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2012 Bass Pro Marathon Recap

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Well I was able to log marathon #4 in the books this past weekend with the Bass Pro Marathon. The weather was absolutely incredible for it and the course was great. There were a ton of people that I knew there to run both the half and the full marathon and there were people that I didn’t know that I got to know through the course of the morning.

Bass Pro Marathon comes on the heels of the Dogwood Canyon 25K Trail run and just month after the Chicago Marathon for me. After injuring my toe in the hotel door the Thursday before Chicago Marathon, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to complete even one of these much less all of them and have a great time doing it! I ended up having a great race on Sunday and getting a new PR. My goal however was to break 4 hours, after not being able to get that in Chicago on the injured toe. I ended up with a 4:11:29 on Sunday. So am I disappointed – yeah a little… but still happy with the performance and the race.

I met a bunch of the Ozarks Running Club folks that morning just inside Bass Pro. It has been so cool to see the folks come together over the past couple of months to form the club and even more cool to get to know everyone. We really have a great group of runners and some really inspiring athletes! David even ended up running Bass Pro with us after flying all the way to New York just to spend one night and have them cancel the next day. There were also quite a few first time half-marathoners and full marathoners running from the club that morning too.

Starting out I was able to run at least the first mile with Adam who has totally kicked butt this year, going from saying he would never run to completing 2 sprint triathlons and his first Olympic triathlon at the Branson Ironman, and now taking on his first half marathon. And… he has done so and been able to jump in at a pretty stinking fast pace – he finished this – his first half mary in 1:49!! We talked for a bit while weaving through the crowd and trying to get a clear path to run. Then we parted ways as the half turned north and the full turned south.

I knew I was starting out quite a bit faster than what I had planned and really did try to slow down the pace a bit. I was also racing for the first time wearing the heart rate monitor. I have started with Coach Jeff with PRSFit (another blog post coming soon on that) and their training is completely based on heart rate training. So it was a little different for me to see how my heart rate fluctuates.

Somewhere around mile 3-4 I heard – “Hey – there’s an Idiot”. I was wearing my Idiots Running Club shirt so I knew he must be a fellow Idiot. Turns out it was Ron Bogart. We ran together for about half a mile or so. Ron was running his first full at Bass Pro as well and we talked about the Idiots Running Club and the Skunk Run. Finally Ron said he needed to stick to his plan and run his pace and I went on.

The course through mile 10 had some undulating hills – nothing major but enough to keep your legs awake. I heard a few people complain about how big the hills were but really they were just about right in terms of enough change in the course. Even with the hills, I noticed that I was still maintaining a much faster pace than what I had intended. In fact my slowest mile during the first 15 miles was at an 8:52 and I had 4 miles in the 8:30s. I originally had intended on trying to keep a pretty steady 8:55-9:00 pace throughout. By mile 13 I figured that by that point it wasn’t going to do any good to slow down and went with the “time in the bank” theory and kept pushing and hoped that I wouldn’t fade too much towards the end.

Somewhere along mile 11 or so I heard another “Hey Idiot” comment and saw a guy in a Marathon Maniacs shirt – turns out it was Randy Acklin… another Idiots Running Club member. Randy and I got to talk a little more and turns out he was in Chicago with me but never saw him in the crowd(go figure… there were only 45,000 others there). It was also cool to hear Randy’s story about how he had transformed his life and health through running and had a crazy schedule of races this year. Randy was also hoping to break 4 hours. At some point around one of the marathon relay check points, I lost Randy and figured we would see each other at the end.

Miles 13-19 seemed to go pretty quickly and honestly I was still feeling pretty good. However – from mile 19-21 I started to feel fatigue setting in pretty quickly. I knew though that Sharena and the kids were going to be somewhere in that range to watch so I kept trying to focus on that. I did finally see not only them, but also my sister, brother-in-law and niece Ashlynn just beyond mile 21. That kept me going for just a bit but my pace was grinding down… I was now averaging close to a 10 minute pace. There is a big difference between 8:40s and 10:00 minutes in terms of pace and I could feel it hitting hard.

I still was sitting in good position to come in around a 3:55ish time as long as I could keep a minimum of a 10:00 minute pace. Somewhere between mile 22 and 23 I got to a point where I had to slow down and walk for just a minute. I knew this was a mistake, but there was nothing I could do about it. My legs were starting to shut down on me. I knew that once I walked once it would be hard to get back to any type of predictable pace again. But… again… I couldn’t do anything about it. I kept looking at my Garmin and doing the math in my head and telling myself that I was still Ok… I could still break 4.

By mile 23, it had turned into running(or at least believing in my head I was running) for a few minutes and then walking a few minutes. I knew that I had to pick it up to keep a sub 4 in the realm. Between mile 24 and 25 was the lowest point of the race for me. As hard as I tried I couldn’t get back to a real run… it was more of a shuffle and finally it just turned into a quick walk. By this point I knew 4 hours was gone… I just had to try to beat my last PR in Chicago of 4:19.

There is something incredibly humbling (and whether right or wrong – embarrassing) about walking during the latter stages of a race. I had my head hung and the inner voices were working me over. The last mile and a half of the course has some very slight uphills which I remembered from running the half last year. Those slight hills might as well have been like the straight up hills at Dogwood Canyon at this point. I finally made it to mile 25 and I told myself that no matter what, I had to RUN to the finish line.

As I got to the last couple of turns through the neighborhoods before the final turn onto Sunshine I came up on a couple of younger guys that were wearing the same shirts with numbers on them(I assume they were on some type of team together) that I had traded leads back and forth since about mile 10. One of them was in obvious pain and was sitting on the ground while the other one was trying to get him moving and convince him he was almost there. I tried to help and tell him that he was less than half a mile from finishing and he could do it. Shortly thereafter I was hurting myself and REALLY wanting to be done. About that time I heard Vickie’s voice yelling at me to pick it up and keep going. I couldn’t tell where she was at…. I could just hear her and it made me push. I finally saw her and Robyn just up the street a bit and it was exactly what I needed to finish.

I crossed the finish line at 4:11:29 and it was cool to see all the familiar faces as I came down the final few hundred feet. After coming through the finishing chute, I caught up with Jon Wilson heading out and turns out he had a huge PR and hit a 3:31. Then I found Tim who ended up finishing sub 4 but still had issues with his back. I finally saw the family when I got through the food area, I went and gave everyone a hug. I admire them because I know I smelled like I had been working in the fields in July by this point. While talking to my kids I heard someone yell my name and looked up and David Murphy and Charley Hogue were just across from me. I got to catch up with them for a bit and David was his usual encouraging self – telling me that I had a PR and was that close to hitting my goal. He had helped pace Jon(and turns out got 3rd in his age group doing so).

So I left Bass Pro with a mix of feelings. One one hand I had a great day – the temperatures, weather, and course were awesome.. I had set a new PR and got to run with a bunch of friends. But.. in the back of my mind it was killing me that I was on target to not only break 4 but to beat it by 4-5 minutes if I hadn’t just totally shut down at mile 22. I also know that it’s silly to not just be thrilled with a great run and the fact that I had finished another marathon.

I was able to catch up with Coach Jeff with PRSFit on Monday and get some answers. He thought it was funny that I had set a new PR but was still disappointed. After telling the story and how close I was, he seemed to understand. The biggest thing that was eating at me was – why? Was it because I went out too fast, or did I not fuel enough, or was it because I didn’t have all that many miles of training in since Chicago? Coach Jeff was able to tell me within a few minutes of looking at my charts from the race. Turns out that I ran the whole race(well up until mile 23 or so) in Zone 4. In the heart rate training there are 5 zones that you work within with 5 being the highest. What this meant was that I ran for 3 1/2 hours with my heart working much harder than it should have and finally my body shut down. Coach Jeff kinda chuckled and said that he had never really seen anyone run an entire marathon in Zone 4. He said that by working through the program I would get to the point where I could run these type of races completely in Zone 2 or lower 3.

So for now I have an answer. And… I have a new PR .. and I have a great race in the books with a lot of friend and family around to have enjoyed it with.

Now… just 11 weeks until Rocky Raccoon 50 Miler….

Never Say Never

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The past week has been a roller-coaster of highs and lows.  A week ago I was worried about the head-cold I had come down with for the second time in less than a month and the nagging cough.  Then after getting some meds for that I felt much better last Thursday as we all headed out to fly to Chicago for what would end up being my second chance to run the Chicago Marathon.  An afternoon of fun in Chicago with the family was ended by a freak accident in which I got my pinky toe caught in a revolving door at the hotel and once again the odds of running Chicago were thrown into doubt.

After not being able to walk on it and put any weight on that foot, Friday night I was resigned to the fact that I would not be able to run on Sunday in the marathon and consequently I posted Not Meant To Be.  After that I went as far as calling the airline to see about getting our tickets changed to fly out on Saturday instead of Monday.  However after finding out there was plenty of room on the flight but it would be $75 each…. I figured for $375 we could keep our original flight.

Nice huh?? Bruising on the bottom of my toe from getting it caught in the revolving door.

So Saturday morning Sharena convinced me that we should at least go to the expo and pick up my race packet and get my shirt.  After-all – I had paid for the shirt and should at least get it.  I was hesitant at first because I didn’t want a shirt from an event that I did not complete.  However after thinking about it for a bit I figured that if nothing else I could just use it as one of my normal running shirts since I go through them so fast.

The funny thing was that as the day progressed I figured out that I could walk on my left foot without horrible pain as long as I did not flex it very much and kept it flat.  In fact I at one point decided I would try a little jog and keeping it flat.  I found that by doing this I was able to move with an acceptable level of discomfort.

After getting to the expo (which was an adventure itself with all 5 of us in a cab) – the bug bit me that maybe I should just line up and give it a shot.  Worst case scenario if I was hurting too bad we ran right past our hotel within the first mile and I could just stop.

So Sunday at 5:45am I was up getting ready to walk to the start of the marathon.  The temps were in the upper 30s with not too strong of a breeze but enough to make you notice it.  I wore a long sleeve shirt that I would just throw off at the start but even with that my teeth were chattering by the time it was close to the start.

This year the Chicago Marathon implemented a new dual wave start.  The first wave started at 7:30 and the second wave, which I was in started at 8:00.  I don’t know if it was just imagination or real but it seemed to be much less frantic in the starting corrals this year.  It was still pretty much elbow to elbow but just not as crazy with the inching forward only to stop and wait.  There were still the annoying people that waited until 5 minutes before it started to jump the gates and said “Excuse Me” as if you could just magically disappear so they could get in front of you.  I crossed the start line at around 8:03 – so not much longer after I did last year with the single start at 7:30.

Getting ready to start!!

By this point my feet as well as most of the rest of my lower body were pretty numb from the cold.   So starting out I wasn’t really hurting all that bad.  My form was pretty bad though.  I had to try to keep my left foot landing flat which threw everything else off.  I got to the corner by Embassy Suites and saw Sharena and the kids – they were freezing I could tell and I hollered to them but they couldn’t hear me.  At this point I was feeling pretty good so I saw no need to stop.

By the time I turned onto State St. I had settled into a pretty good pace and really was feeling pretty good.  Looking back on it now I am not really sure how I was able to feel as good as I did through it except through a lot of people praying for me that I would be able to run it.  I had somehow settled in just on the heels of the 3:55 pace group – faster than I had anticipated going out – but still within my normal run paces so I decided to try to stay with them.

The route at least seemed familiar this year and I remembered several of the areas as I ran through them again.  I am not sure but it seemed like the supporting crowds may have been down a little this year compared to last year.  It may have been because the temps were so much cooler and jackets were required if you weren’t running.  But – that by no means translates to thin crowds – the streets were still 4-5 people deep in places.

I kept looking down at my race pace tattoo that I had gotten on Saturday and I was consistently staying ahead of the goal paces for a 4 hour finish.  By mile 13 I started to feel a little twinge in the toe.  Not enough to cause enough concern to stop, but enough to bring me out of my zone mentally and make me think about it.  I tried to ignore it and keep the pace going.  At this point I was half way through in under 2 hours so I was well on my way.

Mile 16-20 were the toughest for me last year and that stayed true this year.  Not sure why – but nonetheless they were tough mentally to stay focused.  The crowd support was still good and you pretty much have runners all around you within arms distance the whole race in Chicago so it shouldn’t bother me but it did.  This is also the section of the route that I noticed a lot more uneven pavement.  Normally this is not an issue but with the toe injury, every pothole and slant of the pavement caused me to grimace and limp ever slightly.

As I got to mile 19 I noticed that I had slipped a little further back from the 3:55 pace group.  My time compared to the goal time on the race pace tattoo was still about 2 minutes ahead of schedule but in the back of my mind it cause me to realize I was starting to slow a bit.  By mile 20 I suddenly noticed a very painful cramp developing in the top of my left foot leading up the the shin area.  I am sure this was due to the way I was trying to keep that foot from flexing and landing as flat as I could.  I just kept telling myself – lets try to make it to the next mile marker.

By mile 21, my pace had slowed to over 10 minutes per mile and my total time was creeping back towards the goal times on the tattoo.  Not a problem I kept thinking… I just need to keep pushing and try to get the pace back.  I did try a couple of pickups to try to re-energize the legs but each time I tried I kept getting a sharp pain in the top of my foot from the cramping.

At mile 22, things definitely slowed dramatically.  The cramp in my foot was causing me to flex my foot more.  This in turn cause me to immediately start feeling the shooting pain from my toe.  Within a half of a mile it forced me to stop and take my shoe completely off and try to stretch the foot out.  Just getting my foot out of the shoe was enough to cause me to moan.  This caused me to really worry that I might not get it back on. After about 45 seconds of letting it rest I forced my shoe back on and walked a bit to see if it would loosen up.  It didn’t.

The last 4 miles were the worse of the whole race.  By this point I saw the 4 hour pace slip by me.  My foot was cramping terribly.  My toe was starting to ache constantly and mentally it beat me up.  I kept telling myself I just had a little longer to go and I could sit down.

I vividly remember crossing the finish line last year in Chicago.  I became immediately amped up when I made the final turn from Roosevelt onto Michigan Ave.  I can remember the elation of seeing the finish line and picking up the pace to cross.  This year was different.  I wanted to feel that again… but all I could think about was getting off of my foot.  There was no chance of me picking up the pace to sprint.  I crossed the finish line at 4:19:30 – almost a full hour faster than I did last year.  I had hoped to break 4 hours in Chicago this year with the perfect weather and what I felt like had been pretty good training leading up to it.  I can’t feel too badly – I mean I beat last years time by almost an hour and I set a new marathon PR on an injured foot.  But I am one that once I set a goal – I hate to not see it happen.

Happy it was over :)

After crossing the finish line, I texted Sharena and let her know I had finished and that I just needed to sit down for a bit.  This was the first time I have ever used one of the thermal blankets they hand out.  I was freezing sitting there on the grass.  It seemed like the wind was blowing 20MPH through there and my teeth were chattering.  After about 20 minutes, I finally made my way across to the 27th mile after-party area and found my family and after a few hugs and kisses we started to make our way back to the hotel.  I think it probably took me 30-40 minutes to get back and I was hobbling pretty badly.  Chicago was finished and what I thought was going to be my first DNS turned out to be a race I completed and will always remember.

I am incredibly blessed!  I had a family that put up with me through all of the training and even more importantly – all of the highs and lows in Chicago after injuring my foot Thursday evening.  I also can not say how much it meant for all of the friends and family back home that were praying for me and supporting me!  That was truly amazing!

Whats next?  Well I saw the Ortho yesterday and got an X-Ray.  He said he could not tell for sure from the X-Ray whether it was a hairline fracture or not or just badly bruised.  He offered to put it in a boot for me but I declined.  I asked him how soon I could be back out running and he just said – As soon as you feel like it :) – So not much more in terms of definites.

I have Dogwood Canyon 25K Trail Race in about a week and a half.  I hope to be able to run it.  Time will tell.  I have not ran since being home and worry that the extremely uneven and hilly trail might be too much – but we shall see!!

Not Meant To Be

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Down in the dumps, depressed, and defeated…. that sums it up right now.  I am at a loss to accurately describe whats going on in my head right now but that’s about as close as i can get.

We(the whole family) excitedly flew in to Chicago yesterday for what was supposed to be my second time running the Chicago Marathon and what I had hoped would be a great PR for the distance.  It was the kid’s first time on a plane and they were all big eyed and having a blast.  Getting from the airport to the hotel was seamless.  We were able to hit Navy Pier in the afternoon and even got in free to the Children’s Museum and closed it down last night.  All things pointing to a great start in Chicago.

We headed back to the hotel from Navy Pier and had to stop and get some milk and supplies for the room.  As we were headed back into the hotel, I was carrying a bag of the groceries in one hand and holding my youngest son’s hand in the other.  He was super excited about the revolving doors so we opted for them to go inside just as we did when we exited.  About half way through I was worried about the people coming through the door behind us and I was telling my son to be careful when I felt the door roll over the top of my left pinky toe.  I was wearing my Vibram Five Fingers so, I felt every square inch of the door on top of that toe.  After what I am sure was a loud grunt, I was able to pull my toe out and get through door and my son out and move to the back wall.  It hurt to move, it hurt to stand still, and it hurt to know what had just happened.

My wife came through shortly afterwards with my other son and my daughter and they were totally confused as to what had happened other than to see that I was obviously in pain.  I was in pain and I was mad and scared to think about what this meant.  There were others in the lobby and on the elevator on the way up to the room that I am sure thought I was a jerk because I was scowling, and gritting my teeth and being very short with everyone.  To everyone including my family – I am sorry for this.  I really don’t remember much except the feeling of not being able to put weight on my left foot.

Back at the room I immediately went to the bed and took my shoe off and hoped for the best.  But I knew… I knew what the outcome was by the feeling of my toe.  I have only broken one bone in my life and it was in my hand next to my pinky so I knew the feeling you get when a bone is broken.  My wife and kids were super to me and got ice and tried to stay away for a bit.

After a bit my wife asked how it was doing and I told her that I was pretty sure I had broken it.  It was not swelling a whole lot but there was a lump on the outside edge towards the bottom of the toe and on the bottom of it that would send a blinding pain through me when I touched it.

I iced it, kept it elevated and went to bed last night still hoping that I would wake up this morning with it just a little sore but nothing that would affect me beyond today.  I woke up  a little after 6 when I accidentally kicked it with my other foot and it sat me straight up in bed.  I kept thinking about what my chances were that it was going to be OK and I figured the only way I could tell for sure was to put my running shoes on and see if I could run in it.  Trying to put my sock on it cause me to moan and the shoe felt like it had elastic straight on that toe.  Taking a step on it send a pain through my whole foot and I could not walk on it without a limp.  There was no doubt now.

We had lunch reservations for my daughter to go to the American Girl Store and Restaurant and the boys wanted to go to the Lego Store too.  So I still felt a glimmer of hope that maybe I could “walk it off” today and get the soreness out.  After about 3 blocks… all doubt, hopes, and last ditch thoughts were done.  I will not be able to run Chicago this year.

So… here we are..  in Chicago until Monday.  I can’t run… heck I can’t really even walk.  There are 45,000 other runners here that are all pumped up for one of the biggest races in the country.  They are pumped!  Watching them board the shuttles to the expo, it was like a kick in the gut.

I was sooo excited coming in from the airport yesterday seeing the race setup in the park and all of the race signage.  I had re-played the course in my mind from last year and had a great game plan.  I was debating in my head whether or not to sign up for one of the pacing teams this year to help me get under the 4 hour goal.  I was the most excited to see the weather… upper 30s as a low and mid 50s as a high would prove to be absolute perfect running conditions on one of the fastest marathon courses in the country.  I was positive I would be able to hit my time goal.

Now… I just have to wait until Monday to fly back empty handed.  I truly enjoyed watching my daughter today at American Girl and seeing her eyes light up at all of the doll clothes, and accessories.  My boys were just ecstatic at the Lego Store.  They were overwhelmed at all of the cool stuff and couldn’t wait to get back to the room to build stuff.  So the trip is definitely worthwhile just seeing that.  There is nothing better than seeing your kids thrilled with something.  I don’t want to at all forget that or not appreciate every second of it!

But…I feel like I have let everyone down.   I feel like I have disappointed my family and I feel like I have blown a huge opportunity for me.  Seeing this race slip away hurts.  But now a bigger hurt and fear has crept in – how long will it be before I can run again??  I am supposed to run Dogwood Canyon in 2 weeks and the Bass Pro Marathon in 4 weeks.  Even if it goes absolutely great – I don’t know if either of those are still in the picture or not.

Those that know me, know that running is what keeps me sane and keep me ticking.  Being injured SUCKS… losing the chance at an awesome race SUCKS…. and the fact that this happened because of STUPID mistake on MY part SUCKS the MOST.

I don’t want a pity party…  I don’t want to whine….  I don’t want to be Negative Nancy… I want to be able to run.  But… it appears that it is not meant to be.

Crunch Time

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3 Days, 13 Hours, 47 minutes, and 11 seconds…. that’s it… that’s all I have left until I toe the line for my second time around at the Chicago Marathon.  Well actually a little longer since I am officially in the second wave of starters since I didn’t get into a decent starting corral.

Am I ready?  Not sure….but I hope so.  I have put in some decent training over the past few months.  At this time last year Chicago was this super huge event that had a lot of uncertainty around it from it being my first marathon to ongoing issues with the torn meniscus.  This year it almost seems like it got pushed back to second place behind the Ironman a couple of weeks ago.  That’s not at all to say that I am not excited about running Chicago again! I am extremely excited – it is a phenomenal race!!  It just comes in the middle of a string of events and the Ironman was kind of a big unknown for me and it had me focusing on getting through it up until two weeks ago.

I completed my first marathon(and yes I am going to buy this photo)

So whats different this year for Chicago? Well obviously I know what to expect in terms of the marathon distance as well as what to expect from the Chicago course.  It was funny to hear some of the comments last year about the hill on the Chicago course from some of the other runners.  I kept expecting “a hill”… but I never came to anything that I saw as an inkling of a hill… especially compared to our hills and the hills at the Little Rock Marathon.  So I should be a little more comfortable with the actual race this year.

Secondly I should be able to maintain a much better pace and time for this year.  Last year I had been maintaining paces around the 9:30-9:45 range during my training up until I had the meniscus issue.  This year has been great for me in that I have been able to work my average paces down around the 8:30 time-frames.  So my goal this year would be to hopefully break 4 hours.

Another change is that the family and I are flying to Chicago this year instead of driving.  Last year we drove up and made a fun trip out of it and stopped at the Lincoln Library in Springfield IL.  The kids had a great time and it broke the trip up into manageable drives.  This year we got a great deal on airline tickets so we are flying.  The kids are super excited since this will be the first flight for them.  That brings some anxiety for me and my wife simply because we hope they do OK with it and even more anxiety about getting around Chicago without a car.  Luckily it is only an hour and a half direct flight so that should help as well.

One of the biggest pluses this year is the weather forecast!  Last year it started out in the 10 day forecast with lows supposed to be in the 50s and highs in the upper 60s.  By race day that had changed to lows in the 60s with highs in the mid 80s.  I distinctly remember running by a bank towards mile 20-21 that showed 81 degrees.  I much prefer running in the cooler temps(like the upper 40s and low 50s).  This year the weather couldn’t be much more perfect if it holds to the forecast.  The lows are forecasted to be in the upper 30s with highs in the mid 50s.  If it holds – this will be fantastic weather!

So are there any negatives to the differences this year?  Unfortunately yes.  I am not sure if it is due to the stress I have been under with training or work but I have come down with another cold to make it 2 within the last month.  This time it seems to be more focused on my chest.  I started getting congested about 2 days ago and really started coughing yesterday.  I woke up around 4am this morning with a dry hacking cough and a tight feeling in the chest.  Normally I would just take a few days off and let it run it’s course(no pun intended).  However with Chicago just a little over 3 1/2 days away, I decided to get into the doctor today preemptively.  He was nice and understood the concern and agreed to give me a prescription to try to help.  Hopefully I can kick this and feel better by Sunday morning.  It would really stink to get the perfect weather they are forecasting and not be at least 90% on race day.  I think I can get there… hopefully!

So for now… I just need to count it it being an awesome race, enjoying the cool temps, and enjoy the trip and excitement with my family.  That is really one of the coolest things I have come to appreciate about these type of events – it provides our entire family an excuse to do things together.  We fly out in the morning and I hope to be able to update things as it progresses closer to Sunday.

Push the Limits

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It’s been almost 3 weeks since I last posted anything.  Partly due to the training schedule I have been trying to keep up with and partly due to the kids starting back to school and getting the routine worked out, but probably more due to the fact I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go with the next post.  I have had several posts in mind over the past month or so but never felt like one was pulling me to put it out there yet.

This post may end up a rambling mess but is probably more of what is going on internally with me.  As of this coming Sunday, I will be 2 weeks out from running the Chicago Marathon again.  I have had a couple of people ask why I wanted to run it again.  The short answer is that it was an amazing experience as my first marathon.  The long answer is a little more complicated.

This time last year, I was pretty much filled with doubt and anxiety over whether or not I could complete a marathon.  I had just torn my meniscus and training had gone downhill in a hurry and Chicago was even a limited possibility for a few weeks.  In March I lined up on the chilly streets of Little Rock for what I hoped to be a new PR on a marathon.  Then just a short 5 weeks later I joined a crazy bunch of runners that all thought running through the woods and up a mountain for 31-50 miles that day sounded fun.  In April I also jumped in a lap pool for the first time ever and made a fool out of myself with the  “serious swimmers” thinking… “Is that guy OK?!”.  In July my first shot at a triathlon was hugely intimidating but yet thrilling at the same time.

Over the past year the triathlons have become a little more comfortable, and the running miles, a little quicker and longer.  What I didn’t realize sitting on the side of the starting corrals in Chicago last year waiting to line up, is that I was starting something that had no finish line.  Sure, I crossed the finish line in Chicago that day in a humbling 5 hours and 18 minutes, but the bigger picture was that I had started something much bigger and more important…. figuring out what drives me.

These sports/activities(I really don’t like to think of them as sports since that implies athletes and I still don’t really consider myself an athlete) have been an amazing addition to my daily life.  They have taught me a lot about the way that I work and what keeps me moving forward through times when I would rather just sit it out and tell myself “Ahhh you gave it a heck of a try”.

Through this process there have people along the way that have helped me challenge the ideas of what is really possible and more importantly – what I am possible of doing.  I think that is one of the biggest things ANYONE can have – regardless of what they are trying to do!  A few years ago, a marathon seemed like it was something completely past my limit of possibilities, much less an ultramarathon.  Heck – I hadn’t even really heard of anything like that.  But yet, through this process it has become clear that there really is no limit.  I know… there will be the analytical types that will say… yes … yes there is a definite limit to everything.  I would still challenge that!

I recently watched a special on David Blaine and why he keeps pushing himself to do these crazy stunts.  Now whether or not you like the guy or not, you have to give it to him for pushing past the conceived limits of what we can do.  Whether or not you buy into the illusionist side of him is a different story, but just the feats he has completed and his drive to never have someone tell him he can’t is amazing.  Dean Karnazes is another one that I think has helped masses of people believe that you are only limited by what you believe is achievable.   Again – like the guy or not you have to give him credit for bringing the idea of ultra-running to the mainstream and thus helping folks believe that a marathon is not the longest distance the body can withstand.  I also find it extremely amusing and disturbing that females WERE NOT ALLOWED to run marathons up until just about 40 years ago because it was believed their bodies could not hold up to it and their “innards” would fall out!  There are an awful lot of women that blow past me running and I have yet to see any innards laying on the asphalt… but I guess I will keep a look out.

Having people that you know and have personal experience with that push the limits of what’s possible is incredibly important.  I am fortunate that I can say I have friends that have a never quit mentality, friends that bike back to back 100 mile days,  friends that run 100 mile races like they are going out for a morning stroll, friends that compete at an elite level, friends that compete in world championships, but most importantly friends that even though they compete at those levels still go on a run with me.

So as I look to Chicago in a couple of weeks, I am running it again to remove the doubt I had in my mind last year, and to push the limits of what I thought I could do on that course.  It was an amazing experience last year, but even after finishing it I still had doubt.  I am hoping to break 4 hours this year if all the pieces come together.  I still have one more triathlon for the season coming up this weekend as well and I hope to push the limits of what I thought I could do.  Then after Chicago I will switch on the training mode to get ready to try to complete the 50 mile race at Rocky Raccoon in February.

The big thing that I have learned is that I wont cross the finish line with any of these races.  I am simply just pushing the finish line a little farther and farther and I hope to never say that was the limit.  Having people around to help you believe that you can achieve the next (Fill in the blank) is critical and I hope to always have that and hope that you have someone that you can look to for that!!

Brownie Points

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Forewarning – this post may earn some brownie points but that however is not the intended goal. 

Over the past 18 months, a lot has changed for me in terms of work, schedule, priorities and what I do for fun.  Back in January of 2011 I was a typical “close to 40″ guy that used his “free time” to watch TV shows that had my DVR overflowing with episodes in my playlists.  My level of physical activity was pretty much relegated to mowing the lawn on the weekends and running the weed-eater.  My eating habits were poor at best and my weight hit an all-time high of 183lbs.  For a guy that is only 5’7” – that is way out of whack!  My answer to this was to go in spurts of eating based on the Atkins diet for a couple of months, loose some weight, and then sink back into old habits and gain it back within 6 month.  To make matters worse, I had it in my mind that as long as I was eating mainly protein and the weight was coming off – it didn’t matter what I ate.  So I ate steak several times a week, and bacon was a common addition.  Finally after going to the doctor for an ear infection and subsequent follow up I was told my blood pressure was borderline high – I decided I had to make a change.  I didn’t want to be the dad that had a heart attack and left his wife and young kids to try to survive without him.

I started back running in March of 2011 on a regular basis, trying to get at least 3 runs per week in.  It was tough to begin with.  I used work as an excuse to skip workouts a lot, the weather was too hot, or too cold, or I felt like I was coming down with something quite a few times.  But – I stuck with it.  After I committed in June of 2011 to running the Chicago Marathon in October – there was no turning back.  The summer was brutal last year(and again this year) with morning lows only dropping down into the upper 70s and low 80s at times.  But – I stuck with it and kept a regular schedule or running.  Excuses slowly became non-existent and I actually started looking forward to running.  By the time I ran the Chicago Marathon, I was hooked.  I changed from looking to find excuses why I couldn’t run to never letting an excuse stop me from running.

Through that process, I have become healthier – Mentally healthier and physically healthier.  I have dropped 30lbs to date, my blood pressure is excellent now, my resting heart-rate is 58, and my eating has changed completely(another post to come on that subject).  All in all – I am a much healthier and happier person now than I was 2 years ago.

All of these changes are a great thing right?  In the big picture – absolutely!  However I know that there are trade-offs for everything.  The real intent of this post is not at all on what I have changed – but more importantly what my family has allowed me to do.  Having people around you that are supportive is HUGE in determining the overall success in changing your life to become healthier.  Having a support system that understands your goals, the process required and most importantly the willingness to make some sacrifices with you, ultimately can determine whether or not you are successful.

I am extremely lucky that my family has been that support!  While I do try to schedule as much of my workouts in the early mornings before anyone else is awake – it still takes some flexibility on their part as well.  I normally am worn out and tired by 9:30 or so in the evenings and ready for bed at 10:30 at the latest.  My long runs are normally on the weekend and even if I start at 6am they can still eat into some family time by the time I get 15-20 miles in.  On Tuesday evenings we have our normal bike night and that requires a couple of hours out of pocket to participate in that.  Recently adding triathlons to the mix has added even more time out of the schedule to get in swim time during the lap times at the pool or in the lake after the morning runs.  Trying to get brick workouts in to accommodate bike rides, and runs takes a couple of hours at a time.  Our weekly schedules, weekend schedule, trips, and even vacations now all have some sort of training schedule built into and around them.  My diet has changed dramatically over the past 12 months.  Lastly – the expense of all of this is a whole new aspect.  While running is one of the cheapest sports in terms of gear required – a new set of shoes every couple of months adds up.  Bike gear adds up quickly, as does swim and triathlon kits and gear.  All in all – A LOT of change over the past 18 months.  The end result is positive, but I wonder if I would be as accepting of this if the shoe was on the other foot.  I hope that I would… but I am not sure I am as good of a person when it comes to that as my wife is.

My wife is extremely supportive and fully committed to help me in any way she can.  But I do know that it takes a toll on her as well.  Having 3 kids and the youngest being 3 years old can be a struggle at times especially when I am out on a 4 hour bike ride.  My kids even get factored in as well.  I know there are things I miss out on when I am not at home with them.  My hope is that they see the things I am doing and it helps them believe in themselves no matter what path they decide they want to pursue.  My daughter recently told me that she wanted to start doing triathlons soon and it made me beam from ear to ear.  I don’t want to push my kids into doing anything they don’t truly want to do but hearing her say that was awesome!

Over the past year and a half I know there are people that think I have completely lost it.  I know that it can get old for my wife waking up every day and me being gone for either a run, a bike ride or a swim.  I know that having so much of my focus being on getting ready for a specific event or competition can be tiring for those that don’t share the same passion.  I know that constantly hearing me talk about the sports that I love to take part in can become annoying very quickly.  I also know that having me spend so much time training with other people and throw into the mix that some of those are females can be hard to be understanding of.

For all of that – I truly appreciate my family for allowing me to take this journey and hope that they realize how much enjoyment it has brought me, and that it has allowed me to get back into a healthy state for them for years to come! THANK YOU!!

And… yes those are brownie points you hear in the background… whether intended or not…

More Than Just Miles

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It has been almost 2 weeks since my last post.  Mainly due to a pretty hectic schedule the last few weeks but also because I have been in a little post-race funk.  The Ouachita Trail 50K was something that had been in the back of my mind since the first of the year and even with the Little Rock Marathon in March, I still had my eyes on the 50K.  Since then, it has kinda left me in a bit of a funk.  I still have the Tour de Cure bike ride in June to look forward to, my first Sprint Triathlon in July, and the Chicago Marathon in October.  However for whatever reason I kinda feel like I did after I did when I completed Chicago last year as my first… just kinda in a funk.

I really think it is also has a lot to do with the fact that my running schedule seems to have been out of whack the past 2 weeks as well.  The normal running group is in a little hiatus right now.  Tim took a new job that takes him out of the early morning runs, Devra is recovering from a serious back issue and shin splints, David is taking a break from running because of Plantar Fasciitus, and Kendall and Dathan have switched to adventure race and Ironman training.  So my reliable 5-6 running days a week schedule is at a hit or miss 3-4 days a week now.  I know I just need to suck it up and get out a bed and run even if that means solo runs for a while.

All of this has me thinking though that I need more than just a race on the calendar or a goal to hit in terms of mileage.  Over the past year I have found a great resource in the social media aspect of the running community and through that have met some great new running friends.  David Murphy is one of those friends I have met and quite honestly has been a great inspiration for me in terms of running and more importantly – what you can do with running that is more than just the miles.  Don’t get me wrong – David has some crazy talent in just the miles department as well -  sub 24 hour 100 mile ultras and stuff like that!  However one of the areas that David has really made a difference with running is his dedication to fighting cancer.  David has raised I believe over $15,000 towards the fight against cancer just through his running activities.  He has been able to use his passion of running to do more than just satisfy the internal drive for more miles.  He has made a difference in the lives of those facing an unbelievable fight and hopefully gotten us all closer to a point where cancer can one day be a thing that you just read about in the history books.  His last post that outlines his efforts can be read here.

So over the last two weeks I have really been wondering if I need more than just another race or mileage goal to go after.  Those are still important and a very driving force for me.  But I just wonder if I may be missing the point.  I mean as a runner I think we can all take for granted our ability to lace up and go out and hit the road or trails.  There are men, women, and children that as I write, are in the battle of their lives just to beat cancer and survive.  Over the last month I have had a past employee pass away from cancer and a friend of ours 3 year old little girl diagnosed with Leukemia.

So maybe I am missing the point.  Miles are miles – but I wonder if I can be doing something more than just logging the miles.  My family has been extremely lucky in that we have not had to face cancer directly.  When you hear of a 3 year old fighting it, it makes you hug your little ones a little tighter and a little longer.  And … it makes me want to do more than just log miles.

Kids are a blessing to anyone and the most incredible gift I have ever received.  As such I want to make sure I help in a way that particularly helps kids affected by cancer.  St. Judes, as most people are aware, focuses on children fighting cancer and other life threatening diseases. They have been instrumental in cancer research over the past 50 years and have taken survival rates for children affected by cancer from 20% in the early 1960s to over 80% as of now.  This is an organization I want to help!!  I want to help stamp out cancer and particularly help children that are fighting it.

So thanks to David Murphy I have signed up to help St. Judes through the silly act of just running.  I have no idea if I will be able to raise $10 or $10,000.  However even if it is just $10 – it will mean that me logging miles has done more than just added a number to a chart that use to track my mileage each month.  If this is something that hits home with you and you for some reason feel compelled to help – sign on with me.  My goals are are simple – see if I can get a few people to commit $.10 per mile I run each month.  My average mileage this year is anywhere from 130-150 miles per month with a goal of getting to 200 miles each month.  So that would equate to $13-$20 each month.  For what ever I get from you guys each month – we will also match up to $100.  I would love to raise $1200 and match $1200 over the next year to equal $2400 over 12 months.

I have set up a Google Docs form for you to pledge through.  At the end of each month I will email out my total mileage and a link for you to donate securely through my St. Judes fundraising page.  If you can’t donate monthly – there is also a one time donation option or if you can’t donate on a particular month – just let me know.  Any dollars raised – is going to a great cause and greatly appreciated!

My miles will be more important from here on out.  No longer is it about filling in a spot on the chart for each month.  No longer is is just about me and the number of miles I will complete.  Each mile will hopefully mean that I am doing something for a child that can’t get up and lace up for a run.  I still will keep races and goals on the calendar as that is just a part of what drives me.  But hopefully this puts it all in a different perspective with a greater cause.

If you can’t donate or already supporting other great causes – help by just posting a link to this blog post or directly to the form and or fundraising page.

The Final Countdown

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Ok – I couldn’t help it…. with the title being “The Final Countdown” – I couldn’t work on this post without the song playing in my head – aaah the wonders of YouTube!

So I am not just about 36 hours out from my second marathon and I am officially in panic mode.  I mean there is the whole “running 26.2 miles” thing – but more so from the aspect that it has been a crazy week here and trying to get packed up and ready to go out of town has been a huge task.  Our hope is to be on the road by 10am tomorrow so that we can be in Little Rock by 2pm and over to the expo by no later than 3- 3:30.  Thats if all goes well.

So what are the differences between this marathon and my first?  Well for starters I have been able to keep my full training schedule.  Last marathon the torn meniscus interrupted my training with 5 weeks left and even though I did get to run some before Chicago, I definitely did not feel fully ready when I toed the line.  I actually feel like I am about as ready as I am going to be for this marathon.  I wont really know until Sunday but I feel like I have given it a pretty good shot at keeping the schedule and level of training up through this point.

Secondly the big difference will be the weather.  I have been stalking the weather for Little Rock for about the last two weeks now(even before the 10 day forecast was out).  As of right now it appears that Sunday will start in the upper 30s and there should be a high in the upper 60s.  That has gone back and forth a couple of times.  While my perfect temperature would be highs in the mid 50s, the upper 60s are a huge improvement over the low 80s that I finished in during Chicago.  I plan on running in shorts and a short sleeve shirt(even making a debut of the IRC shirt!)

The course itself is a big change as well.  Chicago was just about as flat as you can get and Little Rock is, from what I can tell from the elevation map – moderately hilly.  I am most worried about the big hill that is shown to be around the 14 mile mark that has about a 200 foot climb and then immediately loses all of that gain in a very short distance.  The route I run from my house is moderately hilly so I am hoping that I will be sufficiently ready for the hills.

Finally the group of runners I had planned on running with has drastically changed for Little Rock.  In Chicago, I wasn’t sure what kind of pace I would be able to keep and was relatively new to the running group so I kinda shied away from running with anyone I knew.  For Little Rock, there are quite a few local runners that are making the trip down.  So I had originally thought I would have at least 2 or 3 others that I could lean on to help me maintain a pace.  Injuries seem to have been a major issue over the past month or so.  In fact there are 3 of the 6 of us that trained together that will either run a different pace than planned in the beginning or not run at all.

So this should pan out to be a pretty different race.  At least I really hope so – the wheels came off for me in Chicago and I would really like to make a marked improvement over my first marathon.  In any case – it is going to be fun and it should be a great day for the race.  Now – I have just got to get everything packed and ready to go… more to come later!

Pacing Back and Forth

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With Little Rock just 3 weeks away now, the nerves are starting to set in.  Specifically – I have been stressing about pacing.  With the Chicago Marathon being my first, I told myself and everyone else, that as long as I finished I would be happy.  Well as you might expect – that wasn’t really the case.  I had it in my head that I wanted to finish in 4:30 or better.  After Chicago, while I was proud to have completed it, I definitely was disappointed in my time.  So much so that on the drive home I was even contemplating trying to run another marathon within the next month afterwards to prove to myself that I could beat that time.

Needless to say, my body convinced me otherwise and so Little Rock is now the new target.  Since starting back with a serious training program, I have felt good for the most part and been very consistent sticking to the plan and weekly mileage.  One of the benefits is that I have noticed that I am able to run a bit faster throughout this training.  In fact this week I posted my all time fastest pace of 8:22 over an 8 miler.  Compare that to an average 8 mile run over the past year and I was about 1:15 faster per mile on that run.

Now I have no grand ideas that I could hold that pace for much longer than I did on the 8 miler, but nonetheless – it has me thinking.  When I started training for Little Rock, my goal was just to finish faster than I did in Chicago.  Since that was a miserable 5:18, I felt comfortable in my training to be able to do that.  That progressed to – “Hey I am just going to shoot for 4:30 again and hopefully it all works out”.  Then to “Well, I might be able to push myself to 4:15 if everything goes well”.  Now there have been some dreams of……maybe 4:00??  To do that, I would have to maintain an average pace of 9:10 per mile.  I have maintained that pace over a couple of half-marathons and close to that on some longer distances.  The question is – can I do that over the full 26.2?

The good thing is that I have some good running friends that push me and are all going to Little Rock as well.  So my hope is that I can use them to help pace me through.  But again – having never held that pace for that long – I am just not sure.  I have my last 20 miler this Saturday, so I think I am going to see how close I can get to that pace for the full distance and see where I end up.  That is about as close as I am going to get to being able to get any sense of comfort with that goal.

In the end however – I also keep telling myself that I am not going to be qualifying for Boston in this race, so is it really all that important to worry about pace to begin with?  I mean as long as I run it and enjoy the experience – shouldn’t that be enough?  Truth is, I think all runners, whether we admit it or not – have a goal to always try to beat the previous time, or distance, or elevation gain.  That’s what drives us!

So for now, I will just keep stressing over what pace, whether I can maintain a pace from start to finish or plan on starting slow and picking it up, or whether I should just forget about pace and run.  The numbers are addictive to think about, and plan with.  I guess hopefully after my 20 this weekend I will have a better idea and feel a little more confident.

Hope everyone has a great long run this weekend!

It’s not about YOU!

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Hope everyone had a great Christmas and ate plenty of good food and enjoyed the company of great family and friends!  I certainly did and loved the time to reflect.

I read a blog post before Christmas that sparked the idea for this post and honestly I wanted to wait until after Christmas to put any time to it.  The post I read was one that I really believe was intended to be an attempt a comedy and garner “hits” on their blog stats.  At least one of those was accomplished since I have seen a flurry of responses as well as outright blasts against it.

The overall gist of the post was that no one cares that you are training for, ran, or dream of one day running a marathon – after-all running a marathon doesn’t make you Mother Teresa.  This wasn’t the first time I had read a blog post or Facebook update that reflected the same opinions.  It also wasn’t just the fact that someone posted a rant against running or marathons that sparked this rebuttal post but rather the biggest oversight in the post – IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU!

The original ANONYMOUS author makes an attempt a humor by a general attack against those that have a passion for running.  All of the comments and attempts at humor were very specifically targeted about runners.  It leaves no question that her post is about runners.  That’s where the delineation occurs.

Over the past year, I have met countless people across the world that have inspired me, encouraged me, and helped me believe that as long as my desires are greater than my fears, there is nothing I can’t accomplish.  Most of this has come from the use of social media, blogs, and communicating online with others that share the same passion for running and getting healthy.  I have met people that were just starting running all the way through people that were in their 80s and have a lifetime of running under their belt.  All because the communication process of social media.

So the question then becomes – “What if you are not interested in my posts about running, or my training, or my interest in running in general?”.  I can understand and honestly -  runners can be annoying when talking about running if you are not into it.  I think this is true for just about anyone that has a true passion for something.  I have met folks that could spend hours talking about cars, or hunting, or baseball – and quite honestly, I am not all that interested in it.  However – I also believe that if I am not interested – I can tune that out.  I in no way feel like they are talking about those things simply to express their superiority over me in regards to those subjects.

That’s what I find interesting about this specific blog post as well as the other comments I have seen in regards to runners.  The ANONYMOUS author leaves no question that she believes that runners post their runs, workouts, and races to make her feel like she is inferior.  I certainly can not speak for anyone but myself, but the reality is – IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HER OR ANYONE ELSE!  I blog, tweet, and use facebook to communicate my passion for running FOR ME.  I want to communicate with others that have the same passion, or a similar passion, or who are just curious as to what makes us all so crazy about this sport.  The fact is, if she believes that runners communicate using social media simply to express their superiority over her, isn’t that in and of itself pretty arrogant?  I mean, really … all of that activity just to focus on her….??

Over the past year I would not have been able to keep up the level of training, motivation, and commitment to my goals had I not connected with runners through the use of social media and in turn – in person.  So, I make no apologies for my use of social media to communicate with others with the same interests.  However if at some point anyone is annoyed with my posts, or feels like I am bragging – there is an easy way to fix that – block my posts on Facebook(or un-friend me), un-follow me on Twitter, and remove my blog from your subscriptions.  I don’t say that arrogantly – I just understand that what I have a passion for may not be your cup of tea – it’s an easy fix though.

On the flip side, I actually had an old friend from high school that sent me a message on Facebook to let me know that after following my journey to the Chicago Marathon he was inspired to get back into running.  That’s a great testament to the use of social media.  I am just the average “back of the pack runner” and despite that – someone else got back into running after keeping up with my updates – pretty cool!!

I am also not the type to really talk about running in person with people unless they specifically ask.(If you do, I can talk your ear off)  Actually, I even try to change the subject if running comes up just because the reactions are – “You are crazy… I don’t get why you would want to do that!”.  I have found the same thing true for most of the runners I have become friends with as well.

All in all, I have found just the opposite out of the running community.  I have never seen the support you get from other runners, in any other sport.  I mean, I have gotten words of encouragement and “Great Job”s from runners that are far faster and better than I am and never have they boasted or bragged to make me feel inferior.  That’s what makes the social running community different and more supportive than any other sport in my opinion.  Social media just spreads the coverage of that support.

The original author also goes on to say that you should avoid distance running and running marathons because they are bad for you and tacks on that she is “almost a doctor”.  Hmmm… seems like she may be trying to exhibit some level of superiority.  I constantly get the comment… running is bad for you.. it will ruin your knees.  Or – don’t you know that the first person to run a marathon died??  These always seem to come from people who not only are not runners but also not at all into any type of healthy lifestyle.  Her blog also links to a study to support her statement.  As a business owner – one of the things I have found over the years is that you can find a study to support ANY STATEMENT.  Don’t believe me??  How’s this for a nonsensical study -  Study Shows Beetles Die From Having Sex With Beer Bottles.  Furthermore – the link that the author refers to actually states that “Extreme exercising of more than 11 HOURS A DAY can lead to damage in SOME people that have a PREDISPOSITION to it – HOWEVER MORE RESEARCH IS NEEDED“.  So this goes back to – you should always check with your doctor before beginning any exercise routine.  My advice would be to check with a official doctor – and steer clear of the “ALMOST A DOCTORS”.

All in all – I really do believe the author was just trying to get people up in arms and generate traffic.  I even have a suspicion that the author may in fact, even be a runner herself(We will never know though since she prefers the anonymous route).  However, after looking through her posts about her dates, and what dresses she might wear… I am not that interested …and I think she may be trying to make me feel inferior about dresses … so I will not add her to my blog subscriptions… PROBLEM SOLVED.

Happy Running!!  Oh and if you need me… I am going to be busy running for the next 11 hours….