Leaving the Toledo Trails

Spring of 2011 was my final semester of college. I started running again that March. I had moved into a new apartment in July. As I described in a previous post, one of my first apartments at school was in a great location next to a three mile paved trail. It was perfect for short runs. This new apartment was in an even better location. It was located right next to a six mile paved running/biking trail that ran from the heart of the college campus into the suburbs of Toledo. The trail had three water fountains along the way and also connected to Wildwood Reserve Metropark. Wildwood had around seven miles of dirt running trails as well as a mile and half of paved trail.

At that point in my running life I wasn't too adventurous. I stuck to paths I was familiar with and ran the same routes again and again. As a Marine and a creature of habit running the same routes repeatedly didn't bug me that much. It might drive some runners crazy but I liked seeing familiar landmarks and knowing every crack or hole on the path. I also wasn't doing too long of distances so the same paths weren't bad because I was out there for a shorter period of time. I regret that I wasn't adventurous enough to explore new paths often. The six mile paved trail was connected to Wildwood with all of its trails, and I never stepped foot in there once.

Although most of my short to mid range runs were done on the same paths I did try and find new paths to do my long runs on. One path I really enjoyed was the Maumee River Towpath. My cousin Mike and I had discovered the towpath the year we were training for our first marathon. The main part of the Towpath is about eight miles long and is composed of well packed, crushed limestone. It is possible to add about another mile and a half to the trail if you start further north, but it is paved all purpose trail and at the time I don't think was marked with mileage posts. The eight mile main section of the towpath was marked every half mile.

The Towpath follows the Maumee river and old canal for eight miles. The canal was used to transport people and goods from Toledo to Cincinnati, a 249 mile trip. The canal connected Lake Erie to the Ohio River. The path along the way is beautiful. It starts at a small crushed limestone circle with a drinking fountain adjacent a parking lot. The parking lot provides parking for those utilizing the trail as well as fishermen that drop their fishing boats in the water at the boat launch on the North side of the parking lot. There is a pavilion for picnickers and a small building with male and female restrooms. As you start down the path you enter the wooded area that runs along the river.

In the first quarter mile or so you run by a short road of five or six houses that are right on the river. There is an access drive that crosses the towpath which provides residents access to their homes. I loved running by those houses as I always imagined how nice it would be to live right on water like that, not to mention on a great trail for running and walking. Continuing down the trail the woods become thicker and you begin to feel more distant from urban society. The river remains to your left and to your right are the far backs of yards to large houses. Some of the houses have long decks along their second floor with large windows and sliding glass doors for views of the river.

Eventually the river snakes away from the path and there are cornfields to left. To the right of the path the land sinks into a swampy marsh like canal of trees, moss, rocks, and mud. In fact it is the remnants of the old canal that ran to Cincinnati. At this point along the path it is not very recognizable as a canal as there is not much water in it. Foot bridges span the more narrow parts of the old canal running from yards of houses that were not visible because of the thick woods to the towpath. Around the five mile mark the river starts to join the path again and there is small campground. There are a few bonfire pits and places to pitch tents. There is a small access road that leads to the house the property belongs to.

On one early morning run I recall three runners emerging from a tent on the small campground. I had already run 11 miles and had 5 left to go on my run. The runners had started down the path ahead of me and I decided I would try and catch them. I eventually caught and passed the three of them, but I was running at a pace I knew I couldn't sustain for the four or so miles a I had remaining on the run. I  definitely did not want to have to live the shame of slowing down and having the three of them come running back by me after I had made it so obvious that I wanted to pass them. Luckily after about another mile they turned off onto a small trail and I was able to slow my pace and finish the run.

Once past the campground the path rises slightly and you are higher above the river and old canal. The consistency of the crushed limestone on the path changes around this point as well going from fine small pieces to larger chunks of rock. The change doesn't seem to make much difference on the feet but the sound of foot strikes on the bigger pieces of rock is different. I always enjoyed the change in sound as I do not normally run with headphones on. This part of the path I also call the "leaf corridor". Mostly because it has large trees that hover very close to the trail that during the Fall would shed an abundance of leaves covering the entire path. The trees also seem to form what I thought felt like a tunnel or corridor leading into a new world or dimension so to speak.

The corridor actually led to the opposite of a new world or dimension. It led to the old world. As you leave the corridor you enter a part of the metroparks that is set up to resemble a historic post along the towpath. The post has wooden buildings that were made to look like they were from over a hundred years ago. There is a canal boat docked near the building which patrons can purchase ride on. Along the canal there runs a path for mules to tow the boat upstream, to give patrons a taste of the real canal experience. In the middle of the buildings is an old pump water spicket. I would sometimes drink form it if I was really thirsty, but that water was not that tasty and I usually held out for the half mile to the end of the path where a drinking fountain sat.

After you pass the buildings the path dips down and you run underneath a bridge that crosses the canal. Once past the bridge the path rises and you again approach some historic looking buildings. The most interesting of the building is an old saw mill. The saw mill is kept in working order and visitors can watch how would was floated in and cut in the old days. After the saw mill the path turns to grass and dirt for a little less than half a mile and ends at Providence Metro Park. Providence has bathrooms and a drinking fountain so it is a great place to take a break and get ready to head the eight miles back down the path to the start.

The path officially opens at 7:00AM and closes at dusk, but Mike and I always hit the path much earlier than that. We liked to beat out the Summer and early Fall heat and finish our runs in time to get back home and watch some college football or take a nap. A lot of time we would start around 5:30 or 5:45 in the morning and it would be dark for the few mile of our run. One of the mornings we were running 18 miles and it was pouring rain. It was pitch black as we sloshed along the path and around two and half miles in we thought we had run off the path. We approached a large tree that had fallen and was lying across the path. It was so dark we were confused as to what it was and thought we had run off the path into the woods. After feeling around for a few minutes the sky lightened just enough to see what had happened. We eventually climbed over the tree and continued to run. That is my wettest run to date. It took me a little over three hours to complete the 18 miles and it was a torrential downpour the entire time.

One other trail I explored was the Wabash-Cannonball Trail. This trail is a rails-to-trails project meaning the trail lies on old railroad bed. The trail is a work in progress, but the part of the trail I ran is completely finished. The Toledo are part of the trail is actually two trails. The two trails start together and fork out shortly after the start. The two forks are not surprisingly name the "North Fork" and "South Fork". The North Fork provides nine miles of paved all purpose trail and the South Fork provides ten. I stuck with the North Fork and as I moved out of Toledo shortly after discovering this trail I never made it onto the South Fork.

One thing I noticed about the trail is how straight it was. Railroads tend to be super straight and when a trail get built on an old one it tends to be super straight as well. I thought being on such a straight path would be boring, but it seemed no different than any other run on a paved surface. Bikers love the straight trail as they can travel at high speeds and not worry about turning. The trail runs through all kinds of different property. Parts of the trail run along city soccer fields and parks, other part run behind farms and neighborhoods. Parts of the trail even cross through some newer housing developments.

I didn't do a whole lot of runs on that trail, but the few I did I enjoyed. I would start early in the morning as usual when the trail was pretty empty save a few early morning bikers. I would do out and back runs on the trail and would always pass by quite a few people on the way back in when it was later in the morning. There all kinds of people out: bikers, rollerbladers, runners, and walkers. One morning  I was a little discouraged when I had about three miles left on an 18 mile run and a guy running the trail with a running stroller and his infant son passed me by. I realize that he was probably in his first or second mile of a short run and I had already done 15, but getting passed by someone with a stroller is always a little blow to the ego. The trail also crossed over a 15.5 mile boyscout trail about 6 or 7 miles from the start. I never was adventurous enough to explore the boy scout trail while I lived in Toledo, but interestingly enough I just completed a 50k (two loops on the trail) this past November. The dirt trail is mostly flat, very scenic, and extremely well kept.

In March of that year I accepted a job back near Cleveland, where I grew up and most of my family lives.  I was graduating college that May and was getting ready to move back home. I knew I would miss the trails in Toledo as well as regret not exploring more of them, but I was excited to get back to Cleveland and revisit some running spots of my past as well as find new spots to run.  I had signed up for the Towpath Marathon in the Cuyahoga Valley as well as the Columbus marathon which were on back to back Sundays that October. I planned on living with my mom for a little while to save up some money and pay off some debts I built up in college. I knew having a full time job and living at home would help my diet and in turn my running. I would have a much more regimented schedule than I did at college. I actually was quite excited about that as I knew it would probably help turn in one of my best marathon times yet that Fall.

Changes

After completing my third marathon in less than a month on November 6th, 2010 I told myself I was going to try and maintain at least a moderate running schedule through the Winter. The previous two years I had been in marathon shape in the Fall and stopped running during the Winter. I gained a bunch of weight and struggled getting back into shape in the Spring. I ran once the during the week following my third marathon. I had planned to run three to four times a week starting the next week and continuing through the Winter. Little did I know I was about to receive some life altering news.

After I left the Marine Corps in August of 2006 I started attending college at the University of Toledo in Toledo, OH. One of my best friends, Austin, had joined the Marines in the Fall of our senior year of high school and kind of talked me into joining as well. Austin also ended up at the University of Toledo when our four years in the Marines was up. Austin joined the veterans group on campus and got me to eventually join as well. I ended up becoming President of the group in the Fall of 2010. Every year we would get together on Veteran's Day and take part in community activities as well as go out to eat. Fall of 2010 was no different and we attended the Toledo area veteran's breakfast on the morning of November 11. During the breakfast my cell phone started vibrating. It was a call from my Mom's cell phone. I don't know what it was, but I immediately had a weird feeling something was wrong.

My father had been battling cancer for four years leading up to that call. First he fought testicular cancer, which he beat, and then he started a long battle with prostate cancer. The battle was rough for my father. He was always in phenomenal physical condition and took pride in his health. He fought the cancer for a long time until he was worn out. I could tell he was sick of all of the doctor appointments, the treatments, and of not being able to work steadily. I tried to call him everyday and talk to him as I knew he was at home waiting for my mom to return from work. Some days we had great conversations, other days I could tell my dad was weak and the conversations were brief. The morning of the veterans breakfast my parents were at the hospital to get the results of recent scans my father had just received to check the progress of the cancer treatments. The results were bad.

I knew that my father could only survive for so long with Stage 4 prostate cancer, but I always thought we would have longer with him than we did. The day of the test results was a Thursday and one of the doctors at the hospital thought my dad would not make it through the weekend. The cancer had spread rampantly throughout his body and into his vital organs. It had consumed his liver and it was only a matter of time before his body would begin to shutdown. I had ignored the call from my mother as I did not want to interrupt the key note speaker. A few minutes later I got a text from my brother Tom that said something along the lines of "Dude we gotta go home, Dad might not make it through the weekend".

I felt sick when I read the message. I quietly left the breakfast and went outside to call my mom. She answered and told me the horrible news. I informed the rest of the veterans group that I had to leave and went to my apartment and packed some things. I then headed back home to my parents house. The drive from Toledo to the west suburbs of Cleveland is fairly short. It was only about 100 miles from my apartment to my parents house. The whole drive took about an hour and 45 minutes.

On the way home all I could think about was my father and mother. They both had such an impact on my life as most parents do on their children. My father had a major influence on a lot of the things I have done in my life. He was a wrestler, I was a wrestler. He was a Marine, I was a Marine. He was a runner, I am a runner. He was a Christian, I am a Christian. My father was a very humble man that accomplished a lot in his life. He led by example. I had a hard time arguing with him about things growing up because he was not a hypocrite. He practiced what he preached.

As an adult I asked for his advice on everything. I talked to him 5 or more times a week in college. It was hard to imagine my life without him. It also killed me that my mother would be alone. Despite my sadness I never questioned any of it. I believe that God is in control of everything an what is meant to be is what is. I knew my father felt that way as well. He was the most content person on their deathbed one could ever imagine.

I eventually arrived at my parents house. My mom was upset and my dad was a little drugged up. It was hard to know how to react to everything. I was glad to be home, but was not sure exactly how much time I had left with my dad. One doctor doubted he would make it through the weekend and a nurse thought it could be up to four weeks. All I knew is I was home to help make my mother and him as comfortable as possible.

My father was put on Hospice care, but kept at home. That is where we wanted him, in his own comfortable bed with his family. The Hospice nurse would come a few times a week to check his vitals and monitor medications. We learned very quickly when and how to give my dad pain medicine to ensure he was pain free. My college schedule also worked in my favor during that time. I had almost all Tuesday and Thursday classes and one Monday and Friday class. I would skip my Monday class and leave from home Tuesday morning and go back to Toledo. Then I would comeback home Thursday night. That left only two nights where I wasn't at home to help my dad.

My brother also got some time off of work and came in from Toledo to help. On the nights when my younger brother and I could not be there my older brother would stay the night. One of my dad's best friends, Jim Kudrin was also at my parents' house everyday. This routine last nearly five weeks. It was tiring, but it was also a good time for the whole family. A lot of people lose family members suddenly and never have a real chance to say goodbye. We were lucky enough to have that time to spend with my father and the rest of my family.

During the five weeks of caring for my father I would try and get out for a three mile run here and there around my parents' neighborhood. That didn't last very long. I don't know why I didn't keep up the running, it was a great way to clear my mind, and a stress reliever. I think caring for my father and the trips back and forth to Toledo and everything that was happening took over and I just couldn't get myself out to run.

On December 14, 2010 my father, Patrick Glenn Carver, took his last breath. I had my hand on his head. Right before he died his eyes opened wide probably seeing the Angels coming to carry him away. I knew everything would be different going forward. It was different and still is different today without him.

I took off the next few months from running. I was in a slump and it was hard to get out of it. I knew my father would want me to be healthy and I knew I would be back out running again soon enough. When March of 2011 rolled around I started running again. It was kind of fitting considering my dad's birthday was March 7 and the Ohio State Wrestling tournament (one of his favorite sporting events) is held every year in March. I picked out my next marathons and signed up for them. I was going to run the Towpath Marathon in October of that year and the Columbus marathon the week after. I was going to run the Indianapolis marathon again, but my brother decided to get married that day. I still can't believe they wouldn't move the wedding so I could run that marathon.The nerve.

I was ready to get back into shape and run some more races. It seemed different now that my dad was gone. On training runs I always think about my dad. I always think how much I want to call him afterward and tell him how my run went or where I ran. I knew he would be happy I was out there running. He was at my very first marathon to cheer me on. My mom told me in an encouraging card she gave me before the race that my dad wished he was running the marathon with me. I guarantee he would have been running the race with me if it weren't for a pesky hip replacement. Regardless it was great to have him and my family there. I knew God and and my dad would be with me on the rest of my runs from that point forward. I couldn't wait for the two races coming up that Fall.

Three Races, 27 Days The Conclusion

Weight on Indianapolis 2010 Race Day: 258 lbs.

The twenty days leading up to the 2010 Indianapolis Monumental Marathon did not go as I had planned. And it was completely my fault.

I had just run a PR (personal record) time at the Columbus marathon and was ecstatic. I had run significantly faster than Chicago seven days prior. I only signed up for Indianapolis because of my poor time in Chicago and wanted to make sure I had an extra shot at a PR that year. At the finish in Columbus I told myself I had 20 days to train hard for Indianapolis and maybe set another PR.

I spent the rest of the day and the night after the race in Columbus with my friend Shaun. We celebrated my PR and were out the entire day and night. After I finished the race I went to Shaun's and showered and we went down the street to a local bar and grill to watch the Cleveland Browns game and eat lunch. The Park Street Tavern is located at Park Street and High Street in downtown Columbus. About a fifth of the marathon is run on High street. You run miles 11-16 heading North on High Street and then later in the race you run South on High for maybe three quarters of a mile right before turning onto Nationwide Blvd. for the finish.

Park Street Tavern sat right in the middle of that three quarter mile Southbound strip of the course. When you passed the Park Street Tavern you had lees than a half mile to the finish. As we sat, ate, drank, and watched the game runners were still coming down high towards the finish. For the next several hours runners would pass by almost done with their race. I have to admit sitting there seeing all of the runners that finished behind me kind of felt good. I wasn't out there to race or compete against the other runners, I was only out there to push and compete against myself, but it made me a little more proud of my PR as I sat there and ate.

The day after the race I drove back to Toledo, I had class that afternoon. It was Monday and I felt a little sore so I  decided I wouldn't run again until Wednesday. I did a light run on Wednesday and Thursday and felt pretty good. At college the weekend pretty much starts on Thursday  night. Most of the colleges in Ohio are semesters as opposed to quarters so a lot of classes are only two days a week. The two days usually fall on Mondays and Wednesdays or Tuesday and Thursdays. That means it is very common for students to have no classes on Fridays.

I was one of those students. I managed to go nine semesters at school with not a single Friday class. My weekend always started on a Thursday night. Local businesses know that Thursday night is a big night out at college and usually offer food and drink deals. I decided that since I had just run a PR there would be no harm in going out Thursday night. I stayed in Friday night and ran Saturday morning, but was out again Saturday night. Over the next two weeks I fell back into my old ways a little bit. I ate very unhealthy food and went out multiple nights during the week. I still ran, but probably not as much as I should have.

On Friday, November, 6, 2010 I left for Indianapolis weighing five pounds more than I had at the race in Columbus. The Indianapolis Monumental Marathon is run a Saturday which I love. Saturday marathons are not too common because it is easier for a city to shut down roads on a Sunday Morning because most businesses are closed. I love Saturday races because you can go out in the city that night. For Sunday races I might go out to eat in a city the night before, but the race is constantly on my mind and I am not fully relaxed enough to really enjoy it. The Saturday races allow me to go out that night after the race is finished and not worry about what I eat or how late I stay up.

The Indianapolis Monumental Marathon should not be confused with the Indianapolis Marathon as they are two different races, but to tell you the truth I do find it confusing. The Indianapolis Marathon is not run in the city of Indianapolis, but in a Northeastern suburb of the city name Lawrence. The Monumental Marathon runs straight through downtown Indianapolis and through quite a few suburbs. The course in Lawrence is much more condensed staying mostly in the city of Lawrence and using a lot of roads in both directions for running in and out and back fashion. To me it would make sense to name the Lawrence race differently and give the Monumental Marathon the official title of Indianapolis Marathon.

The Monumental Marathon is a great course. It is called the Monumental marathon because it takes you past many of Indianapolis' monuments and landmarks. These include the Indiana State Capitol, Arts Garden, Lucas Oil Stadium, Circle Center Mall, Warehouse District, Eli Lilly campus, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Monument Circle, Federal buildings/monuments, Cultural Trail, Mass Ave District, Pennsylvania Avenue through Fall Creek Place, Meridian Street, Washington Boulevard through Meridian-Kessler, Butler University, the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Broad Ripple, State Fairgrounds and Fall Creek Parkway among others. 

When I arrived at my cousin Mike's apartment that Friday I unpacked my stuff and we took off to check in at the expo. We got our packets and tested our timing chips. We returned to Mike's after the expo and he whipped us up some chicken Parmesan with pasta. We ate and talked about the race. Most of the discussion was around what we were going to wear for the race. The weather was chilly. Neither of us had ever run a marathon where the starting temperature was much less than 40 degrees. The forecast showed the temperature during the duration of the race would be anywhere from 28 to 31 degrees Fahrenheit. 

The only experience I had running in really cold weather was during wrestling season in junior high and high school in the snowy Cleveland winters. During those runs I was mainly trying to shed water weight to make weight for a wrestling match or tournament. I would layer the clothing on for those runs. I would start with a short sleeve cotton shirt followed by a long sleeve cotton shirt and then ont top of that I would put a rubber sweat suit top and/or a garbage bag with arm and neck holes cut out. Over top of that would usually be another long sleeve shirt followed by a sweatshirt. The bottom half of me would be under armour tights and sweat pants. I also wore a winter hat and gloves. You can get rid of an awful lot of water weight in short distance of running when you are wearing that kind of clothing.

Running served a different purpose now so I needed to figure out a proper outfit for the marathon. I didn't own any long sleeve shirts made out of moisture wicking material so my choices were pretty limited. I ended up going with compression short sleeve shirt (which I always wear as a bottom layer to prevent chaffing), a long sleeve cotton shirt, and a short sleeve moisture wicking shirt over that. For my bottom half I went with my normal compression shorts underneath mesh shorts. I did not wear a hat or gloves. I had longer hair and that provided all the warmth I needed on my head and my hands rarely got cold while I was running.

The next morning we got up early and Mike's girlfirend drove us downtown to the start. It was around 28 degrees when we walked outside. The wind was blowing making it feel even colder. We made our way to the starting line chute and jumped in with the rest of the runners. It didn't seem that cold in the chute because of all the runners crammed into a relatively small area. The collective body heat kept us warm until the race started. As usual the PA announcer counted down from 10 and we shuffled toward the starting line.

I was excited about running through the city of Indianapolis. I had never been there before and looked forward to seeing all of the monuments and landmarks. I was a little nervous about the race however because I knew I had put on about five pounds since Columbus and probably didn't run as much as I should have between the two races. The first half of the race went pretty smoothly. Around mile three we passed by Lucas Oil Stadium where the Colts play football. There were colts cheerleaders in front of the stadium cheering the runners on. Right after that we passed by the Soldiers and Sailors monument, probably my favorite monument of the race. It sits right in the middle of giant traffic circle in downtown Indianapolis. You pass by it near the beginning of the race and then have a great view of it for the last few miles of the race as you run toward it and the finish. 

The course weaves through a lot of neighborhoods and is pretty quiet for the most part. Passing by all of the houses I expected to see more spectators. Most of the main runs that you run on are still open throughout the race. One lane is normally coned off for the runners while the other two or three lanes are still open to traffic. The city puts up signs everywhere along the course warning drivers the race will be going on during certain hours and to expect delays. The traffic in the open lanes was bumper to bumper for a lot of the way. Drivers and passengers would roll down their windows and honk and cheer for the runners. I really like that some of them did that because if it was me stuck in traffic because of a bunch of runners I wouldn't be too happy.

As I passed the halfway point I was already feeling a little sluggish. The extra few pounds and lack of long runs since Columbus was beginning to take its toll. I knew the last half of the race would be tough. The cold weather hadn't seemed to bother me at all. I was happy about that. Around the 18 mile mark I had to start walking intermittently. My legs were feeling pretty heavy. During one of my jogging stints I came up on very tall man that was walking the race. The guy was really moving for a walker. He didn't look silly like most power walkers do, he just had a long wide stride. It took me a while before I caught up to him. There was an aid station as I came up next to him and we both grabbed paper cups of water. He said hi and asked how I was feeling. I told him that I was pretty exhausted even though it was my third marathon in 27 days. He said sometimes you just have an off day but you will make it. After we finished our water I started jogging again and left him to his power walking.

By mile 23 I was dragging pretty bad. The cold weather that wasn't bugging me earlier began to affect me. I had frost on my sleeves from sweat that had frozen. I was walking a lot by then and I was freezing. I could not wait to be done. Close to the 25 mile mark the tall walking man passed me. I was not too happy about that. I cold not believe a walker was beating me in the race. I tried to jog and keep up with him but my legs were dead. I had to walk. I never saw the man again. I eventually finished the race after five hours and seven minutes and I was freezing. I grabbed some food at the finish and looked for my cousin Mike. I found him waiting for me, he had finished over an hour earlier than me. We walked to his girlfriend's car and jumped in. I was glad to be done.

Despite the poor race time I had a great time going out in Indianapolis with Mike and his friends. I was also proud of the fact that I had finished three marathons in 27 days. Each of them a different climate. Hot, perfect, and cold. It was that year I learned that my body could handle running multiple long distance races in a relatively short time period. I enjoyed it too. I figured if I spent five or six months building my body up for a marathon, why waste it on one race in the fall? I looked forward to the next race I would run.
 

Three Races, 27 Days - Part 2

Weight on Columbus 2010 Race Day: 253lbs.

Six days after the Chicago race I found myself in Columbus, Ohio. The date was October 16. I drove to Columbus from Toledo and arrived at my friend Shaun's apartment around two in the afternoon. Shaun lived in a prime spot for the race. He was a five minute walk from the convention center where I needed to check-in, a five minute drive from the start of the marathon, and a ten minute walk from the marathon finish area.

Shaun left me a key and I unloaded my stuff into his apartment. I took a walk down to the convention center to check in. It was a nice afternoon and the walk felt good. The convention center was not too crowded and I managed to get in and out fairly quickly. I walked back to Shaun's to relax a little bit before dinner.

Two of my high school friends were running the race that year and another was coming along to watch. We were all staying at Shaun's apartment that night. The two friends that were running the race, Kyle and Jonathan, are brothers that I wrestled with in high school. Kyle was a state champion and went on to wrestle for Central Michigan and Jonathan was a state qualifier who unfortunately had his wrestling career cut short by a bad back injury. Kyle and Jonathan always prided themselves on their phenomenal physical conditioning throughout high school. Nothing had really changed they both were still in great shape and ready for the race.

Our good friend, Jon, also came down to watch the race and give us a ride to the start. I hadn't seen any of three in a while so it was good to be back together. There was a big difference between the night before the Columbus race and the night before the Chicago race, seven days earlier. In Chicago I was with my cousin Mike. He is very regimented and follows a pretty strict routine the night before and the morning of the race. He is a little too strict for my taste, but it works for him and shows in his many successes including his career and running.

Kyle and Jon were about the exact opposite of my cousin Mike. They trained hard, but had no rituals or routines before athletic events. I think I fall somewhere in between the two, not super strict, but not completely relaxed either. In Chicago, we had dinner at a specific time, we did a short run in the hotel fitness room a specific time, we were in bed at a specific time, and we woke up at a specific time. In Columbus nothing was planned. We wandered around looking for a place to eat around 7 at night. We settled on a brewery. We ate some starchy foods and even had a couple beers. After dinner we were back at the apartment lounging. Around 11 PM someone decided they wanted some Gatorade so we walked down to the grocery store. I think we finally went to bed around one in the morning.

My friend Shaun was kind enough to let us have the apartment to ourselves. He works second shift and is usually up very late. He didn't want to keep us up so he stayed at a friends. Shaun always comes through when I need a place to crash before a race. I slept in Shaun's bed, Jon was on one couch, Jonathan was on the other couch, and Kyle was on the floor. We got up around 6:45 the next morning and got ready. We left the apartment a little after seven and Jon drove us toward the starting line. Jon got as close as possible with the traffic and we walked the last few blocks to the start.

The weather was perfect. It was in the low 40s and wasn't supposed to go above the low 50s all day.
It was a welcome change from the warm weather in Chicago the week prior. We squeezed in between the thousands of runners that were lined up and got ready to go. Within a few minutes a voice came over the PA and started to count down from 10. At zero there was a loud bang from some sort of pyrotechnic and the race had started. We started the marathon shuffle toward the starting line. It took about 11 minutes to get out of the starting chute and across the starting line. For those that don't know, most modern marathons use electronic timing chips that each runner wears to keep track of his or her time for the race. The exact moment the race begins is referred to as "Gun Time" and the time when a runner physically crosses the starting line is referred to as "Chip Time". So the 11 minutes didn't count against me.

Once we crossed the starting line Kyle and Jonathan took off. They planned to go as hard as they could for as long as they could. Kyle actually had to be at the Columbus airport by noon that day to catch a flight for work. So on top of him always wanting to go "all out" at whatever he does he also had making his flight to motivate him even more. I started the race off at a slower pace to conserve energy and wait for the crowds of runners to spread out a little bit. I had to stop and use the bathroom three miles into the race which I wasn't too happy about, but if you gotta go, you gotta go. After my potty break I settled into a nice pace. The other runners had spread out a little bit and I finally had some room to breathe.

The Columbus course is one of my favorite courses to run. There is always tons of spectators and they have countless musical acts along the entire course. There are rock bands, DJs, one man acoustic set ups, and a plethora of other acts. At the 10K mark there was a drum line from a local high school. The drummers were playing their butts off. I have always enjoyed drum lines and was happy to see them. The course winds through downtown Columbus, a few nice suburbs of Columbus, and the Ohio State University campus. Pretty much the whole course is lined with spectators cheering the runners on except for the college. That is a pretty quiet part of the race. Most of the students are still sleeping off whatever debauchery they got into the evening prior.

I held a pretty solid pace until about the 20 mile mark. I slowed a little after that, but not by much. For the last two or three miles I took a couple of walking breaks at the aid stations but tried to limit them as I knew I could attain a good finishing time. Almost every mile marker in the Columbus marathon has a digital clock that is in sync with the race "Gun Time". I am not sure if it is a good or bad thing having the clocks around every mile. I am not a runner who is constantly worried about or trying to calculate my pace. Sometimes I like not knowing my time. On the other hand it is a little bit of a motivator to try and get from one clock to the next at a certain pace or faster than a certain pace. At the mile 23 clock I knew I had a chance to break my personal record of 4:41:33.

I fought the urge to walk for most of the final three miles. I eventually passed two giant signs that said "1/2 mile to go". From there I continued to increase my pace. I was determined to break that record. I was eventually at a full out sprint for the last two tenths of a mile down the finishing chute. The finishing clock read 4:44:50 as I crossed the line. I subtracted the 11 minutes and 3 seconds that it took me to cross the starting line and realized I had just set a new personal record at 4:35:47. I was ecstatic. I could not believe I had run more than 40 minutes faster than seven days before in Chicago. I don't know if it was the weather, the fact that I didn't have a bathroom issue, or a less crowded course, but I was pumped.

As I walked down through the finishing area toward the food tables I heard my friend Jonathan yelling through the fence. He realized I had broken my record and congratulated me. I asked him how the race went for him. He said he ran a 3:45, but was disappointed with his performance. He really wanted to keep up with his brother Kyle and said his legs just kind of died on him around mile 16 or so. I congratulated him as I thought that he had a phenomenal time. I hope to someday break the four hour barrier myself. Jonathan has since completed multiple 50Ks and a 100 mile trail race. I asked him how his brother Kyle did and he said he didn't know. He hadn't seen Kyle since he went on ahead in the race.

As it turns out Kyle ended up finishing at 3 hours and 12 minutes even. Just 61 seconds slower than the Boston Marathon qualifying time for his age and gender. His time was impressive especially considering it was his first marathon and he hadn't exactly put in the best training effort for the race possible. He was in phenomenal shape but did tons of biking and shorter runs. He didn't do as many long distance runs as he could have. I think he could have broken three hours if he had trained better at distance running. After finishing Kyle was so concerned about his flight he grabbed our friend Jon and had him drive him straight to the airport. He didn't even shower. I am glad I didn't have to sit next to him that flight.

I was thrilled with my finishing time and ready for the next race in Indianapolis. I figured if I could improve by 40 minutes in a week I could probably improve some more by the next race. Indy was 20 days away and I needed to maintain a solid training schedule until then.

Three Races, 27 Days - Part 1

 Weight on Chicago 2010 Race Day: 255lbs.

Saturday October 9th, 2010 came fast. I got in my car that morning to make the trek from Toledo to Chicago. The drive is not too far, somewhere around 240 miles. Takes about three and a half hours to complete the trip. I had talked to my cousin Mike that morning, he was driving to Chicago from Indianapolis. We made plans to meet along the way and leave my car somewhere and drive into Chicago together. I ended up meeting him in Gary, Indiana. I left my car there, probably not the wisest choice if you know anything about Gary. Gary is town about 25 miles South of Chicago that was founded in 1906 by the United States Steel Corporation. Gary rose and fell with the steel industry and is now a shadow of its former self. The population has been steadily decreasing for the past few decades and crime is rampant.

I wasn't overly concerned about leaving my 1997 Chevy Lumina, that already had a broken back window from theft in Toledo, on the streets of Gary for a night, but decided to park it next to a church hoping to dispel would-be thieves with guilt of their sins. After leaving the Lumina, Mike and I drove the remaining 25 miles to Chicago in his car. As we neared the city we could see the magnificent Chicago skyline. We continued toward downtown stopping here and there to pay the numerous road tolls to get into the city. Once downtown we found a place to park and started to walk to the Expo to pick up our race packets.

There were runners everywhere heading to the Expo. Chicago is one of the largest marathons in the world. That year the field was made up of 46,000 runners. During race weekend you can't go anywhere in the Chicago area without crossing paths with a runner. We entered the convention center and rode the escalator down to the level where the Expo was being held. It was a sea of vendor booths, participants, and spectators. The vendors sold anything and everything related to running. There were shoes, shirts, tights, shorts, pants, headbands, gloves, masks, gels, bars, powders, ads for other races, and countless other running related items at the booths.

Most, if not all, big marathons have some sort of Expo the day before the race. The Expo serves a few purposes including a place for runners to check-in for the race and pick up their race packet, a forum for other cities and/or organizations to advertise their races, and a market place for vendors to sell loads of what I consider to be, overpriced running gear. There are few marathons that allow runners to check-in the same day as the race. They want runners to spend money on hotel rooms, restaurants, and merchandise in the city. This is not necessarily a bad thing as it supports the local economy, but for a runner like me who would prefer to just show up, run, and go home, it proves quite annoying.

The race packet pick up area is almost always located at the back of the expo. This forces runners to have to walk through the various vendor booths on the way in and out of the Expo. At my first marathon in Columbus they had pipe and draping set up in a zigzag pattern from the front of the expo to the rear. I felt like a mouse making my way through a maze with cheese at the end of it. Except unlike the mouse I had obstacles to overcome along way such as salesmen and crowds of runners. After pick up my packet, I ended up ducking underneath the draping on the side and walked straight to the exit on the way out.

I wasn't lucky enough to be able to duck under draping in Chicago. Mike and I weaved our way through the various boots and picked up our race packets and shirts. One benefit of a huge marathon expo is there are usually more attractions than just merchandise booths. At this particular expo one of the added attractions was an autograph session with ultra runner Dean Karnazes. Karnazes has written a few books about his ultra running exploits and has become a very public face for ultra running. Some feel he is too self-involved and has a big ego, but even if that is true, I don't really care because he is a tremendous runner. I read some reviews of one of his books and some ultra runners were bashing him for writing too much about himself and not mentioning other ultra runners that are as good or better than him in his writing. I call those people cry babies. Write your own best selling book then and mention whoever the heck you want. I don't think Scott Jurek is losing any sleep over not being mentioned in Dean's book. After waiting over an hour in line we finally got to meet him. He turned out to be a very nice laid back guy. So nice in fact most of the people in the line didn't get a chance to meet him because he talked so much with everybody he ran out of time.

After the expo Mike and I checked into our hotel room. That night we got a little jog in on the treadmill at the hotel's fitness center to loosen up, took a swim at the indoor pool, and played an intense game of ping pong. We went to bed early and got up early. We were staying near Midway airport in Chicago which is about nine miles from the start of the race. We had to catch the train by 5:45AM to ensure we made it to the race on time. We stepped off the train and started making our way toward the starting line. The streets were packed. There were somewhere around 46,000 runners slated to run the race that year in Chicago and the city expected around a million and a half spectators along the course. The weather was unseasonably warm that day somewhere around 68 degrees when we stepped off the train. As we neared the start Mike and I both needed to use the restroom.

Anyone who has run a marathon knows that the port-a-potties near the start of the race always have a line and are always pretty disgusting. Mike and I got in line around 6:15AM. The lines were so long that we could have used some of those railings you see at amusement parks to wind in and out of. It took nearly 45 minutes before we reached the "on deck" spot. By that time I really needed to go (by the way this was number two not number one). The doors of the two port-a-potties flung open in front of us and we quickly moved toward them. The women that was in the stall Mike was going into handed him a large wad of wet wipes which turned out to be more valuable than gold that morning. As I walked into my stall I could not believe my eyes (or nose for that matter).

As a former Marine who had to burn his own feces with diesel fuel, I have seen my share of bad port-a-potties, turns out all of the ones I had seen weren't that bad. It was completely disgusting in that stall. There was no toilet paper, there was literally human waste (both number one and two) everywhere including on the seat and floor, and the smell almost made me pass out. I decided there was no way I could use that stall. I walked out and waited for Mike. He came out and told me how the wet wipes saved his life in his stall. That was the beginning of a very long race day for me.

We were running short on time because of the bathroom lines and had to rush to get to the start of the race. With that amount of people running it is quite the feat to find a way into the starting chute. Mike and I ended up having to climb a fence to get into the chute. We were yelled at by race workers but it had to be done. The starting chute was like a heavy metal mosh pit except there was no band playing. Runners were trying to stretch and remove excess clothing while pressed up against each other like sardines. I was ready for the race to get underway. I still had to go to the bathroom and figured I would hit a port-a-potty a few miles into race.

Since we had jumped the fence we were fairly close to the actual starting line. The race started and we began the marathon shuffle toward the start. It took us eight and a half minutes to cross the starting line. Once we were out of the starting chute we had a little room to spread out. Mike said good luck and took off. I was on my own (well as on my own as I could be with 45,999 other runners around me). I was already miserable from the whole bathroom situation and it didn't get any better from there. My urge to go to the bathroom subsided a little once I started running, and I decided I would knock out a good amount of mileage before I stopped.

The temperature was quickly approaching 80 degrees and I was not feeling very confident about the race. I already some feeling of fatigue in my legs and I had only covered eight miles. I was also becoming very annoyed with all of the other runners around me. Chicago has so many runners that unless you are leading the race, you are shoulder to shoulder basically the whole way. The aid stations that serve water and Gatorade are a quarter mile or so long just to ensure everyone can get in and get a drink. At around 12 miles I was drenched in sweat and decided it was time for that bathroom break. I ducked into a port-o-potty and spent somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes in there. It was like a sauna and I started to sweat even more.

I finally finished in the bathroom and started running again. During races I like to carry a small mp3 player and set of headphones with me. I rarely run with headphones, but like to put them on for the last three or so miles of a marathon. I blast some crazy metal and let the music carry me in. I was at mile 14 and feeling pretty crappy. I was becoming dehydrated and my legs were already tired. I decided that I needed something to get me through the rest of the race. I chose to put in the headphones. I felt it would help me forget about the other runners crowding me and carry me the next 12 miles to the finish.

The headphones weren't miracle workers by any means, but they definitely helped a little bit. For the last 12 miles of the race I jogged and walked intermittently. It felt like an eternity in between mileage markers. I was constantly scanning the road in the distance for the next marker. I eventually made it to mile 25 and was relieved I only had a mile to go. The temperature was around 82 degrees and I was completely dry, not a good sign. I had stopped sweating miles before that and all of the liquid had evaporated from my skin leaving little salt crystals everywhere on my body. I was not prepared for the heat and definitely should have drank more during the race.

I finally crossed the finish line five hours and sixteen minutes after I had started the race. I was glad to be done. I went to hunt down my cousin Mike so we could hop on the train back to the hotel. It took at least another 25 minutes after I had finished to find Mike at our meeting spot. He told me he was worried about me as he had been waiting there for over and hour and a half. I told him how crappy the race went for me and we started making our way back to the hotel.

As we walked to the train I was glad I had ran Chicago once, but knew I would be unlikely to return. It is amazing to see that many people running 26.2 miles and that many spectators cheering runners on, but it was a bit much for me. I was happy to have Chicago behind me and was already thinking about the Columbus marathon I was set to run seven days later. We made it back to the hotel, showered, packed our things, and got on our way back home. Mike dropped me off at my car in Gary, and yes it was still there unscathed, and I drove back to Toledo.

I was sitting around my apartment that evening and was not happy with my performance in the race that morning. I was concerned that if I ran that poorly in Chicago I might repeat a poor performance in Columbus the following week. I decided that as a fail safe I needed to add another marathon after Columbus. I started browsing the upcoming marathons online and saw that the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon was being held Saturday November 6th, 20 days after Columbus. It was perfect. I had three weeks to train after Columbus and my cousin Mike lived in Indianapolis so I had a place to stay. I signed up immediately. I told Mike I was running the race and needed a place to stay and he said he would run it too.

I was happy to have another race to make up for my poor performance in Chicago, but had Columbus to think about first. I had six days until I stepped onto the course in the capital of Ohio and I was determined to improve from my five and a quarter hour time.

Two Year Race Drought

After my first marathon I was pumped. I couldn't wait to run another. I definitely did not have that "One and Done" mentality. I had spent a solid six months training and dropped around 40 lbs. before that first marathon. It was easy to be disciplined during the Summer and Fall, but I found I struggled during the Winter and early Spring.

During the Summer and Fall at college I worked at a party rental shop, Meredith Party Rentals. This was great for burning extra calories. It was a physical job that involved the unloading and loading of countless trucks, setting up party tents that ranged from a minuscule 10' x 10' tent all the way to the mammoth 60' x 180' festival tents, and setting up thousands of tables and chairs. This job, in conjunction with my running, allowed me to drop the 40 lbs. without really adjusting my eating habits.

My nights out were also limited due to the amount of hours I spent working and running.  I would only go out on Saturday nights. This helped my diet a little but I still ate and drank whatever I wanted. I lost the weight and felt good at the marathon. I needed to carry this routine beyond the marathon and throughout the school year. Unfortunately I was in college and not quite as disciplined as I should have been. Consequently my healthy routine soon came to an end.

Not too long after the marathon, "Party Rental" season came to an end and I was done working until Spring. Without the extra physical labor of my job the amount of calories I burned per week suffered tremendously.  I tried to keep up my running as much as possible. I still ran three times during the week and once on the weekend although the mileage was significantly less than when I was training for the marathon. I started  to let bad college habits creep back in to my life though, and soon my weekend runs disappeared. I would go out Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. I would take on way more carbs than my body knew what to do with and eat some of the worse foods out there. I started to gain some of my weight back.

As the days moved on and Winter swept over the area the weather began to turn cold. I tried getting out to run during the week, but dreaded the low temperatures. I didn't hate running in the cold so much as just getting out into the cold and starting. Once I start running for a little bit and warm up I don't even really notice the cold. I started talking myself out of runs because I knew I would be freezing for the first mile or so. The weight increased some more.

Before I knew it, it was late January and my running was nonexistent. I was tipping the scales at around 276 lbs. My blood pressure was back up and I felt like crap. I kept telling myself I needed to get back out there and run, but I didn't act on it until early March. The weather started to break and I forced myself to get back out and start running. It was rough getting back into shape, although not as rough as the first time when I had taken two years off from all physical activity and weighed 290. My cousin Mike called me around that time and said he really wanted to run the Chicago marathon that year. I told him I would do it and signed up for the race.

I trained for the rest of the Spring, Summer, and into the Fall. I was definitely not as disciplined as I was the previous year when I ran my first marathon. That year I limited my nights out to Saturdays only. This year I was going out on Thursday and Sunday nights on top of the Saturdays since I did not run on Mondays or Fridays. I was heavier than I should have been. The previous year I weighed around 245 lbs. for the marathon. This year I was sitting closer to 260 lbs.

The 2009 Chicago marathon was being held on October 11. Near the end of August I started to get a sharp pain in my lower left leg. It was on the inside of my shin very low nearing my ankle. At first I just thought I was sore from all of the training and ignored it. Eventually it got to the point where I could barely run on it. I have a very high pain tolerance and rarely complain about discomfort so I knew I was in trouble. I am sure the extra upper body weight I was carrying around that year was a contributing factor to the injury. I went to the doctor and had X-Rays taken. The doctor said she could not see a definitive fracture, but could see a weak spot in the bone. She said since she couldn't see a fracture and the race was only in five weeks that I could run on it if I wanted. She said if I could deal with the pain that I wouldn't cause any damage.

I tried to run some more, but I could not physically. It was very frustrating and I think at a certain point I threw in the mental towel as well. I told myself that Chicago was not going to happen and it didn't. I was not happy about it at all. As the school year went on I did not get back out to run during the cold weather as usual. I ate what I wanted and went out way more than I should have. Winter hibernation is what I would call it. I managed to make it all the way to March again without running.

I was determined not to let anything keep me from running another marathon in 2010. I knew I would have to get back to my slightly more disciplined 2008 ways. I made sure my only night out during the week was Saturday night. I also started watching my diet a little bit. The diet was not strict by any means, but I watched what I ate on weekdays and ate whatever I wanted on weekends. This helped me get to a lower maintainable weight faster. My cousin really wanted to run Chicago again so I told him I would run it. I wanted to run it mostly because I paid for it the year before and didn't get to race. I registered for the race, it was being held on October 10, 2010 or 10/10/10 (which being a nerd I thought was kind of cool).

I was feeling very confident that year and decided I wanted to run two marathons. I wanted to make up for the marathon I had missed the previous year. I also decided that if I was going to put in 6 months of training I should probably use it on more than one race. I signed up for the Columbus marathon. The date of the race was October 17, seven days after the Chicago marathon. My body has always recovered fast from physical activity so I knew I would be fine to run another 26 miles within seven days.

I had my races lined up and was ready to go. Before I knew it, it was October. I was back in marathon shape and ready to take on more miles in a week than I ever had in my entire life.

My First Race

 Weight on Columbus 2008 Race Day: 248lbs.

After two months of struggling to get back into some kind of shape I could finally run three miles non-stop. It wasn't a very fast three miles, maybe 11:00 a mile, but it was three miles nonetheless. It was May 2008, the weather was warming up, and I was beginning to like going out for runs. I had spent the last two months running pretty much the same path and distance around four times a week. Even though I was starting to enjoy my running I was starting to get a little bored. I felt I needed some sort of change or challenge to mix it up a little bit.

I had always knew I wanted to run a marathon at some point in my life. My father ran two marathons and tons of half-marathons. I remember him telling my brothers and me about them and how fascinating I thought it was. I also was very proud of my dad for a lot of his accomplishments and remember always telling my friends how he ran those marathons. I think it was then that I kind of put the idea of running a marathon somewhere in the back of my head. It was an "I will get to you when the time is time right" thought.

I felt the time could not have been more right than that May. I wanted a change in my running and a challenge, so what better than a marathon? I had no idea how to train for a marathon. I started scouring the Internet looking for training plans. I wound up at Hal Higdon's site. Hal Higdon is a veteran runner and former editor of Runner's World magazine. He has written several books on running and has developed some of the most widely used marathon (and races of other distances) training plans in the world.

I chose Higdon's Novice 1 marathon training program. It was the obvious choice because I was a true novice, but I really liked the fact that it was only four days of running a week and built the mileage up slowly. I still follow this program today adding extra runs here and there and tougher terrain. I am a bigger guy and feel that limiting my running to four or five days a week and not going crazy with the mileage has helped prevent injuries and preserve my joints for running well in to the future.

Higdon's plan was an 18 week training plan. I wanted to make sure I could find a race that wasn't horribly far from where I lived and that I had enough time to train for. Once again I hit up the Internet. I stumbled upon Marathon Guide. It has one of the most comprehensive lists of marathons on the web. I counted 18 weeks out from the current date and started looking at marathons around and after that date. The Columbus marathon seemed to be my best bet. I had friends I could stay with in Columbus, it was reasonably priced ($65 at the time I think), it was only 140 miles away from where I was living, and it fit my time frame for training.

The date of the marathon was Sunday, October 19th, 2008. That meant my training needed to start the week of June 15th. I spent the month of May getting used to the four days of the week I would be running on: Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. I pretty much ran three miles on each of those days for the month of May and part of June. Tuesday June 17th was my first official training run.

Over the next 18 weeks I slowly built up the mileage according to the plan. At first I struggled on some of the longer runs. During the first week of training the long run is six miles. I remember having to walk a few times on that run. I also remember that is was a pretty slow pace. As time moved on I started to get stronger and the runs started to get easier. I went from walking on a six miler to being able to run 12 miles straight without slowing. I eventually made it to week 15 of the program or the "Climax" week of the program. It was the week with the most amount of miles to run out of all 18 weeks, at 40 miles. The weekday runs were 5, 10, and 5 miles capped off by a weekend long run of 20 miles.

After I completed week 15 of training I had a three week taper until the race. Tapering is reducing the amount of miles you run per week slowly until race day to allow your body to be at full strength. (I have since learned that I do not like to taper for that long. I usually taper for two or less weeks now) During that time my anticipation for the race built up. I was nervous, but at the same time could not wait for the race. I had spent all those months training and I was ready to see if it had paid off.

My cousin Mike was also running his first marathon that day. We did a lot of our long training runs together. I use the term "together" loosely because Mike is much faster than I am. We started our long runs together and he would run out ahead. We did out and back runs so I would pass him as he was coming back in. I wasn't incredibly far behind him so he would wait the 15 or 20 minutes until I finished. We would then discuss how our runs went and go our separate ways for the day. I actually real liked it that way. I don't really like running with anyone on training runs. It is my time to myself when I am out there running. Time to clear my head and push my body's limits. So the start "together, split, pass each other, talk at the finish" routine was perfect. It felt good to know someone else was out there covering the mileage and nice to have someone to discuss the run with, but not actually have to run with that person the entire time.

Sunday, October 19, 2008 finally came. Weight: 249 lbs. It was a chilly morning, I think somewhere around 37 degrees. My parents had driven down to Columbus from Cleveland to watch my cousin and I me in the race. My parents, Mike and I met near my friend's house that morning  and started walking toward the starting line. It was 6:55 in the morning and still pretty dark outside. There were tons of other people making their way to the starting line as well. The city was like a giant funnel and we were all spilling into the intersection of Third and Broad Street. As we made our way through the maze of tall buildings the noise level began to grow. We approached Broad street and could see thousands of runners lining up for the race. We squeezed our way through the sea of fans and runners and made it toward the back of the start.

Mike and I stretched as my mom took pictures. We were ready to go. There was a stage near the starting line where a rock band was playing. The music stopped and a voice came over the PA system. The announcer said we had five minutes until the start of the race. We stretched a little more and my parents wished us luck. The voice came back over the PA counting down from 10. When he reached zero a horn sounded and the race began. The mass of runners started to flow like water from a broken dam. I think there were around 15,000 runners that year. 12,000 running the half marathon and 3,000 running the full. Columbus has since increased their field size to 15,000 and 5,000. It is amazing to see that many people running at the same time.

The first few miles were crowded to say the least. Mike and I were constantly maneuvering around slower runners as faster runners maneuvered around us. We were also dodging loose clothing that had been discarded by other runners. This is a common practice at marathons in cool weather. Runners wear a layer of clothing to keep warm until the race starts and then throw it on the ground or off to the side of the course.I think in most cases the clothing is collected and donated to charity. The crowds of runners started to thin around three miles and it felt good to have a little bit of space.

Mike decided he was going to hang with me for a lot of the race even though I told him not to let me hold him back. We ran and passed people and people passed us. There were spectators everywhere on the streets. They would cheer as you ran by. Fans would yell out your race bib number to let you know they were cheering you on. A lot of runners put their names on their shirts so fans could yell a name instead of a number. I happened to have dread locks at the time so I got a lot of "Go Dreads Go!" types of cheers. There were also a lot of bands/musical acts along the way. As I ran by some of the bands I wondered if they played the same song or two over and over. I mean none of the runners would know they were only capable of playing one song. At my pace I heard maybe a minute of the song before they were out of earshot.

Eventually we were close to the halfway point, 13.1 miles. At around 12.9 miles or so the half marathoners started to peel off from the main road and head to the finish line. Hoards and hoards of runners went left toward the finish line as the few of us that remained kept going straight passing the 13.1 mile sign. I couldn't help but feel a little bit of pride as I passed that point knowing I was about to run the same distance all over again while the half marathoners went to eat, drink, and celebrate. The 13.1 mile mark always seemed a little too short for me. I wasn't very fast but I could run long so 26.2 just seemed like a better fit. As we passed the 13.1 mile mark we ran over the electronic pads that pick up the sensor in your timing chip. As we ran over the pad our names were displayed on a screen for a man to announce over a PA system along with our times. It felt good to be halfway.

We continued on. Everything seemed a little more quiet now that there were 12,000 less runners on the course. It was especially quiet when we ran through the Ohio State campus. I think most of the students were sleeping off whatever antics they got into the night before. It was fun running through the campus though. We ran right around and through the parking lot of the Horseshoe, the Ohio State Buckeyes' football stadium. It makes you feel awfully small when you run by a large structure like that. As we started to approach the 17 mile mark I began to feel my legs tighten up. It was much earlier in the race than I had hoped I would feel that. At around 18 miles I told mike I was going to walk for a second. He didn't feel like stopping and told me good luck and that he was going to try and stick with the four hour and thirty minute pace group that was right ahead of us.I bid him farewell and was on my own from there on out.

Even though my legs were a little tight I started running again and managed to get a little beyond the 20 mile mark before I took a walking break again. Passing the 20 mile mark was a big deal, everything after that point was further than I had ever run before. The longest run I did in training was 20 miles. For the next few miles I followed a "run with intermittent walking" type strategy. I was really starting to feel my legs tighten once I passed the 23 mile mark. The closer I got to the finish the more spectators there seemed to be. People knew that you were only a few miles from the finish and really wanted to cheer you on to help get you there.

23 - 25 miles was a rough time in the race. My legs were tight and every time I tried to pick up the pace I could feel my calves cramping. My calves were the worst part, I could feel them almost lock as they cramped and it was painful. I did a lot of walking during those two miles. I eventually made to the ever elusive 25 mile mark. It felt amazing knowing I only had a little over a mile until I was finished. I started to forget about the aches and pains and couldn't wait to cross that finish line. With about a half mile to go I passed a group a fans near a folding table. The table had a boom box on it and it was blasting the Marine Corps Hymn. As a former active duty Marine it was just what I needed to pump me up for my last half mile. I picked up the pace and came around the corner of a park and back onto the main road. There were fans everywhere. They were lining both sides of the streets and going crazy.

I had about three tenths of a mile to go and started to really pick up the pace. I wanted to finish strong and also look good in front of all of those people. As I started to pick up the pace I looked to the right and saw my parents cheering me one. My dad and mom were there holding signs my mom had made for my cousin and me. The one read "Go Justin, Wrestler, Machine Gunner, Marathoner!". My dad had the biggest smile on his face. I think he was partially reliving the marathons he had once run. I couldn't have been happier when I saw them there cheering me own. I rounded the corner and started down the small strip toward the finish line. I could just make out the clock at the finish line, it was around a tenth of a mile away.

As I was running toward the finish I started to pass a taller man. I looked at him as I passed and realized that it was my boss from when I had framed houses back in high school. I turned and said "Corey?!!". He said "What's up dude? How you been?" I replied, "Pretty good just trying to finish this race. I am definitely not gonna let you beat me. I will see you at the finish." I sprinted ahead and a crossed the finish line. It was a great feeling, one I will remember for the rest of my life. It had taken me four hours forty-one minutes and thirty-three seconds to cover the 26.2 miles. My cousin Mike ended up staying with the pace group and finished 11 minutes ahead of me at 4:30.

As I caught my breath a volunteer hung a medal around my neck and congratulated me. I walked ahead through the fenced in area and saw the tables of food and drink ahead. It looked amazing. They had recovery drinks, fruit, bagels, milk, and a ton of other things. I took what I could and chowed down. It was delicious. There were people all over the place. Runners were taking pictures with their friends and family. A reggae band was playing a large stage in the finishing area. It was kind of fitting considering my hairstyle at the time. As  I walked to meet my parents I was thinking how a lot of people I had talked to about running before the marathon said they had run one marathon and would never do it again. I mean I was fatigued but I knew there was no way that would be my first and last marathon. I was hooked and could not wait to do another one.

A Foal's First Steps

So it was March of 2008, I was a sophomore in college, I weighed 290 lbs., my blood pressure was through the roof, and I was having heart palpitations. I needed to do something and fast. I was tired of feeling like crap and decided I needed to start adding some physical activity back into my life. I started to think of different ways I could get back into shape.

The campus rec center was one of the first things that crossed my mind. It had free weights, circuit machines, basketball courts, a running track, treadmills, ellipticals, and even a rock climbing wall. All of those amenities seemed great but the rec center had one other thing that I wasn't too fond of, people. I guess I should clarify, I do not dislike people in general, I just dislike most of them when they are in a rec center. There are pretty much three main types of people in a college rec center: girls who come mostly to socialize, meat-heads, and intramural sports players.

The intramural sports players didn't bug me much. They were mostly on the basketball courts or the indoor soccer field. The meat-heads were just plain annoying. They took up all of the free weights, wore sleeveless shirts with arm holes were so big  their sides were completely exposed,and engaged in nonstop conversations about supplements. The girls were not that annoying, they just made me more self-conscious than anything. I am a loud breather when I run or workout so I always felt like girls next to me were judging me. I could hear the thoughts in their heads: "Man look at this fat guy next to me. Can you believe how loud he is breathing? I think he might have a heart attack."

The rec center just didn't seem like the place for me. After considering a few more options running became to obvious choice to help get me back into shape. It was something I could do without many distractions or people getting in my way. I didn't have to get in my car and drive anywhere to do it. Most importantly it was cheap. it did not require a monthly membership or special equipment. All I needed were a shirt, pair of shorts, socks, and a pair of running shoes. Some running minimalists may tell you I didn't even need the socks or shoes but I am a bigger guy and feel the cushioning of the shoes definitely helps me.

I also happened to live in a really great spot for running. Not for super long distances, but perfect to start getting back into shape. Right across the street from my apartment there was a 3.5 mile paved running path. It circled a public golf course and park. The path also ran right in front of a major hospital which I felt was a good thing considering how out of shape I was. If I passed out I would have medical care almost instantly.

I decided to start out with a two mile run. I felt a little guilty because of my Marine Corps roots. The minimum you run in the Marines is three miles because that is the length of the run on the Marine Corps physical fitness test. However I had to be realistic, there was no way I was making it three miles. So I suited up and headed out for my first run in almost two years. As I had expected it did not go well.

I started off a lot faster than I probably should have. I felt good for about the first quarter to half a mile. Then I began to feel it. Two years of almost no physical activity was coming down on me hard. My lungs began to burn.  The muscles in my legs began to tighten. My lower back started cramping from all of the extra weight I was carrying. My breathing became rapid and my heart felt like it was going to pop out of my chest. I slowed to a walk before I even hit the one mile mark.

I didn't walk very long before my brain entered the fight. My determined old self, the wrestler, the Marine, started yelling at me. "C'mon man you have to be kidding me. You are walking on a two mile run. You used to be able to run two miles in under 13 minutes. You hiked 17.5 miles at a 3.5 mph pace with full combat gear, a pack, and machine gun." I had to agree with myself that waling was ridiculous. I started up again and pushed it for another three quarters of a mile. I had half of a mile left and I was walking again.

I have always sprinted the last tenth to quarter mile of my runs. So a lot of times I happen to walk for a few seconds within a half mile of the finish to catch my breath so I can sprint hard. This was not the case on this run. I was tired and in pain and just wanted to walk the rest of the way, but after about a minute I realized I had hardly any distance to go and started running again. My "end of run sprint" lasted less than a tenth of a mile, but I was happy I sprinted any distance at all.

Most people probably would tell you that you can't get a runner's high on a two mile run, but I would disagree. Once I caught my breath I felt fantastic, mentally that is. I was back. I knew that if I could push myself through that two miles once at 290 lbs. I could do it again. I knew from there it would only get easier. I still had a lot of ups and downs to go from that point until the present, but I was happy to be back out there on my feet pounding the pavement again.

The Distance Running Dark Years 1984 - March 2008

My entire life up to this point has revolved around weight. I do not predict this will change either. I was not enormous as a child, but was definitely larger than average. My family is a wrestling family. I am talking collegiate style wrestling not that fake WWE pro wrestling crap. My father was a state champion and both of my brother state qualifiers. I grew up wrestling. When you live life as a wrestler you are always aware of your weight. So from the time I started wrestling in the third grade until my senior year of high school I always my weight at any given time. 3rd Grade - 80 lbs, 4th Grade - 90 lbs, 5th Grade - 100 lbs., 6th Grade - 120 lbs., 7th Grade - 132 lbs., 8th Grade - 156 lbs., 9th Grade - 171 lbs., 10th Grade - 171 lbs., 11th Grade - 205 lbs., 12th Grade - 189 lbs.

Weight was always on my mind "What weight will I wrestle this year?", "How much weight will I have to cut to make that weight class?", etc. Negative thoughts concerning my weight were also on my mind, "Kids at school called me fat. Am I really fat?", "Man I am bigger than a lot of people. I wonder what it would be like to be small and skinny?", etc. I ended up believing I was fat because of those things, but trust me when I look back at pictures of myself I don't know how I ever thought that.

I thought once I finished wrestling my senior year and joined the Marine Corps that weight would no longer be a major thought in my mind. I was wrong about that. The Marine Corps has pretty stringent weight and fitness standards. The fitness part was never a problem, I could run, do pull-ups, sit-ups and push-ups with no problem. In fact I was better than a lot of my counterparts when it came to fitness. The weight standards are what killed me.

The weight standards in the Marines go by sex, height, and age. They have a chart and look up your maximum weight based on those three things. I am around 5'10 1/2". So it was always a crap shoot on whether or not my height would get recorded as 5'10" or 5'11" for a particular weigh-in. The weight limit for 5'10" was 192 lbs. whereas the 5'11" limit was 197 lbs.

I was scheduled to leave for boot camp September after my senior year of high school. During the summer I was a laborer with a company that framed houses. It was tough work and I was in good shape. I weighed around 210 lbs. In order to go to boot camp I had to be within 5% of my weight limit. My limit was 192 lbs. which meant I had to weigh 202 lbs. or less to go.

The night before you fly to boot camp you stay in a hotel with everyone else from your geographic area that is going to boot camp as well. While others were partying their last night up in the hotel I was in the sauna in a rubber suit jumping rope.I weighed in the next morning at 201.1 lbs. and was able to go to boot camp. I had a duffel bag full of food and drinks ready to go and polished off every last bit of it on the flight to South Carolina. When I got to Parris Island I weighed 212 lbs.

At boot camp I was put on what is called "Diet Tray". That meant at the chow hall I had to have the healthier of the two main dishes they were serving, the only side I was allowed was white rice, and I was not permitted to have any dessert. I remember trying to test the dessert waters one day when we were out at the rifle range. At the rifle range they delivered bagged lunches or "Bagged Nastys" as the we called them. They came with a drink, a sandwich (usually still partially frozen), a small bag of plain potato chips, a fruit, and a pack of Oreo cookies. Normally the first thing the drill instructors do is tell all "Diet Tray" recruits to pass their cookies to the front. Well that day they forgot and I decided to eat my Oreos before they realized their mistake. Well 10 min later they remembered and I had no Oreos to hand in. They decided to use mass punishment and made all of the other recruits smash their chips and Oreos together and eat them. The theory being that having all of them mad at me was worse then them punishing me themselves.I was glad when no one really seemed to care.

The Sunday before you graduate boot camp they give you four hours where you are allowed to walk around Parris Island on your own. It is the first time in 12 weeks you are without a Drill Instructor. You are also allowed to eat at the fast food places that are on the base. Well in order to graduate boot camp I of course had to be under my weight limit. I was 190 lbs. when they measured me and somehow determined I was 5'9". That meant I needed to be 186 lbs. to graduate. Weigh-ins were conveniently being held the night after our four hours of freedom, which of course meant no food for me. I decided I did not like this and chose to "man" up and ask my Senior Drill Instructor permission to weigh-in in the morning before the four hours of free time.

He of course accused me of just wanting to pig out during the four hours. I told him that I did not want to pig out but did want to be able to at least eat something. He yelled for a few minutes and then told me, "You know what, since you had the balls to come ask me, I will let you weigh-in in the morning." The night before my weigh-in ended up being very similar to the night before I flew to boot camp. The other recruits were all happily asleep ready for their four hours of freedom while I was in the showers in a garbage bag jumping rope. The next morning my senior drill instructor measured me at 5'10". He doesn't know it but in my head I repeatedly beat him with that cursed measuring stick after I found out they were not using the 5'9" weight standard. I weighed-in at 184 lbs., two full pounds below the 186 lb. max for 5'9". Of course now that I was magically 5'10" I could have weighed 192 lbs. and been sleeping the night before. Needless to say  I enjoyed my four hours of freedom with some Pizza Hut.

The remaining three years and nine months of my Marine Corps career after boot camp were spent in constant discussions of my weight and extra physical training as well as non-recommendations for promotions, and threats of being kicked out because I was over my weight standard. I sat around 230-235 lbs. for most of my time after boot camp. The most irritating thing about it was I was an expert with my rifle, a sharpshooter with my pistol, a Marine combat safety swimmer, and never fell back on a single run yet I constantly got crap just because of my weight. But the guy who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a firearm, would drown in a puddle, and fell out of every run was okay because he was skinny. I couldn't wait to be free of the Marines and go to college and never think about weight again.

I did just that. I went to college and didn't think about my weight at all. I went out four to five nights a week and ate whatever I wanted. Two years later I was 290 lbs. with a blood pressure of 170/110. Not the greatest time in my life. I felt like crap most of the time, I was winded going up stairs, and let me tell you college girls aren't very interested in a fat 290 lb. guy when they have countless, in-shape 18-23 year old males all around them. It was March 2008 and I was unhealthy, depressed, and needed to do something.

RUNNING TO THE RESCUE!