Every Race is an Adventure!

I wandered 4 very easy miles along my serpentine route this morning. There is some tightness in my calves after Saturday's 10 mile tempo. It felt good to get out and loosen them up.

Lyle was just starting his run as I was finishing so we ran together briefly. He had a good run Saturday and seems pretty upbeat about his first marathon this Saturday. He should be. He's trained well and I think he has a great shot at breaking 4 hours.

Larry and I went for an easy run this morning. After wandering for about 1.5 miles we found ourselves near the start of the neighborhood 5K course. Larry decided he wanted to run it at a bit of a faster pace to see how it felt.

Shortly after we started we noticed that his dog Ozzie wasn't behind us. I told Larry to keep going and I went back to find Ozzie. I was just out to stretch my legs this morning and it didn't really matter to me how I did it. I found Ozzie a block or so back and got him to come with me. He tried to get lost a couple of times, but we finally caught up to Larry on a section where the course doubles back. I ran the rest of the way with Larry except for the final loop around the park (it was too dark for me and I didn't want to risk a misstep). Larry averaged around an 8:00 minute pace and should do well at the marathon.

My calves are still a little tight from Saturday's run so I decided I'd soak them in a cold tub for a bit. As I stepped into the tub I realized I'd turned on the hot water instead of the cold. I decided heat might be beneficial, too, so I kneeled in the hot water and massaged my calves while they soaked. I then hit the shower and ran straight cold water on them for a few minutes before warming up the water to finish my shower. They feel much better. I'll continue to roll them with my stick 2 or 3 times a day for good measure, but I think I could run the marathon on them today, and they still have a few more days to recharge.

I wore my marathon shoes today. After Saturday's run I had the beginnings of a blister in the same spot on both feet, left foot worse than right, on the top of my foot just above the joint of my big toe. I could feel some thickness at that spot in my shoes, at the bottom of the tongue, so I decided to unlace my shoes anddo some trimming. I think I removed the trouble spots. I tried them this morning and they felt good. I also cut and put the adhesive tape part of a flexible fabric Band-Aid on that spot on both feet last night. After sleeping, running this morning, soaking in a hot tub, followed by cold and then warm in the shower, they are both still on securely. I bought the "tough" variety this morning that are supposed to stick even better and "stay on untill you take them off". I plan to cover the hot spots from Saturday with the tape from the Band-Aids just to be sure the hot spots don't reappear during the marathon and turn into nasty blisters.

Easy miles with Larry and Wayne this morning, talking about St. George of course...and politics. It's much more enjoyable to talk about running than politics.

I went for a couple of miles on the 1/2 mile loop around the block in front of my house. After a little over a mile of warm up I opened up for a 1/4 mile. I just wanted to feel the speed, without pushing too hard. I ran it in 90 secs (6:00 pace). I went around the block one more time at an easy pace then walked my dog around the block.

I think all systems are go for the marathon. We're heading down to St. George this afternoon. I hesitate to say this, but I'm feeling pretty good and I think I'm in the (age-adjusted) best shape of my life. My weight is about the same as last year, but I've lost 2" around my waist and many people have commented on how much thinner I look. Did I convert body fat to leg muscle?

I've been playing with the "Age Equivalent Running Results Calculator" at http://www.marathonguide.com/fitnesscalcs/ageequivalent.cfm . My lifetime SGM PR is 2:52 in 1982 when I was 22. (I didn't run it again for 22 years.) Today, at age 48, an age equivalent result would be 3:09:49. I ran 3:07:02 last year (my "old man" PR). If I manage 2:59:59 this year, that would be equivalent to 2:43:04 when I was 22. The scary thing is that if I get anywhere near 3:00:00 this year, my goal next year might be my lifetime PR of 2:52 (age 22 equivalent is 2:35:50!). Oh well, it's fun to dream.

Just for fun I compared a 30 year old woman to a 48 year old man. If the man finishes in 3:00:00, the age equivalent time for the woman is 3:04:53. If the younger woman finishes in 3:00:00, the age equivalent time for the "nearly two decades older" man is 2:55:14. That just doesn't seem right, does it? :o)

I love setting a PR as much as the next guy, but that's not why I run. I've already enjoyed 98% of the benefit of my running this year - good times with good friends, time outdoors, physical exertion, and better fitness. Races are just the icing on the cake. That's why I can face race day calmly, looking forward with excitement to the grand adventure.

We had a nice drive down to St. George yesterday. I enjoyed listening to "Meet the Robinsons" that my 10, 12, and 16 year old daughters were watching in the back seat. One of the key messages of the movie is "let go of the past and keep moving forward".

Lewis: I don't even know what I'm doing.
Wilbur: Keep moving forward.
Lewis: I mean, this stuff is way too advanced for me.
Wilbur: Keep moving forward.
Lewis: And what if I can't fix this, what are we going to do?
Wilbur: Keep moving forward.
Lewis: Why do you keep saying that? And don't just say keep moving forward!
Wilbur: It's my dad's motto.
Lewis: Why would his motto be keep moving forward?
Wilbur: It's what he does.

Running my first two marathons back in 1982 when I was 22 years old changed my life. I was on a sub-3 hour pace in the first marathon then hit the wall hard at 20 miles and ended up walking most of the last 6 miles (I had never heard of carbo loading, and I don't think gels hadn't been invented yet). I ran the second marathon in 2:52 and felt great the whole way. Life is like that. Sometimes life seems easy. Sometimes life seems really really hard. Over the past 26 years, whenever my life has seemed really really hard, so often I've relied on what I learned from those two marathons: 1) I can do hard things (i.e., self confidence), and 2) Just keep taking one more step and you'll eventually get there (i.e., keep moving forward).

When I look back at my life I'm amazed at the distance I've covered, and I'm very grateful to a loving Heavenly Father for being my training partner every step of the way, even when I felt like I was running alone. I went through the typical mid-life crisis (self-evaluation) a few years ago, but I think I'm past that. I've made a lot of mistakes, and continue to, but I have no regrets. The journey, including the hard times and mistakes, has led me to where I am today. It has been an awesome adventure so far, and the adventure rolls on.

I found out about 2.5 weeks ago that after 16+ years at my current company my project is being "restructured" and my position is being eliminated. My first two thoughts after my boss left my office after telling me were, "Well, this will be a new life experience." and "The Lord has always taken care of me. It will be interesting to see how things work out this time." I was ready for a change. This kick in the pants is very likely to turn out to be a great blessing.

I'm not overly concerned at this point. My last day isn't until November 1st. There's a pretty good chance I can find another position in the company, and I also have a good lead outside the company. I will also get a nice severance package that will give me plenty of time to find a new job, and the job market is pretty good. You can never have two many job leads, however. If anyone knows of an opportunity for a senior software engineer (Linux/Windows Java/C/C++/C#) let me know. I know I've got a lot of friends out there. Thank you for your friendship. If you feel to pray for me, that would be great, but please don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I'll just keep moving forward.

I suspect the phrase "keep moving forward" may enter my mind a time or two in the marathon tomorrow. I wish the best of luck to all of you who are running. Whatever the day brings, just appreciate and enjoy the adventure.

Sorry about the lengthy entry...too much time on my hands. I'm sitting here alone in the dark in our hotel room waiting for my family to wake up. I managed to not get up at the normal 5:00am, and even get back to sleep, but I couldn't stay in bed much past 7:00am.

Well, today's race wasn't quite the adventure I expected, but it was definitely an adventure. I mentioned in my blog yesterday that the "Meet the Robinsons" motto "Keep moving forward" might cross my mind today. It turned out to be the theme for most of the race for me.

I got on one of the last buses in one of the last seats. I ended up without any of my buddies, but had a nice conversation with the young woman I sat by. She and her two friends were running their first marathon. She was 22, and I was 22 when I ran my first marathon. I can't believe that was 26 years ago.

It was nice being in the elite corral for the first time, especially the short toilet lines. Because I was on one of the last buses I didn't have to stay in the rain as long as many of the other runners, but I was still plenty wet before the race started. I saw a few members of the sub-3 group, but I made a last minute toilet stop and then couldn't find them again.

Fortunately, Nathan found me and we ran the first 7 miles together as planned. The first few miles were really dark. We found James along the way and he joined us. Just before Veyo the arch support in my left foot started slipping around so I had to stop and fix it and tighten my shoe. Some spectators had an empty chair so with their permission I was able to sit down comfortably and fix it. After climbing Veyo I picked up some of the distance on Nathan and James and got within shouting distance, but I didn't shout. I knew I couldn't stay with them up the hills of Dammeron Valley so I just let them go.

I ran the rest of the race alone. I kept thinking that once the rain stopped and the weather warmed up a little I could pick up the pace. The rain never stopped, it never got warmer, and the headwind seemed to only get stronger. If I'm honest, I have to say I didn't enjoy running this marathon very much. My wet shoes and clothes felt heavy, and my feet squished every step. I wear glasses so the dismal weather and wet course was all viewed through wet glasses. It seemed that each time I would get some hope of picking things up a bit the headwind would pick up as if to say, "Not so fast." What a lovely day!

To add to the fun, my right calf started feeling tight around mile 4 and never loosened up. A couple of times later in the race I was afraid it was going to cramp, but it never did. I stopped for a quick rub down at mile 17 and I think that helped.

I did manage to keep moving forward (except for a couple of bathroom stops). I even managed to run mile 24 in 6:32, and the last 0.2 at 6:13/mi and passed a bunched of people in the last few blocks, but it took a lot of effort. I was surprised to see Tom and Terry just after I crossed the finish line. I hadn't seen them the whole race but it turns out they finished just ahead of me, Terry in 3:10 and Tom and I in 3:11.

I actually feel like I ran the best I could under the conditions and I'm satisfied with my performance. I was impressed with the efforts of all the runners today under adverse conditions. I'm especially impressed with those who still managed to reach their goals and set PRs.

I forgot to turn the auto-pause off on my watch, so when I stopped to fix my shoe and for the two bathroom stops my watch also stopped. Here are the splits without those stops:

1 - 7:10
2 - 7:00
3 - 6:40
4 - 6:44
5 - 6:48
6 - 6:24
7 - 6:38
8 - 7:58
9 - 7:44
10 - 7:59
11 - 7:55
12 - 7:37
13 - 7:05
14 - 7:37
15 - 7:04
16 - 6:57
17 - 7:13
18 - 7:19
19 - 8:06
20 - 7:25
21 - 6:51
22 - 7:36
23 - 7:21
24 - 6:32
25 - 7:09
26 - 7:16
26.2 - 1:27 (6:13/mi)
plus time for 3 stops
3:11:18 (7:18/mi)

I just reviewed my placing information from the official race results and thought I'd log it for future reference. Here are my comparisons for 2007 / 2008:

Finish time: 3:07:02 / 3:11:18
Overall: 319 / 262
Gender: 269 / 225
Chicked count: 50 / 37
Male 45-49: 34 / 27
Age grade: ? / 71.6% (Regional Class)

Last year's field was probably stronger because of the OTQ factor, but it's still encouraging to see improvement in the "compared to others" numbers. My goal isn't to be better than others, but it's another way to measure improvement, especially when the weather conditions make comparing times hard to do.