Did Not Start

I've never DNS'd or DNF'd a race I've entered, although I'm sure there's one out in the future somewhere. I have certainly DNS'd and DNF'd training runs. This weekend's 31 mile trail run on the Ice Age Trail wasn't an official race, nor was it a training run. I'd been looking forward to it for a long time. The Ice Age Trail is my favorite place to run, and I've even run on other segments of it in other parts of Wisconsin when given the chance. More on that later...

This weekend was a perfect opportunity for the run. Ellie left for Ireland (she's in a wedding over there) on Friday, so she wouldn't have to listen to me talk about how fantastic the run was for endless hours after it was over. Along the same line, I didn't have any obligations this weekend so I could simply enjoy the run and selfishly lay around after it, all dirty and sweaty and smiling and eating ice cream.

Then the weekend came. As I had mentioned, I was getting pretty run down by the end of the week, especially when I tried to run on Thursday and ended up walking. Marcy yelled at me in comment section to suck it up, so I did.*

However, Friday after work I felt crappy again. I had a headache that made my face hurt when I would move my head in any direction. I honestly have no idea when I had previously had a headache. I went through 4 years of chiro school without any illness-related absences. I haven't missed a day of work in a year and a half of practice. Despite all that, though, my head was pounding and it hurt to move my neck all afternoon. Not surprisingly, during dinner with my parents at an Irish restaurant, the headache subsided with a pint of Guinness :)

Saturday morning I woke up with the same headache. And a low back ache. I'm a chiropractor! I don't get low back pain! WTF is going on? I decided I'd postpone the run until late morning or mid-day and see how things went. Unfortunately, things continued to go downhill, and my temp continued to climb, all the way to 102 at one point. Not good. But all hope is not lost. I won't run Saturday, but Sunday I will. I continued to hydrate and eat oranges, bananas, and strawberries.

In bed Saturday night I alternated between sweating fevers in only my underwear and shivering chills in sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Three times during the night I woke up and changed clothes again. Sunday's run was not looking good.

Sunday morning, same old story. Headache. Stiff neck. Sore low back. No energy. Swollen and painful lymph node in my right armpit. Something's not right. Lyme Disease (which had been on my mind since that tick run) became more and more likely in my mind, but its hallmark symptom is erythema migrans, or a bulls-eye rash, which I didn't have. Nonetheless, I knew I needed blood work and scheduled an appt with a doctor friend for Monday afternoon.

Sunday night I drenched the sheets in sweat. Gross.

This morning I still felt like crap. Headache. Stiff back. Chills. But the icing on the cake was provided by a glance in the mirror as I dried myself off from the shower:

Bulls Eye!, complete with an extremely downtrodden and disappointed look on author's face.

While not quite a perfect bullseye, the last part of the diagnosis is now present. Since then, it has become more distict, to the point that the doctor told me he could take a picture for a textbook.

I caught it very early, which bodes well for treatment. It's in early "Stage One" which is best described in all the symptoms I have had the last two days. Stage Two is when it gets more serious, so I'm optimistic to take care of it and get on with it. I guess I can look forward to 4-5 day flare ups like I had this weekend occasionally for the next couple months, but the frequency of the flareups can alter based on personal and immune system health, so I've got an advantage in that respect. I'm leaving to join Ellie in Ireland and England on Friday, so let's just not get a flare up next week...

So now I'm on antibiotics and a couple supplements to boost the immune system, and the running is on hold. If I'm up to it, I may take a Parsenn Pace run or two, but my plans for the fall are definitely on hold for a while. There's a reason for this...I just need to open my eyes up to it!

* I added this sentence just to make you feel bad, Marcy. I only hope Mr McG and your kids get a bit more sympathy :) LOL JK But I DID include my first ever bathroom picture!

Mid Week Recap

I updated Ellie's Race Report with pictures, so be sure to check them out!

This week marked the beginning of my training for the Lakefront Marathon in Milwaukee this October, where I'd like to break 3 hours. While I have kept up the mileage (even turning in my highest mileage week ever a couple weeks ago), I'm looking forward to the training, which will involve more speed work than I'm used to. I'm also throwing around an idea in my head for another run this fall...but more on that later.

Monday: The first scheduled workout was a 4 mile tempo run, so I picked an out and back with known mile splits and wanted to see exactly what kind of times I could run. Last August I ran a 4 mile race on a downhill course in 25:25, so I had a bit of a benchmark to compare from last year. I ended up running 25:44, and that included a mile 3 split of 6:52. Not sure what happened on that mile!

Tuesday: I had an easy 3-5 miles on the docket, so I subbed it in for an hour of pick-up basketball in the morning and a 2 miler that night. Man, basketball is an entirely different workout, and my hip flexors have been sore ever since.

Wednesday: Either an 8 miler at PMP or an easy 3-5 miler again. Still sore from basketball, I picked the easy 3 miler and decided I'd let Parsenn make an attempt at a PR in the 5K. While he started out pretty strong, the humidity zapped him during mile 2 and we ended up in a death march the majority of mile 3. Much like a marathon runner stopping at every aid station after bonking, Parsenn stopped at every mailbox to pretend to pee. He slept well last night.

Thursday: Wow. I got my @$$ handed to me today. I had planned on running 8 miles at or near my planned marathon pace (6:50). The first 4 miles were done in 27:00, so I was doing well...just breathing a little hard. Then I turned around. The second half split: 38:32! I had plenty of time to walk and let the cooling humid breeze cool me off make me sweat even more. The other chiropractor in our office has been gone to Idaho participating in an Ironman, so my case load has been doubled over the last two weeks, and I think it's catching up with me. As I mentioned, I've been tired the last two days and I need some rest. Tomorrow's a rest day, so I guess I just got started early with my preparations for Saturday's run:

This weekend I'm running the entire Ice Age Trail in the Northern Kettle Moraine Forest. It'll be a 31 mile run/hike from the Southernmost point to the Northernmost point. I've covered the entire trail on foot in various chunks, but I've always wanted to run it at one time, so here I go! If it goes well, I'm thinking about entering the Door County Fall 50 as a solo runner. Ellie and I are currently in negotiations about this, but it's looking promising. I think I'll know a whole bunch more about that undertaking after this 31 mile trail run.

In closing, enjoy this.

Ellie's Race Report

A very proud husband and his wife

Yesterday Ellie sent out an email thanking everyone for their support and describing some of her favorite memories of Grandma's Marathon. I've added it below, and changed some of the names...just in case they don't care to appear on a website with such ill repute :)

Things you should know before reading:

Ellie and I have dated since we were 17, but before then she dated two guys, who will be known as "Ex #1" (who had a motorcycle in high school) and Ex #2 (who currently works in lawn maintenance)

Where you see brackets [like this] is stuff I added in to help explain a bit.



From: Ellie
Subject: THANK YOU!

Friends & Family-- From the bottom of my heart--Thank you all so much for everything YOU did to help me finish my FIRST marathon on Saturday!! I can not explain the love that I felt all weekend--The Lord has truly Blessed me with an awesome Family!

Some of my favorite memories...

1) We didn't get into Duluth until about 8:30PM on Friday night, which meant we didn't get to eat dinner until about 9:30, which meant we didn't get checked into our 'hotel' (AKA University of Wisconsin-Superior dorm rooms) until about 11:00--BUT I will always remember seeing the look on My Mom & Dad's faces as they viewed their room--two tiny beds, with thin sheets, two tiny 'body towels' (the size of a hand towel)...PRICELESS. AND, I came to find out the following day that Dad had gone out to the car at some point during the night to get a blanket (I'm not sure why, when the school had provided such thick & plush...errr..."blankets," only to realize HE WAS LOCKED OUT!!! Thankfully, he found a door that was unlocked eventually...HA!

Ellie's Parents in their "suite"--UW-Superior style

Ellie says, "Where's the deluxe robe?"

2) SIGNS--My wonderful & creative husband made up some of the BEST signs I've ever seen-and they really made me smile (at times, when there was little else to smile about)--'[Ex#1] is at mile 10 with his motorcycle' another one read 'Ex #2 is at mile 15 with his Lawnmower' another goody 'Doug [Ellie's college-age brother] Sez HI (he just woke up)'...AHHHHH I love that Man (Nic...well, and Doug...but in different ways...you know what I mean).

Ellie, at Mile 2, loving the signs

3) NF Cheering Section! It was SOOO wonderful to see my NF cheer-leaders SOO often--Many times, I'd spot their NF Sign long before they spotted me--THANK YOU Monica, Jerry, AJ, Mom, Dad & Nic--what a burst of energy it gave me to see everyone jumping up and down when I came past!!!

Mile 14...starting to feel the heat, but still taking the time to acknowledger her adoring fans. (No the shorts I'm wearing are NOT part of a losing bet I made...they're cool...at least that's what Ellie tells me)

4) HEATHER...My cousin who passed away almost three years ago was also a runner. I have always felt that she's been with me on long runs--in the breeze or in the smell of lilacs...and Saturday she was there for me again. At about 24, when i was REALLY hitting the wall, a cool breeze & scent of lilacs hit me--THANK YOU HEATHER!!

5) THE WALL: 'Hello wall, I'm Ellie, How are you? OUCH!' At 22 (or 23 I can't remember) I ran past my cheering section again and I was this close to tears. BUT i tried to put on a brave face for the Mothers in the crowd (they could still tell, i'm SURE). Nic ran (OK WALKED) with me for a bit and this was our conversation:

Nic: What hurts?

Ellie: My back and my feet.

Nic: Are you having any stomach issues?

Ellie: My stomach's fine...but something is NOT RIGHT with my head--I have NO IDEA what's going on right now.

Nic: Are you safe?

Ellie: Well...ummm...I don't...

Nic: You're FINE. You're tough. See you at the finish!!!

So off I went...I mean, he's a Doctor, so he should know right!?!?! HA!

6) THE HEMAUERS!!! Nick, Maggie, Melissa & Jess [Ellie's Cousins] all did the 1/2 marathon that morning--NICE WORK! It was SOOO Wonderful to come around the corner into my last mile and see all four of them jumping up and down like crazy people cheering for me! It was most assuredly needed at the time, and the fact that they hung around for three hours to watch me come in still touches my heart today--THANK YOU!! Oh, and then when I crossed the finish line, they were all there to lead me around (there was still something wrong with my brain) to eventually find my family--Melissa's phone rang and she looked at the number and said 'Who the hell is this?' Hello??...OH NIC...HI!' That produced my first laugh after the race ;)

7) DAD--standing alone, holding a sign and CHEERING like crazy near the finish is one of my "forever moments"-- There are so few moments in our lives when hard work, training, dedication, sacrifice...all culminate in one moment we can share with those we love...when people look you in the eye, and you can feel how proud they are of you--that happened with my Dad at that moment--it was unbelievable and is something I'll never forget.

Mile 26.19...literally...I hopped the fence. Can you say "rebel?"

8) THE END--When I finally found Nic, we cried...when I finally found my mom, we cried (Thanks for letting me finish Mom--I KNOW you were close to pulling me out at mile 23), and then laughter, just like we're all used to--It was all worth it, and I'm STILL laughing today.
Yes, I'm now Marathon Convert--I've become one of those annoying people who will forever say 'EVERYONE should run a marathon It'll change your life'...and let me tell you, I NEVER thought I'd say that...EVER.

We all need to work hard for a goal, but more importantly, we all need to recognize our weakness and inability to really do ANYTHING alone. I could not have taken that first step without the full support, love, prayers, laughs and faith of my family--SOO, here's to ALL OF YOU for GETTING MY ASS TO 26.2!!!!

I have some great pictures of the weekend, so I'll be sure to update this post when they become available. Count me in as a future Grandma's Runner...it was a great event!

In Ellie's Honor:

4:36:45! Way to go, Ellie!

Mid Week Rundown

Coming off my biggest week of the year (59 miles), I was interested to see how I felt. End result: not too shabby! Still, this week will be a slower week as I dedicate more time in preparation for my duties as head cheerleader at Grandma's for Ellie. I plan on making her laugh, keeping her motivated, and also having a blast tracking her progress from Two Harbors to Duluth. It's gonna be fun!

Monday was a simple 4 miles, followed by 3 on Tuesday. Wednesday got filed as a ZERO, but today I made up for it by putting in 16 miles on the Ice Age Trail in 2:11 (8:11 pace...not bad!). The best part of the run? I got back to my car, stripped down to my shorts, and found no evidence of ticks!
This morning's run consisted of the Southern-most 8 miles of the IAT in the Northern Kettle Moraine State Forest, which is the only part of the 31+ miles I had not run yet. I've officially covered every step of the little yellow dots on the map found here.

I don't see much running in my future for the rest of the week, but next week I'll be back at it. In the meantime, wish Ellie luck!

My Fantastick Weekend

Pun intended.

This weekend a required nutrition seminar took me once again to Stevens Point, WI, to both attend the seminar and visit my pal Brock. I had a couple runs planned for the weekend and was excited to get going, so my car was packed, the gas tank was full (ouch!), and the iPod Shuffle was loaded with entertainment. By 4:00 on Friday I was out of the office and heading North.

The last couple times I've driven to Stevens Point I noticed an "Ice Age National Scenic Trail" sign on Highway 54 just outside of Waupaca, WI. Being a big fan of the IAT, I was intrigued immediately and had planned on running this particular segment on the way up. I had emailed some local IAT groups to find out how long the segment was (8.5 miles to the South from the parking lot) and if there were any other interesting things I should consider. I was informed there was an alternate route about a mile into the trail ("take the alternate route, it's more scenic"), after 8.5 miles the trail dead-ends at "2nd Avenue," and, of course, "Just follow the Yellow Blazers." Sounds simple enough.

After taking a couple detours because of roads closed due to flooding, I finally made it up to the parking lot and was chomping at the bit. I took off with a bottle of nuun (I finally bought some and loved it!) and some Sport Beans and headed into the woods.

The first part of the trail in in a tree line between two fields. At times I was doubled over to avoid the branches. The footing wasn't nearly as technical as the IAT in the Northern Kettles, but the lack of upkeep of the trail made it more difficult. Nonetheless, this is my favorite trail to run on and I was loving it. I continued to follow the Yellow Blazers (and occasionally make a wrong turn) through a State Park and then through a wildlife reserve that was absolutely beautiful--and maybe a bit too beautiful, as at some point the Blazers turned from yellow to green.

Eventually this "green trail" ended up at a road marked as "3rd Avenue." I was looking for "2nd Avenue." Hmmm. This trail had progressively gotten more overgrown, to the point that I'm not only running doubled over but also keeping my feet in a line with each step because the trail is so narrow it's almost gone. I got to 3rd Avenue in 1:05 so I figured I better just turn around. So back out I came, enjoying the trail again and even running into a decent sized grass snake (at which point I did a very funny and girly-like dance around it) and several deer (who looked at me like they had never seen a human before in their life). It was amazing.

I was back to the car in 2:13 and right on the verge of a bonk. I was beat. Within half an hour I was at Brock's and in the shower. That's when it went from a "fantastic" to "fantastick."

Absolutely Disgusting. Perhaps the only living creatures I think less of than some politicians.

In the shower some little specs of dirt were not washing off. Upon closer examination I realized those specs of dirt were TICKS. DISGUSTING, LITTLE, PARASITIC, BLOOD SUCKING, GOOD-FOR-NOTHING-BUT-GROSSING-ME-OUT-AND-GETTING-ME-BANNED-FROM-MY-OWN-HOUSE-BY-ELLIE TICKS! In total, I found four of them around my ankles. I checked everywhere else too but I was clear. Down the drain the ticks went, at which point I continued to wash, rinse, and repeat for an hour and a half. (Only kidding on the "hour and a half" part)

After explaining to Brock the situation, we moved on to checking my shoes. Sure enough, another little parasitic hitchhiker was found in there and quickly incinerated via match. Continued careful inspection revealed no more scum-of-the-earth insects, but I was taking no chances. I took out the inserts and propped them up in the shoes. I decided I'd leave them like that outside. These are dumb insects*, so I figured they'd think they were on a plant and climb to the top of the insert overnight.

Ever try sleeping at night after realizing you had ticks on you? Needless to say, Friday night was a bit restless. Eventually the morning came and, after another thorough body cavity check I was getting ready for the seminar. Sure enough, there was a tick waiting on the top of my insert, legs extended and hoping to catch a ride. Another two matches, an all too familiar smell of burning tick, and the confirmed kill number had risen to 2.

Only 2, you ask? What about the 4 in the shower, you inquire? Well, when I got into the shower that morning there was a friggen tick on the shower wall. It had survived the drain and climbed back up into my kill zone. Match struck. Match applied to tick. "Die!" shouted by Nic. Body disposed of. 3 confirmed Kills.

At this point my alert level is a def com 9 for more of these damn things. None, however, were found the rest of the morning. I hopped in my car (after a careful inspection of the floor and seat) and was off to the seminar.

Want to hear something gross? Lets say you're sitting in a seminar, you're listening to someone talking about herbal nutrition, and suddenly you feel a tickle on your neck. You swipe the area with your hand. Something small and hard is felt on your fingertips. You look at fingertips. You see a tick. You are disgusted but must remain calm so as not to clue your colleagues into the fact you had a TICK CRAWLING ACROSS YOUR NECK. Apparently my scan of my carseat wasn't as thorough as I had thought.

I don't know about you, but just thinking about it has me squirming. Later on in the morning I got a text from Brock that there were 3 ticks in the shower when he got up. All were dealt with and the total confirmed kills topped out at 7.

After all that, I'd say the weekend was pretty uneventful. Brock and I played Bocce Ball in a beautiful park on Saturday afternoon. I absolutely dominated the best-of-three series, winning 21-9 and 21-4. It was embarrassing for Brock. I'm not sure he'll recover. During the games, we discussed very serious matters, liksuch as women on TV whom we had a crush on growing up (Rebecca Donaldson from Full House, Winnie Cooper from The Wonder Years, Elisabeth Shue in The Karate Kid topped the list). On Sunday after the seminar concluded, I ran around on the Green Circle Trail in Stevens Point for 2:40. This trail is crushed granite and very wide, so there was no chance of Tickage.

Uncle Jesse, you're my hero.

What a fantastick weekend! A total of 5 hours of running, around 35 miles in total. Hopefully by tonight Ellie will let me enter the house again...

* Ticks actually aren't insects. They're arachnids, like spiders. They have 8 legs, not 6.

Mid Week Rundown

Mile 26.19 of my first BQ! Ahh, what a moment :)

(It kinda looks as if I'm about to do a cartwheel. Hey, now that I think of it...that wouldn't be a bad way to celebrate a BQ...)

Here's a recap of the week thus far...

Monday

I've been trying to get more running done in the mornings, but the addiction to the snooze button is something I've struggled with for many years. Then it hit me. I need to leave myself with no other option but to get up and run.

• One way to do this would be to have a running partner who I would feel terrible letting down. Unfortunately, I don't have many friends. And the ones I do have don't run nearly as fast as me and therefore are very, very bad running partners. I mean, how selfish of them to expect me to wait around for them!
  
• I could also make a routine of taking Parsenn on a morning run. Unfortunately, he prefers to sleep. A lot. In fact, I still believe he's recovering from his 5K PR last week.


• Aha! Inevitably, at some point every day I need to drive someplace. That requires a car. Moving on this idea, last night I drove my car to a parking lot about 6 miles away. I then locked it up and began running away from it, in the direction of home. I took the long way home and ran about 9 miles in a little over an hour.
  

Tuesday

Alarm goes off at 5 am. I press "snooze" with ferocity. You see, when really tired I sometimes believe inanimate objects have feelings, and by hittnig "snooze" with much anger, the alarm clock will have hurt feelings and give me an extra couple minutes to sleep.


No such luck. Eight minutes later, when the alarm goes off, I try a more gentler approach--Just a loving tap of "snooze."

Same outcome. Eight minutes later, I concede and I'm up. I'm out the door a by 5:30, telling myself I'm an idiot for parking my car 6 miles away. And my legs are tired from yesterday's run. While not as hot or humid as this weekend, it's still a lot warmer than it has been all year, and the 9 miler yesterday took more out of me than I thought. Nonetheless, I finally arrive at my car sweating profusely once again and slide in (literally--leather seats) to come home. Finally, some morning miles!

My legs have a very dull ache at the moment and I love it. Getting the miles done in the morning open up my afternoon, which is great for Tuesdays because I have office hours until about 6:30. Perhaps I'll put in some Parsenn Pace miles after work, but I'm not obligated to.

Thursday
Wednesday got really busy at work, so I didn't get a run in. By early Thursday I had the itch, so I scratched it with a trail run out on the Ice Age Trail. I put in 7.5 miles in an hour and finished it off with a little barefoot running in the wet grass. Absolutely splendid.
I am a huge proponent of more minimal footwear and barefoot training for runners, and I think it warrants an entire post, but I'll take the time now to highly encourage all of you to take your shoes off after your next run and walk around in a park barefoot. You'll be amazed at the level at which it'll help your recovery time!

Dehumidifier Working Overtime

Wow, what a weekend for our state! We. Got. Soaked. Our basement stayed dry, however, so that's more than a lot of people around here can say.

My training plans got jumbled, to say the least. On Saturday I wanted to run, but I also wanted to do yard work. After considering the weather reports, I decided that the yard work should get done first. It was completed with about 30 minutes to spare before the first wave (of many) of storms came through. It then continued to rain on and off (mostly on) through last night.

Ellie's last 20 miler got cut short by rain, also. Yesterday afternoon the radar looked relatively clear for our area of Wisconsin, so she headed West on a local paved trail to begin her 20 miler. About 5 miles into it, I drove out to see how she was doing, and she was a bit freaked. I can't blame her, though, as the sky she was running in the direction of looked like some kind of computer animated sky from a science fiction movie. As she ran West, she had the wind at her back, and the clouds were moving North, so I told her I thought she was going to be okay. She was only planning on running that direction for about 6 miles before turning around.

So she continued West and I headed back East, parked the car about 5 miles away, and started running back towards her with water and gatorade. As I was running West, I started with the wind at my back, and about 20 minutes into my run, I was suddenly running into a stronger wind. I stopped, looked at those same very ominous clouds, and realized that they were no longer heading North, but instead were coming right at me. And fast. Uh oh.

At this point I was freaking out. Ellie was about 2 miles West of me, the pitch black clouds were almost over me, and my car was about 1.5 miles East of me. An impromptu speed workout followed as I hauled my butt as fast as I could back to my car so I could go get Ellie. The trail Ellie and I were running on runs parallel to a major highway, and I could only imagine what the drivers were thinking, watching me in an all out sprint away from what looked like the Armageddon, lightning and all.

I eventually reached my car and was speeding back towards Ellie. Amazingly, when I found her, it wasn't even raining and she was smiling. She had also noticed the change in wind direction and was a bit cautious, but we decided that I'd drive ahead and park and wait, in case it did start raining. So, off she went again (what a trooper!) and I hopped in the car and pulled onto the highway. And then it started raining. And then it started pouring.

Instead of a 20 miler, Ellie got in about 10. But when she reached the car, she was drenched and smiling. She shrugged her shoulders and hopped in. Again, what a trooper! She said despite the extreme humidity, she felt great, so that's a plus going into this week. I had hoped to get in about 15 miles this weekend to bring my week's total to 50, but I had to settle for 6. I can't complain, though, as other activities in Wisconsin were severely affected by the weather:

Road America had motorcycle races this weekend. All of the cycle enthusiasts that traveled to our area for the races got pummelled. Not much fun.

In the Southern Kettles the Kettle 100 was held this weekend. Between the mosquitos, 90 degree temps early Saturday, and the Tornado warnings and severe thunderstorms Saturday afternoon and night, it had to have been an epic adventure. 123 people were scheduled to start the 100 miler, and I believe something like 37 finished. Wow. You can read some more race reports on that by clicking this link.

This week I head back up to Stevens Point for another seminar, and on Sunday I'm going to run the Green Circle Trail, a 24 mile loop around the city. Should be fun!

The Numbers Game

So what's in a number?

For me, I always am analyzing numbers. In part, I'm talking about times and splits and distances, but I'm also talking about just...plain...numbers. As in Bib numbers, and lucky numbers, and random numbers.

As I grew up playing on teams with kids my age, I could never wrap my mind around my teammates who would just pick a jersey number with no rhyme or reason. For me, it had to have a meaning. For example, my birthday is December 30th, so I have always loved the number twelve. I loved the word. I loved how "12" looked. According to wikipedia, it's a "sublime number" and also a "perfect number." It's the atomic number of magnesium. It's also how the duodenum (everybody's favorite part of the small intestine) got its name--"twelve" in latin is duodecum--because the duodenum is 12(ish) inches long! As you can see, it's a cool number. It was my number. Plus, I played point guard in basketball, and John Stockton wore number 12, as did Aaron Hutchins (a Marquette point guard at the time). It was a perfect fit. But the main reason I liked 12 was the whole duodenum thing.

When I reached high school football freshman year (I was a quarterback), there wasn't a "12" available. Because of my birthday, I picked "3." After all, it was part of "30" and divided evenly into "12." In football I was "3" and in basketball I was "12." And there were NO exceptions, whether it was a select team or a practice jersey. Those were MY numbers.

Then came varsity football sophomore year. The returning starting quarterback happened to wear "3." Uh oh. Despite attempts at bribery and flat-out threats at physical harm, he wasn't budging. I was forced to pick over again, and went with "5." This was a very traumatic event in my history (5 can't really compete with 3 or 12. In terms of atomic numbers, 3 is Lithium. 12 is Magnesium. 5 is BORON. I mean, come on!

Fortunately, I was able to get through this unwelcome but mandatory transition, and to this day "5" is an important number in my superstitious life. In fact, with some combination of the digit "5" and a certain word (which I won't mention because you RBFs are quite an untrustworthy bunch), one would be able to hack into any password I have, for some combination of "5," "12," and _______ (word) are my old reliable passwords for literally everything. Okay, that's not totally true. If I'm prompted to change my password for security reasons, it becomes a unique word relating to my favorite ski resort. But anyway, I digress.

So what's in a number, as it relates to running?

I knew I was going to have a great race in Madison. Not because I had trained great. Not because I was injury free. Not because I was simply due to run a good marathon. It was because my bib number was 1412. 1+4=5, and 12. Those were my numbers! It was inevitable!

I can still tell you my first marathon bib number, also. Chicago, 2004, #17131. All odd numbers. Relatively symmetrical. Very close to being a palindrome (+3 on the word score). It was going to be a good day.

I've even taken my respect for the bib number karma to the point of requesting specific numbers. In the Door County Fall 50 last year, Ellie and I were team "255," because I specifically requested to have "55" included in my number. If you haven't noticed, under the "About Me" portion of this page, you'll find "5:55." That's no coincidence, either.

I run marathons with the inspiration of a dear friend, Brock Hansen, in my heart. Brock and I are best friends from high school, where he played center and I was the quarterback on the football team. My number was 5. His? 55.*

We also worked a summer job together for a produce delivery company. It involved early mornings, and often we found ourselves on the delivery route together at 5:55 AM. We'd touch the clock for good luck, make a wish, and go on with our lives. This was before he was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis, but the tradition continues to this day. If I'm in a car at 5:55, I text Brock "Fi Fiddy Fi" and he knows exactly what I'm saying. I still request "55" in every race I enter.

For those of you out there that give no thought to your bib number, I envy you. For my number is scrutinized and analyzed to no end. I hope, when I receive my bib for the Milwaukee Marathon this fall, it's something I can work with. Perhaps:

555 For obvious reasons...
179 I'm hoping to run a 2:59 marathon, or 179 minutes.
512 Duh. 5 and 12. Did you read this post?
259 Again, a reference to my goal time.



* I often tell people that a center and a quarterback have a relationship like no other. After all, my hands have been places I'm pretty sure no other men's hands have been!


In other news, I'm approaching a 50 mile week and am feeling great. The endurance base continues to build and I have high hopes for my peak races this summer. Ellie is looking at another 20 miler this weekend, so it'll give me a chance to put in another long slow run in preparation for my 24 mile Green Circle Trail Run and my 50K Ice Age Trail run. See, Ellie, even at the peak of your training, it's still all about muah! :)

And so it goes

...it's time to get movin'. I've enjoyed the leisure time, but I want to run. Truthfully, I've been thinking about my next marathon since roughly two hours after finishing in Madison. But I've saved the post until now, for the most part (I hinted at it in my "Notes on Madison" post). What's next? Where do I go from here? How do I get there?

Since Madison I've completely fallen off the wagon and then been run over by it in terms of nutrition and mileage. But I've enjoyed it. I have read about several runners who have taken time off. As much as they didn't like it, it seems to help them re-focus and get ready for their next endeavour. For runners there's always something coming up, right? I mean, look at your RBFs...they all have a schedule posted regarding upcoming events. So here's my schedule for the summer.

I want to go under 3 hours in Milwaukee in October.

I will achieve that goal using a specific training schedule that starts this week with long, slow, endurance base-building runs:

June 15: 24 mile run of the Green Circle Trail in Stevens Point (I'll be there for a seminar)
June 28: 31 mile run of the Ice Age Trail in the Northern Kettle Moraine State Forest.

The first week of July, I'll be on "vaca" in Ireland and England. I'll run a little over there, but mostly I'll just drink Guinness. :)

I have two other races that I'd like to perform well at over the summer:

July 21: Cheesehead Chase 5 Mile, where I'd like to break 31:00.
August 16: Full Moon Half Marathon, where I'd like to break 1:25.

Through the rest of August and September, I plan on pushing my training with long (22-25 mile) marathon pace runs. The mental confidence these runs provided in my last training period gave me a huge boost.

There you have it. My plans...with one disclaimer:

Life tends to throw wrenches into plans. Especially my plans, it seems. I tend to bite off more than I can chew on occasion. I will continue to keep running fun by not making it a part-time job or allowing it to comprimise other obligations (picking up Parsenn's poo, arbitrating contract negotiations between the Brewers and their young players, finishing tasks Ellie gives me before she asks me for the 7th time, solving our energy crisis).

Ellie's Marathon Update: Last week Ellie ran her first 20 miler of training, and still wore high heels to a wedding we attended that night. But that's not the impressive part. She also did the electric slide like a champ in said high heels. I've got her running one more 20 miler this weekend before tapering, so I'll be out on my bike or in my car acting as her crew. I've told her that the real "half-way point" in a marathon is 20 miles, NOT 13.1, so she's excited to get another run in of that distance before she does it for "really reals" (as Marcy would say).