Chicago Marathon - ONE WEEK! Reflection...

1 week away - 17 weeks of training - 2 years of fantasizing - 30 years of disbelief.  Let's go through each of those phases starting with the largest.

30 years of disbelief.  Since I was a kid, I declared I would never run for leisure.  Basketball was my thing when I was a kid and always will be, and I always thought that if I was going to do anything from a cardiovascular standpoint, it would have to be basketball.  No questions asked.  And a marathon? No chance! Not only does that require running, but running for a very long distance.  I question driving that far much less using my feet as the mode of transportation.  People who trained and completed marathons were not real.  They were people that would only be seen on a 2 dimensional screen or newspaper.  I would never know someone who would even attempt this...

 

2 years of fantasizing.  My goals in life shifted.  After years of playing basketball casually, the reality kicked in.  I get hurt all the time playing it.  Ankle sprain, back injury, concussion, pulled hamstring, etc.  Another reality kicked in.  I am dangerously out of shape.  I had issues with blood pressure as well as panic attacks, even sometimes chest pains.  Time for a change, time for someone new...time to run?! Couch to 5K program is introduced into my life.  Got addicted QUICK! Signed up for multiple races, soon enough bumped up to 10Ks.  Loved running, loved the feeling of finishing a race, PRing, a new distance.  How far could I go? 26.2? Man, that would be great.  I don't have that kind of patience.  I am not fit enough for something like that.  I've seen some of the fast runners at the races I've done, they definitely have the drive to run a marathon.  It just amazes me.  Maybe someday...

 

17 weeks of training.  Friends have done it.  Family has done it.  Tens of thousands of people have done it.  Why can't I be one of those?  What makes me incapable of even attempting a marathon.  I couldn't come up with even one good excuse.  Midnight on February 1st comes...SUBMIT! Officially registered for the 2010 Chicago Marathon.  Training starts in July and I meet one of the strongest groups of runners I had ever met.  I'm not just talking about technique...I'm talking about heart and support.  Saturday morning after Saturday morning I find myself listening and talking to complete strangers.  Some of them like me running their first marathon, others running their 20th.  I now KNOW people who have done this.  I find strength in them.  I find support in them.  I'm also finding support in my fund raising.  With my dad not here to see me in person, I had to make sure he heard me.  As of today, I've raised over $2000 in donations for the American Heart Association.  I couldn't believe I could raise that much!  Just more motivation for me.

 

1 week away.  I've never believed in myself more than I do right now.  The past 17 weeks, 2 years, 30 years have led me to today.  I've run as far as 20 miles.  Ask 16 year old Joey if he ever would run that far.  He would say "hell no!" and then proceed to eat his Wendy's frosty with fries (man those are good).  Running has taught me what inner strength really is.  At any given moment, you can look inside yourself and find it, especially when you are running for hours on end!  But with enough patience, faith, and practice, you find that your inner strength is ENDLESS!  I've seen people amaze me everyday.  I've read stories that make me yearn for greatness.  I've heard people say that I am inspiration.  Not yet folks...I got one week.

15 miles...oh..dear...God

I decided to opt for the written post as opposed to the VLOG for this week's training update.

Saturday came.  I hadn't run in 10 days prior to the 15 miler.  The week prior, I felt like I may have tweaked my knee and/or achilles again.  They were just tightening up on me.  Plus Jaz and I were going to Florida for vacation, so I decided to take a little break, probably thru the weekend.  The weekend comes and goes, and they haven't healed completely.  So I extend it till when we get back...still tight.  Decided to just wait until all felt better.  And that day came on the Friday before the 15 miler.  Oh dear.  So here I am on Saturday, carrying some extra vacation Florida weight, not run a mile in 10 days, drank a lot of vacation Diet Cokes and Smoothies w/rum in it.  I knew that the run was going to be much more difficult than it should be.  And I was right.

Right away, my right knee was tight.  I normally don't worry too much about any nagging tightness because I know they normally work themselves out through the run.  And I was right.  4 miles in, and I felt looser, but my calves still felt tighter than I would like.  Now I drank water and gatorade the day before on Friday, but I found out later that maybe I needed to start hydrating even before then.  We hit the 1/2 way mark at about 8 miles and I was already fatigued.  The site coordinator was there too, and he even asked if I was ok.  I must have also LOOKED bad as I felt.  Oh yeah...and there were like A MILLION mosquitos out in the forest.  I was falling back considerably from our pace group.  Luckily, one of the group leaders decided to hang back with me.  For a bit I thought I was getting dehydrated, but I was ok.  At the 10 mile hydration stop was when thing started going downhill fast.  I almost cramped about 6 or 7 times.  So I had to stretch and walk each time.  It would almost happen one after the other.  Cramp....stretch....walk....start to run....cramp....repeat.  It SUCKED! By then a couple of other runners decided to walk with us as well.  Tim, Kim, and Michelle saved me that day.  I just couldn't go on, but they pushed me to finish.  In fact, they made it bearable.  They told stories and we laughed a lot.  So it was a good time in spite of the constant cramping and swarms of mosquitos.  Then finally after 3 hours and 45 minutes, we were done.  15 more miles on my shoes and 133 mosquito bites on my back, legs, and arms.

One of the faster runners in our pace group made this for me.  Isn't she sweet? Thanks Lisa!

Lesson: WATER WATER WATER! I need to shed some more weight so it will be easier on my joints, knees, ankles, achilles, etc. I am going to concentrate on my diet this week.  No junk food, no pop, good carbs and lean proteins.  And some strength training is necessary.  I have been majorly slacking in that department, and I think it is time for me to pick that up again.

Thank you again to Michelle, Tim, and Kim!  Without you I wouldn't have made it out of the forest and would have succumb to the mosquito villages.

American Heart Association kickoff meeting

On Thursday (5/20) was the kickoff meeting for the American Heart Association Start! Heart Walk team for the Chicago Marathon by Sears Tower - I won't call it by it's new name.  I was running late but I was able to dial in on my cell so I could listen while I drive through the hell that is 90/94.  I was tweeting back and forth with @cubicledad to tell him I was going to be late.  He said I should make a dramatic entrance.  I was hoping they would ask whoever was on the phone (me) would introduce themselves and then I could pop my head in the room as I was talking.  Didn't quite work out that way.

When I finally got there 15 minutes after it started I was just in time to catch Bernie Salazar talk.  He was the at home winner of the Biggest Loser Season 5.  He lost 130 pounds over the past couple of years, and pretty much cut his weight IN HALF! Can you imagine that? I'm not sure I want to weight half of my heaviest weight (310lbs/2 = 155lbs).  But even just hearing him talk about his struggles with weight loss and his story about his first marathon, it really gives me hope for this year.  I was able to talk to him after the meeting a little bit just to get some tips and a little more inspiration.

They also showed a video of a woman who is a stroke survivor and is still motivated to run.  I pretty much was near tears watching the video.  Unfortunately I forgot her name, (her first name is Phyllis) once I find out, I'll write up a post about her.  Just an amazing story!

Now onto the pictures, and don't forget to check out my donation page: http://www.runningforjerry.org

Me and Dan (@cubicledad)

 

Me and Bernie Salazar (Biggest Loser Season 5)

 

American Heart Association Team!

 

After the meeting was done I walked back to my car in the garage next to SEARS Tower, so I had to snap a quick picture of it...

Shamrock Shuffle 8K

My directional skills downtown has diminished. It took me forever to get downtown from Jaz’s work because traffic was backed up from the toll on 90. Decided to “cut” around it and take Lake Shore Drive, which probably took equally as long as if I stayed on 90/94. Who am I kidding, I’ve NEVER been good with directions. Then when we finally get to the Navy Pier exit off of Lake Shore, I miss the turn to go into Navy Pier! ARGH! Finally made it in and just took a couple of pictures around the expo and Navy Pier.




Shot of the Expo at Navy Pier




Me and @duclecalor - This lady is waaaay cool!





Michael Jordan Stained Glass?


We stayed in the Affinia Hotel [thanks Roderick!] about 1.5 miles away from Grant Park which where the race was taking place. The day before the race, the weather wasn’t looking too good! It started to snow in the morning before we woke up. It wasn’t sticking a whole bunch, but there was just a little slush on the ground.







Weather reports were saying that it wouldn’t get any worse on Sunday during the race, so I hoped that was the case! Sure enough, the morning of the race I checked outside and thankfully all of the streets were clear! No snow to be found, but it was still chilly. The race was scheduled to start at 9am so I figure I could wake up early grab breakfast down in the hotel restaurant and then make my way to the race. At 6:30 Jaz and I went down to grab breakfast to find out it opened at 7am, which was the time I planned on leaving. Without eating anything I made my way over to Grant Park, jogging and walking on the way. I figured they would have bananas or something there to snack on beforehand like other races I had been to. Yeah, I was wrong. I walked around A LOT trying to figure out where everything was, chatted with @dulcecalor again at the Fleet Feet tent, went to the Congress Hotel for my CARA check-in, then walked to a field my friend Rikki was supposed to be stretching at, couldn’t find him. By the time I got to the start line, I had already gone 10,000 steps. No food, a little water, somewhat tired legs, and 8K in front of me, oh dear...



ALL READY TO GO!




WATCH OUT FOR THESE LEPRECHAUNS!




Gear check for 25,000 people




Shot of the Shamrock Shuffle! WOW!




Post-race = FREE BEER!




WOO HOO! My First Shamrock Shuffle in the books [apparently I like this pose]!

So going into this race I wanted to run it under an hour. Given the factors of no food in my system from breakfast, eating like crap the day before, and already tired legs, I immediately thought that this goal was out of the realm of possibility. Obviously there was no backing out now. I was by myself and had no one to pace with, but then as we approached the start line I started thinking of all the reasons I began running. This is the type of thing I do before all my races. I start listing out reasons in my head and why I want to be healthy: Jaz, my family, my friends, my nephews and nieces, my godchildren, and everyone I could hope to inspire to lead a better life, and of course myself. I started off on my race and felt great. Being in the presence of more thank 25,000 people was just so exhilarating! Especially when people I have never met along the streets are cheering me on. Such a high! The volunteers were great helping out with the aid stations and directing traffic. They made this race such a great experience also! I loved the run and will definitely do it again! Oh an my time? 57:50, WOO HOO!! And then I grabbed all of the bananas, water, and beer I could get my hands on.


After the race I walked back to the hotel (BIG MISTAKE). Met up with Jaz at Niketown (it was way too cold for her to wait for me at the race) and saw these beauties:



ohhh my...25th anniversary edition all-white Jordans *drool*


Then to finish off the day, went to Old Country Buffet with Mike’s family and of course my goddaughter Haley!





Ain’t she CUTE!?

A great end to a great weekend in the city!

Something new about something new

I ran on Saturday morning around my mom's neighborhood. I ended up going a total of 5 miles a little over an hour. I have started not wearing an iPod while running. Surprisingly I am not finding myself bored without the music. I find myself concentrating more on my form and posture. After Christine sent me information on Chi Running I have been trying to figure out what is the best running technique works for me. I've been incorporating some of the methods mentioned in Chi running, like leaning, swinging my arms properly, keeping lower back loose, etc. Just like I did last year, I quickly realized what I was missing over the winter months. I've been talking about running with so many people during the winter, I forgot how much I actually enjoyed it. This year, I've got a little added motivation and support group. After I signed up for the marathon at the beginning of February [dry heave], I started following some people on twitter. Some of my favorites to follow are @gargal, @runnergirl33, @awboonstra, and of course @FleetFeetChgo, and @chanthana amongst others. It's amazing how supportive internet strangers can be about running. So I send tweets to them about their training and they do the same for me. It's quite an interesting and supportive community, and it's definitely something different than what I had the past couple of years. So hopefully it all pays off, especially with the marathon coming up in October [dizziness].