The MS Runner

Leading up to my marathon, I came down with a lingering cold.  Number 1, I never get a cold, and Number 2, this one lasted on and off for 2 weeks.  In that time, I got in a few good runs, but always felt like crap afterwards.  Finally on the day of the race, I felt good again, but I felt very weak, like I was drained or something.  I didn’t have my usual jumpiness, or anxiety, or whatever you want to call it, like I normally do for a race.  I felt almost nonchalant I guess.

The marathon was starting at 8:00, and I wonder why that was since most of the ones I’ve run are at 7:00.  They were predicting the weather to be sunny and in the mid 70’s which is not good for a long run.  Some runners like the warm weather, and have no problem with it.  I do not like running in the hot weather, and I think that is due mainly to my MS. 

We (my brother Mark and I), got to the start line about an hour before the race.  It was already in the mid fifty’s at 7 in the morning!  After a little while, I took off on a warm up jog for 15 minutes, and felt pretty good.  Maybe my cold won’t have any lingering effects.  One thing that I thought was strange at the beginning of the race, was that I didn’t recognize anybody.  At every marathon that I’ve run, I at least knew somebody that I could talk to or run with, but this day I didn’t

We started off and I was in the pack of people that were following the 3 hour and 50 minute pacer.  I knew I wasn’t going to keep up with them at the beginning since they do the same pace the whole marathon, and I start out slowly, and then build up to that pace.  At around the 5 mile mark, I caught up with the 4 hour pace group, and I thought I might just settle in with them.  But I was feeling good, so I pushed it a little bit more so I could catch up with the 3:50 group.  I think I finally caught up with them around mile 9, and settled it to that pace.  One nice thing about the run was going through Camp Pendleton and seeing all the soldiers out there cheering us on and giving everyone a high five!  That was pretty awesome. 

At mile 16, we head out away from the ocean and onto a stretch of road that is all asphalt, and there is no breeze.  At that point it felt like someone turned a switch off and I had no energy and no desire to even finish the race.  I could turn back now and it would only be 3 miles to the end, or keep going for another 10 miles!  Of course I choose to go on, but it was tough.  I did some walking and some running, and a lot of people were doing the same as me.  More than any that I’ve ever seen at a marathon before.

So I kept plodding along and around mile 20, I saw this guy with a shirt that said “100^th Marathon Club”.  He looked a little older than me and I commented to him about his shirt, and he said, “Oh, this is my 141^st.  I ran my 140^th yesterday”.  Wow!  He ran a marathon the day before this one.  Unbelievable.  It was then that we were back near the water, and you could instantly feel the cool air.  It felt like someone had opened a door and let the air from the air conditioner out.  What a relief.  I’m still walking and running, but at least now I feel better.

The last mile I ran the whole way as best as I could.  I could see the finish line and I couldn’t have been happier!  The only problem was, the finish line never seemed to get any closer.  But it did, and so it was over.

Thanks to my brother Mark for being there the whole time.  Well not exactly.  He was there until the finish.  He missed me crossing the finish line, and he kept waiting and waiting for me.  I finished, got my SWAG, drank 4 beers, and finally decided to head back to his truck hoping that maybe he is waiting there.  Mark was hanging on to my cell phone for me and I tried calling it with some one else’s cell phone that I met, but he didn’t answer that.  I walked back towards the finish line and there he is, looking out at the people that are still coming in, waiting for me to appear.  Since I had crossed the finish line 2 ½ hours earlier, I was stunned to see him still standing there.  It wouldn’t have surprised me if he didn’t know at all where I was out on the course, but he was actually following me around for most of it on his bike and taking pictures.  At least he tried.

It’s that time of year again.  No, not college football.  It’s “New Years Resolutions” time and I’m re-running a post that I did last New Years (mostly because I’m lazy).

To me, this is the strangest time of the year where most people make resolutions that quite simply, astound me.  Why is it that you have to wait for a particular day to change or do something?  “I resolve to be a better person”, is one of my favorites.  Aren’t you doing that (or trying to do that) every day?  No, I guess most people want to be shit heads until January 1st, and then they will become Mary Poppins.  “I resolve to lose weight”.   Weight Watchers love this time of year when people flock (or is it waddle) to their meetings in January, pay their money, and then are gone before March.  Most of these people are back to eating donuts instead of fruit, or fast food instead of preparing a nice healthy meal.  Then there’s all the people that join the gym.  They tie up all the treadmills for a couple of months, then they’re gone again.  “I resolve to get a new job”.  Yeah, good luck with that one in this economy, and let me tell you, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.  “I resolve to watch less t.v.”  And do what, read?  You probably haven’t read a book in years other than that Readers Digest at the doctors office.  There are a ton of other resolutions that really crack me up, but the point I’m getting at is MOST people won’t change, or simply can’t change.  If you’re a crank ass, you’ll always be a crank ass.  If you’re a fat ass, you’ll always be a fat ass, and so on.  I’m not saying that this is always the case, but it’s a fact in most of them.  People can change, but it’s very hard work and they give up.  The ones that do stick it out, are the lucky ones.  My resolution every year is always the same.  “I resolve never to make any resolutions”.  Every bad habit or every change in my life has occurred when I’m prepared to make that change.  Most people aren’t prepared mentally to make a change on January 1st, and they fold under pressure.  Make a plan and stick to it and don’t commit to the pressure of a drop dead date to do it.  When you’re ready to change, you’ll know it.  Good luck, we’re all counting on you.

I saw this on the website for Complete Running. As a public service, I thought I would share this with you.

Dateline London: “Athletes looking for a performance boost are increasingly turning to a little blue pill more usually taken for its off-the-field benefits: Viagra.

“Some sports authorities say the drug is now finding a following among athletes.“The World Anti-Doping Agency is currently studying Viagra’s effects in athletes, but hasn’t yet banned it. Experts are divided over whether it actually offers athletes an edge.”

As a public service, CompleteRunning.com provides this series of advertising slogans to help Pfizer market Viagra to athletes:

* Viagra – Because it’s a game of inches.

* Viagra – Great for racing and tapering.

* Viagra – When the competition is stiff, so are you.

* Viagra – Make your long runs longer.

* Viagra - Runner’s high.

* Viagra – The women in your life will run faster, too.

* Viagra – Now when you hit the wall, you’ll knock it down.

* Viagra – Because you can’t teach size.

* Viagra – Play hardball.

* Viagra – Now your only worry will be motion control.

* Viagra – When you need to take it to the next level.

* Viagra – You can’t stop him. You can only hope to contain him.

* Viagra before the race. BodyGlide after.

* Viagra – Not for use during relays.

Well now it’s time to get serious again.  I’m going to be running The Colfax Marathon which is about 16 short weeks away.  Although I have been running every week, I haven’t put in too many quality runs, and my diet and exercise regime has been pretty sad.  So time to eat right, get more exercise, start my running program.

It looks like my hip problems are more about not stretching enough than anything else, so I will concentrate on stretching more and maybe even join a yoga class.

I also need to concentrate on exercising to build strength in my abs and my back.  From all that I’ve read, building that core will help a runner significantly.

My diet is not all that bad, but I guess it could be better.  I tend to eat way too much crap on the weekend, and then try and make up for it during the week.  I think that once football season is over with, I’ll be better.

I went running the other night and the wind was so bad that at one point a gust of wind hit me and almost knocked me over.  And it actually blew out one of the lenses from my brand new glasses!  The wind must have blown it far away, because I could not even find it.  Luckily, the eyeglass place replaced it for free.

I know that I will get in a few races before my marathon.  Here’s a couple that I’m looking at;

Runnin’ of the Green Lucky 7K – March 16 – Downtown

Greenland Trail Run – 25K – April 19 -