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Am I Really Doing This?

Posted in motivation, Odd Ball, tagged Charity, marathon, Providence, running on April 27, 2010| 18 Comments »

Stay with me...this will make sense when you get to the bottom.

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I mean, seriously? 2 marathons in 2 weeks? Really?!?

A lot of my friends, particularly the experienced marathoners, and of those, specifically the crazy ones (Brooke, Erica you know I mean that in the nicest way), are calling me crazy. They’re looking at me and shaking their heads, thinking that this is not a good idea.

I didn’t originally set out to run 2 marathons in 2 weeks.

That would be insane, right?

Right.

But that’s how things played out. I had signed up for and spent the bulk of the winter training for the Providence Marathon, which takes place this coming Sunday. I was going to run it in hopes of qualifying for Boston 2011. But then the Running Gods shined upon me a few weeks ago and presented an opportunity to run Boston THIS year.

What was I going to say, no?

Exactly.

So there you are, 2 marathons in 2 weeks. Really, it’s not my fault.

Now leading up to Boston I was convinced I was going to run a 3:20 and then be able to approach Providence as a fun run of sorts – maybe even pace some friends who are also running. Things didn’t work out quite as planned, so now there is a part of me that wonders if maybe, just maybe, I should be taking another shot at 3:20. I know, probably not so smart.

So what’s my approach going to be? I’m not really sure. Last fall, I followed up my meltdown at Manchester by scorching a huge Half-Marathon PR (7 minutes) just two weeks later. The thing is, this is not a half-marathon we’re talking about this Sunday. My thought is to start slow and easy and do a self-diagnostic every three miles or so. If I feel good, maybe speed up a little. If I don’t, well, no pressure, I ran a marathon less than 2 weeks ago, right?

As for wondering whether I’ve lost my sanity simply for running a second marathon so close to the first, I can’t help but think of Sam of Operation Jack, who is running 60 marathons this year to help raise autism awareness and Martin of Marathon Quest 250, who is running a ridiculous 250 marathons this year in an effort to raise $250,000 for Right To Play. (Right To Play is an international, humanitarian organization that uses sport and play programs to improve health, develop life skills, and foster peace for children and communities in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world.)

One of them is running just over a marathon a week. The other is running nearly 5 a week. 2 in 2 weeks sounds a lot less crazy now, don’t you think? Of course, they are doing it because they are passionate about their causes. I, on the other hand, am running them because of dumb luck. Well, how about I give a little purpose to this? If you are so inclined or moved by the giving spirit, please donate $22 (for 2 in 2 weeks) to your favorite charity. If you don’t have one, feel free to donate to one of my favorites: Autism Speaks or Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Click on either of their names to be taken directly to their donation pages.

Whether it’s one of my charities or Martin’s or Sam’s charities or one of your own, if you let me know by Saturday evening, let’s say 8PM EST, to whom you donated to and in whose name, I’ll write your name, the name of the charity and the person you are honoring either on my arm or my leg for the marathon.

Maybe this makes me a little less crazy – or just crazy with a purpose. Either way, the answer is yes. Yes, I really am doing this.

I hope to have your name written on my arm or leg on Sunday.

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Karnazing It

Posted in boston marathon, Odd Ball, tagged Dean Karnazes, Dunkin Donuts, Eating, flatbread, Food, Round Table, running on March 1, 2010| 6 Comments »

My friends over at RTR (Run Talk Radio) are currently feuding with Sarah Silverman over the use of the term “to Prefontaine” something. Each is claiming that they were the first to use Prefontaine as a verb. I believe that RTR has documented proof, but Silverman may have them outgunned in the lawyer department. As the battle lines are being drawn, I would like to officially lay claim on my own use of a famous runner’s name as a verb.

But first a little background.

When I first started running back in November ’08 I read Dean Karnazes’ Ultra Marathon Man. I found the book as a whole fascinating. Karnazes’ writing style was easy to read, and despite the occasional “look at me, aren’t I amazing” lines, I thoroughly enjoyed the book. The stories of the various ultra marathons he ran were inspiring and hysterical. The things he accomplished by running made me want to run and run far. If you are new to running or are an old pro, I highly recommend it as an entertaining, inspiring book.

It was, however, the opening chapter that astounded me. The book opens with Karnazes running on a California desert highway, in the middle of the night, looking for a signal on his cell phone. Long story short, when he finally found a signal, he called a pizza delivery place called Round Table and convinced the owner to deliver a whole pizza, a whole cheesecake and a large Starbuck’s coffee to him…in the middle of the desert, in the middle of the night.

Karnazes paid his bill, and then continued to run, hot coffee in his water bottle, cheesecake still in the box in one hand and the large (did I mention large) pizza rolled into a cigar in the other. He continued to run while he ate.

How was this man doing that? Pizza? Cheesecake? Really?

I was floored yet intrigued.

Here I am now though, almost a year and a half under my belt (still a novice). I’ve learned a few things and my legs are a little more solid underneath me when I run. Last Saturday I figured maybe it was time to see if my stomach was solid too. My buddy Mike had an 18 miler scheduled for his training for Boston. About a month ago I had run a 17 miler with him through Boston near the end of which we passed a hamburger joint that was cooking up some aromatic delights. At the time I cursed myself for not having stuffed a $20 bill in my shorts before running. This time I wasn’t going to make the same mistake. Learn something on every run, right? I figured this was the perfect opportunity to put my stomach to the test.

All night and morning before the run I kept thinking, “what to put on the pizza? ham and pineapple? do I top off with black olives? maybe I go in a different direction and go for a hamburger?” Right before the run however, Mike pointed out that since we were starting our run at 7:00 AM, the likelihood of a pizza or hamburger shop being open for business during our run was highly unlikely.

Hmmm…what to do.

“There are a couple of Dunkin’ Donuts along the route,” he mentioned. Okay! Back in business…but donuts? Donuts are not test! I couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed, but then, Breakfast sandwiches!

At about the 12 mile mark I took off. We had been running along at about a 9:15 clip and we were 2 miles out from Dunkin Donuts. I didn’t want Mike to have to interrupt his run so I needed to buy some time. I flew over the next two miles at a 6:40 pace. I looked at my watch. I had bought myself 5 minutes. I burst through the door at Dunkin Donuts and looked at the menu board.

Even better than breakfast sandwiches – Flatbread sandwiches. Those are kinda like pizzas! Oh! And they have ham & swiss ones!

I ordered 2 of them, and told the woman behind the counter not to wrap them. I would be eating them while running. She looked at me like I was nuts. I looked at my watch as I headed for the door.

4:55, 4:56, 4:57…

As I jogged out, flatbread sandwiches in hand, I saw Mike come running through the parking lot. We fell in step and I started eating.

Initially the sandwiches went down easily. It felt good to be eating something. My body obviously needed something after 14 miles, but after running the last 2 miles at near 10K pace, all my blood had moved to my legs and away from my stomach. The sandwiches sat like a heavy rock in my stomach, but after about a half mile things balanced out again and I felt great. I think that if I had just waited a half mile before wolfing down the food everything would have been fine.

So, it’s with this past Saturday’s experiment that I’d like to lay claim on the following:

To Karnaze – (verb) karnazed, karnazing – to eat something that could qualify as a meal while running long distances.

He karnazed that pizza between miles 20 and 21 of the Boston Marathon.

I’m planning on karnazing a meatball grinder on my next long run.

Hopefully Sarah Silverman doesn’t come after me too. Good luck RTR! I’m rooting for ya.

In the meantime, I’m gonna go figure out what I can karnaze on my next long run.

Have any suggestions?

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The Barber

Posted in boston marathon, Odd Ball, tagged barber, boston marathon, history, running on February 22, 2010| 2 Comments »

I used to go to this woman in the city to get my haircut. She had been taking care of my wife’s hair for a while and I hadn’t had any luck with the local suburban stylists (yes, I know, I just said I go to a stylist.). She was (is!) really good. She even went on to open her own salon with both my wife and I following. However, even with the carry-over-customer pricing, she was still on the expensive side. It just didn’t make a whole lot of sense for me to drag myself into the city AND pay for parking if I could find someone local. Finally, after asking a local mom whose husband’s hair I thought looked pretty good, I found my guy. I’ve been going to The Barber ever since.

What the frak does The Barber have to do with running?

Well, it turns out that he used to run. Not only did he used to run, but he ran during what some might call the Golden Age of Running here in Boston and the US as a whole. The 1970’s and 80’s. He was fast. Not “Oh, your in the top 5%” fast, no, he was FAST!!! He has run Boston more times than I can count or hope to run, with his best finish being a blazing 2:28:00! Just to put that in perspective, that would have placed him 39th in last year’s Boston Marathon.

-Well shoot! I finished 39th a couple of weeks ago in a 10K.

-Yeah, I’m sorry Luau, he would have been 39th out of close to 29,000 runners.

39th in an age when runners have better training, better technology, better diets. He still would have finished 39th. That’s nearly in the top 1/1000th of runners. He ran and trained with the best, including the Legend, Bill Rogers.

Every time I get my haircut I get a new story, whether it’s how he loved to break competitors on the hills, how one day he beat Boston Billy in a marathon (kind of), just how much smaller running used to be (when he showed up at a marathon he pretty much knew where everybody was going to place) or how he had a friend who used “grass” as a PED before going out on 30 mile long runs.

It has made me realize that running is a sport that is rich with history…history that we can’t necessarily find in the history books. The Barber was a second tier runner, one of the best locally, but not one to make it into the best sellers or record books. Yet his stories are in some ways just as compelling and interesting as Beardsly’s and Salazar’s Duel in the Sun or Kara’s and Hall’s attempt last year to bring the Boston crown back to the US.

I am thankful that I found The Barber. Thankful that I get to hear the unwritten local stories. It makes me realize that I am not only part of a wonderful running community in the here and now, but I am also connected to all those great runners that came before you and me.

If you are under the age of 50 or just recently took up running (like in the last 10 years), I highly recommend finding your local old-time runner and listening to his or her stories from that different time. Running has changed dramatically in 40 years. The stories from that era are fascinating. I feel lucky to have heard just a few from the Barber.

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Running with My Eyes Closed

Posted in Odd Ball, tagged breathing, eyes closed, meditation, running, zen on January 25, 2010| 6 Comments »

A few days ago I was out for a run when I caught a glimpse of myself in a storefront window. I was still in the warm up miles of my run and it showed. I looked tense – shoulders scrunched up, arms tight and stiff. I thought to myself, “relax!”. It wasn’t happening. I passed another storefront window and stole a glance. I looked even worse. As I continued along I took a deep breath and then another. I took myself back to my kung-fu days. I could hear Sifu Steve going through the meditation process with us at the beginning of class:

Control your breathing.

Check.

In through the nose, out through the mouth.

Got it.

Find a focal point to concentrate on, but stay aware of everything in the room.

It was kinda working. I could feel my shoulders lower, my arms loosen up.

Now close your eyes and listen…

I started to close my eyes.

Whoa! Not while you’re running, you idiot!

Now close your eyes and listen…

I looked around. Long straight away, no traffic, no other runners, a full 3/4 of a block to the next intersection. I let my eyelids fall and ran about 10 paces.

Listen to your breathing.

Almost instantly my entire body relaxed. I opened my eyes and found myself both at ease and fully alert. Over the next 4 or 5 miles I found myself in an almost meditative state – relaxed yet aware – flying (that’s what it felt like) along at a much faster pace than I had intended when I went out. My mind was practically empty, almost zen-like, as I floated through the streets of my town. Obviously I had to stay aware of traffic, but for the most part, I was able to listen solely to my footfalls and breathing, intertwined in their rhythm. Inevitably I came to an intersection where I had to stop and the spell was broken.

I’m hoping I can find a way to replicate this experience the next time I run.

I’m thinking that I may try to expand this running with my eyes closed thing beyond just running. Taking a moment to reduce the data input, listen to my breathing and footsteps and then refocus. Probably not a good idea to try it while driving a vehicle, but maybe during high stress moments in the day.

Close the eyes, control the breathing, relax the shoulders. Open the eyes and fly.