Marine Corps Marathon - OOH RAH!!!

Eight is enough.

Marine Corps was the best possible way to end my 2007 race season, which started two weeks after the first of the year. So its less like a “season” and more like a “race year.” In any event, Marine Corps exceeded my expectations in every way possible.

To start, my entire family came in for the race. All told, we had 20+ people in town for what turned out to be a great day for marathoning and an even better day to visit Washington D.C. Even my Grandpa and Uncle came down from Philly.

I’m so glad the race starts about a mile from my house. After a 5 a.m. wake up call by Tom’s dad, I was excited for the relatively convenient and short walk to the start. The weather was perfect, with a warming slight chill at the start and a beautiful sunny day at the finish.

I’ve heard that Marine Corps is a difficult course. I just don’t buy it. There was a nice long uphill in the first two miles and a short step hill around mile five, after the key bridge. Both we not bad hills in my mind, after all I think I’m becoming relatively comfortable with hills – surprising, considering I’m from Chicago. The biggest challenge with the course came from the crowd of runners. I was startled to find so many runners in front of me walking very early in the race. With free seeding, the race really set this up for failure. By free seeding I mean that slower runners have free reign to start anywhere they like. This free start really reminded me of Los Angeles. I hope they consider moving to a staggered start like Chicago.

Other than a few areas where the field was force to squeeze through some tight passages, the course was amazing. I loved the new route which takes the race up near reservoir and back down Canal Rd. This change made for a very nice gradual downhill for many miles. The crowd support was incredible. At one point I wondered if there would be more fans out there than Chicago, which would have been an incredible feat.

I heard many complaints about the finish. The new course takes the runners within view of the finish then doubles back and kicks you in the butt with a short, but tough, uphill. Nick commented I think correctly, that the symbolism of the finish is outstanding. Just when you thought the job was done they ask a little more of you. Very much like the task before the Marines that appear just beyond the finish – immortalized in the Iwo Jima Monument.

I mentioned the fan support, but the best fans were definitely my family. They had awesome t-shits made up with Dave, Nick, Tom Sr., Tom Jr., Liza and my names on the back. They were great. Emily did an outstanding job leading them from place to place – and with a special surprise, they had a great spot at mile 25. They were the best source of support anyone could ask for…

Speaking of support, much like Ocean Drive, Dave and I set off on a plan and executed it brilliantly. We ran the entire race together, at a steady pace finishing with our halves being within minutes of each other. We kept each other motivated and going even when we weren’t feeling so great. Thanks Dave for keeping me going!

Just for fun: Ironman Hawaii 1989, Dave Scott v Mark Allen.

The Spirit of the Marathon

I ran the Chicago Marathon and all I got were these two lousy IV bags...

I haven’t posted anything in a while, because, well, last week was not such a good week and the last thing I wanted to do was describe what happened as a result of the Chicago Marathon.

Just a few words on the Marathon before I move on: the race was HOT, but seriously folks get over it. There was huge amounts of water on the course and, of course, it sucks when you cant get to it fast enough, but you just have to adjust your plans - its that simple. Train again for next year and hope for better conditions. I don't want to sound like a jerk, but try running Pikes Peak in abnormally high temps. At that race you only get aid stations every 45 mins to an hour, depending on your pace. That really sucks... Still, with that said I understand that something was very different about this year's Chicago Marathon.

Anyway, this is a whole new week and I’m feeling much better.

The basic story is this: Emily, Tom and I flew back from Chicago on Monday morning; it was beautiful in DC so we went ahead with our plans to have a post marathon and Columbus Day BBQ. All was well for most of the day. I felt tired, but no more tired than I normally do after a race. I soon started to realize that two things were very strange. One, I felt HOT, my skin, my chest, everything just felt too warm – and no matter how much cold beer I had, I just wasn’t feeling much better. Two, my heart was going crazy. My normal resting heart rate is in the high 50’s, which I high for a runner like me, but nonetheless my heart was acting especially wacky.

Tuesday, although I still wasn’t feeling great, I decided to return to life as usual. Throughout the day my symptom from the previous day because worse. Only at this point I began experiencing heart burn and feeling nauseous. Throughout this whole time I felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest. The muscles around my lungs were totally worn out and, not to mention, my heart felt like it was working overtime. I decided to go to the “school” nurse and get checked out. My pulse was strong, but normal at 63 bpm at 10 am. But, my blood pressure was 108/94, a very odd “score.”

I decided to go to the doctor.

First, my doctor thought I was crazy, but then she got over that and was really cool. She was pretty sure I had not had a heart attack, but she couldn’t rule it out. One way to find out if a person has experienced a heart attack is to test their blood for an “enzyme” called CPK, which is release when muscle cells die. Unfortunately, because of all the races I’ve been doing week after week and because I am a long distance runner, my body just has high levels of CPK all the time, or so I’m told. Dean Karnazes, talks a lot about this phenomenon in his book Ultra-Marathon Man.

So the Doc decided to do an EKG, which turned out to be fine. It was crazy having all those wires attached to me. After the EKG the fun started. The doc decided I need a full bag of IV fluid, but after I sucked that in super fast they decided I needed another. The second one went in faster than the first, they seriously contemplated shoving another bag in me, but I had enough and was about to float away so I turned it down.

After the doctor’s visit I started feeling normal again, I was just really tired. So I slept, a lot. And now I’m as good as new and ready for Marine Corps Marathon in two weeks…

Oh yah and Frank Shorter wrote a good article in the New York Times about the Chicago Marathon.

Chicago Marathon in Hell...

By now I'm sure everyone has heard all about this year's Chicago Marathon, it was hot and humid and horrible. But, It was also incredible well run despite the conditions. i've been hearing alot of critism about the amount of water on the course. I think this critism is extremely unfair. teh race organizers stock enough water for each of participants at each of the aid stations, they even double stocked them when they were sure the temps were going to be unseasonably high. When runners are taken 4, 6, even 8 glasses of water at each aid station, when they would normal take 1 maybe 2 max, it is difficult to fill water fast enough.

I think the race organizers did the right thing in shutting down the course. I was about 400 meters from the finish when they called the race. The only issue I had when i heard the news was with the police officer who was yelling at me to walk in. When a fat police officer demands that I walk the last 400 meters, when i can see the finish line in front , I take offense. But, I understand where he is coming from - still, even at that point I had some pride, so I ran it in (what's he going to do? Arrest me?).

Here are some pics...

Ten Reasons to Skip the Chicago Marathon

Although I am frustrated that I cannot be running right now due to my stress fracture, and I completely respect anyone who has the patience, endurance and courage to do a marathon (let alone seven in one year!) I must say that after reading this article in the Chicago Trib, I will be glad to be a spectator on Sunday rather than a runner :)

Ten reasons to skip the Chicago Marathon
Running certainly has its charms: It can help clear your head, relieve stress, lift depression, trim fat, build bone strength and improve cardiovascular health.
But like anything, overdoing it can wreak havoc on the body if you're not careful. (Unless you're as biologically gifted as Sam Thompson who stayed injury free as he ran 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 states).

Here's what the runners in Sunday's 26.2-mile LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon can expect:

Muscle tears: When a muscle is damaged, an enzyme called creatine phosphokinase (CPK) pours into the bloodstream. The greater the damage, the more CPK ends up in the blood. Marathoners have been shown to have very high levels of CPK the week after a race-higher than what would show up in the blood after a gunshot wound or stabbing. Ouch!

Knee pain: You get this from "training and ramping up the mileage, too much, too fast," said Northwestern Memorial Hospital sports-medicine specialist Greg Ewert, former medical director of the Chicago Marathon. Though running will not cause premature arthritis on "normal" knees, you're more at risk of developing symptoms if you run on an injury or have previously suffered a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament or a cartilage tear, said orthopedic surgeon Gregory Palutsis, section head for sports medicine at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare.

Hip and back injuries: These are caused by repetitive shock absorption and can include legs and feet. "During running, the landing leg is typically loaded at three times the runner's body weight," said Mark Gorelick, an assistant professor in the department of kinesiology at San Francisco State University. "This load transmits through the striking heel, through the foot arch, then to the lower and upper leg to the spine." When a person is overweight, the extra mass causes an increase in the load on the joints with every step taken, throughout every single day.

Heart: The risk of dying from a heart attack during a marathon is very small-about 1 in 50,000 runners-but studies have shown running can stress the old ticker. If the heart is traumatized, a protein found in cardiac muscle cells called troponin can show up in the blood, an indication that heart muscle cells have been destroyed. One study looked at 60 runners who had no signs of troponin in their blood before a marathon. Twenty minutes after the race, 60 percent of the group had elevated troponin levels, and 40 percent had levels high enough to indicate damage to some heart muscle cells. Most also had noticeable changes in heart rhythms. In addition, healthy men over 50 who had finished at least five marathons in the last five years have been shown to be more likely to have major calcium deposits in their arteries than healthy men who did not run as much. Calcium buildup is a sign that arteries are hardening, even when patients lack other symptoms.

Jogger's nipple: This embarrassing, bloody mess usually strikes men; it's a friction burn caused when the T-shirt chafes the nipple. It's worse in cold, wet conditions. Wearing mesh, rather than cotton, and applying petroleum jelly to the nipples and covering them with adhesive bandages can help prevent it.

Black toenails: Repetitive pressure on the nail plate, either by digging into the sock liner or rubbing against the top of the toe box causes a "ruising"at its attachment under the skin at the cuticle. The microscopic attachment then rips away, and the blood drains forward under the nail plate, said sports medicine doctor Stephen Weinberg of the Weil Foot and Ankle Institute, who is running the Chicago marathon with his daughter Lindsay this year, after serving as the race' Chief of Podiatry for two decades.

Blisters and toe lacerations: Blisters, the most common injury, can occur under the toenail or on the feet. They’re caused by friction. If your toenails are too long, excessive rubbing will cut the tissue of the adjacent toe.

Skin cancer: Training under the sun's ultraviolet radiation can give marathon runners an increased risk for malignant melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer, according to a study in the Archives of Dermatology. Sweating also can contribute to UV-related skin damage, because it increases the photosensitivity of the skin, increasing the risk of sunburns. Meanwhile, intense endurance exercise and tissue trauma could also suppress the immune system, a phenomenon called exercise-induced immunosuppression. The study found that the suspicious moles and liver spots were more pronounced in those with more intense training regimens.

Hyponatremia: Drinking too much water can be as dangerous as not drinking enough. Some research suggests that when you overhydrate, the body, seeking to keep a balance of salt and water levels between the blood and tissues, begins to draw water out of the blood, leading to puffiness in the skin and swelling in the brain. The brain responds to the pressure by sending an emergency distress call to release water into the lungs. The lung fluid, or the brain pressure, eventually kills you.

Night blindness: It's rare, but ultrarunner and biological freak of nature Dean Karnazes once temporarily lost his vision at Mile 85 of the 100-mile Western States Endurance Run. His body lost the ability to produce a chemical compound called rhodopsin, a pigment of the retina that enables night vision. Low blood pressure or exposure to bright light during the day can affect the body''s ability to produce rhodopsin. It takes about 30 minutes to regenerate. Karnazes, of course, finished the race.

Anticipation

“Standing on the starting line, we are all cowards.” – Alberto Salazar.

Sunday will be my seventh marathon this year. In 2007, I have raced just over 200 miles and I still feel nervous every time I approach the start. I ran this morning and had goose bumps thinking about the crowds at Chicago.

Chicago is not my last race of 2007, but it is a very special culmination race. I’ve had a focus on Chicago since being force to be one of the million spectators last year, due to a severe stress fracture. I made a promise to myself that I was going to learn from my mistakes and come back next year as a smarter, stronger runner. I think I’ve succeeded.

Nevertheless, all my training and racing can never take away that special feeling that comes just before the gun goes off.

To quote Owen Wilson in Armageddon – “I'm great; I got that "excited/scared" feeling. Like 98% excited, 2% scared. Or maybe it's more. It could be, it could be 98% scared, 2% excited but that's what makes it so intense, it's so - confused. I can't really figure it out.”

The harder the better...

***Posted on the Chicago Marathon official website***

Weather Advisory
October 4, 2007
Attention LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon Participants: The weather forecasts for race day – Sunday, October 7 – are indicating that we could have a warm and humid day with temperatures expected to be in the 82 F / 28 C range(according to weather.com). We recommend you stay tuned to local weather forecasts to properly prepare for the race.

5 Top Spots to See the Chicago Marathon

According to the Chicago Tribune, the top five spots to see the Chicago Marathon are:

MILE 12.751.
Energizer "Keep Going" Zones (Adams and Franklin Streets, other locations): Spectators joining the fray at these marks are provided with Energizer Bunny ears (while supplies last) to invigorate the heads of the pack. The watchers can also enjoy music in exchange for rejuvenating cheers for passing runners.

MILE 132. New Balance Cheer Zones (Near Old St. Patrick's Church. Also at the finish line): Gratis cheering items will be handed out in the West Loop, while available, to watchers. So if you flake out and forget to make a sign for your racing loved one, head for the red tents for substitute spirit paraphernalia.

MILE 14.43. Occidental Brothers Dance Band Int'l (southwest corner of Adams Street and Ashland Avenue): Classic Central and West African dance music, such as soukous, highlife, rumba and dry guitar, will float through the air to entertain runners on the second half of their trek.

MILE 21.44. Chinatown (Cermak Road and Wentworth Avenue): One of the more popular spots is destined to remain so, thanks to the festive decor, dragon dancers and plenty of places to shop and eat before and after you belt out some encouraging cheers.

MILE 23.25. The International Mile (35th Street, between State Street and Michigan Avenue): Saluting the many nationalities drawn to run the marathon each year, supportive messages in native languages, colorful flags and costumed dancers will greet runners as they pass this station celebrating global diversity.

Homecoming...

This weekend is the Chicago Marathon. This is by far the best marathon in the world. I’m not just saying that because I’ve run it three times in the past, or because I’m from Chicago. I’m saying that because it is the largest, loudest, fastest, flattest, most beautiful, high energy race ever. They increase the number of participants to 45,000 this year, which means there will probably be more than the usual 1.5 million spectators.

This year I qualified for start corral B (sub 3:35), so I will have a very different experience than in the past. I’m excited to be up closer to the front, but I loved being back in the open corral – the sheer humanity is amazing and exciting. With fewer crowds to push through, corral B will give me a great opportunity to take advantage of the fast, flat course.

I love everything about this race and I can’t wait to get to the starting line. But, more than anything, this race is important to me because my friends and family will be there. All year I look forward to the weekend events: being picked up at the airport, wandering around the enormous expo, eating lots of food, seeing my family throughout the course and of course the post-race beer. Nothing is more motivational than having that turnout in your own hometown.

Sunday forecast for Chicago:

Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 68.
Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 84.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66.

Here is a little taste of what the race is like, I found it on youtube:

Great Race = Great Race!

So last weekend I raced the 30th annual City of Pittsburgh Great Race 10k. That’s right, you heard me correctly: it was a 10k. I had to think way back to the last time I actually ran a 10k, which I think was when I was in High School. So I really didn’t know how it was going to turn out.

Although a 10k is about 76% shorter than my normal marathon race distance, it sure was painful. In fact, my legs didn’t return to normal until Tuesday. That’s a recovery period I’m used to for a marathon, but certainly did not expect for a 10k.

Maybe it was arrogance, maybe it was naiveté, maybe it was just a strong effort; whatever it was, it hurt. Not to mention I was a little hung-over from the red wine the night before, but whatever – that’s just a weak excuse.

The course was mostly downhill for the first two or three miles, with a false-flat and slight uphill in the second half. The weather was great for running, slightly cool and sunny. The gun went off and before I knew it I was at mile 3. I clocked my second mile in at a 6:10.

I think there is value in course reconnaissance in any race, but I think it is far more valuable in a 10k (not that I run very many). Had I become intimately familiar with the course I probably would have been able to gauge my speed and effort better. That being said my final time was 42.12 (6:47 per mile). Not too bad. Emily, Mr. Bezek and I drove the course the day before so I had some idea where I was going, but its not the same as when you are running full out. I guess I’ll just have to spend more time in Pittsburgh to gain more familiarity.

I must say though, that I was super impressed with the city. There are a lot of great neighborhoods that I didn’t expect in a blue-collar city like Pittsburgh. We capped off the weekend with an awesome breakfast and the Steelers game. I could not have asked for a better weekend. Maybe next year Grant will man up and run the 10k!!!

Just a reminder of what happened at the last Chicago Marathon...