Grandma's 2012

My first thought when starting this post was, "Where was a blog 28 years ago".  I have been comparing my experience at the 36^th Annual Grandma's Marathon (my 28^th consecutive) with past experiences.  However, I did not have a blog back then, so I did not keep a journal?  Bummer as after 28 finishes, they all run together, even two days afterward.  I did have blog entries for 2008, 2009, and 2010.  Last year was hard, and I only had 5 blog entries (2 in January and 3 in December).

My Friday could have been a better precursor to a successful weekend! Work was issue after issue, and I struggled to get away.  When I did, I went to my girlfriend's house, and we drove up in her second car, as sleeping in a Nissan Altima is easier than my Smart Four Two.  I took her car to fill up with gas, and about 5 blocks from the station, it ran out!!!  CRAP… I had to push it to the station.  I thought I would get a hand or two with Minnesota nice, but nothing.  Fortunately, the route was flat; the only issue was the entrance. I picked up speed and made it…

After that fiasco, we left Minneapolis at about 3:30 PM on Friday. I was concerned because I knew I was not as prepared as possible. LLogging no running miles since the 2011 Grandma's Marathon means there needed to be more preparation. I logged over 1,500 miles on my bike in the two months leading up to this attempt, but biking differs from running.

Battling traffic made the trip about 45 minutes longer than normal. However, my arrival at the DECC was perfect timing, as the 5K had finished, and much of the parking lot was clear. I picked up my packet and walked around Canal Park before heading to the car to sleep.

I set my alarm for 4:45 AM as the bus/train was scheduled to leave between 5:20 AM and 6:30 AM, and I expected rain. I had a great night's sleep, which was strange as I have had so much trouble sleeping the past few months. When I woke, I was surprised to see a mostly clear sky. The weatherman was predicting thunderstorms for the day. I was happy that they missed the forecast once again!  

The train ride to the start could have been more uneventful. Got to the start, went to the Biffs', and did the final race preparations.  I truly believed this was only going to be an attempt at best.  I have been a little down, thinking this would end my consecutive Grandma's Marathon attempts.  One side hoped injury would take me out, and the other was a fighter.  I hate to quit.  More than anyone I have ever met, I hate to quit or fail!

I was worried because the sun was hot. The forecast was 65 degrees for the day with scattered thunderstorms. It was 65 degrees at 7:00 AM, and the sun was scorching. Standing at the start grid, many of the runners already had sweat from the warmth.  

This year's race started 15 minutes early, at 7:45 AM, rather than the traditional 8 AM start. I knew that I needed to run smart to have a chance at finishing.

The race start was uneventful. Took over 7 minutes to get across the start line. I was doing a 12-minute mile without much worry. Had a heart rate of about 130. Not much to worry about.  As typical for longer activities, I followed the heart rate monitor as my pace guide. I kept the heart rate in the 130-140 range.

Everything was going along fine when, at six miles, I had a loud and painful clicking in my right knee.  It was like a ratchet.  Step after step...  Click, click, click... I started to get really concerned and changed my gate and rotation, hoping to ease the issue.  I walked for a while and tried to minimize the pain and odd feeling. Then, I started to run in various ways to ease the pain.  I found a really short shuffle that was pain-free.  After the half marathon mark, I realized my brisk walk was about a minute slower than the shuffle run, and walking did not hurt.  I was beginning to think, can I finish? I have to finish!

So, I proceeded to walk briskly. I was clicking off the miles at a 15- —to 16-minute per-mile pace. It was easy, and I had built a cushion. I knew I only needed a 19-minute mile average for the rest of the race to make the cut-off. I decided this was all about the finish rather than the time.

Everything was great until mile 22, when I felt both calves, the right thigh, and my lower back start to tighten up. I focused all my mental energy on each step, changing each step to ensure I did not get a cramp to stop me in my tracks. I had been taking S-Caps and felt I had completed a solid regimen to keep hydrated, so I just focused. I have always said the brain can overcome so much if you know how to use it!

Shelley met me at mile 24.5 and walked the rest of the way to the finish. It was a finish like so many others, only the slowest ever. I was not disappointed, nor was I happy. It was strange that for the first time I can ever remember, it felt like I had finished a day at work, and it was time to clock out and go home. I was not happy with my job but had no intention of quitting. 

Let's see what the next week holds, although I look forward to returning to the bike!  I am surprised my knee hurts much less than the week before the race.  I noticed that last year as well. It felt better after 26.2 miles than it does with zero miles… I really enjoyed the bike rides this past year and hope that someday, I will once again look forward to running and finishing Grandma's Marathon.  When that day comes, I will make it my last as I do not want to quit without my last one being a race I enjoyed, so that positive memory will stay with me for as long as I live.

Right now, I want to focus on fighting this infection again.  I do not feel much improvement after 6 days of Amox-Clav.  It looks like a stronger option is needed, and that will limit my activities.  But I need to take action as I wake up unable to see clearly for the first 10 minutes each morning, and when I lay down to watch TV or read, within minutes, everything is blurry.  As I wrote, this is my 9^th antibiotic rotation in 26 months.  I will fight and win that battle so I can win others.   

Thanks for reading, and may you all live happy lives and enjoy everything you do. Humans often take this blessing for granted, including me, who needs to feel blessed with the health, perseverance, and success I have had for over half my life, finishing Grandma's marathon. I still have a hard time comprehending 28 years… Wow!

Carry on, my friends.

Grandma’s 28? Now that is a young Grandma!

No, I do not mean a human Grandma, but the marathon in Duluth, MN. For some reason, thousands of people meet annually on the third Saturday in June for a 26.2-mile trek from Two Harbors to Duluth. This is the place where I have put my body at the start line for 27 years and managed to finish. I am beginning to think each time, the body was different…  

There have been a great variety of personal outcomes and race conditions over the years.  There were brutally hot races, a brutally cold race, and even one where the wind took down the finish line entertainment tents just hours after I finished.  My PR (personal record) and PW (personal worst) on this course are over three hours apart.  Yes I have averaged 8 miles per hour but also as slow as 4 miles per hour.  The race is different experience at each pace.

This is actually the 36^th Annual Grandma’s marathon, but my 28^th.  I know three people in their 60s have run them all. (I am not out of the 40s yet!)  I was not even a teenager for the first annual Grandma’s…  With 27 under the belt, I do not understand what makes me think I need 28!  Some think I need an intervention, some think I am overly competitive, and others wonder why I started in the first place.  Over the years, I have met other “streakers”…  In 2009 I ran with a women who was on her 23^rd.  I have a friend who is going for his 29^th consecutive finish.  In 1985, my goal was 25 consecutive finishes, but like those words from Forrest Gump, “for no particular reason I just kept going” or “I figured, since I'd gone this far, I might as well turn around, just keep on going”.

This year will be a little tougher.  My right knee is painful, and I'm not sure why.  The pain is all around.  It needs to be more consistent.  Often feels better the longer I use it.  It may be a good sign?    Feels like a hamstring strain but also feels like it did when I had the meniscus issue.   I may have that checked after the marathon, as I did not want a medical finding to say I could not run this year.

Although, I have been waking in the morning with my vision being an issue again.  It gets so bad that I cannot read or watch TV when I lie down.  So I went to the Doctor late last month, had another check-up which led to another CatScan... we found out the infection I have been fighting since 2009 continues to impact my head.  For years now, seems like every 4 months, I am on a Prednisone and antibiotic regimen…  Seems like two or three weeks on and then 13 weeks off and back on again!  He wanted to put me on Levaquin again, that helped for about 5 months in 2010, but I could not risk taking that and running the marathon.  So Amox-Clav in the meantime…  If that fails (like it has in the past) then I will get back on that dreadful Levaquin.  I did refuse more prednisone as every time I am on it, it is 15 pounds added to the body!

I am sure the infection will make the marathon a little harder, but hey, 27 years in a row is more than 99.999 percent of all humans could do? That is still 700,000, so I may not be correct. Also, if the body fails, I will only have a reason to do it next year if I want to run it! The last time I looked forward to this race was in 2003.

Looking back over 28 years, things I recall from 1985 -- as it was my first Grandma’s and I set a goal of 25 consecutive years…

• I could not find a place to stay, so I stayed at the Best Western in Hinkley.
• Michael Jordan (Basketball) was a rookie in the NBA!!!!
• New Coke/Old Coke fiasco
• We celebrated the Dow Jones breaking 1,500!
• VH1 started
• Wade Wilson replaced Tommy Kramer as Viking quarterback.
• Dukes of Hazard was canceled. (Yes, I watched it…)
• Back to the Future (Movie) was released!
• We Are the World was recorded
• Billy Joel married Christy Brinkley
• But Moonlighting started (I always liked Cybill Shepherd)
• This is also MacGyver's first year. (I loved that show as well)
• I purchased my first computer – A Macintosh 512K – I PAID $2,100 OUCH!
• The world has 4.8 billion people

Between 1985 and now

• World population grew by 2.4 Billion people!  That is right...  BILLION.
• I lived in 4 states (North Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Illinois)
• Six US Presidents (Ronald Reagan, George Herbert Walker Bush, William Clinton, George Walker Bush, Barack Obama)
• Four so-called stock market crashes…
• Ten Jobs (From a cook, waiter, manufacturing, sports official, retail sales to my current job as a City Planner)
• Lived in 14 different homes
• Went through 12 cars – Including my ex-wife and Son’s cars (Chevy Malibu, Ford Mustang, Honda 600 Sedan, Chevy Station Wagon, Dodge Daytona, Mitsubishi Expo, Ford Fiesta, Kia Sephia, Mazda Millennia, VW Passast, Smart Fortwo (twice))
• Went through 6 girlfriends, one wife
• Son was born, raised… now 23 years old
• Couple of marathons just over 3 hours
• A couple of 6-plus-hour marathon finishes, many in between

What a ride this has been!  

It is time to saddle up the old bones and head North.  Hope I can still enjoy the ride or at least do not fall off the horse.  I will once again (as I have done since 1999) sleep in the car, run it and come home.  Unlike 28 years ago, I feel it much more before, during and after…  

Carry on…