Brian's Run

Roughly, six years ago I ran my first official race. I had been running for about three or four months and a couple people asked me, "Are you running Brian's Run?" I accepted this as fate considering the short timespan of the inquiries and registered. Needless to say, I was nervous and intimidated and lined up in the back with the "walkers". This was a God-send because it allowed me to build confidence. As I passed people, I felt better and ran harder. This was my first lesson that running was more mental than physical. A cheap mind trick but it worked. To this day, I still tend to line up a little beyond my actual ability.

So we were off and running. I loved it but my fear held me back. I didn't want to walk, gassed out, looking like the rookie that I was. I held my conservative pace until the last half mile. Secure with the knowledge that I was "right around the corner", I opened and flew. I blew the doors off of people. One guy commented outloud, "Damn, the dude in the knit hat (me) is flying!" I loved it. Turning the second to last turn, I saw my family cheering me on. I have no recall of the actual finish line, I just remember seeing my wife, Mother-in-Law, and two small children. It was amazing.

Shortly after this I called my father, a retired Colonel in the Marine Corps. As a father would do, he praised and the gave a subtle challenge, "If
you ever think of doing a marathon, think of the Marine Corps Marathon... it's really well organized." I wasn't really looking at doing a marathon, even a well organized one but I entered the MCM lottery and got in.

That was the first of five marathons.

Today, I completed another Brian's Run. This run has again become the catalyst for another marathon.

After my last marathon in 2006, I promised myself that and my wife that I would not do another marathon until she had completed her Doctorate. I had felt guilty of being selfish and taking too much time for personal pursuits resulting in time lost in family time.

The time away from running was nice but as a runner I lost my focus. I missed the schedule and final goal.

This past Friday my amazing wife successfully defended her dissertation. Late that night I was still basking in the pride that I have for her and happened to open the new Runners World magazine. The first page that I opened to was a picture of the Steamtown Marathon... it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

So today as I ran with my buddy and The Chicken to the start of Brian's Run. We talked about old marathons, Brian's Run, and ...Steamtown.

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Float

You get to point in running that your mind just floats. While running, I still do my "checks and balances" but that all happens in the background. Today, while I was out running, I floated through all my past injuries and the effect that it had on me at that time. As I arrived at my latest injury, one word came to mind, "reset". This recent injury brought me back to square one and gave me the perspective of appreciation of being back at the beginning. After years of 20 mile runs, I am cool with 3. It's really not the distance. It is the act - mentally, physically, and most of all spiritually. Just having the ability to go out and run... to float. That works for me.



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First Run

Today was a day of a couple of firsts. One was that I ran for the first time in months. Due to injury, I have been laid up and not very happy about not being able to enjoy the weather with some long runs. But God puts you where you need to be so I stretched and stretched and stretched and hoped for speedy recovery.

Today was the day. I went out on a beautiful day and went for a wonderful run. It was the best two and a half miles a man could ever ask for... but it gets better. Upon reaching my house, I walked in and yelled, "Who's ready to go for a run?!" After hunting down shoes, insisting on socks, and allowing my youngest to run in his underwear - we headed out. I told them about breathing and pacing themselves. I told them not to be afraid to say they need to stop and in the end we all sprinted for the "finish line". I could see that they were all happy with their first run but I beamed. I hope this isn't the last run together and I know it is the continuation of many firsts that I will experience with my family.



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Hurt

There is no better way to say it... when you are hurt you can go insane. During some runs, I pulled
a hammy and now, roughly, a month to six weeks later my leg is feeling better. I hope to get running very, very soon. I hated being there but sometimes you have to get hurt and fall back to move forward.

So... what lays before is stretching, stretching, and more stretching. After a week of pain, the running, push-ups, and sit-ups begin.


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NYC running

This blows. I haven't squeezed in one run while in NYC. This really bums me out because I fully intended on running a marathon in the Spring. I am not giving up on this goal but it does worry me.



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Blizzardy out

I love big snow falls. It's the best! The only draw back has been that I have missed, roughly, 10 days of training. Basically, this is 6 runs. Trust me, I have been working out... shoveling and push-ups but I miss my runs. It started last Saturday with a big snow storm (28") and then my lack of running continued Sunday when my oldest wanted to go out to lunch after church. My wife said, "Daddy has to go for a run." I felt bad and said, "Yeah, let's go
to the Landmark (a local bar/restaurant)." I knew I would miss my run that day but also knew that my family came first. Roads were also terrible so safety was a concern.

Now, with second blizzard and an upcoming trip to NYC Fashion Week, I hope I can get back on track.

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To the Professor!

So I ended Week 1 with 13 miles. It started off well - smooth, strong, and controlled. Cold day but decided to go with shorts anyway (I always think of my buddy, Kenny, when I do this) and felt fine doing so... package went a bit numb during the run... I really hate that. Last 2 miles were tough but I pushed through. Legs were getting sore and heavy and I wanted to walk but kept thinking that I had to keep going and that I couldn't walk in a marathon. I kept running.

Walking into my house I was met with a warm family, pizza, shower, and cold beer. I hurt but the pain subsided and warm dry clothes, big chair, blankets, and the knowledge that I had completed my goal made me feel much better. Motrin helped.


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Rainy day running

Today, is the first day of training for the Pocono Marathon. I woke up hearing the sounds of wind gusts and pouring rain. Where I live this usually
means falling tree limbs... not good. But as I mentally wrote the day off, I decided to stop being a baby and headed out for some intervals. I heard myself telling people that "... running in the elements makes you stronger - mentally and physically." If you run in bad weather and then bad weather happens on race did you know that you have been there and done that. Mentally, you don't stress about it.

So it was a great day for a run and I feel better for doing it.


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Dopey

I am not sure if this happens to other people but sometimes after a run I just get dopey. My brain just slows down. You can really see this in 3:15 during the interview about my father not being able to come to MCM.

Runner's excitement and surprise

I find it surprising that after all these years I still get excited to go out for a run. As I started putting my gear on today, I noticed a little twinge in the bottom of my stomach. It surprised me and it made me happy that I can still feel this way.

Coming into this new training period, it makes me happy to know that deep down inside - I still love to run.


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New Year

Well, it's a new year and I don't plan to make any resolutions. But I am planning on a marathon. Training starts on January 15 and the marathon will, hopefully, be Pocono Marathon on May 16th. I am excited about this goal. It has been roughly four years since my last marathon and I think it is just time.




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