3/18/2012 Publix Georgia Marathon Atlanta, GA http://www.georgiamarathon.com/

Currently, there is a contest to WIN a free entry to the race over at 26.2 Quest blog. It’s a $95 dollar value!

4/1/12 Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon Knoxville, TN http://www.knoxvillemarathon.com

8/1/11 – 11/30/11 $65.00
12/1/11 – 2/15/12 $75.00
2/16/12 – 3/27/12 $85.00

I haven’t inquired about being a pacer yet, mainly waiting to see about Georgia. I think unless I am asked to be a pacer, that I will be a volunteer.

5/6/12 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon Cincinnati, OH http://www.flyingpigmarathon.com

$90.00 registration (11/1 through 1/31)
$105.00 late registration (2/1 through 4/20)

The kids absolutely LOVE Cincinnati, so going there would be like other family going to Disney World, except with lots of pigs… instead of mice.

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If I win the Publix Georgia Marathon, then I am going to run that one. My Lovely and Talented Wife has friends and we have family down there, so it would be a good trip for us. If I don’t win then I think I am going to eye The Pig. Oink!

Either way, I plan to use MyCokeReward points to get some “really nice” for my Guess My Time, Win Crap contest. More on how that’s all gonna work when I decide what I am going to do and when.

3/25/12 Virginia Creeper Marathon Abingdon, VA http://www.runtricities.org/creepermarathon

It’s full.

4/1/12 Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon Knoxville, TN http://www.knoxvillemarathon.com

8/1/11 – 11/30/11 $65.00
12/1/11 – 2/15/12 $75.00
2/16/12 – 3/27/12 $85.00

Now, this is the marathon that I usually volunteer for as a course monitor, since monitoring the course while runners are on it is fun and full of surprises. Now, I could inquire if I could run as a pacer, which is like having your cake and eating it to… just replace “cake” with “energy gel of your choice”.

5/6/12 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon Cincinnati, OH http://www.flyingpigmarathon.com

$75.00 early registration through 10/31
$90.00 registration (11/1 through 1/31)
$105.00 late registration (2/1 through 4/20)

The kids absolutely LOVE Cincinnati, so going there would be like other family going to Disney World, except with lots of pigs… instead of mice.

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I’ve run all 3 both of these, there’s a logistics cost involved which may be offset by the Super Happy Fun Factor. I don’t know. Maybe there is an obscure event that hasn’t found their way over to Marathon Guide yet.

In regards to Flying Monkey, I’m sad that I won’t be able to run it this year. I need to contact the race director to see if allowed past runners to register early, because after thinking about it, I never received any emails from him talking about registering for the race, how tough the course is, why training is futile, blah blah blah.

But instead of crying monkey tears, I quickly looked around to see what other possible races I could run. They had to meet some basic criteria. One, I wanted something more than a 1/2 marathon, but would be open to running one if that is all that was available. Two, cheaper the better since there’s no corporate sponsors trying to woo my athletic prowess at the moment. Email me if you are a corporate sponsor looking for a marketing pawn at races. Will Run for Cash (or other shiny things). Three, as close to home as possible. Since we are living by a strict budget (no more slush fund marathons), I have consider costs such as gasoline and lodging (of course, by myself… sleeping in the car at race start is perfectly cool with me. I lived out of my Celica for a month in 1993 when I worked in Nags Head, NC).

So far, nothing has stuck. There’s Chickamauga Marathon, but it’s close to $80 and according to their website, registration is closed. So that one is out. There’s the Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville, AL which has been on my list of “Marathons to Run” for a while now. It’s only $50 through Sept and $60 through October, so for a marathon it’s registration cost is reasonable. Only thing is that it’s about a 4 hour drive, so would need to budget for logistics.

I’ve also started looking at the spring marathons. There’s the Knoxville Marathon, which would be pretty darn close. It’s $65 through end of November and I do have a score to settle with the course as the last time I ran it as an Official Pacer, I had my only (but very valuable) DNF.

Another contender is the Myrtle Beach Marathon in February. Although the logistics are much more complicated (i.e. airfare), it’s where most My Lovely and Talented Wife’s side of the family lives. Plus race weekend corresponds with when David-In-Law will be upgrading his eldest son to Version 13.0 (What? Seriously?). It’s $75 through October 17th, then goes up to $95. We can get ridiculously cheap airfare tickets through Allegiant Air from TYS to MYR by jumping through all of their hoops to actually get the cheap seats but we have to act quickly.

As for the Scholar’s Run 5k, I did not run that race thereby ending all the consecutive runnings of any one race since I started running in 1998. And since I didn’t run the Scholar’s Run, the incentive to run the Reindeer Run 5k in December would only be for actual training benefits and not all the cool swag that is offered in the Triple Crown of Racing door prizes.

“The marathons that I learned the most from, have been the ones where I have done the worst” – Terry Higgins Mile 4.5 of the 2009 Knoxville Marathon.

Everything seemed right on schedule on Race Morning. I was calm, collected and even early (technically a “little” late) to the race start. The pace group met in the Convention Center where we got our racing flags and last minute instructions. I had everything that I would need during the marathon, plus extra supplies in case I met a needy runner along the way. Needy as in “needs GU” or “needs Food”.

I didn’t have anyone in my group when the gun went off, but in about 0.5 miles, I had a guy who had been running for about 7-8 months and this was his second marathon. He had run St. Judes in December and had a 5:25 finishing time. I should have gotten his name as to try to see how he finished. My pace was slow at first and since we were pacing of guntime, I was about 4 minutes behind at Mile 1 (took me about 1:13 to get to the start line) and there was some congestion at the beginning.

I chatted with the guy for the first few miles and found out that he had “learned” from his first marathon and he was being smart this one. Unfortunately, he picked up the wrong pacer! He did have an athletic background, so the lack of a base (6-8 months running) and the fact that he was his second marathon with the intent to actually improve his running was something that I enjoyed. I was able to give him race tips and pointers that you can only get while running with me. By mile 5, I had found a very comfortable pace of 10:55 and had shortened the time that I was behind to just 4 minutes. Even the hills at that pace were easy.

We made it to the half, still with just a 2 minute deficit, something that would easily be filled in Miles 20-24 where the course was gentler on the runner. I had been having the sensation to use the bathroom off and on during the last few miles and so I had planned that when we passed the 1/2way mark, I would stop to use the bathroom. I had done a decent job of hydrating as I was still clear at Mile 14. But something wasn’t quite right.

I started back up and my shins were tight. They weren’t shin split tight, but they were something different. Not too much longer and my calves were starting to hurt. As much as I had enjoyed the slight rest at the porta-potty, I was beginning to crave a nice walk. Perhaps at the next water stop? That should be somewhere around here, somewhere soon. It also seemed that everywhere I turned there was another hill. And I know that the way they felt was magnified from what my eyes saw. “How could a hill that size be so hard to climb?”

And with a step or two, I could start to feel some twinges in my lower legs, primarily my calves. I thought to myself, “This isn’t good. I won’t even be able to keep this pace. I think I need to find aid.” Just before the water stop… somewhere around 15ish (I think), I found a wheeled course monitor. I told him my dilemma and what I thought might be the case, withholding that I thought that I would need to DNF at this point. He went off and I hit the water stop.

At this point, I think that I was just about 3 minutes behind on my pace, but it was more difficult to hold the pace without wanting or needing to walk. At one corner, my pace flag flew off the pole and I was relieved that I would have to STOP and go get it. I told the others that were in the group, just 3 to go along. Another runner brought me the flag and I walked while putting in on. It was “enough” time, that I could muster enough energy in the legs to get back on the pace and make sometime back.

If you have never had cramps (in the legs) they totally suck. They usually start with uniform ache and then, without warning, they give out. I have had them 2 or 3 times while playing soccer, and if you are running, you usually just crash to the ground because your legs can hold you up. They are too fatigued. Stretching them gets some of the lactic acid out, and they feel good, but this is short lasted and the more that you do this, the shorter the time. Thankfully, my legs never buckled under my weight while running. Close to mile 18, I saw that the 5:00 pacer was behind me, and I so I conceded that the part was over for me. I took off my singlet and lowered my flag, signaling surrender to Lactate Takeover and Poor Planning.

Just before 19, the Cyclist Course Monitor came back. He told me that he talked with the doctor and that I wouldn’t like the news. Given my condition and the cold due to the wind, I would be best to drop out of the race. My initial assumption had just been confirmed by one of the medical profession. I just had to make it to Mile 21 for the aide support to get back to the stadium to drop off my chip.

He did ask if I wanted any energy gels or anything like that. Basically, it was too late for that, the damage was really done over the last 2-3 days and eating a bunch of stuff now, would really only make my stomach sick and make the rest of run uncomfortable. The only thing that I really wanted was a banana with the Potassium that would help with the cramps. I crossed Mile 20, not exactly sure of my time, but not only was it picked up on the timing system, I did hit my watch. It felt like the longest mile making it to 21.

Since I was in survival mode, I did want I needed to do to make it to the aid station. On the course, I passed the 4:15 and the 4:30 pacer, the latter asking me about my condition (he finished in 4:28). I made it to the aid station and a Fire Department van was called for me. I got back to the stadium only to walk in the back entrance listening to the names of the finishers and seeing them in the mylar blankets with the medals around their necks. I took my chip back and turned it in, telling my story to the guy taking the chip. I declined all water and assistance as I was heading back to my car. In the tunnel, I met up with the 4:15 pacer (who is running Cincinnati in May) and then the 4:30 pacer who had a first timer finish in that 4:28 and told me about his DNF at Nashville on year.

Just as I was typing out my mobile message to Facebook and Planet3rry.com, I hear, “DADDY!!!” It was The Younger with Lola. My Lovely and Talented Wife was near the field with The Elder. I had placed my Race Recover Bag in her car, so it was right there for me, which had a much need sweatshirt and a ProMax Protein Bar. I had wanted to stay to see how the guy from Memphis did, but I didn’t want to see the people finish… so we left. Chalk on up for building Character, Learning a Lesson, and adding one to the “marathon story” list.

And today, I am reaffirmed that my plight out on the course was a problem of not enough to eat and improper carbo-loading before race day. My legs are fine today, except for my Quads, which are sore from what would be typical of a 20 mile training run with lots of hills. I think that someone is trying to tell me to stay off the course for the Marathon and volunteer else where. Out of 5 marathons, 2 of them I didn’t “Finish at the 50″, this year was a DNF and in 2005, it was a DNS (Did not Start) due to Pneumonia earlier in the month and I was a course monitor.

I felt very comfortable, even a little aspergian, at the Expo when I was at the Pacer’s table. I could talk about running and the course, with no qualms about thinking that I was boring (but maybe I was) or picking up on clues that they were bored. Okay, maybe that last one I totally overlooked.

I was excited to meet Marathon Maniac #128. He’s here at Knoxville. I am not sure that I put my name in the event calendar on the website. I need to do that for the Pig in May.

I got ALOT of stuff… most of it to carry incase the runners need anything during the race. I am debating HOW I am going to carry it. I stopped using a low rofile fanny pack at a marathon years ago after some post-race stomach distress. I now pin my gels to my shorts and flip them around. That won’t necessarily be prudent for this race for the other runner.

I did plant 2 Race Support Bags out on the course… around mile 21 and again at mile 24. The Mile 21 one, I have a chance to get twice, so that’s good and the Mile 24 bag is right after the “Don’t Be Cruel” Hill at Mile 24, just before crossing the Gay Street Bridge. I was going to put another, slightly different one at Mile 8, just on 3rd Creek, but I ran out of time to plant it. Given what I have to carry now, this will be fine I hope.

So, now it’s time figure out what the weather is going to be like and try to plan my attire.

So then, at dinner last night… my toe begins to hurt. Not just ache but HURT! I was surprised how much it hurt. Then when I got up from the table to leave, my big toe was SORE and it was tough to put weight on it. Before I left the parking lot, I had to take my shoe and sock off and see what was so wrong. Apart from being a little red, there was nothing of note.

When I got home, I tried to get the kids ready for bed, but at some point, I knew that I had to see what was up with my toe. I could see myself with a short fuse if I was upset that my foot was hurting and the kids were not listening.When I took a good look at my toe, there seemed to be some debris on the side of the toe, which was the focal point of the soreness. The toenail was in good shape, so that was good.

I found a tool that resembled a dentist’s tool that I could use to pry into the toe cuticle. My toe was already sore and I was thinking that getting the debris out would be instant relief. But I was wrong! It was still sore. I dug and scraped as best I could without yanking off the toenail (it’s been a couple of marathons since I have lost one, so there is good chance I will still have this after the race). It was still tender and there wasn’t anything that really stood out as being the culprit of the pain. All I can think is that some yard debris had gotten lodged in the cuticle just from jostling of my feet and such.

It was about 10 minutes later that I had a bacterial type scare. I thought “what if it gets infected before the marathon”… 4 hours and 45 minutes of “OUCH, Ahhh, OUCH, Ahhh, OUCH”. So, I took some hydrogren peroxide and poured it over the toe. If was manic about my toe, I was ready for the rubbing alcohol to do it’s killing, if it meant extra pain… I was going to run.

The amount of reaction with the hydrogen peroxide was underwhelming. Being unimpressed, I put the Hydrogen Peroxide back and started to leave the bathoom, toe still sore. Untill… “AH HA, where is that Melaleuca Oil?”

I took the pure melalueca oil and poured it over the wound. My toe felt better, less sore and within 5 minutes, I could walk without noticing my toe. And there was much rejoicing!

[With the fear that my already altered routine, would yet be rerouted again]

“Just about to get on Pellissippi…”

[My Spidey-sense telling me that a trip to a certain school]

“The School called, The Elder threw up alot in class. He’s with the nurse. Can you go get him? I don’t know how bad it is but they said it was ‘alot.’”

[Had the call been 10 seconds later, the answer would not have been as easy]

“Yep, See you at the house.”

“Thanks!”

“Come in Houston, this is Planet3rry. I have a change in trajectory. I need coordinate reroute and downloaded to the navigation system”

So now I need to worry about whether or not there is a viral presence and should it weild it’s ugly self, will it waylay me. There has been a lack of poop stories on this blog, because there hasn’t been any (of note) for this training cycle. Not like it was last fall when I basically cut my underwear supply in half because I had to leave it as fertilizer somewhere.

And there is this: The Weather Forecast

The Good Thing: Weather here is hard to predict. The Bad Thing: Weather here is hard to predict.

I can’t say that I am all to optimistic about the weather forecast for Sunday. I like that it’s partly cloudy with little chance of rain. But looking at the temperature, that’s a big nose dive. For me, the 50s area is the hardest to dress for during a run. It always seems that just a shred too much clothes and I feel overheated, but one layer too less and I am uncomfortable.

My Awetistic mind has come up with a concept that is already conceived, I am just converting it for marathoning. I’ve had the luxury of having wonderful support crews at many of my marathons (Richmond, Rutledge, Harpeth hills, etc) and so at this race, like in 2006… it’s me and the course (and all the people who I am pacing!). So, I am creating a few “Not Yet Named with a Cool Name” items for the course. I might have to include a pair of gloves in there. I can see it now, some Noob is going to have to get first aid because of frost bite or something. Not on MY watch. We are close enough to the river that if you can’t hack it, you are turning this marathon into a duathlon!

Well, I have some other things to get done. At least being busy has made me “forget” that I am in a taper… madness I tell you! Of course, as soon as Monday rolls around, I will have to be thinking about strategy on “The Pig“… will this MADNESS never end? Oh wait… I signed up for it… my bad. Carry On…

I was thinking that this contest would be different seeing that my designated goal time IS 4 hour and 45 minutes. It was kinda not fair to actually have people guess what my time would be… but while I was in room of “rest”, I thought… “It’s hard enough to guess the time, and I will axe (no, not ask) the provision that ‘whatever time is close enough (read: To Get a Winner)‘ and make them get it on the dot”. Now, I was thinking that I would cruel enough to get down to the THOUSANDTHS of a second, but that is too much of making me an a-hole that I thought… eh, I’ll go [HUGE GRIMACE] with only two significant digits.

So, Here are the rules (in no particular order): Click on the Contest Arena of my website. Hint: It’s at the top of the website next to the link to send in your gold to me for hard cash. You’ll see the entry form… wait. IF the entry form is there, you can still play. If it’s not there… I can’t go for that… no can do. You’ll have to wait until later in the month. I’ll make sure that your county public health department puts you on suicide watch until the next contest.

So, you fill in the form. Send it in and wait patiently for the results. My guess is that they will post them later in the day. Of course, if I do that Twitter thing that all the cool kids are doing, then you might find out my time earlier. But, I have been known to be a jokester in the past and could Twitter the “wrong” time. Hehe… that would be funny.

However, as with all of my crappy contests the official race time as published by the race entity or its affiliates will be the end all and be all of the results.

The Race: The 5th Annual Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon on March 29th 2009 at 7:30am AST (Anticipated Start Time)

History: Doesn’t really matter does it? My Goal Time is 4hour 45minutes and 00seconds. However, if you must know, my 2006 time was 4:21:44

Accuracy: Given the clairvoyant nature of my finishing time, you must Guess My Time exactly. Well, I might be persuaded to relax it to within one second… but that’s all the flexibility I am going to give!

Official Entry: Your official entry will be the time stamp on my email of your guess. You may enter more than once, but your most recent time will be your official Guess. IF for some reason you can’t use the comment form, you may use other methods to get to me. Check out Where To Find Me on the right Side Bar, but there is no guarantee that your guess will make it… but I’m a pretty nice guy, I might let it slide.

This crazy week is just a precursor to the crazy weekend that we are going to have. And by crazy, I mean FUN and Exciting! But very very busy.

Today we have the 1st of 2 TV spots for ASD Athletes’ event this Saturday here in Knoxville. It’s our very first fundraiser and first event and honestly if it wasn’t for My Lovely and Talented Wife, it would probably be super sucky on our part. But since I get to be the “pleasantly eccentric” founding president, she gets to be the smart and sensible Executive Director! She’s my missing Executive Function. The other TV spot will be on Friday leading up to the event… a birthday party for one of The Elder’s former classmates at a place called BoogieDownBaby, a dance party for kids 0 to 8.

Also today, I have some pictures to burn for a friend that we went to a birthday party over the weekend. I got some good picture, but I wasn’t exactly happy with the color balance of the pictures. Most of it was under low light or cloudy conditions. I should check my settings on Stella.

I am also meeting a friend tonight to buy him a drink (which might be two or three) on his recent acquisation of a paying job that doesn’t require 1) dancing in a G-string or 2)having to steal candy from a baby. We haven’t had much time to hang out so, this was the first time that our schedules cleared up (enough) to go to the Irish Pub for an hour. If you hear someone singing (badly) Desire… that’s just me.

Gravity episode is in the editing phase. If the podcasting gods, that would be God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, smile upon me there might be an episode as early as this afternoon. AND I committed to recording my Knoxville Marathon pacer run, so that will be a couple episode worth of stuff. I actually run on the same spot where I fell during Expo 10k when I was recording in my Gravity Episode.

So, I have to run and have face time with the masses… see you after this commerical break: ASD ATHLETES

It felt great, I ran the entire way, non-stop and with ease. I need to see what my pace was, but it was in the 9-10min range. I’ll have 2-3 more runs in this quasi-Taper before the marathon. I did decide on a few things…

1. I am going to record the entire marathon: I’ll use it for an episode of Gravity@1053 and I will use it as my first episode for my, yet untitled, ASD Athletes podcast.
2. I will twitter during the marathon, maybe 3 or 4 times depending on how I can manage it. I am incredibly new at Twitter even though it’s been around forever (in techonology years)… We have a twitter set up for ASD Athletes, so I will use that one. @ASDAthletes
3. I am going to call the phoneline for The Extra Mile podcast and send in a recording while running of my Knoxville Marathon experience. If you are a podcaster and you would like me to call in and leave a comment for you use on your podcast. Please let me know what the number is and I will “put it on the list”. Use the Contact Me in the Top Menu Bar.

Also in the upcoming week, look for the GUESS MY TIME, WIN CRAP contest for the Knoxville Marathon. I will have to change the rules a little (and I can, because I am the supreme universe ruler of the GUESS MY TIME, WIN CRAP contests) since my time SHOULD be 4:45:00 as a result of my Volunteer Position of being a Pacer. I am thinking that we are going to have some sort of “target” or “percent” type contest. I have to think about. I also have to find some crap to give away too… more on that in a day or two.