Ever have a bad day?

I had one today.

I left at around 11:00 to run what I hoped to be a 16 mile run. I stopped after 8. Those 8 miles were run on a hilly course at 7:15 pace (58:00 flat) and I was pretty happy with that, but the pace was a struggle so I decided to go easy and head back home. Looking back, I'm glad I did.

I got home and was drinking some water when my cat, Lilly, threw up. Then she threw up again. This isn't really all that unusual, so I didn't think much of it. I cleaned it up and went back to cooling off after my run.

A couple minutes later I heard what sounded like Lilly moaning. A bit worried, I found her underneath the bed and she was breathing heavy and didn't look so good. I moved the bed and got her out and knew something was wrong. While calling the vet, she lost some control of her bowels. At this point, I'll spare you the rest of the details...I really have no idea what happened to her, but it wasn't pretty. Fortunately, it all happened pretty quickly (I didn't even make it to my car to head to the vet's office) and Lilly was gone.

Ellie and I got Lilly in 2004 and immediately she and I had a bond. On the car ride back from Wisconsin to St. Louis (I was in school down there at this point), Lilly slept on my shoulders. She would greet me when I got home from school or work by running over and laying down on the floor right in front of me. Every night, she slept between my feet, either above or under the covers..depending on the season. When I'd want to roll over, I'd pull my legs up to my waist, then rotate, and then replace them around her. She really was adorable, and she was my first pet. It can't ever be easy to lose a pet, but the first one is proving especially difficult--and she was only 3!

Looking back at this morning, at least I did come home when I did. I can't even imagine how hard I'd be hurting if I came home and found her in the condition she was at the end, without knowing anything about what happened. So for that I'm very thankful. She really was a sweet kitty.

I miss you, Lilly!

Lilly tormenting Parsenn yesterday before I left for work.

Mid Week Rundown

After last week's great run at the Fox Cities Marathon, I was really excited to keep the momentum going as I build to Milwaukee in 2 weeks and the Fall 50 in about a month. That excitement has transported me to the precipice of overtraining and injury. I'm feeling aches in a couple spots in my legs at the moment, but these aren't the muscular aches of a job well done and a sense of accomplishment. These aches are my body telling me to watch it...

On Monday I felt as fresh as I've ever felt after a marathon and ran 3 trail miles with Parsenn at "Parsenn Pace." On this particular run that happened to be more like a fartlek, as the trail was filled with rabbits that he'd sprint after and chase into the weeds. It was a lot of fun to watch.

Tuesday was a grinder at work and I couldn't wait to get out and run. Fast. I ran 10 miles, with the middle 9.3 on a 5K course and just missed a 15K (9.3 miles) PR by running 1:02:33. A 6:41 pace two days after a marathon?! Not bad!

Wednesday was again an easy 3 miles at Parsenn Pace on the trails. No matter how the Fall 50 turns out, I definitely see a trail ultra in my future--it was bliss to be out there.

Today I ran 15 miles and my body was really telling me to pull back again by the end of the run. This run was a mix of Ice Age Trail (which was probably stupid considering my propensity for ankle rolling on that trail) and country roads. I probably ran about a 7:30-8:30 pace, and that was probably too fast. By the end my right popliteus muscle (back of the knee) was not happy, and neither was the ball of my left foot.

Looking ahead, I'm hoping to run well at Milwaukee and make that my last real hard training run. However, as I mentioned, I can feel myself walking (or running, I guess) a fine line at the moment between peak training miles and injury-inducing miles.

Have a great weekend!

Fox Cities Report

I'm really starting to love the smaller marathons. The Fox Cities Marathon had a grand total of 1,100(ish) finishers, and despite the small total, the organization, crowd, course, and finishing area was top notch.

I was coming into this weekend unlike any marathon I'd run in the past (for those keeping score at home, this was #12). I was using this run as a bit of a training run for upcoming events (Milwaukee in two weeks, and the Fall 50 in a month). I was also coming in without my normal training of speed work, intervals, and long fast runs. During the last month or two, if I had a chunk of time to run (which as FEW and FARRRR between), I would use it for a long slow run in preparation for the 50 miler. Because of these things, I really didn't know what to expect. In all honesty, I was hoping I could run 3:30. 3:30, I felt, was optimistic. Less than 2 months ago, after all, I was finally getting over back-to-back bouts with Lyme Disease and Shingles. Not exactly my idea of a great summer.

My dad and I were on the road for the hour drive up to Appleton by 6:15, and we arrived with very little problem at about 7:15. (Again, really liking the small marathons!) After about a 1/2 mile jog/walk to warm up, I was chomping at the bit. I found the 3:30 pace group and after what seemed like an hour, we were off. This was a great course that made its way through 9 different cities, each one seemingly out-doing the last with enthusiasm. Almost every aid station (22 in all) had a theme, also. From Gilligan's Island, to MASH, to Wheel of Fortune--complete with a wheel for the runners to spin!--it was a blast. Just before the half way point was the steepest hill on the course. It could have been a bit rough to get up, if it weren't for the "scream tunnel" assembled by teenage volunteers. I haven't been to Boston to experience the Wellesley Tunnel, but I'll never forget this particular group at mile 12 in Kaukauna.

I went through the first half in 1:44 and change and was sure to keep the Gatorade flowing, but more importantly, getting the water down too. I had learned something from Madison--too much Gatorade Endurance equals revolt from the tummy.

Moving into the second half, I started picking up the pace a bit. I stuck to pretty much only water, and only a sip at each aid station. I didn't walk at all, so that probably had a lot to do with only getting a "sip," as I am absolutely terrible and drinking and running. As I'd pass one runner, I'd look ahead to the next. I looked to simply continuously pick off the runners and keep a solid pace, without pushing too hard. I've trained with heart rate monitors but have found it a lot easier to simply follow my breathing rhythm. I watched my breathing to make sure I was never going too hard, but I felt like I was getting stronger as the miles came. It was quite a feeling!

(It's true--I never walked during the second half. But I came ohh soo close when I passed the great fans outside their house enjoying Mimosas.)

The marathon ends with a loop around a park, and that part got rough. I lost my breathing rhythm and by mile 25.5 was gasping. Still, I really wanted to finish strong, and the possibility of a sub-3:20 (and 10 MINUTE NEGATIVE SPLIT) was pushing me along. I love the feeling of finishing strong down the chute, but this time I didn't have much. And this time...I have one complaint about this event...

The Fox Cities Marathon also has a Half-Marathon. And a Half-Marathon Walk. AND a Marathon Walk. All these events make the organization even more impressive but also create a quagmire in the finishing chute. Even if I did have a "kick" at the end, I'm not sure I would have been able to because of all the people. SEPERATE THEM NEXT YEAR!

Alas, the finish came and my chip time was 3:19:19. I was happy yesterday, and even more so today after looking at my splits:

• My split at 10K was 48:07 (7:45 pace). My split from Mile 20 to the finish, or the last 10K of the marathon, was 44:55 (7:14 pace).


• I ran the second half in 1:35:07 (7:15 pace)


• From Mile 13.1 to Mile 20, I ran 7:18 pace. So, when you consider my 7:12 pace from Mile 20 to the finish, MY NEGATIVE SPLIT HAD A NEGATIVE SPLIT!

So considering all of this, the 1month100miles.com journey is going great! I'm already re-thinking my goals for Milwaukee in two weeks, and I'll keep you posted on that...

3:19:31

Yesterday was fantastic. I started the Fox Cities Marathon with the 3:30 pace group and hung around with them at an 8:00 pace for the first half of the marathon, crossing 13.1 in almost exactly 1:45. At that point I wanted to pick up the pace and did just that, finishing with a 10 minute negative split in 3:19:31. This was a top notch event, and I'm looking forward to sharing the whole story...

Bring it on!

Dear Friends, Well, it's here! On Sunday I'll be running the Fox Cities Marathon, and, frankly, I CAN'T WAIT! I can't wait to get out there and run. I can't wait to put one foot in front of the other, feel a little (okay, a LOT) tired, feel a little (okay, a LOT) sore, and work towards a great accomplishment...both personally and for such a wonderful group of people--the Children's Tumor Foundation.
www.1month100miles.com
Early next week I'm going to email you again and share with you two stories. First, I'll tell you how the marathon went. Then I'll get on to the important stuff. I want to tell you about Steve Kendra. I had the pleasure of meeting Steve at about mile 19 of the Las Vegas Marathon a couple years ago. I was running in honor of Brock, and Steve was running...the ENTIRE CTF.ORG Marathon Fundraising effort, which he continues to do today. He's the Director of the NF Endurance Team, the father of a daughter with NF, and also an athlete (He completed the RAAM last year). I'm already working on the letter about Steve and the inspiration he's provided me, so I'll save the rest of the details for early next week. Stay tuned!
As for the training regarding my fall events, things have been going well. I've run more miles in one week than I ever have, I've run more long runs (more than 20 miles) than I ever have, and I'm still injury-free! Woo Hoo! I'm not sure what to expect out of myself this weekend, but I'm hoping to run strong. Last weekend I was in St. Louis for one last training run--the Lewis & Clark Marathon--but it got cut from a marathon to a 10 mile "fun run" due to Tropical Storm Ike. I still found a way to enjoy myself...but I've never been that cold when running (not even in Wisconsin Winter!) I'm off to a great start fundraising, thanks to all of you! Please continue to spread the word about both my goals and the greater goals of Brock and I--two Plymouth Friends trying to do something special. I can't thank enough three specific businesses:

Sun Graphics: Terry and Mary Kay Evans, the owners of Sun Graphics in Plymouth, have been friends of mine since I coached their son, Mark, in Summer Basketball Leagues for Plymouth. They've always been willing to help our community and have jumped behind Brock and me as we try to accomplish something great this fall. I can't thank them enough for their support and encourage everyone to contact them and thank them for their support. Thanks again, Terry and Mary Kay!!

Run Away Shoes: Ross McDowell and I met completely randomly at a local running event, where I was a keynote speaker (speaking on behalf the the Children's Tumor Foundation) and he was a sponsor. It turns out Ross and my college roommate were high school classmates. Welcome to small town Wisconsin!Ross and Run Away Shoes have helped me with getting the right fit for my shoes and have helped support this fall's fundraising campaigns more than anyone can imagine. It takes a lot of "Gu" to get through the training runs, and he's been there to help. I also offer free beginner runner consultations to patients of mine, and several of them asked me for help for picking the "right" running shoe. I immediately suggested Ross and RunAway Shoes after knowing how helpful their staff was to me. All of my referrals came away very impressed with their help. The shoes I'm wearing right now (and the shoes that held up amazingly well in St. Louis) to run these events came at Ross' suggestion. Please keep him in mind if you're looking for a new pair of active shoes.

Icebreaker Marathon: I'm signed up for quite a unique event this winter. You see, I'm not going to stop running until we find a treatment or cure for NF, and the next event (after the 1 Month, 100 Miles) will be an INDOOR marathon this January. Chris (the Race Director) has been wonderful in helping to spread the word about my goals for this fall, and I want to tell all of you about a great and unique event this winter. A marathon sounds like insanity to a lot of people. Imagine if I told them I'll be running 94 laps of a track to complete a marathon! Check it out!

www.1month100miles.com

Again, none of this is possible without your support. Please continue to pass the word along about what Brock and I are trying to accomplish (a $10,000 donation to CTF). We'll talk again in a couple miles... Nic PS: I can't thank enough the support of two people: Brock, and my Dad. First of all, times make it tough to keep in long term contact with friends. Personal business, family, distance, and a bunch of other obstacles tend to plant themselves between you and the people you truly care about. None of those have stopped Brock from keeping in touch with me. Most of the time it's a text message of him complaining about the Brewers (and there's been a LOT of that lately!), but he always finds a way to keep in touch, and that's always appreciated. And then there's my dad. He's been to every marathon I've ever run, and he'll be there on Sunday. For examle, when I FINALLY qualified for the Boston Marathon this spring in Madison (final stretch photo here), he drove me home. I slept (photo here). Thanks again, Pops. www.1month100miles.com

Lewis & Clark Marathon Report

I think Friday night, which I posted a bit about here, can be best summed up by the following:








After a busy Friday at the office and a long trip to get to St. Louis, and a big weekend of running ahead of me, I was tired and looking forward to sleeping...and dreaming. (I know, it's a stretch to incorporate the above video's song title, but my weekend song theme is gonna get worse...)

Saturday

I was up at 7:30 and excited. I showered, hydrated a bit (should have a LOT), and walked around the hotel for a while. It's in the middle of a corporate park, so there wasn't much to see. I did notice a couple charter buses out front...but they looked more like something a group of red hat ladies would tour in (you know--clean, no dark tinted windows, no whirlpools, no drug paraphernilia), so I really really hope that Cheap Trick decided to take their charter helicopter to St. Louis, and it was parked somewhere nearby.


At about 10 AM I began my first run of the weekend:

Not long into the run, I remembered two things about running in St. Louis:

• 
  
  
  
  1. It's hot.




• 
  
  
  
  2. It's humid.



• 
  
  
  
  3. You have to run on a LOT of busy roads, especially if your run begins and ends in a corporate business park.
  

Okay, I remember 3 things. As you can see, I ran a little over 6 miles each direction from one side of the Missouri River to the other, where the expo was held at the Ameristar Casino. The entrance I took into the casino was a wee bit less inviting than the vehicular entrance:

The above ground entrance, and the entrance I took in.

Surprisingly, I was not mugged, and it was actually cleaner than the bridge over the river I crossed!

Once arriving, the expo was pretty nice, including 15% off pretty much all the stuff there. This marathon gets a thumbs up from me for the stuff, including some free beverages that really hit the spot for me before I left to run back to the hotel. "180 Sports Drink" was tasty and easy to digest, so it gets a big non-compensated endorsement from their friends at left-right-repeat.com. And as a side note, I like how much their logo resembles the Boy Band "Hanson's" logo.

On the way back to the hotel, I passed through a park downtown where Lewis & Clark (and their dog "Seaman") camped upon completing their Journey.

I also passed another race finish line--A stage of the Tour of Missouri bike race. Unfortunately, the peloton wouldn't be arriving until 4 or 5 PM. Still, the area was really festive and inviting. I think I should buy a bike. It looked like fun, and I wouldn't have been nearly has uncomfortable as I was running at that particular moment.

Then it was back over the river via Highway 370 (which is part of the marathon course tomorrow). This was NOT FUN. I was on the same side as the traffic so I pretty much heard semi trucks barreling down on me over and over again.

Back over the Missouri River. In the first picture you can see the Ameristar Casino in the background, behind the train bridge. It's not the greatest photo, but at the moment I was freaking out about dropping my phone off the edge. :)

I was running in what was marked as a "bike route" but was nothing more than the shoulder. There was trash everywhere (including, but not limited to a lawn chair, a case of Bud Lite, a wig, and a ticket to an adult entertainment venue), and it was humid as hell. I ran this bridge at what felt like a 6 minute/mile pace. Then I stopped, exhausted, and took some self portraits to see if I looked as crappy as I felt. Apparently I did.

Feeling like a FedEx semi is about to blow me off the "bike path," and then breathing a sigh of relief it didn't. The orange cones will be used tomorrow for the marathon, I'm assuming/hoping. Did I mention the humidity?

I finished the run up in 1:42, for a pace of 8:13 overall. I'll take it. But by the end I had completely "Surrendered" to the humidity and had some cramping going on in my hamstrings. Thus, Saturday's theme song:

What's even better about that song is that I only knew it once the video started because of the video game "Guitar Hero," which I'm terrible at. Surrender is the only song that I can make it through without getting boo'd off the stage. Thanks, Cheap Trick!

Sunday

I slept fantastic on Saturday night and woke up ready to go when the wake-up call came in at 5:00 AM. "Good Morning," a friendly female voice recording said. "This is your 5:00 AM wake-up call. The forecast for today is Sunny with a high of 92."

Really?

"That's odd," I thought. I was pretty sure the forecast was for an 80% chance of rain and heavy wind and...oh yeah...flash flooding. I got up and went to the window, pulled the curtains back, and discovered it raining so hard it was actually coming in my room. So much for 92 and Sunny.

After my customary shower and Breakfast of Champions, I arranged a ride to the start line from a Hotel Shuttle. Talking to other runners in the lobby that morning, the consensus was:

1. 
   
   This is going to suck.


2. 
   
   I should go back to bed.


3. 
   
   I'm not going to.


4. 
   
   Might as well leave and get it over with.

So into the van I went, wearing garbage bags around my feet, my legs, and my torso (I cut a hole for my head.) I arrived at the start line at about 6:00--wayyy too early. Without any shelter to take, I literally sat in a porta potty for about a half hour to stay dry. Finally, knowing the race was scheduled to start at 6:45 AM, I left my hidaway (no, there wasn't anyone waiting to use it) at about 6:35 and headed for the start line.

Now, I had read about this race on marathonguide.com and noticed that last year they started the race about 30 minutes late because the traffic was so horrible getting in. Keep in mind that this event starts at an outside music venue with about 6 lanes of traffic entering it from 2 different directions. Surely that problem was taken care of this year.

Or not.

We didn't start the event until around 7:10. It was absolutely miserable standing out there, huddling under a broken umbrellaand shivering like crazy. Still, two things were unbelievable--the extent of rain and wind coming down, and the amount of people still there, in the same boat (ha) as me. Pretty crazy!

FINALLY, a guy in a poncho and a pony tail came running past yelling, "Go!" And almost immediately I was feeling better. The first 7 miles were into the wind, and it really was crazy to run in that. At about Mile 8 we crossed the Missouri River (see bridge above) and that was absolutely nuts. I remember looking at the people running in front of me and noting how they were all running at a 45 degree angle. Crazy!

After crossing the river, things calmed down a bit and I was pleased to see I was running about 7:30 miles. I had seriously contemplated dropping out at the half but decided against it at this point. Then, suddenly, a guy on the side of the road said, "Everyone finishes just ahead." That sucked.

I finished, got my HALF marathon medal, and got another can of 180 Sports Drink. That stuff is amazing! My time for the 10 mile fun run was 1:21, I think. The finish area really was soaked, and apparently there were trees and tree branches falling on the course route, so there really wasn't a choice to be made. There are some pretty cool videos here.

This weekend, it's on the the Fox Cities Marathon for this guy, and I'm really excited to get started with 1month100miles! Please help out if you can--it's going great so far, with a little of $1,000 already raised! In the meantime...

Don't. Stop. Believing.

Lewis & Clark "Fun Run"

Tropical Storm Ike made its way through St. Louis on early Sunday morning. Despite this, I was there, at the start line, wearing a total of 4 garbage bags (one around my waist, one around my torso, and one over each foot, ready to roll. It was crazy out there!
At mile 10 they cut the race off. I ran an extra 3 miles to get back to the hotel so that I can actually keep the "Half Marathon" medal they provided at the "finish."

Ah well, such is life. I got to run and share some comraderie with fellow running fools, and considering what Ike has done to other parts of the country, getting a marathon cut short is no big deal. Report to follow.

Rock Star Accomodations

Well, the rainforest that currently is the Midwest delayed my flight to St. Louis until about 10 last night. If I had just continued to drive down to StL, I would have arrived at about the same time. Alas, no worries. I found a way to pass the time in the airport:

But then it got good. I finally arrived at my hotel at about midnight. I got checked in and was in my room looking for an outlet to charge my phone and computer. I started by moving the end tables to see if there was an outlet on the wall behind them. Unfortunately, I found no outlet. Even more unfortunate was what I found under the endtable as I slid it away:

Stay classy, Holiday Inn Airport West.

But then it got even better! This morning went down to the lobby to find some coffee and ran into the same guy that checked me in last night. He started telling me about the area and mentioned that there's an amphitheatre down the road that has a concert tonight. (I went to school in StL so I have actually been to this concert venue, but I let the guy continue on his 10 minute virtual tour of the greater StL area)

Who's playing? None other than JOURNEY, HEART, AND CHEAP TRICK. Where are they staying? In my hotel. I'll be honest, folks. If an "opportunity" in the form of a backstage pass presents itself at some point today, I may have to pass on the marathon tomorrow.

Okay, gotta go, people. I need to brush up on my "Behind the Music" episodes for my 3 new favorite bands.

ps: Weather report for tomorrow: There's a flood warning for the Missouri River at St. Charles (pretty much exactly where I'll be running), and it's looking like an 80% chance of heavy rain tomorrow. Anyone have an inside contact with my 3 favorite bands? Marcy?!

Posting from a Remote Location

Hola amigos!

I've been a bad RBF lately. It's been crazy, as usual. Ellie and I moved out of our house (we sold it...we weren't evicted or anything :) ) and are looking to move up to the town I'm now practicing in, but we're currently living in a pretty cool apartment that barely receives the internet from a nearby house. I'm also covering the entire caseload at work as the other doctor is on a 2 week Safari (with his bow and arrow...literally) in Africa. Crazy, for sure. Oh yeah, also, in the process of moving I lost my cell phone. That was great too.

Today I put together a nice 27 mile training run. Now that's an odd sentence to write, but it comes with the territory when the goal for the fall is to finish a 50 miler. It went well today...up until about mile 26.5 when I really needed to find a restroom. Other than that, my combination of nuun, Clif Shot Bloks, Gummy Bears, a little Gatorade, and a lot of ice water is working really well.

Looking ahead, I'm excited to see what I'm made of. It's going to be a crazy(crazier) month, so bring it on!

This weekend I'm flying to St. Louis for the Lewis & Clark Marathon on Sunday as my final "training run" before the real runs start in a week. Be sure to check back for some pictures and reports on the weekend's running!

I'm going to keep this post brief, as the wireless connection is spotty at best. In closing, I have to say WAY TO GO!!! to Keith, Adam, Helen, and Wynn for their amazing efforts this past weekend at the Superior races. Just reading about the festivities up there make it a must see and must do for me at some point. And along those lines, my deepest and most sincere condolences to Adam (can you tell by his webpage colors what football team he supports) as he recovers from the beatdown Aaron Rodgers and the Pack provided on Monday.