Prosthetics and a Purpose

A view from the driveway...a beautiful day!

Good morning everybody!

I just got done with my Memorial Day run, a 3-miler in quiet, sunny, 60-degree weather.  (Mind you, I still didn’t enjoy the running, but the atmosphere sure was beautiful.)

I wanted to share a bit more about why I’m aiming for Boston.

My heart broke for the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings, both those that survived their injuries, and those that weren’t as lucky.  They were just normal people celebrating a great event, and in a second, life changed drastically for them.  As I’ve seen different events on TV – tornadoes, shootings, bombings, tsunamis – it has become more and more real to me that I may not know when my time is coming.

Truth is, these recent events have come at an interesting time in my life.  My wife is due with our first child in June.  I am 32, and it is becoming clearer each day that my life is going by so much faster than I anticipated it would as a 16-year-old.  And I’m grappling with the possibility that I may not be making quite the difference in the world that I hoped I would when I was 16.  Heck, sometimes I can’t even get my Sunday School class of 11- and 12-year-olds to listen to me.

I can’t get around the fact that I’ve lived a charmed life.  I have never experienced the death of an immediate family member.  Both sets of my grandparents are still living.  My family has enough to pay the mortgage and bills.  I was able to go to college.  I’ve traveled to many countries and met many amazing people.  My life has already been a full one.

As the bombings unfolded, I realized that those people didn’t ask for what they got.  I also had the thought that we’ll likely see a couple of the Boston amputees at the starting line next year, running the Boston Marathon with their prosthetics, doing their best with the cards they’ve been dealt.

As for the others, the ones that perhaps won’t have enough rehab time to be ready for Boston – I guess I’m trying to be their legs.

I don’t know if that makes any sense.

What I do know, is that I really do have quite a strong dislike for running.  With each wheezy mile that I run, I’ve been thinking about those around me that are suffering.  Thinking that maybe someone will feel just a bit comforted, knowing that somebody else is doing something hard too, with no certainty of victory—just the hope to make it through the next workout in one piece.  That’s what keeps me pushing on the hard training runs, because I certainly wouldn’t do them just for fun.

Several weeks ago, it struck me with renewed force.  When I was born, I was guaranteed a second of life.  Everything since then has been a gift.  I’ve felt a renewed sense of urgency to make the most of the time.

So there you go.  That’s my motivation.  Don’t know if the jumbled thoughts make sense to you, but they do to me.

Now, have a great Memorial Day!

Training, Taco Soup, and the Race Against the Clock

Dinner!

So what does qualifying for the Boston Marathon entail?

To be honest, I’m not exactly sure.  I do know that the odds are not in my favor.  So I’m definitely worse off than Katniss Everdeen.

In terms of time, you basically have to run a “Boston qualifier” marathon in 3 hours or less.  These courses have been certified to be the correct length.  The Boston Marathon, unlike many other marathons, imposes a time qualification by age group.  They accept the fastest runners first.  And they’re expecting great interest in the race next year, so I may need to be a bit quicker to safely make the cut.

So, how hard is a 3 hour marathon?  Well again, I’m not exactly sure.  But I did hear that Lance Armstrong ran his first marathon in barely under three hours.  I figure, since he’s only a world-class athlete, he clearly has less going for him than I do for me.  Being 32 and an IT consultant clearly gives me advantages in knowing how to operate my iPod Shuffle and measure the distance of my runs very accurately with GPS.

If you google around, 3 hour marathons aren’t easy.  But for some people they can be attainable with consistent training.  My problem is that I have to qualify for Boston by about September 15, and most of these 3-hour marathon training plans are for 8-12 months.  I’ll have about 5 months total to prepare.  And like I said in my first post, I hate running, and I’ve never done a marathon before.  So there’s no guarantee I’ll make it.

I’ve looked at ways to gain as much advantage as I can.  I’m altering my diet to include more protein, fruits, vegetables, and all the “healthy” stuff.  Tonight we had the taco soup above, full of black beans, chicken, green beans, onions, corn, tomatoes, and some taco seasoning.  I’ll freeze a bunch of it and then heat it up after exercising so I’ve got a quick, protein-rich meal ready.  And I’m eating less sugar and fat.  I’ve changed my eating schedule so that I’m eating soon after exercise, because it’s my understanding that that’s the best way to get your body to store the food as energy rather than fat.  I’m trying to get 8 hours of rest a night, and I’m timing my workouts to give me more recovery time after running on pavement.  I’m going to try and find a qualifier that is slightly downhill, which can improve my times as well.

Coach Eric talked about the training this way: I’ve got to strengthen two areas—my legs, and my lungs/heart.  The legs are the chassis, and my heart/lungs are the engine for running.  He said my legs will give out first to injury during intense training, so we’re doing quite a bit of cross training like biking, elliptical, or swimming.  These allow me to exercise my heart and lungs without wearing out my legs too much.  We’ll build the running mileage up until the marathon in September.

So, can I do it?  Maybe.  Can I do it by September?  I don’t know.

Several years ago, somebody told me that there’s power in just making a statement, throwing your hat over the wall, and doing everything in your power to make that statement come true.  A month ago, after talking about it for a few days, my wife challenged me to throw my hat over the wall.  And I did.

So I’ll say it again, I’m gonna qualify for Boston.  Talk to you soon.

The First Setback

Well, being the ripe old age of 32, I was bound to have knee issues.

Truth is, if you look at my brothers, we all walk a little bit like ducks.  Not totally like ducks, but a little bit.  We got it from our dad.  Skyler, my youngest brother, is adopted.  You wouldn't be able to tell really, except for the fact that he doesn't walk like a duck...the lucky duck.

Two of my brothers have had knee issues before.  My dad has had knee issues.  None of it has required surgery or anything, but it seems that I have similar genes to my family.  Go figure.

After my run on Wednesday, I had swelling and soreness in my left knee.  Will take a couple days off.  I imagine we'll be treading this fine line for the next 4 months, exercising as much as possible without causing significant injury.  When I ran my half marathon I dealt with the same thing but my knees seemed to adjust as I trained.

At first, I was disappointed and thought, "well, there goes the goal.  If my body won't handle the training, I can't make it."  But, Coach Eric told me to try again on Saturday.  We'll see what happens.  You never know if you don't try.

My Face is Swelling!!!

Tammy graduated this week!  Wahoo!

Her parents came out for graduation, and we decided to spend the weekend at Savannah, Georgia and Hilton Head Island.  We had lots of fun.  I ran each day (except Sunday, that's my day off).  Saturday was a "circuit training" day, where I did several timed runs of 100m and 400m distances.

We drove to the Hilton Head High School, since I could see a track there on Google Maps.  Turns out, the whole thing was fenced off, with barbed wire to boot.  Now, if it was just me, I may have chanced it and tried to squeeze through the barbed wire.  However, my 8-month pregnant wife wasn't feeling up to it, so we just eyeballed the field from the parking lot and guessed the distances for my running.

It was a good, hard workout.  At the end, I had an allergic reaction...it's happened twice before over the past few years.  My chest/lungs tightened up a bit, I got hives, and my face swelled.  It was an adventure!  Still not sure if it's a bug bite, pollen, or something else causing it.

I forgot to take a pic of it, but here's one from the last time it happened, just to give an idea.  Nice selfie, I know.

Meet Coach Eric

Coach Eric.  He even looks legit.

Alright, peeps.  Today, I’d like you to meet my coach, Eric Heintz.  You can see his bio here. http://www.highmilesrunning.com/pages/coach_heintz

I haven’t met Eric in person yet, but from our phone calls and emails, he seems like a cool guy.  He’s a running coach at an Atlanta high school.  He has a young family and, well, he likes running.

I figured since I’ve never run a marathon before, and I’m trying to do so in a 5 month window, I’d need some help.  While Tammy and I try to eat healthy and exercise pretty regularly, I am pretty clueless about real running training.  The main things that I know are that you need running shoes and it makes you sweat a lot.

Eric has helped design a plan for me that will hopefully help avoid injury while building up the necessary stamina and speed for the marathon.  He warned me that there's absolutely no guarantee that I'll qualify in this short of a timespan.  But he agreed to do his best to help me make it.  I really like how he is succinct and...coach-ish.

Normally I'm fairy self-motivated, and all-or-nothing in how I approach goals.  It's been good to have Eric to temper that enthusiasm so I don't bust my legs and joints up front.  I like him.  I recommend him.  And that's all for now.

The Reason

My wife Tammy and I.

Hi. My name is Colby, and I hate running.

I run maybe twice a week because it’s healthy.  Usually 3-4 miles each run, just enough to keep my heart healthy(ish).  I lift weights.  I like weights.  Weights like me.  But I hate running.

On the other hand, my wife, Tammy, loves running. The first thing she did after getting three positive pregnancy tests in a row was to start googling running strollers for the baby.  She got one from her mom and is ecstatic about it.  It may have replaced me as her single greatest prized possession.

I think I watched the Boston Marathon bombings with the same feeling of horror and sadness that others did. My heart hurt for the suffering that was forced upon so many people by that act.  Add that to the Sandy Hook shootings, the Aurora shootings, and all the other sad things that happen, and it made me painfully aware that life can be so very fragile and precious.

So, enter my running.  I don’t know how to show my support for people that have gone through these and other horrible things.  But I wanted to do something.  And I wanted it to be something hard, so that I could stand with all you people that have lost limbs or loved ones, and let you know that there are a lot of us out here cheering for you and willing to walk beside you in your journey.

I am going to try and qualify for the 2014 Boston Marathon.  I need to run a 7 minute mile for 26.2 miles to do that.  Right now I can run 1 mile in 7:45 and I’m gassed.  I have until mid-September to bring my times down.  I have never run a marathon before, and there is no guarantee I will qualify for Boston—I will need to avoid injury, train hard, and have a lot of luck on my side.  But I’m all in on the effort part.

My name is Colby.  I love working out.  I have always and will always hate running.  Now, see me run.