The Final Countdown

November 26 – November 30 Total Mileage: 9.1 miles
Weight - 213.2  

In the past year I have run 835.26 miles. To put it in perspective, that is the distance from my office in Sacramento to Disneyland and back (or for my friend from north of the border, roughly the distance from Winnipeg to Calgary). I don’t even want to figure out how much time I have spent pounding the pavement.

And now it all comes down to this. 26.2 miles to the finish line.

26.2 miles from a year’s worth of work being over.

Humbling when you think about it. To think that I had not run in years, and have made it this far on sure will. Yes, in the grand scheme of things, I realize that simply running a marathon may not be a special thing. It is estimated that 551,811 people will complete a marathon in the US this year. That’s a whole lot of people. Not exactly an exclusive club.

However, this is not about doing something special. This is about me proving to myself that this can be done and that no matter how hard it gets, no matter how bad it hurts, no matter how easy it would be to quit, that I did not give up.

I have also learned a few thigs while on the road:

• Be Kind to your knees and ankles
• Hydrate - Hydrate - Hydrate
• Know yourself - Pain does not always mean stop (sometimes it is weakness leaving the body)
• Pandora likes to screw with you (seriously...Air Supply, on what planet do you think Air Supply has anything to do with what I listen to?)
• Enjoy the scenery
• Every journey begins with one simple step

I'm in a much different place mentally than I have been for my last two races.  I am almost in a zen like state.  No panic, no anxiety (we'll see if I can keep that going on Sunday), no stress.  I know that I am prepared.  Ready...I don't know if I'll ever be "ready" to run for 5+ hours.  In the rain no less.  We are having hellacious storms and it looks like Sunday is going to be a wet one.  Just another challenge to overcome.  Good news is that the rain is at least keeping temps in the 50's and 60's.  That and running in Vibrams will keep me from adding water weight like those that are in traditional running shoes that will suck up water from puddles.

I hit the expo today and grabbed my bib, chip, and all my free gear.  I'll be racing in the Clydesdale division (just could not hit my goal weight.  I've stalled at 213).  Just something to shoot for next year should I think that a full marathon is fun.  Lots of great booths and samples of energy drinks, gels, cliff bars and the like.  I scored a pair of injinji socks for 5 bucks (10 less than retail!). 

I picked up a brochure for the Sacramento Barefoot Runners Club - they were stoked to see me in Vibrams at the expo.  Mitch, who I can best describe as a guy in his 50's that looks like he stepped off the corner of Haight and Ashbury, told me "The masses will never get us barefoot guys.  The masses are afraid that everything they have been told by the shoe companies is wrong.  The masses are afraid of change."  Pretty deep for a guy manning a card table in a convention center.  After talking for a few minutes he gave me a "shug" (which for those not familiar is a handshake followed by a one armed hug).  I'm pretty sure I am now one of his people.

Loading up on pasta tonight (and very likely tomorrow)

See you in 26.2

The Final Countdown is on...

Really Winding Down Now

November 19 – November 25 Total Mileage: 18 miles

Things are starting to really wind down now. I was in the bay area this past week for Thanksgiving so I was able to squeeze a few runs in. I broke out the new SeeYa’s on Tuesday to give them a go. My dad joined me (riding his bike) and we cut through a few neighborhoods and hit the iron horse trail. I went out way to fast (sub 8:40 for the first mile and a half) and I paid for it for the rest of the run. I still finished sub 10:00 per, but I struggled.

Wednesday’s run also led me back to the trail. In the spirit of my first 10K run a rear ago, I had a 10k training run. I chose to forgo the Walnut Creek Turkey Trot, and set out on my own. I finished a little slower than the race time from last year, but there was no adrenaline, no crowds, a much hillier course, and no reason for me to sprint the last quarter mile or so. It was raining (not that nice kind of rain, but the rain that blown in sideways or directly in your face) and I was miserable during and after the run. This has been a concerning trend over the last few weeks. My medium and long runs are taking longer, and I seem to be expending way more energy then I should. I hope that it is something that will just work itself out at this point, since I have no idea how to fix it.

I bounced back for my long run of 8 miles and felt pretty good for the most of it. I finished sub 11:00 per (my goal is to avoid 11:00 per during the marathon for as long as I can) and I do not feel wrecked today. I notice that my ankles are more sore than usual, but I attribute this to the new shoes. One more week to go! Good news (or not) is that there is a 60% chance of rain. I hope that this changes for the better in the next week. I want nothing to do with slick surface conditions (there is a portion of the run that is cobblestone).

Pulling Back

November 12 – November 18            Total Mileage: 29 miles

Finally starting to taper back on the mileage.  The longest run this week was only 12 miles.  I hesitate to say “only” since it felt like it was much further.  I am down in the bay area for the weekend and for Thanksgiving week so I ventured out on Sunday to get the last run over 10 miles in.  I did not have time to drive all the way down to the Iron Horse Trail, so I settled for running from Dougherty Valley High School, through a few neighborhoods, down to Dublin blvd and back.  First off it was 34 degrees when I started, which is ok except when you leave your running gloves in Roseville.  Second, while the slight downhill slope was great on the way down, the now continuous slight uphill slope on the way back was brutal.  I still averaged under 11 min per (barely) and coming off a disappointing 20 mile run, I was really hoping that this would go better. 

I tweaked my left knee and it has started to swell a little.  I’m hoping that the next 2 weeks of less mileage will not only help my recover from a few nagging injuries, but also help give my mind a break.  The long runs are starting to become mentally exhausting.

I broke down and bought a pair of SeeYa’s this weekend.  They are even lighter than the Bikilas (same frame, less material and a larger midfoot shank) and are an awesome day-glo / highlighter yellow and black (I was searching for Blue/Grey, but alas…)  I look forward to breaking them in and hopefully having them ready by race day.

Shout out to Gregor who finished the Spartan Race this weekend.  13+ miles, and a bunch of brutal obstacles.  Not only did he finish it in roughly 3:30, he did it with very little training.  How could some one do it with such little training?  Easy – he’s straight up B.A. (like Baracus)!  Congrats sir.

I've got a bad feeling about this....

November 5 - November 11                  Total Mileage: 40.01 (the .01 was just for spite)

40 miles this week.  This was the longest week in the program, and it definitely felt like it.  I made the very stupid mistake of trying to change shoes this week (in an attempt to avoid buying a new pair).  I think the experiment failed.  I ran in the flat soled KSO's.  I thought that I had been hit by a train after my 10 mile run.  All of the muscles in my feet and lower legs hurt.  They pinched both of my little and big toes (turning the big toenail on my right foot a nice shade of purple...please do not fall off in the next month).

I got a migraine on Thursday and had it through Saturday night.  Both kids have colds, which in turn, means that I have one too.  I was looking forward for the last really really long run and seeing if I could beat my last time.   In short, it did not happen.  I swicthed back to the blue bikilas and headed out.  I felt good for the first mile, then the wheels pretty much came off.  I had a side stitch (which has been showing up the last week or so) during mile two.  It felt like someone punched me in the chest and ribs as hard as they could.  On mile three I hopped onto the track at the high school figuring that it may take some pressure off my legs.  Boy was I wrong.  It was just soft enough that it made my ankles and feet work harder than normal.  I ran until I hit 12 miles, then caught the street and headed toward old Roseville.  I was coming back up Washington and approached a tunnel, issue being that there are no pedestrians in the tunnel and the traffic was moving well over the 45 mph speed limit.  Rather than take my life into my own hands, I had to improvise. 

Off to my right I saw a little trail that would lead me up to the railroad track that went over the tunnel. I figured that once I got to the top, I could come back down the other side.  So I went through the weeds that were armpit high, hopped the barb wire fence, and ran along side the tracks.  I saw a bike trail about 50 yards ahead, but to get there I had to run on rocks, large, pointy, stabby rocks.  After many obscenities, I made it back down to the bike trail and was on my way. 

I was way off my pace, and every muscle in my legs hurt.  I burned through 36 ounces of electrolytes and 3 gels by mile 17 (Washington and Blue Oaks, not much farther to go).  Then I realized that there is no sidewalk on Blue Oaks for nearly a mile and a half.  I ran on a grass / sand hybrid just off the roadway until the sidewalk started again.  Mile 18 and 19 were painful and I was barely running now.  I imagine that I looked like one of those speed walkers in the Olympics (you know, the guys that shake it like a Polaroid picture while they walk).  I finished roughly 13 minutes off my pace from before.  I'm still cramping up 7 hours after my run, and I am trying my hardest not to second guess this whole thing.  I hope that tapering for a few weeks, and the adrenaline of race day will get me through.

Another Long Run Missed

October 29 – Nov 4                Total Mileage: 19 miles

This is not supposed to be how I spend the last month training.  I made it through the first three runs for the week and was looking forward to a 14 miler on Sunday.  (Seriously, who says that they are looking forward to 14 miles?)  However I woke up with a migraine and a sharp pain in my right shin (the same shin that I banged into playground equipment last week).  I decided that it may be better to sit this one out.  I am concerned that I have missed my last two long runs and have less than a month to go. 

I am also getting to the point where I am saying to myself “Let’s get this over with already.”  Not in a bad way, it’s just that a year is a long time when you are training for something.  That coupled with a completely irrational fear that I will injure myself with a few weeks to go, and that the world is conspiring against me (I appear to have lost all of my braces and heart rate monitor) makes me want to get this show on the road.

A moment of levity came when I went to Sports Chalet yesterday.  I went there to check out the SeeYa’s since my blue Bikilas are about one long run away from having a hole in the sole and I had a much similar experience as I did with Fleet Feet.  The sad thing is that I was already wearing a pair of KSO’s when I went into the store.

Me: “I’d like to see if you have the SeeYa’s in a 43”

Her: “I recommend something with much more cushioning and support for someone your size.”

OK, I completely realize that I do not look like a runner.  I look like someone that has probably eaten a runner or two.  I did not realize that their business was so good that they could try NOT to make a sale.  Let’s just call it like it is.  I’m a fit fat guy.  I am cool with it; just give me the shoes I have asked for please.

Me: “I’ve been down that road, always ended up injured.  These are the only way to go.”

Her: “A motion control shoe would really lessen the pounding on your joints.  If you prefer going barefoot, would you like to try the Fila Skeletoes?”

Seriously, Fila Skeletoes?  Don’t even get me started on those knock off pieces of…

Me: “Just anything Vibram in a 43 or 44 you have is fine.”

They had the SeeYa’s in a 44 which were too big.  I felt like I was floating in them.  They are about as minimal as you can go though.  They are an even further stripped down Bikila.  They weigh next to nothing.  I also tried on the Spidron (which has a plate in the arch that was different from all of the other VFF’s that I have).  They have a road running outsole, which would work, but the neon green or neon orange are way too hideous to ignore.  I also tried on the Komodo Sport.  That may be the finalist for the new addition.  They felt like I was walking on a cloud (which is a feat for a minimalist shoe).  I’ll need to get into them quick though as I have to make sure that they don’t cause a blister before race day. 



Hey Fila...