Confidence....

What is a marathon runner suppose to do when they are in a slump? What can snap you out of a funk? The answers to those are as unique as finger prints. Baseball players in a slump might take hits off of a batting tee to work on their mechanics. A golfer might study video of their swing to dissect the cause of their rough play. Basketball players who are chucking bricks usually try to get a few easy buckets, lay-ups, dunks, or free throws to start some positive momentum. With running the challenge of getting back on track can be pretty complicated. The longer your slump lasts the lower your confidence goes. With a lower confidence often comes less enjoyment and desire. Nobody is motivated to keep grinding out hard workouts and long runs without reaping the fruits of their labor. Success leads to excitement, excitement leads to more confidence, which in turn leads to more success, completing the life cycle of a runners mentality. Some of the top athletes have hired sports psychologist and coaches to continuously inject them full of boaster shots of confidence. I am not fortunate enough to have any of these resources and I have been in a long period of awful running.

Photo doesn't due justice to bleach burns.
 

As many of you have noticed my marathon finish times started to level off in late September. This was partly by design and partly by bad luck. My training during the summer of 2012 was keying on being in top shape in the middle of September, from there I tried to hold my peak as long as possible, while also racing 7 marathons in 7 weekends. I like to use the term racing instead of running as there is a difference. The 5th of those 7 marathons was the Bellingham Bay Marathon where I ran a 2:29:54, that was the start of my confidence going south for the winter. Two weeks after that race I battled strong winds and rain at the MDI Marathon. From there until now it has been a rough struggle. First I got a terrible batch of poison ivy. Which my lovely Granny said, "Put some bleach on it." I listened and bleached burned the inside of my thighs to the point where I could not longer walk because the sores needed to heal. I would not go as far as saying I HATE Granny now, but I promise you I did not send her a Christmas card!

Always nice to be WELCOMED Home.

After not running for eternity, that is 1 week in runners time, my leg was healing enough to be able to walk around. Another week after that and I was back to being able to run. This lasted until November 19th when I cut my leg in a chainsawing accident. Now I had two legs on the mead. All the while I tried to suffer through marathons, and suffer I did. The two freak accidents caused me to walk and run differently, which flared up my shins. Long story short my confidence dropped faster then a cellular phone call in Indiana! I ended up having to skip 3 scheduled marathons and missed more time training. Depression set in, moss was growing on my shoes.



A few easy runs with famous models.

I started 2013 with 4 straight bad races and lots of oddball soreness. This is due to racing and trying to get into shape at the same time. My first marathon in Mobile, Alabama was like running in a sauna, the next marathon I wondered if my prostate was enlarged as I kept having to stop to pee, that was followed by a race where I started too fast, and the final blow to my confidence was blowing head winds at the Mississippi River Marathon which caused me to run a terrible 2:43!

That takes us up to the week before the IMS Arizona Marathon. I flew home from Mississippi on Sunday the 10th. I did not run due to being too sore. Monday I was able to squeeze a whopping 1.75 miles out of my legs prior to walking home due to hurting too bad. Tuesday was a very painful 11 mile run, still scratching the bottom of the confidence barrel. Wednesday morning was a terrible 7 mile run which I had to stop a few times in order to complete, but then the darnest thing happen. By Wednesday night I was ready for a speed workout. I did 2 miles hard, 1 mile hard, half mile hard, not the splits I usually run but at least I was able to run a decent pace. From there until race morning on Sunday the 17th it was all easy runs to prep to race well. Nothing to gain confidence...

My race strategy matched my state of mind. The goal was to break the course record of 2:37, but the probability was not too high in my mind. The race was started with a loud yell of "GO", I must have missed the news of starters pistols being banned. Anyway I set off on a 26.2 mile journey. Hoping to find my confidence, hoping to find that finish line, and hoping to break that course record. Hope is what happens when you are not sure of your fitness. Hope is all you can grasp on to when you are not your normal self.

My son, Miles, was excited to see Daddy's trophy!

Desperate for something positive in my running I decided to race in a different pair of shoes. Not sure if that helped, but I was able to finally have a stronger marathon. Yes I realize that the 2:31:19 time that I ran to win and break the course record was only my 29th fastest career marathon, but that does not mean it is not a huge step in the right direction. It gives base line to work off of as I start plotting my workouts and races for the next few months. Lets go back to the confidence, how can I win 5 marathons since the end of October and not have any confidence? Well that's simple. My confidence comes from my race results, my workouts, and how fast my body is able to recover from both the workouts and races. When I am running strong I can race fast and bounce back to training really quickly. So to answer a question as to how a runner gains back his confidence, well it starts with being able to return to efficient running, being mentally engaged, and having some success. Success leads to excitement, excitement leads to more confidence, which leads to more success, completing the life cycle of runner.

Non-Traditional Job

I have never had what I would consider a traditional job. I have worked virtually all my life, but never have had a normal job. My first source of income came at age 10 when I would pick green beans at Glenn Vites Farm. Eventually I got old enough to be promoted to a sweetcorn picker. Every summer for years I would venture down to Vites to work in the fields. We would work rain or shine, with only Sundays off. Other income adventures I have wandered through include: owning and operating a lawn mowing business, at my peak I was managing 27 different yards. In college I would do as many jobs as possible. Actually going to class and embracing the college experience often took a backseat to working. During the four years it took to earn my degree I spent 3 1/2 of those years working at 8th Street Mennonite Preschool, worked one year at a local high school, and another year I worked as a doughnut delivery man for a local bakery. The doughnut delivering gig was pretty neat. Employees were allowed to take home all the day-old doughnuts they wanted. You better believe that I took them, and promptly sold them to college students.

My Police Escort

Since graduating for college I have yet to have a traditional job. The first four years after graduation I farmed with my father and brother in Niles, Michigan. That was followed by a year of working on my father in laws dairy farm while he recovered from his farm accident. The last two years I have mainly focused on caring for my son Miles, running, and selling firewood. While these are quality jobs they are also not what I would consider traditional jobs. My idea of a traditional job would involve an office, a small window, and 8 hours to fulfill each day. This weekend when running the St Judes Memphis Marathon I entered the race thinking about those who have normal jobs.



My Chainsaw
 

Two weeks prior to the marathon I cut my leg while operating my large saw, a Stihl 650. The cut was not extremely bad, but forced me to take some time off. My fitness was suffering due to that, but if I had a normal office job I would not take a day off due to an achy leg or being a little out of shape. So with that in mind I decided I would treat my job of running marathons like I would treat an office job. I was going to work as well as I could without complaining. Likewise I also knew that I did not want to do anything extra special during my shift at work. I was not going to make any phone calls (surges) or initiate doing extra work (pushing for a fast time), instead my strategy to make it through the 26.2 miles of work was to conserve and preserve. I wanted to conserve energy but also preserve the win, do the work but nothing extra.

My Slow Time

The first 12 miles of the race I ran along side an African runner. We were in first and second place in the marathon. I let him set the pace. When I race like this I have a rule as to how long I stay with another competitor. Once he broke that rule I decided it was time to move on. I left him just prior to the half way marker. By mile 14 my lead had expanded to 64 seconds. I would get feedback every mile as to how much my lead was. I was comfortably cruising along for the next few miles, but then mile 17 came. I was alerted, "Your lead is 74 seconds, there is a new person in second place." That meant that someone behind me was making a hard surge. Turns out it was the defending champion. I had been doing the conserving of energy, it was now time to preserve the win.

My goal was to reach mile 20 with the same margin of lead. The second place runner was able to close on me to get the lead down to 69 seconds, but that was the closest he would get. At mile 20 I made a brief hard move. Two straight miles in the 5:30s pushed my lead to nearly 2 minutes. Doing some quick math I was basically certain I could hold on to the win. Once I reached mile 25 my lead was comfortable enough that I shifted back into conserve mode. It was not the greatest of days running, but I am not going to make excuses. Office workers still punch in the clock when they do not feel well. I am always grateful for the opportunity to travel and run marathons. Winning marathons is my job, and touching lives through my vocation is an added bonus. After the marathon I was privileged to meet a young boy named Caleb. I promptly gave him my race bib and finishers medal. He was super excited, which further emphasis to me that I made the right choice by working this weekend.

My New Friend Caleb

Poison Ivy PR!!

People are creatures of habit. Some habits are deemed good and some are bad. Habits can be helpful and harmful, but they cannot be hidden. I am no exception. I have habits that I would like to break and some others that are an important part of my running career. A few bad habits that I have struggled with for years include chewing my finger nails and saying what I would deem as minor swear words more often then is acceptable. These three words that I need to quit saying include one that is a place talked about in the Bible, another is a substance you flush down the toilet, and the last one is something beavers make on rivers. The habit of chewing my nails and saying foul words can be harmful, likewise the habits I do to aid my running career that are helpful can also be harmful if they are neglected.

Poison ivy on left thigh

A few of my quirky running habits include always brushing my teeth prior to any run, showering the morning of a race, stretching my legs multiple times throughout the day, using my Roll Recovery R8 on my legs nightly, each of the 3 GU gels I use during a marathon must be a different flavor, and I drink 32 ounces of water prior to bed each night. None of these habits are detrimental to my health, but I have found them to be extremely helpful for aiding in my racing and recovery. Unfortunately this past week I contracted a bad batch of poison ivy on both of my inner thighs and my abdomen area. This inconvenience interrupted my routines and habits. My legs were too raw to utilize my Roll Recovery product. While taking care of my rashes I overlooked drinking my fluids. Speaking of fluids, showers had to be replaced by soothing baths in baking soda and vinegar. To summarize the week leading of to the Veterans Marathon was anything but typical. My legs were tighter then normal, I was dehydrated from lack of regular fluids, and it has been several days since my last Roll Recovery massage. Basically all I was assured of on race day was 3 different flavored GU gels and some minty fresh breath!

Had this been any other race besides a local marathon I would have withdrawn from competing, but missing the Veterans Marathon did not seem right. I have been fortunate to be able to win the 3 previous editions of this local marathon. In fact I am the only athlete to have run under 2 hours and 40 minutes on this course! That gives you an indication to the difficulty of the course. With that in mind I knew I was in for a tough day.

The first 5 miles of the marathon found 6 of us athletes running in a pack. There were 4 half marathon runners, another marathon entrant, and I cruising along at roughly 5:42 per mile pace. At mile 5 one of the athletes, Ryan Smith, broke away from the pack. He would go on to win the half marathon. I kept a steady pace along side Lance Wood of Huntington University. It just so happen that his goal for the half marathon basically matched my goal for a first half split. It is always fun when that happens. Lance was able to achieve his half marathon goal and I was off to a solid start for my marathon. I split the half way point in 1:14:35. The second place marathoner still had me in his sights as my lead was barely over 1 minute.

Notice the poison ivy?

Things starting rolling just past the half way point. By things I really mean a motorcycle with a cameraman riding on the back filming segments of the race for a documentary being done about me. Talk about added pressure! Imagine how embarrassing it would be if I had to stop to use the bathroom. One can only assume that the audience of this film will think my legs were either chaffing really bad or that I suffer from a skin disorder, bad timing for the poison ivy! Besides the annoying itchy feeling, the oozing of the sores, and the stinging sensation that occurred when sweat hit the open wounds the poison ivy really was not much of an issue. On the other hand failing to maintain my habits this past week would soon become an issue.

Prior to the marathon starting and during the race my legs never seemed to loosen up. My stride seemed shorter and more rigid then usual. I think this was the lack of massaging and stretching during the week. I also knew entering the race that I was low on my fluids. At mile 22 my legs starting cramping further proving that fact. My main focus from then on was to finish respectably. With a half mile to go the cops riding along side of me cranked up their sirens to alert the crowds that the winner was approaching. I followed their lead and cranked up my pace. At near full speed I sprint the last few minutes into the finish line to break the tape in 2 hours 34 minutes and 28 seconds. A new poison ivy personal record!! I also want to brag that I did not say one swear word during my painful race and miserable post race bath...

Bellingham Bay Marathon



Crusing along the race course.

One of my favorite parts about running marathons is the joy of traveling to new locations. Sometimes these adventures are planned out way in advance and then again sometimes they just fall into place at the last minute. My trip across the country to the great Northwest was one of those last minute choices. The original plan was to run a marathon in the Midwest this weekend, one I could easily drive to in a few hours. As luck would have it that race was full of entrants. This seems to be a trend in the running industry. I still wanted to compete in that race, as I have been successful there in the past, but after emailing the race director to see about getting entered into the event I was denied! This is the first time that a race has stated that they would not let me run due to being full. Most times race directors are gracious enough to accept another athlete, my credentials of a 2:25 marathon personal best and over 50 marathon wins is typically a good addition to any race. Now to play the devil’s advocate here, it is very likely that this particular race did not allow me into their event because they were afraid that adding one more 134 pound runner onto its course could cause the roads to buckle. That is about the only explanation I could come up with to justify their actions. Regardless of this I was not going to let it ruin my weekend. I quickly jumped at the opportunity to run in the Bellingham Bay Marathon out in Bellingham, Washington. This was my first trip to run in Washington, which raised my level of excitement greatly. I always enjoy racing in new places and seeing new faces on a different course.

Celebration lunch with Nina

Travelling across the country is really tiring, but the local running community in Bellingham is full of energy that I was able to feed off of. The race director, David Penrose, asked me to speak at the pasta diner. It was exciting to share my goals and journey with other athletes; likewise it allowed them to realize that marathon winners are no better than any other runner. We are all out there trying our best, enjoying the sport, and creating lifelong memories. One athlete, Nina Olinger, has a very unique story; she is a double-lung transplant survivor doing her first half marathon. Now I do not know about you but hearing someone overcome struggles like that puts running into perspective. How could I complain about a minor pain when she has struggled for a long time just to get to the starting line?



Trying to expand my early lead.

My goals entering the Bellingham Bay Marathon were to win the marathon, possibly break the course record (2:31:33), and try to run under 2 hours and 30 minutes. You might remember from previous blogs about my goal to run under 2 hours and 30 minutes in as many states as possible. I think winning a marathon with that type of time automatically makes it a legit win regardless of how many athletes are in the race. This was my 5^th marathon in the month of September, but I was not worried. Wearing Recovery Socks virtually daily this month have left my legs feeling fit and ready for war.

The race started off slowly with a 6:12 mile, but soon after that all the muscles were warmed up and ready to run. Since I felt really strong I decided to push the pace. Mile after mile clicked off in the 5:28 to 5:33 range, these miles added up to crossing the half marathon mark in 1:12:55. Time went by really quickly as I enjoyed one of the more scenic marathons I have run. By mile 20 I was informed that I had over a 4 minute lead. The goal of winning appeared to be achievable as did the goals of breaking the course record and running under 2 hours and 30 minutes.

Hanging out at Mile 22 aid station after the race.

There was a rumor circulating that the mile 22 aid station was going to be a rocking fun party. The anticipation of that exciting aid station kept me fired up. It was not a disappointment either! Soon after mile 22 we entered the hardest 4 mile section of the course. Suddenly my pace drifted from low 5:40s to over 6 minutes per mile as I tried to navigate the turns and scale the final few hills. Winning was going to happen, a new course record was going to happen, but running under 2:30 was in jeopardy. It would come down to a final sprint. I had 1 minute and 20 seconds to cover the last 385 yards of the race. Typically that is an easy feat, but one can never be certain about the accuracy of course mile markers. I could not risk it, had to make a change of pace. A little over a minute of pushing hard and I was safely across the finish line in 2:29:54. On this day all 3 goals were achieved, the flight home always seems a little shorter when you are happy with your race performance.

I will be racing marathons the next 4 weekends for a total of 9 marathons in a row. I look forward to setting new goals for each event and pushing my body to the limit to achieve them. I often say, "My desire to succeed far exceeds the pain I put my body through." Sure I might have minor pains but I make goals not excuses. Until next time folks...

Fox Valley Marathon

Father in-law after falling off a silo on 8-31-2009

               This past weekend I traveled to run the Fox Valley Marathon which is located in St. Charles, Illinois. I was really excited to be running my first marathon in the state of Illinois. When I plotted my fall travels this was one of the races I wanted to excel at. Not only did I intend to run well, but I also had my sights on winning the marathon while also breaking the course record. These goals and thoughts all sounded logical back in the late summer months when I registered for the marathon, but then of course once race week approached things got a little chopped up. More specifically corn silage got chopped up, which means I spent 10-12 hours per day operating a John Deere tractor hauling wagons of silage back and forth in order to fill silos for my father in-law. My father in-law, Jim, is limited in his mobility due to a farm accident, so whenever he needs help I graciously offer assistance.

Miles Driving a Tractor

                For those of you who do not have much farming experience, filling silos is a pretty physically demanding job. Every wagon full of silage requires going up and down the tractor 4 times, and we averaged around 6 wagons per hour. So doing some rudimentary mathematics you can easily see that by the end of the work day I was fairly tired. This work schedule affected my recovery from the Sioux Falls Marathon and preparations for the Fox Valley Marathon. Of course I could go on with excuses, such as being in the sun all day slightly dehydrated me, spending four days of the week two hours away from my wife and son stressed me, or eating baloney sandwiches each day was not the proper fuel the week prior to the Fox Valley Marathon, but as we all know none of this matters come race day. Sometimes the difference between a bad race and a good race is the ability to mentally block any negative thoughts. Instead of thinking about how taxing this work was on my body, I arrived in St. Charles refreshed from knowing I showed my in-laws my love through my selflessness to their family.

Fox Valley Marathon Start

                When standing at the starting line my thoughts were, “If you don’t run well then Jim will feel bad since you worked hard this week. Don’t screw up.” With that the horn blew and we were off. In front of me was a pack of roughly 18 bicyclists, behind me I was being chased by over 1,000 other marathon runners. I tried my best to establish an early rhythm, which was a little harder due to only running 20 miles the past week. My goal was to be close enough to the lead bikers so that I could eavesdrop on the conversations that were occurring over the walkie talkies that each biker was equipped with. I figured listening in on the race officials talking would help pass them time, but unfortunately my idea backfired! At mile 14, which I split a whisker below 5 minutes for that mile, an alert came over the airwaves, “The lead bikers have taken the first runner off the course!” I about died right there. I was assured from the bikers that they alert was intended for the leader of the half marathon. It was a great relief for me and a bad day for him!

 

Action Shot!
 

                One would think that a glitch like this would be the lead story of my marathon experience, nope not today. I continued to push the pace in order to break the course record. I ended up crossing the finish line in 2:31:34 and then again in 2:38:22. Does that confuse you? Of course it does. It also confused all the spectators! What happen is during the congestion of all the half marathon runners finishing the finish line volunteers were not prepared with their finish line banner. After I had officially finished and won the race I was politely asked to re-run the last 400 meters so that they could have me break the finish line tape for the photographers. Imagine if this occurred in soccer, “Our cameras did not get a good photo on your winning goal, could you go back out and re-kick it?” Of course I laughed and did as they requested. The moral of the story is, always save a little at the end per chance you have to re-run the finish. Soon after the race I was back in my Compression Socks and preparing for the next weekend. I look forward to continuing to push the limits of my body…until next time folks.


Second time finishing the race.

Sioux-ious Fall

Sioux Falls Marathon 2011 start.

My Great-Grandpa George Wanko was a boxer. Unfortunately I never had the privilege to watch him in person, nor are there any video recordings of his bouts. Mainly what we are left with are oral stories passed down from one generation to another. Even if some of the facts of his abilities have become more of a family lore and less fact base, I am certain that he was a decent boxer. Part of the challenge of being a strong boxer is to be able to take a punch, counter with your own hits, and sometimes you just need to resist the urge to give up, while pulling your tired beat up body off of the mat in order to finish the bout. Even though I am not a fighter myself, this past weekend’s Sioux Falls Marathon felt like a 26 round boxing match. Instead of trading jabs with another fighter, I was trading surges with another runner. When the match, or in this case race, was over Thomas Madut and I stood together knowing that each one of us put forth all of our energies into trying to win. It was an epic battle, one that I will probably talk about for years to come.

The fight started with neither of us wanting to throw the first punch. We just circled each other for the first 5 rounds, or in this case first 5 miles. These were run at a terribly slow pace of 6:10-6:15 per mile, which is this pace were to continue for the entire 26.2 miles it would result in a finish time of near 2 hours and 40 minutes. I am not a mind reader but I got the sense that Thomas wanted to let me make the first move. After crossing the mile 5 marker and seeing how slow we were plodding along, I decided that if we did not start actually dueling it out then neither of us would be able to break the course record. I could not wait any longer; I had to make the first surge. Miles 6 and 7 were run in 5:37 and 5:38 respectively. He responded right back with a jab of his own. Miles 8 and 9 were equally strong at 5:40 each. We were still just testing each other in these early rounds of the marathon; the real punches were yet to be thrown.

My son, Miles, sporting his head injury proudly

            During miles 10 through 14 the marathon course went on a nice flat bike path. This faster surface just increased the surges going back and forth between the two of us. Our pace dropped from 5:35 per mile down to 5:23 during these four miles. I was really feeling confident about the rhythm I was in. I was able to match Thomas punch for punch. Neither one of us appeared to be getting tired, our legs were still strong. Not long after reaching mile 14 I was hit with a low blow, and this came from a spectator! A young girl working at the aid station ran in front of me. She caught my feet with hers, which caused me to fall face first onto the ground. Like any strong boxer I had a decision to make. Do I stay down for the dreaded 10 count or do I rise to me feet and fight with all my might.

            I popped back up as quickly as possible, only to see Thomas running off in the distance. There is an old saying about never kicking a man while he is down, but in running when your competition goes down you kick and kick hard! Take advantage of the situation. Thomas did this like a wisely old veteran. My first mile back on my feet was 18 seconds slower than the previous mile. Part of this was due to time lost while on the ground and part was due to having to manage the pain from falling. It took two strong miles to catch back up. My bib number was flapping in the wind as it was torn due to the fall, my fingers, hip, and palms were bleeding, but a boxer does not quit. He keeps fighting.  



Me in the white hat, Thomas finish just behind me.

            After catching up to Thomas I decided to regroup before unleashing my finishing punches. We just cruised together from mile 18 to 21, clicking off miles around 5:45 each. At mile 22 I started throwing uppercuts. It was time to see who could hit the hardest and who could handle the punches. I surged and dropped the pace down to low 5:30s for the final 4 miles. Instead of looking back I used crowd noise and shadows to check for separation. It did not seem like a gap was ever going to happen. Like a good fighter he was weathering my offensive attack. I crossed mile 25 in the lead and was confident I could close the last mile harder than Thomas. I have trained specifically for this moment all summer. I put my head down and charged ahead as fast as my body would go. Two hours, 30 minutes, and 10 seconds after starting our duel I had been crowned the victor. Thomas finished 14 seconds later. We were both happy with our efforts and headed home with our heads held high. He was able to walk normally, while I was favoring my injuries from the fall. I hope this was a bout that even my Great-Grandpa would be proud of.

Strolling through a 5km race.

At the beginning of June a training group of area elite runners was established. We all agreed to meet at 5:30 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Runners drove from various directions and distances to gather and train towards one common goal, get faster. Several colleges are represented with both current and alumni athletes joining in these workouts. This included current athletes at Grand Valley University, Indiana Wesleyan, IUPUI, Manchester, and a lone Goshen College representative. Alumni of Tri-State and Goshen College rounded out the group. We push each other hard, while also enjoying the time together.

Size of Miles in his last 5km race.

During the month of June I ran 3 marathons and did not train at full effort due to being towards the end of my spring racing season. These athletes took advantage of that, repeatedly beating me into the ground during speed workouts. One athlete commented on my lack of speed with raw honesty. He stated, "I doubt you could run a 5 kilometer race in under 16 minutes again." Luckily I am sponsored by MarathonGuide.com and not Local5kmRace.com, so it really does not matter how fast I could cover 3.1 miles, but a challenge is a challenge! My 5 kilometer personal best is 15:06, so surely I could run under 16 minutes again. In order to spice things up things a little bit I decided to run a marathon the day prior to trying to run a fast 5 kilometer race, oh and I planned to push my 2 year old son in our Chariot Carrier jog stroller for those 3.1 miles. To add a little icing to this cake, I also amped up my speed workout Thursday just for good measure. That workout was fairly simple. It consisted of a 2 mile warmup, a hard interval, followed by a light recovery jog, and of course a cool down jog. If you are wondering the intervals were as follows, 3 miles hard, 2 miles hard, 1 mile hard, followed by 2 hard half miles. Probably not the typical workout you would do prior to running a marathon and 5 kilometer double in a weekend, but if you know me you would know that there is not much that is normal about me.

My weekend started with the University of Okoboji Marathon in Milford, Iowa. Instead of flying to the marathon I decided to drive the 600 miles because one of my acquaintances lived on the route, which of course meant I convinced this person to tag along. It is always fun to share a marathon weekend with someone you know, even better if you sucker that person into buying your supper prior to the marathon and lunch after the race. The marathon is exactly what you would expect from a small town race. Minimal crowds cheering, fairly unregular aid stations, roads open to traffic, and race directors and volunteers who genuinely care about their sport. In a time when it has become obvious that some races are more concerned about making a larger profit then they are in giving the runner a good experience, it is always fun to run a race that organized for the right reasons.

How we Stroll during our runs.

The original goal was to run towards a 2:42 finish time. I had heard this course was hilly and shockingly it was suppose to be a hot day, so the conversative racing strategy had to be employed. Three miles into the race my bladder was screaming for mercy. A stop was urgent. I wonder if my unusual pre-race breakfast had anything to do with this. Typically I eat oatmeal prior to marathon, I heat up water in the motel coffee pot to cook my oatmeal. Well this guest of mine decided to make coffee the night prior. At 4 in the morning when preparing the water to warm in the coffee pot I was unaware that coffee had been made. This resulted in a coffee and oatmeal mixture for breakfast. Possibly a new flavor that Quaker Oats should market?

After watering the grass in someones yard I continued the remaining 23 miles with nary an exciting story to report. The course was beautiful as it ran around a lake, but more than anything it felt like a nice long run. The last several miles we marathon runners were joined on course by the accomping triathlon. Nothing makes 6 minutes per mile pace feel slower than when you are getting passed by tons of bikers who are going 25 to 30 miles per hour. After breaking the finish line tape in 2:39:41 I quickly had some sports drink, talked to the race director, and headed on my way home. This was the 19th marathon I have won in the past 52 weeks, and so far 18 of those races have been quick to invite me back to defend my title. I look forward to running this marathon again as it was a fun event, but I had to cut my visit short in order to get home for a 5 kilometer race the next day.

Training for the big 5km!

The ten and a half hour drive home from the marathon Saturday night seemed shorter than the 15 minute drive home from church on Sunday morning. The Sunday 5 kilometer race started at 1:20 in the afternoon, which allowed plently of time to attend church. Unfortunately the clock in the back of the church stopped working, which threw the preacher off. He ended up working an extra 15 minutes of overtime. I raced home, changed clothes, prepared Miles in the jog stroller, and left my house at 12:50 headed on a nearly 3 mile run to the starting line. I reached the line and attached my bib number with less than 5 minutes to spare. None of this mattered once the gun went off.

This event is our largest local 5 kilometer race, it runs in front of the fair parade, so there are tons of spectators. There were around 460 runners on the starting line. My goal was to be competitive in the top 10, but in a field full of college and high school runners this would be tough. One of these runners reminded me of my goal to place in the top ten. He doubted it was possible. Frankly after pushing hard up the first hill I too felt some doubt. At the half mile point Miles and I were running on the wide left lane, starting to gain speed, and in the top 50 overall. I mentally shifted out of running a 5 kilometer race and envisioned I was Will Stoneman from the movie Iron Will. Miles was now my team of sled dogs. We were on a mission to win this race. We breezed through mile 1 in 5:27, then acclerated more.

As we continued to pass athletes the crowds would get really excited. Miles kept looking from one side of the road to the other, following the cheers with his eyes. He was having a blast. We reached mile 2 with a 5:06 split, we were running 29 seconds behind the leaders. The last mile was ran off road which made it a little harder to run fast, but we were not about to settle for average. Excuses exist for those who need them, not us. We finished in 16:50 for 8th place. Not a win and not a sub 16 minute 5 kilometer race, but one heck of a fun time for my son. That trumps winning.