My Run with Dean Karnazes

A few months back, I started reading a book, Ultra Man, and learned a lot about a crazy runner named Dean Karnazes. I recalled seeing a clip about him and was amazed by his athletic ability and pure dedication. On a whim, the man ran 30 miles on his 30th birthday after an entire day's celebration. He hadn't run in 15 years and decided to head out in gardening shoes and his boxers. After finishing this book, I read another of his and began following him online. Shortly thereafter, he launched his latest endeavor, Running Across America with Regis and Kelly.

It didn't take me long to figure out that he would be passing through my "area" and I would potentially have an opportunity to run with him. I kept the idea in the back of my mind for a few months, but as April approached and I had read more about his journey, I realized that this was something else I just had to do.

Dean was scheduled to go through Altamont, IL (about 1.5 hours southwest of Champaign) today and will be in Indianapolis (about 1.5 hours east of Champaign) on Saturday. Since Tony works Saturdays, logistically it was actually easier for me to take a day off of work to meet him today. I also knew I would have a better chance of being closer to him if I went to a small town, as opposed to trying in a larger city. I had mentioned this opportunity to my friend, Mary, when we were running on Sunday and she jumped at the chance to go.

Here we are shortly after arriving to Altamont. We are a bit giddy and were a little star struck (even though most people have no idea who Dean Karnazes is).

Dean has been running across the US since mid February and today marks his 49th consecutive day of running at least 40 miles. He has a few scheduled events, like the one today, where he runs with the community. Prior to the run, he addresses the crowd each time and today was no different.

There were a lot of students from the Altamont schools, but only a few of them actually ran the whole 5k. This gave us plenty of time to run near Dean and he was nice enough to entertain our questions.

Mary initiated conversation first and asked him what advice he would give to first time marathoners. He noted that it was going to hurt and to not pay attention to the mile markers. Mary was nice enough to introduce me to Dean and he even called me by name then. I told him I was a big fan and asked him what was next for him. He joked and remarked that he would be trying 50 marathons in 50 states with 50 pizzas. Then he provided his real answer of running a marathon in every country. We gave other fans some face time and tried to avoid running into small children who don't know race etiquette, but snuck in a few more questions later on. Mary asked who he looked up to. He stated that he really admires Ann Treson (sp?) and told us a little bit about her success as a phenomenal ultra runner who beats out everyone, including males.

We made it into the group shot, which should appear on his running blog at Regis and Kelly's website. It was a great time and I'm glad I did it.

Last mid-week 10 miler

Yesterday I took on my last biggie for the mid-week runs. Tony had off, so I was able to get out for my run soon after arriving home. Ellie joined me for the first 2 miles and then I dropped her back off, grabbed my water and music, and headed to the track. The local community college's track is just about a mile from our house, so I decided to head there and do most of my run on the track. The weather was perfect and the running surface would be a little easier on my body. There was a track practice going on, so I was distracted and reminded of my days running track with my dad as the coach. Those are were fun days. The kids seemed to be having fun out there and that gave me something to smile about. I finished the run feeling better than I did when I started and was glad to get the miles out of the way so I could enjoy some time with the family.

The Reason I Run

I know I have already alluded to the fact that I run so I can shove handfuls of Hershey Kisses into my mouth, but really, I run because I can. This week has been a stressful one with way too many emotional lows. A father of a very good friend passed away earlier in the week and I made arrangements to attend the wake Friday evening and funeral Saturday morning. If we lived in our hometown, and weren't Stuck in Chambana, this would be slightly easier, but I wasn't going to miss this. I know how important it is and I wanted to make sure I paid my respects to such a caring man. ****** On top of this, my father, had his hip replaced on Friday morning. While this was elective and not necessarily a serious surgery, I don't handle these kinds of things very well and, of course, worried about him and dreaded visiting at the hospital--the place that I've experienced way too many fainting spells than I care to keep track of. Fortunately things went well, but this is yet another reminder that I am getting older, people's bodies only work for so long and ultimately we have to make the best of them. This is a lesson I've seriously taken to heart ever since Tony's mom passed away in 2008. *** In all seriousness, the funeral service for my friend's father was not only a great tribute and celebration of his life, but probably one of the best services I have attended before. It's not too often that you get to meet people who really and truly view the glass as half full. No matter what cards this man was dealt, he persevered like a true hero. These are the kinds of stories that make me want to be a better person and to do things I've never done before. Leading into the movie I saw last week, My Run, was a motivational slide that asked what can be done with Two Feet and a Heart. Anything really. If I have two working feet and a healthy heart, there is no reason I shouldn't go out and run a marathon. Life could be much worse. Today I took on my second 20 miler. I had been extremely nervous about this probably starting on Friday. I was especially anxious this morning, for a number of reasons. 1.) Take note of the temperature at 6:40 in the morning...64 degrees.

2.) My middle toe on my right foot is completely dead. I made a last minute switch into my Smart Wool socks, which proved to be a wise choice. I can not rave enough about these socks, in fact, I should be an advertiser for them!

3.) I played around with some of my running routines due to last week's fiasco. This included only eating bread for dinner (don't ask me why I did that, nothing else seemed to sound good since I was so nervous) and the true Godsend...Imodium!

I drove to a meeting spot to catch up with Mary, a gal I occasionally run with. We set out from the car, which was parked by my school, to keep fuel accessible during the route and a bathroom as one of our many options. We took on the marathon route and thanks to a friend's Garmin, I knew exactly how far we were going and at what pace.

We started out a little faster than I probably should have, common running error, but fended well for the first 8 miles or so keeping it under a 1o minute mile pace. I was glad to show Mary around part of the course that she hadn't tested out yet and we had a lot to talk about. This was probably another problem, exerting extra energy talking.

We were mindful of trying to slow down and did just that, especially on the lovely gentle mile incline of the course that appears around mile 24. Despite our few breaks and best attempt to stay hydrated, the 77 degree heat just wore us out. The last 5 miles included a few walking breaks and a couple full out stops for me to control some of my dizziness. Thankfully we took advantage of Panera's ICE and cold water and dumped it on ourselves.

Thanks to Mary's constant encouragement, we came in at 3:43....this includes all stops since I never stop my watch. While it wasn't my best run, it definitely beats out last week's run and I know I can take on the marathon on April 30th.

Shortly after my return home, I tried an ice bath. Let me tell you, an ICE bath is just as cold as it sounds. My legs did feel great afterwards, so I may even consider it in the future.

I've learned a lot about myself over the last few months. One thing's for sure, I could care less what I look like on my run...never thought I'd be tucking in my shirt and wearing BLUE socks with white shoes. At the end of the day, though, there are way more important things to worry about.

Some Inspiration

I have been making it a point to find motivation for this endeavor I am taking on. Last week I had the pleasure of going to a running movie with Donna, one of the pace leaders from my group. Last Thursday, My Run was showing nationwide for a one time viewing. It featured Terry Hitchcok, who ran the equivalent of 75 marathons in 75 days.

The documentary started quite emotionally, as it detailed his wife's fight against breast cancer. This was especially hard for me because it paralleled the loss of Tony's mom in September 2008. The movie did pick up and made for some great inspiration for me at this point in my training. With little support, and essentially no running background, the 56 year old man ran from St. Paul Minneapolis to Atlanta for the opening ceremonies of the Olympics in 1996. I did think of him on my run on Sunday when we were out in the middle of nowhere. I pictured him running and wondered what he was thinking throughout all those miles.

I also attended a speaker series through the running group last night. There was a panel of speakers to discuss the nuts and bolts of the Illinois Marathon. I got a few insights, but also walked away with a renewed sense of hope and excitement for April 30th.

Well that was memorable

*Sorry for the massive paragraph, I've re-posted this 10 times now and it keeps defaulting to one paragraph.* Today I had my longest run to date. In brief: *Who: AWESOME Second Wind Running Pace 10:30/11 Pace Group * When: Sunday @ 7am Where: 20 miles on the backroads of Urbana in 20 mph wind * The group was slightly smaller today, as Sue Ellyn was vacationing and Donna skipped out after about 2 miles since she wasn't feeling well. In retrospect, I should have followed suit, but then I wouldn't be able to call this post memorable. *The group fought the wind and hills the entire route, but stayed positive. I wish that was the only thing I was fighting today. As I told the guys, "What happens with running buddies, stays with running buddies." Anybody who has any long distance running experience can probably imagine that some interesting memories are bound to be made out in the country where there are no conventional toilets. *Thankfully I always pack toilet paper or paper towels, "just in case." Despite my horrendous GI issues today, I felt great. There is no denying that the wind was miserable, at one point it even pushed me sideways into the road about 2 feet. However, my legs and heart could have taken on the marathon today, but my stomach had different ideas. I can only hope this was the first and last of its kind for this marathon training. *The guys did a great job today and I am so thankful to have a group like this to make some memories, even these kinds. Thanks Mike, Del, and Matt.

Week Recap

This week has been one of my worst weeks in the training overall. I am not sure if I've had a little bit of a bug or if my pace has actually increased for my weekday runs. Whatever it is, I haven't been feeling it and I hope to get out of this funk soon. I barely made it through 4 miles on Monday night when it was supposed to be 6. I managed to get the 10 on Wednesday and 6 on Friday that the schedule calls for, but it was not easy. Fortunately the weather is starting to cooperate and it is light out much longer.

Saturday March 26th

I had been looking forward to this run for a LONG time since I would be in Naperville and able to join my long time friend, Allison, the Ironwoman. We are close enough (and I had given her enough warning) that even though our paces are drastically different it was way more important to run together.

We met up at the Prairie Path in Wheaton and the morning could not have started any better. The song on the radio that I was blasting in the car as she pulled up was Journey's Don't Stop Believin'. This was definitely a positive sign, as this was one of the songs they played right before her Ironman in September. I was ecstatic and nearly burst to tears right then.

Ironman Wisconsin

Kristin and Allison (two of my inspirations for this marathon)

(TJ and I supporting Allison)

Unfortunately, my enthusiasm faded only after about the first mile when I knew something was wrong. I just wasn't feeling right and told her I probably should stop. I felt quite faint and sat down right on the path. I tried to get up and walk a little bit, but had to stop again. This happened a couple more times and I was literally heartbroken. I couldn't have asked for a better friend, who really had 20 miles to run that day, but made it her priority to make sure I was okay. I kept trying to tell her to go on, but she wouldn't have it. I had finally come to the realization that I probably shouldn't continue, when we had the brilliant idea of trying some of my Gu. Surprisingly, within literally a minute, I felt significantly better. I probably let on that I was feeling a little better than the reality, but I didn't want to pass up this opportunity to run with her.

We continued for a cold 12 miles and it was great. I picked her brain for running and racing tips and we had plenty of time to catch up on our personal lives. She led me back to where our cars were and continued on to finish her additional 8 miles.

We kept a nice clip finishing in 1:57. Thanks Al for the great run, I hope we can do it again!