The First Five Grand

My first race (left) and my most recent marathon (right)

This morning's run was much like most of my runs.  No fanfare.  Just me, a few other runners and bikers, and the open road or in today's case the open trail.

However, today's run was extra special.  During the first mile of what would end up being a 7-mile run, I ran my 5,000th career mile.  To some that might seem like a big number and to others who have run for awhile it's not as big a feat.  For me, it was special.

I started this running journey 1,161 days ago on May 26, 2010...much like today on the trail and ironically like today without the Garmin providing me time, pace, and distance.  On that day, I was lucky to run two miles.  I went back the next day and barely pulled out another two-mile run without walking.  It was brutal!  Over the next two weeks, I only managed to run three more miles.

Then, on June 12, 2010, things finally started to click.  That day, I went out to run two miles and ended up running four miles.  I went back out the next day and ran three more miles.  And I went back again.  And again.  And again.  And I haven't stopped going back out.

Running has provided me with countless benefits.  When I started, I weighed in at 235 pounds.  Not awful for a 6-6 guy, but today's weigh-in of 198.5 pounds has me in much better shape.  I'm eating smarter (notice I didn't say less) and drinking a whole lot more water.  I really do feel like I'm in the best shape of my life.  And it doesn't hurt that for nearly half of my running journey (575 days and counting to be exact), I have been on a streak of doing at least 100 pushups and 100 situps each day to help augment the running.

In addition to the health benefits, I have made some incredible friendships.  When I started this journey, I was running solo.  However, soon after running my first race on August 28, 2010, several local runners in Mount Vernon began to get together in the mornings at 6 a.m. and the Mount Vernon Running Buddies were born.  Ever since that day, it's a rare morning that you don't find someone from that group meeting up for the daily run.  Their dedication to running is amazing!

I've also enjoyed meeting numerous runners from Central Ohio and beyond.  Run DMC is a group that corresponds primarily via social media, but people in that group have become some of my very closest friends.  I've also met great people in the midst of races who have gone on to become close friends, too, after we helped each other get through the tough times in a race.

Since this journey began three years, two months, and four days ago, I've been blessed to be able to run in some great places.  I've run on the beach of both the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean as well as the Gulf of Mexico.  I've run across the Golden Gate Bridge and back.  I've run the magnificent mile in Chicago, under the Arch in St. Louis, and on the track at Daytona International Speedway.  I've run a three-state 5K with a mile at three different state welcome centers.  I've run three marathons (Columbus 2011, Earth Day 2012, and Last Chance for Boston 2013) and eight half marathons (Pittsburgh twice, Earth Day twice, Erie, Xenia, Cap City, and Columbus).  I've participated in two amazing relay races - Hood to Coast in 2012 and Relay Around Columbus in 2013.  And too many shorter races to even mention, yet all have been incredibly fun and provided their own enjoyment to this journey.

Running my leg at Hood to Coast

The journey has not been without its bumps in the road either.  I spent August of 2011 with limited mileage due to shin splints.  Then, about the same time in 2012, the shin splints returned and turned into stress fractures in both legs that sidelined me with only 78 total miles from August 1-October 31.  I had to learn patience through the injuries.  And I also learned the importance of cross-training both on the bike and in the pool as well as with core workouts.  The encouragement and support from other runners was unwavering and helped me immensely as I worked to heal.

As I reflect back on the past 5,000 miles, for me it's all about the journey.  It's not about any personal accolades or even the fact that I've reached this milestone.  It's about the people's lives I've been able to be a part of and the amazing times that we've had.  For those of you who I've had the pleasure of running with, THANK YOU!  For those of you I haven't met in person yet, but who have supported me from afar, THANK YOU!  YOU are what this milestone is all about because without you this journey would be pretty lonely.  I look forward to seeing all of you on the run sometime soon!

From DL to BQ

Six months ago, I was a broken runner.  On August 24, I completed my first of what was supposed to be three legs at the incredible Hood to Coast Relay in Oregon and had to be helped to the van knowing that I wouldn't run again any time soon due to the excruciating pain in both legs.  I was crushed and beaten down.  Running was a passion for me and it had been taken from me.  I was diagnosed with stress fractures in both legs and was sidelined indefinitely.

October rolled around and I still wasn't running, but my legs were slowly starting to feel better.  When it came time for the Nationwide Children's Hospital Columbus Marathon, I supported several friends there and ended up getting some running in and knew that maybe things were finally getting better.  Then, in November, I slowly started back in a return to running program prescribed by Dr. Darrin Bright.  There were times that I wanted to just push things forward with this plan that called for a lot of walking, but I also knew that I didn't want to feel that pain again and so I was patient.

During this time, I also took up swimming as a way to stay in shape and not use my legs.  By no means am I even an average swimmer and my technique is awful, but I still manage to get a good workout in each time and I also feel stronger because of it.  I also got lots of cycling in as another way to not have impact on the legs.

When I was finally released from the return to running program by Dr. Bright, I decided to start training for the Xenia marathon in April.  I asked my friend, Cindy Warner, for help with my plan because she had successfully used one to PR both the Erie half marathon and the Columbus full marathon this past fall.  She came up with one from the Run Faster from the 5K to the Marathon that seemed to fit me pretty well and also took into account my propensity for over-training and injury.  She agreed to help hold me accountable with following the plan and so the journey began.

The first eight weeks of the plan went really well.  During that time, I made my first comeback race at the First on the First 5K in Westerville.  Since I hadn't raced in a long time, I had no idea what I was capable of.  I just went out and pushed hard and then held on at the end to finish with a 19:52 - just five seconds off my PR.  I was ecstatic.

I continued to follow the plan with solid outdoor runs and some great indoor track workouts.  Doing eight loops for a mile on the indoor track got me thinking about the Last Chance for Boston races that were coming up in February as the participants would keep circling a one-mile loop to reach their desired distance.  To some people, the thought of 26 loops (plus a .20 start) seems like pure mental torture, but after doing an 11-mile indoor track workout or 88 loops I started to believe that it might be something that I could handle.  During one of our Saturday group runs, I asked Cindy what she thought about that race.  We discussed my history of always running a great first 20-mile training run as I prepared for a marathon and my ability to go for a long distance without necessarily training by the book for it.  I am also a social runner and the thought of having people constantly around me on the loop made that a draw for me.  And, a loop course would also be the easiest type of course to get support on.  The only downsides we could come up with were that I would be under-trained and the possibility of getting injured without reaching my goal and then being forced to miss the Xenia race.

With all the information digested, I also got the feedback of a few friends who had run the race before.  Both Teri Pokosh and Ken Varian gave it good reviews and encouraged me to do it.  So, I signed up.  I decided that I would treat the race as a 20-mile training run and then just see what I had left.  The goal would be to finish the race the best way I could, but if there were any issues I would stop and not risk jeopardizing the Xenia race.  Cindy helped me adjust my training plan as I increased my long run mileage to a peak of 17 miles two weeks ago, and then I tapered this past week.  I also got another shot of confidence a week before Last Chance when I beat my goal of a 7:00 pace at the hilly Granville Winter Run 7.5-miler by finishing in 51:44 (6:50 pace) and shockingly won a race for the first time ever!

That set the stage for race weekend.  I went down on Saturday afternoon to pick up my packet and race bib.  I decided to walk the one-mile loop while I was there and get a feel for what the course would be.  One other huge aspect to my preparation for this event and for improving my training has been reading the book "Unleash the Champion" by Denny Dicke.  He teaches all kinds of techniques to make you mentally tougher and to help you push the negative thoughts out when you run as a way to have your best performance.  I'm not a huge fan of self-help type of books, but I connected with this one and followed a lot of them.  I wrote out 3:14:30 as a goal time on a piece of paper and the words "Determined", "Tenacious", and "Unstoppable" and hung them on the mirror in my bathroom to stare at every day.  I would repeat those words on training runs when things got tough.  I would visualize me finishing my race with the goal time that I wanted.  I bought into it and my performance began to improve.  The final aspect for me was to visit the actual course and imagine myself having the race that I wanted to have and I was able to do that less than 24 hours before I started the actual event.

On Sunday, February 24, I was up bright and early to knock out my core work that includes 100 situps and 100 pushups that I've done every day now for over a year.  Then, I was off to the race.  I met up with Cindy on the way as she was going to serve as my support for the day, hand me water and fuel when necessary, and try to help keep me on track and help me make a good decision about whether to continue on or not when the time came as I approached the 20-mile mark.  My pace to qualify for the Boston Marathon needed to be a 7:25 per mile or a 3:14:59 overall finish time.  My previous best marathon finish in two attempts was a 3:41:39 at the Earth Day Challenge last spring.  My goal for Sunday's race was to start out at a 7:20 pace and just keep knocking them off at that clip for as long as I could.

We lined up at the starting line at 8 a.m., the horn sounded, and we were off!  Since the clock started on the horn, I had lined up right in the front and was among the first 10 people to head out.  A couple of faster guys took an early lead with a guy in an orange Boston Marathon jacket sprinting to the front.  I figured if he had the jacket and he seemed to be near my age that he would be a good guy to keep in my sights as I ran the loops.  I tried to settle into an easy pace and tried not to let the excitement of the start get me going too fast.  We did the first .20 and then crossed the spot that would eventually be the finish line when we passed 26 more times.  When I finished the first mile, I realized that I had gotten off to a faster start than I planned to as I posted a 6:57.  I dialed it back for Mile 2 to a 7:03, but then hit a 6:58 for Mile 3.  Right as I hit the Mile 3 mark, I caught up with my friend, Melanie Kopp, who was doing the half and trying to PR.  I had told her prior to the race that I would see her at Mile 3 and Mile 12.  I met my goal for the first part of that.

I managed to back the pace down a bit for the next two miles with a 7:15 and a 7:13.  As I approached Cindy at Mile 6 after a 7:03 lap, I had finished my first water bottle and told her that I would take a Gatorade G1 pouch on the next lap to fuel.  I grabbed it after posting a 7:08 lap for Mile 7 and proceeded to drink it through the next two laps at 7:08 and 7:12.  I hit Mile 10 at a 7:06 pace and thought to myself that I was now halfway done with my 20-mile training run.  Mile 11 came and went in 7:12 and then it was time to see if I would catch up to Melanie on Mile 12.  Once again, I caught her right at the mile marker as I finished that lap in 7:11.  I ran alongside her momentarily and told her how well she was doing and that she had lots of time in the bank to PR the half.  I thanked her for pushing so hard to make me go hard in my race and told her I was proud of her and to finish strong and then I took off again.

As I hit Mile 13 in 7:18, I realized that I had run the first half in under 1:34, which would be a new half marathon PR for me by nearly a minute.  My goal coming into the race was to be consistent each mile and hit the halfway point at 1:37.  I didn't dwell on this potential time gain because I knew that the tradeoff could very well be a big crash waiting for me late in the race.  I focused on my positive mental training that I had been doing and tried to settle in for the second half of the journey.

I continued to try to keep the pace as close to 7:20 as I could.  Miles 14 through 20 went by like clockwork in 7:20, 7:16, 7:13, 7:12, 7:20, 7:15, and 7:18.  Somewhere during the middle teen miles, I passed the guy in the Boston jacket and I vowed to not let him pass me back.  By the time I crossed the finish line, I had actually lapped him as his quick start came back to haunt him.

As I approached Cindy after Mile 20, I commented to her that the training run was done and now it was time for the icing on the cake.  She had been good about making me drink part of another bottle of water around Mile 13 and then a second G1 pouch at Mile 16.  My stomach was starting to give me fits, but it would have definitely been worse if I hadn't done the fueling even though I didn't want to.  Big thanks to Cindy for being stern about this and keeping me from derailing that part of my plan like I had in my previous two marathons.

As I knocked out Miles 21 and 22, I knew that I was starting to fade slightly but I managed to keep the pace at 7:28 and 7:25.  I'm not a big Eminem fan, but his song "Lose Yourself" came on at this point and it was the perfect song as I knew that I was now just a little over four miles away from reaching a huge goal.  I knew that I needed to dig down deep and push through the stomach pain and tired legs that I had going on and finish out what I started.  Melanie had also joined Cindy in cheering me on and they were doing a great job of pushing me towards the finish even though I could tell by their faces that they were just as nervous as I was that it was going to be really close as they could also tell that I was starting to slow down.  I finished Mile 23 in 7:38 and I was starting to calculate in my head how much cushion I had for the final three-plus miles as I was really starting to hurt.  It was at this point that Cindy yelled at me that I needed to make it through the next mile and that she would jump in and try to run me in the final two.

Mile 24 seemed like it took forever.  The crowd of runners had really thinned out as most of the half marathoners were done and some of the full marathoners were starting to really show signs of the wear and tear that the distance can take on one's body as I saw numerous ones stretching on the side of the course.  I finally got to the point that I could see Cindy and Melanie again and I was thankful to know that I would have company for the final two laps.  Mile 24 took 8:01.

As nice as it was to get someone to run with me for Mile 25, it was also my worst mile of the whole race.  My stomach was really revolting at this point and I nearly come to a screeching halt around the first turn as I dry heaved.  Cindy was in drill sergeant mode because she knew I didn't have much margin for error (although what she didn't know but I did was that I had two more minutes than she thought because she was looking at the half marathon clock which started two minutes before the full marathon).  She told me that I just needed to keep pushing through and that if I had to throw up to just do it all over myself and keep moving.  And here I thought she was my friend.  LOL  I somehow managed to make it through that mile in 8:16.

Then, it was finally time for the last lap plus the final .20.  Cindy thought I had roughly 10 minutes to get it done while I really had more like 12 minutes.  She kept encouraging me (insert barking orders at me) to stay after it.  (In fairness, while at the time I was thinking it was harsh, she was doing the right thing.  She knew that if I came that close and missed my goal that I would be not only sore from the running but mentally devastated.)  I manged to pick up the pace to an 8:07 for that lap.  Then, I could see the finish and I kicked things into gear to make sure that I got there in time.  I covered the final .20 at a 7:36 pace and hit a 5:46 pace going to the finish - which was my fastest pace during the entire race.  Once I saw the clock and knew that I was going to meet my goal, I started to ease up just a bit so I wouldn't totally collapse when I crossed the finish line.  I HAD DONE IT!!!! 3:13:33!!!  A new PR by 28:06 AND a Boston qualifying time!  :)  I was even more surprised when the person at the finish line handed me a plaque and said that I had won the 40-49 age group.  I later found out that I finished 8th in the entire race.

As Cindy and Melanie each grabbed an arm and helped me stumble and stagger into the area for post-race food, I began to tell them about the other people who had helped me on the course.  There was a guy who stood near Cindy who gave me a high five for at least the first 14 laps and then later I saw him in the race as a relay participant.  There was the girl on the exact opposite side of the course who gave me a high five through each of the first 16 laps and then apologized that she had to leave.  Finally, there was the heavy-set 20-something man who was walking the half marathon.  I think I passed him 12 times and each time I told him how much he was inspiring me to keep pushing on.  I'm sure it was just as hard if not harder for him to do his race as it was for me to do mine.  It was nice for me to be able to reiterate that thanks again to him in the finish area as he came in just after I did.  All of these things are the kind of things that make me enjoy doing these kind of events.

After changing into dry clothes and drinking some water, it was time to head to Outback Steakhouse for something I had been waiting three years for - Aussie cheese fries!!!  I hadn't had a tater tot, french fry, or hash brown during that span as I tried to use that as motivation for me to help push towards this goal of a BQ.  The Bethel Road Outback was right by the race and since I have a huge history with Chris, the owner, and the great folks there it was a no-brainer to stop.  The cheese fries were SOOOOO GOOD!  And to top it off, Chris paid for my meal!  Wow!

On the way home, the magnitude of what I had accomplished began to finally hit me as I started to get phone calls, text messages, tweets, and Facebook posts from my family and friends as they began to hear about what had happened.  I have the best people in my life...I really do.  Several people said they wished they would have known about this so they could have been there to cheer me on and I know that my family wanted to all be there.  But, I kept it quiet and low key because I didn't want to put any pressure on myself as I was trying my best to just think of this as a training run and that proved to be the right choice.  I'm extremely thankful for all the love and support of so many great people!  I am truly blessed!

One Half Goofy, Amazing Race Weekend (Part II)

(This is the second of my two-part racing recap from May 5th-6th when I did the Cap City Quarter Marathon and the Pittsburgh Half Marathon on back-to-back days - my own unofficial two-state, half Goofy Challenge)

With the Cap City Quarter Marathon just a few hours behind me, it was time to continue a whirlwind weekend adventure that rivaled anything my favorite reality show "The Amazing Race" could throw at me. As soon as I took a quick shower, I had just enough time to grab the essentials for a quick overnight trip to Pittsburgh for my second race of the weekend. Fortunately, my dad had volunteered to drive me there, so we headed out in the car with the GPS telling us we were going to be cutting it really close to make the 6 p.m. packet pick-up deadline.

As we drove across eastern Ohio, a brief bit of West Virginia, and then into western Pennsylvania, I thought back two months earlier about how entering the Pittsburgh half marathon even came about for me. I had always heard good things about the race, but I had never seriously thought about trying to do it. Then, back in March, I was in Orlando with the MVNU baseball team waiting to fly back to Ohio from the team's annual spring trip. As I scrolled through my Twitter feed, I noticed a message from the Pittsburgh Marathon account that one of my tweeps, Nikki Conroy, had retweeted saying that you could win a free entry if you tweeted a picture of your Toyota (one of the race sponsors). Well, we had just purchased a new Toyota RAV4 in December and I had a picture on my phone and so I tweeted my entry back to them just before boarding the plane to fly back to Ohio.

To be honest, I forgot about the tweet and the contest as I slept most of that flight home and was looking forward to seeing my family after being gone for over a week. You can imagine my surprise when I turned my phone on after we landed and started checking messages that had come in while we were traveling and found this one:

@mvnusid mvnusid Congrats! you are our winner of a free reg. from @Toyota! Email your contact info to socialmedia@pittsburghmarathon.com
— Pittsburgh Marathon (@PGHMarathon) March 22, 2012

Needless to say, I had to do some quick searching on the internet to see when the race even was and then began to plan ways to make it happen. I thought at first about trying to do the full marathon despite doing a full two weeks earlier, but then after much thought and listening to the advice of some of my running friends I decided to do the half so that I could race it and try my very best. So, I signed up and then started to find out more about the race as I looked forward to this new adventure.

Fast forward back to the car ride to the expo to pick up my race stuff on Saturday evening and time was really starting to be close. As we got within 15 miles of downtown, traffic was really picking up as the Pirates were hosting the Reds that night with a 7 p.m. game. I got more and more nervous that we might not get to the expo in time and that I might not be able to run the race as a legit runner since there was no race day packet pick-up. I began to tweet at the Pittsburgh Marathon account in hopes that someone would take mercy on me and wait around a couple of extra minutes, and my friend Nicki saw my tweets and did too.

We got to within a block of the convention center where the expo was being held and I could see people with packets walking towards me. We were down to just a couple of minutes left until 6 p.m. and we were still moving slowly in traffic. I told my dad to just circle the block and that I would call him to find him, and then I darted out the door and sprinted for the convention center. Once inside and out of breath, I quickly made my way around the expo (which was being torn down as I entered) and found all of my necessary stuff just as time ran out. Whew! I had made it! As I started back to find my dad outside, I saw that the social media person from the Pittsburgh Marathon had sent me her cell number and was working to have my stuff set aside in case I was late. I called her to say thank you and found out that she had taken time away from a dinner out to do this. Talk about great service and once again proving the power of Twitter.

With my race entry secure and since we were already downtown, I talked my dad into going to the Pirates-Reds game. PNC Park (pictured above) is a beautiful park to watch a game at and we were able to get good seats just up from third base. We watched through the bottom of the eighth inning before heading out of the stadium and cross the bridge back to our car with the plan to watch the postgame fireworks display from our parking garage and then beat the traffic out of town. The plan worked to perfection as we enjoyed an awesome display of pyrotechnics and then scurried out of town to find our hotel, the Holiday Inn Express near the airport. (Side note...the benefits of being a Priority Club member paid off on this trip as I had enough points saved up to stay for free and this was a GREAT hotel with GREAT staff that I would highly recommend for anyone staying in the area.)

After setting out all of my race gear (pictured above) for the next day and then setting my alarm AND getting a wakeup call, I called it a night in hopes of getting a little over four hours of sleep after what had been an exhausting day with another one sure to follow. I think I was asleep when my head hit the pillow and the next thing I knew the alarm was going off and it was time to get up. That may have been the best sleep I've ever had the night before a race as I usually toss and turn and toss and turn thinking about it.

Dad and I headed back downtown and parked in the same parking garage as we had figured out that it would provide one of the best routes back out of town after the race since lots of the bridges and roads were closed for the full marathon. We started walking towards the race area and explored the finish line spot and talked about our plan to meet up after the race since I wouldn't have a phone on me and there were 25,000 people doing the race. We didn't want to assume that we would see each other right as I crossed the finish line. Then, we headed to the starting corrals where we bumped into Nicki. We chatted for a few minutes and it was nice to meet her in person. We parted ways and Dad and I also said our farewells as I got ready to hop in my starting corral. First, though, I made a stop by the stage to say hi to Bart Yasso, who is one of my running heroes. It was nice to chat for a minute and he left me with the words "Run a smart race today!". I thanked him for his time and then left to get ready for the start.

As I stood in my starting corral, I realized that I had never really decided how I planned to run this race. Usually, I've spent hours thinking about every detail of a race, studying the course map and elevation guide, and talking to my friends who were running the race with me. Well, with the exception of Nicki who I had never met in person before that day, I knew no one else in the race. And, while I had looked briefly at the elevation guide and the course map, it was more to just have a basic idea of what to expect and not to plan how to race. I had always wanted to run with a pace group and I thought that this might be the perfect time to try it since I would be with them for the first 10 miles before they turned off to do the full marathon. I had attempted this once before at Columbus in the fall in my first marathon, but I abandoned the plan less than five miles into the race. This time, I was determined to stick with the group, but now I needed to decide which pace group to go with. I started out behind the 3:30 group which would yield me a 1:45 half (8:00 pace), but I decided that I needed to push it more than that since I had been training to attempt a 3:15 marathon (7:25 pace). So, I moved up a little further in the corral to the 3:20 pace group (1:40 half). As the start time got closer and closer, I talked myself into running with the 3:10 pace group (1:35 half) and inched forward once more. My thinking was that my half marathon PR was a 1:34 and change and that I could always slow things down at the end if necessary. So, I fist-bumped the guy next to me and said good luck, heard the crack of the gun, and we were off!

First let me say that while I've run a couple of big races (the Columbus Marathon and Cap City) there is nothing like starting with 25,000 people. Since I had moved up in the corral, it took me less than 30 seconds from the time the gun went off until I crossed the starting line and the race had begun! The 3:10 pace group had two guys with signs they were holding up and I kept those signs in sight. They were weaving in and out of people just a bit and I tried not to do that and just held steady as I kept following them. We hit the first mile in 6:56 and then approached mile 2 and the first water stop at 6:59.

As we approached the first water stop, Bart Yasso's words to run a smart race echoed in my head. I have also done a poor job in distance races of drinking enough fluids. In my recent Earth Day Marathon attempt, I paid the price in the second half of the race as my legs cramped up on me and that's been a consistent issue in all my other distance races. On Saturday at Cap City, I had really preached to Ashley about drinking during the race and she did a great job. I figured that it was time for me to practice what I preached, listen to Bart, and just see what happened. So, I took a cup of Gatorade and downed it and then two cups of water and did the same. (I really liked having the Gatorade first AND on both sides of the road so you had easy access and then could wash it down with water which was also on both sides of the road.)

During the third mile, we went up and over the first of what would be five bridges. The first four bridges were probably some of my favorite parts in the race. Each one was packed with people cheering us on and it was just really cool to run over them. Mile 3 came and went in 7:11 and then we dropped back down to a 6:59 for Mile 4. There were a few hills as we wound through the different streets, but the great crowds kept spurring us on. At the second water stop, I once again had one Gatorade and two waters and was feeling great.

During Mile 5, we crossed two more bridges and ran past PNC Park as it ticked off in 7:10. As we approached the water stop in Mile 6, I took a Honey Stinger gel to fuel me for the second half and then grabbed another Gatorade and two waters as I finished the mile in 7:17. We crossed another bridge in Mile 7 and I knew that I was starting to slow down just a bit as that mile was a 7:20. However, I picked things back up and caught back up to the pace group in Mile 8 as I posted a 7:11 AND passed one of the Kenyan runners who had pulled the plug on the race for some reason and was walking at that point. I continued to follow my pattern at the water stop at Mile 8 as well.

Mile 9, Mile 10, and Mile 11 were very consistent at 7:22, 7:21, and 7:21 respectively and then I said good-bye to the 3:10 pace group as they veered to the right as we all headed up the steepest bridge yet. Lots of people were starting to walk at this point and I tried to encourage anyone I passed. I came upon one runner who was starting to struggle just a little and I began to talk to her as we ran. I told her she was doing great and that she still had enough in her to keep going with me. She thanked me and I told her that if she had the energy to pick the pace back up that it would help encourage me just as much and we would try to do the rest of it together. She perked up and before I knew it she was back to full speed and it was all I could do to keep up with her.

As we turned a corner to start Mile 12, I realized that the elevation guide on the Pittsburgh Marathon site was a total fabrication. (This was the only negative to the whole race, but it's not like it really mattered 'cause you still have to climb whatever they throw in front of you.) Anyway, I really let this hill (a little over 150-foot elevation gain in less than a mile) get the best of me, but I forced myself to keep moving as I remembered that my 10-year-old daughter hadn't walked a bit in her longest race ever - a quarter marathon - the day before. I finally crested the top of the hill and started down towards the finish line with an 8:17 for the mile. Mile 13 was a little faster at 7:43 and the guy I had started next to (who was from Bexley, Ohio ironically) when the race began had pulled alongside me. We chatted a little as we made our way to the finish line. As we got to within a quarter of a mile of the finish, I really picked up the pace and then flat out sprinted to the line over the final tenth of a mile as I hit a 4:09 max pace to finish with a 6:30 pace overall for the final .26 of the race. What a fun finish!!!! I ended up finishing 344th overall out of 12,142 half marathon finishers and I was 35th out of 534 men in the 40-44 age group. Not too shabby at all!

While I caught my breath and grabbed my finisher's medal, someone came up and tapped me on the shoulder. It was the girl that I had encouraged on the hill. She had taken off over the final mile when I hit the tough last hill, but she had waited for me at the finish line to say thank you. I thought that was extremely cool! We chatted for a couple of minutes while I caught my breath and I found out that she had just graduated from Penn State the day before. Talk about a fun way to celebrate your college graduation. Anyway, it was just another great example of how running can bring total strangers together in a way that helps both of them out. I thanked her for waiting on me and then headed off to find my dad. He was waiting for me at the end of the food line after I had grabbed a Panera cinnamon crunch bagel and one of the famous Smiley cookies (they are really good) as well as an assortment of other food they had available. The race organizers did a great job of keeping the lines moving and funneling people into the celebration/family reunion area. My dad and I hung around for a couple of minutes there and I got a picture taken at the Dick's Sporting Goods tent (very nice to give each person a free picture that was emailed to them immediately), and then we realized that we still had time to high-tail it back to the Holiday Inn Express in time to catch the free breakfast before it ended at 10 a.m. (Yes, you know I wasn't passing up free food).

After I got cleaned up, we headed for home and I began to check all my messages that had poured in thanks to the live runner tracking system that the race had in place for people to follow via text messages, Facebook postings, or tweets. People from all over had been following my progress and chimed in with encouragement and congratulations. Races that have yet to embrace this technology are really missing out as it's a great way to get the event in front of a lot of people.

I would be remiss if I didn't say a big thank you to Toyota and the Pittsburgh Marathon social media people for making this race possible for me. I would highly recommend this event as a very well-organized, fun race to be a part of. While I'm not sure if I'll come back and attempt the full, I will definitely try to come back and run the half again as it is a challenging but really fun course. Besides, I still have something left to prove to that final hill that surprised me at the end. :) I'm really happy with the way that I ran this race (thanks for the pre-race advice, Bart Yasso), and while this was not a PR for me I feel like I executed a lot of things in this race that will lead to a PR on a flatter course if I follow the same plan. I can't wait to get back out and embark on the next amazing race!

I'm a Marathoner

If someone would have told me in the spring of 2010 that I would run a marathon before my 40th birthday, I would have had them checked by the nearest psychiatrist. I was not a runner and had no desire to become one.

However, looking to improve my physical well being, I started on a running journey a little over a year ago that has really changed my life and led me to the starting line of the 32nd annual Nationwide Columbus Marathon on October 16, 2011 - less than a month before I will turn 40.

My journey to get to the starting line had its ups and downs and I went from hoping to run a Boston Marathon qualifying time (BQ) of 3:15 to fears of not even being able to finish the race due to injuries. With all of those emotions weighing on me and about four hours of sleep to my credit, I made my way into Corral B with one of the other members of the Mount Vernon Running Buddies, Donald Cobb, with about 10 minutes to spare on race day after needing all the extra time we had allotted for traffic just to get to our parking lot. (Folks, when the race director tells you to get to the race by 6 a.m., he is not joking!)

The plan going into the race was to run with the 3:25 pace group (7:49 per mile) for as long as we could. Both Donald and I had posted half marathon PRs this year in 1:34 with Donald's coming when he recently won the Millersburg half on his 39th birthday and mine coming in the Cap City half back in May when I was really at the peak of my training as it turned out.

On a perfect morning for a race with temperatures hovering right around 50 degrees at the start, I stole a minute right before the race started to just quietly soak everything in and got a little choked up in the process as the magnitude of what I was about to do hit me. I gave Donald a fist bump and said "we've got this" and then the gun and fireworks went off at 7:30 a.m. and we were under way. It took us nearly a minute to get across the start line as the sea of people surged forward. We were in the very back of Corral B and the plan was to slowly work our way to be right with the 3:25 group which was on the opposite side and slightly in front of us while we waited to start.

The first mile came and went in an easy 7:51. A year ago when we ran the half together we started out way too fast (at least I did) and used up a lot of energy trying to weave through people and get out in the open a little bit. We had learned our lesson and definitely did not duplicate that error this time around.

By the end of mile #2, we had settled in at the back of the pace group after doing a 7:35. The next three miles ticked off like clockwork (7:37, 7:36, 7:38) as we realized by mile #5 that the pace group was just slightly ahead of pace, but we were ok with that.

Between mile #5 and mile #6, Donald convinced me that we wanted to run just ahead of the pace group so that the water stops were not so congested. I was ok with that because I knew that somewhere around mile #8 I would need to be looking for my wife and it would be a little easier to spot her if I was out in the open.

So, we picked up the pace and did a 7:22 to mile #6. The first post from @TweetMyTime came out and said that "I passed 10K with a time of 47:28. On a 7:39 pace toward a 3:20:16 finish". Great! Way ahead of the goal, but not feeling like I went out too fast at all.

Miles #7 and #8 were perfect at 7:41 and 7:42. I was drinking water at every water stop after the first one and I had taken a Gu gel about 35 minutes into the race. I was feeling pretty good. We were at 1:01 after the first eight miles of the race.


I caught a second wind during mile #9 thanks to some crowd support and posted a 7:26 and was feeling good.  We wound our way around mile #10 (7:37) and mile #11 (7:45) and started up the nearly four-mile stretch of High Street that I was dreading after last year's half marathon. See, as I said before, I started out way too fast a year ago and ended up telling Donald to leave me around the 10K mark as I felt like I didn't have anything left. High Street had seemed like I was climbing Mount Everest.

However, this time around, my training kicked in. I had purposely found hills to run up whenever possible. Even these last three weeks leading up to the marathon when I was only running the long runs on the weekends due to injuries, I still found some good inclines for me and the rest of the group to run with this particular stretch of the road in mind the whole time.

Mile #12 came and went in 7:50 as our pace didn't change much at all. The growing crowd as we approached mile #13 pushed us to a 7:39 pace as the half marathoners veered to the left and finished their race. "Don't look over there," I told Donald as I forced myself not to look down to where the finish line would be. "We don't want to see that yet. You know...kind of like seeing the bride before the wedding."

So, we pushed on as we both entered uncharted territory for a race distance. @TweetMyTime posted this as we passed the 13.1-mile mark "I'm halfway there with a time of 1:40:51 at a 7:42 pace toward a 3:21:41 finish!" Wow, we were still a little over three minutes ahead of our goal!

We reached mile #14 in 7:54. I had purchased that mile marker in honor of my grandma, Olive Mahaffey, who has inspired me with her comeback from a broken leg earlier this year and so this was a significant moment for me.  I had purposely chosen that mile to help power me past the half marathon turnoff.

We were still ahead of the 3:25 pace group for mile #15 (7:53), mile #16 (8:06), and mile #17 (7:59). Somewhere during that span, Donald started to struggle just a little and we slowed slightly to see if he could work his way through it. I was still feeling pretty good, but I knew that miles 17-19 were the toughest on the course according to race director Darris Blackford.

Donald began to perk up and he commented that the 3:25 pace group was starting to catch us. We did mile #18 in 8:19 and then they passed us before we got to mile #19. It was during this stretch that I really started to feel sick to my stomach. I'm not sure what caused it, but my best guess is that it could have been the Gatorade on the course as I started to drink it around mile #15 instead of using the G1 pouch I had in my pocket, which is what I was used to doing on long training runs or races.

Anyway, by mile #19, I had slowed to an 8:40 pace for the mile. I told Donald that I was probably going to need to stop and walk to see if I could get the issue to pass. He told me that he was worried that if he walked that his legs would cramp up and that he would be done. I totally understood and told him to go on his way. I tried to keep running slowly, but definitely got some walking in as I did a 10:41 pace to mile #20. Even still, @TweetMyTime sent out this message "20 miles in with a time of 2:39:40. On a 7:59 pace toward a 3:29:19 finish!"

The next five miles were really rough from a time standpoint, but honestly were some of the most fun miles of the race for me. I had promised myself that I would do whatever I needed to do in order to enjoy the race. That meant high-fiving kids, thanking spectators and volunteers, and encouraging other runners. Well, starting with mile #21, the encouraging other runners part is what got me through. I would look for someone who was kind of in the same shape as me and get alongside them and just encourage them to keep moving with me. Sometimes we would run for short stretches and more times we would walk and talk. Mile #21 took 11:22 and mile #22 took 10:59.


I did notice, though, that it was getting harder and harder to do much running because my calves were cramping up really bad. With my stomach hurting and very empty, I was fearful of drinking any more Gaorade or eating another gel. I began to look for possible food from the spectators or restaurants along the route. With no money, I was needing some kind soul to help me out.

As we approached what I think was the 19th water stop on the course at roughly 22.75 on my Garmin, I saw what to me was a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow. A box of donuts!!! I asked the guy at the water stop if they were fair game. He looked at me like I was out of my mind, but responded "Yeah, sure." I quickly opened the lid and much to my delight saw a fresh glazed blueberry cake donut. I grabbed it and continued walking while I ate it. It was AMAZING!!! The runner I was walking with at that point grabbed one, too, and we enjoyed them while runners started laughing as they passed two guys eating donuts while running a marathon. (It would be entertaining to see if that scene made it into someone else's blog.) Remember, though, my running mantra is "I run to eat!" :)

Despite the new-found energy from the donut, my cramped up legs limited me to a 13:02 for mile #23, an 11:32 for mile #24, and a 13:20 for mile #25. I kept telling myself that I wanted to save what energy and strength I had in my legs to try to run the final mile.

That plan worked pretty well as I did mile #26 in 9:47 and then finished the final two-tenths to the finish line at an 8:43 pace.




I ventured on down to the finish line and crossed with my hands in the air. I had done it! I was a marathoner!!! My final time was 3:52:04 or an 8:52 pace for the 26.2-mile race. I know a lot of people probably thought I would be frustrated with that time after doing so well for two-thirds of the race, but I had just as much fun in a different way over the final third. I made sure to soak up the entire experience and part of that is the fact that a marathon isn't easy. If it was, then everyone would do them. Just weeks before I was worried that I might not even be able to finish due to injuries. Other than the normal soreness associated with a run of that distance and a queasy stomach, I was fine. I ended up 1,463rd out of 4,740 marathon finishers (which made the race the largest marathon in the state). I was 1,116th out of 2,852 men in the field overall and 171st out of 434 men in my age group (35-39). And, by the time that we left after taking advantage of a free post-race massage, I was ready to take advantage of the buy one, get one free Chipotle coupon on my race bib!

There are so many people to thank for making this not only possible, but so much fun, too. My family has been so supportive. The girls had the sign below waiting for me when I got to Grandma's house to pick them up. My Mount Running Buddies Donald, Teri Pokosh, Chad Sims, and George Hartz, who each ran the race with me and the other members who have trained with us all year. Plus, other Mount Vernon folks who were there to cheer on their friends and family and the Run DMC crew who also did a great job running the race, volunteering at water stops, and cheering others on. And honestly, there was nothing quite like getting home later in the afternoon and having over 150 texts/e-mails/tweets/Facebook messages/Daily Mile comments to read through. I was floored and definitely got emotional reading through them. You guys are the best!!!


One final group of thank yous. Darris Blackford and the entire crew of the Columbus Marathon do an amazing job with this race. If you haven't run it, you need to. If you can't run it due to physical limitations, you need to come out and just watch it. I guarantee that it will move you as a spectator. Thanks also to Heather Whaling for the great interaction through the Columbus Marathon Facebook account and the @CbusMarathon Twitter account. And finally, a big shoutout to @TweetMyTime because they helped thousands of people follow this race live. I can't wait to come back next fall and do this all over again. I hope you'll join me there in one way or another.

Back to Basics

When I started running a little over a year ago, I was doing it by myself as a way to get some exercise and lose weight. Fast forward a year and running has become a passion for me. However, that can be both a blessing and a curse.

Exactly one year ago this past Saturday, I ran in my first race since eighth grade when I competed in the 2010 Knox Community Hospital 4-mile fundraiser race. Surprisingly (to me at least), I fared pretty well both overall and in my age group and that started what would be a nice run of races over the remainder of 2010 and into 2011 in which I found myself competing very well against the field overall and especially in my age group.

As someone who was at best a marginal high school athlete and an intramural participant in college, I would be lying if I didn't admit that I enjoyed my new-found athletic success as a runner. No, I wasn't going to be chasing down any Kenyan runners anytime soon or hoping to keep up with my Twitter pal Olympic hurdler Lolo Jones, but at 39 years of age and having dropped 30 pounds I was knocking at the door to potentially making a run at qualifying for the 2012 Boston Marathon based on my times in training runs and half marathon races.

So, I signed up for the Erie (Pa.) Marathon to take place on September 18 and began to really push myself. The miles piled up and thanks to some vigorous speedwork days the pace kept getting faster. I kept going and going and going. At one point, I ran 77 days in a row and began to feel almost invincible.

Then, it hit me...the injury bug. What has turned out to be a case of really bad shin splints hurt so bad that it has sidelined me for pretty much the entire month of August after only missing 19 days all year in the first seven months. It was so bad that I finally went to a doctor - Dr. Darrin Bright, the medical director of several of the races that I run and an expert in running injuries - and also had an MRI done.

First, I don't say any of this to have you feel sorry for me. Sure, it's been a bummer not to be able to run, especially with some cooler mornings after the heat we had in June and July. Sure, I miss seeing my running buddies each morning and chatting with them on the run. Sure, I would like the dull pain in my right leg to disappear.

What this injury and time off from running has done for me, though, has been to help me to re-evaluate my focus. I took for granted the ability to run pain-free and the ability to run at a fairly good pace. Over the past two months especially, I had focused so hard on qualifying for Boston that a lot of time I forgot to enjoy myself along the way. After all, running isn't a job...it's a sport!

Because I was waiting for the results of the MRI and the ensuing diagnosis, I decided that it would not be smart to run in this year's KCH 4-mile event this past weekend. The race director was gracious enough to transfer my entry to my 6-year-old daughter, Kylie, and she excitedly waited for race day to come along with her 10-year-old sister, Ashley, as they both prepared to run their longest race yet. The plan was for me to walk the course and keep Kylie within my site.

Race morning came and after I helped set up the course I found out that they had given me a bib and entry into the race so I could walk the whole thing with Kylie without being a race bandit. I don't think any of my running buddies thought I would actually go through with just walking the whole thing - especially after hearing numerous times from people at the beginning of the race "Hey, looks like I'm gonna beat Dave Parsons in this race" as people ran past me.


But, I stuck to my plan and I did walk the whole thing. Meanwhile, Kylie was doing great! She ran a lot at the start of the race and before we knew it we had passed the first mile, then the second mile, and then the turnaround on the pretty much out-and-back course.

As we were started back over the second half, we had a mishap. Kylie stumbled alongside the road and scraped her knee and hand up as she fell. I was afraid at that point that I was going to have to carry her the rest of the way back. However, when I asked her if she needed me to carry her to the finish, she dried the two crocodile tears that had formed on her cheeks and told me "that would be cheating, Dad!" Before I knew it, she was back on her feet and ready to complete the race.


We passed the third mile and then the 5K mark which equalled the most she had ever done in three previous races. As we neared the finish line, she set her sights on trying to catch a couple people we knew who had walked the race. She summoned whatever energy she had left and sprinted to the finish and closed the tenth of a mile gap and then crossed the finish line just ahead of them while all the spectators cheered for her. I had both goosebumps and tears watching her finish strong and the smile on her exhausted face afterwards showed that it was all worth it. At that moment, I was glad that I hadn't been able to run so that I was able to witness her entire race first-hand. It's a memory that I will always cherish. I was also really proud of Ashley, who finished in just under 40 minutes to beat over half the field.


On Monday, I went back to see Dr. Bright to find out the results of my MRI. He gave me the good news that I did not have a stress fracture - just really bad shin splints. He gave me a rehab plan and told me that I could run as much as I could tolerate and should start slowly as I get back to running. So, today, I showed up for my first run in over a week and took it easy just to get a run in. My leg was nowhere near 100 percent, but it was better than the last time I had run. I'll keep taking it easy and just do as much as my body tells me it can do.

While I am looking forward to getting back to pain-free running and training for my upcoming races, I am thankful for the reminder not to take any of this for granted. I am also extremely thankful for the prayers, words of encouragement, well wishes, and messages from my friends and family. The running community is such a wonderfully supportive group!