3 Week Recap:
The last weekend in August I flew to Louisville, Kentucky and supported little brother Tim as he competed in the Ironman Louisville event. This was an amazing weekend that I got to share with close friends and family. Any of you that have never been to an Ironman event...I highly recommend it...It can be an overwhelming experience for all involved...Tim finished the race, and his family and friends could not be prouder of him...to get its ample due, check out Tim's Blog for the full story...www.triathlontim.blogspot.com
While in Louisville, my dedication to the Marine Corps Marathon became very apparent..Just because I was in another state, time zone, etc. during training, my long run did not go away. In fact this was going to be the longest run of my training thus far...20 miles. So the day before the race(Saturday) I woke up at 5:00 a.m. and headed out for a darkened run, in an unfamiliar location...
Here's a recap of that run:
1) While stretching in the Hotel Parking Lot, solicited by a prostitute for a good time.
2) Within the 2nd mile of the run I had crossed the bridge from Louisville, Kentucky into Indiana. 2 states, 1 run...impressive.
3) The next few miles were brutal...the plan was to run out 10 miles and then come back the same way...
4) Running besides a cemetary at 5:30 in the morning, is a tad scary, though it does naturally make you run faster.
5) Was almost hit by a car...at least 5 times...Felt like I was playing chicken in the dark...Granted it did not help that I only had a foots worth of shoulder to work with.
6) 3+ hours later I was back in Louisville, having completed my run and was now prepared to cheer on Tim the following day.
The next week, was a great week of running till I hit the 16 mile long run..Just a week earlier I was in Louisville running 20 with little ot no pain...Now here I was a week later and struggling, physically and mentally to get through a 16 miler...It did not help that the entire run was done in a drizzling rain...and it did not help that the night before I had spent 4 hours on my feet watching the Huskis play the LSU tigers in their opening game of the 2009 College Football Season..
I called Vanessa at mile 13 to get picked up, and fortunately she had to say no, because the kids were napping...Thats all I needed to kick my ass into gear the final 3 miles...They sucked...but that was because it was now down pouring..I was getting hit from the top and the bottom by rain...IT was tough, but the 16 were done..
The folloiwng week was easy...3-7 mile runs followed by a long run of only 7...This was a nice break all the way around...On my 7 mile long run, I was at a Leadership Weekend, so I teamed up with a Triathlete in the class to run it with...I was a tad nervous..Could I hang with him, or would I seem like a turtle...I did all right and we had a very enjoyable run..Who knew that I could actually carry on a conversation while runnning.
Now we are up to the present day...Yesterday, my commitment to training was in high gear...As my little brother told me yesterday, you are now the crazy one of the family...I arose at 4 a.m. and headed out on my 20 miler....Ugh...It rained the entire time...what the hell....Mentally it takes a little bit out of you, but then you think, If I can do it now at 4 in the morning in the rain, I will be able to do it rain or shine on race day...or at least thats what I think...The run was pretty uneventful...sure I had the typical mental fights...stop, Go, finish, run, walk etc.
The biggest heart stopper though was the Coyote that decided to pop out of the woods about 50 yars in front of me and run back in..I am really glad he did...Almost needed an extra pair of undies...
After the run, I was picked up by my loving/supportive/amazing wife and we both hustled to get me ready for the Huskies vs USC football game...I showered etc. while Vanessa packed the bag...By 0900 I was in Bremerton meeting Chris W and getting ready to walk on the ferry...Oops...the ferry is broke..so we had to wait till 1015 to head on the next ferry to Seattle...
7 hours later, Chris and I were down on the field celebrating the Huskies, historic and miraculous win over the #3 team in the country...
What a day, and when I got home Vanessa and the kids had a great card waiting for me...telling me how great my training is and how proud they are of me....for meeting my goals...I love them so much, and they have been so supportive...
What goals, or at this point GOAL....That yesteday I weighed in at 200 POUNDS.....Back in February of 2007, I weighed close to 300 pounds...Today I write this, knowing I weigh 200 pounds...lower than I have been in over 17 years....Where there is a will there is a way....
