Forces of nature, the next big step, and my first marathon...

It certainly has been an eventful 3 months since my last post (personally, professionally & physically) with a lot of stressors in all 3 areas...mostly good/normal stuff, but stress is stress.  By definition: A stressor is a chemical or biological agent, environmental condition, external stimulus or an event that causes stress to an organism. In nature, stress can NEGATIVELY cause things to wear down, bend, break or POSITIVELY reshape, move or strengthen.  The question is how will I (or you the reader) allow stressors to impact your life?

Athletic events since my last post:

Having fun with my son.



10/18/12: Take Your Girls Night Out 5k: This run in Jackson, TN was a breast cancer awareness event.  I had a great time doing this run with my son.  My time wasn't that great, but fun anyway with LOTS of PINK.

11/19/12: Registration for Ironman Arizona:  The next BIG step in my athletic bucket list.  In 2009 my wife & I watched the "Where are they now?" episode of  The Biggest Loser where I watched Matt Hoover compete/complete the Ford Ironman World Championship triathlon in Kona ( Matt Hoover at Ironman World Championship ) He missed the 17 hour cutoff by less than 3 minutes, but he FINISHED!  I turned to my wife and said, "I want to do that!"  Thus began my middle age fitness journey & triathlon fever.  I told myself I would try and not be foolish, but to push myself in ways I've never done before. This was not only to better myself, but in hopes of inspiring my family, friends & maybe even strangers to get outside of their comfort zones.  My plan was to slowly & steadily increase the distances (& hopefully speeds) with a goal of doing an iron distance triathlon (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run) by the time I was 50.  At this point in my life I have ridden a bike over 100 miles, but I've NEVER run a marathon (see below), and my swim distance record is 1.4 miles (with a few breaks).  Last Christmas my wife gave me a copy of You Are an Ironman by Jaques Steinberg which fueled the fire even more. I highly recommend the book, even if you have no plans of doing an Ironman.  The event & setting in Tempe, AZ seemed to me the ideal location for my first shot at this distance.  The only problem is it fills up fast!  Last year registration online for 1600-1800 spots for Ironman Arizona (IMAZ) filled in amost an hour.  Ironman Florida 2013 spots filled in under an hour less than 2 weeks ago.  So I put myself in front of the computer at 12:55 that afternoon hitting the refresh button every few seconds with my heart pounding as the 1:00pm open registration time approached...1:01pm the "registration not open" message remained & I began to panic.  Hitting the refresh button one more time, there it was!..."register now".  I clicked immediately and hammered through the fields and paid the obscene amount to hold my place.  I later found out open registration for IMAZ filled in 40 seconds!  Stay tuned as I embark on this journey.

11/22/12: 8th Annual Turkey Day 5k: Thanksgiving day run in Jackson to raise money for RIFA.  My wife & both had good times (literally and figuratively).  23:03 for me, my fastest since college.

11/23/12: Raquetball with Grandpa Ron: My 73 year old father taught me to play raquetball 35 years ago. We get together 2-3 times a year usually with a couple of my kids and enjoy a 3 generation match.  He can still beat my 16 & 20 year old sons, (but just barely).  It gives me hope for the future to see my dad stay active and for us to all enjoy this together!

Smiling "before" with my wife in the 34 degree morning air.

Smiling "after" in the warmer afternoon, sore but thankful.

12/1/12: St. Jude Memphis Marathon:  The good news: I survived the event & had a great time.  The bad news: I did not run the whole time, experienced the worst knee/orthopedic pain I've ever had, and finished at 4:59:10 (11:25 min/mile pace)...well below my goal of 4 hours.  The harsh reality: If you don't train properly and prepare (as for almost everything else in life) you will suffer needlessly and not perform up to expectations.  Last year the St. Jude event was my first half marathon, which I trained for and finished under 2 hours, followed by 2 more half marathons in Feb. & March of this year with progressively better times.  In April I was in New Orleans for the Ironman 70.3 event with a slower half marathon time but on the tail of a 2 mile run & 50+ mile bike ride (swim was cancelled due to bad weather/waves).  Since April my longest run/training was 11 miles (due to lack of discipline & nagging new left knee pain kicking in at the 8-10 mile mark every time).  Rather than address the knee issue & rehab it properly, I complained to myself and others, "piddled" & ultimately paid the price.  On race day, I felt good until 11 miles & the knee pain kicked in suddenly like a spike under my kneecap.  My brain starts loudly advising that I should make a right turn shortly ahead and cruise on in with the half marathon group.  My heart says to me "your pain right now is NOTHING compared to what many of the kids at St. Jude go through as they are treated for cancer", so run/walk on. As this internal argument went on, I decided to push on with the thought that anything past 13.1 miles is a personal best for distance running.  That seemed very reasonable except I had no idea what I would do should I have to stop in regards to getting back to my wife (running the half at the same time).  Each mile marker/rest stop I would get something to drink and experience increasing pain in the side of my knee which worsened every time I stopped to walk & for 30-40 seconds after resuming a run.  With this pain I would replay the sign I saw last year held up by a St. Jude patient as I ran through the campus: "Thanks for running, since I can't!"  Crossing the finishing line at a slow run with a smile, I was spent but so glad to look up and see my wife (who finished her half marathon run long before) waving from the front row of the stands.  I'm thankful for the chance to have done this & share the experience with so many others.

Next post: "The bee's knees...why mine hurt so badly"