Thanksgiving Turkey Trot

I ran this race with my mom the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and I promised in my last post to give a reort of how it went for me so...here goes:

My knee was kinda sore in the warmup, but I figured that it was just tight from a combination of biking the day before and the cold, so I warmed up and started the race like normal. After about a mile anda half I knew it wasn't soreness. I became harder and harder to maintain good running form and I started to limp. I thought I just needed to push harder to get through it but the more I pushed the closer my knee came to giving out completely. When I finally stumbled across the finish line I found that it hurt just as much to walk as it had to run. I couldn't bend my leg without severe pain shooting down my leg. I tried to make my way over to where I saw my mom starting her next loop but my sister caught up to me and forced me to wait for mom in her van. After mom finished, we waited around for the small awards ceremony where I received two medals. One for finishing third overall, and another for finishing second in my age division. My time was 20:38. It was just a small, local race and there weren't many runners there, but I was still happy to do that well, especially considering the injury. Although I haven't been to a doctor, we are pretty sure that I pulled my I.T. (Iliotibial) band and will just have to take it easy for a while. Hopefully it will be better by new years eve! If anyone has any suggestions on how to deal with something like this le me know. Thanks!

Shout Out to Mama Holloway

This post is a salute to the wonderful woman that has everything to do with the kind of people we are today. I want to share, briefly, how a simple 5k race evidenced our mother's amazing character and greatly increased my admiration for her. I apologize beforehand for the lack of pictures. I threw a pic in of mom so ya'll will know who I'm talking about if you don't already, but there are no running pics this time. I promise to make up for it in future posts.

Mom has always supported us in the various sports we have attempted. From pee-wee soccer, to wrestling and cross country, and even through the disastrous years when some of us thought we could play football and basketball, mom has been there through it all. And she has always unselfishly taken the time to watch and cheer us on at every race, match, and game she could possibly attend. Well, on Saturday, November 19th, it was my turn to support mom as she ran in a turkey trot 5k in Blackfoot. The run was part of an eagle scout project, and the entry fee was five cans of food. Mom had been training for a while and had run three miles a few times before on treadmills and around the track, but she was still pretty nervous for her first real race. Having hurt herself lifting weights a few days before, she was still sore before the race, which only added to her nervousness. I have to confess that I am not as unselfish as mom because I couldn't keep myself from running at my pace and trying to place in the top three. Although mom said she didn't want to slow me down, I still felt a twinge of guilt at leaving her behind. But I justified myself by saying that I would run fast, then turning back to find her once I finished. As we lined up for the start, she look at me and imploringly said, "you promise you'll come back for me?" I reassured her and turned my attention to the race. It turned out to be harder than I expected, but I'll tackle that story in a different post. For reasons I wil discuss later, I didn't catch up with mom until she had already gone about 2 miles or so. As I approached her, she had tears streaming down her face and could barely gasp out the words "I've been waiting for you!" The sight of my dear mother in such agony broke my heart instantly. I wished with all my heart that I could somehow take away all her pain and suffering. Yet try as I may, I found I could do nothing more than stand by and cheer her on. In an ironic change of circumstance, it was my turn to watch from the sidelines, as she has done so many times before, powerless to intervene. I rambled on to her about how close she was to finishing and how I wouldn't leave her alone. Then I watched her dig deep inside and find strength I'm not sure she knew she posessed. Step by step, Mom inched her way toward the finish, awing all who watched with her firm resolve and boundless courage. Walking through the chute with her, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of pride in my mother, and felt honored to have been raised by such a magnificent woman.

Mom, your finishing time may have been the slowest on that day, but the heart and sheer determination that you exuded is more admirable than any olympic medal in the world. Your quiet example reminds us of why we run. It isn't to gain accolades or worldly praise; and it certainly isn't to impress anyone (that's a lost cause). As I watched you struggle, I thought of a saying that you taught me many years before. Whenever I got angry because I wasn't as tall or athletic as other children, you calmly taught me the words to the serenity prayer: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference." There are many things that our feeble bodies will not allow us to do, but our lack of accomplishment does not have to define us. We have more power than we realize. We learn from your example that if we simply exercise courage enough to harness that power, we can accomplish marvelous things. A stranger would say that you merely completed a 3.1 mile race. But to you, and those of us close enough to you to understand, we know that this race signified much, much more. Congratulations to you sweet mother. You are first place in my mind.

Running Shoe Review: Chucks!?!

The kid at the shoe store looked at me like I was nuts.

"Arch support, stability, and good cushioning--that's what make a good running shoe.  Chucks have none of that."  He was right, of course.  Converse All Stars, other wise known as Chuck Taylor's or just plain Chucks, are basically a piece of canvas glued onto a slab of rubber with some shoe laces.  It was everything you could possibly NOT want in a running shoe.

Or was it?

I had just finished reading the book Born to Run and was somewhat sold on the idea that when it comes to running, less may actually be more.  But I wasn't ready to up and barefoot it out there on the cold hard streets (or sizzling hot streets of Texas Summers) and at that time the Vibram 5 fingers were still pretty hard to come by.


So what would be a good shoe that I could run in but wouldn't provide all the arch support, cushioning and stability that Nike says I need?

Thus I found myself struggling to explain to a doubting salesman at the shoe store why I wanted to run in Converse All Stars.

For anyone looking to try running in Chucks, you can buy a pair of imitation Chucks at Wal-mart.  I ran in these but preferred the real All Stars because the toe base is slightly wider in the real ones which allows your toes to splay as you step instead of being crunched together.  The cheapo's run about $10 - $15.  Real Chucks are about $30 - $40.  Still, that is significantly cheaper than a pair of running shoes.

I found, as I hit the streets, that much like barefoot running my form changed instantly.  Without all the pads and cushioning in the shoe, I was forced to use my foot the way it was designed to be used.  Instead of a driving heal strike with each step, I stayed on the balls of my feet.  My running no longer sounded like the clomp-clomp-clomp of an elephant parade, in fact, you could barely hear the footfalls as I skimmed the pavement.  And a most unexpected thing happened.  For years I had been plagued with shin splints.  I had accepted it as a part of running.  But when I started wearing Chucks to run--the shin splints went away too.

I also found that my calves were getting A LOT stronger.  With other running shoes I would feel my quads and hamstrings after an intense run.  With the All Stars, my calves took the bulk of the beating and became hard as rock.

I'm not so naive as to claim that running in Chucks is the answer to avoiding all running injuries--believe me, I suffered my fair share of injuries while running in Chucks.  But I do know that when I got rid of all the padding under my feet the shin splints went away, and that must count for something.



The rubber toe of Chucks is ideal for rubbing skin off





Nothing like a bloody sock after a long run



I ran in Converse All Stars (as my primary running shoe) for about a year doing 2 - 5 miles a day, with a long run on the weekend of 10 - 15 miles.  Somewhere along the way I did a 26.2 training run in the All Stars.

I will admit that I rarely run in Converse All Stars anymore.  I finally found a pair of VFF's and wear those on a regular basis.  I also found that running shoes (even Nikes) are okay as long as you control the shoe and not let the shoe control how you run.  Overall, I would say that Chucks are a great way to transition to minimalist running--but maybe not the idea running shoe.  The downside is that the rubber toe, while very cool looking, will tear the skin off your toes and make a mess of your foot.  After a while, I developed some serious callouses and it didn't bother me but it is not ideal. You have to use your bodies natural bio mechanics to run in Chucks because they provide no padding or cushioning to assist your feet.  So your feet will start working like God intended them to--the bones and muscles (which are VERY intricate) will work together to absorb shock naturally. 

BYU-I Intramural cross country championships

This has been my first attempt at running competitively since my mission and overall it has been a good experience. We ran the championship meet today at the golf course in Rexburg. We had been crossing our fingers for good weather all week, but it started snowing last night and kept up all night long. There was probably an inch or two of snow covering the whole course. It was cold.

I started warming up about an hour before the race and kept myself warm until the start time. About fifteen minutes before the guys race started, I ran to the bathroom for the pre-race nervous pee. Some wonderful young gentleman decided to use the port-a-potty to keep himself warm and occupied it for about twenty minutes until just before the start of the race. So after refraining myself from using choice words against him and quickly finishing my business in the bathroom, I was in a hurry to get all of my warm-up layers off. I'm sure it was an entertaining sight to watch dad grab my right pant leg, Tia with my left pant leg, and Mom holding me up while they tried frantically to rip off the running sweats I have used since seventh grade. (Thanks everyone!!!) Needless to say, after some struggle we finally got everything off that needed to come off and the race started. We ran the first mile with the wind, but the snow was pretty deep so I had a hard time getting my footing. A lot of people sprinted out fast so I had more people to run behind. It was nice to follow some guys and have a little extra motivation to keep me going.

Heading into the second mile the course turned and we started running into the wind. This provided me the opportunity to learn a very important lesson in human physiology. It is very difficult for one to run at a high speed if one cannot breath. The constant falling of the snow, combined with the sudden gust of wind created near sub-zero temperatures and took my breath completely away. I struggled to regain my stride, and eventually did with my teammates cheering me on the whole way. (Thanks ya'll for all your support). It makes a huge difference to have people cheering for you while you run. I know it was freezing, and cross country (or any long distance running event) isn't the most exciting sport to watch, but thank you to everyone who sticks it out to watch us run. Your support gives us extra energy and often, the motivation we need to finish.

Now, I'm not sure who the sicked and twisted creature that created the course was, but let's just say he is not the most popular guy among runners in rexburg today. The last three-fourths of the third mile were running into the wind in the same deep snow we started in. I felt like I was running through, not into, but through multiple semi-trucks the whole way. Towards the end, I closed my eyes and just focused on putting one foot in front of the other. My unofficial finishing time was around 21:20. The director told me that the finishing times were about 3 minutes slower than average for everyone across the board, so I that made me feel better. After waiting for what seemed like an eternity in the cold, they announced that my team won first place. It had been a pretty close battle all year long with the other teams, so it was cool to finally come out on top. Now that cross country is over it's time to start getting ready for the real long races. Bring it on!

YUTC 50K

So my second ultra is in the books...actually has been for a while, I just  haven't written about it yet. Here goes:
On Sept. 17th my good friend Matt and I took a trip east to Youngstown to run in the Youngstown Ultra Trail Classic - YUTC race.  I ran 50k, he did 25k.  Overall, it was a great day, great race.  Some things could have gone a little better.  You'll see what I mean.
First off, the weather was beautiful.  Couldn't ask for better running weather.  It was in the low 50s when we started, not a cloud in the sky.  The high for the day was right around 70 and we were running under tree cover for most of the race.  It was perfect, perfect, perfect weather for running. 
The course was really nice too.  It wasn't as much rugged trail as Mohican (since that was my first ultra I can't help but compare) but still mostly trails, and it was nice to have a little more variety in the terrain.  The course went around two narrow lakes that are stacked.  The best way to picture it is like a figure 8, going around an upper lake and a lower lake.  It was gorgeous running right along the water for much of the race.
I was feeling pretty good going into this race.  I ran the Mohican 50 mile race in June and tried to basically just keep my training continuous for this race.  31 miles is still a very long way to run and I was expecting it would take me at least 6  hours, so I was trying not to be too optimistic...but still, I felt confident.

Start/Finish Area

Matt and I drove to Youngstown together the morning of the race.  It was kind of a funny setup because the parking lot was at the end of a dead-end street and we couldn't find the starting line.  When we asked someone they told us to "just go down the hill."  The "hill" was pretty much a drop-off with switchbacks to get down.  I'm learning that the ultra-running crowd has a hard time understanding words like "hill."  As we were shuffling down I couldn't help but think about how fun it would be to climb back up after the race... 
8:00am came and we were off.  Matt's training hadn't been quite what he was hoping for so we bid each other good racing and he stayed back while I moved up.  Less than a mile into the race we came to a huge set of stairs that we had to go up single file.  Bottle necks like that near the beginning of the race always slow things down but its part of ultra-running so I can't complain too much.  Soon, we hit the trails and I was happy.  The course had two aid stations that you came through multiple times - one at the start/finish line at the top of the figure 8, and another right in the middle of the figure 8, where the two loops crossed.  Coming up on the first aid station the course changed to these boardwalks with railings and stairs every so often.  So you would run on these planks for 50 yards or so then go up or down a few stairs, then run some more, then more stairs, etc; that went on for probably a half mile. Another guy I was running with said, "Why do I feel like I'm in a video game?"  I laughed out loud because if you've ever played those old-school video games, that's exactly what it felt like.
The aid stations were stocked well enough for me.  At the first one I decided to try a Hammer carbohydrate gel (my first one) and I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was.  Of course, it was "mountain huckleberry" flavor so that probably had something to do with it...
Onto the lower loop of the figure 8. This section because it was quite a bit easier - and faster - than the first part.  There was almost a mile of road and more awesome trails.  Throughout the race I had a several people ask me about my shoes, Merrell's minimalist Trail Glove shoes.  They all asked if my feet were sore, and actually they were a little sore.  The trail had lots of little pebbles that my left second metatarsal head didn't get along with.  But the pain peaked after 8-10 miles and never really got any worse so I didn't worry about it too much. After all, it's not a good ultra if you're comfortable the whole time, right?
The rest of the race was smooth sailing until I came back to the lower aid station the third time.  I was feeling good, but knew that if I slowed down at all I wouldn't make my goal time of 6 hours.  I snagged some sugar and salt and started the lower loop for the third time.  Oops.

This is where things get hairy...See, when I looked over the course map, I saw how everyone would run the 25k together, first.  You ran half of the top loop, hit the lower aid station, ran the bottom loop twice, then went up and did the other half of the top loop to finish back at the start/finish line.  That made total sense to me.  No problem.  So if I'm running the 50k I just do that twice, right???  Easier for the runners, easier for the organizers to measure, better for everyone, right???  WRONG.  The correct answer is, after the 50k runners finish the 25k course you just run the full TOP loop two more times and you're done.  No more lower loops.  So you actually end up doing the lower loop only twice...  And I was informed of that when I came into the aid station after finishing the lower loop for the third time.  As I came in, a volunteer asked if I ran the lower loop three times.  I thought he was joking...  He wasn't.  Apparently I had taken so long to check back in at the top aid station that they sent someone down to see where I was.
To make a long story short, I assumed too much with the course directions and ended up running an extra 4 miles.  You can imagine how I felt when I came to that realization.  If something like that had happened at Mohican, I probably would have quit because I don't think I could have handled an extra 4 miles there.  Here, I was...shall we say...disheartened.  And, of course, I was mad - mad at myself for not understanding the directions and mad at them for not telling me the right way to go.  There were like 4 guys standing around doing nothing and I was one of the only runners.  How hard would it have been to say, "hey, you know where you're going now?"  But I can't blame them because it was me who went the wrong way, not them.  I was mad that I wouldn't get my goal when I had been so close - I ran that extra loop at a killer pace, too.  I felt like a balloon that had just been deflated, like a boat that just took on a lot of water.  I signed up to run 31 miles, not 35.
BUT, I knew that I could run 35 and I also knew that if I wanted finish the race, I had no choice but to run 35.  So 35 it was.  I figured griping the rest of the way wasn't going to make it any shorter...  So I mustered the best attitude I could and finished the course as it was designed.  It wasn't easy, and it was a lot less fun after that...but I finished.
I knew my official finishing time would be pathetic but I still wanted to finish strong.  When I hit the final stretch of pavement, I turned up the jets.  With Jenny snapping pictures and Grace clapping for me I "sprinted" to the finish.  All the race volunteers congratulated me on winning the YUTC 35 mile race...because I was the only one who ran that far.

All in all, it was a pretty good race.  My official finish time was around 6:49, but I'm pretty sure that without the extra distance I would've been right around 6:00.  I guess I'll never really know.  I was happy that I was strong enough to run 35 miles and not feel like I'd been bulldozed at the end.  I was happy with my min/mile pace.  Most of all, I was happy to see Jenny and Grace at the end.  Honestly, that is one of my favorite things about these two ultras that I've run - meeting my family at the finish line.  There couldn't be a better prize for finishing.

So considering all that went on, what is my overall opinion of the YUTC 50K?  I think it's a great, low-budget ultra.  The entry fee was only $40, the T-shirt was nothing fancy, there was no fanfare, no big-time sponsors or anything like that.  But it was an awesome course, great location, great people, and a good time.

I wish I could say that I'll avenge myself by smoking the YUTC 50k next year...but I'll be in OKC for an externship next September.  So if you know of any good September races in Oklahoma let me know.

My Favorite Running Books

As a student, I could never really see a point to all those book reports.  Where is the real life application?  Well, as a runner and much to my surprise, I have decided it would be fun share some of the books I have read with others who may be interested.

Reading is a great motivator and I strongly encourage any runner to check out some of the books listed below.  Whether you like the book or not is a matter of personal taste.  I have given each book a rating on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the best based on the following criteria:

1. Entertaining: is it a page turner?  Is it hard to put it down?
2. Informative: Does the book give good advise?  Is the advice (in my experience) accurate? 
3. Inspirational:  When I finished a chapter, did I get my butt off the couch and onto the trails?

1.  Why We Run, A Natural History by Bernd Heinrich.  This book was originally titled Racing the Antelope.    Mr. Heinrich is a Biologist, as I understand, and he wrote this book from the perspective of a scientist.  I found several of the chapters to be very...scientific.  He goes into a lot of detail on moths, birds, insects and other animals that was difficult for me to follow.  The book overall is pretty interesting and somewhat entertaining.  Dr. Heinrich sets a goal to set a new record in the 100K distance and retells his training, philosophies, goals and such throughout the course of the book.  The book is worth reading--especially if you're into science.

• Entertaining: 7
• Informative: 8 (let me explain: on a scale of 1 to 10 for information presented, this book is an 11.  But there is SO much presented that I got lost in all the science and studies and such that a lot of it went right over my head.  I am the first to admit I'm not the brightest but there was an overload of info here).
• Inspirational: 5 (despite being very informative, I really did not find myself racing for my running shoes while I read this.)
• Overall: 6.7

2.  Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-night Runner, By Dean Karnazes.  Dean has made quite a name for himself as an ultramarathon runner, whether through athleticism or marketing skills seems to be the debate.  Either way, I know Dean would leave me in the dust and I found his book to be fairly entertaining.

• Entertaining: 8.5 The book is well written and flows nicely.  Some areas left me thinking Dean would be a great tuba player (he can sure toot his own horn!) but for the most part it was fun to read about his adventures and experiences.
• Informative: 4.5.  There is a chapter at the end of the book about diet and exercise and such, but it seem a little far fetched for the average Joe.  He talks about eating a super strict diet of healthy foods but then refers to ordering pizza during a race and eating other junk while demanding high performance from his body.  Not sure how that is supposed to work but then again, I am not Dean.
• Inspirational: 8.  Dean has some crazy adventures, such as running a marathon at the North Pole (maybe South Pole), and doing a 199 mile relay--BY HIMSELF--over a weekend.  It is loco as loco gets but you can't help but want to tear out the door and log some miles of your own after reading about his.
• Overall: 7

3.  Born to Run By Christopher McDougall.  This book really needs no introduction as it has become something of a cult.  If nothing else, it is getting people back on their feet.  I like the idea that running should be fun.  Finding the joy in running is...what this is all about.

• Entertaining: 9.5.  I read this book two times straight through and then followed up by reading the highlights again.  I found the first couple chapters a little hard to dive into (but not boring by any means).  After that, however, the book takes off and I couldn't put it down.  It is very well written and leaves you waiting for the sequel (which I believe is in process).
• Informative: 7.5.  There was a TON of good information given in this book, however, I think that it needs to be taken with a grain of salt, not as doctrine.  For example, one of the points of book is that running shoes may be the cause of runner's injuries and that if you run barefoot you can avoid those injuries.  Well, I have found myself nursing plenty of injuries even while running barefoot or in VFF's so...
• Inspirational: 10.  I found myself wanting to purchase the audio book so I could run and experience the book at the same time!
• Overall: 9

4.  Once A Runner By John L. Parker, Jr.  This is a novel but the author was the Southeastern conference mile champion three times so he knows a thing or two about running in the big leagues.  This book tells the tale of a hardcore runner and the training/competition life he leads.

• Entertaining: 7.5.  It is a good read but some parts come across as silly or pointless and I found myself skipping pages to get to the good stuff.  The good parts are very good and it is a fun book to read.
• Informative: 8.5.  I have never trained with Olympians so I don't know how accurate the book is but the type of miles they log and the way they document the running logs sounds like it was written from first hand experience.
• Inspirational: 8.5.  I have come to terms that I will never be one of the elite runners but it is awesome to read about the life of one in this novel and dream while you're running intervals that you are Quenton Cassidy starting the final lap of the mile race...
• Overall: 8.17

5. Again To Carthage Also by John L. Parker, Jr.  This is the sequel to Once A Runner.  In my opinion, it is both way better and a little worse than the first.  I recommend to read the first one first so you'll know the characters.  The beginning of this book has almost nothing to do with running and I found myself irritated.  But finally about 1/3 through, the book takes a turn and it becomes 100% running.  Cassidy returns in this book to chase what he believes to be his last chance to return to the Olympics in none other than the MARATHON! 

• Entertaining: 7.  If you can make it through the first part, this book is awesome.  I read and reread the chapters about Raven Cliff Falls and The Race.
• Informative: 8.  Not quite as informative as Once A Runner, or it is the same information being presented again but still fun to read and get an idea of what it may be like on the elite side of running.
• Inspirational: 9. "What I never really understood before was that he was willing to die, that he would run himself right to death if that's what it took.  I just never understood that" (from pg 295).
• Overall: 8

6.  Relentless Forward Progress: A Guide to Running Ultramarathons By Bryon Powell.  This book is just what the title says, a guide to running ultras.  It is kind of like a how to manual.

• Entertaining: 5.  Trying to read this book straight through was kind of like trying to read the operators manual of my refrigerator.  There were some great stories but they were fleeting and the focus is always on the point the author is making rather than the story.
• Informative: 9.5.  While I wouldn't read this again for the joy of it, I'm sure I will refer back to it time and time again as I prepare for races and think about what to pack, how to eat and hydrate, what to wear, first aid...the list goes on and on.  This is a great book to own...like an encyclopedia.
• Inspirational: 6.  The book has great training plans to help prepare for an ultra but not a lot of inspiration to follow those training plans.
• Overall 6.83

7.  It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life By Lance Armstrong.  This is an autobiography by Lance Armstrong about his experience with cancer and returning to win the Tour De France.  It is not really about running at all but has a lot to do with competition and racing, and it is motivating so I am including it here.  If you don't like it, write your own book report!

• Entertaining: 8.  The book is well written and easy to follow.  Lance is straight forward and direct with what he has to say and how he says it.
• Informative: 7.  Kind of hard to say this book taught me a lot about running when it's not supposed to be about running--but the book will teach you about overcoming challenges and beating the odds.  Not backing down to something as formidable as cancer even when there is really no chance and then to go back to racing and set a goal to win one of the major races in Europe...yeah, there is something to learn there.
• Inspirational: 8.  The book itself would get a 9.5 for inspiration but then to look at Lance and see that he is now divorced when he talks about how important his family is to him in the book...it just doesn't sit right with me.  But read the book and forget about the present.  There is still a lot of inspiration there.
• Overall: 7.67

I am currently in the market for new books that will be entertaining, informative and inspirational.  If you have or know of any, please share the wealth!

How is this good for you?

After running a marathon, a family friend saw me hobbling around church the next day.  According to my sources, the following conversation transpired:

     Friend: So, what happened to your husband?

     Wife: He ran a marathon and his toe nails turned purple so his brother (who is a doctor) pulled them out.

     Friend: How far is that?

     Wife: 26.2 miles

     3rd Person: That would do it!

     Friend: Actually, he would probably tell you it was his shoes that did it.

     Wife: Well...the shoes he usually wears caused (or contributed) to a stress fracture.

     Friend:  Wait.  He goes running--gets a stress fracture?  Then, he runs a marathon and his toe nails fall off?  How is this healthy?

OK.  So she makes a valid point.  Why do you run?  Because it's good for you.  If it's so good for you, why are you hurt?

Here is my answer.  If you have never felt the joy of flying down the face of mountain with the wind in your hair and a prayer in your heart that you don't take a nose dive, I wouldn't really expect you to understand. 

But this is why I run.

1.  It is somewhat cheaper and MUCH more effective than anti-depressants.  I've tried them both and I'll stick with what works.  While you may have to worry about the occasional toe nail falling off when you run, it's a lot easier to deal with than the side affects from other meds.

2.  Stress reduction.  Running is a great way to blow off stress, anguish, frustration or just excess energy.  While my studies are still inconclusive, preliminary data shows that running results in a much lower body count than going postal at work.

3.  Diet.  Once in a while, as I prepare for a race, I will carefully monitor my diet...but for the most part I am on the Eat-Whatever-The-Heck-I-Want-To Diet.  Anyone else up for chocolate cake for breakfast?

4.  Running is cheaper than a shrink.

5.  No one tries to tackle me or throw things at me while I run.  Occasionally a stupid dog will try to chase me, but that's part of the fun in having strong legs...see how far you can kick the SOB.

6.  And Finally, if God meant for me to ride around everywhere, I probably would have been born with wheels--not legs. 

Running is just my way of making the most of what God gave me and if you ask me, that seems pretty healthy.

For more reasons to run, check out this cool video on You Tube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8eXqAWjJ_dE&feature=related

The Chosen: Marathon for Adoption

The Chosen Marathon for Adoption was held on Saturday, October 29th.  This was my first full Marathon in an actual race.  Race day dawned at a chilly (for Texas) 45 degrees.  There were approximately 1600 runners entered between the half and full marathons.

I had been nursing a stress fracture for the last couple months and felt very ill prepared going into the race--but once you pay the registration fee and book a hotel there is no going back!  My plan was to run conservatively for at least the first half and see how I felt after 13.1.  I fell in pace with a runner from San Antonio named Dave.  It turned out that Dave is also LDS and it was nice to have someone to run with for a ways.  He helped me monitor my pace and was a great support.

The course was set up as an "Out and Back" course--which means that you run out 13.1 miles, turn around, and run back.  Those runners doing the half marathon turned around at just past 6.5 miles.  Up to that point the course was somewhat congested.  You had to be careful about wandering so you didn't bump into other runners but at 6.5 miles the course became wonderfully clear when all the Half Runners turned around. 

As I trained for the this Marathon I had dreams of attempting to qualify for the Boston Marathon--which means I would have had to finish the race in 3 hours and 10 minutes.  Those dreams were broken during a training run that should have been 18 miles but was cut short due to an excruciating pain in my lower leg...for future reference I recommend NOT getting a stress fracture.  Anyways, after not seriously running for 2 months, the best I could hope for was to finish the race in one piece.  I told my family, who was also my support crew, that I should be at the turn-around point by 9:00 or so. I actually got there at 9:11, which put me just a little behind my goal--but I was still in holding it together.

At 13 miles, the sun finally came up and thawed out my freezing hands, my leg felt fine, and I was really enjoying the beautiful route so I decided to pick up the pace.  The police escorts apparently couldn't get through all the half marathon runners that had already turned around so my family wasn't able to meet me at my turn around.  They drove past me about the time I reached mile 16.  I was still feeling good so I waved and kept going.  Just seeing them was great.  Each time I reached a point when I was about to let the pace drag a little they would be waiting around the next corner and I would get a boost of energy from them.  Thanks to each of them for keeping me on track!

I have come to believe that race directors are sadists, and while I appreciate everything the race was, this marathon was no exception.  At mile 22-23, right about the time most runners hit the wall, the course comes to a steep hill that climbs for close to a mile straight.  Whatever gas I had left in the tank was burned away with fumes by the time I reached the top.  Fortunately, Mom was there to save the day with a handful of M&M's.  GO MOM!!!!

Running on less then fumes, I trudged through the remaining miles.  This picture (Below) was taken as I approached the finish line.  I guess I was pretty out of it because I really don't remember any of the cars being behind me.  (Sorry for holding up traffic).

I crossed the finish line and looked at the clock to see my time at 4:12.  A long ways from Boston--but I managed to smile about it anyways--after drinking some water and eating a few fajitas.

WARNING:  

The following section contains graphic pictures.  If blood makes you queasy--Don't say you weren't warned.

When you run long distances, there are usually consequences: strong heart, tight butt, good tan and cool T-shirt are just a few.  But once in a while distance runners suffer pain.  At the end of the marathon I took off my shoes and wondered, "How in the world did Mindi manage to paint my toe nails without me noticing?"  But when I tried to scratch off the nail polish, the screaming nerves firing messages of "Ouch, Ouch, OUCH!" to my brain triggered a jaw dropping realization: this wasn't nail polish, it was dried blood under the toe nail--That baby was coming off! 

Both of the nails on my big toe's were purple and hurt like I had dropped a 75 lb dumb bell on them. So we decided to go home by way of my podiatrist's house (who also happens to be my brother).

He was nice enough to stick a 4 inch needle in my foot (thanks, again!).  Now I really don't get along well with needles in the first place--but sticking a needle in the foot of someone who has just run 26.2 miles is...well, mean.

It hurt.

I think he enjoyed it.  I got to thinking through the ordeal that my brother the podiatrist would make a great race director.

He grabbed that purple nail with a good set of pliers and popped that sucker out...all in all there was little damage done.  I'm pretty sure he will recover his hearing soon.  It's amazing that even after running 26 miles one can still scream like a little girl at full volume.

I guess there's no better summary of a brother's love than when he grabs your sore and tender toe nails and rips them off with a pair of sterilized pliers.  What a guy.  All I can say is Thank you and I look forward to repaying the favor!

Thanks to everyone who made my first marathon possible and bloody good one!