I ran!

I ran! Three times even. It’s a start.

I had more Dr’s appointments in the last few months than I have had in the last 30 years. It is perhaps a little ironic that my first race after taking up running was the Livestrong Challenge. I can remember the excitement of the race blended with admiration for all the cancer survivors. No, I don’t have cancer… and I would like that fact to remain the same throughout my life… but I can say that I am lucky I had some tests done. Very.

I remember one visit at OHSU when I walked through the lobby and there were cancer patients waiting for appointments. Some had no hair and I remember thinking to myself… me? Here? Why? I am healthy… I run marathons… I am not even middle aged yet! I have a great deal of respect for those who have battled or are battling cancer. I can only imagine what a personal strength it must take. But I kept thinking to myself that I was the square that didn’t belong on Sesame Street... and there was no way no how I would ever be in that picture. Hell… I was pretty sure I was going to live forever.

And now I know that isn’t the case… and even in perfect health, the end is most likely closer than the beginning for me. Heck… since life seems to speed up the older you get, I am probably at least ¾ of the way down the track.
And yet I have a 1 year old I desperately want to see grow up. Now, I can’t help it if I have bad genes… or if nature flips a bit on one of my cells when dividing. Those things… are out of my control. But what I can control is trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle to give me the best shot I have to watch my baby girl grow up.
And thus… is born… my health manifesto. What am I going to do? As Oogie Boogie would say, “I’m gonna do the best I can!”

My Health Manifesto

More water
Less fried foods
Less greasy foods
Eat variety
Less sugar
More variety of exercise
Less (white flour, refined sugar, and white rice)
More(whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables)
Less salt
No coffee
Less beer

Goals
Weight goal: 175
Running goal: Boston
Pushup goal: 100
Situp goal: TBD

Still not running

Not much to say about running right now… except I am not doing it. =) Soon I hope… soon.

Running on hold

I am not running at all right now... but hopefully in a few weeks I will start again. Waiting for some test results to verify I am in tip top shape. Still playing basketball, soccer and softball though. Had a few more dreams about running including last night... so I know it is time. Oh yes... it is time.

The roadside vigils

Anyone who runs much... well... or drives for that matter... has seen roadside vigils. Maybe they are not everywhere... but in Oregon it is hard to go a mile without seeing one. I don't want to insensitive... but seriously... sometimes it is like running through a graveyard. Crosses and flowers... crosses and flowers. Some I actually remember the accidents... but wasn't there a time when the rememberences were left in graveyards? It is a new fad... when I was younger no one ever did that... but recently I read about a family who was upset because there roadside vigil was defaced. Now... again... I don't want to be insensitive... (OK I am a guy... it is in my nature) but I wish I could run a few blocks without the constent reminders that my mortality was chasing me... and that regardless of how long or far I run... it will win.

Have I lost my mind?

So after the Newport Marathon last weekend I asked my wife to shoot me or do whatever was necessary to keep my from running another marathon. But then this:


From: A Runner a my company
Sent: Tuesday, June 02, 2009 3:46 PM
To: Runners at my company

Hi Everyone,

We’re currently in the process with HR right now to get a XXX corporate sponsorship for employees who are participating in the 2009 Portland Marathon. You’re on this mailing list because you signed up for the Sportsfest running days. I’ve been given the task to tally up the number of people who would be participating in the marathon. This is also opened to those who would like to walk the marathon instead of running it. Talks of sponsorship include a company logo running singlet and maybe even the $90 entry fee waived for each participants. We are also trying to tie in some sort of charity sponsorship for each runner/walker so employees and anyone else can part take by donating to the charity of their choice with XXX matching each donation.

If a marathon is out of your reach for this year, we are also looking to get at least 12 people together to form the XXX Hood to Coast relay team for 2010. If you’re interested, please let us know.

Of course all of this is pending approval from above, so we need to get the number of participants to come up with an estimated overall cost that we can submit. As soon as we get the details worked out, I will update everyone that replied to me with a confirmation.

---

From: Me
To: My Wife
Sent: Wednesday, June 03
Subject: FW: 2009 Portland Marathon and 2010 Hood to Coast

Can I change my mind yet? ;)

---

From: My wife
To: Me
Sent: Wednesday, June 03
Subject: FW: 2009 Portland Marathon and 2010 Hood to Coast

Have you lost your mind?

Newport Marathon race report

The weather for the Newport Marathon was spectacular. Little foggy at the start… but seeing the bridge jutting from the fog… not to mention the boats with their masts fading into the distance over the bay made for a wonderful start.

Because of the limited number of entrants, it was easy to get near the start. My wife dropped my off about 15 minutes before the start of the race and I managed to get through the porta potty line once before the start. There was hardly a breeze… about 50 degrees… just a perfect morning. Would it be a perfect finish?

I really didn’t have a particular pace in mind. I told my wife best case 4 hours… most probably 4 hours 15 minutes… bad day 4 hours 30 minutes… and if I don’t show up by 4 hours and 45 minutes to start looking for my dead body on the course. I started out with what was conformable… about 8:50 per mile.

I bought 3 GU packs at the package pickup. I usually eat something on a long run… but never GU. I known… never change anything for the race… but I did it anyway.
The first part of the marathon flew by. Actually… the race pretty much did until about mile 17… when I started getting stomach cramps. Now… I have NEVER had stomach cramps in all my running… so this was something very new to me. I tried slowing… but it didn’t help. I think the GU was getting me.

My pace stayed a bit slow through about mile 20… when it dropped another minute per mile. By mile 21 I decided that marathons were ridiculous and tried to come up with a plan how I could keep myself from trying another. I considered gnawing a message into my arm and then rubbing the last of my strawberry GU into the wound… in the hopes of creating some type of tattoo… but alas the last of my GU was turning my insides into knots.

Now… I wasn’t hitting the wall like in Portland… I hydrated well… I was just suffering the repercussions of weak training. Three weeks prior to the marathon I got a nasty cold that caused me to skip a few runs… and I think I just didn’t train hard enough or have enough miles to allow me to keep pace the last 6 miles, and I was getting passed left and right. Bummer. Sigh.

I crossed the finish line at 4:14… marathon 3 under my belt. Will it be my last? Maybe. I have said that before though. =) I still want to run… I like it… I enjoy it… but oh those last six miles…

The Starting Line

"What distinguishes those of us at the starting line from those of us on the couch is that we learn through running to take what the days gives us, what our body will allow us, and what our will can tolerate."
- John Bingham

I have made it to the starting line of another marathon. What an awkward place… caged like a race horse in the starting gate… err… well maybe an old horse that just happens to be running on the same course as the other race horses… waiting… fidgeting… stretching… checking my watch… “I’m cold”… “will I be too hot?”… “wind is nasty”… “did I drink enough?”… “oh God please let my bladder be empty”… “are my shoes too tight?”… “look, there’s the ground”… check my watch… “will this race ever start?”… “wow there is at least one runner fatter than me”… “does my leg hurt?”… “I should have checked Hercules”… check my watch… check my watch… then…

"The gun goes off and everything changes... the world changes... and nothing else really matters." --Patti Sue Plummer

There are things you just can’t explain to a 5 year old… like why I will run 26.2 miles to reach a finish line that is 1 mile from the starting line.

My goal for Newport is to run between 9:00 and 9:30 miles. Wide range I know… but I am not sure I put in enough miles to keep the same pace throughout. My stretch goal would be to break 4 hours, but again… I am not sure I have the miles or put enough work into speed to do that. I did train hard enough to finish… that I know… and that in itself is an accomplishment.

Not too many toe the starting line of a marathon… and for those there with my Saturday… the race is but the tip of the iceberg… a trip paid for by hundreds and hundreds of miles of training. Marathoners may be mentally ill… there could certainly be an argument for that… like people who cut themselves or don’t eat or whatever, but as far as illnesses go… there are not too many that make you healthier.

See you in 26.2.