My Definitive 2008 marathon plans (maybe)

Marathon plans recap--for those of you who haven't had a chance to follow along.

In the beginning of this year, Steve (Runner) and I decided to do a fall marathon together. Then, Steve (Runner) got injured and the plans were scraped. So, I decided to aim for the Columbus marathon in October. After all, my wife has a friend out there that we could visit and she could spend hours about hours of quality time with her friend as I'm out there having fun running a marathon. Then I got injured.

Then I got better. And Steve (Runner) got better. So, he wanted to do a marathon together again. He preferred Philadelphia, the Sunday before Thanksgiving. I didn't want to wait that long so I suggest OBX marathon, the beginning of November. He agreed that would be a good possibility. A week later, he contacted me and said, the ankle was still bothering him and, maybe, it would be a good idea if he just did one marathon this year, Bay State. It made sense he didn't push himself and we would wait until next year as we look for a special marathon next year to celebrate my 50 years of existence on this earth. So, by mid-August, I was a man without a marathon. All caught up? Good. I will continue my saga.

The more I thought about it, the more intrigued I was about doing the OBX marathon. (http://www.obxmarathon.org/site3.aspx). My biggest hestitation was how much shade there was going to be on the course. I assumed the course would be hugging the shoreline and, last time I checked, there weren't too many flowing palm trees lining the beaches of North Carolina. But, I did some research and it looks like the marathon is not totally run on the shoreline. But, without someone sharing the cost of accomodations, it may be more expensive than I want to pay at this point.

So, I looked to see if there are any other marathons, around the same time, in my general area. Sure enough, there is the Harrisburg marathon (http://www.harrisburgmarathon.com/) run on the same day as the OBX marathon. Harrisburg, PA is about a two hour drive from my house. I would just need a one night stay the night before the race and the price of entry ($45) was right. Plus, Melissa, a fellow Blue Dawg, is thinking about running this race as well. It would be nice to relive the marathon with a friend. Still, I love the beach. And going down to the Outer Banks for a long weekend does sound nice. And, I have gone down to NC for business so maybe I can tie that in somehow?

So, as of now, I plan on running a marathon on November 9. I am training to run a November 9 marathon. Which one? Umm, I'm still not sure. Both are smaller marathons. OBX has around 3500 people, Harrisburg has 800 people. 800 people? The Tex-Mex 5k race in North Wales, PA in June had over 1000 people!!! I've only run one small marathon, and that was the Cape Cod marathon, which had around 1500 people. Everything else has been 15,000+ people. So, no matter which one, I will still get pretty lonely out there.

As of now, I am leaning towards Harrisburg. Until I do the math of how much it would cost me to go to OBX. I don't have to make a decision today. (As a matter of fact, if I read this correctly, I can sign up for Harrisburg, the day OF the marathon!!!! Who the heck gets up in the morning and says, 'Hey, nice day! I think I'll run a marathon before raking the leaves!)

So, definitive decision--I will be running a marathon on November 9. I have given myself until October 7 to decide which one.

(Notes: I posted a new poll this week asking 'what is your deciding factor in purchasing a new pair of running shoes?' This was based on a conversation with Melissa when we were running 6 miles around Lake Galena a few Sundays ago. It got me thinking how people choose their running shoes.)

21st Annual MCAP 'Run for the Hill of It' 5 mile Race Report

I wasn't sure I should have been doing this race. Afterall, there were so many reasons not to do it. Because of vacation, my running was inconsistent in June. And, I was coming off an injury

that prevented me from walking let alone running. I was making my way back. Slowly but surely. More slowly than it was surely.

Still, I needed to find out where I was in regarding to the Falmouth Road Race in a few weeks time. And, a work colleague of mine from England wanted to do a race while he was over here. What better way to spend your timeoff in a different country than to run a 5 mile race? What better way, indeed.

The race is held in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia. About as suburban as you can get without being in the suburbs. It is run on a path in Fairmont Park called Forbidden Drive next to the Wissahickon Creek. It's a popular spot for runners, walkers, strollers, etc. as it is, not just scenic but very shady. An out and back course. Not much of an elevation drop but rolling hills that seem to go on forever as you return.

I picked up my colleague from his hotel in downtown Philadelphia at 6:30a (as a frame of reference, I'm about a 45 minute drive without traffic from his hotel). We were planning for him to take the train up to Chestnut Hill, but it would have been very tight to pick him up, park, register, go back to the car and run the race. So, off we went for the half hour drive to the site of the race.

(I'm always fascinated to talk to my colleagues from England on what they think of America. One of the things he remarked about was how 'cheap' petrol (gasoline) was in the states. He saw a sign for gas prices and asked me was $4 for a litre or a gallon. I said gallon and he responded, 'Blimey, that's cheap.' In the UK, they pay around $11 a gallon. Lots of public transportation going on over there).

We got there with plenty of time to spare. As we were signing up, my colleague thought it would be a good idea to just put his hotel name down as his address. 'No,' I said, 'I want to see their reaction when they see your home address.' Well, the people behind the desk didn't know what to do. 'You're from England?' was their remark. 'How do we enter this?' As they were debating, we were going back to the car to drop off our goody bag.

As we were waiting for the start of the race, a fellow runner came up to us and asked, 'Have you seen the Phillie Phanatic today?' (pictured above. And you thought it was a picture of my colleague). Startled, I said, 'Am I suppose to?' Plus, I thought, I'm not sure if my colleague is the right person to ask anyway. The fellow runner said, 'Yes, he was here last year and I wanted to get my picture with him and I didn't have my camera at the time. I wanted to be ready this year'. (For those of you who don't know, the Phillie Phanatic is the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team mascot and is considered one of the best sports mascots in the country. Kids and adults in the Philadelphia area love him. People in other areas just don't get him.)

The race was about to start. Temps were in the low 80s (F) with lower humidity. The Phillie Phanatic makes his appearance. He is working the crowd. In his own way, he is saying hello to all. (He doesn't speak) My colleague is talking to me. Suddenly, the PP comes up behind him and wraps his green arms around my colleague and gives him a big hug. My colleague turns around and gives PP a high-five. I told my colleague that kids in Philadelphia would love to have been in his shoes at that moment. The national anthem begins to play. My colleague doesn't know what to do. You see, they don't play the national anthem in England for sporting events. He commented to me how truly unique Americans are.

The race starts. My colleague is way ahead. Doesn't matter. I need to run my race. I look down at my Garmin. I can see the minutes and seconds but no distance or pace. Crap! I think about Frayed Laces July 20, 2008 race report and the comments associated and the issues she had with her Garmin that day. (http://frayedlaces.blogspot.com/) I think about the people who I knew that week that had phone problems, cell problems, WiFi problems, internet problems. I immediately think the evildoers have found a way to cripple us. They are taking our communications away. They have jammed the Garmin satellite systems. It is their way of getting back at us. I will have to figure out my pace the old-fashioned way--wait for the first mile marker and see what time it is then.

I am struggling that first mile. I must be going out too fast. Probably a 7:30 pace. I hit the first mile. I was doing 8:30s. 8:30s? Damn. Seems like a lot more effort than an 8:30.

I hit mile 2 at the same pace. I think I am going to die. I'm struggling. And this is a 5-miler? I hit the halfway point and have to slow down. Slowing down forces me to gather myself. Yes, people were passing but I wasn't stopping. And, that's what I felt like doing after mile 2.

I finally found my pace. I wasn't struggling anymore. I had to plow ahead. And, my Garmin awoke. Ok, maybe it wasn't the evildoers afterall. Or maybe it was and they were taking a coffee break and that's why my Garmin was working again. Or, maybe it was the trees that were blocking the satellite links at the start of the race. I still think it was the evildoers.

The last mile is mostly uphill that seemingly goes on forever. You get to a corner, make the turn, to see the next corner. But, with a 100 yards to go, I see the finish. My colleague has already finished and he is cheering me from the sidelines. I want to make sure I break 45 minutes. I do, easily with a 44:17 finish. I'm tired. I'm sweating. But, I feel great. I feel back.

We waited around for the results to be posted. We found him on the sheet. His address shows up as 'England, PA'. The race director said, 'yes, we could hardly believe it but there was a fellow from England in this race! We didn't know what to do so we just put England down as the city.' We both chuckled.

As we were leaving the race, I asked my colleague his thoughts. He loved it. He couldn't believe how well organized it was and the food that was available before and after the race. We ran into the fellow runner looking for PP. "Did you find him?', I shouted. 'Yes,' he said, 'but I forgot my camera again.' Maybe next year.

(Notes: I ran 5+ miles the Thursday before the race at the 'new' old course at TZ Sports. My favorite running store moved from New Britain back to Doylestown, right across the street from where they were previously. They are now sponsoring a Thursday night run on a course that was popular when they were located in Doylestown before. I also ran 6 miles around the lake the day after the race. Again, slow and steady.

This certainly has been the year of not making up my mind. Steve wrote me and wants to do a marathon together afterall. We are now looking at the OBX marathon (http://www.obxmarathon.org/site3.aspx) in Outer Banks, North Carolina on November 9, 2008. I was hestiant to do this as I thought it was going to be all open with little shade. Looking at the website, it doesn't seem to be as open as I first thought. I still haven't ruled out Columbus but this might fit my timing better.)