30 down, not sure there will be 31

It was 30 years ago, well over half my life, that I made a goal of running Grandma's Marathon and Twin Cities Marathons each for 25 consecutive years. The postal service goofed up my Twin Cities Marathon streak at 12 when the mail sorting machine chewed up my entry, which was returned after the race. So I have Grandma's, where I am a Lifetime Entrant (I never pay an entry fee, as I paid $100 in 1990).

When I reached the 25th year, I was prepared to be satisfied with achieving that goal.  Then, the 2009 Grandma's entry information date came, and my son encouraged me to run with him for a 26th race. After a few minutes at the start, I think he was gone!  Then, for the 27th, I decided to run 5.24 miles and quit.  That would mean I ran 26.2 consecutive Grandma's Marathons.  My son decided to run the whole race with me, so I could not quit at 5.24 miles, as this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  But he stayed with me the entire way, and I cherished that time with him.  So finishing 27 means only one thing!  The goal was now 30 consecutive finishes...  

The 30^th Consecutive finish at Grandma's Marathon is complete. I went into the week of the race thinking the two 2-mile runs, a 4-mile run, and a 5-mile training run in the two weeks before the race were inadequate to finish. For the past three years, I think I logged less than 15 miles running between each Grandma's. I do bike and walk. Running has lost all its allure, and I generally hate even a mile run. Walking is now even that enjoyable.

This year, Jordan was going to run the race with me.  We left for Duluth on Friday at about 2:00 PM.  It was just us, as Shelley had plans with her parents in Lincoln, Nebraska, and my sister could not make the race in years.  We arrived in heavy fog and 48 degrees at 5:15 PM (traffic was horrible) and quickly picked up our packets.  We walked around Canal Park, freezing!  Jordan had won Spaghetti tickets, so we ate a below-average meal and headed to the car to sleep.  By 10:30 PM, we were sleeping.

 

I woke at 4:00 AM, and the race forecast was dismal: cold, rain, and winds. The only thing that could have made the weather look worse was snow. Thank God that did not happen!  

Jordan woke at 5:00 AM, and we were headed to the train by 5:25 AM. We made it to the start with about 45 minutes to prepare. All went well as we contemplated what to wear. I wore a real shirt with arm warmers, and Jordan wore a double-layer short-sleeve. We even each made it through the Biffy lines and lined up 10 minutes before the start.

When we started, I felt like I imagined the Tin Man from Wizard of Oz needing oil.  Just needed to feel more smooth.  The first mile was 11:29, and every mile was slower until miles 9 and 10. We gained about 30 seconds a mile.  Then we were in a run/walk and 16-minute miles to the finish.  At Mile 23, I was very nervous about finishing.  Cramps started, and I used all my mental capacity to vary the strides and paces to hold them off.  I was concerned I would get a Charlie horse, eliminating the chance to finish.  Wisely, we chose to take it easy.

As a side note, between Mile 11 and 16, there were several times I was going to quit.  I was hurting all over and very cold.  Mentally, I am not as strong as I once was, which made the race hard.  Jordan was just hanging with me for support, although at times, he would unknowingly cause me issues as he continually asked how I was doing.  To answer, I could no longer block out the pain.  My left ankle was in heavy pain, and I felt cramp-like twinges in various muscles from mile 12.

In the end, I scored 6:36:48, whereas last year, I scored 6:33:59, so I was consistent.   

I really like the medal this year!

The only issue I have now is what is left.  This is a time when it is easy to get depressed as I am running out of goals to keep me going. I need a goal to live.  Someone asked me why I did this or rode my bicycle from Denver to Minneapolis. I told them it reminded me that I was still alive.  This is the only reason 31 is in my mind, but I realize that less than 15 miles of training will cut it, and I despise running. Wonder which one will win out?

Carry on, my friends.  Carry on!

THE FINAL Comments - Denver to MPLS

 Well, it has been over two weeks since we finished the ride. I delayed a final post, waiting for all the aches and pains to subside. I still have significant numbness in my left hand and partial numbness in my right hand. Only the little finger and part of the ring finger are still numb.

I have been told this is not uncommon, and it may take over a month to heal.  While it hasn't improved and is frustrating, I was provided some advice from some good friends.  I have used the advice, and stretching exercises are most helpful.  I have learned that pain is not actually from the hand or the wrist but from the elbow.  As described on many bicycle websites, something called Ulnar Nerve Entrapment at the elbow causes numbness.

This makes sense since I really did all I could to minimize the impact on the hands and wrists, yet the pain did not subside. I will have myself refitted on the bike because it is now apparent my bike position resulted in extra elbow strain.  I should have thought of this earlier as, in all my years of running, ankle pain could be caused by the hip, knee pain could be caused by the foot, and hip pain could be caused by the knee.  It is really odd how this outstanding machine (the human body) we are given has so many intricate parts that affect other body parts.

Well, some bicycle lessons learned include:

•  Take time to enjoy the scenery and the journey. I really was on a mission and, as a result, planned to make it from one point to the other as the primary focus. If I were to do it again, I would plan out every single option for hotels or camping without any preconceived notion of where to stay. That way, I can take each day, and the elements presented to us as they come and adjust accordingly.
•  I plan hotel stays.  For the estimated $300 we could save by camping, the energy used to set up and take down the camp and decreased sleep quality detract from what should have been an outstanding experience.  S may ip itself would be very inexpensive.  However, there are many expenses, including bike maintenance, eating, and other needs, that some people need to remember to consider.  Having a good sleeping experience, a shower, and no concern over the nighttime weather would make the entire trip easier.
•  If I had not planned to camp, I could have eliminated about 40 percent or over 20 pounds of gear. This would have made the ride easier and, again, preserved energy.
•  It is essential to know the road conditions on a trip like this.  The road conditions were well known as I had driven from Colorado to almost the east side of Nebraska.  However, due to unknown construction and other activities, we needed to be more knowledgeable about the road conditions for Iowa and most of Minnesota.  This created great tension and stress and detracted from the ride quality.  In addition, I test-drove the planned route on a Saturday, and weekday traffic was much higher and often dangerous.
•  It is essential to ensure you have a good pump and plenty of tubes for the bikes. Well, we had a decent pump and used 8 tubes. When our hand strength began to diminish, we were unable to use the pump consistently. We could get the tires to about 65 psi, but we could not get the desired 100 psi. While we had the CO2, that required frequent filling. The CO2 air, for some reason, just does not sustain, and overnight, we would end up with a flat tire.
•  Calories and water are the most important (well except butt butt'r).  If you lose control of these, recovery will take more than a day.  We reminded each other often to eat or drink.

That sums up my thoughts.  It was a ride I will never forget.  Well, there are times I will forget on purpose, just as one could expect with any type of stressful ride such as this; I will always look at this as a positive experience.  I hope my son feels the same way?

I may be way off base, but I don't know how many 51-year-old men would even venture on such a ride with their child. The stamina, strength, and overall well-being of a 25-year-old compared to a 51-year-old are significant. I am proud that I accomplished this, but I am also aware that it would have taken a greater amount of time had I not had the support and guidance of my son.

This final entry is the end of the blog.  I may resurrect this blog if I attempt another trip. While typing these words, I realized this was over, and this fatherhood chapter of my life would never be the same.  This venue enabled me to forever archive, in real-time, with edits, which would have been very difficult to do 15 years ago.

So carry on, my friends. Moreover, if you ever have the chance to do something like this with your child, do your best to avoid turning it down!