Monday, October 20, 2008
It's sooooo decadent.
Another week, another blog post.
It was a solid weekend. Dipped out of work on Friday and picked up some new jeans and a few new shirts. Then I made it to Lifetime and proceeded to whip my own ass. I just repeated a little workout I learned at Crossfit Minnesota a couple weeks back. Take a 20 pound dumbbell and basically you do a single arm overhead snatch, then do a press, then an overhead squat, hold at the bottom, do another press, and come back up from the squat. That's one rep for one arm. Continue with the opposite arm until you've completed 5 reps each arm. Then sprint over to the C2 Rower and row 200 meters. That's one round. Complete as many rounds as you can in 20 minutes. I think I made it 5. Finished it off with a 400 meter row. I was pretty beat after that so I just walked around the track a little bit. Then decided to get some just straight up cardio in and hopped on the bike for a half hour or so. Felt pretty good about the workout, went home and had a big glass of milk and a turkey sandwich. I'm trying out a little bit this get lean diet I've read about. Basically all it's amounted to so far is just abstaining from mayo on sandwiches, sticking to whole wheat bread, and staying away from fried food as much as possible. Nothing real drastic so far, but maybe I'll get a little more into it.
So there's the Friday workout report. Other than that, it was pretty laid back. Hung out with Tran and Bune on Friday night. It was pretty fun we headed out to a few places on Lyndale. We both stayed over and woke up the next day and grabbed some food at Green Mill. The rest of the day on Saturday was spent on the couch and a little bit outside enjoying the day. I was pretty sore from Friday's workout, so I took the day off.
Headed to the apple orchard on Sunday and got a bag of some pretty good stuff. Also got a big gallon jug of apple cider! I'm currently enjoying a mug this very moment. I also watched one and a half movies and had dinner at the Liffey. I also remembered that I'm extremely allergic to cats. By the time I got home, my left eye was pretty much swollen shut. It still doesn't look quite right.
I'm still behind on this report at work. I don't know why I can't just buckle down and finish it up. It really shouldn't take more than a day if I just sit down and focus in on it.
I think I'm going to take one more week off running and then ease back into it next Monday and see how things go. Also I'm headed to Crossfit Minnesota on Tuesday and Thursday. Should be a good time. I'm still not real confident in my technique for some of the Olympic lifts. Wednesday night appears to be date night at Dave and Buster's in Maple Grove. I'll see if I can stay away from the Simpsons coin-rolling game. It's not looking good.
The Living History Farms race is looking to be a good time. We've got a real team now: Me, Joel, Valley, Karl, and Berndt. I believe we'll have a little moral support as well as Kerin is coming. I'm definitely looking forward to November 22nd.
AND, apparently there is an information session at the U on November 6th for their Master's in Ed/Initial Licensure program. I do believe I will check that out and see what's involved.
Also I "sort of" started growing a beard. I'm already kind of sick of it. Shave or no? I can't decide. I bought some crappy shaving cream that doesn't really work, so that's one reason I haven't. I should have just stuck to the old standby.
Are there any good shows coming up? It appears that I will not be seeing the Hold Steady in November. Maybe I'll see the big hardcore show at the Triple Rock. Actually there are two: Bane/H20 and Ceremony/Blacklisted/Have Heart. I know Berndt will want to attend the Bane/H20 show so that should be fun. Also maybe Joel will be home. Since he's got the "You Can Count Me Out" tattoo he better go. When are the Ashtray Hearts playing around here again?
That's about it for this week. Oh I can't wait for Fallout 3 to come out next week.
It was a solid weekend. Dipped out of work on Friday and picked up some new jeans and a few new shirts. Then I made it to Lifetime and proceeded to whip my own ass. I just repeated a little workout I learned at Crossfit Minnesota a couple weeks back. Take a 20 pound dumbbell and basically you do a single arm overhead snatch, then do a press, then an overhead squat, hold at the bottom, do another press, and come back up from the squat. That's one rep for one arm. Continue with the opposite arm until you've completed 5 reps each arm. Then sprint over to the C2 Rower and row 200 meters. That's one round. Complete as many rounds as you can in 20 minutes. I think I made it 5. Finished it off with a 400 meter row. I was pretty beat after that so I just walked around the track a little bit. Then decided to get some just straight up cardio in and hopped on the bike for a half hour or so. Felt pretty good about the workout, went home and had a big glass of milk and a turkey sandwich. I'm trying out a little bit this get lean diet I've read about. Basically all it's amounted to so far is just abstaining from mayo on sandwiches, sticking to whole wheat bread, and staying away from fried food as much as possible. Nothing real drastic so far, but maybe I'll get a little more into it.
So there's the Friday workout report. Other than that, it was pretty laid back. Hung out with Tran and Bune on Friday night. It was pretty fun we headed out to a few places on Lyndale. We both stayed over and woke up the next day and grabbed some food at Green Mill. The rest of the day on Saturday was spent on the couch and a little bit outside enjoying the day. I was pretty sore from Friday's workout, so I took the day off.
Headed to the apple orchard on Sunday and got a bag of some pretty good stuff. Also got a big gallon jug of apple cider! I'm currently enjoying a mug this very moment. I also watched one and a half movies and had dinner at the Liffey. I also remembered that I'm extremely allergic to cats. By the time I got home, my left eye was pretty much swollen shut. It still doesn't look quite right.
I'm still behind on this report at work. I don't know why I can't just buckle down and finish it up. It really shouldn't take more than a day if I just sit down and focus in on it.
I think I'm going to take one more week off running and then ease back into it next Monday and see how things go. Also I'm headed to Crossfit Minnesota on Tuesday and Thursday. Should be a good time. I'm still not real confident in my technique for some of the Olympic lifts. Wednesday night appears to be date night at Dave and Buster's in Maple Grove. I'll see if I can stay away from the Simpsons coin-rolling game. It's not looking good.
The Living History Farms race is looking to be a good time. We've got a real team now: Me, Joel, Valley, Karl, and Berndt. I believe we'll have a little moral support as well as Kerin is coming. I'm definitely looking forward to November 22nd.
AND, apparently there is an information session at the U on November 6th for their Master's in Ed/Initial Licensure program. I do believe I will check that out and see what's involved.
Also I "sort of" started growing a beard. I'm already kind of sick of it. Shave or no? I can't decide. I bought some crappy shaving cream that doesn't really work, so that's one reason I haven't. I should have just stuck to the old standby.
Are there any good shows coming up? It appears that I will not be seeing the Hold Steady in November. Maybe I'll see the big hardcore show at the Triple Rock. Actually there are two: Bane/H20 and Ceremony/Blacklisted/Have Heart. I know Berndt will want to attend the Bane/H20 show so that should be fun. Also maybe Joel will be home. Since he's got the "You Can Count Me Out" tattoo he better go. When are the Ashtray Hearts playing around here again?
That's about it for this week. Oh I can't wait for Fallout 3 to come out next week.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Aaaand I skipped breakfast, so I'm off to Burger King!
Well I went out for a short run tonight. About 4.5 miles or so according to the Garmin. I kept a good pace for the most part. My lungs and heart felt great, but at about 2.5 miles in my right knee started feeling a little stiff. It's a little sore right now. I was surprised that my foot didn't bother really any more than it does just walking around. So that was a good thing. I guess the test will be in the morning, to see how things feel then. My new shoes seemed to hold up alright. This is the first time I've run in anything seriously besides Mizuno, I hope they work out. I trust the folks at Marathon Sports in South Minneapolis though, so I have no fear.
Before my next blog post I will upload my latest runs from the Garmin and put the link to my MotionBased site in the margin on this here blog.
I'm thinking that I want to do the Living History Farms Race in Iowa in November. Any takers? I sent an email to Joel, so hopefully if he's home by then he'll be game to check it out.
The weekend was a good time. Friday night was spent heading up to Maple Grove to my cousin's house for a birthday party. There was plenty of spaghetti for everyone. It was good for everyone to get together in one place. I didn't stick around too long as other plans were in store. There was a veritable entourage heading out on the town for Myles's birthday. Good times were had. Girtz and I didn't de-brief until Monday at lunch and there were some pretty good stories. I think they are best left to legend. Saturday was a horribly lazy day for me. I slept in, then watched TV forever, then took a nap. I still didn't make it to the grocery store so I was looking for something to do for dinner. Tran was up for meeting somewhere, so we headed to the Herkimer. It was pretty warm outside and it ended up being a nice night to chill outside. I had planned on having a pretty laid back evening, but after the food was finished Dave got a text message from one of his friends and they were headed out downtown. We decided to join them at Solera. There was much discussion of Halloween costumes. Michael Phelps or Tom Petters? I can't decide. We ended up going to the Lounge and the Imperial Room, which ended up being the most unlikely of places. My original plan was to head to Mac's in northeast with Girtz. I guess it wasn't meant to be because he said his Kenyan dinner didn't sit all that well. I closed out the night with a beer on the roof and my iPod. A pretty good way to end up actually. Unfortunately that meant I didn't really get a whole lot of good sleep on Saturday either.
After sleeping in on Sunday too (I was REALLY lazy this weekend) I yelled at the TV for a while during the Vikings game. Did my usual thing of heading up to the folks' place for dinner and some good downtime.
Tasks for the upcoming week:
-Try to be charming on Tuesday and Thursday
-Clean up the room (this may be futile given that there is still a giant hole in the wall)
-Actually get some groceries
-Go for two or three runs
-Get a two or three Crossfit workouts in
-Finish this report for work! I am officially the "long pole in the tent."
-Buy Dead Space and play late at night with all the lights off and the sound way up.
-Start generating a fall mix.
-Do some research for this ski trip to Park City.
-Brainstorm an actual Halloween costume. The Tom Petters and Michael Phelps reference above was a joke.
This might be a lot to accomplish in the next 6 days. That's all for now.
Before my next blog post I will upload my latest runs from the Garmin and put the link to my MotionBased site in the margin on this here blog.
I'm thinking that I want to do the Living History Farms Race in Iowa in November. Any takers? I sent an email to Joel, so hopefully if he's home by then he'll be game to check it out.
The weekend was a good time. Friday night was spent heading up to Maple Grove to my cousin's house for a birthday party. There was plenty of spaghetti for everyone. It was good for everyone to get together in one place. I didn't stick around too long as other plans were in store. There was a veritable entourage heading out on the town for Myles's birthday. Good times were had. Girtz and I didn't de-brief until Monday at lunch and there were some pretty good stories. I think they are best left to legend. Saturday was a horribly lazy day for me. I slept in, then watched TV forever, then took a nap. I still didn't make it to the grocery store so I was looking for something to do for dinner. Tran was up for meeting somewhere, so we headed to the Herkimer. It was pretty warm outside and it ended up being a nice night to chill outside. I had planned on having a pretty laid back evening, but after the food was finished Dave got a text message from one of his friends and they were headed out downtown. We decided to join them at Solera. There was much discussion of Halloween costumes. Michael Phelps or Tom Petters? I can't decide. We ended up going to the Lounge and the Imperial Room, which ended up being the most unlikely of places. My original plan was to head to Mac's in northeast with Girtz. I guess it wasn't meant to be because he said his Kenyan dinner didn't sit all that well. I closed out the night with a beer on the roof and my iPod. A pretty good way to end up actually. Unfortunately that meant I didn't really get a whole lot of good sleep on Saturday either.
After sleeping in on Sunday too (I was REALLY lazy this weekend) I yelled at the TV for a while during the Vikings game. Did my usual thing of heading up to the folks' place for dinner and some good downtime.
Tasks for the upcoming week:
-Try to be charming on Tuesday and Thursday
-Clean up the room (this may be futile given that there is still a giant hole in the wall)
-Actually get some groceries
-Go for two or three runs
-Get a two or three Crossfit workouts in
-Finish this report for work! I am officially the "long pole in the tent."
-Buy Dead Space and play late at night with all the lights off and the sound way up.
-Start generating a fall mix.
-Do some research for this ski trip to Park City.
-Brainstorm an actual Halloween costume. The Tom Petters and Michael Phelps reference above was a joke.
This might be a lot to accomplish in the next 6 days. That's all for now.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
More Arrested Development Content!
I will try to make a conscious effort to include more Arrested Development content from now on due to the title of this blog.
Tonight was a pretty laid back night. I met up with Kangas for some wings at Buffalo Wild Wings out in Plymouth. It was really good to get together, I don't think we had hung out since early August when Sir Robert Miller was up. It's kind of funny how with good friends you can go extended periods of time without seeing each other and then when you do it's like you never missed a beat. We probably spent the next two hours talking about anything and everything and then tentatively made plans to try to do that more regularly on Thursdays which would rule.
Afterward, I started heading back toward Minneapolis and talked to Tran. We decided to meet up at Lyle's. It ended up being a pretty good time. Two for ones and some old dude that remembered pretty much everything about the Vikings all the way back to when they played at the old Met. This guy hated Les Steckel. And also told random stories about drinking with Tommy Kramer. I'm not sure if that was true or not.
I have felt like a huge slob this week. Just eating complete garbage and zero physical activity. I really want to get back and start doing stuff again, but I'm nervous about my knee. Even today there would be times that it would sort of get stiff on me. We'll see what happens. Maybe I'll take it for a test drive on Saturday or Sunday. I don't want to get too aggressive though. What I really need to do is get back in the Crossfit mode. I think that made a huge difference for me in the last month before the marathon. I know it will make me stronger as well as better conditioned. I've got 3 more classes at Revolution Defense and Fitness in Eden Prairie. I'll see after that's over if I want to join the gym on a month by month basis or if I want to try it on my own. I like the idea of going through some of these workouts in a group. The big thing is that I don't want to let myself off the hook on some of these workouts and really put myself on the line. I think a structured format would be good for this.
I'm thinking about heading to REI this weekend and using my 20 percent off coupon and getting some decent trail running shoes.
I really want to keep up with the intense fitness stuff for the next 4 to 6 months over the winter. That's what I'm worried about right now: keeping up the motivation level and keeping at it. I'd also like to maybe get in another 10K/5K/whatever before the New Year.
It sounds like some of us are going to be heading out west to go skiing/snowboarding in January. I can't wait. My number one pick is for Park City, Utah. More and more I just wish I lived out in the general vicinity of the Rocky Mountains. I could do any job out there and be happy because my nights and weekends would be spent outdoors year round.
What's everyone's favorite albums so far this year?
I think my number one right now has got to be The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound followed closely by The Hold Steady - Stay Positive.
Hey, two posts in two days. Not a bad re-beginning.
Tonight was a pretty laid back night. I met up with Kangas for some wings at Buffalo Wild Wings out in Plymouth. It was really good to get together, I don't think we had hung out since early August when Sir Robert Miller was up. It's kind of funny how with good friends you can go extended periods of time without seeing each other and then when you do it's like you never missed a beat. We probably spent the next two hours talking about anything and everything and then tentatively made plans to try to do that more regularly on Thursdays which would rule.
Afterward, I started heading back toward Minneapolis and talked to Tran. We decided to meet up at Lyle's. It ended up being a pretty good time. Two for ones and some old dude that remembered pretty much everything about the Vikings all the way back to when they played at the old Met. This guy hated Les Steckel. And also told random stories about drinking with Tommy Kramer. I'm not sure if that was true or not.
I have felt like a huge slob this week. Just eating complete garbage and zero physical activity. I really want to get back and start doing stuff again, but I'm nervous about my knee. Even today there would be times that it would sort of get stiff on me. We'll see what happens. Maybe I'll take it for a test drive on Saturday or Sunday. I don't want to get too aggressive though. What I really need to do is get back in the Crossfit mode. I think that made a huge difference for me in the last month before the marathon. I know it will make me stronger as well as better conditioned. I've got 3 more classes at Revolution Defense and Fitness in Eden Prairie. I'll see after that's over if I want to join the gym on a month by month basis or if I want to try it on my own. I like the idea of going through some of these workouts in a group. The big thing is that I don't want to let myself off the hook on some of these workouts and really put myself on the line. I think a structured format would be good for this.
I'm thinking about heading to REI this weekend and using my 20 percent off coupon and getting some decent trail running shoes.
I really want to keep up with the intense fitness stuff for the next 4 to 6 months over the winter. That's what I'm worried about right now: keeping up the motivation level and keeping at it. I'd also like to maybe get in another 10K/5K/whatever before the New Year.
It sounds like some of us are going to be heading out west to go skiing/snowboarding in January. I can't wait. My number one pick is for Park City, Utah. More and more I just wish I lived out in the general vicinity of the Rocky Mountains. I could do any job out there and be happy because my nights and weekends would be spent outdoors year round.
What's everyone's favorite albums so far this year?
I think my number one right now has got to be The Gaslight Anthem - The '59 Sound followed closely by The Hold Steady - Stay Positive.
Hey, two posts in two days. Not a bad re-beginning.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
3 Years Later
I might as well just start over, huh? This blog was never updated like I meant. It's truly unbelievable to think about everything that has changed in the past 3 years, but also everything that has stayed exactly the same. Love lost, friends moved away, family moved away, mountains ascended, same dead end job, risks avoided, peaks of exhiliration, valleys of desperation... There's really no reason to go over the past. All I can do is look to the future.
So this past Sunday I completed the 2008 Twin Cities Marathon. For me, this was a huge accomplishment. It is not hyperbole for me to say that crossing that finish line was one of the greatest feelings of my life. It surprised me that I was able to push myself so much further than I thought I could go. The whole thing still feels a little surreal. It was 6:30 AM when the alarm went off. I think I had already been up for 20 minutes. The previous night I tossed and turned and even dreamed about what the next day would hold. I really didn't know what to expect out of my mind or body come race time. I changed into my race day clothing, watched ESPN, ate a couple mini Clif Bars, and drank as much water as I could. Checking the weather online confirmed my fears that it would be cold and rainy, at least for the first hour or two. To be honest though, I prefer the cold and wet to hot and humid. The weather really ended up playing in my favor I think.
I headed down to the starting line at about 30 minutes prior to gun time. After lining up in corral 2, I had some brief conversation with a couple marathon vets. They were very encouraging to me after I told them it was my first attempt. The adrenaline was flowing. We headed off through downtown Minneapolis and I tried to hold a steady 10 minute mile pace or so. It was kind of funny running a race like this by myself. All these people around, but I really did feel like I was a lone wolf. About the time I got to Lake of the Isles, it started drizzling. About 15 minutes later, the drizzle turned into a steady rain. At some point, it was a complete downpour. I just noticed everyone on the course with umbrellas or rain jackets. At some point I remembered a quote to myself: "Embrace the misery." And I really think I did. The early miles were really no problem.
Rachel was at maybe mile 5 or so at some point on Lake Calhoun. Nick and Kerin were maybe a mile further. Seeing some familiar faces in the crowds on the course really did make a difference. I kept getting wetter and the rain just wouldn't stop. A guy next to me commented that he probably wouldn't be wetter even if he were standing in a shower. I started to worry a little bit because I know that once my shirt was soaked I would have some problems with chafing. This was an issue because it was too cold to just go shirtless, so I had to tough that out. The good news was that I had a fleece on as well, so it wasn't quite as embarrassing as it could have been.
Around mile 10 I was on Minnehaha Parkway and saw my mom and dad. It's so funny to just be cruising along and all of a sudden see somebody you recognize. I wanted to stop, but I knew I had to keep moving forward. I told them I loved them and would see them later on.
About 11 miles in I really felt great. I think when we got to Lake Nokomis was when I had my first rough patch. My knee and ankle were starting to bark at me near the halfway point. The good news was the pain was very manageable, so I just kept on going. I tried to get in at least a sip or two of Powerade and water at every other stop. Finally when I made it to near Minnehaha Falls, Girtz, Karl, and the Picchettis were there. It was just at the point when I needed a little outside boost. So they really gave me an emotional lift. I made some quick high fives and then continued on.
At Minnehaha Falls there was a bizarre sign with Paul Bunyan and the Blue Ox wearing running shoes. This stretch was one that I don't remember too well; miles 15 to 19 I believe. At some point Girtz and the Picchettis were there again, but I was just in a complete daze. When mile 17 came, I grabbed a "strawberry" GU energy gel. I waited until there was a water stop and then I tried to ingest the whole thing quickly. It was of horrible taste and texture, but I knew I just had to get the calories and carbs into my system.
A little further down we crossed the Mississippi River at Franklin Avenue. This was a stretch I was a little more familiar as it was where I watched the marathon the previous year. My mom and dad were there around mile 20 again. Mom tried to snap a picture of me while I was running and she was running. Again I just didn't want to stop. This time I said if I stopped I might never start again, and I honestly felt like it. My legs were really bothering me now and my feet were absolutely killing me. I was second-guessing not picking up a new pair of shoes the previous week. I told them I thought I was really going to make it. I had forgotten that the last 6.2 miles would be the most brutal.
About a mile later I saw Mike and Rachel. Rachel ran with me for a hundred yards or so and asked how I was doing. She gave me a packet of some energy chews and I tried to get those in my stomach. Up ahead I could see the hill winding up to Summit Avenue. I knew once we were on Summit that it was a straight shot. But that straight shot is also virtually a steady uphill crawl over the next 3 miles or so. I think it was around mile 23 or 24 that I was really really hurting. I remember thinking that there was only a 5K to go, but I felt like I could never make it. Which is pretty crazy in retrospect. I mean just 3.2 miles to go, but I was in a tough mental state at that point. Finally at mile 25, I saw a few more friendly faces. Ange, Jeremy, Court, Berndt, and Kelly were there! I ran over to them completely exhausted and started high fiving and hugging and whatever. I can barely even remember. Then as I was getting ready to finish the last 1.2 miles, Jeremy and Berndt jogged out back to the course with me. They were going to get me to the finish. As they pumped up the crowd on either side of the road, I started to feel like I was really going to make it. The 4:30 pace person was a little bit ahead with maybe a half mile to go. Jeremy urged me to get up there and catch her. They wished me luck and I proceeded to empty the tanks.
I ended up catching the 4:30 pace person and finished in about 4:25. It was a fine time I suppose especially considering my number one goal was simply to finish which apparently is the only goal most first timers should have. I then proceeded to feel like I had a horrible case of the flu. My clothes were still wet, it was still cold outside and now that my body wasn't generating as much heat I really started to get chilled. Meanwhile, I couldn't really bend my legs at all. I got a cup of chicken broth and even though I didn't really want it, I knew I had to get some in me. After a bottle of water, some chicken broth, and some potato chips I started to feel quite a bit better. It still didn't really sink in that I had actually completed it. To be honest, even today it still seems a little surreal.
Anyway, this whole week has been devoted to being lazy. I have just been icing my right knee which has gotten better each day. Picked up some new running shoes last night, and I think I might be able to give it a shot this weekend perhaps.
I think the next challenge will be trail running. I need to find a training partner. I'm sick of doing all this by myself. It was a fun little mental challenge initially just to see if I could keep myself motivated, but now I think it'd be fun to have somebody to compete with.
Already I'm thinking I will absolutely do another marathon. Next time I think the goal will be sub 4:00. Earlier in the summer I completed a half marathon in 1:56, so I think I can do it.
Current playlist has consisted of the following:
-Ryan Adams
-Whiskeytown
-The National
-Sigur Ros
-Texas is the Reason
-American Football
Until next time.
So this past Sunday I completed the 2008 Twin Cities Marathon. For me, this was a huge accomplishment. It is not hyperbole for me to say that crossing that finish line was one of the greatest feelings of my life. It surprised me that I was able to push myself so much further than I thought I could go. The whole thing still feels a little surreal. It was 6:30 AM when the alarm went off. I think I had already been up for 20 minutes. The previous night I tossed and turned and even dreamed about what the next day would hold. I really didn't know what to expect out of my mind or body come race time. I changed into my race day clothing, watched ESPN, ate a couple mini Clif Bars, and drank as much water as I could. Checking the weather online confirmed my fears that it would be cold and rainy, at least for the first hour or two. To be honest though, I prefer the cold and wet to hot and humid. The weather really ended up playing in my favor I think.
I headed down to the starting line at about 30 minutes prior to gun time. After lining up in corral 2, I had some brief conversation with a couple marathon vets. They were very encouraging to me after I told them it was my first attempt. The adrenaline was flowing. We headed off through downtown Minneapolis and I tried to hold a steady 10 minute mile pace or so. It was kind of funny running a race like this by myself. All these people around, but I really did feel like I was a lone wolf. About the time I got to Lake of the Isles, it started drizzling. About 15 minutes later, the drizzle turned into a steady rain. At some point, it was a complete downpour. I just noticed everyone on the course with umbrellas or rain jackets. At some point I remembered a quote to myself: "Embrace the misery." And I really think I did. The early miles were really no problem.
Rachel was at maybe mile 5 or so at some point on Lake Calhoun. Nick and Kerin were maybe a mile further. Seeing some familiar faces in the crowds on the course really did make a difference. I kept getting wetter and the rain just wouldn't stop. A guy next to me commented that he probably wouldn't be wetter even if he were standing in a shower. I started to worry a little bit because I know that once my shirt was soaked I would have some problems with chafing. This was an issue because it was too cold to just go shirtless, so I had to tough that out. The good news was that I had a fleece on as well, so it wasn't quite as embarrassing as it could have been.
Around mile 10 I was on Minnehaha Parkway and saw my mom and dad. It's so funny to just be cruising along and all of a sudden see somebody you recognize. I wanted to stop, but I knew I had to keep moving forward. I told them I loved them and would see them later on.
About 11 miles in I really felt great. I think when we got to Lake Nokomis was when I had my first rough patch. My knee and ankle were starting to bark at me near the halfway point. The good news was the pain was very manageable, so I just kept on going. I tried to get in at least a sip or two of Powerade and water at every other stop. Finally when I made it to near Minnehaha Falls, Girtz, Karl, and the Picchettis were there. It was just at the point when I needed a little outside boost. So they really gave me an emotional lift. I made some quick high fives and then continued on.
At Minnehaha Falls there was a bizarre sign with Paul Bunyan and the Blue Ox wearing running shoes. This stretch was one that I don't remember too well; miles 15 to 19 I believe. At some point Girtz and the Picchettis were there again, but I was just in a complete daze. When mile 17 came, I grabbed a "strawberry" GU energy gel. I waited until there was a water stop and then I tried to ingest the whole thing quickly. It was of horrible taste and texture, but I knew I just had to get the calories and carbs into my system.
A little further down we crossed the Mississippi River at Franklin Avenue. This was a stretch I was a little more familiar as it was where I watched the marathon the previous year. My mom and dad were there around mile 20 again. Mom tried to snap a picture of me while I was running and she was running. Again I just didn't want to stop. This time I said if I stopped I might never start again, and I honestly felt like it. My legs were really bothering me now and my feet were absolutely killing me. I was second-guessing not picking up a new pair of shoes the previous week. I told them I thought I was really going to make it. I had forgotten that the last 6.2 miles would be the most brutal.
About a mile later I saw Mike and Rachel. Rachel ran with me for a hundred yards or so and asked how I was doing. She gave me a packet of some energy chews and I tried to get those in my stomach. Up ahead I could see the hill winding up to Summit Avenue. I knew once we were on Summit that it was a straight shot. But that straight shot is also virtually a steady uphill crawl over the next 3 miles or so. I think it was around mile 23 or 24 that I was really really hurting. I remember thinking that there was only a 5K to go, but I felt like I could never make it. Which is pretty crazy in retrospect. I mean just 3.2 miles to go, but I was in a tough mental state at that point. Finally at mile 25, I saw a few more friendly faces. Ange, Jeremy, Court, Berndt, and Kelly were there! I ran over to them completely exhausted and started high fiving and hugging and whatever. I can barely even remember. Then as I was getting ready to finish the last 1.2 miles, Jeremy and Berndt jogged out back to the course with me. They were going to get me to the finish. As they pumped up the crowd on either side of the road, I started to feel like I was really going to make it. The 4:30 pace person was a little bit ahead with maybe a half mile to go. Jeremy urged me to get up there and catch her. They wished me luck and I proceeded to empty the tanks.
I ended up catching the 4:30 pace person and finished in about 4:25. It was a fine time I suppose especially considering my number one goal was simply to finish which apparently is the only goal most first timers should have. I then proceeded to feel like I had a horrible case of the flu. My clothes were still wet, it was still cold outside and now that my body wasn't generating as much heat I really started to get chilled. Meanwhile, I couldn't really bend my legs at all. I got a cup of chicken broth and even though I didn't really want it, I knew I had to get some in me. After a bottle of water, some chicken broth, and some potato chips I started to feel quite a bit better. It still didn't really sink in that I had actually completed it. To be honest, even today it still seems a little surreal.
Anyway, this whole week has been devoted to being lazy. I have just been icing my right knee which has gotten better each day. Picked up some new running shoes last night, and I think I might be able to give it a shot this weekend perhaps.
I think the next challenge will be trail running. I need to find a training partner. I'm sick of doing all this by myself. It was a fun little mental challenge initially just to see if I could keep myself motivated, but now I think it'd be fun to have somebody to compete with.
Already I'm thinking I will absolutely do another marathon. Next time I think the goal will be sub 4:00. Earlier in the summer I completed a half marathon in 1:56, so I think I can do it.
Current playlist has consisted of the following:
-Ryan Adams
-Whiskeytown
-The National
-Sigur Ros
-Texas is the Reason
-American Football
Until next time.
