We've Moved

With Oprah (kind of) beaten, I'm moving this to a new home. Please visit my ramblings at http://get-ready-to-run.blogspot.com/.

Chicago Marathon 2007

There has been so much said about this run, so I'm not going to go into much of the details, instead, here are some YouTube videos that convey my view of things:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=uQ8Dj5F00ig - Local TV Coverage
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qbZTI7Cw0rM - Fiasco Video from on Course
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCRyQBCz5eg&NR=1 - Chicago Tribune

I went into this run a bit travel weary. Over a two week period I had slept in six different beds in four different states; an accomplishment, I suppose, if I had female companionship, but as it were, it was more so a burden on my back as it is accustomed to "the pit" I've wallowed in my bedroom mattress. Honestly though, other than the general lack of running leading up to the race, I felt fairly good come race morning. Food-wise, things had gone well the days leading up to the run. Bathroom-wise (not table talk, but we all know it's important), things were stellar as I prepared to start my run. The one issue was the heat; 88 or so degrees would be the high, with no cloud cover, and reflective asphalt under foot.

As is clear from my times, I didn't finish the whole 26.2 miles; I was diverted and completed 18.4 miles in about 4:24. So, in some respects, I guess I beat Oprah! Ironically, that's not what I will take from this race:

• I'll always remember that the race certainly ran out of Gatorade, exhausted their cup supply at one aide stop, and might as well have been out of water given their distribution problems. While each runner has to take his or her health into their own hands, we need a little help out there. I will not run in heat if you say I have no help; the Chicago Marathon promised to help.
• It's important to remember that we're all in a good place if we get to travel around running. Good that we have such a healthy habit, good that we're fond of a sport that promotes such healthy friendships, and good that we don't have more serious things to take up our day! As Boston Rob put it, marathons are about good stories and medals; I got both at this race.
• A squad of poorly dressed drag queens yelling "You bitches are hot!" will lift your spirits even when you feel like crap.
• It's also important to remember that nothing is guaranteed, as we all found out when that poor fellow died during the run. I really can't imagine that he died of mitral valve prolapse, as the coroner is saying (an interesting revelation for me, since it was believed that I had MVP about 15 years ago), but it really doesn't matter. Could be a car, could be your heart giving out, could your roommate going on a killing spree; live good and live it up while you can.
• Trips with friends are fun. Take them when possible.
• The running scrotum, complete with pubes. I tend be fairly decisive on a race course, but I was stricken with doubt about if it was appropriate to pat the guy (may have been a girl) in the nads suit on the back as I ran buy (I didn't; I gave the berries a wide berth). Certainly a creative way to raise money for men's cancer research (as the tag on the back of the scrotum claimed), and something I'll remember if I ever do my "Race for Your Junk 5K" testicular cancer run.
• I saw Felix give a TV interview. He pulled off the course to the camera like a moth to flame! He gave the flock good advice at our Sat. night dinner; forget PR'ing, just be safe in the weather.
• I thought, at some point on the course, that I was running my last marathon. For right now at least, I never won't to tempt global warming and face such a warm run, or really, such a warm training season.

Most vividly, I will remember the good people of Chicago. In particular, I'll remember ....

• The sprinklers hooked to house fences and the runners timing their stride, and sometimes even pushing one another, to make sure they got their full share of that glorious gift from the on-lookers.
• The restaurant that was pouring water into a cup if you had one, and the fact that I had kept my last cup since they were running out.
• The never-ending crowds. They were were their the whole day, and they were raising hell, in a very positive way!
• The people who had set up their own little water bottle station; one woman was giving out 20 oz. bottles, while two other people ran back and forth from the house, ferrying what remaining supply they had left to the race course.
• The five or so year old girl who was over-joyed to be using her parents water hose to strategically spray water into the face of any runner that came within range. The runners loved the game as much as she did!

In the wake of the race, I've been asked many times, "Did you finish?". As a runner, a marathoner, I don't really understand that question. I think the challenge of a marathon is getting out there, and giving it a shot. If you train smart, and make it to the start line, then you've accomplished all you really have any control over. One of the things that makes marathoning exciting is that months of training come down to how you feel, the weather, the crowds, etc., etc., on one very early morning! Would I have expected to finish, sure, but only on a day more so made for me to finish. I have problems with heat; always will, there's no fixing that. So the course gave me conditions that were tailor made for me to run a slow time, I thusly targeted an appropriately slow time after a few miles of running and the problems on the course forced the race to end. I ran the best Chicago Marathon that I could, and I'm fully content with that. Did I finish my fourth marathon, no, not technically, but I certainly did run it.

As an aside, I'm happy to report that the American Cancer Society set a record with the Chicago Marathon, raising in excess of $1.5 million dollars through their Charity Runner program. I was glad to be a part of it, but a little bummed when I think about the much smaller amount of money that they will make next year. Executing the Chicago Marathon is about much more than just putting on an elite run, as some would have you believe, or even a run for the masses. It is an event that, in some ways, effects most of the world, and I'm sad to see it be ran so poorly. I'm glad I stepped up to run an out of town marathon though, and I hope I'll have enough desire to run, once I've healed up, to keep traveling to fun events around the world.

Here's my post in response to the horrible article (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/cs-071008downey,0,7184430.column?page=1&coll=chi_tab01_layout) posted by a Mike Downey from the Chicago Tribue:

What Mr. Downey fails to realize, or at least note, is that most people who
don't show for a marathon do so because they are either injured come race day,
or realize they have bitten off more than they can chew when attempting to
tackle this challenging distance. For those that show up, they have
literally entered into a contract with the race; I train for your run, you
support me on race day. This contract, worded in more complex legalese, is
forced upon every entrant into the race. The organizers and sponsors of
this race simply didn't uphold their end of the contract. Since the
contingency plan of a short run was put into place on Tuesday, the race
organizers had time to add extra provisions to uphold their end of the
agreement; for some incomprehensible reason, they simply failed to do
that. The people of Chicago were great during the run, as they stepped up
to fill the shortfall presented by the poorly organized race committee.
The people of Chicago should not be marred by this shortfall, but unfortunately,
one of the four greatest world-wide marathons (Chicago, New York, Boston, and
London) will have a black eye for many years to come. Perhaps the new
sponsor (I can't imagine LaSalle would continue it's association with the run)
will ensure a better event next year. Again, as a runner, my thanks to the
good people of Chicago.

If I stick to running the full Houston Marathon, somethine I hope to do, I anticipate a much better event; history proves I'll be correct in that anticipation!

As for the future of this blog, I think it will end, but I will continue to blog at a new, more long term location. I'll link that location into my next post.

Next Stop - ChiTown

And here we are; Chicago is upon me! As for the big day, I think I'm going to have some pain to deal with. My left leg is still not healthy; foot and hamstring are quite fickle at the moment. I'm also a bit concerned with the weather, as it looks like the temp will be above 70 at the start, with it climbing above 80 by the finish. None-the-less, my plan stays the same: run with the 4:30 pace group. This speed should allow me to function with minimal irritation to my leg and should give me a chance at finishing below my PW (personal worst) in the marathon. As for nutrition, I'll have around five GUs with me, and probably a few Endurolytes as it looks like they might come in handy due to the weather. Most importantly, I plan to have as good a time as possible. Chicago should be quite the experience, and perhaps I'll never run it again, so I want to live it.

For exercise this week, I've basically went with a couple of sessions on the elliptical machine, some push-ups one night, and a lot of stretching. Also, as is common while at college, I have walked A LOT! I didn't run my miles, but I walked them none-the-less. As I have a lot of travel to do tomorrow (starts at around 8AM, ends around 4PM), my game plan is to stretch when possible. My legs do not like to be folded up, so I hope to move around, stretch, and keep the knees from locking up. No running or other such exercise from here on out. I think you need to let the muscles rest before a run and soak up as much glycogen as possible.

Chicago has been interesting and fun to train for. I distinctly remember thinking people training in Houston for a Fall marathon were crazy, but now it's Fall, and look what I did; I trained for a marathon. I look forward to the next few weeks, as I need to rest my legs and try to get healthy. Though I don't think a doctor can do much to help, I may go to Sokolow anyway, just to make sure rest is all that I should be getting.

I hope that I come out of this run healthy and with a continued commitment to running. Between signing up for Hood To Coast, the warm-up races, Sunmart (maybe, though probably not), Houston, and maybe London, there's a lot of running to potentially do. I have been afraid that if I were hurt, and Chicago went poorly, that I would want to take an extended break from running, or who knows, go back to just half-marathons. There's nothing wrong with that per se, but I feel the time for that move isn't quite upon me. The last three years were my "train and run one" era. I feel like I'm moving into a "continuously train and run many" era (aka, the "Many Medals" era). I would like that era to end of my own accord and not do to injury or a bad experience.

The original purpose of this blog was to raise money for the ACS (which I've completed) and to chronicle my training as I get ready to tackle Oprah in her home town (looking grim, but you never know). As for the future of this blog, I'm not sure. I like blogging, but as this one had a very special purpose, perhaps it's time to end it and start anew with a more long term blog topic. I have a limited readership, but perhaps that, along with the therapeutic value of getting the little man out of my head and onto the screen, is worth the time. There will certainly be a race wrap up, and hopefully, much rejoicing.

Bye for now.

Snake Right!

On Saturday morning, I headed to Ozark, Alabama's Sam Dale Lake Pedestrian Trail for my 8 mile taper run. The lake has a 3.1 mile trail, with the two heads of the trail connected by a parking lot and the lake's main information center. The left trail head (where I always start) is paved for two miles, where it gives way to a hilly clay course through the woods; the first mile has quarter-mile markers, with the remainder of the course having half-mile markers up to 2.5 miles. With the markers ending at 2.5 miles, I decided I would do a 2.5 miles out and back, a stop for a stowed water bottle, then a 1.5 miles out and back to finish my mileage. I started at around 9:30; the temperature was surprisingly high for that time of day, but there was a nice breeze.

At about mile, 1.25 it happened. As my right leg was coming off the ground I noticed something on the right hand side of the trail was moving; it was a 2.5 foot long snake! When my right leg landed next to the snake, it began to move it head, with more haste, towards the water and tree cover. Still though, shocked by such a finding, I gave a rockette-esque leg kick and uttered what I thought would be Parselmouth, but was probably more like "OH SHIT!". The "little fella" was all green with a white belly and was doing a good job blending in with the grass .... until it moved. I suspect it was just trying to sun itself, as it had been a fairly cool night. It's markings were inconsistent with a rattlesnake, moccasin, or copper head, so it was probably a King Snake; a non-venomous snake that is known to eat other snakes in addition to usual snake fair. Needless to say, I was much more focused on the trail for the remainder of the run, and as the area is heavily wooded, I saw at least 10 other snakes. Thankfully, all those snakes turned out to be some variety of stick, moss, or shadow, and I ran upon nothing more ferocious than a very inquisitive squirrel that seemed willing to pace me for about 100 yards.



I had some nasty stomach issues over the final 1.5 miles of the run (I think Golden Corral the night before, along with chugging 20 ounces of water at my water stop, did me in), but other than that things went well. In the aftermath my foot felt angry as usual, and unfortunately my hamstring was particularly gimpy. Thankfully, as the past two days have progressed, I seem to be healing up. I don't think I will run again; some elliptical machine tomorrow, and maybe just a touch on Thursday.



I did answer a key question during this trip home; not even Verizon works in Skipperville, Alabama. Though my phone would say it had some kind of weak DX, EX, or FX signal, it couldn't make a call or send a text. I know this because I was trying WITH ALL MY MIGHT to taunt Florida people after the game on Saturday (we don't have cable in Skipperville either, but thankfully my mother has ponied up for a dish). While "in town" for dinner on Sunday, I blasted a quick "War Eagle" to Yuriy, but turned my phone off quickly. When I reached civilization today, I turned on my phone and it went off like CRAZY!!! About five texts running the gamut of "War Tiger", "War Eagle, We're going to roll Toomers", to a "Auburn will still suck" from the Florida faithful. Oh, and a couple of voice messages to boot!



Tradition was that after beating Alabama, Auburn students would toilet paper the corner of the University next to Toomer's Drugs (i.e., Toomer's Corner). Over time, this morphed in a rolling upon any decent excuse (even the Swim team got some TP love for their National Title), but big football wins still bring out the best TP Auburn has to offer. Here's a view of Toomer's come Sunday morning. War Eagle!

Wonder-Kid, Chicken Boy

It's a yearly ritual of mine, or so it would seem. Coming to Auburn to recruit, you ask? Well yes, but no, that's a given. Every year, I run into Chik-Fil-A Guy. Many years ago (four?), I interviewed the creme-del-a creme of Auburn Software Engineering. This kid had a 4.0 GPA, was an Eagle Scout, had all other kinds of leadership, and was talked highly of by faculty. And best of all, he wasn't a pompous ass. My interview with this kid lasted about five minutes, after which I told him he was going to Houston, and I wanted to give him the rest of our time to interview me. He said, "Well, I do have a few questions", and flipped to the second sheet of his notepad; it was covered, every line, with questions for me!

So I passed my interview and the wonder-kid came to Houston and was offered a job with UTC. UTC has traditionally had high standards for our new hires, and this was the first candidate that I knew, without a doubt, would get an offer. For some reason, I really wanted this kid to come work for us, I guess he was someone I thought I would like to work with. He had interned at Chik-Fil-A (gotta program those chicken fryers you know) and had family near Atlanta, so even though it was a long shot, he seemed torn up about whether to accept our offer or that of the chicken people. He could have been stringing us along, acting like he was interested in us while secretly knowing he was destined for chicken, but this kid didn't strike me as being that way. After some time he informed UTC that he would not be taking the offer. He was a breast man, a chicken breast man, and our offers of riches via Texas Tea just wasn't enough.

I've interviewed a lot of people over the years. There are no doubt people that I interviewed, that we ended up hiring, who I wouldn't know if they walked into me. For some reason though, the ordeal of Chicken Boy kind of seared his image into my brain, just like Chik-fil-A sears the juices into their tasty, tasty breasts. And like clock work, every year at recruiting, I come across the Wonder Kid, Chicken Boy. As I was parking on Tuesday, I looked up and what did I see, not five feet from my car, than a flock of three chicken people, with one being, you guessed it, the Wonder Kid! I just kind of laughed. This is strange, weird, bizarre, aligning of the planets kind of thing, but seriously, every year, the Wonder Kid is there. I'm sure he doesn't remember me; I, after all, don't really remember the people I interview and subsequently spurned on campus, so that just kind of makes it all the more funny. Had I not parked at that moment, the streak would have ended, because I saw no Chicken People the rest of the time. Did fate intervene? Was it coincidence that I had eaten Chik-fil-A that very afternoon?!?! Who knows. Weird stuff.

What does this have to do with running? Nothing. Deep moral story? Nope. Philosophical comment, as this blog is found of, coming any moment? Nope. Just the story of the Wonder Kid, the man they called Chicken Boy.

So with that out for all of posterity to remember, a quick run down. A little bit of exercise yesterday, a good bit of walking today, and lots of stretching and sticking of my foot into the hotel ice bucket. All in all I think the foot is healing, but it is slow business. I'll run Saturday morning, and perhaps Tuesday, then that might just be it.

Other than recruiting and doing stuff for my main job, I brought several things to pass the time. I have my personal laptop (for fantasy football) and I purchased five magazines to read. Runner's World (of course), the Economist (excellent news/economy/politics magazine, but certainly not light reading), and three personal finance kind of magazines. I also brought along my unfinished Michael Chabon novel and a GRE study guide. What? Scandal! GRE study guide? Well yes. I've talked about maybe possibly one-day soon going back, so after looking at UofH's web site, it's pretty clear I'd have to take the GRE. It's been a while since the noodle had to do school work, so I thought I'd get a study guide just to see how hard it would be. I haven't started it yet, but I might get to it this weekend.

The part of me that might like to teach one day is making strange waves while being back at my college campus with a GRE book in tow. We'll see where this goes, but for now, it literally goes to Skipperville for a few days before returning. I might want to get on that GRE guide though, because if my real job depends on my recruiting success, I might be fired. Right now, we've only got two or three people to talk to next week! Last year was our best year ever, but this year, the famine is upon us.

Later. I'm going to go wee some sweet tea now; way too much at the BBQ place today!

Recruit - Join Up

Greeting from Auburn, AL, the lovliest village on the plains! I flew out this morning for four days of recruiting, two days in Skipperville, five more days of recruiting, and then the Chicago Marathon; obviously, I'm loaded down with luggage. The trip is a bit of a boondoggle in that we don't have enough activity to consume all those days, but with Career Fair and interviews so close together, it's better to just stay here and work when not recruiting. Or just sleep in!

At the end of last week I was battling away with my Plantar thanks to softball and a day of caring for the kids of Conroe via the United Way. I decided though that I should run Saturday morning as it would be my last Chicago HoustonFIT group run and if I'm destined to hurt during Chicago, I should get used to it now!

Saturday morning's weather was nothing short of wonderful; cool and low humidity. Our eleven mile route was an out and back to Coach Patty's rest stop (the Patty Wagon) in the scenic Rose Garden area of River Oaks. I have come to judge my speed by how how long I stay up with Larry, who usually runs these things a bit faster than me. By the time we came to the Wagon, he was only about 50 yards ahead, so I felt like I was making good time; the weather certainly helped. Interestingly, my heart rate, despite this seeming increase in speed, hung out in the high 150s and low 160s, which is a bit low for most Saturday runs. My pace to the Wagon was 10:17/mile.

I didn't stop while going to the Wagon, and only planned to stay there for a couple of minutes. However, a certina captivating canine prevented that. An escaped Jack Russel Terrier had taken a liking to the Wagon and its food (ummmm, peanut butter!), and there was consensus to hold the little pooch and give it's owner a call. There was much milling about of runners in an effort to offer help to Patty; much dog was being talked (oogggy, booggy, booo; that's a gooooood lil' doggy, yezzz it izzzz!). There were getting to be too many cooks in the kitchen, so after a total stop time of about six minutes, off I went. Turns out the dog's owner showed up, but apparently wasn't too happy about being roused at 6:30AM.

On the return trip my heart rate monitor strap came off (user error), so I don't know how high the ticker got. As with last week, I decided to step up the last bit, and ended up running in with an older fellow who introduced himself as Maurice (I'm not sure, but let's assume he's Italian, it will help your inner voice speak the next bit). After cursory discussions of running, Maurice and I did what men do in such lulls in conversation, we discussed the weather. I commented how it was "about time" we had some good weather. Maurice countered with "No my friend, the hot weather makes us stronger and makes us better appreciate days like today." I suppose "about time" is a past looking statement, somewhat pessimistic maybe, while Maurice was simply letting the hot days drift away while welcoming the coming cool. I think Maurice was right and had a healthy perspective; you've got to let past injuries, hot days, and other such maladies pass, and enjoy what's to come. If you stop doing that, then you'll probably stop running.

Days like Saturday, where you feel good, the weather is good, and the group dynamic is good, serve as a kind of vindication of sorts; it really makes it worth it. Actually, on the run back from the Wagon, I thought to myself that the day was so good that those people unwilling to give up a little bit of Friday and Saturday, and who miss runs like this, they are really missing out. A good group run on the weekend is honest exercise; simple, effective, and fun. It was a great way to wrap up the training season, and begin my taper.

This is getting long, and I suspect I'll have time to blog daily over the next couple of weeks, so bye for now. Next time -> What does Hags bring with him to kill down time while recruiting!

Run Down

Back in early July, I posted a list of seven things I wanted to do "differently" during this training season; here's a link -> http://beating-oprah.blogspot.com/2007/07/sympathetic-leg.html

In short the list, and the outcomes, are as follows:

1. Accelerade - I tried this during runs on the premise of improved endurance via nutrition. I didn't notice much (any) of a gain, and the stuff was really a bit sweet for my taste. I did turn on to Honey Stinger as an energy source at one point, but after trying GU again, I don't think my body has much of a preference. Though Accelerade doesn't sit well with me during runs, I do use it as my recovery beverage.


2. Endurolytes - Tried them early on then largely stopped. I still try to take them before and after a long run, but it's a chore to take them during. As I've never had big cramping problems, this was largely to keep my stomach and axillary systems that rely on electrolytes happy. I plan to take a few along the way at Chicago.


3. Glucosamine - No excuse here. I just haven't gotten them into my daily pill regiment. I will start though.


4. Increase my mileage - HA! As if! Too broken up, though one week I did get into the low 30's with four runs; probably one of the more "full" weeks of my running life.


5. Run at a heavier weight so I'll have more strength - This one's easy, though I am about four pounds heavier than I wanted to be. Surprisingly, some studies have shown that if your aerobic capacity stays the same, but you put on a little heft, you don't lose any endurance. Maybe the added muscle will help my legs stay stronger? Regardless, being at a slightly heavier weight definitely makes me happier (more of a running/regular life balance) as I had to be very precise to get down to my traditional running weight.


6. New shoes to help my knee - Done. Mizuno have completely silenced the knee pain, though not without me wondering if the shoes have shifted the burden elsewhere, thus the foot and hammy pain. This shouldn't happen, as stability shoes should help plantar fasciitis. Also, my left heel has always been apt to hurt some, and the hammy was hurting prior to the shoes, so I give the shoes a pass, and credit for doing good things.


7. Tag along with the 4:15 pace group on race day - I meant to write 4:30 I think! I might consider starting with the 4:15 and falling back to 4:30 if need be, but from my past experience I don't think that will work well. Anyway, I have never ran with a pace group, but I will this time.

So there you go, the run down on the seven things I said I would try this training season. Other than the glucosamine, I think I gave everything a game try. The mileage one could have been better, but the injuries have sabotaged that one. I would like to get healthier so I could give three to four weekly runs a good try, but the running cycle is nothing if not busy in the future; may be hard to get well. More later. Chao.