March Madness

It's been a few weeks since the marathon and I've told the story of my run to dozens of people now. Most people agree that finishing a marathon is a monumental feat and the time doesn't matter. I agree....for other people. Had I been able to jog the whole thing or been able to give it my all, I would be happy, but I was hindered by something that I have never had to face. Cramps and dehydration ruled my run, not fatigue. Therefore, I am getting ready for another marathon. Not sure when or where, but I gotta do one to satisfy myself.

Since the marathon, I have been sick three separate times, so training has been slow, plus we got snow...again. Exactly how does this global warmining thing work? Hopefully, I'll be able to kick this last bout and get out running again soon. I know Banjo is getting stir crazy in this house, she needs to run!

Emily is growing a developing. She has started to crawl which isn't a good of a thing as I thought. It just means that we have to keep an closer eye on her now. She can get from one end of hte room to the other in a hurry. Hope everyone is doing good. I'll try to write more again soon.

Done!

The last stretch of the marathon seemed to be the easiest. AP rejoined me to go across the line. There was the final left turn, then you could see hundreds of people on both sides of the street cheering, laughing, and enjoying a perfect day. AP points out Carrie and Emily. They wave, smile and take pictures. By now, my legs are on fire and I've been trying to run on my heels so my calf would stay stretched. (notice the picture. You can tell I am running funny to accommodate my calf.)

When the finish line was visible, you could see the crowd, you could see the large balloon arch, and you could see the finish line. At that point, I really felt like I was going to cry. I don't know if it was from the physical pain, or the emotional joy, or countless things in between. Because I am too proud, I held back and made a mean face, because I am a MAN. Maybe I'll punch a wall later!

I crossed the line, the announcer said my name and I FINISHED! Just as I crossed, a nice lady says congratulations and puts a medal over my head. Carrie and crew came over, congratulated AP and me as we all walked to get free stuff. As a finisher, I got a nice shirt, and a bag of samples and stuff. AP tried to get me to go to the medical tent to get an IV of fluids, but again I am too proud. I've earned this pain and I've earned this hurt.

Notice the picture, not a drop of sweat on me, AP is wet and shiny, I'm dry as a bone! I finished a marathon. I was good enough to realize that I can do it, but bad enough where I gotta do another and keep it together.

Random Marathon Things:

* There are hundreds of volunteers that make this race possible. People handing out water, people handing out medals, and countless other that help you through all 26.2

* There are dozens of people along the route that are just well wishers. Not associated with the marathon, but people who live along the route that root for and encourage everyone.

* Running with a partner is the best thing you can do to run a marathon

* Running with a partner is the worst thing you can do to run a marathon

* Having family and friends to support me is the only way I could have realistically made it. A friendly face along the way is better than a strong wind at your back (but I would prefer both)

* There is no chance that the weather could ever be that perfect on race day.

* If you ever run one, wear the shirt the next day. I got a couple of extra, "congrats" at lunch and at the grocery store on Sunday.

* I'm not sure I whether I would have finished without AP, but either way, I was glad to have him. He was both a coach and a friend on the course. He served our country in Iraq, so he was already a hero to us all, but he was my personal hero Saturday.

If anyone is in the mood to run one, I can't encourage you enough. Provided you do the training and have realistic goals for yourself, it is a life goal that can be crossed off and never taken away. I feel like a boxer that got beat up for 12 rounds, but got hooked on the sport! I'm running again tomorrow...6 miles. Wanna run?

Miles 20-26.0

AP and I said goodbye to the wives and my sister and headed north to the finish line. This stretch included some really pretty parks. Almost all of the run was along blacktop or concrete, but there was a stretch along a paved trail in a park. Luckily, there was not very many people running with us because the path was narrow and there was a dropoff to get around people.

At this point AP looks over at me and says, "Brad, you're not sweating anymore." For those of you who have played sports with me know that nobody sweats like I do. I rubbed my forehead and it was like sandpaper with salt, but very dry. Also at this time, I started seeing spots. When I would look at something white or shiny (like a street sign), the image of it would last for several seconds like I had image burn in. I'm not doctor, but that can't be good.

I feel like the spots were a result of low blood sugar. I ate a light pasta dinner Friday night and skipped breakfast that morning. This stretch is around 12:30-1:15, so I had gone 18 hours with no food other than jellybeans and GU. Maybe the decision to not eat was a bad one. I was so scared of an ugly "bathroom" incident that I wanted a clean system before I ran.

Clearly the lack of sweating was a result of dehydration. I just couldn't replace fluids at the rate I was losing them. I drank 1-3 cups of water at every water station (and there were about 20), but clearly I need more. There is one more common issue that accompanies dehydration....cramping. Suddenly, I start hopping on my left leg as my right calf clenches up. At one point, I don't stretch out the cramp just to show AP, there was a deep "hole" in my calf from the back of my knee down to my upper Achilles area where the muscle just tensed up. For the rest of the race, I could no longer jog more than 60 seconds without stretching my right calf.

In all my days swimming, playing basketball, volleyball, and all my training runs, I've never had a cramp...ever. I proudly stated that I never stretch, because I never needed too. Well, leg cramps are for real! So now I am trying to run more on my heels to force stretching as I run. Sadly, I couldn't enjoy the downhill part of the race. When running downhill, you don't stretch your calf, because the slope reduces the stretch, so I cramped up more during the "easy" part.

Meanwhile, I am trying to stretch every 60 seconds, and AP is really wanting to go. He is still staying with me. I can only imagine how frustrated I would be with someone if I was being slowed by them to this extent, but he wouldn't desert me. I must have said it 10 times, "just go ahead, I'll be OK." - I lied. By now, I was carrying a Gatorade bottle that we would fill up at every water station, but I was too hobbled to carry it, so AP was carrying it for me. If you carry a half full bottle, the water sloshes and makes it twice as heavy. Not usually a big deal, unless you are 23 miles into a run.

Finally, AP and I limp past the 25 mile mark, 1.2 miles to go and he finally takes off without me. I was fine on my own. At this point, we we in downtown and you could see the crowds start to cheer for you. Then I get to the 26th mile. 0.2 miles left.

The last .2 miles and post race next....

Miles 13.1-20

It's all down hill from here.....

Even though 13.1 is the technical half way point, we are still heading south. Right at mile 13.5, I look ahead and see a nasty hill. I know you think it may be topographically impossible, but these 7 miles were all uphill, even though we crossed the turn around point. To me, the half way point is when you start moving toward the finish line this is the "turn around point." - about mile 17.5. Mile 13.5 and mile 20 are the same point, as you loop back. It is also very depressing to see people run past you. Those guys are 6.5 miles ahead of me!

After mile 17.5, we are heading back to the finish line. At this point, I am only running every other minute. I would jog 60 seconds then walk 60 seconds. Somewhere prior to hitting the TCU campus, we saw a bunch of frat boys handing out tiny cans of beer. What kind of idiot would drink a beer while running a marathon? So I grabbed one! AP told me that it was a horrible idea, but I couldn't' pass up the comedy of the situation. I'm running 26.2 miles and toward the end, I thought how funny it would be to blog that I drank an 8 oz beer. I managed a swallow, maybe two before I realized that AP was right...horrible idea. Not only does it not satisfy your thirst, the carbonation blows up in your stomach. I am now tired, sore, hot, sweaty, and am either going to burp or throw up! Luckily, I was able to burp out all of that air and then I quickly tossed the beer out. Actually, AP carefully placed the beer on one of the cones that guarded us from traffic.

Comedy aside, I'm really deteriorating. Toward the end of this stretch, I have surpassed my longest training run, and I can tell. I'm really starting to break down. AP is a rock, he is encouraging me and all but carrying me to each mile as I beg him to "just go on, I'll be OK"

As we approach mile 20 we see the Carrie and Emily again. This time the AP and Brad posse has grown by 2, AP's wife, and my sister. Apparently, there was some fun at my expense. My sister reminded me that I said, "I really don't you understand just how bad I feel." - not a typo.

Miles 20-26 coming soon.

Miles 6-13.1

Shortly after mile 8 all of the half marathoners peeled off and the field got very thin. AP and I said so long to our third running partner and we headed further south while he got to turn back north.

At mile nine, I was able to muster the first smile I had in a while. Carrie was on the side of the road holding Emily high on her shoulders. As I approached, Emily was wearing a shirt that said, "Run Daddy Run" - Love, Emily. (how great is my wife, I didn't know she had a sweatshirt made)

Carrie provided us with some Gatorade, jellybeans and some Gu (runners gel). What a welcome site. To be running next to a sweaty man, chasing mostly sweaty men and a few sweaty women, I got to see my wife and baby. That really provided us with a spark. Our pace has slowed at this point, but we are still moving at a decent pace. At 13.1 miles, our time was 2:25 (still on pace!)

Between mile 10-13 something happened. I didn't see him, but I'm pretty sure someone tackled me, and beat the heck out of me. I started getting sore, tired and sick. AP is a warrior and wanted to go, but I was melting down quickly. Without him, I really could have quit at the half way point, but he kept me going.

2nd half updates to come.

Marathon morning through mile 6

Saturday morning started early for me. I woke up around 5:00 because I wanted to make sure that I didn't forget anything, even though I set everything out the night before from socks to IPOD.

I met AP downtown and we got in line. There is an enormous amount of people in line for the start. They put everyone in corals, which means slow people in the back. We were in the back! After the national anthem, I could see that people were starting to go, but it would be 6-7 minutes before we crossed the start line.

Our plan was to average 11:00 minute miles and finish under 5 hours. The first 6 miles were easy. AP was like a robot. Right, left, repeat. He set the initial pace a steady 10:20/mile (oops). The weather was perfect, there was a slight breeze and plenty of sun. This first quarter of the race was generally shoulder to shoulder people. There was never a time when you couldn't reach out and touch 4-5 other runners.

By the time we reached the 6 mile mark, everything is going smooth, we are going to dominate this race and beat our goals! (miles 7-13 tomorrow).

The Day Before

Well, tomorrow is the 2010 Cowtown Marathon! People keep asking me, "are you ready?" I think I am. I went outside a minute ago because I left something in the truck and I wanted to just take off and run. I think it crawls in your head! I ran so much in training and the last week, I've done almost nothing in order to rest my legs. I'm ready!

This is why I have the best wife ever. I'm going to describe the night of our 3rd anniversary....About right now, my mom is deciding if she wants to read on! Carrie has been sick for a few days, not time to call the hospital sick, but congested, sneezing runny nose sick. This started Wednesday (our anniversary). We knew we weren't going to go out and stay out late for our anniversary because we got some time together last weekend. I knew I had the best wife ever, when she said, "I am going to sleep in the guest bedroom so I don't get you sick before your big run." How awesome is that? Or maybe she just wanted to get rid of me for a few nights?? I am going to believe that she did it "for" me, not "because" of me. The last thing I need before a big run is to get congested.

I will post how the run goes next week.