Delaware Marathon 2012 Race Recap

Thanks shoes!

Today marks a major milestone in my life: I've completed my first marathon.  This race is part of a journey that began as a weight loss mission, but has transformed into a pursuit of continuous improvement for my health and body.  Before I even start on the actual race recap, I want to thank everyone that has supported me especially my loving wife that had to deal with my crazy training schedule!

Training

I have been following Hal Higdon's 18-week training plan (Intermediate 1) which was very consuming.  I don't know if it was the best plan to follow, but it certainly put a lot of miles under my legs.  Overall, i logged about 460 miles in about 4 months.  

Race Day

I have had a whirlwind past two weeks (Sprint Tri, GMAT exam, trip to NYC, Broad St, trip to Michigan) and landed back in Philly on Saturday before the race.  I was well rested from my taper and full of energy, but we had to head to Delaware to pick up our race packets.  My wife was running the 8-person relay.  Finally race day came and I was surprisingly not that nervous as we headed down there.  A banana, a granola bar, coffee...I was ready to rock.   I had my GU's in my belt and everything was ready!  The start area was really fun....music playing...a big mascot shoe walking around...plenty of race day anxiety in the air as well!  At just before 7AM the marathoners were called to start line and before I knew it the gun went off!

Miles 1-6 "This is awesome!"

Easy peasy.  I started out at a 8min pace, but after 2 miles sped to a comfortable 7:45 pace.  I stayed with a group of people that were chatting and that helped.  I felt great!

Feelin' great and crusin'!

Miles 6-13 "The hills are not too bad...the first time around"

Mile 6 is where the hills on this course reared their ugly heads.  For those that have run Caeser Rodney Half, you are familiar with them.  This first loop I didn't really mind them and just powered up.  A guy next to me was like "we'll be hating these things next time around."  What foreshadowing.  Once at the top, we ran through some neighborhoods and the italian area and back down the beast.  Just before the halfway mark we had yet another beast to climb (although not nearly as long).  I clocked in my half marathon at 1:44....right on pace for 3:30.

Thanks Rob S. for the profile.  This is from CR half but basically the same.

Miles 13-19 "My leg's feel like lead weights...are we done yet?"

Brandywine Bridge!

Now my legs started to hurt.  I walked for 10 seconds at mile 16.  My mind was focused on just moving forward and as a result I lost some speed.  I dropped pretty far down to a slow 9:30 pace.  At this point, my legs felt like lead weights and I hadn't even come to the hills yet!  I was pretty scared that I would have to stop, but i just keep going.  I kept thinking of things during the race: my brother-in-law who is currently in Afghanistan on SEAL duty, my brother who just graduated from medical school, my parents, my grandparents, my life, my future, my dog, my wife....it just kept going.  I need something to think about to take my mind off of the pain and the heat.  The sun was pounding on us and everyone was grabbing water at the stops.  I would take two and dump one on my head.  We ran across the Brandywine River on a really cool bridge.  It was really a nice scenic route with lots of tree cover, which was needed in this heat.

Miles 19-24  "Ow...ow...Ow...this sucks"

This part sucked.  The hills were just death.  Everyone was walking and even as i tried to trot up them i think i got passed by a walker.  I made it up them and around mile 22 in the neighborhoods, i felt a sharp pain in my outer right foot.  I thought this was something like PF, although it wasn't in the heel.  Every single step i took sent a searing pain up my leg.  I still had 4.2 miles to go!  I promised my mom that if something went wrong i would stop.  So i stopped, and stretched the foot.  It didnt help a ton, but I was going to finish...so I set back out.  I was limping pretty bad through the next 3 miles and probably was in the 10:30 range.  I took it 1 mile at a time and re-evaluated each time.  I knew i could finish.

Miles 24-26.2 "I can do this.  I am going to do this.  I did it!"

Almost at the finish line!

After descending the beast again, i knew i could do it.  My mind was just fried.  My legs were shredded.  My foot was screaming.  We still had about a .75 mile hill to climb and I promised myself i wouldn't stop...and i didnt...i just kept trucking along.  At mile 26 i knew it was close...but that last .2 certainly is a cruel trick!  As i turned the corner into the final straightaway all of a sudden i had the desire to sprint!  Stupid i know but I wanted to look good for the cameras!  I crossed!  I got medaled and immediately began looking for my wife...she was such a pretty sight to see.  She carried me over to the curb where I planted my butt for about 20 minutes.  I probably should have continued walking, but i could not think of anything else.  I wanted to sit and drink water.  Thanks wifey for putting up with me!

Post

YUM!!!!!

Water.  Sit.  More water.  Sit.  Attempt to stand.  Sit. Water.  Finally I got up and got hobbled to some food.  We munched on a lot of things, but I didnt have the energy to walk a lot.  We headed home and i began my recovery.  It started with a 1/2 pound bacon-guac cheeseburger at Devil's Alley (unbelievable) and continued with a sedan sized Reese's Peanut Butter Cup/Oreo mix ice-cream at Scoop DeVille.  I later found out that i likely have a stress fracture in my foot.  Bad news.  Looks like I will have a few more weeks off than planned.  But I had a great time nonetheless and am so happy to have accomplished this!

I ran for my mom on Mother's Day!

Overall time: 3:49:26

Why do we run?

Every runner will get this question asked to them at some point in their running career.  Run 3 miles and you get a pat on the back, a "job well done."  But run anything close to 6 miles people will start saying "is that healthy?" They may have a point!  Is it healthy to consistently run more than 3 miles?  When you are hitting upwards of 35-45 miles per week, what is that actually doing for you?  Do a google search of marathoner and you'll get something like this:

Now do another google search for sprinter and you'll probably find something like this:

I'm not trying to say that one is better than the other, but there clearly is a difference!  Saying you run to be healthy may the reason you started, but it is most likely not the reason you continue.  I am starting to believe that it is an addiction just like anything else.  "But wait just a second....it's healthy for you....how can that be an addiction?"  Didn't your mother teach you anything?? Too much of a good thing is bad!  Running releases endorphins, and most runner get addicted to this feeling.  I am absolutely one of them!  I am currently training for my first marathon, but I am slowly realizing that it's not necessarily the healthiest thing for me to be doing.  I would much rather have the well-round physique of the lower athlete than the scrawny body of the marathoner.  After my marathon, I will be committing myself to full-body workouts that include shorter runs with cross-fit type workouts to supplement.  As much as I love running, I am a firm believer that it is "too much" for me!

Does running feel good??  When did it start feeling good for you?

For me, running feels great, but its the moment I'm done that I really reap the rush of it all.  I remember thinking not long ago that I would never be able to run a mile without hating life.  I can probably run 10 now at a decent pace and enjoy every minute of it!  While that is a great accomplishment, where's the end?  26.2miles? 50K? 100miles?  There is no end, and I need to limit myself to what makes me a truly better person.

Sooooo (after the rant) I will probably stick to olympic/half tri's and half marathons after this year.  I really want to see if I can truly transform my body to its full potential, and this will require investment in the weight room!

Weight Loss and Statistics

When you lose anything over 20lbs and keep it off people always ask you "how'd you do it?".  In my case, I went from 221lbs down to a low of 165lbs, but maintain at a healthy 175lbs.  Which is a total lose of over 45lbs.  HOW DID YOU DO IT DUDE???


1. Nutrition
2. Exercise
3. Statistics


Nutrition will always be the key factor in losing weight (and keeping it off) and exercise does not much more than to supplement it.  Take these stats into account- 60% of our daily caloric burn is from our natural movement + bodily functions (heart beating, lungs breathing, etc).  30% is from what we put into our bodies, ie:  a calorie deficit that we intentionally create to lose weight.  10% (yes only 10%) is from additional exercise (running those miles on the treadmill, lifting all those weights).  So out of these three factors we cannot really affect the first one (our heart will continue to beat at its normal rate, our lungs keep working the same every day).  Nutrition and exercise are clearly within our realm of affecting, but it's clear that nutrition moves the needle more.  Simply put, if you understand what goes into your mouth (really understand it) then you have the power to lose weight.

Focus on what you can control and what moves the needle the most!

So how did I manage the nutrition leg of my calorie deficit?  I tracked everything that went into my mouth.  When I say "tracked" I mean that every single thing that I ate.  A lot of failures come from the fact that people think they know what they are eating but don't really understand the calories (and fat/carbs/protein composition) of what they are eating.  It's not just about calories obviously, and this is the subject of many debates, but count calories is not enough.  Weight Watchers (TM) is so successful because it combines all the nutritional data you should be following into one number.  People find it easier to track just one number, but you can still do the same using a various of other websites (livestrong.com, myfitnesspal.com) that have a huge database of foods and will let you know when you are too high in a certain category.  So that's how I did it.  Just don't be in the red, and you will lose weight.  Otherwise, eat whatever the hell you feel like (but case in point you eat three donuts in the morning you not only overshot your calorie intake but you failed to meet your healthy fat/protein intake and that counts as a failure).  When you are eating to lose weight, 90% of your days should be successes.  

A typical day for me:

Breakfast:

Protein Shake (30g protein)

Oatmeal/Tsp Brown Sugar

2 Eggs

2 Slice of Turkey Bacon

Snack:

Banana

Handful of nuts

Lunch:

6 slices of turkey

Arnold Selects

Mustard

WW Cheese

Spinach salad (1/2 tsp of non-fat dressing)

Apple

Snack:

Apple w/ Peanut butter

Dinner:

Protein Shake (30g protein)

Salmon or Steak or Chicken (6oz)

Spinach/Broccoli

Quinoa/Black Beans/Onion <---friggin amazing with some cinnamon/cumin on top!

Snack:

1/2 bag of 97% fat free popcorn (guilty pleasure)

So, in summary, focus on what goes into your mouth and keep track of it.  

Typical dinner.  Eat smart, eat often.

Exercise then comes into play as an excellent way to supplement your weight loss.  A know so many people that tell me "I run 10-15 miles a week and the weight does not seem to be coming off."  Well buddy, your body reaches a point where the daily activities you are doing become a part of a routine.  You are eating the same, and the exercise is doing virtually nothing to actually reduce your weight.  So, I added running/biking/swimming/weight lifting and the honest truth is that it simply created a message in my mind that I shouldn't eat as much post workout for "fear" of ruining what i just accomplished.  But even though that wasn't the truth, it helped curb my appetite.  Now, many of the endurance athletes out there (which I currently am training for a marathon and Half Ironman) will disagree with this.  But this isn't for them.  Its for the people that want to take that first step and get to a point where they are healthy again.  Exercise is not the key, but simply part of the overall equation.  Keep that in mind and you will end up enjoying exercise rather than fearing it.  Trust me I know that feeling of dreading my daily workout, but you will get to a point where (if you put more emphasis of nutrition than exercise) you will begin to treat it like your release.  It really becomes the time of day where you are free of everyone/everything else and its just you and your sweat.  Enjoy that struggle as the late Rachael Townsend said.  Enjoy it, because that is our gift as humans.  To push ourselves farther each day and see progress.  I always get confused when I see people that incredibly intelligent but fail to put that same level of intelligence to the only true thing that they can control: their body.  I was one of those people...and I know the excuses that come up.  Fuck excuses.

Statistics helped me as i mentioned before because I was able to see progress.  When I say statistics, it isn't anything complicated.  Dailymile.com tracked my workouts and mileage and allowed me to view progress on a week to week basis.  Livestrong did the same for my nutrition plan.  It is a psychological thing to see your progress each week, but psychology is what got us here in the first place.  By ignoring what changes we were going through, we were blind to our health.  Take a 180, and start opening your eyes and understanding what the trends show and you will see progress.  

Visualize your progress.  You will be motivated!

Finally, i will leave with this: Weight loss is not a thing, event, moment.  It is a lifestyle change that is as momentous as starting a new job, having a baby, buying a house.  It requires you to forever change your habits not just for a "diet" period.  DIET by definition is the things you habitually eat....not, just during a certain time period.

Marathon Training Starts!

Today marked the beginning of my marathon training.  I am following Hal Higdon's Intermediate 1 Training Schedule, which is an 18-week plan.  I decided to interview myself (i'm awesome!) so I can come back and reflect later on.

Marathon - Hal Higdon

Why did you decide to run a marathon?
I wanted a challenge.  I ran my first 3 half-marathons with very little training and did surprisingly well.  I knew as soon as I finished them that I could do a marathon and knock that off my bucket list.  


What do you expect to get out of this marathon?
A medal.  Probably about a day's worth of bragging rights, but after that I'll begin my training for my half iron man.  In the words of the ultra-distance runner, Navy SEAL David Goggins "I don't stop running when I'm tired, I stop when I'm done."  That means to me that there is no finish line.  Finishing this race will be a nice check-mark on my list of things I've done, but it will just be a stepping stone to the next challenge.


What are your goals for the race?
My primary goal is to run the entire thing (walks through the water station).  I hope to finish around 3:30 but will be happy with anything under 4:00.  I want to make sure it is fun and that I enjoy myself during the training!


How did your first run feel?
Today I did 3 miles.  I have not run in over 2 weeks since the last leg of the Ragnar Relay and the rest has definitely paid off.  My ankle pain was about a 7 (out of 10) during Ragnar and during today's run I would say it is about a 1.  I did feel it slightly, but it was virtually non-existent.  The biggest thing I noticed was that my lung capacity was diminished a bit.  Typically its my legs that give out before my lungs, and today was a bit difficult to maintain my pace for the full 3 miles (i ended up averaging just over 8min/miles).  


What are you most afraid of?
Getting hurt and having to cancel the race.  I want to make sure I follow the plan so I don't hurt myself, but as it is the plan already has me going 24 miles in the first week, which was towards the higher end during my half-marathon training!  Daily mileage isn't that much, but weekly mileage does creep up there.


Done.  It'll be interesting to come back afterwards and check on my train of thought during the peak of my training and after the race.  




On an unrelated note, I've been reading "Lone Survivor" by Marcus Luttrell:

This is truly an inspirational book, and while Marcus does dive into some political opinions regarding the Rules of Engagement (which in my mind is a very valid argument but detracts from the real message of the book), it is a humbling book.  Having a brother-in-law who is an active SEAL currently serving overseas, it makes me proud everyday of what he is doing for us.  The Navy has always been a true inspiration to me, and something that has helped me continue to challenge myself every day.  Hooyah!

Ragnar Relay Florida Keys - Race Recap
January 6-7, 2012


What is Ragnar Relay?
We've done a relay like this before in New York in 2011.  It is basically a 200(ish) mile race in which 12 people each run 3 legs of varying distances.  It typically takes about 30 hours give or take, and while the one runner is on the road, the rest of the team is supporting in a van that leap-frogs him/her.  Basically a bad ass relay!

It starts!

Leg#1 - 5.2 miles
I must admit I was in a bit of a shock coming from sub 20 degree weather in Philadelphia to 80+ in Miami.  I took this run easy at first but got a bit too competitive when a dude comes up next to me and doesn't even look at me when i try and strike up conversation with him (ass).  We kept close for a few miles but when he ran through some red lights i figured my life was worth more than that!  I ended up running 3 miles in 20 minutes which is about a 6:30 pace.  Overall i finished these 5.2 in 7:15ish pace so I think it went well in spite of the heat. 

Butt first through the power tunnerl!

Leg #2 - 11.8 miles
Ok, i'll be honest.  I was terrified to run this leg.  I have had ankle pain that started in December and an IT issue that had halted me completely back in August that just came back.  I was really worried that after 5 miles i'd be dead.  After Ryan had just run 8+ miles through the swamp, he handed off to me and I got the luxury of running on pavement right along route 1!  Sorry buddy.  I started at a nice steady 9 min pace and decided to take it in four chunks of 3 miles.  After the first 3 i felt good.  The darkness was a little intimidating and I was virtually alone the entire time.  I stopped for some water and thanked the helpers.  My flashlight keep bouncing off of the marshes and i was convinced i'd see a giant croc waiting to eat me.  After mile 6 i realize my leg was doing well.  Ankle pain was about a 2 (scale of 1-10) and knee pain was a 3.  I picked up my pace a bit and was determined to get at least 5 kills.  At mile 9 i had 10 kills!  I decided to open it up a bit and the last three miles just hauled ass.  I finished with an average pace of 8:30ish and no injuries.  And i nabbed 14 kills!  I've never been so happy to see that van though! This was an unsupported leg so I did not see any of my teammates the entire time.  This also was the longest leg of any Ragnar Relay, so it was kind of a personal accomplishment that i finished it with no problems!

Sunrise over the Florida Keys!

Leg #3 - 9.3 miles
Well after finally getting some rest i woke up expecting my legs to feel like they did during the last Ragnar in New York...like hell.  But they felt great.  I talked to Ryan in the morning and he was hurting from an Achilles issue and we decided that he should probably not run his last 9.3 miles.  I offered to switch with him because my legs felt in such great shape.  I would rue that decision shortly!  The 9.3 miles covered a few bridges in the Keys and would have been a great view if i paid attention to it.  I was too busy focusing on not dying from the heat.  My god it was hot and i just dumped water all over me to cool down.  I stopped at a water station and literally took three cups and dumped them on my head.  I had decided to start at a 10 min pace and knock of 15 sec every mile.  Worked out well untill i was in the 8's and the heat got the better of me...but i kept at it and ended up with about an 8:45 pace overall.  Again most of this was unsupported so i didn't see my van untill mile 7, and at that point we were almost done.  I probably looked like a sweaty mess crossing the finish, but i didnt care...i was friggin done!  26.3 miles overall...33 kills...no injuries.  What a great race!!

Post race bling!

Coolest group of runners ever! (minus Cat!)

Other fun stuff:
The only issue i had was not having a driver.  Ryan, Pete and I did most of the driving which was fine, but boy i almost fell asleep at the wheel at night.  I had just run that 11.8 leg and we still had to go another 50+ miles before we could sleep.  We made it though.  Kristen and Cat kept it realy delivering no end to the poop jokes:)  We may have to change the name of our team next time "Don't Pants Your Poop".  Let's be real...runners have GI issues with all that sloshing around...stuff 6 of us in a van and you'll get shit talk.  Kudos to Peter who did a great job of keeping us all in good spirits and still managed to dominate his runs!  His hawaiian shirts were a nice touch too.  Poor Mike had a nasty spill in his leg 2 but still managed to smoke us all!  Ryan delivered the best story of the trip right at the end which i will copy from Kristen's blog entry:


"Towards the end of the trip Ryan told us that during one of his porta potty trips he forgot to lock the door and a woman walked in on him. He had his back to her so she didn't see anything, but even still she 
was PISSED and scolded him for forgetting to lock the door. In retrospect, he said he should of just hung out there and let that happen again, but that this time he would be facing the door, adorning 
a smoker's jacket and when the person opened the door and saw him he would say, "hello there, you're right on time." Holy crap dudes, just thinking about this made me laugh so hard I nearly broke one of my 
lungs." ( http://www.dailymile.com/people/kristenrf/entries/12024070)

I stayed in Key West an extra day, and explored the city on my own.  I went down to Blue Heaven and got myself a slice of the most amazing Key Lime Pie in the world!!

Eat your heart out!

We had a post race dinner at Benihanna and we told the waitress to embarrass Jenny and Kurt because they had just gotten engaged...they pretty much forgot and then came out and sang a song about an anniversary...haha oh well free ice cream!  We then went out to Sloppy Joes and had a blast.  It only takes a few drinks to cash you in after a sleep deprived running journey!  Good times!

Overall, the Ragnar high is still very much there and we are already starting our planning for Ragnar Napa Valley!

Let's get it started!

Alright, I've decided to start a blog documenting my efforts to become a better man. I'll start this out describing a bit about myself and then I'll go into what I hope to get out of this journey. I am 26 years old (for now) and am married to the love of my life whom I have known since I was a freshman in high school. We live together above a coffee shop in south Philly. Our only love in life (besides each other) is our incredibly loyal four year old American Dingo, Copper. I realize that the priorities in our life may shift once children come along, but for now, our lives revolve around Copper (typing this I realize that this is probably not a good thing, but he really is quite an amazing dog). You will probably see me referencing Copper from time and time, and I am doing so to ensure I capture as much of his personality as is possible through words. My wife is a compassionate, caring, kind individual which translates perfectly into her profession as a nurse in the cardiac ICU of a Children's Hospital. It is a stark comparison to my career as a working professional in one of the largest corporations on on the planet. We work so that we can enjoy life and this is extremely important for both of us to remember.

My entire life, I have been non-athletic. I was dubbed "fat-boy" by my uncle (mostly as a motivator) but I took it on as a descriptor of who I was. I remember growing up with my brother (18-months older) following a shadow of a person I secretly knew I could never truly be like. I was lazy. Let's be honest. I don't think I tried 100% for anything in my life. I was most passionate about music and because I was relatively naturally talented, I used the little success I had as a musician to carry me through high-school. Once the crutch was removed in college (there was no honest way I could be successful being a musician) I realized how much trouble I was in.

College was easy. It probably shouldn't have been, but I got through engineering school at a top university with surprisingly little difficulty because I really only gave enough effort to get me through. I had lined up a job after school by the time I was a junior, which really made it difficult to care. So what did I do in my free time? Well i was very actively engaged in school clubs, but I think I could count the number of times I went into the (free!) gym on two hands through my entire college career. I went from about 185 entering college and in 2007 I graduated at around 221 lbs. Career had me moving a few times within the first few years, so to get into any sort of rhythm was difficult.

It wasn't until I moved to Philadelphia when I realized that I really didn't like who I was. It took a few things to give me what I will be calling henceforth my "jumpstart". The first was looking at my wedding pictures. I was blessed to have a gorgeous wife who took care of her body and self and here was this chubby dude standing next to her. I actually remember thinking..."now that just doesn't look right."

The second jumpstart was when two people in my immediate family were diagnosed with diabetes. And at age 24, I was being mistaken for my 50 year old uncle in pictures. Unacceptable. The third, as cheesy as this sounds, was my mom. She didn't have to say anything directly, but she decided to join weight watchers, and I said, what the hell i'll give it a shot. This really began my journey. WW was the catalyst that fueled the fire which made me appreciate the healthy lifestyle. Within 4 months of being on WW i dropped close to 30lbs. 

I decided to run.

Then I decided to swim.

I bought a bike.

I signed up for a triathlon.

Its the same story you'll see if you search "Inspirational Weight Loss" on YouTube. Substitute my body transformation for any of those people and you've got my story. I'm not on YouTube. Because my journey is no way near complete. Just over 1-year later I am 50 lbs lighter, body fat reduced from close to 30% down to 18%, BP within normal range, new wardrobe near completion (and wallet significantly lighter). My doctor jokingly says I should be the face of WW with the improvements I've made. I disagree, most of those people are semi-attractive. I have what you'd probably say "a face for radio." Anyway, I digress.

The purpose of this blog... The purpose of this blog is not so other people can see what I am doing. I'd like to make that clear. If you stumble upon this blog, don't worry about clicking 'follow' or whatever you do to follow blogs. I am more interested in having something I personally can back to to reflect on. I realized that when I passed the 1 year mark from the start of my journey, I didn't really have documented perspective. I watched an episode of Biggest Loser, where the fat version of the contestant recorded a video for the future fit contestant. They would watch it later on an burst into tears or whatever. I realized that that type of documentation is extremely motivating. So I'll be periodically uploading photos/progress simply so I can have something to reflect on a year later.

That's it, future me. So let's see how well this works for you.