 6 miles the following Monday, 4 miles on Tuesday and 3 miles on Wednesday, giving me Thursday and Friday off to rest for my very first marathon. It is going to be great! Gotta run.

Cleared to Run

After weeks of rest and cross training efforts, I called my doctor to set up a follow-up appointment to see how the foot was healing and when I could start running again as the marathon creeps up at the end of the month. The appointment was set up for last Tuesday and I wasn't sure what to expect. Would I need more X-rays or bone scans? Would I be ready to run? Would I need more rest? I wasn't sure what to expect. All I know is my foot has been feeling fine and we even bought new shoes with more cushion so my foot will be better protected when I do start to run.

So I go and sit waiting for the doctor to show up. I don't know why there is never anything good to read in the check-up rooms. Probably so the doctors can torture us patients by not letting us take our minds off of what ails us. Eventually he came in and looked at my foot. Asked me a few questions about any pain and how it feels. After only a few minutes he said that I can start running again. It was like a weight being removed off of my shoulders and I could breathe again. He said I should run 3 times this week of only 5 miles each outing. Then he said I should run 2 times next week for 6 miles each and then a 10 miler on Saturday. I was really happy about being able to run again, but still concerned that the pain would return before the marathon.

The only way to know for sure was to get out there and run. So I laced up my new shoes and got out there for a 5 mile run. I didn't know how my biking and aqua jogging would help me with my endurance while running, well now I know. I started pretty slow, or what I thought was pretty slow. At about a mile I started feeling the burning in my lungs. My legs were not tired, but I haven't had a similar workout as running for a long time. After about 4 miles I started feeling discouraged that I might not have it in me to run the marathon after so many weeks off. Then I remember how I felt watching other people run while I couldn't and all I wanted to do was be out there running again. Well, I am running again and it felt great. So what if my lungs felt like they were going to explode. At least my foot didn't hurt. My legs felt good enough and I have 8 more runs before the marathon. I'm sure my body will remember what running is and adapt accordingly. I'm just glad I'm running again and that my foot is pain free. Now, I really gotta run.

Trying to Stay in Shape

Well, here I am with my boot, crutches, and sunglaasses for my eye. I was a sight for a few weeks. I wasn't that faithful using the crutches (I didn't really have anywhere to go), but I iced the foot 3 times and day (still do) and used the boot when I wasn't icing. I haven't had any pain in many weeks, but my goal is to baby this foot so that I can hopefully still run the marathon.

So, to keep up my endurance, I have been biking everyday and a few times I tried the aqua jogging. First about the jogging in water. The first time I went, I opted to go to the indoor pool in my town for open swim. Not 100% sure how it works, I looked up aqua jogging and found that all you do is strap a float belt around your waist and run in the water as if you would be running on the ground. So I get to the pool at 6am, ask where the belts are, and jump in. It was a little humiliating as there were 3 high school kids swimming laps on the other side of the pool, but what do I care anymore, I'm an old fogie. It wasn't as difficult as I had thought it would be, but it was nice to be acting like I was running.

I decided that I would travel a few more miles to a neighboring town that also had an indoor pool, but offered an aqua jog class. I tried that out one morning and when I got there I wasn't sure where I needed to go. I asked a lifeguard who directed me to where I needed to go. Again the pool was separated into halves with the high school girls team swimming laps on the one side and the aqua jog class on the other. I was a little self-conscious bobbing up and down like an apple in front of 3 high school boys, however, that was nothing compared to joining 7 or so older ladies as the whole swim team swims wondering why this guy was in the pool (I was the only male in the whole pool, save for the life guard). I soon got over that as the lady running the class invited me in and that class kicked my butt. It was a lot harder than I thought, when done right. It was a hybrid of aqua jogging and water aerobics, but in any event it was good to do to save my foot and keep up some type of exercise.

Biking took a little more time to get comfortable as my muscles weren't used to the demands of biking, but most especially my rear was not used to that seat. Ouch! However, I did become accustomed to biking and have biked now for many weeks. I have probably averaged biking for an hour and a half each time. I looked up that I should be biking 4 miles for every 1 mile I would run. If that is true I definately have not been doing that, but I have been biking as long as it would take me to run the necessary miles. So it takes me about 55 minutes or so to run 6 miles, then I would bike for about an hour. I threw in some difficult hills to get in the best work out possible, so I can make a smooth transition back to running when the doctor clears me to do so.

That's been my life the past few weeks. Hopefully I'll get cleared to run soon as I'm getting very anxious. Gotta run.

Arr Matey!

I thought a humorous story after all the bad news might be in order to help lighten the mood. Well, I've been hobbling around now for the past few weeks. At first I did it because my foot was killing me, now I do it to keep off of it so it can heal faster. Well, last Wednesday we had an outdoor church activity out in the woods with a bonfire and marshmallows, the works. The girls loved it except for our youngest who had to be held as there was a dog on the loose and she's not too keen on animals. So I ended up holding her the whole time. The other thing about this activity was that it was at dusk which means mosquitoes. About a half an hour into the festivities many of us had already been eaten alive by those little buggers, even though we had put bug spray on. Every now and then I would feel them on my forehead and I'l either brush them off, smack them dead or have someone else do it for me (though the 2 times someone else smacked me in the head, I don't remember seeing any evidence of the mosquitoes after the fact). Anyway, I was holding my youngest and I felt one of those blood suckers on my head and I smacked it. Well, my 2 year old saw me wack myself in the head and thought she'd help so she smacked me too. Only her fingers landed in my right eye. I knew she had scratched my cornea, but I was hoping the pain would go away. It didn't.

So now I'm hobbling along with one eye shut. My wife drove home and I went immediately to the urgent care. I was a parrot short of the best pirate impression that urgent care had ever seen. Turns out she had got me twice. I still blame the mosquitoes. The fun part was the lady who checked me in to the urgent care was the same lady who registered me at the hospital for my foot scan. Yep, I'm falling apart, one body part at a time.

Major Roadblock

In my previous post, I told the story of my 17 mile run. I mentioned a slight pain on the top of my right foot. The pain I thought was more of a nuisance than actually painful. Well, that has changed. Later that day I had a difficult time walking and putting weight on that foot. I ended up hobbling around for the rest of the weekend as putting pressure of the balls of my feet caused the pain at the top of my foot to intensify dramatically. As the next week after the 17 miler was a step back week, I ran about 4 miles on that Tuesday, but took the rest of the week off to rest the foot. This past week I tried to get out Monday to test the foot and see if just running would calm the pain down. Nothing doing. I couldn't get to the end of my street before stopping and realizing the foot was not ready. Creeping up on a full week without running, I was getting worried. My amazing wife suggested that I try biking instead, so I got out on the bike just to see if that would work in place of running. It was nice to get out and "work out" tough I didn't feel that I was really working out. I barely broke a sweat. I must be doing it wrong.

Unable to determine what I should do, my wife and I decided to get it looked at. I went to the doctor and got an X-ray. They really couldn't tell anything so they ordered a bone scan to tell for sure. However, I had to wait 2 days to get in. This was the first time I had heard that I could have a stress fracture in my foot. If this was the case it probably means that I will miss the marathon. Before I got all worked up about missing out on the marathon I decided to wait and see what the bone scan revealed.

The tech was very nice and explained what the bone scan would show if there was something there to see. Well, I did see something, it looked like a little ball the size of a ball bearing right at the top of my foot where the pain is. The tech, unable to diagnose what this means, did say that running 19 miles this weekend is out.

After leaving 3 messages for my original doctor, I finally get a call back telling me it is in fact a stress fracture. This is a huge blow. I had been training and excited for this for 7 months and now I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it. The marathon is 4 Saturday's away (closer to 5 weeks) and I believe my foot will be healed by then especially since my last long run (the 17 miler) was on Sept. 11. So its been 2 weeks since the pain started and 1 week since I've really started to baby the foot. The real concern is keeping in shape or keeping my endurance up without running. Biking will help, but I don't know if the muscles I use while biking will translate to running. The doctor mentioned that I could try aqua jogging. I have never heard of it, but if it will help me keep up my endurance and fitness I'll try it. It was difficult telling my buddy, because it was he that got me into this whole running gig in the first place and now I can't train with him for the long runs and questionable to run in the marathon. I hate to disappoint him and myself however, this is the reality. Living in a smaller town, I don't believe we have any aqua jogging classes I can take here, but my buddy found some in his town. So I'll have to look into this option as the new week opens tomorrow.

So, to continue with training and support my buddy we decided I'll ride a bike as he runs for the next few weeks, which we did yesterday and though it was really different it was still nice to be out there. My buddy doesn't need to worry about the marathon, he'll be great. Me, on the other hand, I've got lots of work ahead of me to keep up my fitness, but I'm still hopeful that I can run the marathon the end of October. I might not run at the pace I want, but I will run this marathon. Well, my normal ending to my posts might not be accurate as I can't run right now, but I still have the desire to run, so I will still say gotta run.

Learning New Lessons

Due to scheduling conflicts as school and Saturday kids soccer has started up again, my buddy and I were unable to run together for our 17 miler. Iin a funny way it worked out better that way for me as I needed to do this run by myself to clear my head from the drama of the past week. The 6-7 milers during the week were fair. Not anything amazing. I keep trying to push my pace during the week, but I don't know if I see any real change. Some runs the pace is better, other runs of the same distance I struggle through. Not sure what I'm doing that's different, but I'll take the good runs when I get them.

I got out early for a Saturday (6:30) and the heavens were spitting on me. It really wasn't raining, but there was something being sprayed in my face. I had only gone 2 blocks when I felt something weird on the top of my right foot. It felt like a rock between my foot and the top of my shoe. I stopped to look, but didn't find anything. So I kept going. I went about a half mile further and the pain (it was more of an annoyance than pain) was still there. So I adjusted the tongue in my shoe, retied the laces, and went off again. Still a little troublesome, but didn't really was a non-factor the rest of the run.

Over a mile into the run, the rain really starts coming down. With no real shelter from trees, I just have to tough it out. I chuckle to myself as I think that this is some kind of test. Either I can leave my goals of training for a marathon at the puddles in the road and go back home because of the rain, or I can keep myself focused and run through the little bumps in the road. As in life, when something bad happens, I can either give up because its too tough, or keep focused see my goals through to the end. I decided I would keep running. After 3-5 minutes of rain, it let up and didn't really rain the rest of my 17 miles.

I was out of gels so I had to find something else to keep my energy up. All I could find in the cupboards were M&M's. A few of those each little break and a half a banana on the bigger breaks seemed to keep me energized and able to complete the rather long run. I'd stick to the gels though from here on out.

The last 2 miles were pretty difficult, but I was able to finish the 17 miler at a good pace of around 9:25 minute miles. Though my right foot was sore the rest of the day I was still pleased with how the run went and I'm beginning to think that running this marathon is actually possible. Gotta run.

Increasing Miles

Well, with a well deserved week off after the half marathon (just fewer miles, not really a week off), it was time to increase the miles on our Saturday runs. First was a 15 mile run. We did well. We've heard a number of opinions of how to train and run the marathon. Since neither one of us has ever run one, we are not sure which is correct, or which will work for us. We would like to run the whole marathon, do it in under 4 hours, and live to tell the tale. Its funny to think that we were dreading running 13 miles and now we plan to double it. It is very helpful to have someone to run with. These long runs are difficult anyway, but finding ways to pass the time with out a buddy would be excrusiating.

So we plan on taking our training runs slower than we will for the marathon to save a little for the actual event. We also plan to take a few breaks during the long runs to get fluids back as well as gel up for energy, since we plan to walk to aid stations and make sure we (or I) don't spill all the contents of my cup on my shirt. Right, wrong, or otherwise, we plan on sticking with this and next week we'll be jumping to 17 miles. Yikes! Gotta run.

The Time Has Come

Well, since this past February, my buddy and I have been training for one single goal, to run half marathon. Last Saturday, we did just that. The past few weeks we have really kicked into high gear running 10, 11, then 12 milers every Saturday. Now, that day had come. With my sore ankle I only ran once during the week, a 3.5 miler that I ran in undre 8:30 minute miles. I altered my diet so I would have plenty of energy (carbs) as my wife prepared a wonderful meal of pasta, with chucks of meat and delicious garlic bread the day before the race. I'm not sure if the garlic bread is on an approved diet list somewhere, but its on mine. I was a little too excited to sleep, but I've never had problems falling asleep at night, but 5 minutes after laying down I was out.

Then came the day of the race. Since the race was 45 minutes away, we had to get up at 5am. I got myself ready, got snacks for the kids and my wife, so they had something to sustain themselves. We had laid out the girls clothes the night before as well as everything else we would need. My buddy and his family was coming around 5:30, so we needed to be up, clothed, diapered (just one of us and its not me) and ready to go by then. While the night before the girls were excited to get up early and go, the day of, they were not as excited.

We got ready and were out the door by 5:45. As this half marathon was in the "big city" we had to park in a garage for a hourly price. Driving downtown is not all that fun and to have 4500 people crammed into downtown as well, the driving was not fun either. However, we managed to find a nice spot close the the starting line and as our wives got the children out of the cars and into strollers, my buddy and I walked to the starting line. When we got there, it was already packed with runners, volunteers, officials and the local college's marching band. Since my breakfast consisted of a banana, part of an energy drink mix and what would be an energy gel I wanted to use the rest room so I wouldn't have to hold it for over 2 hours. The line to the port-a-potties wasn't as bad as I thought, but moved at a snails pace. We waited in line for 15-20 minutes and I passed the time by stretching and chatting with my buddy. Finally relieved, we headed back to the starting line and we heard "T-minus 1 minute". Yep, waiting in line took all of our prep time from us. I felt fairly ready, excited and a little nervous about how my body would respond to 13 miles of constant running.

There were signs posted 20 or so feet apart with 2:40, 2:30, 2:20, 2:10 and so on all the way up to the starting line. This was so people like us could stand in the section where we thought our end time would be. We had planned a 10 minute a mile pace which would put us around 2:10. There were so many people that there was no way we were going to make it up there, but we snuck our way up to the 2:30 line and got to count down from 5. The gun fired and we were off! Well, the front of the line was off, we had to wait 5 minutes to reach the line. There was the overall clock and our chips would document our individual time and would not start until we crossed the starting line. It slowly approached as the band played a rousing tune to get us all pumped up. It was an uphill walk to the starting line and then as it got closer, we started to jog. By the time we crossed it we were at our pace that we hoped to maintain for over 2 hours. It was after the first mile that we finally saw our families. They were cheering us on and it was a nice boost for mile 2.

Here we are, still all smiles!

There we go off to finish 13.1 miles

The next 6 or so miles (so miles 2-8) went pretty smoothly. We did see the remains of someone's breakfast after mile 2 as well as a poor lady who tripped right in front of us. She seemed to be alreight though. Then we also saw a few people who had passed out with medical personnel assisting them. Other than those few incidents, the race was good. They had a few live bands preforming which helped give us a boost of energy. Also, there were aid stations every mile and a half to 2 miles with water and Gatorade. Due to the number of people waiting for a drink at the first station, we decided to wait as it had only been 2 miles. However, the very first time I got a drink, I tried to sip a little at a time as I was running, but what actually happened, was the water seemed to jump out of the cup and onto my shirt. A third of the drink got in my mouth at least, but my shirt was drenched the remainder of the race.

The course took us through downtown, by some nice lakes and wooded areas and then back to the city streets and finally around campus. Miles 9-12.5 were difficult with the hardest mile being mile 11. Being so close, but knowning there are still 2 miles left was a challenge. Mentally it was difficult not to mention physically. At mile 12, fellow racers who had finished and were walking back as well as fans kept saying, "You're almost there!" It should have been a relief to hear that, but with every step I could not see the finish and the "almost there" people clearly had a different definition of the word "almost" than I do. My buddy pointed out the back side of the building we started infront of so we knew we were close. We ran up a small hill and off a bike path to a paved street. The crowds had gathered and I knew, we were almost there. Up ahead we saw our familes again and got the last boost of evergy we needed as I was pretty zapped of all energy.

Here we are just before the final turn!

Tired, exhausted, soaked, but totally excited to finish this thing, we gave our kids a high five and rounded the final corner. The finished line was closer than I had pictured and a few stides later, we crossed the line at what the clock said 2 hours and 10 minutes. We had to keep moving as there were people behind us finishing as well, but my body just wanted to stop moving. Further up the line was the table with our medals. The lady put it around my neck and it was official. I had run a half marathon. It was difficult to feel any real excitement as I was just so tired! We walked through a gauntlet of volunteers offering us water, trail mix, bagels and other snacks. At the end of that line our families were waiting. I gave my kids a tenative hug as I was pretty soaked with sweat, water and Gatorade. My wife was more excited than I was as I was really too tired to process what I had just accomplished. It was an amazing moment.

Tired and soaked, but excited about finishing the half marathon

Two happy half marathon finishers

We really do stand out in a crowd.

As it turns out my official time was 2 hours 5 minutes and 57 seconds. I was 1544 person out of 3240 finishers (that's under half of all finishers). I was the 910 male out of 1473 men to finish and 162 out of 255 men between 30-34 years old. My buddy and I also came in under our 10 minute a mile pace. It was a big goal and we worked hard to get here and now that we have completed the half, we are now going to train for a FULL marathon in October. Wish us luck ... we're going to need it. Gotta run.

Energy Drinks, Powerbars, Gels and more

So this past week (early August) my wonderful wife and I went to a running store to ask a few questions about what I would need for long distance running. The guy was very nice and patient with me not knowing anything about running, but introduced me to Energy Gels that I can eat before and during long distance running to keep my energy up as well as an energy powered mix drink that does the same thing. Apparently for my body type I would need to consume 250-300 calories every hour to replenish what I would be losing in my running. That ended up being 16 oz bottle of drink and 2 gel packets per hour (which I should be running at least 6 miles each hour). So for the 11 mile run on Saturday I got 4 gels for my buddy and I to "enjoy" (I use the term loosely). I gotta say it is a very strange texture. I guess since it is called a "gel" its texture is just like it sounds, but the flavors are a little too strong. I had Tropical and it was awful, as was the Orange my buddy said. Halfway through around mile 6.5 we tried our second helping of gels which for both of us tasted much better. I mean it was still a gel, but much more tollerable.

The energy drink however, was not good at all! Not only did it taste weird, it make me sick. Over the past few weeks I've been able to add Gatorade to it to help the taste and pleasantness of it, but that first time was horrendous. I'm not sure if it helped, but we were able to run for all 11 miles so it didn't hurt.

The next week my buddy hosted and he had a powerbar. It was different, but not as difficult to get down as the drink or gels were. However, I had eggs for breakfast so add the powerbar on top of that and there was way too much stuff in my stomach for a good run. I felt like I was dragging the entire way. This was the 12 miler and the week before the half marathon. Around mile 11 besides my ankle aching pretty bad, my knee started hurting as well and I had to stop to walk for a quarter of a mile to regain my strength. So I learned not to eat that much before running, but at least I didn't lose the contents of my stomach during the run.

As far as the last run before the half goes, I was concerned that I had to walk. I was also concerned now that I had knee and ankle problems. This doesn't bode well for the half. Maybe it was all a fluke and everything will be peachy for the half. I guess we'll wait and see. Gotta run.

Ankle Me This ...

I have been away for a while and unable to find the time to update my running progress most of the month. Well, soon after my last post, I had done some research and found that I needed to up my miles I run in a week to better prepare for the half. So, I decided I'd run 4 times a week. I ran an Monday and Tuesday back-to-back mornings. Then I ran a Thursday and then Saturday for my long distance run. Well, that was the plan. Tuesday morning the run went fine, but for the next few days I was plagued with an ankle problem. Maybe it was lack of stretching the ankle, but it hurt. It hurt to walk, go up and down stairs and especially to run. Thursday I tried to run with it and I ended up only able to complete 3 miles before it got really bad. I iced it and tried to keep off of it for the next few days. By Saturday it was feeling well enough to do the long run of 10 miles. However, now it has become a constant worry for me. Having never had ankle issues, I wonder why something like this is starting to be painful. Maybe its my age (almost 31) or the fact that I've been running on it now consistantly for 5 (now 6) straight months. Both are probably true. I just hope moving forward this doesn't keep me from accomplishing my overall goal. Gotta run.

Home Route Advantage

For the past 2 weeks now I have had company for my long Saturday runs. Last week my buddy, who got me running in the first place, came down and ran my route with me. Yesterday I went and ran his normal route with him. I discovered something interesting about running your own route than someone elses. Running on your own turf is easier than running on someone elses. I suppose this sounds like a no brainer, but for me I realized I was able to run my 10 mile route with much less effort than it took me to run his 10 mile route. Maybe its because I knew how long we still had to go and I could prepare my mind for what was coming next, I'm not 100% sure why I had a more difficult time with his route than he did and vica versa last week. This also brought to mind the 10K we did months ago. Because I had run a practice run the Monday before I knew what to expect for the day of the race and it helped me prepare my mind for what was coming. Life is that way as well. When we are prepared for certain events, whatever they are, we handle those situations better than if we are unprepared. However, there are many things that come up that we are not prepared for, but, like in running, as long as we are doing our best in training, we can overcome those obstacles when they arise. Like not knowing what mile we are at and continuing to run 6 hills in 10 miles (which was my buddy's route).

In any event, this week was a good one. I ran 4 times: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning. Monday was a 6 miler. Tuesday I decided I might need to up my weekly mileage so I got out for a quick 3 miler before work. Since this was the first time I'd really run back-to-back I don't think my legs were quite used to it. Even today I have a little pain/soreness in my knee and ankle, but after stretching and warming up that first mile, it goes away. I took Wednesday off and was back at it Thursday for another 6 miles. This one, was accompanied by rain. After 2 miles it started to sprinkle and then, a decent rain developed by mile 3. I decided to keep going as it was just a little rain. I was afraid we might get rained out Saturday as storms passed through Friday night, but by the morning all the storms were gone. So my total mileage this week is 25. That's probably my highest mileage to date. Next week we'll see if I can manage go up my 10 miler to 11. Only one way to find out. Gotta run!

Back on Track

I'm getting caught back up here in more ways than one. I missed posting last week so now you get 2 posts from me today. Also, while I'm not yet caught up to where I should be in my training I made a good step today in getting back on track. Over the past 2 months now I have been trying to run 10+ miles on my Saturday runs, but have been unable to do so. Today was different. It started earlier this week. Though I wanted to run 6 miles Monday I only had time for a little over 3. Then on Wednesday I was able to run 6 miles and I felt really good about today. It helped that a buddy of mine (who is training with me, though we have never trained together) offered to come down and run a 9-10 miler with me today. While I am used to getting up early during the week to run, my body didn't want to get out of bed today (I have to apologize to my wife and she was the one who woke up to my alarm and in turn woke me up. Sorry about that). Even with my sluggish start to the day we still managed to get out there and run. The first 6 miles were pretty good and as always there is the wall. Luckily the wall wasn't as solid as it could have been so I was able to push through it. I was able to run over 10 miles today. It felt really good (not during the run and especially not at mile 9, but when it was over) and I'm glad I had a buddy to run with as we (well he did and I hope I did for him) encouraged each other to keep going. Thanks ... buddy.

Now that the 10 miler is out of the way, next week is 11 or maybe 12. It's nice that the run is out of the way today so I'm not thinking about it for the rest of the day. Though I already took a cat nap of 10 minutes today, I do feel pretty good. My calves are a little sore, but nothing too bad. Until next week, gotta run.

Just Say No ... to Watermelon

One of the greatest things about summer is watermelon. I have loved this fruit for many years and so far this year I have enjoyed it more so than normal. Maybe because it has been on sale so frequently, or maybe because we've had more occasions this year to purchase them. For whatever the reason in the past month we've had 2 or 3 watermelons in the house. I'm the kind of person that once we cut it open, I have to cut out the entire melon and then save what we don't use in the first helping in the fridge instead of only using the little we need at the time and wrapping the unused part of the melon in foil. Well, the problem with that is the melon inevitably get older and soggy the long it stays in the fridge. So you must consume said melon before it goes beyond the point of no consumption. This then leads to me and the family eating lots of watermelon in a week span. While it is delicious, it does tend to have adverse affects.

Why did I just spend 5 minutes talking about watermelon on my running blog? Well, here's the reason. Over the past several weeks I have been planning to run 12 miles on Saturdays that I end up not reaching for whatever reason (too hot, too tired, not enough running during the week so my body was not ready for a long distance run of 12 miles and other reasons). Just as my previous entries you have seen that I have recommitted to reaching that goal of 12 miles. So last Saturday was going to be the day I achieved that goal. Since there was a party at the house during lunch and early afternoon I did not make it out to run until 7pm. As it turns out, it was a good time to run. The heat of the day was done, there was a nice breeze and all of the kids were in bed. I start out my run and I'm feeling good. The pace was good, my breathing was steady and my muscles were cooperating. This is where the first part of this entry comes into play. The day before this run and the day of I had consumed many cubes of watermelon. Though I realize my bowels might have issues with it eventually, at the moment everything seemed fine. At a mile and a half I began to feel the affects. My first thought was to push through it and it seemed to work for about a half of mile, but at mile 2 it was clear that unless I found a restroom and FAST I was going to be in trouble. It didn't help Looking back I should have stopped at a store and used their facilities, but in my mind I thought I was too sweaty for such a public display of bodily functions. So I decided to walk home (another mile and a half). At certain points I started feeling good again so I began to jog, but after a minute of that I had to stop and walk as it seemed the bouncing motion of jogging only aggrivated my condition. So I walked on. Eventually, I walked through a park as a short cut to my house when I realized the park had open restrooms. Even though, I was only 2 minutes away from home, my body said, "You are NOT going to make it home!" Thankfully the door was unlocked.

Though this experience could have ended very badly, it did teach me a VERY important lesson. When training for a half marathon, just say NO to watermelon. Gotta run.

Stay Focused

It has been an interesting few weeks. I intended this blog to keep track of my progress from the start of my training to the half marathon, but over the past few weeks it has been more and more difficult not only to keep on track with my schedule (which I haven't done), but also to keep up with this blog. I have been running during the week, but have not got back to running 12 miles on Saturday. I missed this last week because of the 4th and having friends in town, then the week before it was way too hot to go further than 5 miles. The week before that ... seems like something similar happened, but I don't remember now because I didn't make an entry in this blog. Something happened today as I went out to run that caused me to realize that I need to stay focused on my goal of training to run a half marathon. I was running on a sidewalk next to a main road in my town and I kept checking behind me when I would cross and intersection to make sure the cards behind me weren't turning. Well, during one intersection I turned my head to check the traffic and I lingered a little too long. As I started to turn my head back to the front, my foot caught the edge of some uneven pavement and I began to fall face first onto the asphalt. I did some spectacular acrobatics to stay on my feet and I'm pretty sure I looked ridiculous, but I was able to keep from skinning my legs, arms and face by staying upright. Since there was loads of traffic I wiped my head as if to say, that was a close one. Apparently a car agreed and honked their horn. Out of pride I didn't turn around to acknowledge the horn honking, but just kept running.

So as fun as that event was I thought about this as I continued in my run. You have to stay focused out while you are running or you could fall flat on your face or be run over by a car. Also, this applies to my goals of running as well. I have been letting other things distract me from my goal of running a half marathon so I haven't been as dedicated to my running. With renewed vigor I'll be sticking to my schedule and preparing my body for running in a half marathon in August.

If I may also say this translates into life. Whatever your goal is, you need to keep your focus and not let anything keep you from achieving your goals.

Keeping on, Keeping on

As I mentioned before this week was crazy. I ran 4-5 miles on Tuesday morning, but I skipped my Thursday morning run because Wednesday night I played Ultimate Frisbee and I did some running there. That and I've had a busy week at work and I didn't want to get to work late. Then I was planning on running Saturday morning as usual for my step back week (I was planning on running 8 miles or so), but my poor wife has been sick for 2 weeks and had to get up with the kids everyday as I had to be to work early. So, I didn't run in the morning. Then I didn't run in the afternoon either because of said illness and I didn't want to be too far out of reach. Then I couldn't run in the evening because I had to prepare a talk for church so I didn't make it out at all yesterday (Yikes). However, since it was a step back week, I hope that it won't effect my future runs. I might try to squeeze in an extra short run this week to get my body back on track. Now that the craziness is over (hopefully) I'll be sure not to miss as many days of training. So, I'm keeping on, keeping on, I just need to keep on track a little better. That's it for me, and I really gotta run (especially this week).

Sorely Mistaken

I know I'm a little late posting this, but its been a very crazy week (I'll write a new post later to explain)

Well, I had a number of 1sts this week running. Besides the big goal of the week was to gut out 11 miles I experienced other not so exciting, but somewhat painful things this week (mostly it was Saturday, but I'll get to that momentarily). Running 10 miles was tough the week before, so I was a little nervous about adding another mile so soon. However, like always, the first few miles were good. I had a good pace and all the muscles were feeling fine. Before I get into the big run on Saturday I will briefly describe my shorter runs. It is difficult to run longer than 6 miles in the morning before work and still get there on time. I guess that's something I'll have to figure out real soon when my weekday miles get up in the 8-9 miles at a time. Back to Saturday. It was a cloudy, drizzily afternoon. No down pour, but lightly raining off and on the entire run. So this marks the first time I ran in rain. Not too bad, but then again, it wasn't constant and it wasn't very heavy. Another first was around mile 8 I ran by the house to grab a drink to keep myself hydrated and Deb and the girls (save the youngest) was outside and they cheered me on. Other than my 10k they haven't cheered me on before in my training runs, so that was a fun little bonus. Of course the biggest first was that this was the first time I ran 11 miles. As I found out later I had actually run 11.41 miles. Once again the last 3 miles were extremely difficult. I was having difficulty picking my feet up off the ground, but I kept my feet and legs moving. I wasn't as tired as I felt after this run as I did the week I ran 10, but I still was tired. Still I felt great that I was able to run 11 miles.

Lastly, I had a first this run as to pain. After 7 miles I was really noticing a pain that was a stinging feeling and very unconfortable. This wasn't a pain of muscle, tendon or bone, but ... a pain in the skin. I don't know if it was the rain or me dumping water over my head, but my wet shirt I think caused my nipples to become very chaffed and sore. It a new experience for me and I'm sure I looked funny as I ran I periodically pulled my shirt away from my body to minimize the friction my shirt was causing. I was warned that this might happen so now I'm going to have to find some remedy to prevent this from happening again. For all those who have not had issues with this, be grateful. VERY grateful.

So a run full of firsts and I hope that the firsts continue as I reach my goal of 13.1. Gotta run.

Great Expectations

The big goal last Saturday was to run 10 miles to prepare for a half marathon in June. I was pretty pumped about getting out there and getting back on track after a few weeks of only 6 mile runs. I have done a better job of running on 2 other times during the week, so I was expecting a little more effort on my part for the 10 miles, but I was feeling good about the run. I should have been a little more concerned with the heat as it was in the upper 80s when I ventured out for the run in 1pm. I was feeling real good for the first 2 miles and I even left myself a water bottle on my front steps so I would have some fluid to replenish myself at mile 3. Then things got real tough. Miles 4-5 were pretty difficult. I felt drained of energy and I was having a difficult time even picking my feet up off the ground. My muscles and breathing were fine, but I felt zapped. I barely made it back home at 6.5 miles and I knew I couldn't achieve my goal of running 10 miles. I wasn't feeling too pleased with myself at not being able to run more than 7 miles. I just figured I've have to keep plugging away and hope my endurance would catch up.

This past week I did my two 6 to 7 mile runs and I realized I should probably run in the morning to avoid the incredible heat we have received. I think it has helped. So, I ventured out this morning with the same goal of running 10 miles. There was a big difference running this morning in the cooler weather than last week. I was feeling good again between miles 1-3. I hit a little bit of a wall on mile 4, but with some determination I pushed through it and was feeling good for miles 5-6. Then the real wall hit at mile 7. I still had 3 miles left and I felt like I was shuffling along like those old mall walkers. Actually they were jogging faster that I was for miles 8-9. However, at least I was able keep running and I didn't stop to walk. Then came mile 9. 1 mile to go and I was feeling it. My legs ached and my feet were burning. I had .5 of a mile to go and I didn't know I would make it without stopping, but I'd gone this far and I wasn't going stop now. I pushed and pushed and the end was in sight as I got to the end of my street. I could hear the cheers as I was yards away. YES! I had finished and ran all 10 miles. I have never been so exhausted, but the wonderful sense of accomplishment is overpowering my weariness. I looked up my route on http://www.usatf.org/routes/map/ and as it turns out I actually ran 10.32 miles today. Its a great feeling overcoming ones self-doubts and accomplishing a personal best of running 10.32 miles in 1 hour and 40 minutes. The next step is to keep up this pace and increase the miles each week and not take too many weekends off.

That's it for now, gotta run.

Keeping on Track ... Sort of

After a fun 10K run I was feeling good and on track with my schedule to run in a half marathon in June.  Then life got in the way. I ran the next Monday, but missed my Thursday run.  I took that weekend off with Mother's Day as I treated my wife to a Saturday and part of Sunday Mother's Day extravaganza. I hope she enjoyed it. So I ran again the following Monday and it was tough taking a week off. My breathing was a little more labored and my muscles didn't like being used again after a week off.  However, I got through it. The past 2 Monday's I ran 6 miles each as I won't run the longer distances (8+ miles) until Saturdays. So I missed last Thursday again for some strange reason I really can't remember now and then on Saturday I couldn't make it out because of a Sister's weekend my sweetie went on and I was a little (very little) under the weather. So that brings us to this week.  Monday I started running on the treadmill with renewed vigor and determination to get myself back on track. I ran 2.5 miles on the treadmill until my wife got home who told me I should go outside (wasn't that sweet?) and outside I ran another 3.25 miles and I did it in 22-25 minutes. So this Saturday I plan to run the longest I ever have run before which is 10 miles (or more). I hope my legs can keep up as I've taken a longer break than I should have. I'll have to fill you in on how that went next week. Thanks for the well wishes and I gotta run.

First 10K Run

Well, the day of my first race has come and gone. I was a little nervous as I hadn't run a competitive race since I was 13 and in 8th grade middle school. I don't remember what the race was, but it was probably only for 3 miles and it is a good guess that I came in between 20th and 30th. Since the race is close to where I live I decided to drive down last Monday and run the coarse to see what it was like. There are no hills in my town where I train, but there are hills on this coarse. So running the trail before hand boosted my confidence in the fact that I could run it even with the hills. So, my buddy, Eric, and I (after registering and stretching) were ready race. This was the first time we ran together and I think our paces are about the same so neither one of us has to worry about keeping up with the other. 

Here we are taking off from the starting line.

It was a gorgeous day in the mid 60s and a nice breeze at our backs for the first mile. The second mile brought the largest hill of the day, but after ascending its heights, it was nice to get it out of the way early. The third mile was gradually decending down from the massive hill we accended in mile 2. Mile 4 was flat with a stronger breeze in our faces. Mile 5 had 2 more hills one right after the other, which were difficult to traverse, but once on top it was downhill all the way. Then mile 6 brought the strongest wind yet seemingly trying to blow us backwards as we approached the finish line. With a quarter of a mile to go we really started pumping to pass a few folks a head of us. They had been a head of us the whole race and we really wanted to pass them up. Granted they were a bunch of ladies, but dang it we passed them! Then with the last bit of endurance we had, we raced to the finish to the loud cheers of our families beckoning us on. 

Here we are coming to the finish.

My time was 56:39 which averaged a 9:07 per mile. The best I'd run 6.2 miles ever. I was the 22nd man to finish, 47th overall and 5th in my age group of 30-34. While I am happy with the run, I feel the need to explain all the facts. There were 30 men who ran the race (I was 22nd), a total of 82 racers (I was 47th) and there were only 5 men in my age group (and I was 5th, you do the math). So a little disappointing to know all those facts, but this is still the best I've run thus far and I'm very pleased with my training after 2 months of dedication. 

Here I am all sweaty after the race.

(Notice me representing TN!)

Two good looking racers after the 10K.

 

My wonderful family supporting my mid-life crisis, which is running 10Ks and half marathons.

The Runners! Eric (left), Erica (a friend from church who whooped up on us by a blistering 7 minutes) and me.

My next race will be in June and will be the half marathon. Lots of training to do til then, but I'm feeling really good about it and look forward to running in my first half marathon. I'll keep you updated on my progress and other fun stories. Until then, gotta run.

Transition to the Outdoors

So, after a few weeks of saying I would run outside, but never doing it, the time came to venture to the outdoors to see if running outside was a lot worse than running on a treadmill. I had prepared myself to expect anything. I didn’t think it would be too difficult, but I really didn’t know. So on Monday (like 2 to 3 weeks ago now), after the girls went to bed at 7pm, I headed out into the unknown. I had stretched for the full 15 minutes as per my training plan and borrowed my wife’s watch, as I do not own one, to keep track of my pace and I was ready to go. (I have neglected to mention that my wife’s watch is a really sleek looking Nike watch. It was a Christmas present a few years ago, but … it’s pink.) So, with my wife’s pink watch, and my new Nike shoes (well they were new as of February) I took off for my first run outside. It felt pretty good to be outside with the wind and fresh air. It was a big improvement over my basement. Deb (that’s my wife), gave me a route to my daughter’s elementary school, so being the good husband I am, I listened to her advice and headed in that direction. For the most part I was feeling good, my breathing was steady and my legs were good, but the further I went the more labored my breathing became. I knew the first mile and a half would probably be the toughest, so I continued to push through the pain. My daughter’s school was in sight and as I approached I was wheezing like a asthmatic smoker. I couldn’t keep running and stay conscious so I slowed to a walk. Dejected, I turned to go home as I couldn’t run another step. My muscles were fine, but my breathing couldn’t take anymore strain. I guess all those folks who said running outside was “totally different” were right. How am I supposed to run 13.1 miles when I can’t even run 1 mile without almost passing out? So I walked home. Still wheezing when I arrived, I told Deb about my run. I could see the sympathy in her eyes while I relayed the story. She asked how long it had taken me to run to the school. It was a little more than 11 minutes 30 seconds. She said that I ran 1.5 miles in that time? I said I suppose. Well, as it turns out the school was 1.5 miles from the house, not 1 mile. I had run the mile in 7 minutes and 30 some seconds, which was way too fast. I should be running at a 10 minute per mile pace and that was the reason I couldn’t breathe (because I was almost sprinting). While Deb, my buddy Eric who got me into this and his wife all had a good laugh at my expense (and now I suppose more people will be laughing at this) I was able to realize that the real difference from the treadmill and outside running was the pace. I needed to get used to setting my own pace instead of letting a machine do it for me. This was my first adventure to outside running and it was quite a humorous one. I am happy to say that my next run outside was much better as I stuck to my 10 min/mile pace. This about catches me up to the present, other than the fact of my run last Saturday and my run yesterday, but these stories I will share next time. Moral of the story, if you are training for a half marathon, don't try and sprint the entire time, you'll either cough up a lung or pass out. Gotta run.

In the beginning …

Well, I thought I should start at the beginning even though I’m already 2 months into my training. I wouldn’t want to leave anything out. I started my training on Feb 15, 2010. Now for those of you that have not experienced a winter in Wisconsin, you know that you don’t want to be outside for an extended amount of time in February. However, we have been blessed with a treadmill from some great friends of ours so I was able to train in the comfort of my own home. My first run was only 2 miles, which I was able to do quiet easily I thought. After this I thought that this was going to be a piece of cake. Well, looking back it has been a piece of cake if the cake is one of the most difficult cakes ever to make. My second time on the treadmill was … not like the first. I don’t know if the incline was set higher than 0, but my calves burned like crazy and I couldn’t run the full 2 miles. I started doubting if I was going to be able to do this half marathon thing since I couldn’t even run 1 mile without needing a break. The third time on the treadmill was like the second. Thanks to my running buddy I was able to do some better stretching exercises and I was able to get through it though it still hurt. The next week I was out of town for over a week for a tradeshow for work and I only ran 2 times in 2 weeks (Yikes). After that I was better at keeping to my schedule and I’ve slowly increased my distance on the treadmill. I got up to 6 miles on the treadmill without stopping to walk in the middle. I was pretty pleased with my efforts except that whenever I told anyone about it (especially those that are runners) they would say “running outside is totally different.” So I got a little (ok a lot) nervous about transitioning to running outside. That story will come next post. Gotta run.

What's The Deal?

A few months ago a buddy of mine told me he was training to run in a half marathon and asked if I wanted to join him.  I looked at my waistline and thought that I could use the exercise, but 13.1 miles is a long way to run.  I mean, I ran cross-country in middle school (that was only like 20 years ago) so I felt like the foundation has been laid, however it is 13.1 miles of running.  Plus, I wouldn't be doing this alone as my buddy and me would be helping each other out throughout this endeavour, but did I mention that I would be running 13.1 MILES?  So, to make a long story short, I said yes.  Fast forward to 2 months later, I've been training approximately 3 times a week and I'm surprised how well its been going.  I started out running 2 miles at a time and have worked up to about 6 miles each run.  I've got up to 7.66 miles last Saturday and I have ran it in 70 minutes and 15 seconds.  So far so good.  So this is my journey on this half marathon experience and I plan on keeping track of my progress and hopefully funny stories along the way. Gotta run.