Nutrition Is Killing Me

I'm making this way harder on myself than I should. Not only am I running an ungodly amount of miles over the course of a few months, but I'm doing this as a vegetarian. According to the people who are supposedly knowledgeable in such things, I should be consuming 75-80 grams of protein every day while training. (This is in addition to the insane amount of carbs required for long runs. My stomach is way too full after dinner.) Even if I ate a steak every night for dinner, I still would have a hard time getting to 75 grams of protein. Yet I've chosen to completely cut out of my diet the easiest, most readily accessible form of protein on the planet. To make things even more difficult, I am about the most useless person to ever set foot in a kitchen. Seriously, I even suck at chopping vegetables. The last time I was in training, I had to eat fish for a few weeks because I was so run down from a lack of protein. So far things are much better this time. 

So how are things different in 2012? Well, I'm routinely eating protein bars and drinking Gatorade with protein. Whey protein powder is a big player, and I liberally add it to cereal and smoothies. PBJ is a staple and quite possibly the greatest sandwich ever invented. I don't think I'd want to live in a world without PBJ. Most importantly though, my lady-friend has made me slightly less useless in the kitchen. I can now make risotto, stir fry and even reuben sandwiches, all with meat substitutes. It's been fairly painless, and I'm well fueled for all those miles. I may even experiment and try some new dishes on my own. That's more than you probably wanted to know about grams of protein or my nutritional habits, but hey, I'm running out of ideas.

Training Update:  These are the dog days. The miles are really piling up, and the race is far enough away that it's hard to find much excitement in the running. This is when it helps to remember why I'm doing this and how many people are behind me. Still, I'm running well and healthy (knock on wood) which is all that matters. The air has been gross and smoky lately from wildfires in the area, but thankfully I haven't felt it in my lungs. It can't be helping though. I have my first 20 mile run on Sunday. I fear being in my own head for that long and may have to drag the dog along for a few miles. It's high time he earned his keep.

Generic Update / Thanks

It's been over a month since I started training and so far so good. I'm running well and am healthy (knock on wood). My sore foot from earlier in the summer has subsided, so I actually feel better than when I started. The weeks are getting progressively harder though. I will run 45 miles this week including a long run of 16 miles on Sunday. I'm at the point now in my long runs where I have to consume disgusting energy gels and Gatorade while running. This is partly for energy and hydration, but at this stage I'm mainly trying to prep my overly sensitive stomach for digesting sugars while on a long run. I'll have to do this during the race, and I need to slowly get used to it.


So that's where my training stands. While I'm at it, I want to thank some really great people who for better or worse helped me with this crazy notion of mine. First up is my old law school pal Lauren who showed me that running for a selfless reason was not only a good idea but an enjoyable experience. I was proud to help her cause last year, and this never would have happened without me following her example. Second, my lovely girlfriend Colleen who convinced me that I could and should run this race and that I should put my faith in the generosity of friends and family. Colleen has supported and inspired me from the beginning and has endured me constantly talking about my training with nothing but a smile and genuine interest. Last but not least is my good buddy Triston who donated his credit card points to give me 3 nights at a hotel in Manhattan. This is beyond cool and saved me a lot of money. Despite his sarcastic exterior, Triston is a pretty generous dude. Also, I've been floored by the support of generosity of everyone who has donated. I still have 3 months to go, and the outpouring thus far is humbling. So those are the "Acknowledgements" of some pretty great folks. Please spread the word on my fundraising efforts and let people know that if they donate, they too may be mentioned on a blog that is read by literally tens of people.

My Love Letter to the High Desert

You will never hear me complain about running in Boise in the summer. This town is a runner's paradise made even more fantastic by my previous summers in the god-awful weather of Dallas. This is my third marathon and my third time to train in the heart of summer. The previous two training sessions did not go well. That's because I was training in the worst possible location in America. I'm convinced that no place has the combination of heat and humidity that Dallas has. Just looking out the window would make me start sweating. Even on early morning runs at 5am, the temperature would already be in the low 80s with zero wind and worst of all, high humidity. It felt like it was 95 degrees before the sun even came up! The human body is not designed to cool itself in these conditions, let alone run 16-20 miles. Some mornings I would be drenched in sweat with wobbly legs by mile 3. I would usually finish the run on sheer will, in legitimate fear of heat exhaustion or worse. This went on for 3 months without reprieve. Needless to say, I got very little out of this training, and my previous two marathon times reflect that.

I've paid my penance however and am now training in the perfect place. Boise mornings are fantastic. Even on hot days over 100 degrees, the mornings are cool and crisp. I've yet to have a bad run because of the heat, and training in high altitude should give me the lung capacity of a whale when I'm in NYC. Boise has also discovered that trails are a good thing. I can run on dirt trails in the hills and feel like I'm in the middle of nowhere, or I can run on flat, paved trails that go for miles and miles along the river. On weekends spent in the mountains, I get to run surrounded by spectacular scenery and fresh air. Best of all, the mornings in Boise are cool enough to bring my dog along. If I'd gone running with a thick-coated golden retriever in Dallas in August, he would either be dead or I would have been reported to the Humane Society. Now he's where he's supposed to be, running by my side. With all of this working in my favor and with the cause that I'm running for, I have no excuse if I don't run a really good race. So if you ever hear me complain about my training this summer, feel free to slap me.

Running Sucks / I Love Running

Whenever I tell someone that I'm training for a marathon, I often get the same response. A cock of the head and a skeptical look that says, "Good luck with that, you damn fool." I think this is because many people view running as torture and something to be avoided at all costs. They're right. It is torture. It sucks, and I hate it. I hate being drenched in my own sweat on warm mornings and having hands that are blocks of ice for 4 straight months in winter. I hate gasping for air while running up a steep hill and the random upset stomach that can occur on any run at any time. I hate the bumps and bruises that constantly pop up and cause me to walk like a geriatric. Early morning runs are no picnic either. I'm a bit of a morning person for sure, but no matter how accustomed a person is to early mornings, an alarm clock going off at 5 am is always a kick to the crotch.

But I continue to run because I love it. More than anything I've ever done. I love it because it clears my head and puts me at ease. You do a lot of thinking while on a run, but it's never stressful thinking. No matter what, it's just you and the road. I love how running lets me explore every new city I visit in a way that I couldn't otherwise. I love that I can eat pizza and drink beer with impunity knowing that those calories will be burned the next day. I love that I sleep so well because I run and those rare days when it feels like I could run as far and as fast as I want and never get tired. Plus, it's the perfect cure for a mild hangover. And then there are runs like this morning. My girlfriend and my best friend (of the dumb, 4-legged variety) joined me on the trails in the hills above Boise. The sun was rising, the world was empty, and there was no place else I wanted to be.

So while my relationship with running can be rocky and volatile at times, our love is true and will endure. I'll fight through the many mornings where I don't want to step out my front door and keep running. And I'll continue to take those skeptical looks.

The Journey of a Thousand Miles...

Well, it's almost time. On Monday, I begin my 18 weeks of training in preparation for the NYC Marathon! It's really strange to think that this experience will begin with me stepping out my front door for a normal run before work and will end when I (knock on wood) cross the finish line in Central Park. But I'm in for a lot of work between now and November. I promise that I won't bore everyone with the minutia of training on this blog, but just this once maybe I can give you an idea of what's in store for me.

At the moment, I'm incredibly antsy because I've been trying to take it easy for a few weeks and rest my body. I do not handle rest very well, so Monday can't get here soon enough. I know that things are about to get hectic and that I should enjoy the reprieve while it lasts, but taking days off is not really my strong suit. 

A typical training week will consist of a couple of shorter runs at a fast pace to build up my speed, a couple of long runs, a really short and easy recovery run and a day of lifting weights. My mileage will gradually increase until early October. At its peak, my heaviest training week will consist of around 57 miles which includes a long run of 22 miles. That will be the week when I hate running with a passion and question my own sanity.

Physically I'm in store for a body that is beaten up and sore by September. The key is to recognize what is just normal fatigue and soreness and what is the onset of an injury. Hopefully I can avoid any injury and be smart enough to rest when my body demands it. So much of avoiding an injury boils down to luck though. Fingers crossed.

The mental grind is almost as bad as the physical strain, if not worse. Running becomes your life, and no matter how much a person loves to run, the training becomes time-consuming and monotonous. You have to wake up at 5am, fall asleep before most young children's bedtime and basically put an end to your social life. Thankfully, I have very little social life to speak of.

That should give you an idea of what's in store for me in my training. Sounds fun, right? Actually despite the pain and fatigue, I'm really looking forward to the process and working towards what I hope will be a dream day on November 4. And although it sounds really cheesy, having the support of so many people coupled with the fact that I'm running for something so much more important than myself really will give me extra motivation and push me during the dog days. 

In the future, I plan on writing about the reason that I'm doing all of this (my mother), some of the people that have made my NYC experience possible, the greatness of training in a place like Boise and a few other wacky topics that may or may not fall flat. Thanks for giving this entry a read. Nuthin but luv.

Biding My Time

The New York City Marathon is over 5 months away, and my training won't start for another month or so. That means that I have just a few more weeks until running takes over my life. The good news is that starting in July I will sleep like a baby and can eat snacks anytime I feel like it!

Since there is nothing to report training-wise, here are a few fun, random facts about the NYC Marathon. A few quick hits, if you will:

• The race is November 4, so (knock on wood) the weather should be nice and cool.
• Around 40,000 runners will participate with 2 million spectators looking on.
• The race starts on Staten Island, goes up through Brooklyn and Queens then crosses into Manhattan on the way to the Bronx. It's just a short jaunt into the Bronx before a quick turnaround back into Manhattan and the finish line in Central Park.
• The first NYC Marathon in 1970 consisted of numerous loops around Central Park, and only 55 runners finished the race.
• Approximately 50 runners are disqualified each year for taking shortcuts.
• Anthony Edwards (Goose from "Top Gun" and Gilbert from "Revenge of the Nerds") ran an impressive 3 hours 55 minutes.
• Lance Armstrong said in 2008 that running NYC was the toughest thing he had ever done.
• The first guy to run 26.2 miles died, but fewer than 1 in 100,000 marathon runners actually die from the race. I like those odds!

I'll update this blog periodically. So if you're bored, check back to see how much pain I'm in. Rosie Ruiz may have had the right idea.
-R