Onward We Go

The Route 66 marathon is behind me now.  My body appears to have recovered well enough for me to do 10 miles tonight during the OU/OSU game.  I enjoy running during game time because I can channel nervous energy into running energy.

Just as promised, i’m onward to weight loss.  For months now I have carried way too much weight.  Not exactly sure how I accumulated so much weight even though I do believe three doses of steroids (trying to get rid of bronchitis and back pain) could not have helped the situation.

Marathonfoto sent me pictures of the marathon and I could hardly look at the pictures.  I look like a pregnant woman running around Tulsa.  Anyway, I am starting my crash diet on Tuesday.  It consist of a full cleanse where I get rid of all process foods.  I convert all liquids over to water.  My diet will consist of fruits and veggies for about 6 days until I am able to add grilled chicken to the mix.

I have used this diet before and it does work.  I lost 26 pounds last time and that was when I had a bad back so I was unable to adequately exercise.  The entire process takes about 21 days to complete.

The diet should end just before Christmas.  Around January 1st I will make a decision on whether to pursue another marathon.  The Cowtown marathon is catching my attention.  The ultra (31 miles) may even be an option.  However, all this is dependent on weight loss and my ability to stay in good running shape.  That was one of the reasons why I ran 10 tonight just one week after the marathon.

My pipe dream of running the redwoods may be put on hold for another year.  A little bummed but next year it would be timed with my 10 year anniversary with my wife.  That is not the reason why I may cancel this year, we are strongly looking at moving.  This will be a big financial burden.

However, if I run Cowtown and then the Memorial…..I’d be at marathon number 8 and 9.  Remember one of my goals is to run 10 marathons.

My Kicks Were on Route 66….Again.

This was my third year running the Route 66 Marathon.  Each year the course has changed.  The first year that I ran the marathon, the course was really flat until the last 4 miles which becomes crazy hilly.

Last years course stayed in the downtown area more but this years course spent over half of the course in the downtown area which meant more and more hills.

Just like last year, the weather was an issue.  I woke up to a balmy 61 degrees.  The ground was sweating with a 85% humidity.  To top things off, we had a strong southerly wind which would wreck havoc on the flat riverside portion of the run.

Anyway, I was very anxious about this particular run.  My body has barely made it through a few knock down fights with marathon courses over the last year or so.  I entered the race heavier than I had ever been for a marathon.  To confirm this statement, I had a lady ask me around mile 22 “how much do you weigh?”  I told her the answer and she told me “you are moving well.”

I started off slowly in the race as I quickly saw how hilly the first part was.  I took it super easy until I had flatter running.  This would be one of my smarter races for me.  Never did go all out but I had moments of accelerated pace.

Once I reached Riverside, I had ten miles left.  The first 4 or so miles on Riverside was rough going.  The wind was gusting off the river around 30 miles per hour.  Once I turned around, the tailwind helped some.

I had a very special guest run the last three miles with me.  Little B.  I was very happy to see her.  So many times I get lonely out there running by myself.  Plus it was added encouragement for me to get to mile 23 where I knew she would be.

Once B joined me, I was able to coast into the finish line.  Very grateful for a friend like her.

Just like any marathon, I fought back tears as I heard the crowd at the finish line.  Something about that, always chokes me up.  Halfway through the final stretch I catch sight of my kids.  Ran over to them and told them I loved them before running the final 20 years.  Not sure if it meant anything to them other than daddy saying “I love you,” but it meant a bunch to me to run something of this distance in front of them.

Here’s my plan from here….Lose Weight!!!  I am going on a cleanse next Monday.  I will be posting my weight updates to help keep me honest.  I have vowed to never run a marathon at this weight again.

I really love running marathons so this will be added incentives to get the weight off.  Really want to run the Avenue of the Giants this spring.

Pic w/ the kiddos

It’s Marathon Time!!!

Time to rise to the occasion once again.  It’s marathon time in Tulsa this weekend.  The Route 66 marathon has reared it’s challenging head in my life.  Ready or not, here I come.

I look forward to this marathon for many reason.  I am ready for the challenge.  I’m also ready to finish training for marathons for a few months so I can start concentrating on weight loss.

I will post pictures when I get a chance.  Wish me luck.

Ouch…14 More Days

The days continue to tick on down til my date with the Route 66 marathon.  Had a small set back Thursday.  I went out to run my final long distance run of the marathon training for fall.  I was on mile 4 or so when I cam to a crosswalk across the street from 7-11 and Lloyd Noble.

I wait my turn to cross when a truck speeds by and I hear a sound followed by a crazy pain in my neck.  I reach up to my neck to feel a liquid substance.  My first thought, I had just seen my last day.  I had been shot in the neck.  Ends up, I was shot in the neck but it was from some idiot with a paintball gun as they drove by.

I feel very fortunate.  Had I been hit six inches higher i’d most likely be blind.  Don’t get me wrong I would love to have some time alone with whoever did this but I now that would end badly for someone.  My fight or flight had kicked in pretty fast right after the hit, fight was open for business.

Anyway, after calling the police I decided to finish my run.  Refused to let idiots run my evening.  Ended up running 18 miles that night.  Jokingly, I mentioned that running 18 miles and being shot in the neck by a paintball has to account for some sort of extra mileage.

This will be an easy week for me.  My wife is out of town and i’m watching the kiddo so i’m unable to sneak off and run until Wednesday.  Route 66 ready or not, here I come.

Onward to Rt. 66

Wow, what a journey?  Yes, a journey.  I have been fighting various injuries in order to continue my training for my next marathon which is Route 66 marathon in Tulsa.

My shins continue to burn when I run and my quads may or may not allow me to run.  I am finding that longer periods of stretching help reduce the shin problem and rest between runs help the quad issue.

Another injury would be my back.  I continue to fight this on a daily basis.  I am going to the chiropractor every other day.  My back was so bad this weekend that I had to leave the OU football game in the 3rd quarter.  That’s a big deal to me.

Anyway, I hit a all time running low Sunday morning when I started debating whether I would run Route 66.  So much of my problems relate to me being overweight.  I know this and I do know I need to take major action to lose the weight.  This in turn will help my running.  Just as I was reaching my low on Sunday, I rebounded with a thunderous 10 mile trick or treat run through the neighborhood.

Not making the Rt. 66 marathon would be viewed as a failure in my eyes.  I just have a hard time with that.  So for now, I am onward to the marathon.  I am still training for the run and plan to finish training this weekend when I run a long run one last time.

I’ll keep you posted.

Onward to Route 66

We’ll its been two weeks since the Mother Road debacle.  Here’s a few things that I have learned the hard way.

1.  Do not attempt a long distance race that has not been test over time.

2.  Make sure runners are in charge of most aspects of the race.

3.  Wait as late as possible before signing up for a marathon just in case you start getting a bad vibe or weather does not look conducive to running.

4.  If you run long distance in September or early October…make sure its in a Northern state.

Hope i’m not being overly hard on the Mother Road.  They tried hard but it was not a runners race.  If you ever decide to run it, be sure to get plenty of angle running.  Find a step sloping hill and run parallel to it for about 14 miles.  If you can do that, you will be fine.

Another revelation I have come to grips with is my weight.  I am in the process of trying to lose 10 to 15 pounds before Route 66.  Added weight really does knock you down with you run.  The breathing gets off, and muscles wear out faster.  More importantly, you run slower and the longer you are out there. the more beat up you get.

Anyway….I was almost derailed three days after the Mother Road.  I bent down to shelve a book and felt something pull near the quad/groin area.  Anyway, be nightfall I was dragging my right let.  It took about a week before I could finally run 3 miles.

Tonight I went to cheer on the runners doing the 24 hour race by Hefner.  These runners are unbelievable.  When I was there, they were on mile 60 or 70 and there were some people acting like they browsing the shelves at Walmart.  They’d stop at the rest station and have a regular conversation for a few minutes before running again.

My gosh, if it was me….i’d lose the ability to speak properly around mile 30.  Any audible noise that would come out of my mouth would be a curse word attempting to explain why I signed up for a 24 hour race.

Route 66 is about a Month away now.  I plan on running a 20 miler next weekend.  Later.

10/10/10 Mother Road

Just completed the first ever Mother Road Marathon.  This race started in Commerce, Oklahoma (home of Mickey Mantle) and ended in Joplin, Missouri.  The big claim to fame for the race was the running on Route 66.

I left Saturday morning on a bus with 33 or so OKC LandRunners.  For those not from the area, LandRunners are the OKC running group.  The trip down there was pretty low key the highlight of the trip down there was…

Okay, it was Forest Gump.  Not Flock of Seagulls but hey, the music makes it better.

Anyway we arrive at the hotel and then head over to the Running Expo.  The expo was a thriving market place with running gear stacked from the floor all the way to the ceiling.  Not!!  There were three tables at best in the expo.  The word expo should have been taken off the website and packet pick up should have taken it’s place.

The pasta dinner was alright.  It was especially courteous to have someone dictate where to sit in a gigantic eating area.  The 23rd street band was playing during dinner…at times I swore they sounded like Depeche Mode.

Now onto the race.  Pre race was alright.  The porta potties represented in Commerce.  Thought it was kinda funny because 20 of them were placed right across the street from residential housing.  Can you imagine waking up to porta potty doors shutting and the fresh stench of nervous stomachs?

The race started at 8 a.m. If you’ve ever run a marathon, you know 8 a.m. is awfully late unless you are in the winter time.  Off we go down the road.  About a mile down the road, I experienced burning/pain in my shins.  For the next several miles, I brainstormed why I was feeling this way.

Here’s the reason.  The road was heavily cambered.  In other words, the road was angled towards the shoulder for drainage purposes.  I’m sure that incline works well for rain but not so much for running.  If I ever run this again, i’ll be sure to incline train.  Sarcasm.

During my shin problems, I started rubbing on my inner thigh.  It hurt and hurt.  So I pulled up my pants and looked down.  My spandex had worn a hole and the hole was doing a number on my skin.  Starting to see blood.  I ran with this issue for a few miles before finally pulling off at a station and dropping the drawers in public and removing my spandex.  I would like to apologize for all of those who had to see me like that.  Atleast it was better than what I saw a mile before my changing….a lady doing the restroom thing behind a truck.

Anyway, tossed my spandex into a trashcan.  Swore they may have stuck to the side of the can.  At around mile 14 the roads got better and less camber.  This coincided with leaving Oklahoma.

Mile 16 was when the real fun began.  I started cramping in my calf muscles.  We’re talking seizing up cramps.  I’d run for 20 yards before locking up.  Many times during the final 10 miles, I thought I was going to take my first DNF.

Anyway, I limped in to the finish line and was able to run the final straightway.

Now here’s my top 10 for 10/10/10

1.  Calf Cramps

2. Arm Cramp

3.  Slight Neck Cramp

4. Spandex Chaffing

5. Cambered Road

6.  Horrible Heat

7.  Late Start Time

8.  Dizzy Spells

9.  No Cups at the 8 Mile Station

10. No Finisher’s Shirt (unless I missed it)

I guess you can tell I most likely will not run this race again.  I think people had good intentions but ultimately, runners can tell when a nonrunner helped organize a race.  The biggest problem of the race that started my chain reaction of problems was the road.  I cannot explain to you have angled the roads were.  There was nowhere you could run that would make the ground level.  I felt like this affected my calfs and thus affect my shins and caused cramp too.

Up next is Route 66.  I will continue to train.  I am shooting for 10 less pounds before running it.

I will post pictures when I get them.

10/10/10….26.2

Okay, it’s just a few more days until the big marathon day.  I am very anxious right now.  This is the first marathon that I have run since my back injury.  I am also running at a heavier weight than normal thanks to my steroid episodes to get rid of my bronchitis/allergies.  To top things off, the high temperature for race day is 86 degrees.  86 degrees!!!

As you can tell, I have plenty on my mind about this.  I will be traveling up via bus with the LandRunners.  Staying the night in Joplin.  The race starts in Commerce, OK (home of Mickey Mantle).  The route will take me through Kansas and end in Joplin, Missouri.

Unfortunately I will be running without the support of my family and close friends.  Sure, they support me but are unable to make it to the race.  So, this will be one of my biggest running tests without them there.

So, I will keep you posted as race day gets closer.

Alive and Well…I Think

Hope life is going well for you reader. I have been consumed with work and I am still running but it is real sporadic right now. I am getting my distance runs in and doing a bunch of short runs during the week.

OU football has also started so I am watching my Saturday’s be zapped away in the heat as I watch from inside the stadium.

The reason for my title, I have had three different people comment on my weight over the last two weeks. “How come your still big if you are still running?” Thats hard to answer but I do believe i’m struggling with my metabolism right now. I went through two doses of steroids during the spring time to help fight off allergies/bronchitis. This typically packs on weight. With that said, I still eat horribly. However, i’d like to send a special insensitive shout out to those people who made the comments. Be sure to look for my marathon posts in October from the comforts of your Lazy Boy chair.

Well, i’m volunteering for the Kelsey Briggs run this weekend. I will keep you posted when I run my next 20 miler which is coming soon.

Brookhaven Run Plus

Started the day off around 6:45 at Little B’s house. I met B and Mel and we started running to the race this morning. This is the one time during the year when a 5K race is actually in Norman. ‘

We ended up running 1.5 to the race. Then we ran 3.1 during the race. Finally, we ran 1 mile back home. It was a beautiful day to get out and run. Loved seeing all of the people there too.

Now it’s on to Sooner football later on today.