Yippee!

For the past three years I’ve made a trip to Florida to hang out with my sister and friends.  While there we’ve participated in the Miami Marathon and Half Marathon.  For the previous two years I ran the half marathon.  This year, having achieved my goal just 2 months prior I decided to change things up.  I upgraded to the full marathon with the intent of running 100% stress free.  I wouldn’t worry about my time.  I wouldn’t worry about what I was eating before the race (within reason of course).  I wouldn’t worry about anything!  …And that’s what I did.

OK there was one thing that bothered me.  I wasn’t smart enough to check my corral placement at the expo.  The Miami Marathon folks somehow managed to place me in corral I which is about 3 from the last corral.  I’m not sure how they managed to put me there.  I expected to finish the race in about 3:30 which would place me in a corral very close to the front (corral C).  It’s chip timed so who cares?  I’m sure some people are thinking that.  It still matters because if you are grouped with people slower than you you have to run around them constantly.  Being that far back I probably would have had to dodge people for the entire race.  I didn’t start in corral I and the race officials wouldn’t let me in corral C.  I’ll leave it at that.

I had a before, during, and after the race (except for getting upset about the corral mistake).  This was my fifth marathon but the first that I ran with a friend.  I ran with my friend Mark from the start of the race on through to mile 25.  At mile 25 I took off and a fast pace and finished the race with a kick!

During the race I:

• Threw empty water cups at Mark — he threw a full one at me!
• Offered to sing to Mark
• Lovingly made fun of other race participants including imitations of the butt pendulum girl
• Did my best to get the crowd going
• Had to pee about 30 seconds after the gun went off

While I had a ton of fun running with no goal I think I enjoy racing a bit more.  I’m looking forward to training hard and pushing for a new PR at my next goal marathon in the fall.

The race was just an excuse to go to Florida.  We missed my friend John a lot during this trip but had some very memorable moments none the less including, but not limited to (this list was pilfered from my witty sister):

• Mark washing what little hair he has with mouthwash
• Me translating between Donna language and Mark language
• Coral I?! WTF?!
• Mark soiling my leg with mysterious liquid from the streets of Miami
• Mark eating a burger the size of my face and washing it down with Ketchup “I’m better than you.”
• Continuing to practice the butt pendulum even after the race
• Offering to sing to Mark but being rejected
• Oh, don’t worry the dog is only 10..”well I’m 34 and still afraid of animals”, Donna Rowe
• The coconut award (clippity clop)
• Donna rejecting water from a volunteer “No, I don’t want it.”
• Waking up Mark (again) with the rooster ring tone
• Corvette guy with “Bad Romance”
• And…sigh…being asked if I had good eyesight.  I shall say no more in the public forum of the internet.
• A nearly complete Disney world experience in two days (see the delight of Mark hugging Mickey brought tears to my eyes)
• A FEAST from Chef TJ at Ohana’s

Sadly I will not be running Miami in 2011.  I’ve registered for Disney’s Goofy’s Challenge which is 3 weeks prior.  I can’t afford to fly to Florida twice in 3 weeks.  I’ll go back to Miami in 2012 though!

After the race I promptly sat down and was offered help by many volunteers.  At first I refused.  I just wanted to catch my breath and rest a bit.  But then the center of my chest started to hurt.  It hurt at the top of my inhale and the bottom of my exhale.  All I had to do was look at a volunteer and they were at my side helping me to the medical tent.  The volunteers did a great job.

Chest pains are taken very seriously especially at endurance events.  Somewhere between 1 in 50,000 and 1 in 75,000 participants will die due to heart related problems.  In almost every case it is due to a pre-existing and undiagnosed heart condition.

The EMTs talked asked me a bunch of questions and did an ekg.  They didn’t really like what they saw and recommended that I go to the hospital for further evaluation.  I wasn’t about to argue with them even though I never felt that I was in any danger.

At the ER they took blood, did a chest x-ray, and monitored me.  The blood work was, among other things, to look at some blood markers that appear during heart attacks.  One of those markers is troponin.  I’ve was told that this chemical is released into the blood when heart cells die, and only when heart cells die.  I’ve since learned that troponin can be present in the blood from other sources (other muscles).  Still, it’s an excellent tool that doctor’s can use to determine if a heart attack has occurred.  If the levels rise over a perioid of time then the liklihood of a true heart attack increases.  My troponin levels rose beyond the pre-defined thresholds and so they recommended that I stay over night for fruther testing and to have a stress test the following morning.

So, instead of going out on the Vegas strip to celebrate my friends and family stopped by to see me in the hospital.  Ugh.  As unhappy as I was sitting there it was the right thing to do.  Over night they took more blood samples and my troponin continued to rise.  The following morning I had the stress test done.

The stress test was not the typical treadmill based test.  This test included nuclear imaging.  Instead of increasing my heart rate via exercise they injected a chemical agent that made my heart race.  They took nuclear images for my unstressed heart and when it was stressed.  About one hour after this test I was released because the stress test showed no damage.  I was instructed to follow up at home with my primary care physician.

I followed up at home with a cardiologist.  The outcome of talking with him (and taking an exercise induced stress test) is that I’m completely fine.  None of the tests indicate a heart problem.

So what happened then?  Why did my troponin rise?  What was the source of the pain?  I believe the pain was respiratory in nature and at least one person at the cardiology center agreed that I was likely correct.  The elevated troponin is expected in marathon runners!  The limited data available shows that almost every participant will have elevated troponin.  The source of that might be from the heart or from other muscles in the body.  I ended up being hospitalized because doctors don’t have data about marathoners.  They have to base their decisions on the data that they do have.  When the troponin levels rise in a sedentary person it is cause for concern.

The cardiologist printed journal articles for me related to the topic and said “bottom line: there’s nothing to worry about.”  The data indicates that elevated troponin is normal in endurance events.

My theory is that some heart cells die as part of the normal adaptation process.  When you develop muscles you damage them and they grow back stronger.  Why should the heart be that much different?  It is known that the hearts of endurance athletes grows larger and adapts to the stresses we place on them.  I suspect it is not dangerous and is in fact beneficial.

That single incident cost almost $30,000.  My primary care physician said “that’s criminal.”  I hope my insurance company investigates the charges.  If they are legit that’s fine but 30k seems like an awful lot of money for something like this.

My next marathon is in 1 week.  In one way I’m glad I went through this ordeal.  I’m now more confident than ever that I do not have a heart condition to worry about.  I can train and run races and enjoy life.

Get out there and run!

Four years ago I could barely run a single mile in 10 minutes. Three years ago I struggled to finish my first marathon in 4:18 (about a 10 minute mile). Today I ran a marathon fast enough to qualify for the Boston marathon. Every marathon I run I achieve something that I didn’t think I could do. That’s why I run them.

On the morning of the race I got to the “runners village” early but I still had to hurry to the start line. It was getting close to 6 AM and I was in the first corral which meant I really had to be at the start when the gun fired at 6:15 AM. There was confusion at baggage drop and I really didn’t have time to wait in line. A nice (and pretty!) girl took pity on me and let me cut in line. Even after cutting the line short I had to rush due to the massive number of people trying to get to the starting area. 27,000 people funneling over 8 foot wide walk ways is a recipe for being late to a race. I made it to the start on time but closer than I cared for.

In true Las Vegas style the start of the 2009 Las Vegas Marathon was pretty crazy. There was a band on top of the start line. There were tigers in the sides of the start line. There were fireworks. There were celebrity impersonators. The only thing about the start that was not true to Las Vegas was the air temperature. It was 32F. My ideal racing temperature is in the 50s. I wasn’t pleased with the temperature but it’s one of those things that you can’t control. It didn’t rise much about 40 during the race. At one point my shirt sleeve actually froze when I spilled water on it.

I set out with my race plan in mind. I was to run at a 7:10 pace as consistently as possible. That would have me finish at about 3:08 nearly 3 minutes ahead of my ultimate goal of 3:10:59. If I felt good near the end of the race I would run faster but I would not allow myself to run faster at the beginning. The first mile showed a 6:48 pace. That was way too fast so I slowed down. The second mile showed an 8 minute pace. I slowed down but I knew I didn’t slow to an 8 minute per mile pace. The first mile marker was too early.

At the half I was running according to plan. It was 1:34:29. I had said if I came in much above or below 1:34 that I was in trouble. At that point in the race I felt that I had a good chance of getting below 3:10:59 (Boston Qualifying time). But then things changed. My mile splits started getting slower. I turned in a bunch of 7:20-7:30 miles. I didn’t panic because I knew that wasn’t a big deal but it was a little troubling. At mile 18 things started to get difficult and I lost faith. I was almost certain at that point that I would miss my goal. Oddly I didn’t mind.

At about mile 20 everything changed again. The gentle but relentless 12 mile uphill battle was over. The wind and cold was slightly more at my back. I felt good. My music was good. I ran and I ran fast. My mile split for mile 21 was 6:49! I couldn’t believe I had gone that fast that late in the race. I became convinced that I could meet my goal. I ran the last 10k of the race in about 43:45 (7:04 pace), which is technically a 10k PR for me (but I’d blow that away if I ran a 10k right now).

All through the race the 3:10 pace group was ahead of me. I knew they had started out too fast and I didn’t want to burn out trying to keep up with them. Around mile 21 I thought I was going to catch up but they must have experienced the same feeling of rejuvenation that I had. I ran fast but the gap between us barely closed.

The last 6.2 miles is partly a blur. My mind stopped working correctly. I couldn’t remember if I was at mile 24 or if I had 4 miles to go. It didn’t matter. My training paid off here. I knew all I had to do was to maintain my current pace which is exactly what I did during training runs. It got more and more difficult to hold on to my pace but I knew I could do it because I really didn’t have very far to go. Surely I could deal with 45 minutes of discomfort?

It felt like forever but I finally rounded the corner by Mandalay Bay and saw the finish. I gave all that I had left. I could see on the clock that I had done it. I crossed feeling the exhilaration of achieving a difficult goal as well as utter exhaustion. I finished in 3:09:17, a 7:14 average pace. I received my medal and promptly sat on the ground. Within minutes at least 5 people asked me if I was OK. I said I was fine, that I just needed a few minutes. Then the chest pains started…

The pains were not normal, but then running a marathon isn’t strictly normal either. I played it smart and asked for medical assistance and so began my trek to the hospital in an ambulance and my first stay at a hospital, a story that deserves its own post. Everything turned out OK and I was released the next day to finally celebrate with my friends and family.

For any runners that are reading this please always fill out emergency information on your race bib especially at large races. The folks at the hospital need that information to contact your loved ones. Do not expect them to contact race officials. The race officials might not be able to provide the information right away (for example the computer systems weren’t working for a while at Vegas). A gentleman next to me in the ER who ran the half marathon could not speak when he arrived. He filled out his emergency information and the hospital was able to contact his fiance and family when he was not able to speak. I must also commend the race officials. A race official came to the hospital to award him his medal after he became alert. Sadly he passed away the following day. He was 32 years old.

This was the first marathon that I raced. I had a plan and I executed it. I corrected mistakes I’ve made in the past. At MCM in 2008 I went out too fast and didn’t take in enough calories. This time I trained properly and was able to maintain my pace through the end. I took gels approximately every 5 miles.

This race was very special to me. I was able to share it with lots of friends and family. It was the first marathon that my sister and I ran together. I had 5 friends other than my sister there. For two of them it was their first marathon. I haven’t really said so but I’m incredibly proud of them. My wife and daughter were there to cheer for me. I would have missed them dearly if they weren’t there. They made special shirts that wished me “luck” on the front and congratulated me on on BQing on the back (if I failed they planned not to show me the back!).

The title of this post is “Boston Didn’t Qualify For Itself, I did” but that’s a lie. We qualified for Boston. I couldn’t have done this without an understanding and loving wife, parents who drive me home from my 20 mile runs week after week, friends that support me and my craziness, and a work environment where I can put in 15 mile runs in the middle of the work day.

Some splits, just for the record:
1: 6:46 (I’m sure the 1st mile marker was too early in the course)
2: 8:04
3: 7:03
4: 7:00
5 & 6: 13:59
7: 6:56
8: 7:04
9: 7:11
10: 7:18
11: 7:23
12: 7:31
13: 7:28
14: 7:21
15: 7:15
16: 7:27
17: 7:20
18: 7:29
19: 7:29
20: 7:28
21: 6:49
22: 6:59
23: 7:00
24: 7:07
25: 7:10
26: 7:15
.2: 1:31

Official Splits:
5 Km 22:37
10 Km 44:29
10Mi 1:11:29
Half 1:34:29
16 8 Mi 2:01:38
20 Mi 2:25:29

So now I rest and try not to worry about things I can’t control. I took some time to compare my training from my last marathon to my training for this marathon. At my last marathon I was too confident and inexperienced. I went out too fast and too hard and payed for it. I met my personal goal of breaking 3:30 (with a 3:29:44) but I felt I was capable of more. My training lacked raw distance and overall mileage.

In my preparations for this race I tried to avoid the mistakes of the past. I needed to make my body capable of truly running long distances. That meant running more than two to four 20 mile runs. My last training cycle included about 900 miles and I averaged about 40 miles per week. This time I’ve run more than 1400 miles averaging about 55 miles per week. I had hoped to average closer to 60 miles per week but I wasn’t able to do so.

I worked on my distance by starting at 13 mile long runs and running them every week until they were too easy. Then I bumped to 16. Then 18. Then 20. For my third marathon I ran 5 long runs of 18 or more miles. For this marathon I’ve logged 16. Out of those 16 long runs 11 have been 20 miles or more.

My race plan is to start the race at a 7:15-7:20 pace. I’d like to fairly quickly bring that down to a 7:10. I will not let myself run faster than 7:10s for the first half. If, at the halfway point, it’s been unbearably easy, then I will allow myself to increase the pace a little bit but no faster than 7:00 per mile! At 20 miles I’ll give everything I have. I’ll cross the finish somewhere between 3:05 and 3:10:59. …At least that’s the plan.

Back in August we went back to the island!  This was only possible due to the generosity of the Ghidiu clan.  First because John Sr chose not to use his timeshare this year, and second because John the lesser invited Mary, Cassie, and I to tag along.

The first time we went to Hawaii we dreamed of returning but we never thought we’d be able to go back so soon.  This time around it was a lot different primarily because we had Cassie with us.  We spent a lot of time at the pool and didn’t really explore the island as much.  I’m not complaining.  Maui is paradise.

Our trek was an interesting one.  To save money on airfare we flew through Toronto.  We spent the night at the Sandman which was a great business-type hotel near the airport.  The room included free parking and a free shuttle to and from the airport.  Our 15 hours of travel began at about 4:30 AM.  Cassie was a trooper through the entire trip.  She had a couple of short moments where she was tired of being on the plane but these were short.  On the plane we met Dan, Erin, and their kids whom we kept bumping into for the remainder of the trip.

I think the highlight of the trip for Cassie was riding on the Sugar Cane Train.  It was pricey but worth it because she loved it so much.  Cassie also loved swimming in the pool.  We stayed at the Marriot Ocean Club.  They have a very nice pool complete with water slides and a special pirate ship for little kids.  Cassie was not a fan of swimming in the ocean.

No trip to Maui is complete without seeing the comedy/illusion show at Warren and Annabelle’s.  John, Julie, and I enjoyed the show while Mary hung out with Cassie.  Mary and Cassie ended up watching a hula performance from the beach walk.  This was the first time Cassie saw real hula dancers and she fell in love.  We’re still hearing about hula dancers and I see no end in sight!

Mary posted a whole bunch of pictures.

My runs suffered.  I suffered.  My family suffered.  Looking at my log you can see my running gradually got slower and slower.  I lost motivation and was pretty miserable.

I’ve been taking iron pills for almost 3 weeks now and I can’t believe the improvement.  I feel like I’m myself again!  For the last two weeks I’ve cut back on training.  I’ve also lost some key training time due to illness.  Still, I have to believe that I have enough in “the training bank” to buy myself a Boston Qualifying time in Vegas.  I ran an awesome half marathon in September and I’m feeling good when I run now.

The next improvement I noticed was the morning of the race.  This year they had signs posted from the chip pickup area to the starting line.  In previous years I just followed people hoping they knew where they were going.  In 2007 when I ran the full marathon I took a shuttle because I was paranoid about not getting to the start line soon enough.

If I could complain about anything it’d be the lack of toilets at the start.  Or rather the limited numbers of toilets.  The lines were long, very long.  You have to time such things properly.  Having to pee (or worse!) during a race is to be avoided at all costs.  This means that nearly every runner wants to use the toilet about 10-15 minutes prior to race start.  The more toilets the better!

My race went very well.  I set out for a PR thinking a 1:27 (6:40 pace) would be the best possible outcome.  The race didn’t start well.  My mp3 player wasn’t playing and I had trouble getting it started.  That was just the start of my electronics woes for the race.  In the first mile I saw two of Rochester fastest male runners fly by.  They somehow managed to miss the start of the race.  Perhaps they were in line at the toilets?

The first mile split was 6:42.  That surprised and delighted me.  I didn’t feel like I was running that fast.  In addition I had been talking to people I knew and fumbling with my mp3 player.  The next mile I was a bit more focused and clocked off a 6:30 (or so), again without effort.  I couldn’t find mile marker 3 and when I found mile marker four I realized I messed up my stop watch!  I must have hit “stop” instead of “lap” and thus shut off my watch.  At that exact moment, as I swore out loud, I heard John shout my name and he took picture of me.

The miles kept ticking by with relative ease.  I focused on my form and running the shortest route I could.  The Canal Path and Genesee River Path wind around a lot and there is ample opportunity to run tangents.  At each mile I was surprised and happy that I was keeping such a fast pace.

As I neared Frontier Field  I queued up music that makes me run super fast…or at least I tried.  Something got messed up and I had no music.  So I turned off my mp3 player and turned it back on to the sounds of silence.  Grrrr!  No music for the finish!  So as I rounded the corner I threw my hands up in the air to get some good crowd support.  As I pushed to the finish line I didn’t have the finishing speed that I usually have.  I think I ran a better race and left more energy on the course this time.  As I crossed the line I saw 1:25:04 on the clock.  Nearly two full minutes better than I thought I could possibly do!  My official net time (chip time) was 1:24:59.  I actually broke 1:25 and shaved 3 minutes and 47 seconds off of my current PR!  I ended up finishing 34th overall out of 1700+ runners!

My performance at this race gave me a big confidence boost making me think that it will be possible to qualify for Boston.  More than that I had a great day.  The PR, friends and family running and cheering, great weather, and a fun after race party at our house;  all of these things made me happy.  Happiness isn’t permanent but I’ll take it when I can get it!

I haven’t given up.  I’m still running.  I took about a week off while I was on vacation.  I took a break from everything.  I ran only 6 miles, I ate whatever I felt like at any time of the day.  I didn’t exercise.  I tried not to worry about anything.  It should have been refreshing but I started to physically feel like garbage.

But things happen in cycles right?  Last Sunday I went went for a long run even though I badly didn’t want to.  It was late at night (7:00 PM), I was tired, and I wasn’t in a good mental state.  Mary encouraged me to get out the door and I did.  I’m very glad I did.  I had a fantastic run.  It was supposed to be 20 miles with the last 10 at marathon goal pace (7:15 per mile).  The first 10 miles were effortless and went by quickly.  The last 10 felt great too.  I ran faster than I thought I possibly could on a 20 miler.  My average pace for the entire run was 7:16!  If I could run 7:16 during a marathon I can qualify for Boston!  I didn’t think I could hold such a fast pace and feel so good for so long.  When I finished I felt like I could have kept going strong for another 3 miles.

I am hoping that there will be more ups than downs and that the ups will be steep and the downs gentle.  I’m hoping I can hold on to my motivation long enough to achieve my goal.  I think I can.  It won’t be easy but if it were it wouldn’t be worth trying.