Prologue
2012 was not a good year for my physical fitness. After a family cruise, five business trips to
Asia, conferences in Las Vegas and Barcelona, a vacation in London, and summer
holidays, I was feeling very pudgy. My
pants were tighter and I tipped the scales at 205, carrying an extra 20+
pounds. In August I determined it was
time to reverse the trend, so I started exercising regularly once again. I reverted to my favorite exercise regimen:
Insanity. I had done the series twice
before and felt great during and after.
I didn’t follow the program exactly in order, but I aimed to do five workouts
a week and work through the various routines depending on the time I had
available. I was working from home some
days which gave me some flexibility to do this between work responsibilities.
I started on Aug 13 at 204 lbs with a BMI of 21.6 (I am
6’1”). By late September I was feeling
much better. On Nov 12, after 12 weeks
of Insanity I was down to 187 lbs and BMI of 15.4. My pants fit again; some were too loose. I had better energy and I was able to keep up
even in the Insanity Max exercise routines.
I did not follow any particular diet, but I did avoid soda and I worked
on portion control by not having seconds at meals.
My Running Discovery
In the past, I had never enjoyed running. I don’t ever remember running more than 5k at
one time. As a family we did the Color
Run 5k in Jan 2012 and I have done several super sprint triathlons with the
Varsity Scouts in Thatcher. This annual
race is a short swim of 75 yards, a six mile ride, and a 2.4 mile run and is
open for boys and girls 14 and up. Each
year that I trained with the youth for the race, we would do a short ride or run
one or two miles. Biking came easy for
me, but every time I went running, I was huffing and puffing and plodding along
within a few minutes! It was not
enjoyable. Each year at the Thatcher
race I would pass people on the ride and then get passed up on the run as I
trudged along. And that is the way it
was for six races.
For a long time, I have had a slight and growing admiration
for those who could run a marathon or complete an Ironman triathlon. That admiration was never enough to convert
me to actually wanting to do a race like that though! I enjoyed the triathlon, but the thought of
running any further than 5k was nauseating.
In the last few years all three of my sisters got into running and in
2012 they set out to do a marathon. They
all completed the San Diego Marathon and had a great experience. My sisters are not hard core runners, but
they got serious about training and used programs to help them along using
run/walk intervals. Their experience
helped to increase my interest in actually doing a marathon. Perhaps I am a tad competitive in that way. But I hated running and I was not good at it…
I thought.
On Nov 5 I was in San Jose and my colleague MN asked me if I
had plans after work that evening. He
suggested we go for a jog at the park and then have dinner. We went to the park and it was a warm fall
evening. We went running and we were
chatting along the way. Before I knew it
we were turning around and I realized that I wasn’t struggling for air like
normal! MN actually said that I was
pushing his pace along. We had run for
about 30 minutes and then we got back to the parking lot and saw some people
playing basketball. They needed some
more players so we joined in and had a great time. I could not believe how I felt and the energy
I had. I realized that the cardio
exercising in Insanity had made a huge difference in my conditioning. Unlike all my previous experiences in
running, this run was not a chore.
My Marathon Training
After the run in San Jose, I decided to look into marathon
training to find out what the experts recommend to prepare for a marathon. I found a program on www.marathonrookie.com for
first time marathoners that had a 16 week training schedule. The pre-requisite to start was that you
should be able to run 3 miles or 30 minutes comfortably. Well… I just did that. Each week the schedule had four runs. The longest runs were on Saturday and each
week the long run got longer and the total distance for the week increased
gradually. At first the runs were 3 to 5
miles. At the peak the long run was 20
miles and the total week distance topped 40 miles. I had no idea if I could do that, but I did
meet the pre-requisite, so I figured I could give it a try.
Next was to see what marathons were possible. There are two major marathons in Phoenix each
year, the P.F. Chang’s Rock-N-Roll Marathon in January and the Phoenix Marathon
in early March. Turns out the Phoenix
Marathon was on Saturday March 2nd, which was 16 weeks away. Perfect!
It was a scenic course through North Mesa with a slight downhill
dropping a total of 1,000ft in elevation.
I didn’t have the courage to sign up right then, but I decided to start
the training program and see how I felt as the distances increased.
My daughter BB had been on the Campo Verde High School swim
team and she had just finished her State swim meet. One day in the car she was wondering out loud
what she was going to do next for physical activity. I told her I was thinking of running the
Phoenix Marathon. She asked me more about
it and by the end of the conversation she was keen to do the half
marathon! No sooner had we arrived home
and she set about recruiting her sister CB for the race. It took a bit of convincing, but she also
said she would do it. Now this was
starting to sound like it was for real.
I could tell my wife KB was also interested, but she had done a 10k
recently with her friend TM and experienced some problems with her IT band, so
she was not sure if she could do it.
We all needed proper running shoes, so off to the store we
went. Last year I worked on the GPS for Motorola’s
MotoACTV fitness watch and I had one for testing, so I got that out for
tracking my progress. It can play music and
I had some wireless headphones, so I was set.
In week 1, I ran the first 3 mile run without too much trouble. Then 4 miles the next day, then 4 again, then
on Saturday we had a mini triathlon activity for our local church youth group
that took about 40 minutes to complete and I was able to run the full 2 miles
without stopping, which was a first for me!
The next Saturday called for 6 miles.
That was longer than I had ever gone before. How would I manage? Well there was only one way to find out.
I found that each week, the long run was only 1-2 miles
longer than my previous longest run, which would make me think or at least
believe that I could do it. And each
week I did. I completed 6.4 miles in 58
minutes and felt tired, but not dead.
The total mileage for the week was up to 12. The next week I had a 7 mile long run and 17
miles total, which did not seem as daunting as it did before.
As I progressed in my training, I talked a lot with my
friends KL and TL about running. They
taught me a lot about proper running form and got me thinking more about technique
rather than just brute force. I worked
on increasing my stride cadence, making my foot strike on the ball of the foot instead
of the heel, and keeping my posture upright, relaxed, and slightly
forward. I used to think that long
strides helped you go faster, but that causes heel strikes which lead to pain
in the shins. Shorter strides with a
faster cadence improve speed and put less stress on the bones and joints. I felt less pain in my calf leg muscles and I
felt that I was getting more consistent in my pace. As for cardio fitness level, I was running at
a pace that I was never out of breath panting and I was able to maintain my
heart rate at a sustainable level in zones 2-3.
KL and TL were both entered in the Phoenix Marathon as
well. Early in the program I had talked
with another friend JH about the race. He
wanted to try it too having heard so much about it from a good friend, so he
signed up and started the same training program. Meanwhile, KB and TM did some runs and their
running was going well, so they decided to sign up for the half marathon, which
would be a first for both of them. It
really helped to have others working towards the same race. We did not run together very often during
training because we all had different paces and different workout times, but we
talked about our runs and soreness and celebrated our progress together.
I had to travel to Korea for work in early December and it
was far too cold and icy to run outside, so I hit the treadmill. I think there is something psychological
about covering distance and seeing the scenery change that makes it easier to
run outside. It is also the reason I
prefer running a loop rather than an out and back. On the treadmill the miles creep by so
slowly! It seems that 2 miles on the
treadmill was as hard as 5 on the road!
Nevertheless, I pushed ahead and despite the jet lag was able to run
three times for a total of 10 miles. On
my return I did the planned long run of 8 miles on Saturday and it was so pleasant
out that the time flew by and before I knew it I was done. My average pace was 9:13 and I did not have
to stop and walk during the run except to cross roads. At this point I realized that it was nearly
1/3 of a marathon and I first really started to believe that I could actually
complete the program and finish the race.
I signed up. Now with money on
the line there was no turning back!
Week 5 brought the first 10 mile run and a total of 21
miles. I had more confidence in
completing the distance, so for the long run I pushed myself a bit harder and
finished at an 8:30 pace. During weeks 5 and 6 my average pace was in
the low 8 minutes and for one of the shorter runs I did 4 miles at under 8
minute pace for the first time. Week 7
brought a 12 mile long run and 26 miles total.
During the week, I completed a marathon!
Up to this point I had been very diligent in completing the
four prescribed runs each week. With the
arrival of holiday visitors came not only fun, but also bugs, and I fell
sick. During weeks 8 and 9 I missed
three runs and I was slower for the others.
However, I ran a new long distance of 14.9 miles at an 8:41 pace. My first half marathon! The next week I was still sick and missed a
couple of runs but still managed a 12 mile run, albeit at a slower pace.
At this time I started to think less about the challenge of
completing the marathon and more about a goal time for finishing. I talked to my sisters and to others that had
completed marathons. I looked at my pace
on the long runs I was doing. Most of
those long runs had a pace between 8:30 and 9:00 mins/mile. A 9 minute average pace is just under 4 hours
to complete a marathon. I was able to go
faster than that for half the distance, but what would happen over the full
distance? What about the infamous
wall? Despite these unknowns, I set a
goal of finishing in sub 4 hours thinking that it would be a stretch goal for
me to work towards.
Week 10 I was healthy again and hit the road hard. I did my best 5 miles in less than 40
minutes and then a new longest run of 16 miles.
Total mileage for the week was 34 and in the following week a big 18
miler was looming. Up until this point,
I had always run alone, because I was unsure of my abilities and did not want
to fall behind if I was running with someone else that was faster. I was feeling more confident with my running
and so I asked KL if he wanted to go for a run.
He said he was behind in his training and only wanted to do 10 miles,
and so we decided to do a 10 mile loop and then I would continue on to complete
my 18. I was intimidated because KL had
been running for years and was fast in his races. But he has always been a great friend and
coach and encouraged me along, so I knew he would be kind if I couldn’t keep
up.
We had lots to talk about during the run including the race,
training, and aches and pains. As the
miles clicked by, I felt good about keeping up to KL. At the point where he turned to go home, he
said thanks for pushing him. Wait, what
was that? Pushing him? I was surprised that he felt I was pushing him
because I thought I was working to keep up with him! He said that because he had not been running
much he felt slow and was seriously thinking he might not be able to finish the
race, but he was going to keep at it. He
taught me that previous performance does not lead to future good results
without effort.
For my runs longer than 10 miles, I started to carry water
with me and to use beans for energy along the way. They seemed to make a difference, but they
were not very easy to chew and swallow when running. I would use a pack of beans every 45 minutes
or so. I experimented with different
flavors during the run and in eating different foods the night before and
morning prior to the long runs. Bagels
with peanut butter, bananas, yoghurt, granola bars and Clif energy bars were all
very good prior to a run. After the long
runs I would eat some of the same foods and drink chocolate milk or Gatorade
for recovery. Apparently, eating and
drinking carbs and some protein right after exercise helps the muscles to heal
and recover faster. I noticed that if I
didn’t eat soon after a run, I would be hungrier throughout the day. Usually the two days after a long run I would
be sore in the legs and stiff in the morning or after sitting for a while, but
I did not encounter any significant pain during running or after. My sister MB told me about Glide; a product
like deodorant that you apply where you expect rubbing and it helps reduce
chaffing. KB bought me some very
comfortable socks for running that have padding in the right places and I did
not have any blister or chaffing issues.
The next week was a 20 miler. I was planning to do two of them based on a recommendation
from my friend BF who had done his first marathon a year prior. The first one was daunting. It was only 2 miles longer than my previous
longest run, but still, 20 sounds so much farther! I plotted out a good loop and hit the
road. I was careful not to go too fast
at the start. I carried beans, GU, a
salt tab and water with me. The salt tab
helps to retain liquids better in long efforts.
I had to stop and use a bush along the way because I hydrated too much
prior. Near the end, I noticed that
after stopping at a street crossing it was hard to get moving again. I finished in 3:02:16 with an average pace of
9:07. I felt great about finishing a new
longest run, but this pace was not quite fast enough for a 4 hour marathon
finish so I felt there was more work to do.
The next week I had to go to Korea again and I had to use the treadmill
to get some runs in. On Saturday after
returning home I planned to run 20 again and I was determined to push a little
harder to get the pace down to my marathon goal pace of 9:00. I finished in 3:04:45, a 9:15 pace! I didn’t understand what happened and I was
frustrated. Shouldn’t I be able to do
better now? Why was I slower? Did I fuel wrong? Did I pace wrong during the run? I tried to get over it and focused on the
fact that I completed the run and the race was now just three weeks away.
I first learned the concept of tapering from my daughter BB
during her swim season. The concept was
to reduce the duration and intensity of the workouts in the two weeks leading
up to the State swim meet, which is the big goal race. My running schedule also had a taper effect
and I found that it was hard to throttle back a bit. In my mind I believed that running longer and
harder would help improve my performance.
Nevertheless, I put my trust in the program and reduced the
distance. I did a 12 mile run with 8:47
pace, and then my last long run was 10 miles at 8:26 pace. Despite these runs, I had a nagging feeling
about the 20-milers and my confidence in achieving 4 hours was waning. My total mileage for the 16 weeks was 383
miles and my total time running was 56 hours and 36 minutes.
My wife and daughters had all continued their
preparation. KB strained her IT band in
a run about two weeks before the race.
Running was painful and she did not know if she could do it. She did a couple of short runs in the last
week and managed through them, but was very worried. BB had a reaction from medication that caused
her liver to stress. The Doctor told her
not to exercise until it showed better signs since exercise stresses the liver
with clean-up duties. A couple weeks
before the race blood tests showed improved liver function, and she was cleared
to run, but now time was short to prepare.
She still wanted to do it. CB was
very good at running consistently to prepare and her longest run was about 7
miles. She often ran alone with her
music and felt ready for the race.
The Race
March 2, 2013
The day before the race we picked up our packets and started
getting all the items ready. I did not
sleep very well that night. I kept
waking up due to anxiety about the race, and maybe I was worried about sleeping
past the early alarm. We got up, ate some
bagels, granola bars, and bananas and off we went. At the parking lot, we met TM and JH, and
then parted ways to get on separate busses to our respective starting
points. It was dark and it seemed like
the ride took forever. All I could think
was that we had to run all the way back!
At last we arrived at Usury Park and walked to the prep area. We found pins for the race bib, Vaseline for
last minute chaffing prep, and then headed to the portajohns where the lines
were forming early. It was a relief to
get that out of the way before the race!
Then we stayed warm by the heaters until start time. About 20 mins before the race they made some
announcements, sang the national anthem, and then launched fireworks. Didn’t expect that! I imagine the neighbors were probably not too
pleased about that one.
They had issued us each a bag that we could put our extra
clothes in so we could pick up at the end of the race. That way we could stay warm before the
start. I consumed a GU gel, took a drink
of water, ditched my tote, and I did a little bit of stretching and running in
place. It was still dark and quite cool,
but not bitter cold. They instructed us
head to the starting line on Usery Road.
I noticed that some people were holding signs with a finish time and I
was told these are pace groups that you can follow to finish at the specified
time, if you can keep up. The masses of
people started to ease towards the finish line and to the east the rising sun
was approaching the horizon lighting the sky just enough to be able to see
well. At 6:30 the cannon sounded and… we
didn’t move. I heard some yelling and cheering
up ahead as the front of the pack started spreading out along the road. It was a couple of minutes before I could
start moving. I wished my friends a good
race and we started to blend into the moving masses.
As I crossed the starting line, I reached down to start my
watch timer and I tried not to trip on the runners near me. The road was a slight downhill and I could
see so many people ahead along the roadway in front of me. Most advice I heard included the admonition
to not go too hard at the beginning with all of the excitement. I just tried to stay cool and absorb the
excitement like a sponge hoping to draw upon it later in the day.
After a few minutes I heard a chorus of chirping from all
the GPS watches marking the passing of the first mile. It was a familiar sound, but it was humorous
to hear it in bulk! My first mile was in
8:40. About then I was tapped on the
shoulder and I turned to see it was a friend PB who I did not know was doing
the race. We chatted for a mile or so as
we geared up for the work to begin. He
had some encouraging words before pulling ahead. Although there were people all around, I was
alone again; alone with just my thoughts and some familiar running tunes.
The first turn west into the neighborhood brought a thinning
out of the crowd and some cheering spectators along the road. Soon I passed the first aid station and the
sun was up and warming the air. I soaked
in the beauty of the desert landscape and the vista of the city in front of me
as I made my way down the gradual decline into Mesa. All was going smoothly and the miles clicked
away. At about 45 minutes I took a GU
just as I was approaching an aid station.
Then I took a water cup to chase it down, and grabbed another GU for my
pouch. I also had some salt tablets in
my pouch that I used later.
Another running friend, BB from work, told me that in a
marathon, the first 10 miles is your warm-up, the next 10 miles is your commute
to work, and then the last 6.2 miles is the race. Thinking of it this way helped me to keep the
pace nice and steady and not try and push too hard. There was some slight uphill in the first
half, but mostly a gentle downhill towards downtown Mesa. At the 10 mile mark, I was 1:23:51 into the
race and my splits were steady at about 8:13 to 8:28.
About mile 10 I needed a bathroom break so I found a portajohn,
but it was occupied and I had to wait.
I’m sure it was only a few seconds, but it seemed like 5 precious
minutes had raced by! Running was more
comfortable after that. I must have felt
a burst of energy as well because the next mile was my only sub 8 minute mile
of the race. The temperature was still
pleasant, but I was breaking a sweat as I got into the run. At the halfway point there was a starting
gate where the half marathoners started.
I was at 1:50:34 at this point, so I felt my goal was within reach.
By mile 16, I was feeling the warmth of the day, the strain
on my legs, and the fatigue settling in.
My pace slowed to an average of 9:00 at this point. I kept using GU about every 40 minutes and by
this time I was taking water at every aid station. I felt something like a small rock near my
toes in my right shoe. I considered
stopping to remove it, but it was so small I decided to carry on and ignore it.
I would get into a pace following a
certain runner for a mile or two and then either pass or fade back. It helped to stay with runners at a similar
speed to keep a steady pace. I found the
spectators were a big boost to my energy along the way. Funny signs and costumes kept my interest and
distracted me from the pain. Star Wars
characters, children holding out hands for high fives, and big wigs were
common. I remember one sign that said:
“I checked the course ahead… there is no wall.
Keep running!” That was
encouraging.
At mile 20, the time was 2:52:54. This was a full 10 minutes faster than my two
training runs! I was very surprised and
pleased to see that. As I processed what
was going on, I considered that it might be the adrenaline of the race, the
downhill, the better nutrition, not carrying a water pack, but I think the biggest
contributor was the taper and having rested legs for the race. I had completed my commute to work and now I
had an hour and 7 minutes to do a 10k.
My pace was fading though. I was
now at 9:40 and in the last 6 miles it varied between 9:40 and 9:55. At the aid station at mile 19 I slowed to a
walk to get a drink of water, but then it was very hard to start running
again. I decided I wouldn’t stop at any
more aid stations. At the next station I
learned it is pretty difficult to drink a cup of water while running. The best I could do was to throw it on my
face and in my mouth to cool off a bit.
At this point I didn’t need a ton of water, but I did need to keep
moving! This approach worked and
although I was running slower, I didn’t slow to walk for the last 6 miles.
I noticed during this stretch of the race that hardly any
men were passing me, but several women were.
I had noticed earlier in the race that I was passed more by men than
women. I think the male ego pushes too
hard early and then fades fast! I was
wondering about the famous wall. I had
experienced the difficulty of starting the run again after a break, but I
didn’t attribute this to the famous bonk that comes from depleted nourishment. I just kept moving one step in front of the
other.
With about two miles left to go, I knew I was going to
finish and I knew that I was likely to beat my goal. All of a sudden I started to feel very
emotional about finishing and I was excited to see my wife at the finish
line. The final turn west into the
shopping center area brought larger crowds and noise. As I weaved along the last few bends I
noticed a person to my left bend over and puke massive quantities of
fluid. Apparently he was plenty
hydrated! The music was playing and the
announcer saying names as they crossed.
I heard my name, threw up my hands, and saw the time was 3:57 and
change. I did it!
Epilogue
After crossing the finish line, I looked for KB, but didn’t
see her or anyone else I knew for that matter.
I walked around, downed a water bottle, and kept hunting. I stayed on my feet and kept walking as my
legs felt like jelly. I found some
snacks and then I finally saw someone I knew and asked her if she had seen KB
or KL or TL. She hadn’t and so I used
her phone to call KB. Voicemail. I started to head towards the car and I
noticed my friend JH approaching the finish line. So I followed him along and went to greet him
as he finished. Then I saw KB and KL and
TL in the finish area. I don’t know how
I missed them before, but I was sure happy to see my wife and friends. We hugged and congratulated each other and
started to make our way over to pick up the tote bags with our pre-race
belongings.
We passed through the tent where there were people in ice
baths, with tensor bandages, and some on stretchers. It was like a M.A.S.H unit! I took off my shoe to remove the rock and
discovered it was actually a blister between my toes. Ouch!
Glad I didn’t stop; it probably would have felt worse knowing what it
was! I put my shoe back on loosely and
we continued through. The next pair of
shoes I bought were a size and a half bigger and I was advised that this helps
prevent blistering and other toe issues.
We checked the posted results. My chip time was 3:54:19 for an average pace
of 8:57. I was thrilled with that! KB finished in 2:08 and even though our
daughter CB ran ahead to cross the finish line first ahead of her mother, her
chip time was 2:10 because she had crossed the start line earlier than KB. BB had a harder time since she was recovering
from her sickness. But she still
finished in 2:38 and was happy to have finished. JH, KL, and TL all finished and had great personal
victories. We noticed that CB had placed
in the top of her age group! We went to
pick up her award and she was given a nice plaque for winning female 14 and
under division. What a champ!
In a marathon, thousands run and only one is declared the
winner. However, everyone that finishes
is a winner and even those that attempt and don’t finish win lessons that will
help them become finishers. As we
struggle to get better, to run longer, to finish faster, or even to simply complete
the distance, we develop not only fitness and strength of heart, but also
discipline, confidence, and strength of character.
After the celebration, recovery eating, long sleep, and deep
tissue massage, the pain and soreness remains for a few days. But the satisfaction of completing a marathon
endures forever. The next week a
promotion was sent by the organizers offering racers a discount for the 2014
race. I’m in! I’m a runner and I enjoy it, and I might be
addicted.
