Night Running

This week presented some challenges for me at work and school.  Being a computer programmer is great until you come to weeks where people begin testing.  Testers love to tell you how awful your software is and how if they had done it, it would have been done differently.  I love to point out the fact that they didnt do it because they dont know how.  With all this testing going on my running schedule has been modified.   Since the majority of our testing team is in the Netherlands I had to fly there.  Europe is a great place but I miss my family.  My running ended up taking place at around 11pm.  I'm fairly comfortable running through Amstelveen because I have been there so many times.  This night in particualr causes me problems.  I decided to run 10 miles.  In the process of this run I got myself lost in a foreign country without any ID, wearing a headlamp and running spandex.  The police finally picked me up and after a lengthy explanation they gave me a ride to the hotel.   I'm sure they think Americans are crazy.  I decided at that point that it would be wise to know exactly where I was going and to carry ID with me. 

I explained I was running and they were completely perplexed as to why.  They explained how to use public transportation and instead of trying to explain to them why I was doing it I just accepted it.   My 10 mile adventure took me me about 14 miles and 3 hours to actually get back to the hotel.  Being dropped off at the hotel at 2am by the police didnt exactly sit well with the hotel staff. 

The satisfaction has worn off

It never ceases to amaze me that the days after a marathon are depressing.  All the time spent training was well worth it but the week after reminds you physically about the pain you are in from running the distance as well as the mental dispair about what to do next.  I've always felt that the reason for this is you just proved to yourself and the world that you can run a marathon, so whats next?  It takes about 4-6 weeks to actually repair all the damage you did to your body during a marathon.  People might say they feel fine in about a week but their body tells a different story.  I have run many marathons and countless number of half-marathons so I am going to try the ultimate in running, the ultramarathon. 

The only way to describe the ultramarathon is the distance is anything greater then a marathon.  A marathon is an amazing distance to run to begin with but the typical ultramarathon is 100 miles.  I have read books by ultra-runners who describe the challenge.  You are normally allowed a pacer after mile 60 in a ultramarathon and I remember reading a passage in a book about this.  He left a ntoe for his pacer to constantly remind him that no matter how much pain he is in it is one day of his life and that tomorrow he can rest.  The comment has always stuck with me, not exactly sure why. 

Since this is my first ultra I have decided to run 50 miles instead of the full 100.  That is approximately 2 marathons without stopping and I have to be done within 12 hours.  If I can run the marathon in 4 hours it will take me 8 hours to do this.  However the pain I will be in for the last 25 miles will slow me down greatly.  I can assume that I will finish in roughly 10 hours. In those 10 hours I loose approximately 125 calories per mile so at the end of the race I will be negative 6250 calories which means I need to take in at least 3000 calories while I am running otherwise I will become extremely ill.  In this situation it calls for processed food like twinkies.  I wouldnt reccomed that runners start eating twinkies but in this type of event the more calories I can get into my body the better I will do. 

Day of the Marathon

I feel accomplished that I finished the marathon but like every marathon i've run i'm paying the price physically for the run.  Official time was 3 hours 51 minutes 21 seconds (3:51:22).  I'm very satisfied with the time although I dont run for the time I only run to finish.  The day of the marathon for me is the most exciting because all the training you have done is culminated into a single day.  Luckily the morning was cool so the run was enjoyable up to about mile 22.  I struggled at the end and did do some walking the last few miles,  I staggered my run to walk every quarter mile after 22.  It happens every marathon that I start out too fast and my legs end up paying the price.  Just like the rest when I got home I couldnt walk upstairs, my legs have cramped up so badly that just getting through the day is enough.

Even though I'm in a fair amount of pain it was completely worth it.  Nothing can compare to finishing a marathon.  A couple of toes may have been broken along the way but we will wait to find out on this until tomorrow.   To put my time in perspective to what the best runners, at least for Duke City have run.  They finished in roughly 2:30.  My heart rate never rose above 160 the entire distance and met several really helpful runners.  It is at the end of each marathon that I think, what is my next race?  For now, I think I will enjoy about 4 days off of running before I make a commitment to anything else this year.  Im completely overtended with work and school to even think about it.  I figure by Wednesday or Thursday I will have found the next one which helps me set goals and stay healthy.  I burned roughly 3000 calories and lost 6 pounds, which is obviously water weight but tonight I will eat what I want and go to bed early.

Running through the pain...

The midst of pushing the mileage back has begun.  Typically we throttle down mileage in the weeks before the marathon.  Im not totally sure if it helps but i've always done it.  However, on a 5 mile run today I stepped wrong and put my foot right into a metal spike.  It sliced my foot up pretty good so by the time I got back home my foot was in bad shape.  45 minutes later I was in the emergency room and they stitched me up but what they found was a torn ligament on the top of the foot.  Surgery is evident for this but we can see if this will allow me to get through the run and have surgery done after. 

Its always odd when you hurt yourself and really dont feel like you have done anything.  I try to watch very carefully how to not hurt myself but it does happen from time to time. 

Wanting to Run or Needing to Run

I am as one might expect the atypical personality of a runner.  I had a job where I traveled every week to see clients and because of that I was always in an airport or hotel.  About 4 years ago I allowed my weight to balloon up to around 350lbs.  It was at this point that I decided to exercise and eat better.  Initially, within the first month I lost about 50 lbs and then things slowed down.  I began running on the treadmill and I got the funniest looks from people (if you have ever seen a 300 lb man run you would understand).  I devised my own plan for losing weight and it primarily was protein shakes and nothing else.

Within 90 days  I had lost 100 more lbs and was able to run much quicker and more efficiently.  Over the course of the next 60 days or so I dropped to 160 lbs where I stayed for a long time.  There were periods where I would gain 10 -15  lbs and then lose it again (primarily the winter months where I couldnt run outside as much as I wanted to).  Each week I begin by looking at what I need to accomplish and think to myself what I did to lose that weight.  I will be honest in saying that it was easier for me to lose the weight then others, maybe a genetic abnormality. 

I run each day because I both want to run and need to run.  I hear runners talking about this so called runners high which I have never been exposed too.  I feel like I've accomplished something when I'm done with my run and therefore it is important for me to start my day with a minimum of 5 miles.  I am living proof that you can be a reformed fat guy turned runner.