Thursday, September 29, 2011

No Guts, No Glory



As I prepare myself for my 10th marathon, I sit back and think about the journey I took getting to this point. Here I was, fat and out of shape after our SORT team was disbanded at El Reno. Most of the guys on the team just laid down. None of us were really working out, or even the slightest bit motivated to do anything. Then, several of us decided enough was enough. My eye opener was when I realized, while lying on the bed, my stomach would lay next to me. Quite embarassing. We had a group of about five that started hitting the weights and running. One mile was good, two miles was a stretch. But, we kept pushing each other. Two miles would turn into three miles, and so on. The most we would run was eight miles.

As we maintained these types of workouts, the weight was starting to melt away. One problem though, I wasn't eating right. Matt and I went out for a run. When we got back to the fitness center, everything started going dark on me. Deb was on the treadmill and could tell something was wrong. I pretty much passed out when I laid down on the sit-up bench. Next thing I knew, Deb and Matt were standing over me, with Deb putting a cold wash cloth on my head. Lesson learned. To burn calories, you have to have nurishment in your system or your body will shut down on you.

We continued on with our runs. Entering various races, from 5Ks to 10Ks. Matt approached me and said we should run the half marathon for the Oklahoma City Memorial race. Being new to running, at that point, I asked him what the distance was on that. When he told me it was 13.1 miles, my response was, "You must be out of your f'ing mind if you think I'm running 13.1 miles!" Needless to say, that is not the issue anymore. I have come to grasp distance running as my therapy for the things that stress us out in life. Some races don't go as planned, just as some training runs. However, runningn has opened my eyes to new things, to include a healthier lifestyle. It has also opened my eyes to ways that I can help others. I continue to run for charity. Currently working on raising money for the Dana-Farber Foundation, which is for cancer prevention.

I guess what I'm trying to say, as some of you already know, it takes guts to take that first step. It takes dedication to continue on with the quest.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Friends in Need

Times are hard all around. However, we all have a friend on here who has had more than his share of rough times this year. Many of you know Peter Arborgast out of Central Ohio. Here is a blog post and the link to an event benefiting Peter's wife, Deb. If you can't attend the event, please go to the web page and help out.

Attention Central Ohio Runners! Please consider running the Deb Arbogast 5k race in Marysville, OH on Oct. 29th, 2011. The race is in honor of Daily Miler, Peter Arbogast's wife, who is facing her second bout with breast cancer. You can read Deb's personal story and register for the race at The Deb Arbogast - Outrun Breast Cancer 5k. Costumes are encouraged & there is also a kid's race. Here's your chance to meet up with lots of fellow Daily Milers in Buckeye State while showing your support!

Taken from the blog: http://techandtraining.blogspot.com/2011/09/appeal-to-all-runners-who-live-in.html

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Motivation

This is unfamiliar territory to me. Lack of motivation!! I am completely lacking this vital part of a runner's life right now. Everything that has happened this year, coupled with all my travels for training, has left me drained. My goal for the year was to complete five marathons. I've completed three, with two still on the schedule.

We have the MidSouth marathon coming up the first weekend of November. I am running this race to raise money inter fight against cancer. This is my motivation and I need to remember that! The next one is for St Jude. Another great motivator. My fellow runners, on Dailymile, are great motivators as well.

Ok, I'm over it. My pity party is complete. Let's get it on. And to my fellow Muckas.... YOU ROCK!!!!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

One Month

Just one month. That's all it has been since I watched my Dad pass away. Since that time, I have run a marathon in Tupelo, MS, attended training in Dallas, TX, and trained Disturbance Control Teams in Ft Sill, OK. My training has been thrown off. My time with my family h as been limited. It is official, the year of 2011 officially sucks! I have lost both parents in a 6-month timeframe. I feel as if I have no energy right now. I feel like I have neglected my family and have felt nothing but sorry for myself. My youngest daughter keeps asking why I'm gone so much. What can I tell her other than Daddy has a job to do. I'm getting to the point where I should have been a long time ago. Family first. That's been neglected for to long.

I run marathons to raise money for charity. Time to do something for my girls who have always been there for me. They say time heals all winds yet, I can't get past the fact my parents are gone and I played a major part in that. I was responsible for the decisions in both DNRs. My family supports me but, I can't get past the fact I made the decision and neither are here now. How do you deal with that??? If someone knows the way to get past it, please let me know.

Like I said though, I have my girls and they support me. That, coupled with my running, may be my saving grace because this is truly taking it's toll on me.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Tupelo Marathon



We came, we ran, we got soaked!! Tropical Storm Lee pounded us a bit as we were running in Tupelo yesterday. I can now officially say I have never been wetter during a race. My shoes are still drying out in the laundry room. All in all, it was a great race. We started the race at 5am. Now, most races have a starting mat that let's you know when your time starts so you can also start your watch when crossing it. Most races also have an announcer calling out to everyone over a PA system, telling them to "GO" or getting everyone pumped up. I'm guessing by the lack of the PA system, they were trying not to wake up the people in the houses right by the start line. The lack of the starting mat confused several runners as to what their official starting time actually was.

We had several Muckas running this race. Brandon, Jody and Sherry ran the 14.2 miler. Holly and I ran the full. This was Holly's first full. We also had Tony Brake (Indiana) and Houston Wolf (Memphis) running the full with us. My Pit Crew, Deb and Amy, were still fast asleep back at the hotel. As we set off, the road was lit up by runners with glow sticks, lights on their hats or shoes and some even had blinkers on their backsides. Now that was funny. :) As we ran, we watched the police car, who was leading the elites, disappear over the hills. We ran through the dark for about 8 miles. We also ran through light rain for most of the race. Just prior to the 8 mile mark, I heard a voice behind us calling out, "Go Muckas!". Turned around and realized Jody and Brandon were right behind us. Then they passed us and never looked back. I hung with Holly up to around the 10 mile mark. Then a case of the "Bubble Gut" got the best of me. Not trying to be gross or anything but I had to peel off into some woods and take care of business. Thankfully, I always carry TP with me on long runs.

Up to this point, Holly said our average pace was 8:52. I knew we were going too fast, at least for me, as we were encountering hill after hill. These weren't major hills but, they never stopped. Just as you would finish one hill, you would start another one. By this time the rain was coming down a little harder. As I was approaching the turn for the turn around point, Holly was already heading back in the other direction. I lost Tony somewhere in the initial darkness. Half way through the race and my energy seemed to be zapped. August was a rough, and sucky, month. I saw Sherry as I was heading back. She was close to finishing and had a big smile on her face. She rocked that 14.2 miler.

At this point, I took on the plan of walking up the hills and running the downhill side. Flats were fair game but, there weren't many flat parts. The rain really started coming down a little harder. By now it is daylight and you can actually see the sights we missed while running in the dark. There were some beautiful homes out there. Not to mention several road kills along the way. As I was approaching mile 20, I thought I could see Holly not to far ahead of me. By mile 21, I caught up to her. I could tell the wall smacked her right in the teeth. She was having cramping issues with her legs. Right as we hit mile 21, the skies opened up and the rain just poured down on us. I kept giving Holly different goals to reach during the run. Told her to make it to a certain house or sign before she could walk. In doing so, it took my mind off my own pain and lack of energy. By mile 23, she started to fall behind. I pushed on at this point.


One more hill to go over before turning into the parking lot where the finish line was located. As I rounded the last corner, I gave it all I had left and pushed across the finish line. Just before the finish line, I could see my girls (Deb and Amy) standing there, cheering me on. That alone gives me a great sense of accomplishment. Having them out there, supporting me is awesome. :) I finished in 4:22:10, placing 88th out of all males running the full, and 121st overall out of 300 runners. Not my best run but, not my worst. And I was in the top half so, I'll take that anytime. :) Cheered Holly into the finish line. Then hung out with the Brakes and the Cooks for a bit while we all tried to recover a little. This makes my 9th marathon overall, and 5th state completed. Two more marathons to go in 2011. Great job to all my fellow Muckas for completing new distance goals in this race. There was one fatality in this race, that I know of. My iPod took a fatal blow from the rain and died on me. We are attempting reviving techniques but, the outlook is bad.