Running Dream

Posted this on dailymile, but I thought it was appropriate to post here too:

Well, I just realized I eclipsed the 1K mile mark on dailymile this week. Go me! And I signed up for the "Live the Dream" challenge and never posted my dream. Well, I have the typical goals, Boston qualify, triathlon, ultra, things like that. I really think my true dream is to continue running and living a healthy and active lifestyle to change my family tree. I want my kids, grandkids, & great grandkids to see my example. I want to teach them how to enjoy being active. I want them to know video games, tv, and the internet can't teach them half the things you can learn by just going outside for a run. And it would be extremely cool to achieve the 80+ 5hr BQ! :)

Everything Happens for a Reason...

Been a crazy tough few weeks. First I got sick. Flu symptoms and a late night visit with the porcelain throne. Then as I was starting to get over the sickness, the straw broke the camel's back. Literally. I was bending over checking something on the computer (probably dailymile :P), and I felt a twinge in my low back.


Slowly over the next hour or so the twinge became a stabbing pain and the back spasms were on. I've been there before. Not my first bout with back pain. I went and got some good Chiropractic adjustments throughout the week and was feeling pretty good by Thursday evening.

Well, it was pretty short lived before disaster came calling. Friday morning, I try to boot up the computer and get nothing but a flashing question mark. Hard drive D.O.A. So off to the Apple store I went to get the hard drive replaced so the fam and I would be able to communicate with the digital world. Of course, this couldn't have happened 9 months ago when we still had a warranty. While I was driving to the store, it happened. I sneezed.

When your back is on the mend, if you don't bend your knees during a sneeze, it's bad bad news. And this time it was extra super bad news. The sneeze sent my back into a place 3x worse than the week before. The only time it didn't hurt was when I was standing up straight. So I suffered through the weekend to and made it back to my Chiropractor on Monday. It was really tough. Then on Wednesday, I started a "trigger point" treatment and it has helped tremendously. I found out almost the whole left side of my low back was in muscle spasm. I was literally walking crooked. Still not fully healed today, but getting better every day. I will definitely try to sneeze safely...

So through all this, I've come to the conclusion that this suffering was necessary for my body and mind. If I can go through two weeks of chasing around my 3 kiddos when I can barely tie my shoes, I can pretty much take on anything. I think it has also helped me realize that when things get a little tough and I'm feeling sorry for myself, I can look back on this time when I persevered through pain to take care of my business.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4)

Off to have fun at a swim party today and looking forward to getting on the bike soon. Hopefully the running shoes will be able to come out of hiding sooner than later. Run with gusto friends! :)

Skunked!

So, the other night I had a dream that I was out on a run. The route wasn't familiar to me, but in the dream, it was like my usual run. I turned a corner around a shed, and there, lying in wait was a little skunk. The skunk was not privy to the fact of me coming around the corner so quickly. He saw me, freaked, and sprayed. I was stopped in my tracks and hollered a few choice words, then plodded on my stinky way home. Somewhere between the skunk and home, I woke up. And I felt like I needed to take a shower...


This story was also posted on dailymile. Come join me over there!

dailymile FTW!

pic from Heather G.'s dailymile post

Haven't posted much here lately. I've been posting all my daily running stuff over on dailymile.com. That place has gotten addicting. I had signed up for the site a while back, but hadn't been using it much. Then after my 1st marathon adventure, I was so tired, I "washed" my ipod - which I had been using to log all of my miles through Nike+. So I jumped into dailymile for a new way to log my miles. Then, the DM team was introduced. I was already "friends" with a few of them, but I went ahead and "friended" the whole team. My friend count doubled overnight, and I had a whole slew of people out there to cheer me on. It's really funny when you're e-mail inbox blows up with DM comments after you post a workout. And It's quite refreshing to know people are out there doing the same things as me. Especially when most non-runners you meet ask you which 5K marathon you're running next. So kudos to dailymile and if you are looking for some motivation to start running, or keep running, or get into triathlons, just head on over to dailymile.com, friend me up and get going!






Also, my DM friend Allie is giving away a RoadID band on her blog. Click on over and check it out.

2009 Year End Stats

Miles run: 889 miles

Calories burned: 121,793 calories

Finished the Dallas White Rock Marathon 4 hrs 26 min 39 sec and earned my first official marathon finisher's medal.

On to 2010. I plan on taking on a few races of differing lengths. AND I am going to help my wife run her first 5K! I know you can do it honey!

Prospective Races:

Jan 24 : 10K - Resolution Run (McKinney, TX)
Aug 15 : 13.1 mi - The Hottest Half (Dallas, TX)
Marathon #2??

Happy New Year and I hope everyone has a great 2010!

My First Marathon Experience

First, I would like to thank all who donated to World Vision to sponsor me running this race. A big thanks to Bess & Alden for helping me reach my goal before the race! $562.00 was raised in total which was $62 more than my target goal! It was an awesome feeling going into the race that I hit my goal for funds raised and was about to achieve my goal of running a marathon. I'm sure the families that are helped by the money raised will be more appreciative than we will ever know. Thanks again to all who supported my cause: Peggy & Hilton Harvison, "Toots" & John Pavlica (Mimi & Papau), Scott Smith & family, Gary Pavlica & family, Nancy & Jimmy Shook, Nita & Jim Elizondo, Rique Bobbit, Sue & Dan Foster (Mom & Dad), Marty Schiller, Jan & Henry Skala, Darrel & Delores Fojtasek, Jennifer Ball, Bess Foster (sis), Alden Schiller III

On to the Race...

I guess I need to start at the night before the race. I set all my gear out and was ready to go. I was already feeling butterflies and really had a tough time falling asleep. From what I've read/heard, this is typical for first time marathoners. Once I finally fell asleep, I wound up dreaming about running the race and woke up a little disoriented, thinking I had already been running. Once I gathered myself, I hopped up and got ready.

In a side story, the fam and I decided to stay in a hotel to be a little closer to the race. We thought we picked a great location. A hotel with a DART station within walking distance so I could just hop on the train to head to the race and Amanda could bring the kids at a later time in the race. Well, we found out a couple of days before the race that the station was not accessible the morning of the race due to some platform repairs. Wonderful. So I had to wake up Amanda and the kids for them to take me to the station a couple of miles down the road.

Amanda dropped me off at the train station and I hopped on the train headed for the race. The train was filled with runners all excited about what we were headed towards. I just plugged in the ipod and got in the zone with a few selected tracks to get me going. At this point, I didn't need much stimulation, because the nerves were going crazy. The train arrived, I got off, checked my bag, and headed to the line.


I don't think there's ever been a time in my life I've felt so elated and utterly terrified simultaneously. Waiting for the gun to sound seemed to take an eternity. During the pre-race prayer, all I could do was pray for the race to start so the agony would end. The National Anthem was sung, and sadly because of a thick fog, there wasn't a flyover. A few more munutes... Go!

Right Photo: Early in the race with all the Halfers
Left Photo: Between mile 10-12.
Just glad I didn't look like the guy in the black in front of me. The guy in red next to me had awesome hair!

The horses and elite runners sped off with me and all the other runners to slowly creep towards the starting chute. Then, there it was. I hit the line and I was off. Adrenaline grabbed me by the butt and I was running a faster pace than I anticipated. I felt good, so I kept it up. We passed through downtown Dallas and into the Turtle Creek area. Then around mile 6 the half-marathoners split off and the race began. It was almost surreal when the course split off. The field of 6,000 marathon runners seemed sparse compared to the 10,000 running the half.

I kept a strong pace and wound up hitting the halfway point just under two hours. "I'm doing great!" I thought. I soldiered on and around mile 16 the fast start caught up with me. I started feeling a little sluggish. Then around the bend skittles were being handed out at the aid station! I'm not much on eating candy, but these were the best skittles I had ever tasted. They gave me the boost I needed and I plodded on toward the finish line.

I hit the rock concert known as the mile 19 aid station right around the 3 hour mark and was feeling winded, but I knew I could finish. Just a few more miles to go. Then I had to climb the hill between 19 & 20. The fast pace at the start was really getting to me now. This is the point of the race it becomes mind over physiology. Pretty much every part of your body is saying, "OK, I've had enough," but you just have to push through. I was doing pretty well until both of my quads started cramping in a bad way. I stopped to try to stretch them out and when I pulled up my leg, my hamstring seized up as well. So I was stuck. My legs were telling me, "stop, we don't work any more," and my head was saying, "nope, I started this thing and I'm going to finish these last 6 miles!" So there was the dilemma. I wound up having to walk out the cramps, but there was no way I was going to stop. The last 6 miles slowed down to around a 12 minute pace, but I made it. I finished a marathon. 26.2 miles.

Left Photo: Around mile 23
Right Photo: Finish Line

My official time was 4 hrs 26 min 39 sec


Below is the breakdown of where I finished overall in the race. About middle of the pack.

Here's a chart showing just how much I crashed at the end of the race.

The yellow arrow shows where I was when the overall winner finished. Man I got smoked...

I have a feeling this won't be the last one...

Week 17.9 : Santa's Runnin' and I'm Ready to Go!

We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon. - Emil Zatopek

Mucho thanks to Jennifer Ball for the latest donation! Only $14.20 makes the 2% needed to put me over the top! I know somebody out there can make that happen before the race! :)


Feelings right now:

Nervous
Anxious
Excited
Pumped!
Ready!
Let's Go Already!

This day is creeping by. Hopefully the experience at the Expo and hangin' at the hotel with the kiddos will make it pass a little faster than a snail's crawl. Thanks again to everyone for the prayers, support, and donations. I could not have done it without you!

I'll try to keep a good "runner's face" so I don't
end up with my mug on a mug like this:

Merry Christmas & see ya'll after the race!