My ex-Boston Marathon 2010

I didnt write anything here for over the year. The reason was my first full, yes i finished but i burned. I got sick of running, thinking about running, writing about running. But now i am back, and being back means 10 races in 2010 (9halfs, and 1 full). Ready for new updates….. and no, i am not going to Boston.

When i was learning how to walk back in early 70s, thousands of runners around the world were starting subculture that slowly grow into this cult we all worship today. The Running Cult. Phenomenon of the late 20th century. From the boom of jogging around Central Park in NYC to today’s record number of marathon finishers.Back then, running was pioneer effort. Not commercialized, popular sport like it is today. No running subdivisions of major athletic companies, no gadgets, no special nutrition. One of the huge problem of the amateur runners in the era was measuring their distances, and speed. So, brilliantly, they invented pace. A time needed to run from point A to point B. Points were usually recognizable objects. Stop signs, trees, houses, anything that can be easily remembered and used. Then back home to the old maps, topographic prints, to measure the distance. If distance from that stop sign to the first street light is 1 mile, and it took them 7 min, just by watching at the time on their stopwatches, they could easly calculate that their pace was 7 min/mile. Or even easier, if they run one lap around the track in 1:30 min, their pace was 6 min/mile.And it worked. It was simple effective way of tracking their training, progression.Now lets move fast to September 1st, 1983. Korean Air Lines Flight 007, en-route from NYC to Seoul, Korea, with 269 people on board. On the other side Russians had test firing of SS-25, mobile, intercontinental ballistic missiles. After swinginig from its planned course, ill-fated airliner eventually ended in restricted russian air space and was taken down by russian jet intercepters. All 269 people on board died that night. As result US president R. Reagan issued a directive making GPS freely available for civilian use as common good.Now back to running. Over next decade or so, running become more and more popular, and more and more companies begin producing enormous number of gadgets to aide runners to achieve their goals.  Many of them, like Polar, continued perfecting their pedometer devices, and some like Garmin, begin implementing now free GPS system of satellite navigations. Soon runners around the world, were able to know exactly where they are in the world, how far have they run, and at what speed. On other side, internet, which back in 80s was academic playground, become public phenomenon. And so did online maps, satelite maps, even 3D rendered maps of every corner of the world. Today we can plot our runs, have virtual 3D tour of the run, import the run to our “watches” and later, export recorded data into our computers, analyze every second of our runs, from elevation to percentage of maximum heart rate. My iPhone can even send my location every 5 sec, serving as GPS beacon, allowing users at home to see my progress on their computers, even oceans away. But we still use pace, we still pace ourselves, we still improve on our pace.  My Garmin can show me my speed, current and average, at any point of my run.But i like to talk about my pace. Speed? Speed is for cars, and monster trucks, we runners pace, we don’t speed. Go to local 5k and watch 20 year old college kid finishing his sub-20 5k. Comment something like “wow, what a speed” and soon you will be isolated. You are not a runner anymore. Say “that is some killer pace” and you will start interesting conversation. Why do we need pace? Is it one of the dinosaurs of the old school running? Will it become just interesting piece of history of running, like “flat coke”? Or will it survive and keep helping us push harder, faster, further.

No i dont mean it is good or bad as sex. Well it could be: you are sweating like a pig, you cannot breath, you are tired after, and you still call it great time.But that is not the point here. It is how so many people look at training and running their first full marathon. My belief is that you need a year of good, solid running, few local races, before even starting to think about one. Some people jump into right away, some take their time.Some make it one night stand. Nothing bad about it. But it is just one night stand. So later in life you can look at it and say “well i did it”, not much different then saying “i did her/him”. They just want to came and to finish. Without much respect to the race or other runners.Or you can take different approach, you can make in meaningful, lasting relationship, “invest” days and months, becoming more friendly with Mrs. Full M., hoping it would be long term, something you can cherish forever. And then become hooked, keep coming back for more.

After finishing my first half I basically got lazy. Without any serious plan, with few huge blisters i took few weeks off. Then back to “junk miles”. Wondering what could help me get back on track before 100F hits Arizona. And the answer came from REI sale. Garmin Forerunner 305. I have it only a week, but amazed with its features. Here are the few that i had a chance to learn.
1. Accuracy. Most public GPS units are accurate to around 25 feet. When running for miles that is more then great. But running under blood red Arizonian sky, with great reception, accuracy can be as good as 2-3 feet. Here is the recent track imported into Google Earth. As you can see , it actually recorded me going from sidewalk to the bike lane.

2. Real time data.My old Polar RS200, amazing machine, tracked my average HR, which is still pretty high, but i was unable to guess when did it get so high, and how long does it take to get back to breathable levels. Garmin constantly record such info so you can analyse it later.
Unfortunately, temperature in Arizona is rising fast. So soon, Garmin will go to the shelf, and Polar and myself back to the treadmill.

After a months of anticipation and quick trip to Health Expo, that night before the race i was ready. Desperately trying to find the best driving route to the race i didnt go to bed untill midnight. For those not living in Arizona we like to build. Streets, freeways, highways, and houses. Then we change our mind, and build again. So getting anywhere here is a challenge. They close some freeway every weekend. MY 6 months old GPS was too confused to even calculate how to get there.

4 A.M., sunday morning. I have to be nuts to get up this early. Wife soundly asleep, as kids sneaked into our bed during the night. Ok, where is my polar, hmmm, socks, did i charge my iPod. March mornings are still cold in this Sonoran desert, so i had to wear layers upon layers. Thankfully adidas, Adistar, orange was last year color so ebay was full of those. 

Driving in my car, i went throw my checklist, reminding myself that negative splits are not in my agenda, yet. Start slow, finish. Just finish. Never run 10k under one hour, so i dont hope for more then 2:30 to finish half. It is my first after all. Just finish.

Ok according to the signs, and GPS i was there. Few police cars pointing me to the dark parking lot of the shooting area in state park. And they call hunting sport?. Quickly, take off all the layers, connect all the appliances and gadgets, and get in the line for the bus. Big yellow school bus. I didnt see the inside of one of those since Senior year field trip. 

Damn, bathroom, why do i always drink this much water. Huh, look at the line, maybe i should do it behind the bush. Hmm, no, all the bushes are cacti, too pointy for my taste. AS always national anthem got me in the line. “..and the land of the…” good, my turn. 

Quickly to the 9-10 pace starting line. Honestly didnt expect that much people around 800. Damn i will be the last. How humiliating. Gun, there is the guy with the gun. Go. Slowly.

First 5k was straight and flat. 7AM, as the sun was slowly rising over the red sky, so was the excitement. I didnt care about cameras, about pace, just for a moment, enjoyed the race, enjoyed the moment. Second 5k, got me at uphill, around some $1mil plus houses being built. Soon i realized with such price comes the attitude. Yes you can beep as much as you want, and no i will not stop so your benz can take you to your round of golf. That uphill kept going and going. Without any hill training, i kept going slow but steady. Soon first downhill, and out to mayor road. Thanks for real estate tour, i need to work on my hill training and my diverse portfolio.
10k, almost half. That clock must be wrong, only 57min? and another downhill? walk, time for drink. Someone, somehow put too much powder into that getorade mix. But then i dont like grape anyhow. I will get just water at 8mil. Almost 2 mile long straight. Something i never realized before, and i was about to, is that going downhill, your feet slide. They slide enough to get some scary looking blisters. 9mil, brutal uphill. ok, i see water at the top. almost done. Or should i just become pessimist? more then 5k left. 

Then it all just came together. The road, heart rate, mood, sunshine, legs. I was just there. On the road. With 800 other happy people. Some of them in front of me, some behind me. I didnt need advice from the book, didnt need magic powder in my imaginary pouch, i didnt need to visualize the runner in front of me, if he is murdered what weapon would he use, or how does her/his face looks during an orgasm. I just enjoyed the race, the pain, the time.

And soon it was almost over. I see the finish line. I see photographers, should i smile? it doesnt matter, again they dont have polarizer and they are pointing almost straight into the sunlight. It is time of glory. All those months, all those alone moments, all the crazy drivers. It all comes to this. Sprint. Run. Pass one or two more. 2:10, and that is gun time. Shortly, my daydreaming of glory was interrupted by someone in yellow shirt passing me the medal, throwing me to another person in same bright yellow shirt, who took off timing chip.

I realized. This is runners high. Sitting here, on the side of the road, next to the garbage cans, holding that cheap piece of metal. I did it. I am half marathoner.

And at that moment, Boson appeared just a step closer. 

This weekend there will be my first attempt at Half Marathon. I don’t know is it just the name that contains magic word Marathon, or the distance of 13.1, or time needed to complete that is equal or more then most of the elite runners need to finish Olympic marathon, but i am bit nervous. I have completed training program, already getting sick of all the pasta, potato etc, and drove the course to get familiar with. So at sunday i will be there at 6:30 in the morning, too early for me, and hopefully my family will be at finish line when i drag myself there.  For those not familiar, this weekend March 9th, in Mesa Arizona Valley of the sun, Half Marathon. You can still sign up.  Valley of the Sun, Half Marathon

Last night i managed to drag my lovely wife to see the ‘encore’ presentation of the famed movie “Spirit of the Marathon”. Movie theatre was full of people, and looking around i could swear most of them couldnt run 5k. Again i was probably wrong, it just shows that runners come in all sizes and shapes. It is documentary movie, following couple, completely different, runners in their atempt to finish Chicago Marathon 2005.  One is postgraduate student, whose running style reminds me of mine, then Kenyan running 3rd time trying to win, 68 men running this time with his daughter, and couple in their 30s going for BQ.I liked the movie. I didnt kill the spirit with unnecessary calculations of pace, carb loading ideas, describing diferences between tempo and fartleg runs, and everything else that non-runner might find trully annoying and borring. It made me realize something, we runners, are obsessed with running (mildly obsessed, my wife remark), and constantly talk and think about it. Except while we are running. Director gave short history of the marathon, from Ancient Greek time, to interesting modern events, first women at Boston Marathon, and how her hubby pushed race director who tried to pull her out of the race.But most importantly, it shows a human side of the marathon. It is not about time, or pace. It is not about PR or anything alike. Every single runner has a dream, whatever it could be, winning the Chicago marathon, setting new world record, finish first one, BQ, finish it with your daughter. And in those few hours anywhere from 2 to 6 hours, those dreams are made, or painfully broken. How strong our mind and body are, how much we will jump out of the comfort zone, and accomplish something it shouldn’t normally be done by humans. After all, it is same 26.2 miles, same track, same race.  Movie gives a simple message about marathon runners, in one short sequence during the Chicago Marathon 2005. In the back you can see the sign that reads:”Y’all are nuts”   

For those who wonder, let me first explain the title. It is not about movie, and it is not fiction, but to many it is scary. It is about our corn fetish, and the corn products found everywhere, namely, High Fructose Corn Syrup. Maybe our number one killer.And here is first introductory post on that subject. I believe people reading this site are healthier then normal population (of USA that is) and that we care more on what we take into our bodies. Also we tend to push our body to its limits. So why do we continue to load ourselves with high fructose corn syrup? Because of many myths around, let me give you few information. Table sugar, sucrose is sugar containing two molecules, one fructose and one glucose, joined by a glycosidic bond. HFCS is mixture of 55% fructose, and 45% glucose (at least the one used for drinks in US). So what is the difference. In sucrose molecules are bind together untill they make it to the duodenum where sucrose is broken down with sucrase and some other enzymes, in process that is essential in glucose control, a step missing in already separated mixture of HFCS. Further, fructose is not really energy efficient like glucose, but it does form nice gas in lower intestines, and also have same of simmilar effect on insulin in regulating blood sugar levels. So basically more fructose in blood streem will rapidly utilize the insulin which will take away our precious glucose. Just something that it might be important, hmm, around mile 20.It is cheap, and big corporations are loading us with them, without much concern about health. Gatorade, Powerade, Accel Gel (but not Accelerade!), Sport Beans, are loaded with HFCS.note: Cliff Shots, Gu gels, Red Bull (!!!) powdered Gatorade and Powerade etc. do not contain HFCS.HFCS is not used as sweetener in drinks in the rest of the world (ever tried Mexican Coca Cola, yummy), especially not in Europe. FDA considers is safe, but same FDA just approved cloned beef and pork for human consupmtion (claiming there was not negative effect on human health, from their mighty research on currently not available cloned beef and pork, briliant)So what is your stand on HFCS, do you care at all? 

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 Another post, another fun, local event. After skipping PF Chang’s half marathon, i decided to do more local 5k, and 10k, just to keep motivated until moving further to HM training.  While driving to my sister-in-law new house i have noticed a sign London’s Run. Confused at first, London? maybe Logan’s run? no that was 80s movie, i searched and googled around and found the simple website, with simple human story.London was a six years old girl who died of leukemia (AML) and in her honor her family and Schnepf Farms or Queen Creek, hold annual Half Marathon, 10k, and 2 mile walk/run.So join, bring whole family, it truly looks like a great family event. Unfortunately, if you want to sign in, you need to go to lovely active.com.  
London’s Run Webpage

Event Map

well, right in my neighborhood there is a 5k race. All money goes to some charity again, Islands or Shummway Elementary PTO. Just wondering, do we need a “higher cause” to run, isnt running for a sake of running old? But whatever reason, please join, it is small, fun, saturday morning race, right here in middle of Gilbert/Chandler area. Arizona Running Events, registration and info Also, this run (is it run or race?) is great chance for your personal best. Certain PR, since seems like the course is bit short of 5k. Here is race, hmm, sorry run course from mapmyrun.com.