Challenges Make Life Interesting

It’s been 16 years since I started down this marathon road to raise funds for charities in Nick’s memory and I can say without hesitation, the runs are not getting easier.  Likely at this point you are saying “Duh!!  Your 16 years older, battled through 2 years of chemo, and are now dealing with Parkinson’s.  What do you expect?”   OK, point taken.

So on to this year’s Marathon Challenge.   The goal was to run/jog 26.2 miles over 4 days in under 4 1/2 hours total time.   My strategy was to run a longer run on the first day, give the old bones a rest on day 2 and then 2 shorter runs on day three and four.   While this is not a big improvement over last year’s challenge, the hills around our home in Charlottesville will more than double the vertical climb this year. 

Day one was pretty much on plan.  I was slightly slower than last year but I attribute that to the hills and the Parkinson’s. Parkinson’s makes my left leg stiff starting out and because the brain to muscle connection is slower it also causes the left foot to drag a bit.   The first 2-3 miles are really slooooow and awkward as I work to get the stiffness out.  So slow that the deer I pass on the road don’t even bother to run off.   On a typical day the first miles will be around 2 minutes slower than my last.   

I started day three stiff and sore but loosened up a bit as I got into the later miles.  Did I mention there are a lot of hills where I run?    Turns out over the first two days of running I’ll climb more vertical feet than the whole Boston Marathon.   On this day alone I’ll cover the equivalent of running the infamous Boston Marathon Heartbreak Hill 3 times.    It turns out, as tough as the uphills are, it’s the downhills that actually beat up your legs.   By the end of the second day of running my left quad (thigh) had more knots in it than a 5-year old’s shoes.    At this point I’m just a hair below the pace I need in order to bet the 4 ½ hour mark.

 

Day four dawned rainy and cold (35 degrees).  I normally don’t mind either rain or cold, but rain just above freezing is the worst.   There is just no way to dress that will either keep you warm or dry and the more clothes you wear the heavier they get as they saturate.  Kind of like running with a 5 lb. bag of sugar on your back.   The good news, this will to be the shortest of the three runs.   After struggling through the first few miles the quad loosened up enough to get a reasonable stride out of it.   The pace was slower than the previous two days but I was able to complete the run.

And yes…we made it…26.2 miles in just under 4 hours 30 minutes.   Definitely tougher than I expected but a win just the same.

To put this in historical perspective, my last Boston Marathon was in 2018, in between chemo treatments, and I completed that in 4 hours 5 minutes.    I know it is stupid to look back and compare the two but I had hopes that one day I would be able to run a marathon again.   I’ve come to the realization this may be the best I can do.

Truth is, it’s not about me, or the marathon challenge.  It’s about raising funds to help people who are struggling in some of their toughest moments.  We’ve all been there and we remember the relief when someone reached out and said” let me help”.   Your support for me and Help in the Nick of Time has allowed us to do that for hundreds of children and families.

 

So that’s it for this year.  I’ll be back next year to do it all again…God willing and the creek don’t rise.

Marathon Spectators

 
As we come up on the 126^th running of the Boston Marathon in a little over a week, the pressing question on everyone’s mind is “What’s the appropriate behavior of a spectator at a marathon?”   Well, maybe not everyone’s mind, or for that matter anyone’s.   In case you find yourself motivated to attend a race, as someone who has run a few marathons, I can offer a bit of an insider’s perspective on etiquette and how to be a supportive spectator.

If for some strange reason you find yourself planning to stand for hours on the side of the road waiting to try and pick out a runner in a crowd of thousands, so you can shout a few words of encouragement or offer some sustenance in the few seconds they blow by you, bless your soul.  There’s a special place in the afterlife for you.    But if you plan to put out this kind of effort it is good to know the do’s and don’ts of being a good spectator.    This is especially true for the Boston Spectators who have honed the practice over decades and feel that it is their right (no, their duty) to set you right on what you are doing wrong.

Signs

Before we talk about appropriate signs, I’d like to point out how helpful signs can be.  Comedian Bill Engvall said it best in his routine about stupid people where he proposes that stupid people should carry a sign so you lower your expectations when dealing with them.  His routine on why Preparation H has a warning on the packaging that says DO NOT EAT, had me in tears.  It’s online, I highly recommend watching it.

A sign saying something stupid like “Only 24 miles to go” or “One foot in front of the other” are not only unhelpful, they reflect poorly on you in front of thousands of runners passing you by, not to mention the spectators around you.

Signs like “Go Daddy Go”, and “You have this Uncle Dave” have the personal touch that offer great encouragement, while the same un-personalized messages from a stranger, not so much.    Anyone with a “Go Faster” sign should be burned at the stake.

The best signs are the ones with humor or backed by enthusiasm.  Most notable in this category are the woman at Wellesley college who set up the scream tunnel.   Not only can you hear them screaming a half mile before you get there but they have great creative signs like “kiss me I’m Irish”, “be my first kiss”, “I know CPR and mouth to mouth”.     There are videos of this online, definitely worth a watch.  I’ve been known in the past to have thrown a few kisses to the women.  Unfortunately, with Covid the mouth-to-mouth personal interaction has been curtailed a lot but the scream tunnel is still the best spectator part of the race. 

Of course, signs aren’t limited to the spectators, the runners get into the act with messages on their clothes.  Some are aimed at other runners, particularly on the backs of their shirts.   “I spit to the right”, “I may be slow but I’m ahead of you”, and on a pair of shorts “stop looking at my butt and run” are both creative and helpful.     Other messages are for the crowd like putting your name on your shirt or the charity your running for.  The crowd does pick up on these and will add some personalization to their cheering.  Having done this, I can say I have mixed feelings.   It can be tiring towards the end of the race to keep looking into the crowd to see if the person calling your name is really someone you know.  A bit of history, the old days (the 1970’s), when I first started running Boston, the Boston Globe published the names and numbers of all the runners and spectators would try to spot your number, look you up and personalize their encouragement.

Other interactions to keep in mind:

-         Lying to a runner is a violation punishable by being staked out in front of the starting line and stomped to death by thousands of runners.   Saying things like “you’re at the top of Heart Break Hill” when you are not or “one mile to go” when there is two or more, are notable examples.  Saying” you are looking good” is excusable as a form of encouragement.   Looking good is not likely or high on the list of priorities.

-         Runners love upbeat music.

-         Hours of ringing cow bells or blowing horns are not bloody helpful to either the runners or the spectators around you.

-         Offering runners food or drinks is very generous but don’t shove them in their face or run along side with repeated offers.   One of the best gifts I received was a popsicle at mile 22 on a 90-degree day.    Jellybeans are my favorite but I even partook in a sip of beer from a college student one year.  

-         Don’t ask the runner to stop to take a picture.   It’s understandable that if you are standing in the sun or cold for hours that you want to get a picture of the person you are supporting, but don’t take it personally if they blow you off to keep running.

-         Don’t spray water on the runners.  I know this sounds obvious but on hot days some people bring hoses to the street to help cool the runners.   There may be times when this is helpful to some runners but it’s the runner’s choice, not the spectator.  Wet shoes and socks are heavier and can contribute to blisters.  One year it was so hot the Boston Marathon was almost cancelled, but instead the race director set up cold misting spray tents on the side of the course and you could just run through the tent and keep going.    I have to say, despite the wet shoes it was awesome.  

-         Lastly, and this is the most important, don’t ask if they are in pain or want to stop.  If they are anywhere past the 15-mile mark they are tired, likely in pain and fighting mentally to keep going.   Of course, they want to stop (Bill Engvall would say “here’s your stupid sign”), but the spectator’s job is not to tempt them to quit but to encourage them to keep going.    Any spectator who says “keep going, pain is just a state of mind” should get a knee to the groin to help to put them in the right “state of mind”.

With my marathon challenge coming up in the next week I can honestly say I’ll miss the Boston spectators, even the inappropriate ones.   Even I get tired of my own company and spending hours in my own head is a scary place.    A screaming tunnel and maybe a few rowdy spectators yelling encouragement would be welcome.  Instead, I’ll be avoiding deer jumping out of the woods in front of me, dodging pickup trucks on the narrow country roads and cursing the incessant steep hills that make up my neighborhood in Charlottesville.    But when the going gets tough I’ll remember all the people who are supporting my efforts and those pediatric cancer patients benefiting from Help in the Nick of Time.  

Wish me luck!

Giving Up or Letting Go?

 In one of my blogs years ago I made the claim that anyone could run a marathon if they were just willing to put in the months of training.   Get out the salt shaker, I’m about to eat those words and they are not going to go down easy.

In the 4 years since my 3-month all-inclusive vacation in luxurious Fox Chase Cancer Ward I have been working diligently to get my running back to where I was before the stem cell transplant.    For those that have followed the blog over those years you may remember I replaced running the Boston Marathon with my own marathon challenge spread over multiple days run at the same time as Boston.   The first year was 3 months after I left the hospital and my challenge was to walk a 5k (3.1 miles) without the bloody walker.   A year later the challenge was to jog/walk a marathon distance (26.2 miles) over 7 days in under 8 total hours.   In April 2020 in the midst of the pandemic I set and completed the goal of covering the marathon distance in 6 days in under 6 hours, jogging the entire way.   Raising the bar again last year, I was able to jog the 26.2 miles over 4 days in around 4 ½ hours.    Using my mathematical wizardry, I calculated if I continued to improve at this rate, I might be able to complete a full marathon in a single day sometime 3 years from now.   

So, it’s a year later and I can honestly say my calculations sucked.   In the last year I’ve consistently run over 100 miles a month (almost 1400 for the year) and I haven’t improved a bit over last year.   Granted we did move from somewhat hilly Pennsylvania to almost mountainous Virginia, but even allowing for the hills, the old legs don’t seem to have the endurance necessary to run even a half marathon.    Is it age, the effects of Parkinson’s or left-over effects of all the chemo?   Certainly, part of it is the Parkinson’s.   It’s like termites in your house, it slowly eats away at your muscles and coordination.  I’ve given up trying to figure it out and just accepted it is what it is.    I’ve also accepted that doing another Boston Marathon is just not in the cards.  

But acceptance is not surrender and I’ll keep going at it as long as circumstances allow.    On those occasions when I get frustrated, I remind myself that is not all about me (It’s not?), it’s also about supporting the children and their families still fighting cancer at a time when the pandemic adds to the risks/challenges they face. 

So, this year I'm again targeting 26.2 miles in 4 days in around 4 ½ hours.  As I've done in the past it is timed to coincide with this year’s Boston Marathon (April 18).    More on the progress with the training in the next blog.

Stay safe!

When Weird Becomes Normal

 

Distance runners have always been looked at as a little weird.   Who in their right mind gets excited about subjecting their body to hours of bone jarring, foot pounding, joint twisting, muscle tearing exercise and do it in weather when most people won’t even take out their cars?     For most runners, there are no financial rewards, no Olympic medals, no TV appearances, and on most days no cheering crowds (unless you count the rude comments from passing motorists).    

While it may come as no surprise that runners are at the high end of the weird scale, when it comes to marathon and ultramarathon runners, we enter a whole new world of strange.    Here’s a few examples:

Skewed definition of “FUN”:  A fun way to start our day is getting up at obscene hours in the AM to get in an hour of running in the rain before work.    Just in case you don’t believe we are having a good time we call our race gatherings “Fun Runs” and give them catchy names like Turkey Trot, Jingle Bell Jog, and Easter Bunny Hop.    Some might say more appropriate names would be Slug Slog, Misery Marathon and Agony of de Feet.

Obsess over shoes:  We have more of a shoe fetish than Carrie in Sex in the City.    It needs just the right amount of cushioning, flexibility, motion control, breathability, and of course there is the new carbon fiber “super shoes”.    Once you find the right pair that fits just right you have to stockpile several pairs because the shoe companies change the fit and style every year.

Will run for food:  We pay $30-50 to enter a race where the reward at the end is a free bagel, banana and a protein bar (oh, and maybe a t-shirt).     The training does allow you to have that nightly extra-large bowl of ice cream guilt free (not that I would know firsthand).

Vacations are for running:  When planning a vacation, the location of where you stay is often based on the running routes in the area.    Those runners with more accommodating spouses (angels) might even plan their vacation around a race.

Nature calls don’t require a bathroom:  Enough said.

Unusual medical maladies:  Bleeding nipples, black toenails, rashes in unmentionable areas, shin splints, runner’s knees, Plantar Fasciitis and IT Band Syndrome.   When runners get together you often may hear them proudly comparing war stories how they ran races with crippling injuries.

Tech accessories: In the old days we would tie on the old shoes and head out the door.  Now it’s like preparing for war.  GPS Watches, cell phone holder, wireless earbuds, flashing wrist/ankle bands, heart rate monitor, specialized UV sunglasses, and a hydration belt.  Makes you wonder how early man was ever able to outrun prehistoric animals.

Monitor everything:   All this technology has runners hyper-focused on tracking every aspect of their run including stride length, average cadences (how many foot strikes/minute), peak cadence, average pace, fastest mile, avg heart rate, peak heart rate, vertical climb, and max Vo2 (oxygen consumption) to name a few.     Not only do people monitor their stats but there are websites that help them brag about them.   Do other runners really want to hear daily about your heart rate or average pace on a daily basis or your commentary about the sun shining and seeing a little bunny rabbit on your run?  I don’t.

Most runners would say that the above behaviors are normal, at least for a runner.   I think the big question is…”Are runners’ weird people who were attracted to running or does process of running make normal people weird?”

Opinions welcome, I’ll post the results on the next blog.

On a personal note, when people say I’m crazy for running the way I do, I like to remember the Stephen Hawking’s quote…”The thing about smart people is they seem like crazy people to dumb people.”   Most of the time I don’t say it out loud.  Most of the time.

Embracing Challeges

 

I’ve always been someone who loved a challenge….well most of the time anyway.   Telling me I can’t do something is like waving a raw a steak in front of a tiger, a red flag in front of an angry bull, a juicy worm in front of a hungry fish (you get the idea).     I probably hold the world record for saying “you wanna bet?”.  

The other day while I was doing my awkward facsimile of running, I was thinking about the different challenges I’ve faced.  I broke them down into three categories: The ones self-imposed as goals (raising a loving family, successful career, run the Boston Marathon), the ones I foolishly took on in response to the phrase “I bet you can’t….” (scary flashbacks to college days), and the ones that life foisted on me (Leukemia falls into this category). 

It’s the first category that caused me to start Help in the Nick of Time with the goal of helping families dealing with a child fighting cancer.   I hate asking people for money, especially these days when so many people are struggling as a result of the pandemic.   If I was going to ask people to part with their hard-earned money, I had to do something equally hard.   To show my commitment I choose running a marathon each year.

This year I will again challenge my aging body to respond to a new marathon challenge in April.  For the last three years since the stem cell transplant, I have been gradually improving from using a walker to walking/jogging, to last year’s goal of doing 26.2 miles over 4 days in under 5 hours.   Never one to be satisfied with just achieving a goal, this year I planned on doing even better.     

I think the saying on planning goes something like “Man plans and God laughs”.   I noticed my running was becoming more challenging which I chalked up to age and the after affects of chemo.   Turns out it’s another little challenge called Parkinson Disease.   Currently it doesn’t stop me from jogging, although some days I move like the Tin Man after a rainstorm, but it does make it a bit more difficult.   Not one to shy away from a challenge, my goal this year is to meet or beat the marathon goal of last year.

Some might ask “Why keep doing this?”.  Thanks for asking.   This year will be the 15^th year of my marathon challenge and the 12^th year of Help in the Nick of Time.   In that time, we have blown by the goal of raising $100,000 and are well on our way to a quarter million.  But what really makes me feel good is the stories of joy and relief we have brought to children and their families who are struggling emotionally and financially with cancer.   Sometimes its as simple as paying for parking on their daily visits to the hospital, toys for a young child spending their birthday in the hospital, or fixing a parent’s car so they can take their child to treatment.

So this year I’m back to do my part but I could use your help to continue to bring smiles and happiness into lives struggling with childhood cancer.  Come on along for the ride, it should be an interesting one.

Happy New Year!