Salt Lake City & the Half Marathon

The majority of my entries this year have been related to either my injury or my plan to run the Salt Lake City Marathon/Half-Marathon. It really is sad that even after all of that I have allowed over a month to pass since the event to record the experience. The fact that NO ONE has been clamoring for my write-up speaks to how little the smattering of readers I have even care. Well, I guess you have to put up with a report anyway.

After repeated attempts to train for the full marathon, each ending in IT BAND issues, I finally accepted reality and registered for the Half-Marathon. I guess it speaks well of my fitness and training to be able to just default to a 13.1 mile race without much concern. There was a time not so long ago when completing that 5k presented a significant challenge.

I arrived in Salt Lake on Thursday evening and was picked up by my sister Coleen. Even though I moved away when I was 14, Salt Lake will always feel a bit like home to me. After dinner at my sister Diana’s house we went up to my grandparent’s old house that Coleen now lives in. Perhaps no structure in Salt Lake holds more memories for me other than my childhood home. Despite the small rooms, even smaller closets, head trauma waiting to happen staircases, and general design for no one taller than 5’6", I love spending time in that house.

On Friday we had a relaxing day around the house. Then I went for a short run. That is when the panic set in. About a quarter mile into a 2.5 mile run my knee burned like it had at the peak of my troubles. I was so angry and upset and pushed through the pain (which I knew I shouldn’t do). I finished my run in severe pain but never let on to Coleen. I debated withdrawing from the race for fear of risking more damage. I don’t know what was different on that run, but it was perhaps the most humbling 2.5 miles I have ever run. Ultimately I decided that I had come to far to back out now so I stretched really well and hoped that I was just stiff from the flight and time change… (Yeah, that’s it, knee pain is attributable to jet lag! A desperate man will believe anything.)

Next Coleen took me to drive the route I would be running. This was the first time I have done this and it was really quite helpful the next day to know what was yet to come. From the endpoint we went to the Salt Palace to pick up my bib and race packet. The neatest part of that experience came in the form of an announcement over the PA system. They announced that a David Warden would be giving a presentation about Triathlon Training on one side of the conference center. I turned to Coleen and asked if they were referring to "our David Warden". She said that they might be as she thought he was a tri-athlete. We wandered over to the presentation area and there sat my 1st Cousin once removed, David Warden. We had played quite a bit as children before we moved away from Salt Lake but I’m not sure if I had seen him since! It was so cool to catch up with him.

After finishing up at the Salt Palace we went to Trolley Square. We had made a reservation at the Spaghetti Factory where all my Salt Lake family would help me carb load for my race. It was so nice to sit down to dinner with all 4 of my Salt Lake siblings and various members of their families. The trip to Salt Lake would have been worth it just for that. My mistake that night however played into the next day’s story. Looking over the menu, they didn’t have just plain spaghetti with marinara sauce at all. The closest I could find was the "Mt Vesuvius," which was close, but included Tobasco in the sauce… mistake! If anyone ever considers any menu item with the word Tobasco in the description the night before running any distance beyond the 20 feet from the TV to the toilet, STOP THEM! Other than that, the food and company were fantastic.

Due to the afore mentioned menu item, I visited the restroom 4 times between that night and the next morning. I was convinced that there was nothing left in my system to worry about, as there couldn’t possibly be anything left in my colon following the cleansing it had! (more on this assumption to come at a later time…)
Race morning I got up and went through my typical routine. I was dressed, showered, and ready to go well before race time. I ate some toast with peanut butter and proceeded to consume most of my sister’s grapefruit juice as I had drank most of her orange juice the day before. Only then did I wake her up and ask her to drive me the few short miles from her house to the start line. As we approached the start line we came to an intersection where the cops were stopping cars from getting any closer. I reacted quickly, handed my bag to my sister while asking her to bring it to the finish line, and then I bailed out of the car so she wouldn’t have to deal with the hassle of finding some place to park. Only after she drove off did it hit me that I had forgotten to call my wife as planned. My phone was in my finish line bag, pulling away. It was the first "hitch" to the day.

The temperature was perfect, cool but not cold. I had on some gloves and a hat along with my standard running gear and that was more than enough to keep me warm. At the start area I realized that Vesuvius was not done erupting and found my way through the port-a-potty line again. I jogged a bit to warm up but didn’t want to press my luck with my knee too much before the actual race. I lined up a bit further back in the pack than I should of, partly due to lack of faith in my knee, partly due to lack of faith in my ability to run at altitude, and partly due to my general lack of faith in my preparation and training. The other thing that I found a bit amusing was the start line entertainment. It was a Baptist Choir singing gospel music. Not exactly the "pump you up" race music you would expect, and oddly out of place in this bastion of the Mormondom.

When the race finally started it took me almost 2 minutes to cross the start-line and initiate the timing chip strapped to my foot. The first mile was quite frustrating weaving through very slow runners and groups of 8-10 people that present very imposing obstacles when they move en mass. Although I was moving at what I though was a quick pace my watched beeped at the 9 minute mark and I had not yet seen the 1st mile marker. I hit the lap button, convinced that I had just missed the marker.

The field continued to thin and it became much easier to find my way through the crowd but I was still passing a lot of people through that second mile. When I reached the second mile mark and my watch was still on 6:53, my suspicions were confirmed about the first mile. So including the crowd weaving I was on an 8 minute pace early on.

The third mile is where I developed a side stitch. This is not common for me at all and I think this was the first sign of running at altitude. I consciously increased the rate of my breathing to try and compensate for the lower levels of oxygen (I have no idea if this is the suggested approach to such a situation). That seemed to work as the stitch relented and didn’t come back the rest of the way. Mile 3 took me 7:32.

Mile 4, in 7:42, is where it hit me that I hadn’t even thought about my knee, let alone felt any pain from it whatsoever. It is almost just as frustrating to not have issues because it highlights the unexplained times when it blows up on me.
I had settled into a good rhythm and those middle miles went by in a blur, or should I say without incident.

Mile 5, 8:08
Mile 6, 8:14
Mile 7, 7:52

Somewhere in mile 8 the red pepper sauce from coastal Louisiana decided that it wasn’t done and I felt the growing need to find a port-a-potty once again. I went quite a ways trying to convince myself that I could hold it or perhaps that it was just gas and I could let it out and be done but eventually rightly concluded that the next available outhouse would need to be occupied. Mile 8, 8:18.

As I was passing the 9 mile mark, 8:27, in Liberty Park I was in near panic, looking for the park lavatories, debating asking a local home owner, anything short of ruining a good pair of running shorts. Then I saw the row of plastic green sheds up ahead that had never appeared as such a godsend to me before. I jumped in and stopped my watch (I didn’t want to count non-running time!). The pit stop took me almost exactly 2 minutes and was far more enjoyable than any "No 2" should be. As I took off running again my knee twinged for the first time all day and I nearly panicked but within a few hundred feet the pain went away, never to return the rest of the run.

Mile 10, which included a little of the in and out of the potty was run in 8:55. Miles 10 and 11 went by with a new lightness afoot but still were slower due to the stage in the race I was at. Mile 11 took 8:46. Although I was slowing, I was still quite happy with my overall time considering all of the obstacles I was facing coming into the race. I had set what I thought was a realistic goal of 2 hours, roughly 9-minute miles, given those obstacles, so my splits up to this point had all been gravy. Then I hit the biggest obstacle the course had to offer, State Street climbing up to South Temple. Most of the course is downhill, something like 400 feet net from start to finish, but mile 12 is a straight shot that gets steeper and steeper as you go. The capital building and the stupid arching bird monument over State Street at South Temple are deceptively far away and taunt you the entire climb. Mile 12 was my only split slower than 9 minutes (other than my miss timed 1st mile) and that beast of a hill nearly broke me, 9:32. It was the one of the few places where I noted several people passing me and perhaps the most apparent example of my lack of altitude training.

The run down South Temple to the old train station was relaxing in comparison. I ran Mile 13 in 8:34. The turn into the shopping center that was the finish line was really cool. The last .1 miles (39 seconds) was through a relatively narrow outdoor mall that crowded the family and friends right on top of you. I saw Coleen with her two boys and heard her screaming my name. Only later did I see how poor of a videographer she was. ;) Diana and Adam were down the chute a bit further, near the finish line. It was so cool to have them take time out of their day to cheer me on.

So, the final results:

Gun Time (from when the gun starts the race until I finished): 1:52:48
Chip Time (subtracts the time to cross the start line - what the organizers use to assign placements outside of the "winners"): 1:50:53
Watch Time (did not include the potty break): 1:48:49

Placement:

802nd out of 4139 Half Marathoners
545th out of 1588 males
79th out of 248 35-39 year old males

Overall, I was ecstatic with the finish. It could always be better, but halfway between my fastest (1:40:35) and my slowest (1:59:05) Half Marathon times was a perfect compromise given the challenges of injury, elevation, and digestion that I faced.

That evening we went swimming at Cottonwood Spa where I really learned how to swim as a kid. I went by my childhood house that has changed SO MUCH since my childhood. On Sunday we went to Church in my Grandparents old ward house. That may be the first time I have been in that building for anything other than a funeral. Then Coleen hosted a big dinner with the whole family coming over. It was a great get together that could have only been improved with the addition of my wife, parents, and other missing siblings. It is times like that that make me miss not living closer to the bulk of my family.

I flew home Monday morning, having failed to make time to visit a college friend that I had hoped to stop by and see but for the most part I had accomplished what I had set out to do that weekend. In the end the trip was less about the run and more about my sister and my family for many reasons but I was glad that the run had given me a reason to be in Salt Lake at that particular window of time. Hopefully, at some future date, I can return to the valley and conquer the full 26.2 miles I had intended to run.

Let's Try This Again

This morning at my Physical Therapist I was officially cleared to start running again. He says to do 3 miles Thursday and Saturday, 5 miles on Monday and Tuesday, maintain the stretching and hip exercises I have been doing and he will make the call next Wednesday whether or not to clear me to continue.

I have ridden the roller coaster of rest/run several times this winter with the same results. This time I took the extra step of working with the PT and doing daily stretches and exercises focused on getting my IT Band back in good order. Today, during my appointment, I ran over a mile on their treadmill and felt no pain or discomfort at all. I felt better than any run I've done since November.

I am trying not to get to hopeful and count my chickens here, but I really do feel the difference in my hips and core strength. I am really looking forward to Salt Lake in 2.5 weeks. But more than anything, I am looking forward to a return to normalcy with my knee and not having to stress about it each time I lace up my shoes!

Keep your fingers crossed.

The Half Nelson It Is Then

Sorry. I don’t know why I feel the need to apologize. It is not like I didn’t give it a try. I gave it probably more of a try than I should have considering the injury and pain I have been dealing with. I guess I feel like I am letting some people down (including, and perhaps primarily, myself) and any time I think I may be disappointing someone, I feel the need to say sorry. The mind was willing but the body was not…

If you didn’t guess from that first paragraph or from the blog title, (either you haven’t been following my blog or you are really slow today) I’ve failed in my plan to prepare for and run the Salt Lake City Marathon on April 18th. During Saturday’s scheduled 14 mile run from my PLAN, I had to cut it short due to severe knee pain around mile 6. I slowed to an 11:30 pace and "crawled" home completing only 10 miles. Although some would be happy with that pace, and I would have loved to have run that pace at the end of last year’s marathon, the pain would have slowed me even further had I pushed out to 14 (let alone 26.2) miles.

So, as I stated in my last post, if I couldn’t follow that plan there really is no way I could properly prepare for a full marathon in just over a month from now. And considering the shape my knees are in, it would probably do more harm than good anyway.

So what does this mean? Today I officially signed up for the Half Marathon. I still won’t be gunning for my 1:40:18 PR at that distance but I am cautiously optimistic (not that my optimism has helped me of late…) that my knees will hold together for at least a 2 hour goal. I am still VERY EXCITED to visit my family and run in this event.

I also finally scheduled my visit to the Physical Therapist. After my doctor visit (and the drugs they gave me) the pain really went away. That, combined with a hectic work schedule, kept me from going to the PT that the doctor had referred me to. Well, this last Saturday was the last straw. My knees are recovering much more quickly following my runs now but I want to learn what I need to do to stop the in-run pain.

One last affirmation… Salt Lake City has not defeated me, my knees did. In the words of MacArthur "I shall return!" or Mr Schwarzenegger if you prefer "I’ll be back!" I hereby promise to run the full marathon in Salt Lake City someday.

Atlanta Half Marathon - Earned My Turkey!

I ran my first Marathon on November 8th and didn't think I would recover fast enough to run the half 2.5 weeks later. I ran this race last year but I haven't run the distance since then as I prepared for my first marathon. A friend suggested that I approach the Thanksgiving day run just as a fun run for the experience and tradition. So I signed up.

The next morning I called Fleet Feet and begged them to let me ride their bus to and from the race despite the sign-up window closing a week earlier. Their generocity shined upon me and I was told that if I came in that day they would let me ride... so I did. I was told I was "absolutely the last person" they would let sign up. Maybe the several hundred dollars I've spent there this year swayed them... The nice thing about the bus is that you don't have to worry about dragging your family out of bed or riding the train. The bus is allowed inside the closed road portion of the start area, less than a block from my start corral. The bus was heated with a toilet onboard so we could stay warm right up until 15 minutes before the start of the race. It really is worth the $30 bucks they charge. They even throw in a T-shirt, a pair of throw away gloves, a separate baggage claim, a finishers tent with better food, drinks, and even beer for those who want it. I don't think I would run this race without that option. It is nice to be spoiled every so often.

Oh yeah, I ran a race too... This whole "fun run" thing just doesn't compute in my head. I had only run 15 miles since my marathon, none of which were at a pace faster than 9 min/mile. I programmed the pace alarm on my watch for 8 minute pace the first 5 miles, 7:45 pace the next two downhill miles, 8:15 pace for miles 7-12, and gave myself 9 minutes for the last 1.1 miles. That would give me a finishing time of 1:45:45, slightly slower than the first half of my marathon but conservative considering my recovery and lack of proper taper and all that. If you remember, I ran the first half of my marathon in 1:44:12 (7:57 pace) and I think that led to my struggles at mile 23 (my goal pace that day was closer to 8:40).

The weather was almost perfect, perhaps a little cold but nothing too bitter cold and definately better than the downpour during the first mile last year. Since the Weather Channel was sponsoring the event perhaps they had something to do with the nice weather. ;)

Something new this year was corrals for the runners. During registration they asked for your estimated finish time (I said 1:50) and assigned you to 1 of 5 corrals. I was in the second corral, perhaps a little further back than I should have been. But its always a good feeling to start a race passing a lot of people.

The first several miles I was feeling really good and my splits were showing it: 7:35, 7:24, 7:39, 7:31, 7:40. I think 5 miles in I knew my 1:44:12 was going to be broken, but it was a matter by how much. I then hit the downhill 2-mile portion: 7:21, 7:08. At the bottom of the hill was an aid station and Jelly Belly sports beans. I love those things but unfortunately, at 35 degrees, they are more jawbreaker than jelly bean.

The next mile is a HILL. It is the same hill that is run as part of the 4th of July Peachtree Road Race. It is lovingly called Cardiac Hill due to the hospital conveniently located near the crest. It slowed me down a bit: 8:08. From there though the course proceeds through a series of flat to rolling but with more up than down: 7:36, 7:55, 8:06, 8:04.

I had begun to contemplate the possibility of a sub 1:40:00 run somewhere around mile 10 but I had forgotten how rough some of those late hills could be and with miles 11 and 12 over 8 minutes that possibility slipped away. Surprisingly I was feeling really good. My breathing was much faster than it had ever gotten during my marathon but nothing ached, not my knee, hips or calfs.

At the 12 mile marker I did the math and realized that it would take a 7:50 final 1.1 to go under 1:40 and although that was unprobable, that didn't stop me from trying. Of course that short steap hill from 12.25 through 12.5 had something to say about that... I continued to push but my lungs started burning but then I caught sight of the Olympic Rings that marked the finish line of the 1996 Olympic Marathon. It is amazing how that sight lifts the runners spirits.

I kicked to a sprint and enjoyed the refreshing and empowering feeling of passing others in that final stretch. But alas, I was not fast enough to go sub 1:40:00 but still far better than I had expected at the start of the day. My final split for 1.1 miles was 8:24. I had a chip time of 1:40:35 (7:41/mile pace).

There were 11500 registrants but only 8695 ran with a chip that makes them part of the official results. Here are my official results:

- Overall Place = 702/8695
- 35-39 Males = 94/708
- All Males = 575/4433
- Clock Time = 1:42:04
- Chip Time = 1:40:35

For perspective, last year this race was my first (and only) Half-Marathon with a time of 1:59:05. From summer 2006 until that race in 2007 I lost 55 lbs. In 2008 I only lost 15 lbs... but I would say that this is the year that I moved from jogger, to runner.

A runner with the ID of Boo*Boo on the Runner's World discussion boards had encouraged me earlier in the week with her story of her best race ever when she ran a 15k race few weeks after a full marathon. Those words of encouragement helped me to believe in myself when I started out fast. I too had the "best race of my life"... so far.

Gluttony on Thankgiving Day

Perhaps it was temporary insanity, maybe just a love of running, perhaps I just didn't want to let a nascent tradition die. But whatever it was, I think it is easy to determine that I am a glutton for punishment. Let me explain.

When I signed up for my marathon I decided to run the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon because it was a much flatter course than the Atlanta Marathon held on Thanksgiving Day. If you remember, I ran the Half-Marathon last year. During my training I often contemplated if I should just go ahead and run the Half again this year but figured I wouldn't have the desire so soon after my marathon. I figured wrong. Almost as soon as I finished two weeks ago I contemplated that it is not too late to run again on Thanksgiving. At the time I thought I would be out of town or have other Holiday plans but as the date approached, those plans fell through for various reasons. Then came Sunday...

While at church I was talking to a runner that I ran the first mile with last year and asked her if she was running again this year. She said that she was and asked me if I was. I mumbled some excuse about having just run my marathon and something about doubting I could best the time I clocked for the first half of that run... She then answered, "You can't expect that, run it for the fun, you know you can do it, it's a short training run compared to what you were doing for your marathon."

At that, I realized she was right. I was running 16-20 miles each Saturday for two months, all at a pace faster than I ran my Half Marathon last year! Although I ran the first half of my Marathon in 1:44:12, my official PR for the Half is still at 1:59:05 because that is the only race at that distance I have run.

So I did it. That night I went online and signed up for the Half Mary on Thanksgiving Day. Yesterday I arranged for a bus ride to and from the race with my local running store. Despite the fact that they had "closed" the sign-up window a week ago, they made one, and only one exception, for me. Why? I don't know, but I was explicitly told that I was officially the last registrant. A sign?

The only running I have done since my Marathon is a grand total of 3 runs for just over 13.7 miles... less than a mile more than I will be running on Thursday. With the lack of running, the celebratory food I consumed after my marathon, and the sheer amount of leftover Halloween candy I have consumed since then it is no wonder I am up 2-3 lbs since my marathon, but still in the 188 range. I will not even think about gunning for that 1:44:12, don't worry. It is about the fun and joy of running and continuing a tradition I started last year. It is about earning my Turkey. It is about being a glutton for punishment.

So my questions for you...

1. Am I crazy for even trying this so soon after my marathon?
2. What is your guess on my finishing time (assume I do finish...)?
3. Is this any less insane than playing football with a bunch of teenagers from church that morning?

100 Days to Chickamauga

I just did the math and discovered that today marks exactly 100 days until my Marathon. That made me ponder the state of my preparation. Where am I meeting my goals and where am I still lacking? Besides running a marathon, many of you may not know what my goals in relation to it are. For the sake of accountability, I will share my Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) with you. (Yes, I am a geek engineer, with a MBA to make matters worse...)

1. Miles per Week: 35 – Many of the books I have read on the subject have indicated that this is the minimal level of training required to run a "successful" marathon. To date my highest mileage week has been 34.5 miles. As my long runs get longer I should reach this goal. I may have to start adding a second run a couple days a week or come to grips with the concept of rising EVEN EARLIER to get more than 3.5-5 miles in each morning. Especially after school starts and I will be pinched for time in the morning.
   
2. Weight: 183 – This was established as my goal long ago based on the significance of that being the weight at which my body mass index (BMI) would fall below 25. I would then no longer be classified as overweight, which is where I am now with a BMI just over 26, or obese, which is where I started with a BMI over 37. My 15-day moving average weight is currently 196.0. After my half marathon last fall I weighed 199 but then "took a break" over the holidays and drifted back up into the 202-203 range. Putting in the miles I am, this one is harder than it sounds as the hard training makes me HUNGRY, but I am still hopeful as that really only works out to 1 lb per week going forward. Problem is, I have been in the 196-198 window for about 3 months now…
   
3. Run Sub-4 hour Marathon – This one is a little hard to measure without running the full distance. If you do the math, 4 hours to run 26.2 miles works out to just over 9 minutes and 9 second per mile. I ran my half marathon at 9:05 pace to come in under 2 hours but somehow I know I couldn’t have kept that pace for the next 13.1 miles… back then. Since then, my 10k times have improved from 53 minutes to 48 minutes. Plug a 48 minute 10k into various prediction calculators that account for slowing over the course of the longer distance and they predict I should run somewhere in the 3hr45min range for a Marathon. The other observation I made looking at my running data since March though, is that my average pace is SLOWING each month. Starting in March my average pace per mile has gone 8:43, 8:45, 8:45, 8:52, and 8:53. Although this was a bit of a surprise to me at first, there are some explanations. Since March my monthly mileage has tripled from 42 to 132 increasing the wear and tear on this poor body. Since March the morning temperatures have doubled from a refreshing and dry 35 to a hot and steamy 70+ (some scientists say to expect add 30 seconds for each 5 degrees over 60). Lastly, since March more of my miles are now coming from my Saturday long runs which are generally run at a slower pace ~9:00/mile. I’m not in panic mode on this one yet.
   
4. Run 6 days a week – This one is based on knowing that the key to my success is consistency. I always take a rest day on Sunday for the Sabbath of course but it also works well that my long runs are on Saturday. I’m not saying I won’t backslide, but this, with the loving support of my wife, is the metric I’m doing best with for now. In the month of July I only missed 3 days (not counting the 4 Sundays of course). One was the day we went to Six Flags and I would contend I walked a good 20 miles that day. The next was the Monday following my week of vacation where getting myself out of bed at 5 am… just didn’t happen. The last was pure and simple laziness last Thursday. There have been a few evening runs to make up for missed morning runs but for the most part, it is now part of my morning routine. Over the month of July I averaged 5.5 miles for each day I ran or 4.9 miles per available running day.
   
5. Raise $1000 for Diabetes Research/Treatment – This is one that is a bit out of my control. As you all know I chose to join a fundraising group, the Diabetes Action Team, as part of my marathon training. After an initial flurry of donations, I haven’t seen anything for a while. To date I have raised $170 through the good graces of some of my friends and family. I hope I have been true to my word to not harp on you and drown you with emails and solicitations but if you haven’t donated yet, please consider donating as you read this. I am truly humbled each time I get one of those "A donation has been made in your name" emails and it always drives me to rise each morning. Some of my best runs have been the day after a donation as they push me to be my best. So I ask you again, to share in my joy and help me reach my goal. If I can run 500 miles year to date with probably another 400 or so over the next 100 days, is a donation to a worthy cause too much to ask? Either way, I love you all and hopefully, if nothing else, I have your thoughts and prayers.

100 Mile Month - Finished with a Bang!

At the start of the month I stated my goal of running 100 miles during the month of May. My long run this morning carried me over the mark. I ended the month with 106.4 miles. My highest total ever. I needed the full 5 Saturday's to get there, so I don't know if I can repeat it in the months to come, but I will try. Most marathon training programs incorporate A MINIMUM of 35 miles per week which would get me up to at least 140 miles per month. Right now I'm in the 20-25 miles/week range.

So, here is my graph with the full month of May showing.

Another item of note was my long run today. Following my race on Monday I had been somewhat lazy this week. I didn't run the day after the race. I ran an easy short run on Wednesday. And then I had late nights Wednesday and Thursday - one making a Raingutter Regatta boat and the other watching the Lost season finally. Both lead me to skip my morning runs on Thursday and Friday. Because of the light week I decided to make my long run particularly long - I planned on at least 12 miles.

I chose this distance because the trail by my house is about 6.1 miles long. I like this trail for my long runs because it is marked with signs every half mile so I can easily measure my pace. As I ran this morning I was feeling quite strong and went the full length including the .1 miles past the last sign on the far end. As I ran back I noted that I was running a faster pace than the half-marathon pace I ran last Thanksgiving. My pace then was 9:06/mile for a finishing time of 1:59:05. I then decided to double back one of the half mile sections and add 1 more mile to my run to get in a full Half-Marathon.

Of course my pace slowed a little on my way back but was still averaging under 9:00/mile when I doubled back at the .5 to go mark. I ended up running 13.25 instead of the 13.1 Half Marathon distance but even with the extra .15 miles my finishing time was faster than my Thanksgiving Day race. Based on my pace of 8:54/mile my Half Marathon time was 1:56:35. To bad my PR list is only based on "Official Races". But it still feels good to know I'm ahead of where I was last fall. I am confident that if I was actually in a race mentality and not a bit worn out from already running a hard race earlier in the week I would have done even better so I am quite encouraged...

As for my weight update: I weighed in at 194 this morning but my Google 15 moving average (this is a Google gadget that calculates a 15 day moving average to smooth out weight variation) is a bit higher at 195.8. I am hoping to get down to 190 by the end of June to prepare for the Peachtree Road Race I am running on the 4th of July. For those of you who don't know what the Peachtree is, it is the largest 10k in the world with 55,000 runners.

Turkey Day Half Marathon

OK, anyone who knows me or has ever read this blog knows that the last 4-5 months have all been in preparation for a half marathon run on Thanksgiving day. I will skip the whole weight loss history (75 lbs total) leading up to this day and focus on just this one day... This day the scale read 199, I had reached my 200 lb goal set for this day.

I awoke at 4:15 remarkably more awake than one would expect at that hour. The only other times I am so awake first thing in the morning are the mornings of deer hunts. In a way this was similar, I was about to face a challenge of me vs. nature. I could taste it, I wanted the run to start right then. I took my shower and then sat down to... um... "lighten my load" to make sure I didn't have to go in the middle of the race. Problem though... I couldn't! It just wouldn't happen! After 20 minutes of futility I figured oh well I should have plenty of chances before the actual race time... I dressed quickly and headed down to grab some breakfast. I ate two slices of whole wheat toast, a banana, and drank a sports bottle of my favorite Gatorade.

My local Fleet Feet running store was offering a service that a friend had told me about, they provide a bus ride to and from the race from our Suburb outside of Atlanta. She said that it is the only way to go. Being my first ever long race it sure made sense to me to not fight the crowds so I had signed up. The buses left at 6am for the 30 minute ride into Atlanta. I sat with two friends from church on the bus and despite the welcome conversation my nerves slowly started to tingle. When we arrived at the starting line and bailed off the bus around 6:40 I was ready to run... except... remember that futility earlier?

We all went and got in line for the 4 Port-a-potties. As the line slowly crept I looked at my watch and realized it was going to be close. As the race speakers blared out "2 minutes" I was latching the door. Unfortunately this is one thing I can't hurry! The more I tried the more futile it got. When the loudspeaker pronounced 10 seconds, I gave up! Having not lightened my load, I bailed out of the facility as the starting gun sounded. Of course this meant me and my two friends were squarely behind roughly 10000 people now filing through the starting line. I am sorry for the graphic images here but it truly was part of my race day experience.

It took us 3 minutes and 2 seconds just to reach the starting line at which point I started my stopwatch. This meant that the official "clock" time was going to be that much slower than my "chip" time. (For you non-runners - in larger races you wear a computer chip on your shoe that signals a computer when you cross the starting and finishing lines. Official standings are based on clock times but my goal was based on my time which is of course the chip time.

The weather was quite nice as the race began. Average morning temperatures this time of the year in Atlanta are around 40 and just the previous Saturday it had been 29. I don't like running in that level of cold. Luckily, kind of, there was a weather front moving in that had the temperature at 60 degrees that morning. Of course, that same front was bringing in the rain. At about the half mile mark we got our first drizzle. If it had stayed at that level, I think all would have been happy. Lets just say, it didn't...

One of my biggest fears was that I would do what I always had done in my 5 & 10 kilometer races, that is, let the adrenaline flow and fly out of the gates with a first mile in the 6:30 to 7 minute range that would just fry me. My plan was to use my two friends to hold me back. I jogged along with them for that first mile knowing it was a much slower pace than I would set for myself. That had the effect of warming me up, settling my nerves, and providing me confidence as we weaved through slower runners at what I thought was not much more than a shuffle. When we reached the 1 mile mark I noted my watch read 10:50. MUCH slower than I had even planned but hey, I was now ready to let loose. I thanked my running partners and wished them good luck and good bye.

As I upped my pace I had to move to the outside just to avoid the hundreds of people that I couldn't weave through fast enough. My goal was to finish in under 2 hours. 9 minutes per mile translates into roughly 1:58 so I knew that with the roughly 2 minutes I had lost in that first mile, that was definitely the pace I would have to hold or best from there on out. Not long after I reached the outside of the throng of runners and got up to pace, the heavens opened! Monsoonal rain soaked us from head to toe. Large puddles formed and I could feel the water squish in and out of my shoes with every stride. I began to fear that all the wicking action in the world was not going to prevent the blisters from forming this day.

By mile three the worst of the rain was over but it would continue with scattered showers the rest of the way. If you know Atlanta, the course runs from roughly Peachtree/Decalb airport to Turner field through downtown Atlanta. The first 5 miles are fairly flat to gently rolling, then for two miles you descend quite a bit, at mile 7 you start a series of long climbs that go for the next 5 or so miles, then they give you a bit of a break with a slight downhill to the finish line.

One of my biggest concerns was running this thing without the security of my hydration belt. I had gone back and forth on that decision several times over the last month and only the night before convinced myself to go without. This made the aid stations quite important to me. If I hadn't been soaked from head to foot from the rain, I would have been from the aid stations. Drinking from a cup while running is just not a skill I have mastered yet... I had also pinned two packets of Apple-Cinnamon Carb Boom gel inside my waste band for a mid-race 100 calorie boost. I used them at the 40 and 80 minute marks and was surprised just how effective they were. I had used them on training runs but I guess had just not noticed the bounce they gave me.

The hills at mile 7 hit me like a ton of bricks. I had been warned about them but I don't think I was ready for them. Watching my splits to this point I noted that I had been holding roughly 8:45-9:00 mile times but now I was climbing and knew I would be for the next several miles and I began to fear I would fall off my required pace. With this fear I leaned into the hill and attacked it not wanting to resign from my goal.

Around the 10 mile mark my right calf began to cramp slightly but not bad enough to alter my stride. It was about this point that I realized something, I was passing people at a constant pace. Maybe I was blind to those passing me but I couldn't remember them and I was still weaving through people, 10 miles in, like it was that first few miles. In an odd way, starting at the back of the field and taking that first mile slow was now providing motivation to pass everyone that was not my equal. I don't know if other runners do this but all of a sudden it was was like magic for me. I held the field in contempt. I would look up, spot someone ahead that I felt I was surely better than, and would attack until I left them in the dust, only to pick out my next victim. My cramps went away, my breathing settled, my confidence soared, and the final few miles seemed to race by (no pun intended).

Capital Punishment, the last hill on the course which runs past the capital building was really not that punishing to me. At the 12 mile mark my watch read 1:49:50 which meant I had just over 10 minutes to go the last 1.1 miles which meant my 9minutes/mile pace would be about right, but close. Assessing myself I knew I could do better than that and I upped my tempo. Once the finish line was in sight, about a quarter mile out, I broke into an all out sprint with everything I had left. It felt great to be still passing people that didn't have enough left in the tank for the sprint to the end. Perhaps I should have pushed harder earlier and not have had so much left in me to sprint but sprinting at the end is such a great feeling.

As I crossed the finish line the official clock read 2:02:07 but my chip would record my time as 1:59:05 which translates to an average pace of roughly 9:06 min/mile. They don't post overall standings for the half-marathon, only in your age/sex groups. Based on official clock time I came in 272nd out of 573 35-39 year old males. If you review chip times you notice that there were 12 people that finished ahead of me by the clock but had slower chip times, however, there were 9 that finished behind me by the clock that actually had faster chip times so by chip time I finished 269th in my group.

As I got on the bus to ride home I thought of all the things I was thankful for on this day of gratitude. Starting with the immediate, I was thankful it was over, thankful for the towel and dry shirt I was smart enough to pack, thankful I didn't have to drive home, and thankful for the big meal in my near future. Then I expanded my view and was thankful for the moment of clarity 16 months ago that I decided I needed to do something about weight, thankful for a wife's patience that all of a sudden had to schedule around my runs, thankful that I had avoided serious injury during that time, and thankful for the words of encouragement that many had given me. Lastly I became thankful for a savior that has made all things possible, a perfect wife, 4 wonderful children, and a brighter future that the efforts of the last 16 months have brought to my horizon.