First Light Marathon and Travel

Wake up Maggie I think I’ve got something to say to you…as if on cue started playing on the sound system at the Hampton as I hit the down button the elevator to get breakfast in the lobby. There are moments when it seems like the universe is trying to tell you that things are going to turn out fine and hearing one of my favorite songs mid worry is about as clear a sign as I could get. It was just a little after 5AM on January 8^th and I was within two hours of trying to run a marathon when I hadn’t been able to run at all for the last three weeks because of shin splints in my left leg. I had an insert in my shoe, a compression sleeve on my lower leg but little confidence in how this was going to turn out. Still, the race had been paid for long ago and I really didn’t want to have to reschedule Alabama for another time.

We had driven the 8 hours to Mobile on Saturday morning from Missouri City the day before and the kids weren’t really thrilled with the trip. Mainly because it was unseasonably cold and probably also because we didn’t have any kid-specific fun on the weekend itinerary. The trip on I-10 East was fairly uneventful. We stopped in Louisiana at a Popeye’s and again at the Mississippi Welcome Center to give the kids a chance to run around, but as much as they hated being in the car, they had no interest in picking up pine cones in the cold.

We got into Mobile just before 3 in the afternoon and headed straight to the Expo which was at a government building just down the street. My initial impression of the city was that it was incredibly pretty and a shame that we were here when walking around to see the sites around Mobile Bay was not going to be so fun. The Mississippi Blues Marathon which was to be held on Saturday was cancelled because of snow and ice in Jackson but where we were it was just cold and windy. We saw remnants of the winter storm all along our drive over but we were travelling just after it had passed. A lot of runners in the 50 States club run both Mississippi Blues and First Light so at least they would get one race in this weekend. I may not be the most stable person in the world but to date I haven’t been crazy enough to run two marathons in one weekend. The expo was small but nice. We were glad to be out of the wind and the kids played on a set of stairs as we unwound from the drive and waited to check into our hotel. There would be no walking around Mobile Bay and not one person suggested it.

I grabbed some food and made Beth her first coffee of the morning and headed back to the room where everyone else was asleep. The weather called for an overnight low of 23 degrees so we decided that the cheering section could sleep in, hang out at the hotel, and we would meet up at the finish line when it was warmer. We didn’t exactly know when to expect that meeting to occur since I hadn’t run in so long. It was entirely possible to get to the starting line feeling refreshed, not having any pain, and having a good run. In reality I knew that I would be lucky to finish and had made a plan to jog slowly and even insert walk breaks if need be. I had been perplexed by this particular case of shin splints as it seemed to take longer than the previous cases I have had and flair up again each time I had thought it might be under control. I had planned on doing a test run or two before the marathon but ultimately decided to just use the last few days to keep resting it.

The Hampton was only about a quarter mile from the starting line and I kissed everyone and headed out on the walk down Government Street. There was a relay and half marathon associated as well as Full marathon so there were quite a few runners shivering as I approached the Start line. I stretched out as best I could and kept reminding myself to not do anything stupid once the race started and with some luck we would be able to check Alabama off of the map today. After a rousing rendition of the National Anthem we were off. I settled in the back at a snail’s pace and the adventure began.

I felt my shin for the first time before the first half mile had passed but it was less of a pain and more of a tugging sensation. The compression sleeve surely was helping somewhat but this sensation quickly served as a warning that there would be no attempting to push the pace today unless I wanted to end up limping and not able to finish. I settled in and then began an internal debate over whether inserting walk breaks during the run would help or if they would make things worse and give my shin time to swell up- I decided against them

Splits (1-10): 10:49, 10:30, 10:26, 10:28, 10:20, 10:14, 10:11, 10:47 ,10:36, 10:30

I spent the early miles just looking around at the city and monitoring my leg. Still tugging, feeling best on flat ground, decent on ascents, and worst on descents. There were not a ton of spectators out other than the aid station volunteers but that was not surprising considering the weather, and they were all so nice. I remember a lot of nice old large houses and a couple of frozen water fountains in yards during these miles. There was a little panic near mile 8 as I knew the half and full marathon courses were supposed to split at this but we were all waived in the same direction. I was asking other runners and one advised that she had asked the officer at the intersection and apparently the split for the two races had been moved a little further along. When the two courses did split and the half marathon runners left us things did thin out somewhat but since the relay runners were doing the full course as well it didn’t get too sparse at any point.

Splits (11-20) 11:08, 12:37, 12:03, 11:45, 12:49, 12:31, 12:57, 13:03, 13:48, 13:12

As you can tell from the splits miles 11-20 were rougher. My leg hurt as we headed to mid-town although I could still keep moving. I figured if I could make it to the halfway point ok without walking then I’d figure out a way to finish- maybe not the brightest plan but that’s how it went through my mind then. We ran through two colleges- The University of Southern Alabama and another one later that slips my mind. I always love running through colleges- it reminds me of all the miles Beth and I logged in Charlottesville around UVA back in the day. I’m sure that things didn’t look real great as I kept having the guys roaming the course on bicycles come up and ask me if I was ok. At first I thought it was just Southern Friendliness but the second time it happened I realized that my stride probably looked like a mess to anyone watching. I distinctly remember running up a hill and having a lady running/power walking in front of me that I couldn’t catch.

Miles 20-26: 12:15, 12:51, 13:00, 12:42, 12:56, 12:49

I do not know what the slight speed up was a result of over the last six miles. There were more people out at the day went on and I knew that I would finish even if not in the best shape. I kept plodding, smiling at volunteers, and assuring the bicycle spotters that I would not require medical intervention no matter how bad I looked.

Finish: 5:10:14 (11:51 Pace)

I took my headphones completely out on mile 24 to appreciate the last two miles completely. As we got closer to where we had started I could see the large hotels near the Bay come into view. Mobile’s architecture is reminiscent of New Orleans in places with many balcony of ornate iron. As I passed the 26 mile mark and peered down the narrow street looking for the finish line I saw Beth and the kids cheering on the side of the road. They had gotten bored of the hotel and even though it was a little chilly still decided to come out and ended up buying some doll clothes from a local seamstress.

L’Arche Mobile supports adults with developmental disabilities. I had heard that the medals would be handmade but didn’t give much thought to the finish until I got near and saw participants of the program handing out the wooden medals, smiling proudly, and offering support and water to the runners. It was one of the neatest finish line scenes that I have encountered to date. I was irritated when glancing up at the finish clock of how slow I had run but that quickly disappeared as I finished and met up with my family.

We walked back to the hotel where I changed in a public restroom while Mitch amused himself with rocks he had collected from the landscaping. Everything seemed pretty normal. My lower leg was swollen and I left the compression sleeve on for the time being figuring it would be a little while before I knew whether I had made things any worse or not.

We got on the road back to Houston after the race driving pretty much straight through save for a McDonald’s stop and another at a Love’s to get gas, arriving back home about 10:30 at night or so. The post script to all of this was that my calf actually was no worse for wear after the marathon amazingly and actually ended up completely healed by the end of the week after the race.

I’m luckier than smart sometimes. On to the next adventure….

Happy 2017

Today is my first working day of the new year and I am happy to report that the holidays were spent the way holidays should be spent- with my family and too many calories to easily count. 2016 had its ups and down for sure but turning the page from one year to the next is always a little bitter sweet. The gets get older and so do us adults. My baby girl will be turning six in just over a week and the little man will be five by the end of the summer and ready to head to Kindergarten. On a running note this year will mark 20 years since I lined up at my first marathon way back in 1997. I will at some point write down the historic tail of that race as well as the others that are missing from here for posterity. I have four marathons scheduled for the first half of this year in the states on Alabama, Michigan, Arizona, and Utah which will bring me to the halfway point of my 50 states marathon adventure.

I really don’t know what to say about politics in the upcoming year other than it looks like 2017 will be really interesting. My hope is that the things will settle down and we can stop seeing those with different political views as enemies but I am not holding my breath on that one.

Here is to 2017 and hope that anyone reading this has a great start to the new year!

A Dangerous thing- adding fuel to a Dad’s already dramatic tale

Back to a running post- sort of

“Are there places colder than New Jersey?” Natasha asked the other night as we were walking in short sleeves looking at the Christmas lights in our neighborhood. We were anticipating a cold front coming though the Houston area overnight that was going to drop the temperatures down to near what most of the country experiences during winter. I had just told her that it was going to get as cold as it had been when we were in New Jersey last spring. “New Jersey” had become synonymous with “cold” for my kids after our spring trip north.  That reminded me of some news that from a few weeks ago that needed to be recorded for history’s sake.

There are some things in life that make you feel better about an event long it is in the rear view. Sometimes they are incredibly small things that make your war stories a bit better and this is one of those times. You may recall my blockbuster blog post about the Ocean Drive Marathon and its extreme conditions this past year. Those of us that ran the marathon were blown all over the course from Wildwood to Cape May in near freezing temperatures. As inhospitable to running as the conditions were they were equally bad to watch a race. Granted, my family wasn’t outside waiting for me in the cold the entire time but the time they were was certainly not the highlight of the trip. Well, it seems that the good folks who put on the marathon have decided to change the course going forward from a “point to point” to an “out and back” course. Marathon course designs are pretty simple but essentially a course where the runners are going in the same direction the entire time can either be made easier by wind at the racer’s backs or, in the case of last year’s Ocean Drive Marathon, made much more difficult if the wind is in the runners face the whole time.

I received an email from the race director and my initial thoughts ranged from “It’s about time” to “I wish the change was done last year so I wouldn’t have almost been blown into the Atlantic” to a little touch of sadness in seeing a signature feature of a race lessened.

A similar range of reactions from OD marathon veterans were recorded in the article linked below about the change. I have no plans to run the race again but there is something in the announcement for me as well. When, as a family we retell the story of our Easter trip to the New Jersey Coast, the Nor’easter we drove and then I ran through, and the kids shiver thinking about that coldest place they have ever been I can add an epilogue to the story to further illustrate for eternity just how brutal the conditions were that weekend…and by extension how badass we were to get through it

(Dramatic pause) It was so bad that they even changed the race course to keep it from ever being that bad again…

A chapter is added to family lore.

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/sports/local/everyday_athletes/ocean-drive-marathon-changes-course-will-start-and-end-in/article_3ea8b18b-7f77-5fb3-8f48-e506039830d6.html

Summer Tonight

Bad Poetry Alert!

I have to be careful or I will end up posting more poems than race reports but this was one, or part of it, that has been kicking around my head for probably a dozen years now. I remember taking a walk on a cool evening and feeling a warm breeze and thinking about summers past. I was still young then so "past" would have been just a few years where now finishing the thing I am actually closer to the old man I was imagining 12 years ago. Anyway, here goes nothing. At least it isn't a post about politics!

Summer Tonight

When the warm wind blows through the trees
It can bring back memories
of those nights way back in June
when we went walking under a lazy moon
It seemed like youth would last forever
And we wished on all the stars above
dreaming about life and love
and how we feared September
We would spend hours strolling down by the lake
sharing secrets about the lives we planned to make
I can't help but smile when I remember
We'd hold each other close
and argue over who cared the most
for one another
Now many days have passed and I'm older
Seasons have turned and now its much much colder
But when the warm breeze blows again
In my mind I'm way back when
and once again we're dreaming by moonlight
and Darling
Oh, Darling
It feels like Summer tonight.

My Tiny Town

My Tiny Town

I grew up
in a tiny town
set in a valley
Mountains all around
It had an old fort
and a paper mill
with one main street
that went downhill

You could tell even then
Its heyday had passed
the machines at the mill
weren't running as fast

The storefronts
They struggled
to keep up with the times
first huge stores
now people shopping online

A city was more
than mere miles away
the pace of life
was not the race of life
and the locals liked it that way

The grownups, they told us
about the good old days
and taught us kids
their old fashion ways

To other places
eventually I would roam
new adventures awaited
and a different town
I would call home

But sometimes I wish
That I would have hung around
punched in at the mill
and then settled down

Not under my feet
but always a little in my soul
I keep coming back as I grow old

And I smile with each visit
as the thread of my life
is unwound
As I greet my dear friend- my tiny town.

* A non-running post and not award winning materials for sure but occasionally I like to write a little bit, and this was inspired by my hometown

Harpeth Hills Flying Monkey Marathon- November 20^th, 2016

Tennessee became the 21^st State on my 50 state marathon Journey and we decided to take a family road trip with the kids to Nashville for Thanksgiving and complement the race with festivities. The drive from Missouri city to Nashville was over 12 hours but we were up to it. The plan was for me to work from home on Friday and we would go as a family to pick Natasha up from school and get right on the road, drive as far as we could before we needed to get some sleep and then drive the rest of the way on Saturday. Getting around Houston during commute time in the rain was slow going but once we were north of the city we made good time. We stopped off at Quality Inn in Carthage Texas the first night, and then through Arkansas and Tennessee on Saturday. Rolling into the hotel in Dickson, TN on Saturday night my daughter spotted the Best Western sign an announced that she could see the hotel. Mitchell (my four year old) asked her “what to do you want a medal? GET OUT! (of the car)”.

Race Morning

Nashville experienced a cold snap and there was frost on the ground. I had plenty of cold weather stuff with me so this wasn’t an issue other than the groaning we would hear from the kids waiting around for the race to start when it was this cold. We got to starting area early and stayed warm in the car until it was time run.

The Flying Monkey is run in Percy Warner Park in Nashville and takes pride in being one of the toughest marathons in the country. The race director, Monkey Trent, refers to the participants as idiots in pre-race emails describing the terrain of the park. Although from the mountains, I am currently a flatlander. Fortunately, my plan for this race was to take whatever the day gave me and to enjoy a scenic run in the park.

The terrain might not be great for a PR run but the layout of the park for a runner and three family spectators was perfect. Beth and the kids would spend the morning hiking and playing with other kids while I ran. There would be a post-race potluck which we dutifully had brought food for.

Monkey Trent gave his announcements and recognized groups of runners who had run all of the previous Monkeys as well as some folks who had run an ultra the day before and then we were off. The race started in a field and we charged into the woods Spartan style and on to leaf covered asphalt path for the rest of the day.

My watch didn’t save splits from the race and they wouldn’t tell much anyway because of the elevation change- the GPS and the mile markers were not in sync. We ran Nashville’s 11.2 mile loop twice with some other roads tacked on so that each time we ran up a big hill on the front half of the course we would get to run down it during the second part. The bad part of that was knowing that every nice downhill during the first 13.1 miles of the Monkey would be an uphill later in the race.

Of course, Trent had not only added the “Idiot” label to each of the mile markers but also put “motivational” signs up around the course such as “All the Good Looking People have already finished, They are out of beer at the finish line, you paid for this?, What were you thinking” and joyfully chalked on the steepest of hills were the words “This is not a hill”. Needless to say despite the fact that the running was tough there was a lot of fun on the course. The volunteers were as great as the views.

Notables:

·         I knew there were several folks dressed as Monkeys but I was actually passed at one point by a woman who was dressed as a banana- thankfully I beat her but still.   

·         Seeing the kids and Beth just before the halfway point was great and something I don’t usually get to have during a run. This was also about the point of the run where I saw Larry Macon (one time record holder for most marathons in a year) and Chuck Engle.

·         Early in the race I get to an aid station where the volunteers were busy so I grabbed a cup of Sports drink off the table and chugged it…..and then realized that it was pickle juice. I actually like pickle juice but a stomach needs to be prepared for it.

·         The Mile 24 aid station featured a gentleman claiming to be drunk guiding the runners to the aid station. At the aid station runners were offered the standard fare as well as shots of Jack Daniels is they wanted……we were in Tennessee after all.

·         The views within the park and of Nashville from the high points were stunning. Again, tough course, slow day, but what a great time.

Finish

I didn’t slow too much during the second half of the race but the effect of not really having any long runs other than the Houston half marathon was apparent. I hear someone say something about wanting to speed up for the last stretch and although I had started to get passed a bit, I decided to pick it up and passed a half dozen or so runners and made the left turn back to the field where the run had started to finish the day. As I entered the field I saw my family again and Mitch said he wanted to run with me so I grabbed his hand and we ran together until just before the finish line- I got passed back by a couple of runners but it was well worth it to keep instilling the joy or physical activity in my son.

Final Stats

4:51:30 (yep, more than an hour slower than my PR)

Place: 159 out of 308.

Post Script

After a feast at the post race potluck we headed to the Opryland Hotel on the other side of the city to take in some Christmas exhibits. The kids had fun hiking and filled me in on all of the things they had seen while waiting for me. I can’t say enough about how well run this race is, how quirky yet tough it is and how much everyone who participates in it seems to love it. It is one of the great parts of traveling around the country to get to experience runs like this. 

Chevron Houston Marathon 2016

1.17.2016 Chevron Houston Marathon- Houston, Texas

Background

Houston is to date the only marathon that I have run twice. It begins and ends downtown near my office and the logistics are so good that I can take my standard commute to work and park in my normal parking sport for the race. Add to it that it is a very well run race on a good course and this marathon is one I may do many times in the future. It was also the Houston marathon in 2015 that marked my first marathon back after 3+ years and 30 + pounds away from the sport. I was just looking finish that day but for 2016’s edition of the marathon I had a different mission- a new Personal Best time.

I had already marked Texas off of the fifty states map the previous year but actually had signed up to run Houston again the day that registration for the 2016 race had opened. I was running for Houston Habitat for Humanity through the race’s Hero program.

I had also already run two fall marathons in 2015- The Hot and Hilly Heart of America on Labor Day weekend and the just plain hot Mississippi Coast marathon over Thanksgiving weekend. HOA was meant to pick up a state and keep me motivated to train through the Houston summer and MGC was a race that could have been a fast day if the weather had been better- I used it to the best training effect I could given Houston was on my calendar already. Also, leading up to Houston I had run a 30K prep race in late December in Sugarland that went well.

In the end I didn’t think that I was going to go under 3:30 but I did think that I had a chance to better the 3:39:02 PR I had set in Las Vegas back in 2011. The comeback had a chance of being complete in all senses of the word.

Travel and Logistics

Again, this race has virtually no logistics to speak of but unlike a normal commute day, or even the 2015 race, the family made the trek downtown with me. We took off early in the Mazda loaded with snacks, blankets, and sleepy kids.

We were successful in parking in my normal lot and proceeded to the Convention Center by way of the Hilton Americas. Mitch was especially impressed with the tall escalators and remarked about what an awesome place it was. Tasha had her pink pompoms with her to cheer me on and had made a “Go Dada” wrist band for me that I wore during the run.

Houston is a big race and I kissed everyone before heading out onto the street and finding my corral. It was cold in the corals even though the weather was expected to eventually be pretty good. I had a throwaway long sleeve shirt on and marveled at some of the clothes others were using to stay warm including a woman that had a full length bathrobe.

The Race

8:32, 8:33, 7:44, 7:59, 8:11, 8:07, 7:59, 8:08, 8:09, 8:14, 8:08, 8:07, 8:19, 8:22, 8:17, 8:24, 8:17, 8:20: 8:46, 8:29, 8:28 8:43, 8:16, 8:22, 8:18, 8:19 (+ 2:32)

As the splits for this race reveal things went pretty consistently. I was not in a pace group but did note where several of them were. The first two miles were crowded and included an unscheduled pit stop to the porta potty. After that I settled in and pretty much confirmed my prerace decision to run for the PR but not more aggressively.

It was notable for me to compare how much faster I was moving at various mile points than in 2015. I was working hard but not to the point where I thought I was risking a blow up. I did start to fade a bit after mile 18 but kicked it back into gear when I saw the 3:40 pace team come up near me. I was doing the math to essentially stay just in front of that group and then kick in the final 1.2 in order to challenge my PR.

The Houston Marathon finishes on Lamar Street and as I turned onto Lamar I realized that there was something off with my math and I was closer to not making a PR than I thought over the last few miles so I accelerated (or kicked harder to maintain pace I guess) a little early.

I passed my office and new that the 26 mile mark where I had watched some of the later finishers from the 8^th floor the previous year was in view and at that point the road seemed to be more clogged with runners which made it more difficult to speedup. Still, as I reached the finish line I saw that if I hustled there would be a new PR on my running resume. And if I just missed my poor family would have to hear about it until I did achieve a new best.

3:38:04- sounds nice to say. I am back

Wrapping up

I’m writing this entry in May after the race so I do know how at least the next four months of my season played out. Leading up to Houston I logged a lot of miles and those two fall marathons really served their purpose. Granted, if Mississippi had better weather that may have been my PR and I may have jogged Houston but as it stood an 11 mile tempo run was a great confidence booster for my 30K and some much needed longer quality work. The 30K was tough especially considering the storm it was run in but I felt so strong at the end of that race that it was a real confidence booster headed into Houston. And, of course Heat of America may look like it was just a Midwestern adventure but I signed up for it when I had nothing on my calendar at all and really wanted to keep focused training through the summer.