tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1427365005075412422024-02-20T07:44:13.334-08:00My First MarathonThe story of my first marathon.Jeffrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07818794133700746587noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-142736500507541242.post-29540697164401108872008-12-13T10:17:00.000-08:002008-12-13T10:19:59.991-08:00First Marathon: Indianapolis Marathon, 2004<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CJEFFHA%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C03%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="date"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id=ieooui></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">October 16<sup>th</sup>, 2004, 7:59 AM, Fort Benjamin Harrison, one minute until the start of the Indianapolis Marathon, my first marathon.<span style=""> </span>I was 41 years old, but felt like a kid waiting to open his Christmas presents.<span style=""> </span>I’d been anticipating this day since I started the training program 18 weeks earlier.<span style=""> </span>This was no time for any last minute doubts.<span style=""> </span>What had I gotten myself into?<span style=""> </span>What was I doing here?<span style=""> </span>Push those thoughts aside.<span style=""> </span>I was there to conquer the beast, to finish the race, to prove that I could do it, heck, maybe even qualify for <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Boston</st1:place></st1:city>!<span style=""><br /></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /><span style=""><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">I didn’t always enjoy running.<span style=""> </span>In high school I hated running.<span style=""> </span>Each day at football practice we would run a lap around the track as a warm up.<span style=""> </span>That one lap was enough for me.<span style=""> </span>My attitude toward running began to change after I graduated from college in 1983.<span style=""> </span>I would be heading off to basic training at Ft Leonard Wood in July and I wanted to be prepared so I started running.<span style=""> </span>I still wouldn’t say that I enjoyed running, but I knew running would be a daily routine in the Army and I wanted to be prepared for it.<span style=""> </span>Basic training is physically draining even if you are in good shape, but it can be pure torture if you’re not in shape.<span style=""> </span>Through basic training my running improved and by the end I was able to max my score on the running part of the Army physical readiness test.<span style=""> </span>Still I was only running because someone was making me do it.<span style=""></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""></span><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">My first duty station after basic was at the Presidio of Monterey, California.<span style=""> </span>It was there that I started to develop a love for running.<span style=""> </span>With its year round nearly perfect running weather, flat sandy beaches, hills, redwood forests, crashing surf, <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Monterey</st1:place></st1:city> was a runner’s paradise.<span style=""> </span>I soon found myself running for the pure joy of it, not because the Army was making me do it.<span style=""> </span>It was there I ran in my first road race.<span style=""> </span>I also ran on Delta Company’s 17 Man Run Team.<span style=""> </span>That was a unique experience; four teams, 17 runners each, running in formation on a quarter mile track, two miles, eight laps.<span style=""> </span>We won twice while I was on the team.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">From those glory days in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Monterey</st1:place></st1:city> to the present, there were times when I went months at a time without running, but I still enjoyed running even when I wasn’t very committed to it.<span style=""> </span>Then in the spring of 2002 my wife signed me up for the Race For A Cure 5k fun run.<span style=""> </span>To say I was out of shape was quite an understatement, but I had about four weeks to get ready for it.<span style=""> </span>The race was fun and losing a couple of pounds felt good.<span style=""> </span>I still had a few extra pounds I needed to part with, so I decided to borrow a friend’s number and run the 500 Festival Mini <st1:place w:st="on">Marathon</st1:place>.<span style=""> </span>This is the point in the story where a disclaimer should pop up and warn you to not try this at home.<span style=""> </span>When the day of the race arrived, I had run a whopping 40 miles in training including the 12 mile run one week before the race, after which I was so sore I didn’t run again until Thursday morning two days before the race.<span style=""> </span>I was finally able to jog a couple of miles and loosen up some of those stiff muscles.<span style=""> </span>I was ready to go the morning of the race.<span style=""> </span>The race was a blast!<span style=""> </span>I loved it!<span style=""> </span>I was bitten by the bug.<span style=""> </span>The very next day, still aching, I signed up for the 2003 Mini.<span style=""></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""></span><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">It was in training for my third mini that my mind finally snapped.<span style=""> </span>I was meeting on Saturday mornings with a Mini training group and for some reason I decided it was time to run a full marathon.<span style=""> </span>Of course I was dumb enough to tell everyone of my decision, so there could be no backing out later if I were to come to my senses.<span style=""> </span>In addition to the mini, I had run the Indianapolis Half Marathon in October the previous two years.<span style=""> </span>They run a full marathon at the same time and this year I would do the full 26.2 miles.<span style=""> </span>I began training in June following Hal Higdon’s intermediate protocol.<span style=""> </span>The training got off to a bit of a rocky start.<span style=""> </span>I strained my left calf at mile 13 of a 14 mile run and had to limp home for a mile.<span style=""> </span>I bruised a thigh playing softball when a ground ball took a bad hop.<span style=""> </span>I eventually lost three toenails because of tight fitting shoes and socks that were too thick.<span style=""> </span>I didn’t get discouraged; I kept going and by the time race day came along I had completed two 20 mile training runs.<span style=""> </span>I was ready to run the race.<span style=""></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""></span><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">Just finishing should have been enough of a goal for a first timer, but I had my sights set on <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Boston</st1:place></st1:city>.<span style=""> </span>Never mind that the 3:20 I needed to qualify was a faster pace than my PR in the half marathon.<span style=""> </span>I knew it was a risky venture, but if I didn’t at least try I wouldn’t have been content.<span style=""> </span>The first ten miles went fairly well I was only a few seconds off pace.<span style=""> </span>Then came the hill, not a particularly steep hill, but a relentless incline somewhere between miles 10 and 12.<span style=""> </span>I was about half the way up when reality hit me; there was no way I could maintain this pace for another 16 miles.<span style=""> </span>I let up a little but still hit the half way point at 1:43:30, a PR for a half.<span style=""> </span>I managed to keep my pace under 10 minutes per mile through mile 17.<span style=""> </span>Then I started walking and stretching my way through the water stops.<span style=""> </span>Around mile 21 I started to have a sharp pain on the side of my knee, but I kept going.<span style=""> </span>A volunteer at a water stop asked me if I was ok, if I needed a ride to the finish.<span style=""> </span>Was he kidding?<span style=""> </span>Does a drowning man need a life preserver?<span style=""> </span>Of course I needed a ride to the finish, but I would have to be unconscious for them to get me to stop.<span style=""> </span>I was telling myself that I had to finish because if I didn’t I’d have to do this again and I definitely didn’t want to do this again.<span style=""> </span>If I could just finish this one race I’d never have to do this again.<span style=""> </span>When I reached mile 24 I decided I would walk the entire 25<sup>th</sup> mile and then be rested for a triumphal run through the last mile and across the finish line.<span style=""> </span>Then there was a small hill just beyond the 25 mile mark, so I thought I would walk until I reached the top.<span style=""> </span>There was just one small problem with this plan, strategically situated just before the hill were two photographers eagerly waiting to snap my picture.<span style=""> </span>There was no way I was going to let them take a picture of me walking, so I started running again.<span style=""> </span>I even tried to crack a smile.<span style=""> </span>I reached the top of the hill and the adrenaline boost from running past the photographers and knowing I only had about a half mile to go was enough to keep me going.<span style=""> </span>I crossed the finish at 4 hours 20 minutes and 37 seconds.<span style=""> </span>The joy of finishing or perhaps the joy of finally being able to stop running was overwhelming.<span style=""> </span>I got all choked up and shed a tear or two.<span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>I had conquered the beast.<span style=""> </span>The joy of that moment was worth all the training, all the aches and pains.<span style=""></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""><span style=""></span><o:p><br /></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">My time was a big disappointment.<span style=""> </span>I’m certain that if I had started out at a more realistic pace I might have been able to finish in less than four hours.<span style=""> </span>Before I finished the post race meal, I was already thinking about running another marathon to improve my PR or hey, wouldn’t it be cool to run a marathon in each of the 50 states?<span style=""> </span>One down 49 to go.<span style=""> </span>I must be crazy.<span style=""> </span>Next up, Lakefront Marathon in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Milwaukee</st1:place></st1:city> <st1:date month="10" day="2" year="2005" w:st="on">October 2<sup>nd</sup>, 2005</st1:date>.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> Jeffrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07818794133700746587noreply@blogger.com0