Hey did you hear? I am a marathon runner! Yes that is right, I have finished my first marathon. I can say that I have gone the distance and 26.2 miles was defeated. Slowly, but still defeated.

Marathon day was an interesting experience from start to finish. The night before, as was predicted, the sleep was not very good. I woke up continually on the hour, every hour. I guess I was thinking I was going to miss the alarm or something. Wasn’t like there was something big about to happen anyway. My little man woke up around 4:30 AM and was not at all ready to go back to sleep. That was OK, because daddy had already been awake for a while.

We all got up and start getting ready. It felt like I was in slow motion and apparently my nerves were heightened. About 20 minutes before the race, right before we headed down to the starting line, my nerves couldn’t take it anymore and I experienced my first vomit attack before a major event. Lets just say if you need to throw up something, banana muffins and cold water, not so bad. The good thing about me vomiting, if you can consider that a good thing, was afterward I felt energized and pumped. I was ready to go. I was ready to get started.

2010 Park City Marathon Pre-Race

2010 Park City Marathon (Kevin's 100th)

We headed down to the starting line. Found my Uncle and his son-in-law. Chatted a bit and snapped a few pictures. Then game time was on. The Star-Spangled Banner filled the quiet mountain air as the sun started to rise over the mountains. Very beautiful and peaceful, despite the energy of race anticipation circling about. 30 seconds to go, my Uncle tugs on my shirt and said these final words of encouragement, “We are in the front of the pack, a lot of people are going to pass us. Don’t worry, just keep running, it is OK.” The air horn blasted and the herd of people began what was my first marathon and my Uncle Kevin’s 100th. Yahoo, bring on the miles.

2010 Park City Marathon - Race Start

When I signed up for this marathon, on the first day of registration as early as I could, I really hoped I would get the bib number 1, to commemorate my first marathon. Well that didn’t happen. Kevin got 100 which was cool, but then my wife pointed out I got 262 which is exactly the miles of a marathon 26.2. So still a really cool way to honor my first marathon.

The herd and I started heading down the pathway onto the first mile. We looked like a huge pack of cows or sheep running towards the corral. Mile one came and went and many people passed me. I ran about .1 mile of the first mile with my Uncle, from there we were on our own pace and would meet up at the finish line. Around mile 2, I had started the first hill climb. I was prepared and it ended up not being an issue at all. The trail twisted and turned its way up the hill and around the neighborhood just east of the starting line. It met up with highway I-40 and I ran through a hidden tunnel that went under the freeway that connected with a paved frontage road. I ran along this rolling road for a bit and then turned south onto a dirt path, “The Rail Trail”, it was a straight shot for several miles.

One by one mile markers would pass, 7 miles, 8 miles, 9 miles. I am really doing this and I feel great. Then, I believe, I hit the wall that many people talk about hitting around the 20 mile marker. I don’t think it was the same kind of wall, but definitely a wall. My knee problem had returned and boy had it returned. Discouraged, I had to stop running and walked the next few miles, just to continue forward. At this point I realized I was making great time because when I stopped running and started the hobble-walking a lot of people passed me by. I must have been in the middle of the pack by this time. I was disappointed, frustrated and sad that I didn’t make it to the half way point before having to stop and walk. Nevertheless, I pushed on and slowly hobbled through it, after stopping to empty my shoes of tiny rocks of course.

Luckily, two EMT’s on bikes peddled by me and I asked if they had some Ibuprofen. Yes, Excellent! Just in time, I had finally reached the half way point. I was thinking to myself do I bail out now or keep going. Either way I still have a long way to go back. I either do the walk of shame back, or move forward through the pain. I set my eyes forward and pressed on. I am in this for the long haul. Mentally I was in it, my knee just wasn’t letting me have it.

The drugs kicked in right before the 2 mile hill climb through old Park City into the Deer Valley loop. I was able to run the entire 2 miles up. Yes, I was back in this, no turning back now. Once I was at the top, I walked a bit around the loop and starting running back down the hill towards the finish line. At this point in the race, I found myself wondering if I was the last guy. I felt alone, dang knee. But as I would turn corners I would see people in front of me which meant I wasn’t that far off. Right around mile 18 or 19, I forget which one now, there was this very steep incline. I found this to be the hardest part of the race, in regards to hills. What the heck was this too, I thought all the hills were done. This steep incline was probably about .1 mile and it sucked. I tried to run it, but only made it about 20 steps up and resorted to walking the rest.

I had turned north at this point, ran/walked/hobbled through the streets of old Park City. Passed the hotels and shopping centers near the Alpine Slide area. Wound down the neighborhood near the golf course, turned east again and looky, looky what do we have here? Mile marker 20. YES! Finish line is a mere 6.2 miles away. Estimation 1 hour.

Slowly, I worked my way down. Passed the barn, ran/walked/hobbled through another hidden tunnel and around the last mountain into the Swaner Nature Preserve. Mile 21, 22, 23, 24. I think I could start to see the finish line area around this point. My new race buddies, helped me along the way as we played leap frog with one another. Mile marker 25 and another small hill, WHAT!

I made it to the top and thought to myself I can push through to the end. Jen, one of my new race buddies, suggested “Eye of the Tiger” for the iPod song. Funny and great suggestion. I turned up the music and started running. Was just about to turn a corner and who do I see? “This is Bill”, a.k.a. “Coach Bill”, my brother-in-law. I couldn’t hear what he was saying, because the music was up loud and I was focused. I turned the corner and worked my way closer and closer to the finish line. Eye of the Tiger ended, and U2′s “With or Without You” shuffled through. Not really a fast paced song. So I went back to “Eye of the Tiger” for one last time. Started running hard again, passed a few people, dropped the iPod, turned around picked it up, started the music again, turned the corner, 26 mile marker, .2 to go! Turned another corner and could hear the finish line. I came around the final turn and could see my support group smiling and cheering me on. I crossed the finish line in a run with a smile on my face. TIME: 5:46:49.0 Yes nearly 6 hours later, I made it across the finish line and I felt great. I finished 393 overall and 29 in my age group.

Certainly not the fastest marathon, but a marathon all in all. I completed it running, walking and hobbling with my head held high.

2010 Park City Marathon - Race Finish (Almost There)

2010 Park City Marathon - Race Finish (Last Turn)

2010 Park City Marathon - Race Finish (Just a bit more)

2010 Park City Marathon - Race Finish (All Done - Medal in Hand)

2010 Park City Marathon - Race Finish (The support group)

2010 Park City Marathon - Race Finish (My first, Kevin's 100th)

Thanks Jen from Wyoming and Nadine from St. George for being my race buddies. You gave me encouragement and goals to meet as we worked together to push and pull each other to the finish line. It was nice to get to know both of you and share in this accomplishment together. Congratulations to Jen on completing her first marathon and Nadine for completing her third marathon this year.

Thanks to Dan Webster and the Utah Foster Care Foundation. Thanks to all my supporters, friends and family. Thanks to all those that donated on my behalf. The story is not over. The marathon was just the first chapter. Running to help… continues. After I recuperate that is. =)

2010 Park City Marathon - Race Finish (Bonus Blisters)

Marathon Day! Running to help… I just started, see you at the finish line 26.2 miles later.

Well. Well. Less than 24 hours and I will be done with my first marathon. Sleep last night was not so good. I woke up early again, so I decided to do one last training run before the big day. I ran 1 mile on the treadmill and it felt like nothing. I remember when I started my training, that 1 mile was really difficult. I have come a long way and only need 26.2 miles left to call it good.

After finishing my 1 mile run, I met up with my Uncle for an early morning strategy breakfast with him, his son-in-law and a friend of my Uncle’s. 3 of us are running the marathon and the other was there for support and advice. It was a good time, we talked about the race, religion, war and variety of other topics. Eventually we circled back to the race and that was when I started getting a little nervous.

On the way home my Uncle called me and asked if I was listening to the radio. He was all excited, because they were talking about him on the radio. I found this article on KSL.com.

100 marathons is quite an accomplishment and I am proud and honored to be a part of it. To run along side you, OK maybe not along side of you, but behind, far behind you, is an amazing thing. Look for number 100 to cross the finish line that is my Uncle. I am number 262.

Tomorrow is going to be an amazing day. 100 marathons for my Uncle. My first marathon. And did you hear my wife is speaking after the award ceremony about the Utah Foster Care Foundation? Amazing, truly amazing.

Two days and counting…

I must be getting excited. OK, I admit it is not excitement is nervousness. I am up way too early today, couldn’t sleep. Race day jitters are setting in. Yesterday I was pumped and ready to go. Today I am nervous, but still ready to go. I hope I can sleep better tonight, because come Friday I don’t expect to get much sleep. My Uncle told me it is the sleep that counts two nights before the race, because you don’t really sleep the night before. I agree. Here’s to one day closer to marathon time.

Bring on the donations. Bring on the running. Bring on the sleep.

Three Days and counting…

Good news, my knee is feeling great today. My hobble has lessened and my spirits are up. 26.2 miles, here I come. More good news 10% of the way there for my donation goal. Thanks to all who are chipping-in to the right and donating on my behalf.

To note, the Utah Foster Care Foundation has made arrangements with the Park City Marathon to have a booth available to talk to people about the foundation near the start and finish line of the marathon. They have also made arrangements to have some time during the marathon award ceremony to do a presentation and speech. Guess who they asked to speak. Yep, me, but being the caring husband that I am and thinking ahead, I don’t think I will be too coherent after the race, I volunteered my wife to give the speech.

Come one, come all to see me cross the finish line and hear my beautiful wife speak.

Four days and counting…

The countdown is on, five days until the big day. Many people ask me now, Am I ready? My answer, yes. Nervous? A bit. Excited? yes! They ask me, what is the longest I have gone so far? My answer, 18 miles and they say, not in a car! I tried for 20 miles a couple of times, but backed out about half way into it as to avoid any serious injury to myself a couple of weeks before the big day. The last attempt caused me a weird knee issue that I am babying along right now so I can get through the marathon.

I did a short treadmill run last night and everything seems to be OK. I find after I have my knee bent for long periods of time it stiffens up. I am going to still try to push through and hobble across the finish line if that is what is going to take. Like the sign said that I saw someone holding along one of the training race routes. “Pain is temporary, Pride is forever.”

Up to this point I was running blind in regards to the marathon path. I was playing on the Park City Marathon site the other day and found a fly-by video of the path. I was concerned about the elevation climbing, but after watching the video, I am more at ease with it. The elevation climbs will still be a challenge, but I am ready for the challenge.

Speaking of challenge, thanks to all of those who participated in the “Help build my playlist” blog contest, I received several good suggestions. For all those who submitted a song, your name was placed in a hat and one lucky winner was randomly selected. CONGRATULATIONS, Desiree! Five days from now I will be enjoying a wide variety of musical selections, thanks to all of you.

I am still working on reaching my goal of $1000.00 to help the 2800 children in foster care. Five days left to reach that goal, which means, I need to get 20 people to donate $5 a day from now until the marathon. Using the widget to the right, chip-in and make a donation today!

Five days and counting…

This past weekend, I enjoyed my second river run. This time the commercial jingle was not in my head like it was the last time. To read more about the first time see: River Run… River Run…

This river run was in good company. I finally had the chance to run with my uncle for the first time. The trail we ran was one of his infamous runs, with an eating break somewhere along the way with a 2 mile run back to the car after we ate.

He also coined it a “hot” run, because we were not able to start until 4:30PM. Hot was right! Actually it wasn’t too bad when we started out. There was a slight wind in our face and we had a light sprinkle to keep us cool. But as we ran further the rain disappeared and the sun came out from behind the clouds which just made it humid. The humidity got to me and I was starting to lose the mental game. I was going to bail out on him early, but with a little persuasion, I was able to keep pushing to his first drink break about a 1/2 mile from where I was going to start walking. We took a quick walking break and we were back at again.

We joined up with our families for a bite to eat at a local sandwich shop along the trail. I wasn’t feeling up to eating much, so i just had a few fries and a bunch of water. Then we were off again to finish up the mileage. 2.3 miles back along the Jordan River Parkway, definitely a scenic run. Thanks Kevin for letting me tag along. I can definitely tell you are a seasoned marathoner. Thanks for the tips and tricks as well. I tried them out and they are helping. Definitely some great knowledge to have before the big day, which is less than two weeks away. Excitement is building. Oh, by the way I am still needing help with my marathon playlist.

I woke up today to find the local area paper on the driveway. I opened it up and on the top half of the back main page, what do I see? A story and a picture of me. I found the article in digital format for those that do not get this local area paper.

Riverton dad recognized for his ability to foster love for children

Thanks, SVJ for helping me spread the word.

A few days ago I was contacted by a gentleman named Ali Islami. He posed an idea to me that he is working on and I am so touched that he would like my involvement.

From that conversation things have moved quickly. I was contacted by Jennifer Gustavson, a writer for the Salt Lake Tribune, who was doing an article on Ali and what he is trying to accomplish.

Today, I found the article…
Vegas ragnar runner will benefit kids in foster care
(slight correction in the article, the marathon is on Aug 21st not Aug 22nd)

What an awesome thing to do Ali! I contacted my fellow Wasatch Back Ragnar team runners and after hearing Ali’s story, several of them were ready to go.

In a matter of a week things have change quite a bit. Ali and I were in contact with each other. There was an article written up in the Salt Lake Tribune and he and I have organized a team together to run in the Vegas Ragnar Relay Race in October to raise money for the Utah Foster Care Foundation.

The verdict is in.

After trying some long runs with and without music, I have decided to have my iPod at the ready for the marathon, just in case I need a bit more motivation to get me through the miles. I have tried a variety of different musical categories and specific artist playlists, ranging from Metallica to Classical music. They all have their pros and they all have their cons, so what I am looking for now are suggestions from you.

Help build my marathon playlist. Post a comment here on my blog with the song title and artist of a song or song(s) you think should be included in my marathon playlist. It can have a theme. It can be funny. It can be in a foreign language. It can be something you listen to while you exercise. It can basically be anything you like or would recommend, that can help motivate me to the finish line.

I will round up the songs and create a playlist of all the suggested items to be used on marathon day. From the list of entries I will randomly select one lucky winner to receive a run2100.com prize. Entry deadline is Friday, August 13th, 2010.

Thanks for your help and suggestions – have fun! Please don’t forget to donate to the Utah Foster Care Foundation.