My 8th Marathon will be in Austin.

Well, I've decided to get back on the marathon horse again. It kicked me off in Chicago and a year ago in Portland. But I'm back in the saddle, hoping to ride my way to Boston through the Austin Marathon on February 20, 2011.

I still haven't figured out why I cramp so bad, especially in races, but I've got a few clues. Some are small, some are big and I'll share them in a later space.

On Friday, I'm going to do my first 20-mile run since Chicago and I'm pretty confident. I hope to run the first 15 at an easy pace then run the last five at marathon goal pace. And just what is my marathon goal pace? Well, two weekends ago, I ran 17.5 miles with the last nine at a clip of about 7:25 min/mile. So there. 7:20 to 7:30 is my hoped-for-pace.

So, here I go again. I'm all in, cramps be damned.

Plain old table salt: A cure for my marathon cramps?

Ever since cramps reduced my stride from 8:00 to 11:00-miles during the last hour of my White Rock Lake Marathon experience last Dec. 14, I've been trying to figure out what caused my muscles to spasm. Was I not adequately trained? Was it too hot? Did something chemically go wrong?

Well, during Saturday's 20-miler, I think I may have gotten my answer.

I ran the first half of the Cowtown Marathon course, then a three-mile circle around the hilly neighborhood near the Colonial Country Club, then the last four miles of the Cowtown Course, which has huge hills at the end of Mile 24 and the start of Mile 25. Saturday's weather was eerily similar to the weather at White Rock. High 60s and windy.

At a little after 6 a.m., about 10 of us took off and from the first step, I mean the very first step, I knew this was going to be a tough day. The humidity just choked the air out of you. The heat was crazy. And yes, in Texas, a 60-plus degree day is welcome if it comes in the middle of the summer. But in February, when your morning runs are usually in the 30s, well, 60 may as well have been 80 or even 85.

But unlike the marathon, when I was hell bent on running an 8:00-mile, the first half of Saturday's run was slow and easy. I didn't let myself go faster than an 8:30 mile for the first seven miles. And seven of the first 13 miles were 8:50 or slower. Still, in this heat, I could feel myself stiffening up. Hamstrings. Quads. They just weren't firing as usual. And it seemed like I was working wayyyy too hard to be going so slow. Are these the same legs that carried me to a 1:36 half marathon a week ago? Where did they go? I had to stop and stretch at Mile 7 and again at Mile 9 and with 11 miles to go, I was figuring, "Damn, am I going to make it?'

Before I left the house for the run, I put two salt packets I nabbed from Chick-Fil-A in my fanny pack. While I was stretching near Mile 9, I decided to take one. I tore the pack open and poured half in my mouth. Yek. Then I chased it with water. Instantly, I felt better. I hit Mile 10 in 8:05 and clocked an 8:16 at Mile 11, which would have been faster but I fumbled around trying to take my first GU of the run. The miles felt effortless and they were the fastest two miles of the run so far.

By this time, I was running with three other runners: Tom, who has run 10 marathons and will run Cowtown; Bob, the 50-something guy who I got lost with during my first Cowtown training rout (think pit bulls), and Karen, a Lukes Locker Tuesday/Thursday morning runner who is one of the fastest women in our group. I remember telling Bob about how fresh I felt after taking the salt and we both just said its probably in my head.

Miles 12 thru 15 were all 8:50 or slower, but it wasnt because the salt/placebo was wearing off. At each of those miles, we stopped to either stretch or refill our water bottles and I just let the clock run on my Garmin. At around Mile 13, I gave my last GU to Karen (Hey, I was being a gentleman. She said she needed a GU. I gave her one.) As I handed it to her, my last salt packet flew out of my fanny pack. So here I am, no GU, no salt. Its hot. Its windy. And there are 7 miles to go. But I soldiered on and when I completed Mile 15 in 8:02, I figured, ahhhh, I dont need anything to get me through this.

Boy, was I wrong. I started getting that tight feeling in my legs and quads again just past the 15-mile mark and the fatigue was definitely setting in. Tom gave me one of his GUs and I did everything I could not to puke on the Strawberry Powerade GU. (Hey, I like Hammer Chocolate!). It took me 8:58 to complete Mile 16 and I was absolutely fading, feeling exactly the way I felt at White Rock at exactly the same mile marker that I started feeling cramps during the marathon.

On Saturday, Miles 13 and Mile 16 took me under the same I-30 bridge on the Trinity Trails. At the 16.5-mile mark, I remembered that it was at this part of the course where my salt packet flew out of my fanny pack when I was handing my GU to Karen. So, I stopped and looked around in the grass for my lost salt packet. And 10 seconds later, voila! It had been stepped on, and it was very soggy, but it was still intact. I tore it open, poured it in my mouth (the wind blew some of it in my eyes - ouch) then swigged the remaining water I had in my water bottle and took off.

And again, I felt great instantly. Instant as in now. Right. Now. I went from feeling like the last four miles would be a death march to sprinting. I did the next two miles in 16 minutes flat. Folks, thats an 8:00-mile. It felt great to come "back from the dead," of cramps and low-energy. I was feeling tired, and could feel the wall just a bit. But it was a good feeling. Usually, in my long runs, the cramps come before I get tired and I have never finished a race longer than a half-marathon in an exhilarating sprint.

The last two miles of the 20-miler were 8:36 and 8:48, but both miles were mostly uphill, the same hills I will face on the last two miles of the Cowtown Marathon on Feb. 28.

Saturday was the first time I'd taken salt, plain old table salt, for a long run. I was absolutely amazed at the affect it had on me. I'm guessing with those two salt packets I ingested more than 1,000 milligrams of sodium. (I had this crusty white film all over me afterwards). During my White Rock Marathon 20-miler training runs, I took this fancy pants supplement called Hammer Endurolytes and looking at the label, I see those only have 40 MG of salt per serving. I took 9 of those capsules during the marathon, giving me only 360 MG of salt during the whole race. Combine that with the fact that I drank water at nearly every water stop and its not easy to see why I had washed away my electrolytes during the marathon.

So, maybe, just maybe, I've found a cure to the cramps that have ailed me in my previous three marathons.

Not the kind of anniversary worth remembering

In less than 72 hours, I hope to put up a good time crossing the finish line of the White Rock Marathon, culminating the best running day and year of my life.

I hope to do away with the demons that happened nearly a year ago, Sunday, Dec. 9, 2007, which was the WORST RUNNING DAY OF MY LIFE.

It took me 5 hours, 20 minutes to run the 2007 White Rock Marathon. The makings for this disastrous-marathon run had begun in November of that year. I was feeling real confident about my training up until that point, having run a then-pr 1:52 at the 2007 DRC Half Marathon. I finished out the pre-taper training with seven consecutive weeks of running at least 40 miles, and I figured I'd at least do better than my first marathon (4:41) in 2005, when I only had 1 week of at least 40 miles.

Still, something wasn't feeling right. A week after my half marathon, I tried to run an 18-miler and could only get through 15 before cramps got the better of me. Oh, well, I thought, maybe my body is still tired from the half. A week after that was my last 20-miler, and by Mile 18, I was feeling so bad that 10 minute miles were hard to maintain. When it took me 7 minutes to run the first half mile of Mile 19, I just threw in the towel and walked the last half mile to my car. If anybody was ready for a taper, it was me.

Three weeks later, I toed the line at the 2007 White Rock Marathon and had little idea what was in store. I didn't help myself that morning by eating a big bowl of oatmeal with chocolate soy milk (didn't know at the time that ALL milk products were bad for my running); didn't help myself by getting to the marathon just 10 minutes before the start (traffic on I-35 was backed up; didn't help myself by starting the race very very thirsty, lips dry and parched.

When the gun went off, I tried concentrating on keeping a 10-minute mile pace. (Its funny to type those words right now. I've gotten so much faster and can't remember the last time I ran a mile _ any mile, warm-up or recovery _ that slow). But I should have known even that would be a struggle. During training for the 2007 marathon, my heart rate would soar to over 80 percent max when I ran a 10-minute mile. Yet on this morning, I tried to soldier on. Because there were so many people at the start, I hit the first mile in 10:53. Miles 2 and 3 came and went at about a little more than a 10-minute mile.

I could never get my stride right, could never sync up my breathing. At Mile 4, I stopped to get the rock out of my shoe. Stopped twice, in fact. At Mile 6, I stopped for the first time to eat some sport beans and use the bathroom. Unlike my first marathon, where I was enjoying the surroundings of all the bands on the marathon course, this trip was miserable. It was cold and I was just not feeling it. Still, I thought I'd be okay when I ran a sub-10 minute mile at Miles 8 and 9. "Ok, I'm finally going to be ok," I thought as we hit the lake section of the marathon.

I started feeling this weird sensation in my right quad and knew instantly that cramps were coming on. "Cramps. Cramps WTF. Its 40 degrees. Ive tapered. How can I be cramping so early." I stopped and stretched during Mile 10 and started feeling a little better. Miles 11 and 12 were right at 10 m/m and then I felt the cramp again, so I stretched during Mile 13 and then got through Mile 14 in under 10 minutes.

It would be my last sub-10 minute mile of the race. I had taken a gu at Mile 12 and was already feeling tired again during Mile 15, breathing was laboring, quad was spasming up again. So I took another gu at Mile 15, which took me 11 minutes to finish. And that was my last sub 12-minute mile.

I didn't know it at the time, but I was just hitting the halfway point of the race. Not in miles, obviously, but in time. It had taken me 2:36 to complete 15 miles and it would take me a little more than that to complete the last 11.2. I was feeling so bad at this point. so bad. Both legs were cramping. My head was fuzzy. I was dispirited. When it took me 13 minutes to complete mile 17, I said, "That's it. I quit."

I tried finding a medic who would help me and I couldn't even get that right. By now I had stopped running and at some points I just stopped walking, hoping someone would see me and get me out of the cold. By now, the winds around White Rock Lake were picking up and so here I am, cramping, tired, hungry, mad, and sad. But I couldn't find a medic to help me, couldn't find anybody to help me get out of my misery.

So I just kept walking forward and every once in a while, I'd jog alittle and then the cramps would come and Id stop. The worst was the first mile after we got off the lake area. The Dolly Parton Hills. My garmin recorded a 17:35 for Mile 20 and a 14:06 for Mile 21. I couldnt even walk fast up those hills. But I kept moving. The sadness and despair was now being replaced by anger and it was at this point I made a deal with myself, that I would not quit, that I would get that medal. And so I literally would walk a 10th of a mile and run a 10th of a mile. I got through Mile 22, which was mostly downhill, in 12:42, and thought, "Yeah, me."

But Mile 23 took me 15:26 to complete. I think I only ran one tenth of that mile because my quads were hurting so bad. Still, I knew the end was near as we hit downtown Dallas and I just kept going. Miles 24 and 25 were done in the high 14s. At Mile 26, I gave one more burst of energy, walking and running to a 12:51 mile. Finally, with the end in sight, I limped the final two-tenths of a mile to the finish line.

Even though it was my worst day as a runner, i was proud that i didnt quit and gladly accepted my medal. It would take me a few months after that to figure out what went wrong. And I cant wait to see how all my hard work pays off this Sunday.

WHAT WENT WRONG
* Diet. I didnt know just a few months ago, but I ABSOLUTELY CAN NOT HAVE DAIRY in the days leading up to a key run. No milk, no soy milk, no rice milk. I know the last two products are not really dairy, but they affect me the same way. No cheese. Nothing. But there I was on the morning of the marathon with my big bowl of oatmeal and chocalate milk.
* Training. Yeah, I ran 40 miles for seven consecutive weeks, but my total mileage during the 16 week training period for the 2007 marathon was actually LESS than the total mileage during the same period for the 2005 marathon. At the begining of the 2007 marathon training program, I wasn't running much because my son, Noah, had just been born. So I was busy waking up every two or three hours to change a diaper or tend to a cry. I wasnt getting any sleep, and when I would finally get to sleep, I was in no mood to end my sleep to go running.
Also, I ran all my miles slow in 2007. I wrote earlier that in 2007, I only had 11 total runs _ 11 _ where the average pace per mile for the entire run was less than an 8:30 mile. I didnt do any tempo runs, no hill work, no intervals. I ran the 2007 marathon slow because I trained slow.
*Cramping. Even when I figured out I couldnt have dairy, and even when I figured out I needed to run more fast miles, I still didn't get the cramping under control until late this summer, when a friend recommended I try Hammer Endurolytes. I started taking them in August, two every hour during a long run. Hadn't had one cramp since.

Marathon taper: the final days

Today I just wanted to go out for a 30-minute run. Ended up running a little faster than I intended to (7:23 pace). My legs are really fresh right now and I can't wait for marathon day to get here. I snuck a peek at the weather forecast for the first time and Sunday morning may be a little warm: mid 50s in the morning and a high of 70, lots of wind.

That's not ideal marathon weather, but if its as warm as they say its going to be, that takes some of the pressure off of me.
I know I'll have to run slower at the beginning, so I'll be less concerned about time and this will help me enjoy my surroundings a little more. It's a big party at the White Rock Marathon, so I might as well have fun, right?
Also, the warm weather means I can wear shorts and a t-shirt which is my favorite running apparel. I hate gloves and long sleeve shirts and wool caps. It means I won't be freezing at the start of the race.

S0, with the heat, I may not make my time of 3:30, but 3:35 to 3:45 is totally doable and it would still be 100 minutes faster than the marathon I ran in 2007.

Marathon: The day is almost here.

In just under 8 days, it'll be time to throw all that training at the White Rock Marathon. Today, the schedule called for a 9-miler, the last run of over an hour that I am supposed to do. I warmed up the first three miles and did the last six at my marathon pace. It felt real easy. Very easy to do 6 of the last 9 miles in exactly 48 minutes. I feel very very confident I can hold this pace for an entire marathon, which would have me crossing the finish line in 3 hours, 30 minutes.
Next week will be about taking it easy and watching what I eat. Since I peaked out at a 55-mile week before I started tapering, I have put on about 4 pounds in the last two weeks. (Too much celebratory adult beverages, too much dairy - Pizza is going to kill me one day). Funny thing is I had all these aches and pains in my legs and feet before the taper, and now I'd say nothing hurts anymore. My left knee is still a little wonky, but its nothing I'm really worried about.
I know over the next 8 days I'll spend wayyyyyy too much time over analyzing my training and my past two marathon performances to see if I can glean something that may help me at White Rock. When I ran White Rock in 2005 and in 2007, I was not blogging, so I'll write race reports from both races (ugly, ugly) and share them with you guys this week.

After a 50-mile week? Well needed R&R

On Saturday, I ran 20 miles in about 2:54. It topped off a week in which I ran 50 miles, my first 50 mile week in over a year. My legs felt dead, really, during the whole run. Also, I had to use the bathroom the first 11 miles and finally found a berm to go behind. Hard to run fast when you wanna do the tee-tee dance while you are running. I usually try to hit sub 8s during my last four miles of a run that long, but I could only manage 8:10s _ though the last mile was in 7:55.

So, I decided to take Sunday AND Monday off from running. This is the first time I've taken off two consecutive days of running in a while. Now, to be honest, I had every intention of running a 4-mile recovery run when I went to see Noah in Austin, but he was sick for most of the weekend and on Sunday morning, we took him to the clinic. (He's got a little asthma ad a realllllllll bad cold. Of course, he didn't know he was sick. He was running all over the place getting snot everywhere).

Anyway, two days off in a row. And as you can see in my right sidebar, the Marathon is coming up soon. I've got four more weeks of hard training and that includes two more 20-mile runs, and a half marathon race this coming Sunday. It is the DRC (Dallas Racing Club) Half Marathon at White Rock Lake. I ran this last year in 1:52:22. I'll try to run it this year in 1:43 or better.

It's official: I've signed up for my annual marathon

I had to go in for one of the editors tonight, so during some down time, I forked over 90 plus bucks to enter the 2008 White Rock Lake Marathon in Dallas. Its on Dec. 14.

While I was on the site, I looked at my two previous results. I mean, I already know what my times were, but it was shocking to see them on the screen...

2007......5:20:22

2005.......4:41:45

I guess these times are why I'm running White Rock a third time. It's like I've said to others, White Rock is like an old girlfriend....She dumped me in 2005 and again in 2007. Now, I wanna show her that I'm better looking (trained better) and I've got more money (faster), so wait till she lays her eyes on me in December.

After I go sub 4 on her, I'm dumping her.

Technically, it was an ultra-marathon, wasn't it?

My Garmin said I ran 26.75 miles during my last marathon, in December 2007. Was I zig-zagging too much, or did the White Rock Marathon people need this guy to measure the course. This is a neat little feature in the New York Times this morning about how they are measuring the Olympic marathon course. The womens marathon is Sunday, the mens is next weekend.

Writing again: It ain't Watergate, and it won't win me a Pulitzer but Thursday I wrote my first story in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram since April 2002. You can read about a canoe trail opening up on Lake Arlington here.

Tempo speed: Thursday called for 15 minutes easy, a 20 minute tempo run (10k race pace), and 25 minute cool down. The day before I'd run some intervals, so I wasn't sure how my legs would hold up.

In 20 minutes, I ran 2.82 miles, a 7:04 pace. Heart rate averaged 88 percent with a high of 92 percent. I didn't feel gassed at the end, though by the 15th minute I was ready for the run to be over.

It takes a lot of concentration to keep this kind of pace. Its not all out sprinting, but it aint a walk in the park either. Still, just by heart rate alone I know I'm getting in good shape.

On Jan. 1, I ran a 5K in about the same pace as Thursday morning. It was 40 degrees cooler and my heart rate average for the entire run was 93 percent.

Wonder how I'd do now if it was 35 degrees outside.

A sub 21-minute 5K definitely looks to be in the making for me.

Breathtaking marathons

ForbesTraveler.com did a recent piece on the Most Breathtaking Marathons in the world. (At left is a picture the Great Wall Marathon, China. May 17.) The scenery of the marathons make them notable, the magazine articles states. I've never run Boston or New York, but I'm sure the scenery at those races is breathtaking.

I've run Dallas' White Rock Marathon twice and running through Highland Park is nothing to write home about. But White Rock Lake has its own charm - if you like dodging bicyclists.

Client 9 once wore Bib No. X887

Late in 2006, before he was the New York Governor or the now infamous Client 9, Eliot Spitzer was the New York State Attorney General, and who would have thunk it: A runner.
The astute editors at Runner's World combed through their archives and found an interview they did with Spitzer in their monthly “I'm a Runner” feature.
In the interview, Spitzer said he runs two or three miles five times a week and listens to Springsteen or Dire Straits on his Ipod. In 2006, he was running for governor, which made for many long days. “My wife doesn't mind when I slip out at 5 a.m. She just asks that I don't turn on the lights,” Spitzer told Runner's World's Toby Tanser.
And get this, Spitzer ran a marathon, the New York City Marathon, in 1983. His time was 3:58:43. He wore Bib No. X887.
Here is the Runner's World interview with Spitzer, which was published in December 2006.
This picture of Spitzer is courtesy of Flickr. He is running the Utica Boilermaker 5K last July. He finished in 26:15, an 8:27 minute/mile pace.

What is this stuff anyway?

When I was at the doctor's office Wednesday for my bum right leg, he gave me a script for Methylprednisolone, which is a fancy word for steroids. So I guess there goes my career in professional baseball.
Anyway, this methylprednisolone is supposed to prevent the release of hormones in your body that causes inflammation. It's a weird dosage. Six days of these tiny little white pills that you take either before or after meals and before you go to bed at night.
This stuff has some pretty crazy side effects, like severe depression, insomnia, and rapid weight gain. That's just great. To fix my leg, I'll have to turn into a fat, moody guy who can't sleep.
I think the depression is because they say you shouldn't drink while on this stuff. So, I can't run and I can't drink? Good thing my 7-month-old son is visiting me right now, or someone would be sending me to the funny farm.
Obviously, this means no racing for the foreseeable future. This Saturday I was going to run the 5K St. Paddy's Day Dash in Dallas with my good friends Chuck, Allynson, and Frank. And I was going to run the 5k Run to Joes in Fort Worth in two weeks.
Guess now I'll set my sites on running the Komen Race For The Cure 5K at Sundance Square in downtown Fort Worth on April 26. I ran this race in 2006 in a time of 21:09, a personal record.
Maybe the stars will align themselves again for me.

Are bed bugs this crazy?

Well, I am officially going crazy. I have not run since Friday. That’s 3 days and counting. But this was a calculated respite from pounding my knees and ankles on the trails at Trinity Park. For one, I was in Austin for the weekend visiting my 7-month old son. We took him to see a kite festival at Zilcher Park. He laughs more and more now. He smiles a lot. And I’m glad and relieved that he responds so well to me. I only get to see him twice a month but it seems he remembers me, or likes being around me. He is crawling, now, sort of. We put him on the ground and he starts doing this swimming motion. He can move his arms better than his legs so he always ends up going backwards. It’s so cute.
He and his mother are coming to visit me for an entire week next weekend, so that should be a lot of fun.
I also took off from running because I’ve got a slight injury to my lower right leg, around my ankle and shin. And I wish I could report that I’m totally healed. But I’m not and now I’m nervous. It hurts a little when I walk up hills or down stairs. Or when I take that first step out of the car or out of bed. I hope it’s not a stress fracture. But, I plan on continuing my running tomorrow. I know, call me stupid. But I feel crazier than a bed bug when I don’t run. Hopefully I don’t do further damage to my leg. I don’t think I will. I think it’s just soreness, from overuse. I hope that’s all it is.
I’ll try to post photos from the kite festival later today.

The miles keep adding up

My goal this year is to run 1,600 miles. That’s 133 miles a month, 30.6 a week, or 4.4 a day. When you look at it per day, it seems like it’s an easier task. Looking at the average I’d need to keep the entire month makes it a little more daunting. I’ve scribbled down every mile I’ve ever run since I started running in 2004 and the only times I’ve topped 130 miles in a month was when I was training for a marathon. In August 2005, I ran 133 miles. Last October, I ran 173 miles, and last December I ran 148 miles.
Before this month, the most I’d ever run in a month when I was not training for a marathon was 114 miles in January. Today, I did a 6-miler and wound up with 127 miles for the month.
Now, I’m still behind the 1,600-miles-per year pace. But, I figure when I train for the White Rock Lake Marathon starting in January, I’ll more than make up the deficit.
The February mileage has taken a little toll on my health. I’ve got a slight pain in my left arch and a nagging pain in my lower leg. Both pains go away when I’m running, though the leg pain _ I hurt it trying Feb. 5 jumping awkwardly out of the street to avoid an oncoming car _ is becoming bothersome. It feels like a deep, deep bruise. Funny thing is the faster I run, the better it feels. But when I’m slow _ which means at the beginning of runs, it’s like torture.
I get to see my son this weekend, so I think I’m going to _ gulp _ take a few days off from running and enjoy being drooled on.
February running totals: 127.74 miles, 19 hours, 24 minutes, 52 seconds. Pace: 9:07 minutes/mile.

Yo Adrienne!

I don't listen to music when I run.
I like the sound my feet make on the crushed limestone path at the Trinity Trails here in Fort Worth. I like hearing the squirrels scatter. I like hearing the beep of my Garmin Forerunner 305 go off every mile. I like the sound of my own breath. It's fun hearing yourself be alive. If I listened to music, I couldn't hear all of that.
However, if I did listen to running music, if I did wear an Ipod when I run in Fort Worth during the mornings, there is no doubt about what I'd be listening to: Rocky music.
How can you not get fired up about “Gonna Fly Now”? This is the theme song from Rocky I, the music that would play when Sylvester Stallone's character would train while preparing to fight Apollo Creed. The song ends as Rocky runs up the steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. “Rocky's Reward” and “Free Redemption” are also classic songs from that first Rocky movie that would absolutely go great with running. The composer of these songs, Bill Conti, is an absolute genius.
These songs, and a few others from the soundtracks in Rocky II and IV, are the Underdog Anthems of America. And when its you against the marathon, you against cramps and dehydration, against blisters and a bum knee, against hills, hamstring pulls, and heartbreak, you are the underdog my friend.
I can remember now, driving to my first marathon and I was playing this music. I was blasting this music, Central Expressway all too myself, and must have been going 85 miles per hour in a Jeep on its last tires.
I was envisioning myself making the final turn at the marathon, the finish line in site, and I was thinking about how happy I'd feel once I'd cross the finish line. I had goose bumps.
I had my heart rate monitor on. And no lie, my heart rate topped 140. My heart rate is in the mid 50s when I'm sitting around. But on this morning, it was 90 plus beats higher. I was hyperventilating. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I had to turn it off and put in a Yanni CD just to calm me down. (I finished the marathon that day. But trust me, there was no triumphant gallop to the finish line at the American Airlines Center. It was more like a pissed off limp. But more on that race later.)
When you listen to Rocky music, you just feel like you can accomplish any athletic feat. And I get real weird about it when I'm listening. My lip curls up and I envision what I have to do _ a long run, an interval run, a race _ and if I'm driving in my car, I just play scenes from his movies over and over in my head. You know, scenes like Adrienne making her way to the ring at the end of Rocky I, scenes like Rocky being chased by all those kids in the second movie, or Rocky training to beat the Russian in Rocky IV. It should come as no surprise to anyone reading this that I have Rocky I and II on DVD as well as the original soundtrack from the Rocky Movies.

My Cowtown 10K Result

46:57

This is the time I clocked in the 10k portion of the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth Saturday. A personal record. And it could have been faster but I spent the first mile dodging slower runners who lined up in the front of the race.
Anyway, that's me volunteering for the Fort Worth Runners Club at mile 24 of the marathon. I ran the 10k, changed clothes, and stood outside for three hours handing out Powerade and water.
I came away with a new perspective to marathon running which I will share over the next few days.
But the first thing I'll say is this. Everybody who is thinking about running a marathon _ and I've run two _ should volunteer at an aid station late in a marathon. You see a lot. Determination. Agony. Humor. Tears. More tomorrow.

The Cowtown Marathon: That's so 80s

There is a story in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram this morning about two guys in their 80s who are going to run in tomorrow's Cowtown Marathon.
Let me repeat: These guys are 80-somethings and are going to run 26.2 miles. That's just crazy, absolutely crazy. Do you how much work it takes just to get to the starting line to go the distance? That's hard enough, and then the older you get, the challenge gets that much more difficult.
Anyway, the Star-Telegram story said both guys would be the only ones in their age group. One of the gentlemen ran last weekend's Austin Marathon in 5:30:33. I point this out because this time is just 10 minutes slower than the time I ran at the Dallas White Rock Lake Marathon in December. Now, I had some major cramping issues, but still, I'm 30-something, so that shows you how much talent the 80-something guy has.
One more thing about age and running: A good friend of mine has a father who runs a lot. I mean alot. He'll be 69 in April. He had some chest pains while out on a run a few years back. He goes home, tells his wife the problem, then goes to the hospital. Docs check him out and immediately rush him to surgery. Everything was blocked up and he needed quadruple bypass. Docs said he should be dead. The reason he wasn't? He'd run so much that his heart had built another bypass to get blood to and from his working muscles. Now, I'm no scientist and I'm sure I've got some of the terminology wrong here. But you get the point. My friend's dad recovered and, I think, is now able to run again, though not as far or as long. He's run many marathons and his running saved his life.
Like I've said earlier, I'm only running the 10k tomorrow, though now I wish I would have signed up to run the half-marathon. It's my favorite race and in a later post, I'll tell you why.

Last big test

This morning's run was my last hard one before the Cowtown Marathon Saturday. Of course, I'm too beat up from running the White Rock Lake Marathon in December and the Austin Half Marathon in January, so I'm going to "take it easy" and run a 10k.
So this morning, I ran a few 1,000-meter intervals. Three, actually, in 4 minutes 11 seconds, 4:11, and 4:04. That's a pace of about 6:30 to 6:45 minutes per mile. So, I'm ready.
The question is: Will I run that fast Saturday? I doubt it. If I remember correctly, when I ran this race last year (finishing in 47:47), there were sooooo many hills. It also didn't help that my left lower leg cramped up some.
So, I hope I can maintain a pace of 7:30/per mile. That would put me at the finish line in about 46:30, which would be a PR.
Afterward, I'm volunteering at Mile 24 of the Cowtown Marathon. The exact location the water stop is the corner of ">Stayton/Trinity Park Road and 7th Street. I've run two marathons but this will be the first time that I'll be giving out the water and Gatorade this late in a run. Should be interesting to see the faces of the people. I'll be sure to bring a camera and post pictures.