This time around was really an accident. I had been running since I was about 11 years old, and grew more and more fond of the competition. I ran through High School, and then for a year of college. Then marriage and kids took over. Sure I ran here and there, and rode my bike a lot (interesting because that takes so much more time), but had no clear vision for running.
Then my wife went on bedrest with our twins and found herself in the hospital for three weeks. With our oldest son staying with my in-laws, and my total commitment to stay by my wife, I had to find something to offset my horrible eating habits while I was there. So one night I went out for a run. Oddly enough, I did the same thing the next day, and the one after that. It started feeling really good, and I felt like I was hitting a rhythm. In less than two weeks I had run a 9 miler in roughly an hour. Almost all of these runs were at night. Time to reflect, to be calm, and time to dream.
I jumped in head first, in my mind the St. Jude Half Marathon in Memphis on the first Saturday in December would be my first big thing back. My wife, in all of her prudence, knowing that no one could be there to watch me run it, told me to run the local Turkey Trot 4 miler, and train for the Country Music Marathon in April. I had just been given the green light! Marathon, whoa, on only 6 months of really running again, I was ready for it.
That turkey trot was amazing. Our twins were in the NICU by this point and were about a week old, doing fine, but still small, and this race benefited March of Dimes, I believe this was divine, perfect. I crossed the line in 23:43, secured 9th place, placed in my age group, and took home a pumpkin pie!
Since then:
Mike Cody 4 miler: 24:00
Germantown Half Marathon: 1:29:00
Country Music Marathon 3:25:40
Harbor Town 5k: 18:27
Elvis Presley 5k: 17:59
Forest Spence 5k: 17:38
Marine Corps Marathon: 2:57:11
Notice the trend anyone? My times are coming down! I even notched my first check for finishing 2nd in my age group at the 1/2 marathon. Longer distances are getting easier! I am running smart, something that used to be an oxymoron. Looking ahead to three weeks from now when I will return to that 4 miler that vaulted my own personal current running boom, I could not be more encouraged or excited about the possibilities ahead of me. I will not run another marathon until at least next fall, NYC, or even next spring Boston, because well I qualified : ), so it should be fun injecting a lot of speed over the coming months.
I will build a mileage base that I have never had before and hit wichever marathon as hard as I can. All of this, my trophies, sore muscles, and the three pairs of shoes I have burned through this year covering almost 2,000 miles, is all because my wife suggested I wait to run my first marathon. God Bless Her!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Who Needs the Third time...
Most say that the third time is the charm, for anything. Well, for now, marathon number 2 was perfectly charming for me.
On October 26th, 2008, I ran the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C., the fourth largest Marathon in the US, and 7th largest in the world. It was amazing! Marines lined the course, offering encouragement, handing out water, and saluting ranking officers that passed them by.
Chilly at the start, I was nervous about my performance. I had been fighting off a cold for a week that set in do to dust and cigarette residue at my in laws. My first night there, Thursday, my ear would not pop from the plane flight, and Friday night, I was up most of the night with a neck crick. Luckily my rest on Saturday was just what the doctor prescribed.
It was pretty chilly at the start, but there was about an hour of standing around before the howitzer, yes, howitzer, sent us on our way. I felt as calm and steady as I ever had at the start of any race. My A goal being sub 3, and my B goal being sub 3:10 (my Boston Qualifying time), I looked to the left of my corral and noticed the Clif Bar pace guy who was leading the 3:10 group. I decided to stick with them, but by mile one, felt so good, and the he was already far enough behind me that I decided to settle in where I was at, which at the time was 10 seconds over pace, and just let my body dictate. All of that was out the window when we came down the chute that was a half mile downhill called Spout Run. There was no way to slow down, our gradual rise to that point was being rewarded with a gourgeous run through wooded terrain and the Potomac on the right with a very foggy Georgetown on the other side.
The crowd when approaching the Key Bridge into Georgetown was awesome! There were bagpipes blowing and cowbells clanging. I made the left hand turn and headed past the home of the Hoyas. We were running in complete fog, which seemed to be the running gods way of keeping us from seeing how far we had to go : ) and kept us quite cool. There was a hard right hand hair pin turn that led us up to the Georgetown Reservoir, and it was up. By this point I was plodding along with a couple of guys who seemed knowledgeable and were pacing in a wise manner. We all eased up on the up hill and settled back into the pace. Coming back through Georgetown with the Bagpipes going and the crowd huge was great, and it was then that I realized that it was going to be a great day. At this point I was 2 minutes under 3 hour pace, and feeling great with a great group of runners around me.
We cruised by The Watergate Hotel, and the Kennedy Center, and were making our way towards the backside of the Lincoln Memorial on Rockcreek parkway. This was the first spot my family could see me. My wife, Uncle, and Father were there going nuts for me. If you are ever going to run a marathon, have family there, it makes a world of difference.
At this point, you more or less pass the Jefferson Monument on the way to Haines Point, the supposed most desolate spot on the course. It is also the where you reach the half way point. It really was not so bad at all. With the River on your right, and a tree lined golf course on your left, it is actually a good place to re focus. I hit the half way point at 1 hour 23 minutes, that is technically a three minute half marathon personal record. I knew things were going to work out at this point, or so I thought.
Once you hit the tip of Haines point you go back towards the mall, and this is when fatigue first began to set in, not bad, but a slight desire to slow occurred. I once again caught my family at the 15 mile point, at this point about 7 minutes ahead of pace, a pace that I kept until about mile 23 when I started giving all of that extra time back.
The scenery was great, but the long run towards the Lincoln Memorial I thought would never end, because once you do that, you run all the way back up the mall on the White House side to the Capitol. As I briefly looked at the land marks, it began to dawn on me that this was going to be a tough slog to the finish. I just kept thinking, stay steady, if I dont slow down I will be fine. Easier said than done. After the full lap around the mall, and catching the fam again at mile 18, seeing the bridge back into Virginia put a little pep back in my step. That and a guy at mile 20 reminding us that this is what we train for. That is so true. You can make 20 miles easy enough, but that last 10k is when everything is breaking down rapidly. If you have not carbed appropriately, or taken GUs and water on the course, or even poor preparation, this part beats you over the head.
At this point I started TELLING my body to do what it was supposed. I remembered long runs and the two times I went out in Hurricanes to get my runs in, all the sacrifices my family made, and these things were what carried me over the seemingly endless bridge back to Virginia. Crystal City was fair enough, and I was still just telling myself to keep going and, sub 3 hours was mine.
Well the Pentagon is a BIG building, Mile 24 through through roughly 25.5 are spend going around the building! You begin a series of on ramps and off ramps until you see the turn off to the finish about 1/2 a mile ahead of you. Literally, it was all I could do to force my pace. Then you take a sharp left hander and go straight up, I dont even remember seeing the 26 mile mark, just a blur of people yelling and screaming as I gritted my teeth as hard as I could to get to that finish and would have cried at the site of my 2:57:11 finishing time, but that would have hurt. I raised my arms in victory and crossed the line knowing I did everything I could, and had done absolutely everything I could to finish 26.2 miles as fast as I could!
On October 26th, 2008, I ran the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C., the fourth largest Marathon in the US, and 7th largest in the world. It was amazing! Marines lined the course, offering encouragement, handing out water, and saluting ranking officers that passed them by.
Chilly at the start, I was nervous about my performance. I had been fighting off a cold for a week that set in do to dust and cigarette residue at my in laws. My first night there, Thursday, my ear would not pop from the plane flight, and Friday night, I was up most of the night with a neck crick. Luckily my rest on Saturday was just what the doctor prescribed.
It was pretty chilly at the start, but there was about an hour of standing around before the howitzer, yes, howitzer, sent us on our way. I felt as calm and steady as I ever had at the start of any race. My A goal being sub 3, and my B goal being sub 3:10 (my Boston Qualifying time), I looked to the left of my corral and noticed the Clif Bar pace guy who was leading the 3:10 group. I decided to stick with them, but by mile one, felt so good, and the he was already far enough behind me that I decided to settle in where I was at, which at the time was 10 seconds over pace, and just let my body dictate. All of that was out the window when we came down the chute that was a half mile downhill called Spout Run. There was no way to slow down, our gradual rise to that point was being rewarded with a gourgeous run through wooded terrain and the Potomac on the right with a very foggy Georgetown on the other side.
The crowd when approaching the Key Bridge into Georgetown was awesome! There were bagpipes blowing and cowbells clanging. I made the left hand turn and headed past the home of the Hoyas. We were running in complete fog, which seemed to be the running gods way of keeping us from seeing how far we had to go : ) and kept us quite cool. There was a hard right hand hair pin turn that led us up to the Georgetown Reservoir, and it was up. By this point I was plodding along with a couple of guys who seemed knowledgeable and were pacing in a wise manner. We all eased up on the up hill and settled back into the pace. Coming back through Georgetown with the Bagpipes going and the crowd huge was great, and it was then that I realized that it was going to be a great day. At this point I was 2 minutes under 3 hour pace, and feeling great with a great group of runners around me.
We cruised by The Watergate Hotel, and the Kennedy Center, and were making our way towards the backside of the Lincoln Memorial on Rockcreek parkway. This was the first spot my family could see me. My wife, Uncle, and Father were there going nuts for me. If you are ever going to run a marathon, have family there, it makes a world of difference.
At this point, you more or less pass the Jefferson Monument on the way to Haines Point, the supposed most desolate spot on the course. It is also the where you reach the half way point. It really was not so bad at all. With the River on your right, and a tree lined golf course on your left, it is actually a good place to re focus. I hit the half way point at 1 hour 23 minutes, that is technically a three minute half marathon personal record. I knew things were going to work out at this point, or so I thought.
Once you hit the tip of Haines point you go back towards the mall, and this is when fatigue first began to set in, not bad, but a slight desire to slow occurred. I once again caught my family at the 15 mile point, at this point about 7 minutes ahead of pace, a pace that I kept until about mile 23 when I started giving all of that extra time back.
The scenery was great, but the long run towards the Lincoln Memorial I thought would never end, because once you do that, you run all the way back up the mall on the White House side to the Capitol. As I briefly looked at the land marks, it began to dawn on me that this was going to be a tough slog to the finish. I just kept thinking, stay steady, if I dont slow down I will be fine. Easier said than done. After the full lap around the mall, and catching the fam again at mile 18, seeing the bridge back into Virginia put a little pep back in my step. That and a guy at mile 20 reminding us that this is what we train for. That is so true. You can make 20 miles easy enough, but that last 10k is when everything is breaking down rapidly. If you have not carbed appropriately, or taken GUs and water on the course, or even poor preparation, this part beats you over the head.
At this point I started TELLING my body to do what it was supposed. I remembered long runs and the two times I went out in Hurricanes to get my runs in, all the sacrifices my family made, and these things were what carried me over the seemingly endless bridge back to Virginia. Crystal City was fair enough, and I was still just telling myself to keep going and, sub 3 hours was mine.
Well the Pentagon is a BIG building, Mile 24 through through roughly 25.5 are spend going around the building! You begin a series of on ramps and off ramps until you see the turn off to the finish about 1/2 a mile ahead of you. Literally, it was all I could do to force my pace. Then you take a sharp left hander and go straight up, I dont even remember seeing the 26 mile mark, just a blur of people yelling and screaming as I gritted my teeth as hard as I could to get to that finish and would have cried at the site of my 2:57:11 finishing time, but that would have hurt. I raised my arms in victory and crossed the line knowing I did everything I could, and had done absolutely everything I could to finish 26.2 miles as fast as I could!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Leave Beijing Alone
As an informed citizen, I would be a bad one if I did not acknowledge the fact that some horrible things have happened in the past and are still happening in China. Its government, using the guise of reform and technological advancement, has blinded the world to most of its atrocities committed against its citizenry. They should be held responsible for the things they have done, and should learn to treat others humanly.
That said, LET THE ATHLETES COMPETE!!! Our politicians and other activists are crying for a boycott of this years games, and for what? A few minutes of news time, or a couple of lines in a stump speech. Someone should ask Ryan Hall, Deena Kastor, Alan Webb, and countless other athletes how they feel about throwing away a life's work. Any one of those already qualified, or who will qualify in July, may never get another chance, thats what makes the Olympics so special, you never know what is going to happen in 4 years.
What about Ryan Shay? He died pursuing the dream of every competitive runner, to run in the Olympic Marathon. To strip away from his friends that which they achieved while their compatriot fell pursuing the same one, would be a horrible injustice.
These runners have given everything they have. Relationships, eating habits, and social lives. They go to compete against other athletes, not to make statements, in this case, to make statements on behalf of their governments. It is easy for a politician who eats cheeseburgers and could not run around the block, to say, "Well we do not like the government, so all of you, good job, but sorry, not Olympics, now about why you should elect me..."
I look forward to this August. Not because of the splendor that is China, but for the Olympic Spirit, the one time when Arabs and Israelis compete not with guns, but on the field of play, in the pool, and on the track. It is where we see Muslim women get to compete despite their religious constraints. It is where men hobble across the finish line, not because they want to, but because their country sent them to finish a race, and not quit along the course. It is where an African swimmer can come and compete for his country despite the fact he will finish minutes behind the winner with his legs dragging in the pool. It is when the unachievable can be achieved. Let us not keep our country, and our athletes from being a part of that.
That said, LET THE ATHLETES COMPETE!!! Our politicians and other activists are crying for a boycott of this years games, and for what? A few minutes of news time, or a couple of lines in a stump speech. Someone should ask Ryan Hall, Deena Kastor, Alan Webb, and countless other athletes how they feel about throwing away a life's work. Any one of those already qualified, or who will qualify in July, may never get another chance, thats what makes the Olympics so special, you never know what is going to happen in 4 years.
What about Ryan Shay? He died pursuing the dream of every competitive runner, to run in the Olympic Marathon. To strip away from his friends that which they achieved while their compatriot fell pursuing the same one, would be a horrible injustice.
These runners have given everything they have. Relationships, eating habits, and social lives. They go to compete against other athletes, not to make statements, in this case, to make statements on behalf of their governments. It is easy for a politician who eats cheeseburgers and could not run around the block, to say, "Well we do not like the government, so all of you, good job, but sorry, not Olympics, now about why you should elect me..."
I look forward to this August. Not because of the splendor that is China, but for the Olympic Spirit, the one time when Arabs and Israelis compete not with guns, but on the field of play, in the pool, and on the track. It is where we see Muslim women get to compete despite their religious constraints. It is where men hobble across the finish line, not because they want to, but because their country sent them to finish a race, and not quit along the course. It is where an African swimmer can come and compete for his country despite the fact he will finish minutes behind the winner with his legs dragging in the pool. It is when the unachievable can be achieved. Let us not keep our country, and our athletes from being a part of that.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The First 26.2
I recently ran the Country Music Marathon, my first, and learned so much about running and learned some lessons about life along the way, and why running is the greatest the sport out there. You must know that when you start the weekend by meeting running legend Frank Shorter, good things are going to happen.
The pouring rain at the porta potties near the start line could not even dampen my spirits the morning of the race. The crowd was great and turned out in huge numbers despite the weather, well at least on the front half of the race. The back 13 was a different story, and it was during those 13 miles that I learned about myself and others.
Because 20,000 of the 30,000 of us out there were running only the half, the crowd thinned out quite noticeably once you kept heading straight passed the turn off. It was during these miles that I had to push myself to ignore the fatigue and to remember all my training, that and what a 6:30 mile feels like. Something that I managed to do quite well up until I tripped and fell at mile 19. I hurt my knee enough for it to swell up and bleed a little bit. My spirit was crushed, but not my will.
As I approached the last couple of miles, it was all I could do to put one foot in front of another, and it was then that I realized why running is truly a sport for the greatest members of humanity. With every runner that passed me up, they complimented me and encouraged me on. There was no snickering, mocking, or unfriendliness. Each one of us were suffering, plodding our way to a 3:25 marathon and there was not a person who was not needing to stretch every 100 yards or so, but still they managed a breath or two to encourage me.
In a society where everyone is out to get one another, and get ahead the other guy, it was amazing to see such a great showing of human spirit. No one cared who I supported politically, or which church I went to on Sundays. We were all united in a common bond, and that bond was crossing the finish line, and helping each other do it, not matter what.
The pouring rain at the porta potties near the start line could not even dampen my spirits the morning of the race. The crowd was great and turned out in huge numbers despite the weather, well at least on the front half of the race. The back 13 was a different story, and it was during those 13 miles that I learned about myself and others.
Because 20,000 of the 30,000 of us out there were running only the half, the crowd thinned out quite noticeably once you kept heading straight passed the turn off. It was during these miles that I had to push myself to ignore the fatigue and to remember all my training, that and what a 6:30 mile feels like. Something that I managed to do quite well up until I tripped and fell at mile 19. I hurt my knee enough for it to swell up and bleed a little bit. My spirit was crushed, but not my will.
As I approached the last couple of miles, it was all I could do to put one foot in front of another, and it was then that I realized why running is truly a sport for the greatest members of humanity. With every runner that passed me up, they complimented me and encouraged me on. There was no snickering, mocking, or unfriendliness. Each one of us were suffering, plodding our way to a 3:25 marathon and there was not a person who was not needing to stretch every 100 yards or so, but still they managed a breath or two to encourage me.
In a society where everyone is out to get one another, and get ahead the other guy, it was amazing to see such a great showing of human spirit. No one cared who I supported politically, or which church I went to on Sundays. We were all united in a common bond, and that bond was crossing the finish line, and helping each other do it, not matter what.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Hitting the Road
E pluribus unum...I think that is how you spell it. Anyway, this is just one of many other running blogs, most of which are probably far better than this one, but none the less, here I am to write about that which I love to do, run. Also, it gives me a chance to relieve my wife from endless dribblings about intervals, chaffing, and professional running.
Just so there is no confusion, I have no connection to Steve Prefontaine. He is however someone I look up to as a runner. He made running popular and helped the cause of professional runners in the United States, something that far too many people are unaware of. "To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift", one of Pre's most popular sayings, epitomizes the running spirit. Not just for those that compete to win prizes or medals, but to all of us who have breath and two legs.
So I hope everyone enjoys this and finds it somewhat entertaining.
Just so there is no confusion, I have no connection to Steve Prefontaine. He is however someone I look up to as a runner. He made running popular and helped the cause of professional runners in the United States, something that far too many people are unaware of. "To give anything less than your best, is to sacrifice the gift", one of Pre's most popular sayings, epitomizes the running spirit. Not just for those that compete to win prizes or medals, but to all of us who have breath and two legs.
So I hope everyone enjoys this and finds it somewhat entertaining.
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