Hotter than the 12th level of Hell already

In the mail yesterday I received my 'Certificate of Completion' from the nightmare of a marathon in October (a.k.a. 'Hotter Than Hell Fun Run'). Looking over the certificate, it states that I was a 'Participant of the 2007 Chicago Marathon'. Participant? How about "pissed off runner that trained for almost 2 years for a race that I was told I couldn't finish because of the Race Director's inability to get his head out of his arse"? I'm pretty sure that wasn't put on the certificate because the title was too long. They could have put "Survivor" and that would have been just as good.

I digress.

The reason for this post is not to rant and rave (any more than necessary), but to announce (ha! like anyone really cares) that I have figured out my training schedule for this year. It is simple - don't run outside in the heat! So, I will continue to exercise, but it will be 90% completed in-doors either on a treadmill (crap), elliptical (ugh), or a bike (ouch), plus some weights to get my 'swell' on!

Now I just need to find a race in the Fall and everything will be set!

I am back baby!

Today I surprised myself. I have been slowly getting back into the whole exercise thing for the last month or so - I run, bike, walk, or stretch 3 days a week during my lunch break (it is too hard to run at home before work or after work and not miss out on time with my smokin' hot wife and 2 munchkins).

I decided that as soon as the month of April commenced, I would no longer run inside on the dreadmill or the elliptical, but that I would make the extra effort to run outside. Well, the first week of April was a wash. It rained pretty much everyday that I set aside to exercise. So I pushed back the calendar one more week, hoping for dry weather.

Today was the first day back running outside. The weather was nice (low to mid 60s) with a little humidity, but unfortunately, the pollen count was almost 3000! It didn't matter, I am beginning to hate the spare tire around my waist - at first it was nice because it kept me warm during the cooler months, but it is getting close to beach weather people! Oh, and my pants aren't fitting any more - it is time to step it up!

I planned to run/walk for 30 minutes today (4 minute run, 1 minute walk), but once I started running, I felt pretty good so I kept going.

Less than thirty minutes later I had completed 3.15 miles! Did I run the entire time? No, but most of it! I think I ended up running 2.8 miles and walked the other .35 miles.

It wasn't pretty running, but I am happy to report that I am back and looking for a race to work towards. Nothing more than a half or less than a 5K. I wonder if I can get my 5K time down to less than 25 minutes? hmm....

It begins today (again...)

In about an hour or so I'll be sweating to the oldies! I was hoping to have begun on Tuesday, but a sick 2 year old (whom shall remain nameless) kept me home because she was "sick" - and by sick I mean had a 100.8 temperature at 7:00 AM; had no temperature (well 98.8) and was running me ragged around the house, putting puzzles together, and watching Wiggles/Barney all morning and afternoon.

Spirit of the Marathon

"Spirit of the Marathon is the first ever non-ficition feature film to capture the drama and essence of the famed 26.2 mile running event. Filmed on four continents, the movie brings together a diverse cast of amateur athletes and marathon luminaries.    

As six unique stories unfold, each runner prepares for and ultimately faces the challenge of the Chicago Marathon. More than a sports move, Spirit of the Marathon is an inspirational journey of perseverance and personal triumpf; a spectacle that will be embraced by runners and non-runners alike."

The movie is having a special encore around the United States on February 21. I got my ticket tonight to go watch it at the Mall of Georgia. I am really looking forward to the movie - they were having special showings at this year's Chicago Marathon, but I didn't have time to watch it (between resting my feet and hanging out with my kick arse support team - a.k.a., the fam!).

The 2007 Chicago Marathon may have had a number of huge mistakes, but my road getting there had some huge accomplishments (physical, mental, and a whole lot of spiritual). Who knows? Maybe watching this will actually motivate me to get off my duff and get out there and start running.

Get your tickets here!

Exercise?

As I "finished" the Chicago Marathon this last October, I gave up running "until the beginning of the year". I had burned out and was tired.

So as of today January 11, 2008 how is my running going? Running? What is that? I haven't exercised at all since October. It is getting a bit ridiculous!

Not only am I gaining weight (my eating habits haven't changed since my training for Chicago), I am now falling asleep on the way home from work!

Maybe I need to spend the money on a Drive Alert?

Great Urban Race

There is no way this would work in Atlanta - the public transport is spotty at best.

The Great Urban Race is a one-of-a-kind urban adventure. Teams of two solve clues and complete challenges while navigating through the city and using public transit.

It's a scavenger hunt, road race, and wandering party - all rolled into one heck of a fun day.

Through Hell and Back

Here is the picture Jen and I took after the Chicago "Hotter than Hell Fun Run" Marathon on Sunday.

How is it that we are both wearing long sleeves on Sunday where the temperature was in the upper 80s and lower 90s in Chicago? Again - advantage to living in the heat and humidity of the South (oh and I had the chills from running and was tired of smelling like a wet rat)!

Disappointed (3)

About the time I hit the half way point (mile 13.1 for those of you still reading), my right leg was beginning to bother me (Achilles and calf) - so I stopped every quarter to half a mile to stretch. I walked through each aid station when available (water and gatorade was more plentiful from miles 10-16; although the runners did have to often times supply their own cups).

The best part of these miles was the spectators through the neighborhoods. I wish I knew the layout of Chicago better to give the neighborhoods their props. Each grouping of families and friends was awesome - they had their garden hoses and sprinklers out, covering the street with a cool breeze and nice mist (or if you really wanted to get wet a plunge into the stream of the hose). I am sure that these awesome fans saved many lives that hotter than Hades day!

Somewhere between miles 16-17, I noticed that the roads were beginning to close ahead of the runners/walkers. It was at this point that we (the proud, the sweaty, the marathoners) were told that the race was canceled and we were being re-routed back to Grant Park (the finish). I was feeling fine at this point (other than a few cramps in my lower right leg - I kept going into medical tents to see if anyone had an salt packets...there were none), but other than that I felt strong enough to complete the race IF GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY.

Most people that could still run were running and weren't going to stop until they made us (Damn the Man!). We however soon realized the resistance was futile when we no longer were passing any timing areas or mile markers - oops...we were re-routed remember (duh). As we got to Grant Park we were told to go to the finish line. So off we went running, walking, limping, or being carried off to the finish line. What the organizers did not do was to tell the groups working the finish line that there was a group of runners (hundreds or maybe a thousand) running into the same chute the "finishers" were running out of (picture salmon swimming up stream).

I crossed the finish line at 3:59:38. I had "completed" my first marathon by only running 18ish miles. What a crappy way to end the race. Where was the closure to my training? I had run 18 miles before - what's the big deal with that?!

For the last couple days I have gotten more irritated at the organizers of the race for not planning well. Nothing is going to change what happened on the course that day: 300+ people taken to the hospital, one man died, and thousands of people that had been training to complete a marathon were denied.

I would hate to be working as the PR group for this year's Chicago Marathon! But have seen some cool shirt designs and good PR from other marathons inviting people to come run theirs. (IMT Des Moines Iowa race is promising to have water on the course)

Disappointed (2)

I got up early on Sunday morning (5:15ish) to make sure I had time to double and triple check everything I had laid out for the race AND to make sure I had given myself enough time to get on the Red Line from State to Monroe and walk to the Charity Village and get in my pace group corral. On the walk from the condo to the Red Line I already was beginning sweat a little (nerves and the temperature already in the mid 70s). I got to Charity Village found the American Liver Foundation's tent, dropped my stuff off, stretched, ate some breakfast, drank lots of water and gatorade, and headed off to the corral.

At the start of the race we all walked to the start line (which took about 15-17 minutes). As we (all my new marathon friends) crossed the line the excitement was just awesome - WE WERE OFF! I kept my pace really easy and stayed with the 4:30 pace group. As we came up to the first aid stop (which I had no intention of stopping for) we all noticed that the tables were either empty or turned over on their sides and stacked on the side of the road. This was the theme for the next 5 miles or so.

I had planned ahead and given Jen, Morgan, my Mom, Brea, Ronda, and Brea my waterbelt (a.k.a. my "utters", my "batman utility belt", and my "teets") to my support posse. I had planned on seeing them at miles 3, 11, and 20. As it turned out this was an awesome plan - with no water or gatorade for the first 6-8 miles or so people were running to the nearest water fountains or park fountains and dumping their water bottles or their entire bodies in to cool off! Knowing that I had water coming up at mile 3 allowed me to not freak out.

By the 3rd mile, there were already people stumbling around like the walking dead, being led by other runners to the side of the road, or asking bystanders for drinks from their powerade or water bottles. I was able to get my water/powerade from Jen, give Morgan a wet kiss, and thank everyone for cheering me own and I was off to tackle more miles. About the time I was needing some more water the aid stations were handing out empty cups and telling the runners to keep going further down the street (or cross the street) for the water and gatorade.

By this time the temperatures were climbing and the bodies were hitting the floor (road, sidewalks, front yards, etc). I found my support posse at mile 11 (which in the heat and humidity felt like mile 18). I was able to change out my insoles to my shoes (Brian/Papa provided the NASCAR commentary on the gear change - too funny), get some more water/powerade and an apple, and head off telling them I would see them at mile 20.

Disappointed (1)

For the last two years I have trained to run a marathon. The first marathon I was going to run was the Inaugural ING Atlanta in March (2006), but because of an overuse knee injury I focused my training on the half marathon instead and just readjusted my focus for a different marathon for 2007.

For the last 20 weeks I spent countless hours training for the Chicago Marathon. It was going to be awesome! The temperature was going to be cool (October in Chicago has to be cooler than Atlanta, right!?!) and the course was going to be flat - both of the qualities made Chicago an ideal first marathon.

I was a bit burned out by the training by myself, but the idea of crossing the finish line with my head and arms held high kept me going through the early morning runs, the runs at lunch during the week, the runs through the rain, and the dreaded long runs on Saturday or Sunday morning. Not to mention all the time I was spending on the road running was being taken away from spending with my family! (By the way - Jen and Morgan were totally the best support team during the whole training regiment. They were awesome whenever I was on my way out to run or when I got back late at night or early in the morning!)

So two weeks before Chicago the weather looks wet, but doable (maybe rainy, but the temps in the 60-70s). One week before the race the temperature spikes and is predicted to be somewhere in the mid to upper 80s. Not exactly optimal marathon running temperatures - but still not a problem for me because I have lived and run in the South most of my life (maybe the heat, humidity, and hills of Atlanta were going to pay off?).

At the Expo and in emails preceding the race all people involved were reminded that the temperatures were going to be 20+ degrees above average and that we needed to make sure we monitored our physical activity levels and how our bodies were responding - which basically means to slow down and stay as cool as you can (get two cups of water at the aid stations - one to drink and one to dump on your head; get your electrolyte replacement (gatorade or powerade) from the aid stations or bring your own from home; and to make sure you have gels or sport beans as well).

3:59:38*

That is my non-official timing for the Chicago Marathon! Did you notice the asterisk?

Jen has done a better job linking stories about the incredible debacle that was the marathon. The farther out from the circumstances the more irritated I get, so I'm going to take a couple days to "cool down" and will post my comments about the run through Hell on October 7, 2007.

Oh yeah. The asterisk. This was my non-official finish time for the Chicago Marathon. Not to shabby for a first timer. Wait - that is the official time they forced me to stop running the marathon. And by "me" I mean roughly 3/4 of those people that trained all Summer and were forced to stop running because the race officials didn't have a good contingency plan in place for the incredible heat.

It is just too bad.

Chicago T-shirts

From the creative mind of Brea comes the Chicago t-shirt that will be worn by my posse! Here is the design from Cafe Press.

Here is the front of the t-shirts:



Here is the back of my t-shirt. I wanted to be able to thank all those that supported my fundraising adventure!



Because I get distracted easily I forgot to order MY shirt the beginning of this week! It worked out because my mom did the same thing (I wonder where I get it from?) I ordered the 2 shirts this morning and had to do a quick delivery - no big deal. I put the order through for 2 Day shipping.

About 2 hours later I realized that Jen, Morgan, and I (along with mom and the Olson clan) were leaving on Wednesday for Chicago. Panic! There would be no way we would receive the shirts prior to our departure time on Thursday even with 2 Day shipping (which I had to pay something like $15). I called Cafe Press and spoke with their Customer Service and in less than 2 minutes I had switched the shipping from 2 Day to Next Day AT NO EXTRA COST (oh yeah, the shirts will be at my house on Tuesday)!

This is the 2nd time I have had the "opportunity" to interact with the Customer Service department at Cafe Press and have been impressed on both occasions!

If you ever need a shirt, sticker, mug, magnet, poster (with or without frame) go to Cafe Press and let them help you! They are awesome!

Chicago Weather for the Marathon

Can we all please pray that this weather forecast is 24 hours off? I would rather run in 56 degree, dry weather and not so much in the constant rain at 77 degrees.

Taper Phase

Man must have created the whole idea of training for and running a marathon, but I know for sure that God had His hand on the "Taper Phase" of training. It is awesome! I have run an amazing number of miles and spent many, many hours running, walking, taken many ice baths, and consumed enough Advil and Aleve to stop a young horse, but everything is coming down to these next 10 days.

The "taper phase" of marathon training is when I basically stop running and feel all the pain and suffering my joints, muscles, and tendons have gone through these last 15-17 weeks. My running plan for this week was to run 5 miles on Tuesday, 6 miles today, 4 miles on Thursday, with a "long" run of 8 miles this weekend. Next week is about the same, I will run 2-3 days next week with extremely low mileage, but end the weekend with 26.2 miles.

I owe a huge thanks to everyone that has kept me in your prayers during the training and to those that have given money to both the American Liver Foundation and the American Brain Tumor Association. There is a shirt designed for me to wear on the way home from Chicago with everyone's name that aided to my fundraising. I'll put a link to the shirt on the site in the next couple days.

It's Official

The confirmation letter finally came in the mail today!

If you want to monitor how long it takes me to finish the race (crawling across the finish line) go here and sign up. If you find another way to search times of racers I am bib #40157.

They call me Flush...I mean Flash!

In my first run since the weekend's 14 miles, I ran 3.19 miles in 26:40 seconds. I was pretty winded initially, but when I checked my pace it made more sense. I typically run at a 9-10 minute/mile pace, the first mile was at a 8 min/mile pace. Overall I felt pretty good after running. The temperature was nice (80-82 degrees), but the humidity was sucky!

Its just too bad that I was supposed to run 10 miles today. 3. 10. What the real difference?!

Puke Plates?

I'm pretty sure I'll have to move this cat at some point on Saturday morning. It has come time for 20 miles!

Hot & Curvy

Being on-call for work during the week plays havoc with my morning running schedule.

Because I was ripped out of my dream at 2:00 AM, as I ran down Pat Dye Field at Jordan-Hare Stadium on my way to scoring a touchdown for my Tigers, I turned off my alarm clock (that was set for 5 AM) and figured I'd just run during lunch this afternoon.

Let me tell you that it is hot in August in Atlanta. Surprised? Let me also tell you that there is not a flat road in the Atlanta area. Every where I run is uphill both ways.

I need cold and flat. I am incredibly thankful that Chicago will at least be flat! But freaked out that I am running the 26.2 miles in something like 5-6 weeks.

Running in a Mental-Vacuum

I set my alarm to go off at 5:15 AM this morning, so I could get my 7 mile run in before the heat scorched the roads around my house. At 4:15 this morning, my crack-berry goes off, I quickly answer the phone after the first *chirp*, hoping that it didn't wake Jen. No such luck.

I look at the clock and think to myself that I have another hour before I have to wake up - I hate having to wake up early, but especially when I have been ripped from my dreams before the alarm clock is set to go off. I close my eyes and in moments it is 5:00 AM. Apparently Jen has been up since worked called and is getting restless - you gotta hate those pregnancy hormones screwing up the sleep cycles.

I get up, get dressed in the dark, head down stairs, check my equipment (that would be my running stuff: shoes, water bottles (did I mention it is hotter than the 12th level of Hell here in the ATL?), reflector vest, and iPod. All are present and accounted for. I opened the front door and was slapped in the face with 93% humidity - this is going to be awesome!

The. Run. Sucked! I am mentally drained and dreading all the runs now, which is not real good considering I have a 15 mile run planned for this weekend in Auburn. (Any one in Auburn want to run 15 miles with me?)

I ended up only running/walking 5.25 miles in about 50 minutes. Not real bad, but not what I am capable of - it is very discouraging. I think it may be time to find a running club to get some extra bodies to run with.

Many Thanks!

I wanted to thank the families that donated money to my "Run For Research" page for the American Liver Foundation for the Chicago Marathon!

Thanks to the following people and families:

• Janine Lemmings
  
• Jake Jagdfeld
  
• Tom and Sharon McFarland
• Cindy Olson
• Cassia Glass

If you want to donate to my fundraising page for the ALF's Run For Research, follow the links above or at the sidebar of the blog. The more money we can raise, the greater chance to find cures for liver diseases and disorders!

I am coming up with a t-shirt to have for race day with everyone's name that donated money for me to give you some more recognition!

Let's get the wallets open people!