Ocean Beach, San Francisco

Ocean Beach, San Francisco

Thursday, October 8, 2015

Planning and Running My First Marathon, the 2014 New Jersey Marathon

No, there's no way I'll be running a marathon!

I can still remember saying that to my friend Bob after watching him run the New York City Marathon in 2010. It was my genuine sentiment at the time, I really didn't envision myself running a full marathon, nor did I really want to.

Fast forward a few years and by the end of fall, 2013, I had run a few half marathons and I decided that I would attempt a full marathon the next year. I had just completed running a half marathon in Atlantic City and the atmosphere of running near the New Jersey shoreline was invigorating.

So, where will I be running a marathon?

Now that I had decided to try a full marathon, I began to research potential events.  As I have written about in previous posts, as far as race events go, there are many more small local races (5k being the most popular) followed by some 10k races and then as you increase in distance, fewer half marathons and even fewer full marathons.  The race seasons -- especially in the northeastern US -- are spring and fall. With these facts at hand, I selected the NJ Marathon in April of 2014 to be my first full marathon.

Born to run!

Being born and raised in New Jersey made it extra appealing to run the NJ Marathon -- especially as my first attempt.  The race is run in Monmouth County with a picturesque finish on the boardwalk in Long Branch.  I will describe more about the race itself later in this blog but suffice to say, Bruce's presence is clear at the starting line. And the Monmouth County venue would become uniquely relevant to some life events that unfolded as race day approached -- more on that later.

Training

As I did my research and spoke with other experienced runners, I came to learn that it is mandatory to identify and commit to a marathon training program. I had already done this with the half marathon races that I had run so I was already familiar with the rigors of adhering to the training plan and I was familiar with how my body felt and responded to the training.  What I also came to quickly learn is that for full marathon training, it is not recommended or advised to ever run beyond 18 or 20 miles as the longest training run. So as a first time marathoner, this would mean that the day of the race would be the first time that I was to run the full 26.2 miles. Seasoned runners know all about this, for first-timers, it's interesting news!

I selected a 20-week training program with 4 runs per week, where every Sunday was set as the weekly "long run". In general, the plan increases total weekly mileage and Sunday long mileage on a week-over-week basis. I opted for a popular training approach whereby I would have several "step-back" weeks programmed into the schedule. These weeks allow for body recovery and preparation for each subsequent increase in mileage.  This plan assumed that before I started, I was routinely running long runs of 6 miles and an average of 20-25 miles per week. You can see the "taper period" in the last 3 weeks of the plan. This is instrumental to marathon training but also drives runners crazy!
Seems funny...
but very real!









As I have written about in previous posts, a spring marathon calls for training to begin in the winter months. With an April 27th race date, I began my training program shortly after the New Year in January but I hedged a bit with my full commitment.  I waited until late February to assess how the training was proceeding before I registered. The NJ Marathon is not always a sold-out event so I submitted my registration on February 23rd to secure my position.  Was I really going to do this?

Life events

Here is an interesting runner-geek thing I learned while preparing for this race. Since marathon training lasts so long (4+ months), we runners begin a life cadence around the cycle of training for races. As events in life occur, I find that I store them in my memory according to the respective race plan that I was training for.

The first of these interesting life events to occur while I was training for the NJ Marathon was when I received confirmation to participate in the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC that same year. That race is held in October, is one of the largest in the world (25,000 plus runners), sells out every year and entry is via lottery. The lottery applications are in March and I was fortunate to get lottery acceptance on my very first attempt.  Haha, now it appeared that I wasn't just running one marathon in 2014, I would be running two.

The second and third life events during my training plan were much more profound for our entire family.  On March 16th my wife's mom passed after a number of years of illness. Even though she was ill, as we always say, we are never fully prepared for the loss of a loved one and this was a sad event for our family.

And then the third life event. On March 19th, while our family was grieving my mother in law's passing, our nephew tragically lost his life at age 23. Needless to say, we all went through all kinds of emotions and struggles during this time.   Our family and friends held close together to support each other -- especially my wife's brother, his wife and their daughter -- who lost their only son and brother.

Race dedication

My nephew's uniform jersey number
This ties back to the venue for the NJ Marathon in Monmouth County which is where our nephew grew up. He was the most joyful person to be around, vibrant and personable, sensitive and caring.  He was a standout athlete and played his High School sports in Freehold Borough, NJ which is just a stone's throw away from the starting point of the race at Monmouth Race Track.
My race-day shirt to honor my nephew


With his family's approval, I dedicate my run in my nephew's name and I affiliated with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Monmouth County as the benefactor. My nephew's great grandfather had been the founder of a Boys Clubs chapter in my home town in northern NJ and I felt it appropriate to tie-back to that cause.  It was a modest effort but through my friends and supporters, with only 1 month remaining until race day, we raised $1,000 in his name.

The Race 

Since this was to be my first marathon event, I followed recommendations and decided to stay in a hotel nearby the starting area for the night before. I would need to attend the venue at Monmouth Race Track on Friday to retrieve my race packet and then find an early dinner to relax for the night.  I set my alarm for 05:15 in order to dress and eat (nutrition is key before a marathon) before heading over to the venue at 06:30 for the 08:00 race start.

The race organizers do a great job with coordinating the arrival of runners, parking lot logistics, bathrooms and other amenities.  I had heard so many stories from other runners about the challenges on race day but I was impressed by the organization and their handling of the event.

It is a race track after all...

Monmouth Park
It's only fitting that the start of the race is "The Call To Post", the bugle sound we are all familiar with when we watch the Kentucky Derby on TV every year. But wait, not to be outdone, the bugle call is followed directly by "Born To Run" played VERY LOUDLY over the speakers throughout the track. I told you that Bruce's presence would be felt, especially since he was born and raised in this area.

Race recap

Local streets in Ocean Port
This race course can be easily described in three sections. First of all, we were blessed with beautiful morning weather -- upper 40's and sunshine. Having run a few very large half marathons (Rutgers Unite and Atlantic City), I was familiar with the hype and excitement at the Start so I was able to contain the adrenalin rush and resist the urge to start too fast.  I maintained my pace for the first section of the race. The course begins out very flat as we leave the confines of the Monmouth Race Track.  We traverse lots of local suburban streets where families line up outside their homes as they would if a parade were passing by. This takes us through the first 8 miles in the towns of Ocean Port and Monmouth Beach and into the northern parts of Long Branch.

The Great Auditorium, Ocean Grove NJ.
The second section of the course takes us in a southerly direction through Long Branch and on past Monmouth University.  In one of my last training runs, I had visited this area and run much of this section of the course. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately as the prevailing off-shore breezes would prove), the boardwalk along this section of the New Jersey shoreline was still not yet rebuilt after the devastation of Hurricane Sandy the previous year. From Long Branch down to Asbury Park we run on Ocean Avenue which is a few blocks inland from the shore line and therefore not as picturesque.

We make our way around and across Deal Lake and Wesley Lake into Ocean Grove where we pass directly in front of the Great Auditorium to head down the Ocean Pathway to our turnaround point. At this point, we are at mile 19 and I knew this was the furthest I had run during my training program.  I was feeling considerably sore and just before we went back across Wesley Lake, I turned my ankle in some irregular pavement around a construction area.  Not a good thing as I entered the final 10K (6.2 miles) of the race.
I felt like this guy!

The last section of the race was tough. Not only was I beyond the furthest distance I had trained, we were headed up a mostly steady incline through mile 24. At Brighton Avenue, we turn due east for a few blocks, directly into a headwind. I actually tucked in behind another pair of runners to draft behind them for a few blocks.

My actual finish time
Finally we turned back to he north as we picked up the Long Branch boardwalk.  Things got very picturesque here at mile 25 as we headed for the final 1.2 miles.  For the past few miles there were very few -- if any -- spectators along the roads to cheer moral support. Along the Long Branch boardwalk this began to change and the final 3/4 of a mile was packed with screaming fans.  Along the boardwalk always makes for a great finishing area for races as fans line the interior of the boardwalk and the beach forms the opposing side. I knew that my wife, my son and my younger daughter would be there to see the finish so I had my eyes peeled to see where they were. A few other friends had told me they may be there and I actually heard them call out my name first and then up ahead I saw my family. Since this was my first full marathon and there wasn't an opportunity for them to see me anywhere else along the course, they were curious/concerned with what condition I would be in. So was I, come to think of it!!

Finished!

My finish time was a modest 4 hours, 47 minutes. I was delighted to have successfully finished the race but also a bit frustrated that I had lost a lot of my pace on those final miles after I turned my ankle in Asbury Park. It was a treat that my family was there to congratulate me and my son did the honors of driving my car all the way home.  I had some cramping symptoms in my legs, I was generally dehydrated -- evidenced by the dry white salt that was caked on my face -- and my GI tract was a bit jumpy from the nutrition gels that I had eaten during the race.  But overall, I held up pretty well and by the time we got home, I had a strong urge for a juicy burger and a beer which we all went out for as soon as I took a long needed shower.

All in all, it was a great accomplishment and my first of what may become multiple more marathon challenges. More about that in other blog posts!





In Loving Memory
Gerry M. Plescia
10/8/90-3/19/14


Sunday, May 10, 2015

Sundays are for long runs... and for visiting Mom

Let's try a Half Marathon!

This post is dedicated to my mom, my biggest fan ever.

In my last post, I spoke of slow progression and no master plan.  I spent most of 2011 rehabbing from a nasty spell with ITBS and furthering the changes to my running form.  I was able to do a few local 5K’s in the fall of that year so things were looking up.  I even completed a local Thanksgiving Turkey Trot at a 5 mile distance.  
I was progressing well to these next distances and after some consideration, I began looking into running a Half Marathon. I had already doubled my race distance from 5k (3.1 miles) to 10k (6.2 miles) so why not double again to 13.1 miles! 

As I said in my earlier posts, as you move up in distance, (from 5K to 10K to Half Marathon, etc.) there are fewer of these races and they are strategically placed in spring or autumn. So I found a Half Marathon scheduled at Rutgers University (yes, the site of my first ever 5k charity run) and since I lived and worked very near the campus, this seemed an appropriate venue.  I signed up for the event and my friend Bob -– who had completed multiple Full Marathons by this time -- offered to support me and run the race with me. He was somewhat off of his marathon training cycle and would use this as an opportunity to get back onto his training.

We both registered and I began a 15-week training program from January to April race day.  At times through the training I felt really confident and things were progressing well.  At other times – after a Sunday long training run of 9 miles or so – I would ask myself if it was really possible to reach the 13.1 mile distance.

My training plan

I had selected a training program of running 3 times per week. When it comes to running training plans, there are as many opinions as there are runners. So I won’t get into that debate here except to say that I chose the 3-day plan because I felt I needed at least 1 day off between training days. If you select a 4 or 5 day running plan, you are going to have to run back-to-back days – it’s that 7 days in a week math thing (more to come on this concept in future posts about marathon training).  The plan went well and as with most running plans, the plan included a Sunday long run (this is where you stretch your overall distance toward that goal of 13.1 miles) and two other shorter distances per week where I would run “intervals” and “tempo” runs. Intervals are training runs that alternate faster and slower paces as a way to advance your overall capacity. Tempo runs are very grueling where you run a fairly long distance at a pace that is faster than you plan to run for the Half Marathon.  And then Sunday was the increasingly longer distance week after week.

Visits with Mom

Lots of memories
Right around the time that I began to train for this first Half Marathon, my mom was in declining health and I took the opportunity to do my weekly long runs at a county park nearby where she lived. This was 50 miles from my home but served as a great way to combine my weekly visits with her. On Sunday morning, I would drive to her house for a quick hello (and bathroom visit) and then head out to the county park for my run.  Afterwards I would return to my mom’s house and we would visit. Sometimes I would pick up a pizza or Chinese food to share for lunch. We would often watch the NY Giants games or whatever other NFL games were on TV while thumbing through the Sunday New York Daily News and Sunday Post and talking about the upcoming baseball season.


This map to the left shows the route through the Saddle River County Park system.   To think that I used to go to these parks 30+ years ago to hang out with friends and play frisbee and softball and touch football.

These Sunday visits with my mom were very enjoyable and I am certain had a strong contribution to my evolving enjoyment with running. As I believe happens for other beginner runners, I would enter each Sunday with eager anticipation to get to a new longest distance and then finish the day with new and more nagging discomforts and pains. But with this additional time spent with my mom, the overall tone of my Sundays was overwhelmingly positive. 

Race time

Race week quickly came around and the entire experience of a Half Marathon was a considerable notch above the local 5 and 10K races that I had done.  The Rutgers Unite Half Marathon has over 3,000 runners and so the logistics take on a different scale. Most of these larger races require the runners to retrieve their race packets the day before. Since I live and work nearby to the Rutgers campus, this worked out fine. I arranged to pick up my friend Bob at the New Brunswick NJ Transit station on Saturday afternoon and then we went to the Rutgers campus to retrieve our packets.

Since the race started at 8:00 AM on Sunday, the plan was for Bob to stay at our house Saturday night and then we could head out to the race together on Sunday. A Half Marathon is a considerable step up from my previous longest races and so it was great to have Bob with me to reinforce the discipline in nutrition and hydration on Saturday evening and Sunday morning before the race.

We arrived and found parking on the Rutgers campus on a mild April morning, temperatures in the 40's.  Getting situated into the start corrals was a new experience for me and the nerves and anticipation were growing.  Bob was committed to pacing for me and although this was my first Half Marathon, I was fairly consistent with my Sunday long runs to know that I would strive for a pace just above 9:00 minutes per mile -- this would put me in position to beat the 2 hour mark for the 13.1 miles.

My first Half Marathon, lots more runners than a local 5k!

Did you hear the one about the ITBS?

I won't go into a full race recap here but I will mention that the Rutgers Unite Half Marathon is run in partnership with CGI Racing and they do a phenomenal job.  Support services for the runners are great, hydration stations are well placed and well staffed and the course is a very interesting layout that takes us through many of the Rutgers University campuses from Busch to Livingston, back to Busch and over to New Brunswick for a finish on College Ave.

Things were going very well and Bob continued to notify me that we were ahead of pace through the first 5 miles. With a target pace of 9:05, it seemed that we were cruising at 8:45 - 8:50 and Bob (and I) were concerned that I might outrun my conditioning and "hit the wall".  In fact, keeping this aggressive pace was actually helping me to employ the changes that I had implemented in my running form.  I was focused on a rapid turnover rate -- the pace at which the next foot hits the ground -- as this is one of the best techniques to alleviate the cumulative affect of distance running. 

But then ... as we approached mile 7, I turned to Bob and said "left knee". That was all he needed to hear me say, he knew of my chronic problem with ITBS and we both knew that I had tweaked it.  Sometimes I find that if I lose concentration as the course turns distinctly up-hill, I may not lean into the grade correctly and I hyper extend my left knee in the first few strides of the inclined grade.  Seems that was all it took and here I was, only at the half-way point.  

I insisted on continuing and Bob pushed me to think twice about it.  I told him to go on ahead and maintain his pace but since he was only running the race to pace me, he chose to stay with me to provide support.  Well, in retrospect I should have stopped. As I have explained about ITBS before, it wasn't going to get any better.  Only worse.  ITBS is not like a cramp, it wasn't a case of stopping for a few minutes, doing some stretching and then moving ahead. 

So I forged ahead in considerable pain. Every footfall on my left side would aggravate the ITBS and of course, I was beginning to alter/modify my running form to attempt to alleviate the pain.  Two wrongs don't make a right! This went on for another 3 miles and then the course takes a steep decline down to the Johnson Park area.  I chose to walk down that steep pathway because downhill strides would hurt even more.  Then we pushed on through miles 10 to 12 and I was committed to finish.  I urged Bob to go on ahead -- at least to shoot for the 2 hour mark -- and that I would meet up with him at the finish.  

Wouldn't you know it, my final time was 2:00:52, just a minute off of the 2 hour mark. My wife -- my ultimate cheering section -- was there at the finish to meet us and to capture this picture.  

Then the task of walking back to where my wife had parked her car so she could shuttle us back to the original start line where I had parked earlier that morning. My mom was one of the first people that I called to let her know that I was alive and well.  She congratulated me and said that she was proud of what I had accomplished (good thing I didn't tell her too much about my leg;).

Well the pain in my left knee and leg was pretty bad and I recall a really bad night's sleep.  As I said earlier, I probably shouldn't have finished the race and I am fortunate that I didn't experience any longer-term complications.

I was convinced that I was on the right track with the the changes that I was incorporating into my running form and I was eager to recover from this setback so that I could further that progress. This would be essential if I was going to be able to go on enjoying this crazy sport that I appeared to be hooked on!  

Friday, April 3, 2015

Slow progression, still no master plan

Step By Step

As I explained in my introduction, I got started with running by joining a colleague in a local fund-raising 5K (3.1 miles).  That served as my motivation and purpose and since I had been in athletics most of my life as a participant or coach, I respected the need for some type of a plan or approach.  There are no shortages of these – just Google “beginner 5K” and you will find endless options.  Perhaps the most important training tip that I received as a beginner was to just forget about speed and pace and even distance.  Just focus on duration; run for x minutes in a row and then increase that over time.  Lots of other details came into the mix like not increasing distance too much week-over-week, what pace would I run the 5K at so that I can project how many minutes I would need to be able to run, etc.  So much of running is in our minds and to get started from zero, I found it much easier to use the “minutes in a row” approach.  Even at its simplest level, I knew I could get myself to run for 5 minutes so I set that as my starting point.  Surely I could run the next time for 5 ½ minutes – just 30 more seconds.  Onward and upward from there I went until I was stretching out to over 10 and then 15 minutes.

I ran that 5K in April of 2010 on a drizzly, humid morning in Piscataway NJ, the Rutgers University “High Speed Chase For The Cure” with proceeds to benefit the Cancer Institute of New Jersey. The race start was called by Greg Shiano, then head football coach at Rutgers who then moved on to lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

My finishing time was somewhere north of 31 minutes and I totally enjoyed the experience.  Having done most of my training alone, this was my first experience with an organized race, running with other runners and all that goes with that. I was fortunate to have my colleague Ryan, and his other fund-raising team members to meet up with before the race, mingle with and learn from. We didn’t run together because we all had such different pace levels but at least I wasn’t completely alone before the race, picking up my race bib and pinning it on, and getting into the start area. Then the adrenalin rush and the impulse to jump out too fast – after all I had never run beside other runners, not to mention a few thousand of them.  After a few hundred yards of panting and adrenalin dump, I eventually settled into a pace that was more “my speed”. A half-hour later I was done and my wife and daughter were there at the finish line to cheer me on.  

After that initial 5K run, I didn’t have any master plan. It all just seemed to evolve naturally.  I began to do more running on the treadmill at our health club and I would take my gear on business trips so I could run in the hotel gyms and outdoors when time and weather allowed. I enjoyed the running itself but soon the competitive athlete in me began to itch so I signed up for another local 5K fund-raiser.

This seemed to work for me as I could plot the race on my calendar and then “train” toward that event.  I was beginning to notice that I enjoyed this cadence; find and schedule a local race, train for the race, run the race. And this is when I learned more runner jargon: the “PR”, Personal Record. Like everything else in life, when you are just starting out running, you are able to improve your performance on just about every race you run. The verb form of the word is “to PR” which means to set a new Personal Record and I was setting a new 5K PR on each race.  And back to my introduction again, I was beginning to notice and enjoy that camaraderie and community of runners. Each 5K race I entered gave me another opportunity to enjoy that fraternity and to be among other runners.

At this point, I began to look into more challenges and the options were to improve my speed for 5K distance and/or extend my distance to the next natural level; 10K (6.2 miles).  I began to learn that in the running community, there are far more local 5K races than 10K’s and that continues up the scale. There are fewer Half Marathons and even fewer Full Marathons. I also began to learn the seasonal cycles for races. Living in the northeast, the two race seasons are spring and fall. So late in 2010 with about four 5K’s under my belt I began to look for a 10K to enter and there was one in my area in the March timeframe. I made the decision to register during the Christmas season 2010 and gave myself a 3-month window to train for this new distance.  This would mean a 100% increase over my current distance of 5K and it sounded very daunting at the time.  I mentioned the race to my friend and colleague Bob who was well on his own way to Full Marathon training, and he agreed to enter the race with me.

As I began to train for this 10K race, I quickly learned another reality of the seasonality of running in the northeast; training for a spring race means you begin your training in winter while training for an autumn race means training during the summer.  Pick your poison! So I began my training in January and I realized that I enjoyed running in the cold elements. As long as it wasn’t bitter (temperatures in the teens or lower) nor too windy or slippery, it was a challenge to get out there and withstand the elements.
Winter training for springtime race

My biggest challenge was the jump up in distance and as all runners learn, that has to be done gradually over time.  I would tell my friends – especially other runners – that I didn’t feel limited in an aerobic sense, I wasn’t breathing too hard or feeling tired in that way.  I was feeling increasingly sore and painful in other areas; specifically my knees and hips. Oh boy, did I get an anatomy lesson real fast. I had learned my high school biology pretty well and I could recite all 206 bones thanks to Mr. Niosi's 10th grade biology class. But I had never heard of something called my Iliotibial Band. So I quickly learned about my ITB and the ever dreaded ITBS; Iliotibial Band Syndrome. Suffice to say, now I must’ve been a “runner” because I was experiencing one of the most prevalent runner’s ailments and a classical case that was tied to my increase in mileage and training.
The dreaded ITB and ITBS
The training for the 10K went OK and I flirted on and off with setbacks due to knee pain from the ITBS. Race day came and I enjoyed having my good friend join me although we didn’t plan to run together. Bob was looking to PR in the 8-minute per mile range (there’s that PR word again) and I was just looking to finish. Being an early March race – and aptly called “The Run From Winter”, the weather could be unpredictable in the northeast. We were lucky to get an overcast day of 40 degrees in the morning and up to 50 during the race which was ideal. Bob and I separated just after the start and I settled into my pace comfortably having learned in my earlier 5K’s not to be caught up in the adrenalin rush to jump out too quickly. Somewhere around mile 3 we passed each other because the course was out and back, meaning we re-traced our steps after about half-way.  He looked great and said he was a bit behind his PR pace but felt good. It’s amazing how much two runners can communicate to each other in such a short pass-by.


Early in the 10K race
As I approached mile 5 I could feel my left knee getting very painful. This is one of the characteristics of ITBS, it doesn’t come on gradually, it’s very rapid. The biology is all about inflammation that impedes free movement of the ITB as is passes back and forth over the knee joint and once it happens; every stride brings direct pain to that spot.  I struggled for another ½ mile but then I pulled up with my knee completely locked up. I could barely walk on it and so I got my first ever DNF – Did Not Finish (there’s another term we learn).

After the work I had begun to do to combat the ITBS, this was a frustrating setback for sure. I went to a physical therapist to assess the problem because I was having trouble walking on it and maintaining normal lifestyle.  The fact that I couldn’t run on it at all was additional frustration but I wasn’t that “hooked” on running yet – I just needed to get back to walking! After some weeks of PT and focused exercises I was slowly able to get back to normal and some light running again.

More on that in my next post.

Friday, February 27, 2015

From 0 to 26.2 in 4 years

Introduction:

I started this blog a few weeks ago with a recap of my recent experience running the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC this past October.  As I stated in that post, now I am going back to write some posts about how I got into running a few years ago. You can go back and read the MCM post by clicking on the lower left of this page.


I hadn’t really considered writing about my running until now but here’s my theory; I am curious how many others feel this way. I (and many other runners) do a lot of running alone. Some of this is due to scheduling, some is due to preference. Although we spend so much time “alone” with this hobby of ours, I think we enjoy a great feeling of camaraderie with other runners. I find that the running community works this way; just join any race/event from local fund-raising 5K’s to marathons and ultras. In my experience, I find the most inviting, open, engaging, clever and funny people out there.


So I write this blog for other runners who share my experience with this hobby, but also for those of you who may not be into running but who may be curious about it. Or you may be curious about the experiences of those of us who do run – perhaps a personal friend or family member. Some of you may have other “hobbies” that serve a similar purpose for you.  I enjoy reading other runners’ stories in this way and hopefully I can provide another voice for others to enjoy too.

The Back Story:

I was always very athletic yet I disliked endurance-type exercise.  I grew up in a world that always included a ball of some sort and lots of hand-eye coordination was an asset. I was a bit smaller than average and always seemed to be among the smallest/shortest/lightest in all of the traditional organized sports that I played; football, and baseball mostly. After school years and varsity team sports I picked up the common 20-something activities like tennis, golf, softball and flag-football leagues, and that late 1970’s craze -- racquetball (I blame Flash!!). Everyone is invincible at those ages and conditioning was never an issue.  Then from ages 30 through early 50’s came the inevitable reduction in “discretionary” time while parenting and raising our family. Fortunately my wife and I kept a health club membership alive through those years and on a very varying schedule, there were trips to the weight room and basketball courts and stationary bike (for me) and the dance fitness classes and elliptical machines (for her). Some activity is better than none. To think that the criteria we required when we joined our health club was on-site childcare and racquetball courts … that goes back quite a few years!

From participant to fan...

My wife and I each enjoy following the activities and accomplishments of people that we know. We are especially fans of do-er's. We each participated in a lot of organized activities in our youth -- sports for me and performing arts for her.  Maybe for that reason or maybe for some other reason, we just enjoy taking an interest in the things that people are passionate about, and we know how much it means to them. Certainly we watched our own kids' events from dancing to singing to piano to guitar to drawing to painting to football to baseball to roller hockey and wrestling... oh my!
and don't forget rugby (Jim, TCNJ Lions 2008-9)

But we've been known to drive 50 or 60 miles to watch a nephew or a niece or a friend's event. People doing things, people taking action and being active.  We support that any day of the week. However, aside from a high school track meet to watch our son throwing the javelin, I had never been to nor participated in any kind of a track or running event. That was about to change.

From Here to Eternity or, that’s a long flight!

I’ve always done a lot of traveling for business and I’ve always packed some gym clothes so I could get some exercise in the hotel facilities. In late 2008 through 2009 I was developing a close friendship with a colleague who was well along with running and he was on a marathon training program.  We were working on a project that required us to travel to Hawaii 3 times within a 6-9 month span – a terrible assignment indeed! Given the schedule of our daily client meetings and thanks to the time-zone/body clock differential between the US east coast and Honolulu, Bob would get his training runs done early in the morning.   I distinctly remember the numerous conversations we would have about routes where he could run, distances to cover to satisfy his training plan, etc. 
Waikiki was a tough assignment

At around that time, I had begun to do a little running on the treadmill myself. Dawn on Waikiki is very beautiful and one morning I took to the road. It was balmy and warm, I was not in running shape and I could barely complete a mile or two along Kalakaua Ave. Our hotel, the Marriott Waikiki, was at the south end of the strip with quick access to the state park recreation area where many local early riser residents would go to practice their tai chi and other exercises. It was a great way to start the day before we would don our business attire and leave the beautiful beach area to head over to downtown Honolulu for our meetings.

I can still remember taking a drive around Diamond Head one day to scope out the road because Bob was planning to use that route for a 5-mile training run.  He was especially interested to see the elevation of the route in order to get some hill training into his regimen.  For me, at that time, a 5-mile run seemed very daunting but I was intrigued with the idea about how running could be a great way to experience different locations.  This would become a recurring theme for me. To think that in a few short years, I would eclipse that 5-mile distance by 5 times to run my first full marathon in 2014.
Bob's 5-mile route around Diamond Head
I continued to do a bit of treadmill running at the gym and out on the roads when I traveled for business.  Never too serious and no specific plan in mind – just a way to stay active.   I continued to follow my friend Bob’s running as he was well into a rigorous training program to run a marathon in his home city of Ottawa and numerous of the New York Roadrunners events in order to qualify for the New York Marathon.  I still thought it to be quite crazy and I hardly ever imagined doing those things myself.

And back to participant again. A small contribution to a huge cause!

In early spring of 2010, another business colleague that Bob and I worked with lost his mom to cancer. Shortly after, Ryan circulated an email to invite friends to contribute to a fund-raiser. It was a 5K race held at nearby Rutgers University and like most of these events; the online fund-raising invitation included the request to contribute and/or to join in the run. So on a whim, I joined Ryan's team and thought I was biting off a whole lot more than I could ever chew. You mean, run for 3.1 miles?  In a row? That’s likely to take over a half hour! At that point I didn't have a master plan or a vision to run a marathon or anything else like that.  I just liked the idea of supporting Ryan's cause and the opportunity to become a participant again.
T-shirt from my first 5k

That was spring of 2010. Fast forward to October 26, 2014 and along with completing countless other fund-raising 5Ks and 10Ks and 15Ks plus 4 Half Marathons, I have also completed my first Full Marathon, the New Jersey Marathon in Long Branch, NJ and my second full marathon, the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC. I still blame/credit my close friend Bob who established my baseline appreciation for the work ethic necessary to enjoy this crazy sport and the blame/credit is compounded upon my colleague Ryan for dropping that invitation into my email box and how gracious and inviting he and his family were to have me join their group to honor his mom’s memory.

In later posts I will write more about my own training regimen and how Ryan’s commitment to his mom’s cause paid dividends in my relationship with my mom in the years to come.

For that 5K at Rutgers, let's just say that I finished, I was exhausted and I was somewhat certain that I wouldn't be doing another one of those anytime soon. However, I did get to experience my first dose of that great camaraderie among runners and, my wife and my younger daughter Jaclyn were great sports to come out to cheer me on at the finish. In a small way, I took the first step "back to participant" that day.

Saturday, February 7, 2015

My experience running the Marine Corps Marathon, October 2014

This is the first article that I am posting. It is about my experience running the Marine Corps Marathon this past fall.  It took some time to get this written, even though I had drafted my notes a few weeks after the race. 

There is a back story about how I got into running 5 years ago and the steps (no pun intended) that took me to this point. I will post those stories as well, and I welcome you to go and read that back-story too.  For this article, I pick up the story about my training preparation and eventual completion of the 2014 Marine Corps Marathon in Washington DC. 

Marine Corps Marathon October 26, 2014

The Marine Corps Marathon (known as MCM) is one of the 5 largest marathons run annually in the US (after New York and Chicago and very similar to Honolulu and Boston). Prestigious for its affiliation with the Marine Corps and run through the nation’s capital, this is one race that I really wanted to run.  For most runners, entry into the race is by a lottery system because demand for runners far surpasses supply.  Approximately 20,000+ runners participate in “The People’s Marathon”. 
The lottery system is very well organized and all candidates submit their applications online well before the day the lottery is run.  Then you sit back and hope that your name gets picked by the random machine. I received my confirmation email on March 19th:

" Congratulations. The MCM Lottery has been conducted and you have reason to celebrate as one of the officially registered participants in the 39th Marine Corps Marathon to be held on Sunday, October 26, 2014 in Arlington, VA."


Preparation Time  

Imagine the timing.  I was already registered for, and actively training for my 1st full marathon to be held on April 27, 2014 – the NJ Marathon held in Monmouth County NJ (more on that race in a separate article). Due to the lottery system for the MCM, these two activities overlapped. I was actively training for the first race while waiting on the lottery entry process for the second.  Upon receiving the acceptance email for the MCM, I was at week 14 of a 20-week training program for the NJ Marathon. I still had all the normal apprehension about being able to complete a full marathon and here I was getting accepted to run a second.

Workload  

For seasoned runners, running 2 or more marathons in a single year is serious work but not uncommon. For a 1st-time marathon runner, running 2 full marathons in a single year is very aggressive. By the time 2014 was over, I had run over 1,100 miles – most of which are accumulated during the two, 20-week training programs for the two marathons.  The 26.2 miles for each race is the tip of the iceberg for each of those training programs. By comparison, my previous year total mileage was approximately 500 miles. That was a year where I ran multiple half marathons and various other shorter distance races.  So I chose a considerable step-up in workload for 2014.

There is so much of a sense of fortune and luck about how your body reacts throughout the training. Injuries and setbacks are a constant part of running – especially when you take the training up to these levels.  I had my fair share of injuries and setbacks but I was fortunate enough that they never became debilitating enough to steer me too far off the training course.  Some weeks were very difficult to complete and I had to learn ways to be flexible in the regimen in order to work with the small injuries and setbacks. 

By the time I began to train for the MCM, I had already completed my first, the NJ Marathon on April 27th.  I took my running volume down considerably during May and June to give my body some rest. 

Race Weekend  

I have been looking forward to writing this section because it was such a great experience. I break the experience down into four great parts:
.       The family perspective
.       The overwhelming event that the Marine Corps Marathon is
.       Wearing blue
.       The athletic part -- the culmination of all the training and running the event.



Family

Traveling down to Washington DC from NJ for the race was an opportunity to get away for a long weekend with my wife.  We left on Friday and returned home on Monday. My oldest daughter now lives in San Francisco (that’s a great story for a separate day) and she chose to fly in to watch and support me. My other two kids were present when I completed my first marathon – the NJ Marathon – in April. Every time we get to see her is a treat, having her there for the race was priceless!
Heading to brunch in Georgetown with my support team on the day after the race
My nephew and his wife live in Bethesda Maryland and I sometimes have dinner with them when I travel to the DC area for business.  We planned to have dinner with them on Friday evening and our daughter arrived from San Francisco in time to take the Metro over to join us.  My nephew’s wife is a runner too, and was in training herself for the upcoming Rock and Roll half marathon in Las Vegas. The five of us had a wonderful Italian dinner and talked for 4 hours.

As if that’s not enough, I have another niece who lives in the DC area and works in Crystal City – miles 22-23 of the MCM course.  She was able to come into town on race day with her daughter to support me. At that point in the race, you cannot imagine the pick-me-up it was to see them. I wasn’t exactly sure if they were going to make it and when I heard “Uncle Bill” being called out – phew that was such a treat.  I paused and hugged my niece and gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek.  Wind in my sails for another mile or so.  More on that in the race recap.

The MCM Event

A lot is written about events such as this. Whether the New York Marathon or Boston or Chicago or MCM, when it comes to events of this size and scale, it is a miracle the way things come together.  For runners, the issues that matter involve things like the availability of Porta-potties, transportation logistics to and from, and overall race course support like water/aid/nutrition stations, etc.  If you have an ounce of patriotism in you, as a runner you cannot overstate the fact that these services are provided by US Marines for this event.  From start to finish and all along the way, uniformed US Marines provide those support services, cheer us on, have supporting smiles on their faces and just make it better!  To that, add the fabulous flow of events at the race beginning where US flags are parachuted down to the start line, Osprey aircraft perform a fly-over and the National Anthem is sung to the backdrop of sunrise on a crystal clear blue morning.
Moments before the official start!
I still remember exiting the Pentagon Metro station to walk to the runners’ village before 06:00AM. It was still dark and all 20,000 of us runners were arriving via Metro, busses and shuttles.  We all moved along quietly – felt like I was back in high school on football game day – some small talk and anxious quips among friends but mostly a quiet group of athletes making their way to the start. We were on the Pentagon side of the Potomac River, and looking to the east, I could see the Washington Monument and the Capitol building off in the distance all lit up against the dark sky with the slightest hint of dawn across the horizon. I had 2 immediate feelings; one, what a beautiful vista on what was going to be a crisp, clear blue day and two, holy crap … that is far away from here and we are going to be running all the way over there … and back! 
Dawn over DC



Wearing Blue

The running community and “causes” are tightly knit. Whether it’s the local weekend 5K or it’s the largest of marathon events, runners and supporters have the opportunity to attract interest and support to various causes.  For my first marathon in April, I formed a support program to honor my 23 year-old nephew who died tragically a few months before the race (more on that in a separate post). For the Marine Corps Marathon, I researched and chose to join the group called “wear blue: run to remember” (wbr2r) http://www.wearblueruntoremember.org/. Please read up on them and the wonderful cause they support. I find their mantra to be so meaningful because I am a fan of taking action: 
  • The mission of wear blue: run to remember is to build running communities that honor the service and sacrifice of the American military
  • Goals: wear blue seeks to (1) act as a support network, (2) serve as a living memorial, and (3) bridge the gap between military and civilian communities.


A great group doing great work

Proud to wear blue


Race Recap

I write this section with a concern for who may be reading.  I will attempt to give a small sense of the experience from the runner’s perspective including the physical and emotional.  I won’t go into a mile-for-mile recap but I will break this down into sections of the course as they unfolded.

My race strategy: this was to be my second full marathon ever – and the second in 2014.  It was a risky and aggressive decision to run two in a single year but when the acceptance to the MCM lottery arrived in March, I couldn’t turn it down.  And I was already well underway with planning for my first marathon in April. So I decided to run both and to keep a modest pace objective for both.  I usually train in the range of 9:15 – 9:40 minute mile and with all the best recommendations, I slowed my training to a pace near 10:00 for these races. This would lead me to a conservative goal of 4 hours, 40+ minutes for the full 26.2 miles, allowing for further slow-down after the 21 mile point where things start to get tougher.  With this approach, I completed my first marathon in April at 4:47 and I completed the MCM in October at 4:50. Pretty consistent and respectable for my first and second efforts at this distance and at my age.

As I came to learn during my first marathon, nutrition and hydration are critical. I had worked on this during my training runs and I had settled in on my plan for fuel (Clif Shot energy gel) at every 6 miles and 2 full water cups. My GI system seemed to process these well and worked throughout my training runs and I opted to be more aggressive than I had been for my first marathon in April (where I believe I may have “hit the wall” at the 20-mile point due to insufficient fuel).

I was fortunate that the only injury/tweaks that I entered the race with were a mostly recovered blister beneath my right foot, a chronic left hip/gluteal/psoas strain and a right calf that would threaten to cramp at the slightest misstep of my running gait.  Compared to some other runners I have spoken with, many have entered race day with much worse ailing them.  Just like when you watch sports on TV, you realize that most athletes always have something ailing them – just hopefully not major injuries.  I had perfected my technique of wrapping the blister below my right foot (lots of reading up on that one) and I wore Zensa calf sleeves on both legs which seemed to help avert the worst of the calf problems.

The course: I am much attuned to geography and as such, I had a great understanding of the course layout. But there is nothing like the experience of being on that course, on those streets as the course unfolded. The race begins on a section of the Jefferson Davis Highway in Arlington, VA a short distance from the Arlington National Cemetery where the race will finish at the Marine Corps Iwo Jima memorial.
MCM Course Map
Miles 1-4 are up-hill and take us north and west through the town of Rosslyn, Virginia.  This will be where we return in another 22 miles after the race is complete. The up-hill route is a bit challenging but serves as a great pacing mechanism. Otherwise, a common mistake is to allow adrenalin to take you out ahead of your own pacing plan. The crowd support through this area was great and it really got me in a great mood to tackle the course.  As I mentioned earlier, I had my “wear blue” running shirt on and I was already getting calls and yells from crowd members and other “wear blue” runners alike.  I had positioned myself among the runners projecting a 4:50 finish so we all got underway and settled into a comfortable pace together.

Miles 5-7 take us east and north, across the Potomac River for the first time at the Key Bridge.  
Aerial view of the race crossing the Key Bridge into Georgetown
This is a gorgeous vista and takes us into Georgetown where the spires of the University sit directly ahead of us.  We turn onto M Street in Georgetown and the crowd support is wild.   Very much expected, but still very inspiring and fun. We pass directly by the spot where, in 24 hours (give or take) we will have a great brunch here with our daughter before we see her off on her return to San Francisco. I was feeling quite good at this point in the race and I had already taken my first fuel (Clif Shot gel) and water on schedule. 

Now we turn due north on the Rock Creek Parkway, a beautiful road that winds through green, park-like countryside toward Maryland. There are still lots of spectators lining the parkway and across the stone bridges that we pass beneath.  This is the only area of this course where runners will pass each other, we travel the parkway northbound and we make a hairpin turn at mile 7 or 8 and return southbound on the other side of the road.  This creates a great atmosphere of camaraderie as runners get to cheer to those who are already ahead and returning down the course.   I felt a stab below my right forefoot at mile 6 or so and I spent the next mile trying to determine if my tape-job had slipped.  At mile 7.5 I took a quick stop near an aid station to remove my shoe and check the tape.  Seems that everything was intact but the blister had returned.  Now I had to decide to remove the tape altogether or re-attach it. I chose to re-attach it, re-lace my shoe and move along. 

This was the first point on the course where my daughter may have been positioned to see me.  To her surprise, I took out my cell phone (yes I always run with my phone – it has my music and my pacing app), and called her.  True to my pacing and training, I was running at a comfortable pace (conversational pace) so I could speak to her but it was very difficult hearing due to noise on both ends.  She was en route to see me as we exited Rock Creek Parkway but we missed the connection. I may have been slightly ahead of the pacing map I had given her. But we signed off and I told her that I looked forward to seeing her and my wife later along the National Mall – our next agreed check point.

Miles 8-11 bring us back below Georgetown and along the eastern shore of the Potomac. We pass the Lincoln Performing Arts Center and the very west side of the Lincoln Memorial.  This is our first glimpses of the great thrill ahead where we will run along the National Mall between and all that great history.  I was also looking forward to reaching mile 12 to see the Blue Mile.  I was still feeling nasty friction below that right foot and I chose to make another quick stop to completely remove the tape.  Another quick look at the blister just between the big toe and the ball of my foot and it was clear that this was going to be with me for the rest of the day.  I re-laced my shoes and got back underway.

Miles 12 – 16 continues south along the Potomac to Hains Point where at the southern tip, we turn back toward the north. Many consider this to be a low point of the course because there are many fewer spectators. However, that scene of the Blue Mile changed this to one of my favorite sections of the race. If you take the time to read about the Blue Mile or go to the “wear blue, run to remember” site, you will understand the wonderful job that these volunteers do.  The first half mile is lined with placards of the heroes we have lost, each with a full picture and name. 
A small section of the Blue Mile placards

This is followed by another half mile of American flags adorned with small ribbons with the names of fallen heroes – each flag held by a volunteer. 
These great volunteers cheered us on all the way

I entered this section of the race with anticipation for how I would feel. I hugged the left side of the road and since I was “wearing blue” myself, I got a steady diet of high-fives from the Blue Mile volunteers. Most impacting though – and it took me a minute to realize what I was seeing – I was behind another runner cruising at my pace and I noticed that he wore a running shirt and hat indicating his rank as a retired officer. As we passed the placards of the fallen heroes, he read each name and called the name out aloud; “Jonathan, Steven, Louis, Susan, Michael, Jorge", and on and on for every name on each placard.  The momentum of the moment prompted me to join him in calling out these names, but then I realized that this was his moment. He had served in the armed forces and he felt a brethren with these fallen heroes and I respected his moment and I just continued along silently behind him taking the high-fives from the Blue Mile volunteers as tears welled up in my eyes.  I was not alone; many of the runners feel this during this section of the race with many openly breaking down to cry. As inspiring as it is, it can also take a lot of energy out of you.   I forged ahead toward mile 13 and the “half-way” sign at the 13.1 mile mark. Half marathon done, only one more half to go. Phew! I took my next fuel gel and water at the 13 mile point and we headed toward the National Mall. 

Miles 16-20 take us along the Potomac Tidal Basin, past the Jefferson Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial to enter the National Mall area.  The crowds are wild again and the quiet and solemn section along the Blue Mile and Hains Point is behind us.  As we were crossing the Ohio Street Bridge past the Jefferson Memorial, we saw Marine 1 flying directly over us on approach toward the White House.  Whether the President was on board or not, it was just very inspiring at that point and runners and spectators alike gave a big cheer. 

At this point I made another call to my daughter and she confirmed that she had met up with my wife and they were stationed along the Mall.  Once again, with noise on both ends, it took a few minutes to get a clear sense of where they were but we finally did sync up.  I saw them up ahead at mile 18 with 2 big bright pink poster cards saying “GO DAD”!  
These were huge!
Mile 18 is very far along in the race – eastbound on Constitution Drive just before we turn right in front of the Capitol building.  By now I was feeling lots of pain points.  I slowed to visit them to give them a hug – it was so great to see them. All they could do was tell me “go, go, don’t stop”. I told them I was fine and just wanted to visit a sec. Then we agreed they would make their way back across the mall where I could see them again in another 2 miles.

A quick note about this distance, pace and exhaustion; Over 20,000 runners finish this race and a time of 4:45 is about the median point among the finishers. The elite runners, professional and amateur, were well passed this point but, half of the runners were still behind us.  By this point in the race, many runners are taking longer walking breaks. Many runners follow Hal Higdon’s walk/run training program and it is completely within their strategy to mix running with walking along the course. Others are just hurting or taking a longer time to regain their energy to continue.  Shortly ahead of us is the Memorial Bridge that takes us west, back across the Potomac for the last time.  This bridge is one of the time hurdles on the MCM course. Runners must “beat the bridge” in 4 hours which means you need to pass mile 20 in 4 hours in order to continue.  I am well ahead of that hurdle time so no worries about beating the bridge. But already there are lots of folks having trouble at this point.

I meet up with my wife and daughter again just before I leave the National Mall to enter the Memorial Bridge.  They tell me that I look great and they will take the Metro back to see me at the finish area. The bridge is a grueling part of the race and many runners are walking.  We are headed directly into a stiff breeze and half of the mile-long bridge is a series of up-hill road ramps. From this mile 20 point, we only have 10k left to run, the last 6.2 miles. Experienced runners like to say, “…this is where the race begins”!
On the National Mall, still on pace

Miles 21 – 26 take us south for a loop into Crystal City and then back north again onto Jefferson Davis Highway and the path home.  Crystal City is another wild spectator area and this is very welcome.  We are really feeling the race now and every little bit of support is important. A note about the weather conditions – I had mentioned in the beginning that we had a beautiful, crystal clear blue day.  Well, in fact the weather was a bit too nice as temperatures crept up to 72 degrees by 1PM, humidity was at an unusual low below 10% and there was a steady breeze out of the west.  This all led to a more aggressive rate of dehydration for the runners as moisture flew out of our systems faster than we could replenish.  It was sneaky though because it felt very comfortable for the runners and we weren’t really conscious of the rate of dehydration. 

Give the conditions, there were multiple cool mist fans stationed along the course in Crystal City. Unlike other hot weather races where these fans are a welcome sight, we runners weren’t even looking for them – they almost seemed silly to us.  Only later did we hear more about the rate of dehydration and why they were operating the fans. There is another hairpin turn in Crystal City where we turn due north to head back up toward the final few miles. As we slowed down to make this turn, I heard “Uncle Bill” above the other noise and cheering. Standing right in front of me were my Niece and her daughter! It was so great to see them and I stopped for a quick hug. They must’ve read the same book that my wife and daughter had because all they could say was “go, keep going” and all I said was, “I will, I’m fine.”
With my niece and her daughter after lunch
I knew that would be my last family support point. Due to the crowded conditions at the finish line, it would be very difficult for my wife and daughter to see me cross the line.  They were on the Metro on their way back to Arlington from the DC side and they would have to walk from the Arlington station to the finish area at the Iwo Jima Memorial.  As we would later find out, they got real close to matching my time by a few minutes.
For the last 3 miles along the Jefferson Davis Highway, we are re-tracing our steps from over 4 hours ago at the start. I slowly make my way past the original start point toward the last 2 mile stretch.  This area gets tough, there isn’t much crowd support because most folks have positioned themselves up ahead at the finish line and many other runners are walking and struggling along.  Some of the most supportive US Marines seem to be lining this area of the course and cheering us all on to push and finish.  I was passing a lady who was struggling and a Marine came to her and offered encouragement.  The lady said – half in gest, half seriously – “…can you carry me the rest of the way”.  The Marine said “… no Ma’am I can’t do that but come on, I‘ll run along with you”.  She smiled and thanked him for the gesture and they plodded along together a while.

As we approached and passed the “26” mile marker, I was feeling a raging conflict of emotions.  I was very excited to be near the finish but, I knew that the last .2 miles were 352 yards of up-hill climb.  The course makes a sharp left turn into Arlington Cemetery at N. Marshall Drive and then another sharp right onto the US Marine Corps War Memorial Access Road. These final few hundred yards is a gauntlet of a narrow access road to the finish line. Fans are lining the road on both sides cheering us on and we push ourselves for that last ounce of energy to give our best final kick into the finish. I know the feeling that I am experiencing – one step short of being sick just like the final wind sprints of high school football camp on those sunny days in early September. I push ahead to cross the finish line, I shut my race watch timer and move forward with the other runners.  Remember, 20,000 runners finish this race so there are lots of us crossing the finish line together and we are all quickly corralled into gate lines to be awarded our medals. The nausea is matched by a feeling of joy and accomplishment.  Each of us is met by a US Marine who cheers our accomplishment and gently reaches out to place the medal ribbon over us. I give a huge embrace and say “thank you” to this young kid who has made the commitment to protect our way of life.
OORAH!
Mission Accomplished