Trail Running is Amazing!

I spent Thanksgiving Day with my Dad in Kansas City. I was very thankful that my wife and family are supportive enough to let me leave for a couple hours to go on a trail run.

I scouted it out and after a short drive I was out on my first ever trail run. It was on the mountain bike trails in Smithville Lake Park, North of Kansas City. It was a gorgeous trail. It didn't take me long to ditch the iPod. It was clear I would need my ears open and my mind focused.

My legs were working but my brain was working even harder. The trail had my mind doing back flips when it usually zones out. I had to be aware to run around rocks, over roots, under trees, and through small streams. I heard some noises in the woods and I looked up for a biker. That's when I saw them. Big. Strong. Intimidating. They locked eyes with mine. He wasn't ready for anyone to come between him and his girl. He must have been a six pointer at least. Both deer, as if on cue, took off into the woods at the same time. They must have been about 30 yards away. It was an amazing feeling to be that close to nature.

As I continued running through the woods it reminded me of my childhood. Running through the woods with my older brother was a staple of my summers growing up. My brother and I haven't been close for nearly two decades. We really couldn't be anymore different. For some reason during that run, I couldn't help but think it would be nice to have him there. We have so few pleasant memories of each other. It would have been nice to share this experience, however simple it is, with my big brother.

Maybe I'll send him a text and see how he's doing.

Quitter 30k

I've always wanted to organize an event that discourages you to finish. I think the running community is so supportive it would be fun to turn things on their head and have as many discouraging aspects as possible.

I imagine drill instructors with bull horns shouting things like, 'you can't do it, just give up,' and 'you are nowhere near the finish line.' or 'quit now, there's cold beer right here.' What would be the most mentally defeating thing for you? Here are some of my ideas;

Cold beer if you quit, warm NA beer if you finish.

Tons of hills, Out and Back, Out and Back, again.

Cold weather and Hoses at every water station.

All mile markers are set .10 mi. shorter.

Fake finish lines. 'Just another 2 miles to go!'

Massages if you quit at mile 15.

Loud horrible music, everywhere.

Feel free to add your own.

My Maiden Marathon

Five straight days of work meetings that ran from 7 a.m.-10 p.m. No real control over my diet, including carb intake. Running in a climate I'm not accustomed to. Running an unfamiliar route. Ignoring the advice to get a good nights sleep two days before the race. Choosing to not have friends and family cheering me on in the stands.

These were a few of the many mistakes I made leading up to the Rock N Roll San Antonio Marathon. But we all make mistakes. The important part is that we all can learn from them. So here's my recap of the event.

I say goodbye to my co-workers and head to bed the night before the race. It was tough to do when you only get to see these people once every 4 years. But it had to be done. It was a long day. We had a day full of meetings and even volunteered at Camp Camp outside of San Antonio. It's a summer camp for kids with disabilities that allows them to get the camp experience and more importantly gives their families a much needed break for a week/weekend.

Going in I had no idea I would be swinging a pick axe to take out fence posts and hauling wood for repurposing for several hours the day before my first marathon. But you have to do what you have to do. With the company motto of being "All In," there was no way to skirt the task at hand.

So after making my rounds to say good bye at the hotel bar I head back to my room. I get everything laid out for the race in the morning and head to bed. During this corporate trip you get the pleasure of having a roommate. Mine snored. I laid awake listening to my iPod for the next 6 hours as I desperately tried to fall asleep. No use.

I "wake up," get ready, and head down to the race. I find my corral quickly and get ready. I've decided to take a friends advice and write my name across the front of my shirt. People along the race yelled out my name, cheering me on and it was pretty nice to have the support.

It takes about 40 minutes for my corral to get to the start. I can hear as they announce that the lovely Shalane Flannigan is running. A running podcast I listen to, 3 Non Joggers, mildly stalks her via social media (in a safe and good hearted way). I know very well she will have showered and eaten lunch by the time I cross the finish line and it has nothing to do with the 40 minute head start.

We get to the starting line and I feel fairly calm as I start out on my first ever marathon. The first mile was tough. My calf and shins are burning quite a bit through the first mile or two. It's unusual for me and made me a bit nervous that this race isn't going to go well. But it fades. As it does, my anxiety fades as well.

I hit my sweet spot. From mile 2-10 I feel great and enjoy the race. The Rock N Roll series does a great job of putting bands throughout the course to entertain both the crowds and runners. I am a little disappointed when I see the GU station has been ransacked by the previous runners. 19,000 of the 24,000 or so that ran are half marathoners. I am not too upset that the station is empty. I brought my own GU.

Around the 10 mile mark I start to get a bit cranky. Did the half marathoners really need all that GU? I do the math and I'm going to be one GU short. Grrr. I see a girl wearing a shirt that says 'I'm 13 and I'm beating you.' Yeah, well I have twice as much to run and I just passed you, I thought to myself. Just after the 10 mile mark we hit the point where the half marathoners turn left and we keep going straight for the full. I hit that split and what do I see...?

N O O N E !

The closest runner is about 75 yards in front of me. I glance back and the closest runner is about 50 yards behind me. I realize just how long of a day this is going to be. The crowds cheering us on thin out. Significantly. The heat becomes that much more noticeable. The neighborhood changes and there are no longer trees to shade us from the sun.

I should have known the challenge I had ahead of me when I saw the runners going the other way. They were on mile 23. They were tall, athletic, and shirtless. They were struggling. Some were walking. Some were sitting. I am not tall, athletic, or shirtless.

I continue to run at my snail slow pace. It's nothing new for me. But the heat that creeps over us is. My training runs were in 40 degree weather. I find out later it hits 87 F and 97% humidity. I believe it. It was hot. Every chance I get I soak my body in water in a desperate attempt to lower my body temp. I know my muscles have the endurance for the distance. I'm not so sure about the heat.

I drench myself in water. I put ice bags on the back of my neck. I rest in the City Busses they have provided as runner cooling stations. I keep moving forward. Sometimes I walk. Sometimes I run. I want to finish this race. I was smart enough to apply sunscreen but failed to realize I would be soaking myself with hoses every chance I get. My face starts to feel the Texas sun pounding on my cheeks.

At our meeting for work we had a motivational speaker come in and talk about how his life changed after a farming accident that left him a quadriplegic. It's hard to complain about your feet hurting when you realize the extent some people would go just to feel that pain in their feet. I keep moving.

It takes me a while. I take walk breaks, sit in the cooling stations, and even stop once to wring out my Smart wool socks after a hose operator intentionally sprayed my shoes and feet. Seriously? As I come to the last 6 miles I am grateful for the condition I am in. Some runners are limping on injured legs, refusing to give up. I see a young lady puke at the 26 mile mark.

I push on running when I can, walking when I must. I finally make the turn and run to the finish line. I cross the finish line and it doesn't quite set in that I just finished a marathon. I don't know if it's because I missed my target time by over 45 minutes. I don't know if it's because I'm desperately looking for water (they ran out at the finish line). I don't know if its because my feet hurt more than they ever had in my life. I still have to walk a mile to get back to my hotel.

As I catch my breath and pick up my swag bag I start to reflect on the journey that brought me to this moment. I ran 422 training miles to get to the starting line. I think of the hours I invested into training. I think of the hours my wife spent watching our son and worrying about me as I ran. On top of all that it was a long and emotional week. I fought back the tears. Had my wife and son been there, I probably would not have won that battle

Immediately after the race I swore I would never do another marathon. A couple days later I said maybe. Now that I'm home I'm already looking at which one I will run next. I want to shave an hour or so off of my time. Shouldn't be too difficult.

I get the chance to talk to some other marathoners at the airport. On one flight a marathoner tells me he turned left at the half marathon split, deciding to forgo the full and enjoy the beer instead. He is a wise man. One woman shares that she has run 20 marathons in 20 states. I ask her what was her best and what was her worst experience. She tells me this was tied for the worst.

So with my first and hopefully worst marathon in the books, it can only get better from here. Bring on the next challenge.

Marathon Mise en Place (Meeze-ah-ploss)

For those of you that don't know, my day job is related to the foodservice industry. On a recent visit to the Culinary Institute of America one of their Master Chefs talked to us about the most important thing to learn as a Chef. Simply put, his answer was Mise en Place.

Mise en Place, for those that don't know, is a french term meaning 'everything in place.' In the fast paced, zero tolerance for error, and high pressure environment set for top notch chefs, you can not afford to have things out of place. That plate that's late getting out or that corner you cut, might just end up in the hands of a food critic that could make or break you.

While getting ready for my first ever marathon, I couldn't help but feel I was practicing Marathon Mise en Place. Okay... I MAY be romanticizing it a bit (some do just call it a check list). But imagine setting out on your run without a crucial piece of equipment. No compression shorts, or sports bra, Glide stick, or Ipod?

Another important part of pre-race preparation is sleep. The key is to get a good nights sleep two nights before the run. I failed to do this. I had a long week. An emotional week. An exhausting week. I thought I'd be different. I thought, as tired as I am, I'll be able to sleep the night before the race. I could not have been more wrong.

Mise en Place, people! It's simple. Everything in it's place. And your butt's place, two nights before race day, is in bed.

The hardest part about running is that our harshest critic is always present for our runs.

Getting Over a Horrible Training Run

All the factors for disaster were there. I had been sick and was just starting to recover. It was an unusually hot day for my climate. All that could go wrong, did go wrong. You win Murphy!

Telling you about my horrible training run feels about as useful as discussing how my fantasy football team lost by one point after my running back took a knee at the one yard line. So here is a quick summary. I'm sick but I decide to run anyways. As I set out it gets hotter and hotter (mid 80s in October in Wisconsin is crazy). I trip crossing a bridge and fall within the first 3 miles of my 18 mile run. I run, I walk, I run, I walk, I run, shooting pain in my back, I can no longer run. I walk the remaining 6 miles of the 18 mile run.

So you had a horrible training run. We've all had them. The question is, what do you do once they happen?

1. Get Angry- Let it out. It's frustrating. You've worked hard to get to this point and this run isn't an indicator that your previous work was worthless. So complain about it and get over it.

2. Analyze It- A mistake is much more valuable if you can learn from it. Were you too sick to run? Did you not take the weather into account? Did you choose a route with no shortcut home? Did you notify someone where you were going? Could you have ran with a cell phone? I made all of these mistakes. It happens. Now fix it.

3. Count It- You may not have run for 18 miles but look on the bright side. You were on your feet even longer than your training run would have afforded. If you ended up walking, you worked out the exact same muscles you do when running. You got one of the best and most important training session, a mental workout. When race day comes, you can be confident that if you can overcome this set back, nothing will stop you from achieving your goal.

4. Recover- Sleep if you need to overcome that cold. Rest your body if you were fatigued. Heal if you were injured. Skip a run if you have to. It is always better to be undertrained than overtrained.

5. Get Your Butt Back Out There- As soon as you feel ready, get back on the horse. Talk to other runners. Every poker player has a bad beat story and so does every runner. They'll tell you what happened to them. Then ask them how much fun they had on race day.

If running marathons, half marathons, 5ks, etc. were easy, everyone would do them. You've chosen to challenge yourself. Well here's your challenge. How will you respond?

16 Mile Run

Never in my life could I have imagined running 16 miles. I used to tell my friends that running a marathon was unhealthy. Mainly from the stress fractures nearly all of them got while training. And here I am heading out on an unfathomable distance.

I've got my running gloves on, my hydration belt, 1 Gu, and 2 packages of 100 calorie cookies made my elves that live in trees (hey, I live 30 miles from my running store and forgot to get Gu). And while I like Gu those cookies were awesome.

I ran past the county fair grounds, the High School, and lots and lots of farmland. The air was brisk and running through fog can be a gloriously cooling experience. I may have moved slowly and ran out of Gatorade, but at the end of the run I felt so good I considered running another .2 miles for symbolism sake. Thankfully I shook off the exercise induced delirium and walked the rest of the way home.

And this was my test run. If I can run 16 I might as well run 26.2. And I felt better than I did after running 14 miles.

To Run or Not to Run

I work in Sales. When you work in Sales, every 4 years or so, your company may get all of the sales team together for a National Sales meeting. Ours will be in San Antonio this year. I have never been to Texas. I don't have any huge desire to visit Texas either (maybe Austin). Not that I hate Texas, it just doesn't jump out at me.

It's very easy to deviate your corporate flight back and visit someone or extend your stay in a city. Your company usually just charges you for any extra cost they incur. So I started my search to see what was in the area during my stay. Football? Nope. Concert? Not really. All I know about San Antonio is it's home to the Alamo.

So I try one more search and see what races are being run on Sunday, the only real day I have available. I thought it might be a long shot but what do I find? The Rock n' Roll San Antonio Marathon. But I can't run a marathon. I have only run a half Marathon and I only have about 8 weeks before the race. I decide to check a training guide anyway.

I look for the full marathon training run and how many weeks it takes to finish the rest of the training. 8 weeks. So maybe it can be done. I'd have to stick to my training. Consistency has been something I've lacked with all of the summer weddings monopolizing my weekends.

I decide to casually give it a try. I would do the training and test the water to see if I was ready to up my mileage. I don't have to commit to signing up or changing my travel for a couple weeks so why not give it a shot. When I share this idea of casually training for a Marathon my friends tell me I am foolish. My friends tell me the laid back approach won't be a successful one.

The real reason I stay casual is to avoid a let down if I fail or if my body fails me. Then some of the doubts start to creep in as people bring them up. You've only been running for 6 months. Big guys like us aren't supposed to run that long. You realize you will be running for over five and a half hours right? You don't know anyone in San Antonio to support you or even cheer you on. You will be coming off of 5 intense days of tiring corporate training days. And the list goes on and on.

My mind is made up. I will finish a marathon in November. It may not be pretty. It may not be ideal. But I will finish.

My First Half

So after an eventful and, for the most part, sleepless night, My wife and I load up the car and start out on our hour drive to Madison where the race is. After a quick stop at Walgreens for some ziplock bags to protect my Ipod, I hit the bathroom one last time and head toward the starting line.

As I am walking over I hear an announcement that there is weather headed our way and that we should take shelter as we wait for it to pass. I'm kind of annoyed. I run in the rain and don't see a problem with doing it. I say goodbye to the wife and kid and wait under a buildings overhang to wait it out. I'm hoping it will pass quickly but it doesn't.

I pass the time listening to one of my favorite running podcasts, The 3 Non-Joggers. I find myself getting odd looks as I laugh outloud to myself. We wait for updates and finally an hour and a half later they inform us the weather has passed and that we will begin the race. When they say weather, they meant thunderstorms. It continued to rain for another hour into the race.

We get in our corrall and as the race begins we start that slow move towards the start line. As we get close House of Pains "Jump Around" plays (A UW Football Favorite). I jump with the song and it is the perfect warm up to get my heart rate in the zone. I cross the finish line and begin the first half mile that is for the most part, all uphill.

I start off a bit slow, keeping my heart rate lower as I know I have a long race ahead of me. I get passed by everyone. I feel like everyone was standing still as I was slowly drifting backward in a strong current. I convince myself I am sticking to my game plan and I will finish stronger than the rest of them.

My wife and my 18 month old son bear the weather with me and plan on meeting me 5 times throughout the race. I see them next to one of my many favorite bars from when I was a student on campus. My son gives me a high five and I keep moving.

I keep up a steady pace and continue on my way. The rain finally stops about 3 or 4 miles in. The course if filled with a mix of sun and shade. I welcome the bath of warmth and sunlight early on and my Irish skin basks in the shade as the race streches on. The hills are small and provide a nice break of flat course before you hit the next incline.

I really do love this course. A mix of city and woods really balances out the race. The aid stations are expertly ran. I continue on knowing I need to hit a restroom but each time I pass one, there is a line of 3 or 4 runners. At my current pace I just don't have the time to sit and wait.

After about 4 miles of passing up restrooms I accept that a wait is inevitable. I feel like time is flying by as I stand still waiting. I finially get my turn and am back on the course in no time. I get to the next aid station and what do I see? No line! Grrr.

About mile 9 I do the math and see that I can finish under 2:30 if I push myself for the next 4 miles. I see my wife about a 1/4 mile later and I am thinking "get the gels, can't stop, have to keep moving." I see how excited she is to see me and I realize what I should have been doing was stopping to say Hi, thanking her for her support, telling her to get her ass moving because I'm going to finish strong and if she doesn't hurry she'll miss me.I go somewhere in the middle. I grab my Gels, kiss my son, and my wife, and tell them I have to get moving.

I feel really strong at this point in the race. My wife later commented that most people she saw go by looks dead and I looked like a man on a mission. That's exactly how I felt. I can honestly say that no one passed me in the last 4 miles of this race. I was booking. But no matter how hard I push myself I can not see the 2:30 pace group. This part of the race is mainly flat and they are carrying 10 foot high signs that say 2:30.

I start to think that I'm not going to make 2:30 after all. I take a break at one of the water stations realizig my goal may be out of reach. I get back to my previous "bat out of hell" pace and decide to just finish it out. Then I see something I wasn't expecting. I was at the 11 mile mark and I could see the pace group headed the other way after the turn around. I put them at about the 11.5 mile mark. I watch their speed and I realize I can definitely catch up to them.

I continue to push and damn near sprint the last 2 miles. I am flying by runners that are walking or those bastards that are done with the race and decided to travel back through the course with their finisher medals. Don't do that people. No one likes you when you do that. I continue to run and I still don't see the pace group.

My Garmin is a bit off and I don't know exactly where the finish is. I fear I don't have enough race to find these pacers and my watch says its going to be close. I finally run off the biking path we've been running on, make it around a building, and hit the road once more. I look up and see 2 guys in bright yellow jackets holding a large sign that says 2:30.

I finally catch and pass them on the inside as I round the corner for the last tenth of mile of the race. I cross the line and finish my first Half Marathon at 2:28:47. I feel great. I refuel, change clothes, grab a beer, and meet up with a few friends at the Union's Terrace over looking Lake Mendota. I already signed up for my next Half Marathon on Halloween. Any costume ideas?

Pre-Race Preparation

I laid out my clothes. I charged my trinkets. I set my alarms and I wrote out everything I was worried about. I went to sleep and felt good. Until...

A. I had a bizarre dream that I was fighting with Dan Patrick. You know, the guy from Sportcenter that would break out the Boo-yas, En Fuegos, and the Wiff. I listen to his radio show everyday and plan on listening to it during the run. So is this my mind struggling with the race? Who knows. Quite weird.

B. Then I get back to sleep for about a half an hour. A very light sleep might I add. All of a sudden my 18 month old son starts to stand up in his crib and cry at 4 am. And he does. not. stop. My wife got up and gave him a bottle and read to him as I tried to sleep. No luck. He continues to cry. We decide to let him and he wails for 20 minutes. I finally get him out of bed and he isn't upset, he isn't hungry, he doesn't want his bottle, HE IS AWAKE FOR THE DAY.

Our son has slept through the night since he was 3 months old. Put him down at 8 and he will get up at 7 on the dot. Now I am up and writing this post as he plays with trains, makes mooing sounds, and generally runs around the house playing with door knobs like he always does.

Where was Connor on that episode of Seinfeld when they needed to be woken up for the Marathon?

Day Before the Race Jitters

Did I eat too much crap? Did I drink enough water? Do I have all my gear? Are all my electronics charged up? Do I know where to park? Will my wife make me late? It's supposed to rain, what do I need to do? What if I have the runs? What if I miss my wife and she has my GU? What if I forget something? What if I over sleep? What if I can't sleep? What if I start too fast? What if I start too slow? What if I don't finish? Do my legs ache or is that just in my head?

Do I need to tell you I am a tad nervous?

My Journey

How the hell did I get hooked on this sport...

It all started with some college friends of mine wanting to reunite for the Crazy Legs Classic, a 5 mile race in Madison, WI put on the by the UW Badger Athletic program. After a few years of training a month before the race then giving up, something weird happened.

I started to enjoy running. Desperately in need of a transformation I decided to give it a try. I had the shoes, I had some running clothes, so why not? I found when I pushed myself to run farther and faster by body responded surprisingly well. The dormant athlete inside of me was just waiting to be awaken. Granted, I am no where near as fit as I once was, but I have made huge gains in very little time.

So why did I need a change? I was a 3 sport athlete in High School. Constantly at a practice or running around playing sports with my friends. Then college came. I replaced pitching with pitchers. I went from dominating 4 quarters at a time to dominating AT quarters. I went from taking 3 point shots to Jaeger shots. You get the idea.

So my 185 lbs. quickly climbed to 230 by the time I left college. Then it was off to the real world. Maybe I would leave most of that binge drinking behind and get back into shape. Well I did slow down on my drinking quite a bit. But a new obstacle was ahead of me, an endless supply of bacon.

I know what you are thinking. What the hell is this guy complaining about? He has every mans dream, 60 varieties of Bacon at his disposal whenever he feels like it. And I am talking good bacon too. Not just the regular kind; Applewood smoked, Nitrite Free, Honey Cured, Maple Pepper, Cob smoked, Pecanwood Smoked, Jalapeno, Sugar Cured, thick, thin, anything. Basically all the designer bacon you see in your high end bistros and breakfast nooks.

And it's my job to eat that on a daily basis. About 4 times a year I spend an entire day standing next to a bottomless tray of warm delicious bacon. I have to sell it to chefs and sampling is apart of the sales pitch. But it's not just Bacon. Pulled Pork, Brisket, Sausage, Pot Roast, Proscuitto, Salami, etc. Basically if there is something that can take years off your life, we probably sell it. And on top of that I spend about 15 hours a week sitting in my car driving to and from accounts.

So my 230 at college slowly climbed to 249. I dug in my heals. I refused to hit the 250 lb. mark. It was just a symbolic number that woke me up and told me I needed a drastic change. I started to log my calories to get an idea of how much I was eating in a day 3,500 calories on average.

Something had to change. That something was me!

To Run or Not to Run

That is the question. I run my first Half Marathon in 4 days. I must admit, part of me is terrified. I felt good with my training and the way it was going until a fishing trip up north prevented me from getting my long run in. The motivation to run didn't come to me in the morning after a late night of playing poker with the boys.

I chalked up missing my run to a taper week. I was ok with it as long as I get a couple solid runs in the week before (today). Then I got sick. I woke up Monday with sore throat, achey legs, and a pounding headache.

I've been getting plenty of rest and forcing fluids. I've been eating more fruits and veggies to help recover. I skipped my 3 mile run tonight but plan on getting up early to get 7 miles in. I just can't tell if it's time to run or time to rest.

I guess we'll find out come Saturday.