Bobsrunningweightloss's Blog

This last week was supposed to be a recovery week  from the marathon.  I also tried to look at this week as training for my next half marathon and the marathon as my last long run and now I taper.  This week I ran four times. 

My results where

5/5  Four miles in a 10:13 pace @ 40:50 with mile four run at 9:51

5/7  Five miles at 10:46 pace @ 53:50 with miles four (10:36) and five (10:25) bieng my fastest.  I burned 1050 calories and had an average 146 BPM heart rate.

5/8  Eight miles @ 11:10 pace  @ 1:29:24 with miles seven (10:57) and eight (10:45) being my fastest.  I burned 1681 calories and had an average  142 BPM heart rate.

 I am fairly happy with the last three runs but I am missing the motivation I used to have.  To some extent, I almost dread running.  Similar to the feeling I had during my tapering for the marathon.   I am signed up for two more Half Marathons over the next 5 weeks.  I think we will see how they go I go wild about running again.  Then again, There is a half marathon in Hoffman Estates that perfectly coincides with the Chicago Marathon Training schedule, so maybe I wont.  It’s so hard to predict. 

SPECIAL THANKS:  I would like to thank all my faithful readers to this blog.  You have stuck with me for nine different months. I appreciate your support.  Special thanks go to Trainer Tina for whom I would never have done a squat or a lunge and probably not finished the marathon and to runner friends Bob and Jill for whom Bing and I have shared many stories and many laughs. 

I would like to give an EXTRA special thank you to Bing, for whom this Blog is really  for.  I can honestly say that without Bing, I would not have run my first step, my last step and every step in between.   Also, making her laugh was  most of my motivation to keep the blog light and funny.   At least it was funny to us.

I have come a long way in my life, to missing my kids after my divorce, to spending 16 days out of 30 in four different hospital stays a few years ago, to losing 75 pounds on Weight Watchers to running my first 1/4 mile on a tread mill to finishing a marathon.  Bing has been with me through out.  Thanks for your love and your support.  You rock!

As the remaining days of my blog wind down, I am pleased to report  my recovery runs are progressing nicely.  Today I ran 4 miles at an average 10:13 pace.  My lower left leg continues to be stiff (So what else is new) but functional.  Trainer Tina (and I am sure Bing is in the same camp) feels my lack (OK, “never” should never be construed as “lack”.) of stretching may be one of the causes for my problems. 

This weekend I will try to run five miles on Saturday and eight on Sunday.  Next week I plan to run similar to this week with maybe a 10 mile long run, then the following week is another half marathon.

Random Sights Seen at the Marathon:  It is very hard to remember some interesting sights from the almost 6 hours of moving my body from one location to another. (To think about that for a moment, I started at one location and finished around a quarter-mile away from that very same location.  It seems like I really went out of my way, maybe 26 miles out of my way, if all I wanted to do was finish at that quarter-mile away location.  Next time, I need a better map.)

The cheering throngs where fun but I think the Grapes and the Banana where the best.  Unfortunately, I did not have time to stop and take a bite from either.  The numerous homeowners (I think three) who were kind enough to spray hoses at us were appreacaited.  At least by me.  I saw a couple of ladies that shied away from the cooling waters.

Bing and I liked the cheerleaders.  They where probably highschool girls.  As I ran by, I suggested they cheer for me (i.e. “Bob”), which they did and one did a back flip and yelled “Go Bob” as I went by.  That was interesting.

Bing liked the women who was running in leggings and a below the knees skirt, many women that REALLY needed running bras, the couple holding hands as they crossed the finish line, the 100 Marathon guy (That looked like he could barely run a mile,  kicked my butt throughout), various runners forms and the finisher that yelled out “Ice!!  Ice!!! I Need Ice”

I liked the guy that finished around my (i.e. Slow) time that had mowzied up the a railing and just placed his head against it as he tried to compose himself.  It was a tough race for him too.  I enjoyed talking to the woman who wanted to run the marathon “Because her Asshole ex-husband told her she could never do it” and to the guy at the beginning of the race who had not run a marathon before or anything longer than a 5K.

Today Bing and I decided we should start our running program again.  We do have another race scheduled for three weeks from now you know.    So we went to the park and decided to do our best.

My best was 3-1/4 miles in an 11:00 minutes pace.  The best part of the run was seeing and petting a humongous Great Dane and talking to it’s owners.  The other good part was that I was able to run almost pain-free.  Sweet.

I referenced my Road Crew during the Marathon.  My oldest son Jason, his girlfriend Michelle and Bing where kind enough to run (OK, run is a misnomer.  They actually drove) around Champaign/Urbana meeting me at miles 10, 14, 20 and 24.  They helped refill my Gu stores, my hydration, brought me changes of shirts and hats as well as cheer me on when I needed it.  They made a long day seem shorter.  If that is possible.

One of the strengths of my relationship with Jason and Bing is that we love to laugh and make jokes.  The Road Crew brought me a change of shirt at mile 10 and at mile 24, Bing asked me if I needed a change of anything and my response was “Yes, a change of venue.”  That might not seem so funny now but at mile 24, it was hysterical.

The other laugh I got was at mile 20 when I found the Road Crew unexpectedly standing at a corner.  I was actually running at that point.  A rarity in the later miles.  Once I saw them and saw that they were taking pictures, I yelled “Just because you see me running now, doesn’t mean I have been running all along.”  Again, not so funny now but I made all the runners,volunteers and the Road Crew laugh out loud.  Every one knew how much we runners where walking.  It was just funny to acknowledge the effort at the time.

Weight: 258.5#  I wish I had been able to weigh myself before and after the race but, unfortunately, I did not.  This morning was the first true test to see if running, ok, moving my body, almost 6 hours and burning over 5000 calories would produce a weight loss and, lo and behold, it did not.  WOW.  Can you believe that?  No weight loss.

Pain: I am probably experiencing more pain today, the 2nd day after the marathon, than I have during or after the race.  Today’s pain mostly lies in the quads.  Still, they don’t hurt anywhere near as bad as they did when I ran my first 10 mile run in 2008.  This time I was able to get up out of chairs and walk up and down stairs without crying.  I must admit that the nice and flat course probably  did benefit me quite a bit.

I would say that the most pain I experienced during the race was the pain I felt in my ‘innards’.  I had met Kathryn Switzer, the first woman to run Boston, the day before the race, and to commemorate her effort of breaking the sex barrier of endurance running (Women weren’t allowed to run because they thought the women’s womb would fall out), I ran up to Bing and my Road Crew and responded to her question of how I was feeling with “My stomach hurts so much that I think my womb is going to fallout.” Luckily, she got the joke and didn’t call the medical staff on me.

Eventually, I was able to get rid of the pain by passing gas.  You have no idea how happy some one can be when they pass gas.  I didn’t just pass a little gas.  If I could have bottled my output, I could have energized the entire City of Chicago for a week.  I am not sure how the runner behind be felt but I was in heaven.

Other pains felt during the race were slight right hip pain and some left ankle pain.  Both went away after a few strides.  The biggest concern I had was when I was running into the wind.  I tried running behind a VERY tall dude, probably 6’7″ or taller, but I never felt any reduction in wind velocity.  I kept waiting for my back to squawk but it never really occurred. Luckily for me.

One area I did not experience pain ws in my right shoulder.  Or my mouse shoulder, as I call it.  I had been icing this shoulder for several weeks after having it hurt me for over a month.  The icing had let me sleep on my right side, (my normal side) for the first time in a long while.  I was very happy ans surprised that the icing was all it took.

Bing and I have been preparing for this marathon for a long time.  One might say, “Preparing for a Marathon is a Marathon, not a Sprint.”  We carry a medicine bag full of different things we may need under different circumstances.  I made up three sets of hats, shoes, Gu, socks and shirts and marked the bags “10 Mile” and “20 Mile” in case it rained and I needed to change into more comfortable clothing or so that my Pit Crew would know what I needed as I reached each milestone.  I worked all week on my troubling back and other body parts.  We brought our now famous “May Never Need Suitcase”  full of cold weather gear just in case the weather made an unexpected turn.  We where prepared.

Or so we thought.  The morning of the race, I put on my shoes only to find that I had retained my oldest shoes to start my race instead of the ones I had been training in or the brand new ones I just bought and I had put the other two better sets of shoes in my car (so my Pit crew had easy access to them) which was several blocks away.  I was really bummed because I had my chip tied and pinned (Yes I pinned the chip to my shoe in that I found my original method of adhering the chip to the shoe allowed for it to fall off. As it was, Bing and I found numerous chips where their owner did not have my foresight) in place.  Finally, I decided I would have enough time to get the proper shoe and start the race on time, so off we went and all was well., but boy, did I beat myself up.  How could I prepare so well with so much foresight and NOT give myself the proper shoe.  Yes, all three sets of shoes are the same but one is a clean white, one is dirty and the one I wanted to run in had miles written in all along the inside of the left sole.  Boy was I stupid!

Another thing we did not prepare for, but I had thought about it on Friday before we left was hemorrhoids.  I have not experienced them in a year.  (The last time was in April of 2009 while at this very same race.  I guess stress can do wonders to ones body.)  My thought was to bring some of the necessary cream associated with hemorrhoids but, being the old man I am, I forgot before I left the bathroom.

On race morning , I had some irritation  and bleeding but no cream.  Bing looked through the medicine bag and only found A & D ointment.  Believing that you never try anything new on race day, I passed on the A & D.  After getting the correct shoes from my car and seeing 20 person lines in front of each porta potty, I went back to my room which was near the race start and let nature take its course.  Again, feeling the effects of hemorrhoids, I decided to take a chance and go with Bing’s suggestion.  Luckily for me, the hemorrhoids where not to act up again.  This is not an endorsement for A & D for hemorrhoids, only a note to self to put the proper cream in the medicine bag, which I did on Monday morning.

Another thing I did not prepare for was the weather.  Bing feels the heat and the humidity took a toll on my body.  I replied that 1724 people ran in the same conditions and beat me.  Her retort was that they weren’t all in their 50′s and my response was that 120 of them where. Game, Set, Match.  Either way, during the race, I was not so tired I wanted to stop or quit.  I would start to run and then stop so many strides later.  I never tried to outwit myself by doing a walk one minute, run a minute or anything else to keep me moving.  After a while, I was just happy to enjoy the experience by walking.  Again, I would try to run but there just wasn’t the ability of motivation to keep it up. 

I found it interesting that I was having trouble with enough energy to get my heart rate up.  Early in the race, I could reach a max heart rate of mid to low 150′s and then walk to lower it.AFter mile 18, I couldn’t run long enough to get into the 150′s, just the mid 140′s.  In fact, Mile 19, 20, 21 and 22 had a max heart rate of 146.  The miles after that had a max heart rate of 138 and 139.  I am fairly experienced but I can’t yet explain that situation.  I guess I will need to run more marathon’s to understand this one.

You can tell by the temps and humidity that the conditions weren’t the best but I can ‘t possibly blame my time on the weather.  Maybe I should but I can’t.  One thing I am very pleased about is that I am hoping to be able to set a new PR at the Chicago Marathon in October.  I doubt I can run any slower.

Against all odds, I finished my marathon. After months and months and months of training.   Attempts to learn proper hydration, my proper heart rate zone, build endurance, lose weight, run in cold weather, race in the rain, have the right shoes, deal with runners diarrhea, bloody nipples and at the last moment, hemorrhoids, I started, ran (walked) and finished a marathon.  All 26.2 miles.  Every single one.  And I have a finishers medal to prove it.

There is too much to share in one day’s blog so I will be writing about the race for the rest of the week but I wanted to share with all my faithful readers that mission was accomplished.

Most everyone will congratulate a finisher and then ask, “What was your time?”  My answer will be “Not as good as I wanted but better than hundreds other participants and millions of other couch potatoes.”

I will detail more of the race latter but I believe that weather may not have been my friend and more of a negative impact on my performance than my 5o0 miles had a positive impact on my potential.  At 7:00 (Start Time) the Humidity was 95%.  By the finish time, the temperature was 75.  Better than the thunderstorms forecast for the last two weeks but not optimal.  I might not have run any better if the weather was more conducive to my performance but we wont know until October when I run my next marathon.