I finished!

I was right it was COLD!!! I ran with the outfit had had planned on wearing plus a knitted green and white hat with a Michigan State "S" on it that my lovely grandmother made for me while I was in college roughly 20 years ago. I planned on tossing it aside (sorry Grandma) when I warmed up after a few miles, I finished the race in that hat and even used it as a bag to tote post race edible goodies they give you after the finish line.

I was true to my word and finished even though it would have been very easy to walk off the course at mile 18 when every thing was going wrong: I had just let the 3:10 pace group go and was moving to a slower pace much earlier than expected if I wanted Boston then within a minute incredible pain hit my thighs. It felt as though I hadn't trained at all, I expected my legs to hurt but nothing like this and I still had 8.2 miles to go! I am still trying to figure out what happened and why it was so sudden. I am pretty sure I tried to go too fast and when I bonked the cold weather then played a major factor in accelerating the pain and tightness in my legs. Even though I was holding a great pace early I never got into a real comfort zone.

To make matters worse I missed my cheering section completely and they missed me. They were took photos of 2 of the 3 3:10 pacers and I was right with the third. They were at mile 14, if we had seen each other they could have gone 2 block over and saw me again around mile 16 where they were absolutely no fans (the only stretch of the course without fans). I could have used the encouragement the would have given me at mile 16.

In the end I did what I set out to do - Finish! And I have a big honkin' medal to prove it.

It's gonna be cold!

I have been watching the weather closely and the temperature will take a hard downward tonight, and it isn't exactly balmy now! I just went outside, it is 45 and windy but tonight it may dip down into the 20's. Yesterday they said low of 29 today I saw 31 predicted. Racetime is set for 7:30 so it will likely still be below freezing. It will be cold no doubt but I am more concerned with the wind. If there is little or no wind the temperature won't be an issue. I am just glad the rain has stopped and there is none in the forecast. Cold is one thing but cold, windy, and rainy makes for a miserable day.

I am glad I went for a short little jog this morning to remind myself what it is like running in this type of weather. It has been a long time since we've had this I forgot what it was like to run in it - it's great! For the runners anyway, for the volunteers and spectators not as much. With the cold weather I should have a great chance at qualifying for Boston.

The mass choas that is final preparation for a marathon

Well, I leave tomorrow morning for Chicago. I haven't run all week, I don't think it is the best idea for marathon prep but life got in the way and my thinking was the rest will do more good than any slow jogging now. My body is tired and really needs the rest, I had better get some good sleep the next 2 nights because I can never sleep the night before a marathon.

Also on the not a good idea list is wearing shoes for the first time in a marathon. Well, not exactly the first time but they haven't been out for a run yet. I meant to last weekend but it was wet and didn't want to get them dirty then I planned on running a few nights this week but that didn't pan out. I did wear them around the house and around work for several hours at a time to try to stretch them out a little. I have never had foot or shoe problems before so let's hope that continues. I will bring 2 other pair just in case.

shoes - check
socks - check
shorts - check
underwear - check
shirt - check
warm sweatpants and sweatshirt for start and gloves - check, check and check.
band aids- check
Vaseline - check
stamina for 26.2 miles - we'll find out!

Quote of the day: "What are you legs? Steel springs. What are they going to do? Hurl me dow the track. How fast can you run? Fast as a leopard. How fast are you going to run? fast as a leopard. Now let's see you do it!" - Gallipoli

Look out for Papa Smurf!

This is my get-up for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Look for blue on October 11th!

I called this my "blue man" outfit and while I was still contemplating wearing it for the race I wore it to one long run. I expected to hear all sorts of blue man group jokes and the first one to see me says, "Hey, papa smurf." I hadn't even thought of that, 20 years ago, probably; but this came well, out of the blue. I about fell over laughing.

I should have shaved but oh well, I probably won't before the race either so at least you know what to look for. The lighting caught the reflective strips causing me to "Shine." Sorry for the stupid grin on the bottom one, I thought it had already taken the picture.

Had a great time watching the mighty Spartans from Michigan State defeat the former evil empire, now the evil fallen empire; Michigan State 26 Michigan 20. But is always nice to keep your in-state rival in their place.

Besides that it was a pretty crappy weekend, most of the week actually. It was rainy and 50's all week here. Three or four times I walked the dogs in the rain, never fun when you have 3 of them. Drying them off afterward is the worst part, 12 paws to clean and 3 underbellies to get; and if it is raining hard, their backs. Today we had a recovery day. Robyn still had a fever at noon and the kids were just getting over something and I didn't feel well all last week. So none of us left the house, besides me to walk the dogs.

Since this is race week and I won't be blogging to much longer I just want to say I am honored to be asked to do this and humbled by all the support; from those suffering with dystonia, have a loved one suffering, and especially those simply supporting our efforts who could easily turn their back on us but choose not to. I have talked a lot about qualifying for Boston and that is my goal. If I run a perfect race and the conditions are right it may happen but I want you to know I will finish this race for you no matter what happens. I will not let you down, I will finish this race if I have to crawl the entire way and it takes me 24 hours.

Quote of the day: When the world says, "Give up,"Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."~Author Unknown

Am I ready?

That is the question the next 10 days. I am trying to eat right, get enough rest, and drink lots of water, that's all I can do now. There is no training I can do now to get me ready, only finish the training program I am on and pray for the best.

I ran a terrible long run Sunday and was OK Tuesday for the tempo run, but ran an easy five last night and did the last mile I ran faster than I have in months. I was blowing by walkers, bikers and even a few cars, OK that may be slightly exaggerated. That was the speed I wanted to see in the 5K on Saturday!

I was immediately reminded of something I read somewhere, "Don't have your best runs be your training runs around your neighborhood." I probably shouldn't have gone ahead and done the sprint at the end but it was the first time I had wanted to in a long time. For nothing else that is one positive I can take from it. Running has become more laborious than fun the last month or so and I needed to get that fun back.

Quote of the day: "People rarely unless they have fun at what they are doing." - Dale Carnegie

My wife and I in a race together

Robyn and I in post race bliss
The entire family

You can't quite make out the card but it says in honor of Val Elliott (Robyn's mother), Anne Geenen (my aunt), and Lindy Verbeek (member of our church)

It was an overcast day with rain the night before and just felt like an all day rain was coming, luckily it held off and the 6300 participants were able to run or walk without umbrellas. This was not the usual race full of hardcore runners. I was in the timed 5K and my wife was in the 5K walk.

I finished in 19:20 and my wife finished her walk in less than 35 minutes. Funny thing, when I checked my time on the posted sheet it listed me as 2nd for my age group but later when I went to get my medal they had me listed as #1. Not sure if it was a mistake or #1 got disqualified for something. Anyway I got a first place medal for my efforts, it didn't have a finishing place on it and I think second place was the same medal with a red ribbon instead of blue.

Robyn is napping now. She was feeling sore, her neck and shoulder hurt quite a bit. She is resting up for our date tonight. We are quite excited about it since it happens about once every other year. Although this is the second time this year, it's getting easier as the kids get older.

I have to mow the lawn and I should run 10 miles but that will have to wait until tomorrow due to time constraints, can't b late for my hot date tonight!

Quote of the day: You are not you circumstances. You are your possibilities." Oprah Winfrey

My theory on stretching

You will probably never talk to another runner who will openly say this but I hate stretching! And not jut doing it, I hate the entire idea of it. There are more stretching injuries than running, or insert your sport here, injuries. If you are going to exercise do it and don't spend 15 minutes stretching.

Science has proven very inclusive evidence on stretching but most summarize the same way - "it is a good idea but we can't show any evidence of any benefit from stretching." I will agree if done properly it isn't harmful just a waste of time.

You know what the best form of stretching is - exercise. Have you ever seen a 6 year old with a pulled hamstring? Kids run around all day and countless times a day go from standing still to a dead sprint. If your average adult over 40 did that they would likely pull a muscle but the kids do it everyday so there muscles are used to it.

My suggestion for your average inactive adult who wants to get active would be to start slowly an expect the muscles to be sore when you are done. It is these type of people who injure themselves stretching, they needlessly stretch the muscle far more than it will be stretched in whatever activity they will be doing and POP!

My training is going the same, 2 good runs followed by a very poor long run. I ran a solid 13 miles Tuesday and then did 10 more on a hilly course south of Zeeland. Especially the Thursday run felt great, but then again Saturday morning I tried to run 20, I was winded but not too bad after 15 but it was hotter than I expected and I should have drank more water and eaten more. I badly wanted to prove to myself that I could push through the pain and finish the 20 miles but I physically couldn't do it and ended up actually vomiting profusely after about 17 and a half. That is called hitting the wall. My stomach started to hurt a mile earlier but I thought it would go away sooner or later and sure enough after I puked it did! I recovered quite nicely actually, 2 hours later I felt fine, all things considered.

Quote of the Day: "My grandfather once told me that there are two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition." Indira Gandhi