26.2 – Like nothing else . . .

Well, yesterday was D-Day . . . or M-Day, as it was.  Needless to say, it was no walk in the park.  The atmosphere was electric and the entire race day was quite an experience.  Out of the gate, I was smoking.  Iriquois Park had nothing on me, especially with the running Elvis’ running along and encouraging us!  My goal was to complete the marathon in 4 hours, and I felt good the first few miles and effortlessly caught up to the 3:50 pace group around mile 6 or 7.  I was just cruising for the next few miles until we got to mile 12 where the mini runners split from teh full marathon runners.  Talk about a lonely feeling.  It seemed like all the excitement and pageantry, and even the water stops, left with the mini runners.  Of 12,000 participants, only 1,500 or so were taking the right hand turn for the full marathon.  Still, I actually felt good.  Until about mile 16 or 17, where I started to get a very painful cramp in my right quad.  When I stopped at a water station to pull it up and stretch it, my right hamstring immediately locked up.  I straightened the leg ASAP and tried to hobble on and get back into a groove.  About that time David showed up for some encouragement, but the cramp was not receding.  Then about mile 18, it happened.  The sharp pains, all of a sudden, took my left leg as well and I went down.  That’s right, down to the ground!  Fortunately, we were in the park and I tucked and rolled into some grass.  I had a couple of people offer for help, but I just tried to pop up like nothing had happened.  Obviously, the first thing I looked for was to see who all saw me and the pop back up.  When I did get to my feet (legs still stiff as boards) I put my hands on my head to get my breath and try to walk it off.  Boom, my biceps started to cramp!  My thoughts were, “It’s going to get worse before it gets better, so you better get moving!”  I just thought if I could convince myself I wasn’t cramping that the pain would go away.  Unfortunately, such tricks are not always effective.  I was, however, able to keep plodding along for the most part, and after keeping an average split time of about 8:45 over the first 17 pre cramp miles, still finish the race in just over 4 hours and 6 minutes.  This race was probably the most physically and mentally demanding 4 hours I have ever experience and I could have done it, or done it as well without the support of my teammates and some special fan support at the entrance of the bridge.  I enjoyed how the course had us crossing other runners on the bridge because seeing my teammates on that bridge really helped push me on to finish strong, and finish strong I did.  I don’t know how fast I was really moving, but that last 100m or so, I felt like I had been shot out of a cannon!  This whole experience has been really remarkable and aside from the great selfish things that this team can take away like the feeling of accomplishment, better physical health (after we recover), comaraderie, etc), we are going to end up having raised probably $14,000+ for children at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.  Words cannot express the pride that I have for my 9 teammates.  Great job, everybody!

4/24/2008 – The final training run

Well, this morning is the final training run.  an easy 2 miles.  I am now 2 days from the big event and, honestly, I am getting pretty nervous.  All of this training has been tough, and 26.2 miles is a long way.  All the support that I have gathered along the way, through donations as well as words of encouragement, will take me far and it will an interesting test of self to see how I respond to the pain that is sure to come.  This has been quite an experience, and one that I will try to put completely into words after the event is complete (if I survive). 

4/5/2008 – 21 miles

Well, yesterday we went 21 miles.  If that sounds like that is a long way, that is because it is.  It was any absolutely exhausting experience that won’t be soon forgotten, and will be looked to for strength on race day.  We ran a 7 mile loop 3 times and had a nice mix of hills in it.  We kept a pretty moderate pace for the first 14 miles, and then (upon recommendation) sort of went our own way for the final 7.  For me, the final seven was very difficult.  I picked up my pace and wanted to finish strong, but found there wasn’t much left in the tank.  I pretty much slammed into a wall around mile 18, where I caught up to Mike.  We ended up staying together for the remainder of the run, finishing the last 7 miles in about an hour.  Had it not been for having Mike there with me, even though nothing was said, it would have been extremely easy to give up and walk for a bit.  But having him there fighting along side me motivated me to dig deep and keep going.  I am an extremely independent person, but yesterday more than ever, I was extremely thankful that I am a part of a team.  I am so proud of all of us that have come this far.  So far, this journey has allowed me to see parts of myself, as well as my teammates, that few other activities could have shown.  This experience is certainly creating a bond that won’t easily be broken.  Those who have not pushed themselves to pursue something of this magnitude (naysayers and fans alike), can never appreciate the struggles that it entails, or the boundaries that it pushes.  With that, I will leave you all with an excerpt from Teddy Roosevelt, one that UK president Lee Todd gave me when I was still playing football and encouraged me greatly, called “In the Arena”:

“It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat.”

Good job, guys.  3 more weeks.

3/22/2008 – 20 miles

20 miles is a long way.  A very long way.  All in all, today was a great success.  We went on a similar route as the 17, but without the snow this time, it seemed to go a little more smoothly.  20 miles in just over 3:30 was just what the doctor ordered.  I am of the mind that the perfect pace for these long runs should be 10:15-10:40 and we were a touch north of 10:30.  I felt surprisingly well after 12 miles or though, but had plenty of the “walls” today.  As I mature as a runner, it is easier to see the other side of the wall coming and not get discouraged as easily.  I hit another one of the “walls” around mile 17, and I am left to assume that that particular wall was longer that 3 miles because I never quite got past it.  It was tough, but we all kept plodding along.  In hindsight, I really appreciate the tough finish, because I feel that these tough finishes to our training, only galvanizes us, more mentally than physically,  and prepares us for our goal of finishing the marathon.  This thing is getting more real every day that we get closer to race day. Just have to keep plugging along, bring my lunchpail and hardhat and keep working.  Time for me to step up my fundraising campaign as well.  GREAT job, team.  We are almost there.

3/15/2007 – Race 2

Last saturday, we headed back to Louisville for another race prep, the Rodes 10k.  The temperature was a little chilly, but the conditions were good overall and we were all anxious to take another crack at some real race action.  The course seemed fairly easy, lacking the many hills that we have encountered during our training back here in Lexington.  There was a bit of controversy, though.  My mom and two sisters were signed up to compete in the race, but didn’t make the trip because of the possibility of rain, so I picked up their packets to get their t-shirts.  Unfortunately, when I got back to the car,  I realized I had their chip timers as well, and if you don’t turn them back in, you get hit with a $30 fine.  Well, I decided to just strap them all on, not thinking another thing about it until the race was over.  I went out with the goal of running the race in 50 minutes, a nice 8 minute pace, but when the cannon went off, all plans went out the window.  I felt good so I kept a pretty brisk pace and was happy that I had enough gas in the tank to finish strong with final time of 45:01.  At that point, I realized I may have made a mistake with the chip timers.  When the results were posted, it showed my mom winning her age division and my sisters finishing very high in theirs as well.  I had my mom call in and I called myself and left a message with the race officials to let them know what had happen.  Hopefully there are no hard feelings.  For whatever reason, my sister Jackie’s chip was the only accurate time posted and mine didn’t post at all.  Oh well.  Two weeks and we have the 10 miler, but a 20 mile training run this weekend.  That is a lot of miles . . .

3/12/2008 – 12 at Riley

Long time, no blog.  To briefly catch you up with what has been going on, last week was a tough week because travel at work forced me to spend a night in the Atlanta airport, getting only about an hour and a half of sleep, which made the rest of the week tough.  That included the 17 mile quest in the snow on saturday.  Oh well, we survived. 

Today was a challenge in itself.  I had to go 12 miles, by myself here at Ft. Riley in Kansas.  We finished our meeting a little early so I got to run in some nice 70 degree weather.  However, I failed to bring any shorts, so I was stuck running in long pants.  Needless to say, I got warm.  Also, it isn’t as flat as I thought Kansas would be, but it is twice as windy!  All in all it was a good run.  I mapped out a 2 mile loop and ran it 6 times.  It didn’t get monotonous, in fact I liked seeing the same things so I could gauge my pace.  I am pretty tired and my right knee is a bit sore, but I have discovered that this training is a lot like a football season in the SEC:  nobody is ever 100%.  Anyway, hopefully it won’t be another week and a half before we talk.

Later.

3/1/2008 – Race 1

Well, the first real race of my career is in the book and I would say it was a success.  I really feel like the experience is going to pay off down the road.  I had no idea how much human traffic there would be in a race like this.  There were almost 7000 finishers in the race and we were all crammed together like cattle at the beginning.  As soon as the horn went off to start the race everyone crowded up even more.  It took a little over a minute to even get to the starting line!  On to the race . . .  The first mile was slower than I would have liked to run because I spent the entire time trying to weave in a and out of the crowd.  After the first mile (in just over 8 minutes), I moved over to the sidewalk where I could pretty much determine my own pace, be it faster or slower than the crowd.  I ran the race pretty hard and was pretty spent afterwards, but the feeling of finishing my first race and finishing hard was great.  My final time was 21:56 and you can click here to see all of my stats from the Anthem 5k.  The 10k in a couple of weeks should provide better preparation for the marathon as with more distance, comes more importance on pace regulation.  Anyway, time to turn my mind to this week’s training and 17 miles coming up Saturday!

2/28/2008 – 10 miles is 10 miles

Well, I had mixed feelings going into the run tonight.  I was excited about the challenge on tackling a large distance alone, but worried about previous difficulties I have had with tough training after a long day sitting in a cube.  Naturally, I came out way to fast and I felt like I was laboring for a majority of the run.  I wasn’t out of breath, I just felt like I was pushing and going nowhere.  Runs like these make me appreciate the pace regulation that comes with being part of a team and makes be glad on race day that they will have pace leaders that can get you to your goal time by keeping an even pace.  Anyway, I am glad the mileage is now in the books and that I will live to fight another day.  I am looking forward to getting acquainted with a race situation on Saturday as a few of us will travel to Louisville to compete in the Anthem 5k.  I will let you know how that goes. 

Later.

2/25/2008 – The foot is not broken

After some rather intense pain last week in my right foot, I responded with two things: 1) get a new pair of shoes and 2)go to the doctor.  I made an appointment with Dr. Jagger at UK, a guy I got to know from my playing days.  He took some x-rays and did some poking around and concluded that I had some “impressive inflamation” of a tendon in my foot.  Well, this was good news to me!  I had feared that this pain may result in a stress fracture that could possibly end my training.  While I wouldn’t mind a day or two off, that would be devastating.  So doc said to eat a bunch of ibuprofen and hit the foot with some ice and maybe get a little cross training on a bike to give the tendon a breather now and then.  All in all, a very positive visit.  Oh yeah, I ran 4 before the visit that were pretty uneventful.  A little later today, I was able to attend a very inspiring ceremony, watching one of my best friends Dallas Greer graduate from the KY State Police Academy.  I have no doubt the state will be a better place with Trooper Greer on the roads keeping us safe. 

Talk at you later.

2/23/2008 – 15 on a gimp foot

Well, today the team tackled 15.  I would be lying if I said that it wasn’t challenging, but I lived to tell about it.  The time through the first hour of these long runs keeps passing quicker and quicker, which is certainly encouraging.  Also, after a good team meeting, we were all on the same page as far as pace was concerned and we weren’t trying to crush any world records.  This week, I had to miss my first workout due to some significant pain in my right foot that felt like it could possibly be a stress fracture.  I dropped some serious coin at Johns Run/Walk shop on some new kicks and ran in them today and found that the part of my foot that had been bothering, wasn’t too bad, however, I did have some aggrevating pain in that right arch. Hopefully, that is just me getting used to the new shoes.  Well, I feel alright now.  The arch is still a little tender and my right knee is acting a little funny, but I suppose the true guage of this workout is how I come out of it tomorrow after a good nights sleep.  Anyway, good job, team and good luck to David and Greg Bat-magen tomorrow.

7 weeks down, 9 to go!