500 Festival Minimarathon Race Report

Ok, warning up front I tend to get long winded in my race reports so read on with caution and note pictures will be added as the week progresses.

The evening before the race we joined a group of 30-40 NF Endurance Team members for a pasta dinner and sharing stories. There were some familiar faces and some new faces. Several people in attendance had no direct connection to NF, they were runners who decided to run for a great cause. Our eternal thanks goes out to them. Steve Kendra, NF Endurance Team Director, and his staff put together a nice welcoming event for runners and their supporters. I always leave these dinners with even more drive and resolve to help wint the war against NF.

For any of the race car fans who might read this, check out http://www.racing4research.org/ to learn about the Children's Tumor Foundation link to the Porsche team that participates in 24 hours at Daytona. Attendee Jill Markland brought this to our attention. Read a poem about Jill's son Jesse, a three year old with NF, by clicking on the word poem.

On to race day...

I woke up at 4:45 this morning after a rough night of sleeping. I slept solid from about 10PM to 2AM and then woke up about every half hour. I had the same dream twice about my cell phone, which I use as my alarm clock, running out of battery power and causing me to oversleep. I actually ended up getting up a few minutes before my alarm went off. A quick shower, bagel and to tall glasses of water and I was out the door.

I arrived downtown at 6:15 and scored some free on street parking. I made my way over to Military Park to meet with a group of runners who have shared our training experiences through the Runner's World website. We chatted for a bit and then took a group photo. By 7AM I headed over to the Westin to meet the NF team for a morning picture. As I got to the street where 35,000 runners would be starting the race at 7:30 I noticed the distance between my start corral of E and the hotel. I didn't think that I would be able to get over there and back in time so unfortunately I had to miss the NF team picture.

I lined up with about 1000 or so runners in corral E in an A-Z system. We were probably about 5000-6000 people back from the starting line. I said a prayer and waited anxiously for the start of the race. Within minutes the race was underway.

My plan going into the race was to get through three stages. The first part would be through mile 5 or 6 where the band Sign on the Door would be playing. The second stage was to get passed the track to a bar called the "Hi Neighborhood" near mile ten where bikers have traditionally handed out dixie cups of beer. The final being the last 5K or 3.1 miles of the race.

At about 1/2 mile in I saw Steve and he ran with me for a stretch while taking some pictures. He pulled off to meet up with other NF team runners and I rolled on. The first mile was packed wiht people which led to a 9:00 minute pace. I felt good and strong and ready for a great day.

Mile two is flat and starts at a right turn passing the zoo. I stepped up my pace and finished mile 2 in 8:10. That pace was only possible because I was fortunate to find a couple of gaps to move through the crowd.

Mile 3 was the fastest of the day and the only sub 8 minute mile. I ran 7:50 ish. My legs were really starting to feel loose.

Mile 4 can only be described as grid lock! I was back arounnd the 9:00 minute range. At this point I passed two ladies, one whose shirt said Shake and the other whose shirt said bake. In true Ricky Bobby fashion I gave them a "Shake 'n Bake ladies" to which they responded "Shake n' Bake."

Mile 5 I was on the look out for sign. No such luck I reached the mile 5 sign in 42+ minutes. I was hanging on to a 8:30 avg. pace.

I rounded the next corner and was headed to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a lap around the historical oval. Today started out as an overcast day which was fine by me but the sun was threatening to peak through the clouds as I neared the track. My best hope was that it would stay neatly tucked in the clounds until after I was off the track. The track is particularly unforgiving on a sunny day.

Before I reached the gate to the Speedway I looked to my right and saw Sign on the Door. That provided a nice boost. I surged across the street to give them a holler "Sign on the Door rules!!!" and a high five. In turn I got a shout out over their loud speaker "Ladies and Gentlemen, Don Hahn." Thanks Mark and Greg!

The track was of much significance today. I dedicated the two miles that I would be rounding the oval to a young man named Drew who has NF. I read about Drew and saw an Atlanta tv news piece about him through a link on the NF Endurance Team website. Drew and the Tumornators are doing a lot to raise money and awareness for NF and Schwannomatosis research. As you can see from the video linked above, Drew has endured many surgeries. I didn't feel like there was anything of substance that I could say to him and his family other than our prayers are with them but I felt like I needed to contact them and make this gesture that those miles would be for him!

I have run the Minimarathon for 3 years now. Today the sun stayed behind the clouds for the first time for me and I covered those 2 miles faster than ever. Drew keep up the fight! You are an inspiration.

The course bottlenecks as runners leave the Speedway. Back out to the main road and around the corner to the 15K marker. Still feeling strong!

I hit the 10 mile mark in 1:26, I had started to fade a bit. I reached the "Hi Neighbor" for completion of stage 2. No bikers handing out dixie cups of beer this year. The humanity. I drudged on for the final 5K.

At mile 11 Steve met up with me to run a little bit more. Again a boost a tough time in the race. So close but still 2 miles to go. Steve chatted with me and helped me hold my pace until the 12 mile marker and the final turn for home.

I had nothing left for a kick for that last mile. Nothing in the tank. I kept putting one foot in front of the other. I reached a water station with 3/4 mile to go and walked through as I drank my water before going back to the less than aggressive pace I had been mustering the previous 1/4 mile or so. Liz and the crew were along the final stretch to give me the final pick me up that I needed to dig in and get to the finish. Which I did in 1:53:47 according to my watch. A new course record for me by about 10 minutes and several minutes faster than the PR that I set at Sam Costa in March.

Turned out to be a great day for racing!

The Expo

Tonight we ventured to downtown Indianapolis for the first of 3 trips in 3 days. Our purpose was to stop at the Minimarathon expo for packet pickup. Packet pickup is the time when runners get a goody bag that includes the race number, timing chip, race day instructions and a mix of other items. This year the goody bag include the standard long sleeve race tee-shirt, a yellow and white running hat, and a smattering of advertisement brochures. I was happy to find out that I am seeded in corral E this year based on the qualifying time that I submitted. I'm not sure exactly how many people are in each corral but it will probably move me atleast 2000 people closer to the front over last years G corral seeding.

The Expo is an event in itself. Dozens of vendors are there with running related products (or not running related products). Seyferts provided free snacks and IUPUI handed out band aids among others in attendance. The Expo is fine but it is slight in comparison to the Chicago Marathon Expo that I attended in 2005.

We have some pictures, taken by Liz, of me and two members of my curb crew...






Tomorrow night is the NF Endurance team dinner. Pictures to follow.

Race week!

The week ahead is officially RACE WEEK!

Race week starts with obsessively looking at the 10 day forecast everyday for race day. Today's forecast for May 3rd is 68H/48L. An article in Runner's World magazine suggests that the optimal temperature for racing is 52 degrees so we should have a few minutes of prime weather.

Here is the run down of the week + ahead-

Friday, 3 miles
Saturday, 8-9 miles
Sunday, 5 miles
Monday, Rest day
Tuesday, 3 miles
Wednesday, 3 miles
Thursday, expo and packet pickup; in bed early for a good night sleep!
Friday, Prerace meal with the NF Endurance team...Pasta, Pasta, Pasta...some stories and tears will be shared by the families that attend. I won't sleep much on race eve :(
Saturday, RACE DAY! Up early for some oatmeal and gatorade, a shower, and then the drive to downtown Indy. I'll try to get there about an hour early for free parking and plenty of time to warm up before the race. Line up in the corral. This year I have preferred seeding again but I am not sure where they will put me. The start gun and off for 13.1 miles...you'll have to wait for the post race report for the rest of the story.

Keys to a great race. Start hydrating early in the week = water + Gatorade. I'll start to carbo load on Wednesday and continue through Friday night. It is important for me to rest up through the middle of the week because I never sleep well the night before the big race. All of these things should add up to a good race for me, weather permitting!

I want to share with you a poem that was written by a sixth grade student named Lea. Lea and her classmates are students of Emily or Miss Miller, a long time friend to Liz. Emily shared the news of our fundraising efforts with her students and they have really responded. A recent assignment was to write a poem about anything to "go inside." Here is the poem Lea wrote:




Inside this shoe is a foot that is doing a good thing for a purpose.
Inside this shoe is filling a little girl with happiness, love, and relief,
knowing people are trying to look for a cure.
Everytime that shoe touches the ground is everytime that girl will have a chance.
The shoe might give him blisters,
but that is worth running for his daughter.
The shoe fills with a smell of donations,
some tears,
and smelly sweat.
But every shoe that runs in the marathon is worth a million.

This poem was a nice boost for me as we near the race and continue to raise money for a great cause. Thank you all who have supported us in our endeavor with your kind words, prayers, donations, and interest in helping those with NF live to see a day when NF is talked about in the past tense.

Mixing training time and daddy time

Sunday I was scheduled for a 5 mile recovery run which means slow pace to shake out my legs from the long run on the previous day. The weather was nice enough that I decided to push Anneliese in the jog stroller. I like to take Anneliese out with me because she is so inquisitive that she constantly asks questions. That helps me to keep my pace at a conversational rate and help her figure out a little bit more about her world at the same time. We stopped a couple of times, once for a stick and once for a dandelion. Aside from her saying "Let's go home" about ten times I think she enjoyed it too :)

Monday was a scheduled rest day. The weather was nice that we walked to the park and spent about an hour there. Anneliese loves to climb the rock wall up to the big slide. In case you are wondering, I can still fit down most of the slides with her. Emmeline surprised us by being able to climb the rock wall too. She even went down the slide by herself one time. The round trip walk is about 2.5 miles. Anneliese made most of the hike by herself. She is building up her endurance for races next summer :)

Tonight I had a 6 mile run scheduled. Anneliese and Liz had to go to school for "Mommies Night" which left me and the Rooster hanging out. So she got her first taste of the jog stroller. Emmeline smiled at me and talked to me for about the first mile. Then I noticed she wasn't reacting to my voice. I stopped to pick a gnat off of her sleeve and realized that she was sleeping. She must have been comfortable because she stayed asleep until we started walking for our cool down. We came back and she had a bah-bah before she went to bed.

Women's US Marathon Trials

Better late than never for this report. The US Women's Olympic Marathon Trials were held on Sunday in Boston, the day before the historic Boston Marathon. Similar to the men's race the top three female finishers qualify to run the marathon in Beijing for the US team.

Liz, Anneliese, and I watched parts of the race online through streaming webcast. A little known runner by the name of Magdalena Lewy Boulet came out of the gate ready to go and jumped out to a quick lead that would reach 2:00 minutes and that she would hold until mile 24. Favorite Deena Kastor, 2004 Olympic Bronze Medalist, stayed with the chase pack throughout the first part of the course. She turned on her world class speed en route to a negative split (faster second 13.1 miles than first 13.1 miles). She was the runner who caught Magdalena at mile 24 and blew past her for the win in under 2:30. Magdalena finished 2nd as she held on to beat out third place finisher Blake Russell.

For complete results visit the official Marathon Trials Website: http://bostontrials2008.com/

Congrats to our team of Kastor, Lewy Boulet, and Russell!

The runner's widow...

I mentioned in the last post that there would be more about starting training in October. Without further adieu...I give you the runner's widow:

Running is something that I do because I enjoy it, it makes me healthy, and it helps me feel like I am contributing to the fight against NF. At best running is altruistic and at worst it is down right selfish. I am aware of the latter but probably don't show appreciation often enough for my wife's (the runner's widow)contribution to training.

When I pick a race day for a major fundraising event we figure out if the date works in our family's schedule. I signed up for the Indianapolis Minimarathon in October and the race is on May 3. I don't want to do the math but I can tell you that a lot of days come between those two months.

As an athlete who trains 5 sometimes 6 days a week that means a lot of time away from the family. Since I rarely leave the house for a run shorter than 3 miles every workout lasts at least 30 minutes when you add in stretching and changing. Some long runs take as long as 3 hours with all of the things involved in the process (getting fuel ready, stretching, ice bath, shower). Those minutes and hours quickly add up. Easily hundreds of miles will have been logged by the time the gun sounds.

While I am out on the road my family is back home. Without Liz's support I would never be able to achieve the goals that I have set or train as hard as I'd like. I know that training pulls me away from my time from my family but Liz keeps everything together for us.

When I do long runs using a loop that passes by the house, Liz keeps my water filled for me. When I insist that we have pasta every Friday night before a long run she goes along with the craziness. When I tell her about negative splits on the run or some other running babble she listens.

I try to support Liz in her interests and encourage her to take time for herself but the scales are hard to set even. Many runner's acknowledge that their sport is selfish and the pursuit of faster times in a race impacts other aspects of regular life. Still we do our track repeats. We run our LSD's. We show up an hour early on race day to loosen up and find our place at the start line. Without the runner's widow these things wouldn't be possible. Thank you Liz for your support of my passion for running. Without you it wouldn't be possible!