Veni, Vidi, Vici @ The Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon

Well, maybe the "vici" part is stretching it. But I did it. I completed the full 26.2 miles of the marathon. Got it done before everyone went home and I didn't get injured. This is not to say that it wasn't difficult. It was.

The first three or four miles, I didn't even feel like I was running. It was all adrenaline and excitement. I knew I didn't want to go out too fast to start, so I was as slow as I could to keep my pace down to compensate. I forced myself to drink at the water stations every two miles.

But it was much more hilly than I thought. (Even the elite racers complained a bit in the paper the next day that this track was much more difficult than they expected.) The hills were not to be underestimated. I prepared fairly well for them, but there were some stretches of the hills that my hamstrings got tight and I was forced to walk a half mile or two at a time. But during the whole event, I met and talked some great people.

People like:

My training partner, Brett. We got it through together to the end.

The cancer survivor, Miriam, that I met at mile 4. We exchanged stories of her lymphoma and my mom's. We talked about how this race was more than just a run. We talked about how the past and the future are great to think about, but it's 'at the moment', where life is lived. And we did so for a couple more miles together.

I also saw some cool stuff like...

Awesome Elvis (complete with the 1970's chops and glasses):

A bald eagle at mile 7:

Countless volunteers saving our lives with water and Cytomax:

"Hawaiian" dancers:

Oh, and I also ran. I did have some great points of running pride for miles where my pace was great for me (10:00) and the views were wonderful near the lake (I think I saw Bill Gates' house) and downtown Seattle.

Around mile 18 came the big hills. And it was a long stretch. But I plodded on. Some running, some speed walks, some flat out walks. Around mile 20 or so, the cramps came on a bit. The rock hard legs. But at that point, being about mile 22, I knew there was no chance that I wouldn't finish. It was too close.

When I saw there was only about a mile to go, I saw my wife, family and friends cheering their lungs out for me. I saw one of my coaches. I was overwhelmed with feelings that are unreal. I laughed and cried at the same time. Running through my mind were the feelings of accomplishment and struggle. I felt every emotion. Getting closer to that mile 26.2. When I could see the finish line, I couldn't stop smiling. I did it. Over that last mile, I just recalled a lot over the past 5 months. I thought about:

-How far I've come from just 5 months ago when my long run was 2 miles.

-Why I did this. For the cancer survivors and patients needing the help to find cures.

-All of the people, friends, colleagues and strangers that supported me and this cause with their money, advice, inspiration and good thoughts.

-My mom and my brother and their cancer fights. They lost in the end, but they were courageous and strong at age 43 and 8 respectively. They are my heroes.

-How two years ago and 90+ pounds heavier that this feat would have been impossible.

-All of the "go Chris!" and high fives and "you can do it" shouts you get for 5 hours across a running route that make you keep putting one foot in front of the other.

-The 4AM wake-up calls for runs over the past 5 months where my wife and kid sacrificed sleep so I could get my mileage in.

-The 400 miles plus of training runs I ran to make this happen.

-The kids and adults surviving their cancers coming out to support us. Bald and beautiful they were. Each and every one.

Running a marathon can be done by anyone. I'm certainly proof of that. It's also a great metaphor for life. It's challenging, it gives you times where you feel like giving up. It has its times when you're on top of the world and times when you're tired and exhausted. But you just keep going and finally, you can see the finish line and you make it through.

This was one of the happiest times of my life, that crossing of the line. One of the best I've ever had.

So my thanks to all of you that helped make this happen. I couldn't have done it without you. My wife, family, friends, co-workers, colleagues, coaches, trainers, doctors and Team In Training buddies and training group friends (Brett, Raja, Cynthia, Sara, Steve.) Thanks to you all.

Thanks also to all of you that donated and sponsored me for this run and this fight against blood related cancers. I was the top Arizona fundraiser for the Seattle marathon and I have you to thank for that. We raised over 4 million dollars from Arizona this year. So my heartfelt thanks go to:

Desert Vista Consulting

Phil Larkin

Jim Bader

Evan Brya

Pilar Brya

Jennifer Brya

Karen Linkins

Choice Foundation

Jill & Denise

Jason Rzutkiewicz

Linda Linkins

Kamal

Jeff Schueler

Carmen Hernandez

Michelle and Alex Hulse

Kim Arment

Robyn Karmiol

Jose and Mary Alvarez

Sharon Wells

Dan Shufelt

Craig Zahn

Miguel Almaraz

Renalyn Andor

Brad and Paula Loebbaka

Brian Lynch

Bee Yeap

Brad Kloch

Dan Harkins

Paula Valentine

Libby Burke

Gina Finkelstein

Diane Wynn

Georgette Shalhoup

Kasia Jezuit

Bill Dean

Rohan Pyne

Monica Lomeli

Doug Miller

Charisse Richards

Chad Mason

Gaurav Parekh

Deborah DeCorrevont

Kristina Harmon

Karlyn Evans

Carlos Aguayo

Vanessa Manzella

Becky Michael

Garet Burns

John Kinnane

Luis Vargas

Pawan Bhatia

Kunal Shah

Gloria Bustamante

Cathy Poinsett

Andrew Milazzo

Michelle Dash

Jason Dahlin

Christina Damon

Adie Alvarez

Lisa Saunders

Thanks once again. You made it possible and you were there with me each step of this race. I'm forever grateful.

I went long.

-Chris

PS: Other pictures of my run:

http://www.asiorders.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=45933&BIB=25143

Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon In Five Days

So, the time has come. No more racing, hills, intervals or tapering down. My runs now are power walks this week. Resting and relaxing until Saturday June 27th. In five days, the marathon will be here.

I'm as ready as I'm ever going to get.

Sad that the training has come to an end. There are some things I won't miss. I'm not sad about getting up at 4AM every single Saturday morning. I'm not sad about the pounding of my lower body. I'm not sad about the stress and strain on my body. I'm not sad about the mood swings. I'm not sad about the reason for this run. Cancer. With the help of my friends and supporters I've raised more money than anyone in Arizona for the Team In Training group heading to Seattle this year. (So THANKS for all of you that donated to this cause!) Hopefully with the collective fundraising the LLS has done, we'll knock out (or severely wound) this disease.

But I am sad about missing the cameraderie. I will miss my training pals. I'll miss the great feeling of accomplishing something I NEVER thought I could do each and every week. Remember, this is the first endurance event I've ever trained for. Each week, I hit a PR (personal record) on my length of run each weekend. That's a great feeling. I can recall driving home each week saying, "wow, I just ran 6 miles", "wow, I just ran 12 miles" and "wow, that was really, really hard, but I did it."

So I will miss the good stuff. But the best stuff is to come. On Saturday, my first marathon. I still can't believe it.

Like a first kiss (and other firsts), I don't think I'll forget it. I know I won't forget the process. I'll take the good, the bad and the ugly. It's the experience I will treasure.

But it's not happened yet, so wish me luck. I'll take all the luck I can get. From the back of the pack we need all the help we can get. But I'm confident that I'll finish no matter what. My time, speed and pace will be what they are: PR's for me. And for the first time ever running a marathon, I will be setting a record. My own.

Going long!

PS: For those of you interested, you can track my actual run live as I'm doing it. On June 27th at 7AM, you can follow my run online by visiting:

Mobile device (with internet access):
http://mobile.instamapper.com/ext?key=5298752144926446285

Web/computer access:
http://www.instamapper.com/ext?key=5298752144926446285

Seattle Marathon course:
http://www.rnrseattle.com/elite/Assets/rnrsea/images/sea_09_coursemap_v3.jpg

Sofa King Slow

Base training? Check.

Running intervals? Check.

Hills? Check.

Injury? Check. (A definitive check.)

20 mile long run under your belt? Check.

Speed? Not on your life.

So I've been training for this marathon and as far as marathon training goes, I have no complaints. Actually, I have no reference for how it is "supposed" to go. I can only do what I can and on the advice of coaches and real endurance athletes that have gone before me.

What I can say given all that I've done or tried to do is that I'm slow.

Slow like molasses. Slow as in I'm hoping to be sub-6 hours at this point. Well, maybe not that slow, but still. My grandiose visions of coming in 4 hours or 4:30 are long gone. Now I'm just hoping to finish before everything closes.

Unfortunately, there really isn't time left for me to improve this. I have the endurance to finish the 26.2 miles. That I'm sure of. It's just the speed. This slow going is not what I envisioned. Not that I planned on having Kenyan like speed and agility. I mean, I weigh over 200 pounds for god's sake. But running slowly drains you mentally. You want to finish your goal (time, distance or what have you) sooner to get it over with and accomplish it. When you run slow to keep your heart rate and pace manageable so that you CAN finish, but it slows you down, you're only prolonging that finish line.

But I guess it's about finishing that matters. Nobody gives a rat's about my time. I will have completed this marathon on June 27th and will have the proof to say so and can tell my kids and anyone who asks, "yes, I've run a marathon before." And it's true what they say about running a marathon. You can amaze yourself on what you can accomplish when you put your mind to it and take it one step at a time. I mean, I got up at 3:45 AM last Saturday. Met my group at 4:45, I was on the road at 5 AM and ran 16 miles for shits and gigs. Not bad. Not something everyone does or can do. I'm proud of that accomplishment and my new endurance abilities.

Now if it didn't take so long.

Maybe next time.

Hey, the PF Chang's Rock n Roll Phoenix Marathon is only 7 months away.

Going long!

The 20 Mile Training Run (aka weather research)

Ok. So I just completed this weekend my long training run in Malibu of 20 miles for the marathon. I actually did 20.2 miles, but who's counting? (My actual path is shown above) Anyway, the run went really well. Better than expected actually. I think it's because my training partners and I have been running in Phoenix and the lowest it gets temperature wise is about 75 degrees in the morning. I started in Marina del Rey and it was 55 degrees. By the time I finished, it was a boiling 71 degrees.

So, to my running pals that think I've abandoned them on our long run, I was simply doing temperature based running research and yes, temperature makes a big difference. We're all going to knock it out in Seattle because their temps are similar to what I ran.

The run was actually one of my best. I started in Marina del Rey, went through Venice, Santa Monica and up to Malibu and back. 20 miles is still a long way, but easier with good weather and a view.



So now we being our tapering down period in getting prepped for the June 28th marathon. We will actually be running fewer miles on weekends. I am looking forward to this since my knees and legs hurt after these long runs. (Although running a quick mile the next day makes it easier. Thanks Jason)

I'll keep you updated as we taper down and get ready for the actual marathon. 20 miles ran in one shot. A great accomplishment. A very memorable run. The longest of my life.

But it's still not 26.2 miles as the marathon will be. That's coming in a very short month.

Going long!

Even Lance Thinks Marathons Are Tough

"For the level of condition that I have now, that was without a doubt the hardest physical thing I have ever done. I never felt a point where I hit the wall. It was really a gradual progression of fatigue and soreness."

"I can sit around for a year and do a 10k, no problem, even a half-marathon. But the marathon is scary and intimidating enough that you can't just phone that in. You have to train.


-Lance Armstrong, [commenting on running the New York City Marathon in his post-cycling career]

OMG 18 miles is a long way to run...

I know I shouldn't start off a post with that type of title, but c'mon.  Who runs 18 miles without stopping?  It's not normal.  I'm now convinced that a half marathon is a much smarter race distance.  Especially since at the 13.1 mile mark of last Saturday's run, I thought to myself, "If I were running a half marathon, I'd be done training by now" and also thinking, "why not run the half marathon in Seattle?"

But, I set out to do a traditional marathon and that distance is 26.2 miles.  So off I run.  

However, I also need to rationalize a bit.  The temperature in Seattle this past Saturday was 49 degrees for their low.  My Phoenix low was 72 degrees, their HIGH for the day.  So, I'm thinking that 18 miles in Phoenix heat has to have a conversion factor of some type so maybe it's like running 22 or 24 in 50 degree weather?  I sure hope so, because the heat is a killer.  Even when I start my long run Saturday training at 5:30 AM.

Side note:  The Chicago Marathon that killed one marathoner and halted the race was stopped because it got to be 88 degrees.  When I finished on Saturday, it was 94.  Just for the record.

Injury update:  So the ass injury is about 98% healed.  I ran the 18 last week and felt strong cardiovascularly, muscle wise and injury wise so (knock on wood) I think I'm good to go.  It's just a heat battle now.  And a mental one.

Side note 2:  I'm not only bitching about the heat.  The toll running this distance takes on your body is not to be underestimated.  I could barely walk up/down stairs on Sunday.  Thank god for ibuprofen.  I'm OK now but WOW, nobody tells you about this stuff before you embark on the "I'll run a marathon and get that off my bucket list" adventure.

Going long!

Injury update

So I'm in Dallas this week.  Did a workout at the gym and it went well.  I'd say the pain is 95% gone and I was able to run for 45 minutes on it with no problems.  Now I need to get back into hard core training!  Less than 2 months until the marathon.

I have an 18 mile run this Saturday, so I'm hoping the endurance will come back soon.  Otherwise, I'll be in for a v e r y slow run.  In the heat no less.

Going long...