Soaring Wings Virtual Half Marathon-Cedar Rapids

The Soaring Wings Half Marathon is held in Conway Arkansas to benefit the Soaring Wings Ranch childrens home. The cool thing about this event is that they give runners an option to register and run a virtual marathon without ever being in Conway. Once you send them proof you finished your own Half Marathon they send you a shirt and a finishers medal.

This is the farthest race I have run since the Dances with Dirt UltraMarathon I did back in July. I was planning on running the New Bo Fest Half marathon in September but due to a foot injury I didn't run the entire month of August so those plans were scratched. I saw this virtual race option on the internet and since I wanted to get one more long race in this season it was perfect.

So race day dawned crisp and sunny with a light wind and about 41 degrees, I took a vacation day from work so I slept in until 0800 when my youngest informed me he had overslept and missed the school bus. So I quick put on my running clothes and drove him to school. Once I got back I grabbed a banana and my water bottles and started out. I had decided to run a general route but my actual route was going to be somewhat of a mystery. I figured I would just run a big loop and at the end make up any distance needed. That plan actually worked out well. I also decided to take my time and take plenty of pictures.

I started out running part of a familiar route down 33rd Avenue heading east. I kept running down 33rd until it T intersected with Bowling street at about 3 miles.

I live on the edge of Cedar Rapids which is a town of over 200,000, so my route would take me through farm land and urban areas. I then turned north on Bowling and headed up the first of two steep hills. This hill was about a mile long and was actually divided into two parts with a flat area in between. At the top of the hill I turned east again, running along Wilson Ave and then C St until I hooked up with the Cedar Valley Nature Trail and once again headed north.

At about 7 miles I was still feeling pretty good, staying well hydrated. I stopped for a minute on the 15th Avenue bridge and then headed into the downtown area. I turned west on 3rd Ave and then zigzaged my way to 1st Ave still heading west. About mile 9 I hit the second steep hill, I was starting to get a little fatigued at this point so this hill wasn't as easy as the first.

At the top of the hill I headed south running past Kingston Stadium, Veterans Memorial Baseball Stadium, and the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena. I stopped and synchronized my iphone imapmyrun app and my Forerunner GPS at this point. The iphone said I had run 11.09 miles by now and the GPS said 10.23. Since the iphone also said I had run 6 minute miles yesterday I went with the distance off the GPS.

I was on the home stretch, I contiuend south on Rockford Road then and quick jog west on Wilson again and then a turn south on 18th St. I was now back out in the somewhat rural area although new housing developments are taking over the cornfields at a rapid pace.

At 12 miles I once again hit 33rd Ave this time heading west until I got back to my neighborhood. I had guessed pretty good on the distance so I only had to take a little extra trip around the block to make up the last 3/10ths of a mile to finish at my front door at exactly 13.1 miles.

This was not a PR by any means. But all and all a good run/race and a great start to the morningf.

Muddy Monster 15K Cross Country Run

I had been wanting to run this race for a few years but my schedule just never seemed to work out. It is a unique race for the area as it is run entirely on grass or dirt roads. I really enjoy trail runs so I thought I would give it a try.

After the usual pre race hydration ritual of a an energy drink I showed up for packet pickup. The race is held at Seminole Valley park which the city maintains with a historic village and farm. The race course winds through both of these as well as the park. I was required to park about a 10 minute walk from packet pickup in the grass. There was no designated parking lot so I parked along the roped off area and walked over to packet pickup to grab my timing chip and goody bag. The goody bag for this race is better than some I have seen with lots of snack bars and some coupons I might actually use.

It was pretty chilly at that point and I was wearing my stocking hat and coat

I was also wearing my running pants as the temperature was about 30 degrees. I would regret this later. So about 30 minutes before racetime I ambled over to the starting line and took about a mile warmup run. I started to regret my clothing decision almost immediately. By the time I ran that 1 mile I was already overheating. When I arrived back at the starting line I saw a couple of friends and fellow runners Kris and Brian. We talked for awhile then the National Anthem was played and we all lined up for the start.

I had taken my jacket and stocking hat off and was carrying them in my hand. I figured I could toss them under my car as the course passed that way. Once the gun sounded I took off at a moderate pace. My goal was to use this as a training run to put a few more miles in for the week. So I was shooting for 10 minute miles. I saw Brian take off up ahead of me and kind of kept my eye on him. The course was  3 laps of a 5 K route. There was quite a few 5K runners so the course was quite congested at the start. We ran through the grass by the car parking area and I tossed my jacket under my car, shortly after that we turned north and hit a small trail. The lead 5K speedsters passed me going the other way at this point. The trail dumped onto the access road that circled the living history village and we ran the perimeter of the village and headed back south on the same trail.

After coming back out into the park itself we hit the grass, running past the finish line and up a slight hill. We then ran about a mile east strictly on grass. About halfway through this section there was a large muddy and watery low spot. I tried three different techniques crossing this area during the race. I went to the left,I went to the right, and I ran straight through. No technique was better than the other. After the muddy area we headed down hill and hit a dirt road than continued east and then looped back on itself. It was during this section that I caught up with Brian and passed him, then about .5 miles down the road he passed me

We kept up with this back in forth for a few minutes then by mutual agreement started to run together. We crossed the start line and completed the first lap in 29:11. Lap 2 was more of the same with the exception that there were quite a bit fewer runners since the 5K runners had turned towards the finish. Brian and I ran at a steady pass holding a conversation for most of Lap 2. Somewhere on the dirt road section the lead 15K runners lapped us but we kept our steady pace. We finished Lap 2 in 1:00:05.

At the start of Lap 3 I was really regretting wearing my running pants as the temp had climbed to about 60 degrees. I was also feeling the reality of not running over 6 miles in the last 2 months. My legs were beginning to wear down and I was struggling a bit. As we looped through the historic village for the third time Brian started to pull away from me. I let him go as I just tried to maintain the current pace. Eventually he would finish a little over a minute ahead of me. I concentrated on trying to keep my pace under 10 minute miles. By the time I hit the dirt road on the return I was broiling and my legs felt like lead. I could see the finish line in the distance and I kept putting one foot in front of the other. Turning off the course towards the finish I was just concentrating on keeping my head up and powering through. Crossing the finish line at 1:30:47 I had managed a 9:47 minute per mile pace for the 9.3 miles. Decent effort although it wasn't as easy as it is some days. I also may be postponing that 13.1 mile run i had planned for tomorrow.

NREMT-I Written Exam

This post has been a long time in coming. I took the Emergency Medical Technician Intermediate course  from October  2010 to March 2011.  Once I passed the class I took and passed my National Registry practical (hands on) exam. I posted about that back in April http://mikemac356.blogspot.com/2011/04/nremt-i-practical-exam.html .

So I was on a roll and apparently over confident. I scheduled myself for the written test in April but I didn't bother to study. My first attempt at this test was a dismal failure I failed to achieve a passing score on any of the 5 sections. This was a wake up call, I can literally count on one hand how many exams I have not passed in my life. Well ,plus 1one.

So I procrastinated a bit and then scheduled another try in July. I studied but due to the fact that failure was unfamiliar to me I apparently suck at that as well. I failed again because I did not pass 2 out of the 5 sections. This test was becoming Moby Dick to my Captain Ahab.

Meanwhile I had a chance to attend the Advanced EMT course at no cost, so I jumped on it. I figured if I eventually passed the Intermediate test it would be an easy bridge to AEMT and if I didn't then I would go directly to Advanced EMT. So the Intermediate test was put on the back burner. That is until I discovered that if I passed the test I would not be required to complete all the clinicals for AEMT. This was huge as time is almost more precious than money to me. It would also save me from being required to take 2 days of vacition to get some of the clinicals done.

So in October I once again scheduled myself for the written test. This was my third and final chance. If I failed it this time I would be required to finish all the clinical time as well as I would have to attend a 36 hour refresher course before being allowed to attempt the test for a 4th time. Lots was riding on this. Two days before the test I studied harder than I had studied for any test lately to include all the tests i took during my graduate studies.

The night before the test I was working an overnight shift at one of the ambulance services I run with. Although it was a quiet night I didn't get much shut eye. So I was anything but well rested the next morning. I showed up to the testing location for my test and started the check in procedure. These testing locations are tighter than Ft Knox. You have to check in with two goverment issued picture ID, then they take a biometric palm scan and your picture.. You have to empty all your pockets, take off all watches and bracelets. This stuff gets locked in a locker. Then you have to walk down a hallway and check in to the actual testing room. They take another palm print and verify your ID again. They have you turn out your pockets to prove they are empty and they give you any test materials or note taking items you may be allowed to have. Each individual computer has its own individual pan tilt zoom camera looking down on your testing cubicle.

The National Registry tests are "adaptive", which means it starts out hard then keeps asking you questions based on the previous level you answered until it is satisfied you know the material. It could stop at 65 questions or go to 135. It's a crap shoot, also even though I had taken the test 2 other times it was not like taking the same test 3 times, it was like taking 3 different tests.

Well I started answering questions and as before, some I knew for sure and some I thought I knew and some I had no idea. I mean who needs to know if an ambulance with a detached cab is a type II or III? The question count kept climbing and eventually I got to the maximum of 135 and the test shut off. This could mean good news or bad news, I did not walk out to the test facility with a warm and fuzzy feeling. I had no idea how I did.

For the rest of the day I was afraid to check the NREMT website to see if  the results were posted. Finally about 1400 I pulled the website up and held my breath as I entered my name. Low and behold the words congratulations and successful were attached to my name. Well I was on cloud nine, my attention span was short for the rest of the day to say the least. I had killed Moby Dick!!!

So mission accomplished and now my focus has shifted to passing the AEMT course and National Registry in December. Stay tuned for updates.

Happy Birthday Sparrow

Tomorrow is my Wife's Birthday. She is the best. I think I said it all last year in this post. http://mikemac356.blogspot.com/2010/10/married-to-me-appreciation-day.html

Thanks Sparrow for another great year. Love You

Quad Cities Marathon Relay 2011

So last year I ran this Marathon and wrote about it here: http://mikemac356.blogspot.com/2010/09/quad-cities-marathon-2010.html . This year however I was asked to be a member of a relay team. Never having been a member of any sort of relay I decided it might be fun. Unfortunately I think I missed out on a lot of the relay experience due to the fact that prior to the race I hurt my left foot and couldn't run for over a month. Also due to my work schedule I couldn't meet any of my relay team members until race day itself. I think it would have been more fun for me if I could have participated in the group training runs leading up to the marathon. That being said it was still a good time.

So on race day I woke up at 0400 and drove the 100 miles to the start line. Much like the previous year my pre race breakfast consisted of a bottled water and some Little Debbie Donuts. I met and was introduced to my team members outside the packet pickup and was given my race goodie bag. Once again the Tshirt was an excellent one. This race gives out the best shirts.

As I was going to run the first leg I went back to my car and got geared up for the race. It was overcast and threatening rain but it hadn't started yet. I hit the porto potties just prior to the 0730 start. I joined the 10,000 or so other runners at the starting line and I tried to worm my way up to the 9:00/min per mile marathon pace group. My plan was to hang with them until my hand off to the second leg at 6.6 miles. Unfortunately I couldn't get any closer to them than a good look at their sign. After the prerequisite words of wisdom from the local dignitaries a large Civil War cannon signaled the start of the race. I was so far back it took me 2 minutes 15 seconds to actually cross the start line.

I immediately started pushing myself in a effort to catch the 9:00 minute pacer. Unlike last year when I started out slow and stayed with my pace group this year I wove in and out of other racers trying to get some clear space to run. I was passing people left and right in the jostling crowd and every time I passed someone with a relay sign on their back I wondered how many more where a head of me. After about 3/4 of a mile we headed up an on ramp to I74 and crossed the Mississippi River as we headed north on the one lane closed to traffic. As the thousands of us ran across the bridge it swayed and bounced with the rhythm of our steps. I was forced to slow down crossing the bridge as we were all jammed into the one lane and their was no room to pass anyone. After we crossed the Mighty Mississippi we took the next off ramp which must have been at about a little over a mile as I had been running about 12 minutes.

From this point on my mission was to find other relay runners and reel them in. I could have jogged as I knew we where never going to win anyway but Action Guys don't jog,not even Former ones. So I continued to push myself. From mile 2-4 there was a huge hill that was certainly there last year but I had totally forgotten about. This hill sucked my will to live as I tried to keep moving forward. I caught up with and ran with a friend of mine Brian T on this hill but eventually he faded back a little. He was running the half marathon and had to pace himself a little better than what I was doing. I continued to try and keep an even pace as we crested the hill and took a right. Once again we were running on a fairly flat surface until we started heading downhill.

I tried to stretch it out until we reached the bottom and took another right that headed us back up hill again. We continued this pattern of big ups and big downs for the next several miles. The whole time I was cussing myself for not running more prior to the race, for agreeing to the relay, and trying to gasp for air like a fish.

At the bottom of the last large hill we once again turned right and ran about 2 miles along the Iowa side of the Mississippi on a bike trail. It was hard to gauge my pace for certain as they didn't have the course marked every mile but it was marked about every 2. I figured I was somewhere around my goal of 9 minute miles. I also had a goal to finish under an hour. At 54 minutes I hit the 6 mile mark, I could taste the transition point from here. I tried to hold a steady pace and as we meandered left I saw the cones marking the spot. I took off the bracelet that was acting as our baton and passed it to my team member that was running the second leg at 59:51. This turned out to be a pace of 9:04 per mile. I figured I had done my part. All I could do was wait.

I grabbed some water and fruit and waited a few minutes talking to anothermembers to finish. Once I got back I changed into some dryer and warmer clothes. I wandered around and ate some free hot dogs and chili, listened to the band. I talked for a long time to TJ and her boyfriend. After about an hour Brian showed up after finishing his race. We talked for awhile then it started pouring rain. I felt bad for the people still out there running but I was glad it wasn't me.

After about 4 hours I headed to the regrouping point for the relay. I met up with my team members from the other legs and we all ran in together with our final team member. Our team finished the race in 4:36:49.

Thoughts on this race:

Due to my injury and lack of training I was happy I hadn't signed up for the full or half marathon as I probably wouldn't have finished.
It felt really weird being at a marathon and not being IN the marathon if you know what I mean. Not sure I liked that.
I think relays would be more fun with people you know

All and all mission accomplished though, maybe next year I can get all my kids to participate, now that would be fun

Happy Birthday Mother-From Your Only Child

Today is my Mother's Birthday. What do you say or give to the person who gave you life? Kinda seems pointless somehow. Life, how can you possibly top life?

My Mom had 6 children and currently has 12 grandchildren. I am the oldest so I along with my sister who is one year younger, got the benefit of the mommy experimental years. I got to wear the homemade shirts (pretty snazzy) and rock the jagged cutoffs (so they wouldn't fringe,hello Mother that was the point).However I also got to ride my bike anywhere I wanted, catch ground squirrels in the park and play hide and seek with the other kids until way after dark. My Mom worked full time as a teacher so I learned to cook at an early age to help take care of my younger siblings. We also joke that this is a survival tactic as the only temperature setting on the stove my Mother knows is High. I went through most of my formative years eating stuff that was charred on the bottom and cold on the top. Don't take it personal Mother, you helped produce some awesome cooks and we never went to bed hungry,not one day. My Mom taught at the same high school I graduated from so when I was in high school I got away with nothing, not one thing. I gave up trying eventually. Thanks for getting me educated Mom ,when I could have been goofing around or smoking weed in the parking lot like some of my buddies.

The unique thing about my Mother and the thing that is often commented on is how she treats each and everyone of us as if we are the only child/grandchild she has. It is an amazing process. I still don't know how she does it. She pours her entire energy into each and every situation, and she makes you feel like you are the favorite. Which you are, until your brother calls and she does the same for him. People that don't understand  my Mother may call her pushy,demanding,nosy. I call that knowing what needs to get done and not caring how she accomplishes it. She rarely cares what anyone thinks about her. She sets out with a goal and pushes and pushes and pushes until it is accomplished. She does this because she cares deeply about her children and grandchildren and wants the very best for them.Nothing is more important than family to her, and if you don't get that, she figures your not worth the time it would take to explain it.

This attitude that I got from her, got me through a 22 year military career. It got me through Airborne School,Ranger School, The Special Forces Qualification Course, and many many other "gut checks." It followed me into combat and training. This attitude helped create a family of successful productive citizens who love their country. This attitude produced a career military man, a high school teacher, a civil engineer, two sheet metal workers, and a secretary. This attitude produced masters degrees, bachelor degrees journeyman,foreman, welders , emergency medical technicians, law enforcement officers, sports officials, and coaches. This attitude produced wrestlers,basketball players, golfers, and football players. This attitude produced scientists,writers, illustrators, bakers, and leaders. This attitude showed children what they can do not what they can't.

What do you give the person who gave you life? You give her a life back, 18 successful lives.

Happy Birthday-Mother from your only child

KILTED TO KICK CANCER

As a member of the US Army Special Forces or "Green Berets" I spent alot of years doing alot of things that most would call "high speed." To me it was business as usual, and this was generally the attitude of everyone in Special Forces. We prided ourselves on being "Quiet Professionals" and letting our actions and accomplishments speak for us. But our pride in not beating our own chests about our manly deeds actually has proved to be our undoing. In the fight for a section of the government defense budget he who speaks loudest gets the moolah. Sure we hear about Green Berets but who wins the public relations battle? That's right the NAVY SEALS!!!! Are they better than Special Forces? I doubt it, but that debate could go on for hours and is not my point . My point is the SEALS win the image battle hands down. One Bin Laden equals 500 "top Al Qaeda" operatives.

So what does that have to do with Cancer you ask? Prostate Cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in American men, behind only lung cancer, however Breast Cancer awareness is the Navy Seal's of cancer fundraising. The PR campaign that has been unleashed on behalf of breast cancer awareness dwarfs anything done by any other organization. Who doesn't want to "SAVE THE TA TA's?" This is a worthy campaign however I ask you to consider prostate cancer. 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. My own Father is a prostate cancer survivor.

Paramedic Kelly Grayson has started a campaign on his blog to raise the awareness of prostate cancer. To this end he has challenged all of us to join him in a contest called "Kilted to Kick Cancer." The rules can be found on his blog http://ambulancedriverfiles.com/kiltedtokickcancer/ . In a nutshell Kelly is asking us to wear a kilt during the month of September, in an effort to raise awareness of prostate cancer. If you don't blog or just want to donate please consider making a donation to my link in the upper right corner of my blog. Take the money you would have spent on a kilt and donate to prostate cancer donations go straight to the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Make a donation, wear a kilt, be a "Quiet Professional."

9/11

9.11.01 has become a symbol of many things to many people in the last ten years. But what it undoubtedly has become to many of us is the "where were you moment?" of the rest of our lives. Many people in an older generation often remembered where they were when President Kennedy was shot ( I was 2 months old not sure where I was) or what they were doing on Dec 7 1941 "a day that will live in infamy."

My experiences on Sept 11 2001 are unique to me but probably mirrored the confusion and sense of helplessness that was felt by people all over the United States and the world. On that day I was a newly appointed Team Sergeant for a Special Forces Military Free Fall ODA in 10th Special Forces Group. I had recently done a permanent change of station move from the 1st Battalion of 10th Group in Stuttgart, Germany to my current station of Fort Carson Colorado. My team was conducting a 72 hour isolation exercise at the Group ISOFAC (isolation facility) in preparation for a training mission to Montana. On that morning I had sent the rest of the team to eat breakfast at the mess hall while I stayed behind to guard our equipment and plan for the free fall jump we were going to conduct into the training exercise.

Sometime after 0900-0930 my team members started filtering back into the ISOFAC and started telling me about news footage they had seen of a plane flying into a building in New York City. At the time I imagined it was a small plane of some kind that had been involved, this sort of thing was not unheard of. Being in the ISOFAC by design we were cutoff totally from outside contact, that was part of being in isolation. So between my teammates somewhat jumbled story of what had happened and the fact that I had not actually seen anything myself, I really didn't think it was a big deal. Just another tragic accident.

We continued to plan for our mission brief back until sometime later our Company Sergeant Major entered our isolation bay and told us that the training mission was cancelled and to gather all of our equipment for a return to the Company area. He didn't have much information, just that trucks would be here soon to get us and that there had been some kind of attack in New York City. We gathered our equipment and personal kit and started speculating on what was going on. Eventually some trucks showed up and we loaded them up and walked back to the company area. We saw other teams that had been in isolation doing the same thing.

When we arrived at the company an organized chaos was occurring. Things were not totally out of control because the military has a routine and a structure. The organization will continue to operate, moving forward even in the midst of confusion. What was missing at this particular moment was information. As we unloaded our gear back into the team room I still had no idea what had happened. After we got our gear in the team room the Company Commander called a meeting of Team Leaders and Team Sergeants in the conference room. When we sat down around the table we could see that something was very wrong. Our CO told us that there had been an attack on the World Trade Center in New York City by an unknown assailant or group of assailants. He told us that 2 planes were involved and the Trade Center was in flames (actually I found out later by this time they had already collapsed). He said they would be shutting down all access to the Post except for one gate and that all people entering would be subject to a thorough search. All schools on post and in the area were also dismissing immediately. He then told us that we until we got further orders that we could dismiss our team members for the day so they could take care of their families.

Like many others my main concern was for my children. As I mentioned before we had moved to Colorado less than 2 weeks before and we were still staying on post in temporary quarters. My wife and son were in our room at the BEQ but my daughter had started her first week of school. She was at an elementary school off post and it was my mission to go get her and get her safely back on post. I hurriedly called my wife to see if she was OK and she started to tell me that she was watching the news and that planes had destroyed the World Trade Center and also hit the Pentagon.She said that there was video of people jumping out of the buildings to escape the flames. I told her to stay in the room and I was going to get our daughter and I wasn't sure what would happen next.

As I drove our mini-van out of the Group compound I could see they were already stringing concertina wire across the compound's avenues of approach and troops with squad automatic weapons and M240B machine guns had parked Humvees in the road,creating road blocks. Contingency plans were already being set in motion. I raced towards the south gate not sure if I would even be allowed to exit. Meanwhile MP's and other soldiers where stationed on the side of every road facing out in a defensive posture. I exited post with little issue and made it to the school. I parked and went inside to pick up my daughter who was waiting at the school office. The school was as chaotic as you would imagine with all the military and civilian parents trying to find their children and get them safely home. Once I got my daughter in the van I headed back on the short 2 mile drive to the gate I had just exited.

However traveling this 2 miles would take me the next 5 hours of my life. Almost immediately upon turning on to the road that went back on post we came to a halt. Then we inched forward literally a few feet every 20-30 minutes as traffic was funneled into one lane and each vehicle underwent an exhaustive search of it and its occupants. I won't bore you with the details but just imagine if you will listening to conflicting radio reports for hours while trying to entertain a bored 3rd grader in  a van on a warm September day. Throw in the fact we had no food and water and things became very interesting. Eventually it was our turn to be searched. Suspicious MP's checked my ID even though I was in uniform and asked my why I was coming on post. I told them my story of picking up my daughter and the fact the rest of my family was in temporary quarters.They then proceeded to tear apart every inch of my vehicle utilizing dogs and mirrors to check inside,outside and underneath for bombs. After about 20 minutes I was allowed to proceed and I made my way straight to the room. The reminder of the day is a blur as I tried to procure some food for my family who was living out of a suitcase. At the same time I was trying to find out what was going on back at the unit.

We fell asleep from exhaustion later that evening and the next morning I woke up to find school cancelled. That was a good thing as I had no idea if I would be able to take my daughter there anyway. For the next week or so I reported to work and returned home. No training, no jumping, nothing was happening as there was a moratorium on flights and  guidance was slim. Rumors abounded of deployments and operations to be assigned. Eventually 5th Special Forces Group took the fight to the enemy in Afghanistan. By November my team was in Uzbekistan conducting counter terrorism training with the Uzbek Spetnatz. For the next 3 years, until I retired, the events of Sept 11 would plunge me into a cycle of deployment and refit that had me visit Uzbekistan,Kosovo and Iraq.

On Sept 11 2011 I will remember where I was and all the things that happened to myself and my teammates because of that day.

Doldrums

As happens occasionally I have hit a ho hum period in my life. Or more specifically I have hit the doldrums

doldrums [ˈdɒldrəmz]

n

the

1. a depressed or bored state of mind

2. a state of inactivity or stagnation

3. (Earth Sciences / Physical Geography)

a.  a belt of light winds or calms along the equator

b.  the weather conditions experienced in this belt, formerly a hazard to sailing vessels

 

I was going great guns until about July. I had a great winter training season and had run personal bests in 5K's and other races. I was planning on finishing a 50 mile Ultra marathon. I was also moving ahead in my career in both my full time and part time jobs. My boss quit in April and I was encouraged by his boss to apply for his job. It seems like I had a good shot at it. I passed the course to upgrade my emergency medical technician rating as well as the practical exam and all I had to do was pass the written test.

Then things started slowing down, I had to take on the job of 3 people at my full time job as I covered for my old boss,myself, and one of my employees that was fired. This caused me to become very reactive instead of proactive. It also has made me irritable and stressed. And oh by the way after leading me along for 4 months and letting me keep the ship afloat they hired someone else to be my boss.

 

I took my EMT-I written test not once but twice and still need to pass it. I have one more shot before I will need to redo at least part of the course. I usually never ever have issues with written tests but I am very gun shy of this one now. It is almost a phobia, the damn thing has me spooked. if I don't pass it I am out over 600 dollars though. Each time I take the test it costs me $100 as well.

 

 I did not finish the planned 50 miler as chronicled here http://mikemac356.blogspot.com/2011/07/dances-with-dirt-50-mile-ultra-some.html . Shortly after this I injured my foot and then my knee started acting up. This is the same knee I have had surgery on but it has been fine for the last 2 years. Basically haven't run the whole month of August. I have had to cancel 3 races and a few more are in jeopardy. Running is what keeps me balanced so not being able to run also makes me grumpy and out of sorts.

To top it off I had a very irritating season as a baseball umpire. For some reason the coaches just seemed extra unreasonable this year. It is making me seriously reconsider whether I will be officiating after this wrestling season. I also haven't even felt like posting on this blog, as is evidenced by my low number of posts in the last few months.

 

I am having a birthday in a few days and I just don't feel like I am moving forward. Moving forward is something I need to continue to do, my personality demands it. Just the fact that I am whining in this post shows how much I am off my game. Normally I would fight through the ambush and just deal with adversity, somehow right now at this time I just don't have the energy for it. I alternate between being angry, hopeful,motivated, and resigned. 

 

 I need to get my injuries fixed,rededicate myself to work, pass my test and refocus. I know that's what I need to do just don't know when it will happen. Thanks for letting me vent if your still reading.

Pineland

Late in the fall of the year 1990 I participated in the liberation of Pineland. Pineland is a country whose boundaries coincidentally exactly match those of the Uhwarrie National Forest in North Carolina. What is not a coincidence is that this country is liberated several times a year by student “A” teams from the Special Forces qualification course. These students along with their “G’s” liberate the oppressed peoples of Pineland and have been doing so for over 50 years. It was my turn as a member of class 8-90.

Having finished phases 1 and 2 which were the common skills and military occupational specialty phases the students in my class once again came back together to form student “A” detachments. We parachuted into the fictional country of Pineland via CASA 212 aircraft and hooked up with our auxiliary and made contact with the guerilla forces we would be organizing and training to overthrow the despotic government of Pineland.

Our infiltration was delayed by the fact that one of my classmates was killed during the parachute jump and all activity went “admin” until they had the situation under control. We as students didn’t get to hear much until after we were extracted later on but apparently he broke his pelvis while conducting a tree landing. The pain was so bad he released his leg straps before the chest strap on his parachute harness and hung himself on the chest strap.

We found this all out later, as we spent the immediate 12 hours after infiltration being led hither and yon through the North Carolina countryside by our guerilla guide. Eventually we stopped and established a patrol base. The next morning we hooked up with our “G”s. Normally these role players would be made up of support troops from COSCOM or some other Ft Bragg unit with the G chief being a experienced Special Forces operator. In our case however our G’s consisted of local town’s folk because with Desert Shield going on over in the Middle East, soldiers were in short supply. In retrospect I almost think this was better as I got the full effect of teaching weapons and tactics to a bunch of individuals that had no clue what I was talking about initially. We spent a few days in the woods drilling them until we decided it was time for our first mission.

Our first target was a confidence target where we ambushed a squad of OPFOR (opposing forces), you should have seen the grin on my M60 gunner as he let the bullets fly (blanks of course). He was about 12 years old and he is probably still talking about it. Shortly after this ambush our auxiliary decided to test our “loyalty” to Pineland. As a token of their esteem they presented us with a live possum in a sack. They insisted it was a delicacy and that we should eat it. After they left we had a long and heated discussion about the best way to cook and eat a possum. Unfortunately no one in our squad had ever eaten one although we all had skinned various animals before. Well our discussion was all for naught as the damn possum managed to escape from the sack and when we went to get it was looking down at us from the top of a large pine tree.

Later that night the auxiliary sent some guerilla fighters to pick up myself and the student team leader for an “area command” meeting. We left the rest of the team and our guerilla force manning the perimeter as we marched up the red dirt road to the edge of a clearing in which a house set. They then pulled sandbags over our heads to blindfold us and stuffed us in the back of a pickup truck. They drove around for about 45 minutes in an effort to confuse us but I managed to sneak a few peeks from under the sandbag and could see that we were just driving in circles up and down the same dirt roads. Eventually we parked in the yard of the house we had originally started from. I nudged my team leader and whispered to him that we were only about 100 meters from our original start point shortly before they took the blindfolds off and marched us into a darkened garage.

Inside the garage were about 15 bearded and scruffy looking freedom fighters sitting around a large card table. Hanging on the back wall was a large Pineland flag. Sitting on the table was a bunch of candles which provided the only light. The leader of the auxiliary motioned for us to sit and then introduced all the various guerilla commanders and auxiliary dignitaries. He then proceeded to interrogate us on our loyalty to Pineland and what were we going to do for them.

We talked about the training and missions we had conducted up to that point. We assured them that we had every intention as representatives of the United States military to see that Pineland was liberated. We then spent about an hour haggling over the amount of money they would be paid for their assistance, with the auxiliary trying to soak us for more and more of a bribe. These role players had the advantage as they had been doing this for years and probably knew down to the penny how much Pineland “don” that student A teams where issued upon infiltration. Trust me they were trying to get a hold of all of it.

Eventually the talk turned to our possum and the delicious meal they had provided us. It was made very evident by gestures and body language that it would be taken as a grave insult if we had not eaten the gift. So what was a novice Green Beret to do in this situation? Well I looked them straight in the eye and lied my ass off. I talked in vivid detail about how we prepared the possum and consumed its every delectable morsel. The auxiliary commander looked back at me and I knew that he knew that I knew that I was lying to his face. After a moment of silence he produced a jar of moonshine from under the table and announced that we would toast to the liberation of Pineland. As they passed around the jar I snuck a peak at the cadre/evaluator that had followed us to this meeting. I knew it would be disrespectful to decline to make the toast but I was also worried I would get in trouble for drinking while on duty as a student. Well once the jar came around to me I figured what the hell and took a long swallow of the white lightning.

After not drinking alcohol for quite a while and eating nothing but MRE’s for the last month, the moonshine went straight to my head. All I remembered for the rest of the evening was that they blindfolded us again and drove us around in the pickup truck before dropping us off right back where they picked us up. I stumbled back to my sleeping bag and slept off the booze until the next morning.

We continued to conduct missions, surveillance, ambushes and raids for a few more weeks until we were exfiltrated back to Camp Mackall for stand down and graduation. The intricacy of the exercise that is “Robin Sage” is too much to chronicle here but trust me when I say that everyone from the town police to the local librarian and everyone in between participates in this exercise when it is conducted. It is about as close to operating in a foreign country as you can get and still be in the USA. Several years down the road I found myself in some eerily similar situations when negotiating with Serbians and Albanians in Kosovo or Pesh Merga fighters in Iraq. It was then that I learned the value of this realistic training.

Dances with Dirt 50 Mile Ultra: Some days your the bug

So bottom line up front I failed to accomplish my goal of completing a 50 mile ultramarathon. However like with everything I do I have a story. This weekend started Friday night when my support team assembled at the hotel in Lodi, Wi. I just want to say that those who came out to help me in my attempt were the absolute best support team ever,second to none. They did a better job during the race with encouragement and nourishment than the people actually conducting the race. Thanks Deborah,Matt,Jade,Tarrah,Dan,Casey and Jay,you guys made it fun.

So Friday myself and my brother Matt drove the 26 miles to the race start and picked up my race packet,number and timing chip. We also wanted to see how long it would take to get there. We determined based on our recon that we would have to leave the hotel at 0400 for the 0530 start of the race. Morning for some of the teenage elements of my team was going to come early. After returning we drove around looking for somewhere to feed the crew. Our choices were limited but we finally found a pizza place in a small town about 15 miles away. It was pretty good pizza and cheap enough. Upon returning to the hotel I laid out all my equipment and hit the rack at about 9 pm. I didn't have any trouble falling asleep and actually woke up at 0315 the next morning. I loaded everything in the van and then woke the others up. They all got up with a very minimum of griping which is always good when dealing with teenagers. Did I mention they were awesome? My sister Deborah arrived from Madison at 0400 and we were off to the race location.

The start/finish line was lit up with Christmas lights on our arrival. It was still dark but the sun rose soon enough as we waited for the race to start. I did all my pre-race preparations, attached my number and timing chip,hydrated, used the porto potty, and applied the pre race vaseline on likely chaffing spots. At about 0525 the call to the start was made and a 100 plus runners moved into position. Both the 50 mile and 50 kilometer (31 miles) ultras were starting at 0530 with the marathon (26.2 miles), half marathon (13.1 miles), and 10 kilometer (6.2 miles) starting between 0630 and 0800. We would all be running on portions of the same course so during the day I would see runners in all the races. I lined myself up at the back and waited for the gun to sound.

When the race started I hit the timer on my watch and my Garmin and started jogging forward, as usual at race start there was an accordian effect as we in the back had to wait for all those in the front to sort themselves out. I wasn't worried as it was going to be a long day and a lot of miles, I had the next 13 hours to stretch my legs. The course initially took us up the ski slopes of the resort the start/finish line was located at. I got a taste of how the day would be and how rough the terrain on this course would be, as for the next 4.5 miles I ran/walked up double black diamond ski slopes and through the woods connecting them. As we turned to head back down the footing was treachourous. The course ran straight down the face of a ski hill that had 2 foot high summer weeds growing on it. A path of sorts had been made as the runners followed the pink ribbons marking the course. By the time I hit this section the grass had been crushed down over the underlying rocks which made for very slippery footing. All I could think off was utilizing the "mountain walking" techniques I had learned in Alaska. I concentrated on making full contact with the entire sole of my foot with each step to create the friction necessary to keep me from busting my ass. The trail leveled out relative to what we had just been through and we hit the first aid station. My awesome team refilled my water bottles and I was ready to head out. I was trying to stay ahead of the hydration as it was already over 80 degrees with high humidity. My shirt and shorts were wringing wet with sweat even after this first section. The first section took me right about an hour to complete.

The next section headed us through a swampy area and then started climbing again. As I would find through much of the course there was no actual "trail." The lead runners made the trail as we ran through the woods, over logs, around head sized rocks, stepping over roots, always following the pink ribbons that denoted the Ultra route. The other races had other colors that sometimes shared our route and sometimes not. The route continued to climb and the elevation change was serious enough that I felt my ears pop a few times on the way up. My Garmin was trying to track the mileage but the foliage was messing with it and it lost signal quite a few times. As we reached the top of the ridge there was a small aid station with water at a curve in the trail. It was literally in the middle of the woods and I thanked the two volunteers manning it as I refilled my water bottles. Besides drinking water/gatorade I also was trying to eat a Clif bar or some Power shots every 30 minutes. I was carrying this food in a small fanny pack while my water bottle were on my hands attached with a special harness.

The course actually flattened out at this point as we ran along the ridgeline to the next check point. I ran most of this section as I had been forced to walk/run on most of the first two sections. I wasn't worried about this however as I knew that would happen on a race of this distance. The goal during an ultra is to always move forward. 

At the 11 mile mark we hit the next aid staion and my team had some Gatorade and a few peanut butter sandwiches for me. I was still feeling pretty good and ate and drank for a quick break. I gave them my useless Garmin then I was off again to the next check point. The course still stayed relatively flat and even slightly down hill as we headed towards the shore of Devil's Lake itself. I was starting to get passed by runners quite regularly now as all the routes converged at this point. I looked at the color of their numbers howevr and could see I was holding my own against the other ultra runners and I must have been somewhere mid-pack. I had tripped over countless roots and rocks with both feet during the race so far but it was during this section that I hit a hidden rock with my right big toe so hard it brought tears to my eyes. I also cut my knee climbing over a log. As I hit the lakeshore aid station at mile 14 I stopped once again to refill my bottles. Doing some quick mental math I figured I was about 15 minutes ahead of the pace I needed to make the 25 mile cutoff time. As a safety measure the race organizers had set a time of 6.5 hours to complete the first 25 miles of the race. Those attempting the 50 miler that missed this time would be directed to finish the shorter 50 kilometer race instead. This was a reasonable precaution to keep from looking for people in the woods over all creation when it started getting dark.

Little did I know that the real race for me had just started. About a mile or so down the trail from the aid station we encountered a camping area we had to run though. It was at this point I got a little off trail missing a turn and running about 100 meters before I realized my mistake. I looked back and saw another runner making the turn so I headed back and got on the right route. We actually hit some paved roads for a short distance and then we encountered the first of what was to be two serious, serious elevation changes. The trail went almost straight up the side of this bluff with huge rocks placed as steps. I looked at the map later and this climb looked to be about 1000 meters of lung searing pain. Here is where my race plan started to unravel. As I started climbing my right hamstring started cramping and then my left as well. I tried to move off the side of the trail and try to stretch them out. I continued to down some water and walk them out but my pace had slowed considerably. Another runner offered me some electrolyte tabs and they helped alot. In 10 minutes or so I was feeling back to normal. We continued to climb and a runner I would pass and be passed by for the next 15 miles or so remarked how this reminded him of the "Golden Steps" at the top of Barr Trail on Pike's Peak. Having been on that trail myself we talked about it for a while. He had actually run the Pike's Peak Marathon on a previous occasion. Finally we reached the top and I started running the downhills and flats and walking the up hills as the trail followed the countour of the ridgeline.

At 17 miles we hit the aid station farthest away from the start. My support team was on the ball and once again refilled my Gatorade. I ate a PBJ, a banana and changed my socks. When I took my shoes off my feet were literally pruning from sweat. I noticed that both my big toenails had blood underneath from the tripping and the constant up and down pounding.The one on the right based on my experience was a definite goner and probably the left one as well. My team asked me how I was doing as they cleaned the cut on my left knee and applied some antiseptic spray. I admitted to them I was starting to cramp up on the uphills and I need to increase my electrolyte intake. After about a 5 min break I headed out on the course again. I was on pace to make the cutoff by about 10 minutes.

The next section started with a 2.4 mile out and back section on a dirt road. This wasn't too bad except for the two big hills on it. At this point I was still able to run and took the downhills as an opportunity to keep up the pace. We passed back through the aid station again and then took a right through a meadow and into the woods. Shortly after that we popped out onto the lake shore and followed a 1.9 mile trail that hugged the shoreline. This was probably the beginning of the end of my hopes to finish 50 miles. The majority of the race up to this point had been in the woods and it was fairly shaded but this section was totally exposed to the sun. The trail was also a popular tourist hiking area and so it was roughly paved although uneven. The combination of the sun reflecting off the asphalt/water and having to avoid all the pedestrian traffic along this area must have sapped my energy subtly with every step. I ran the entire section but it would come back to bite me later.

Once again we hit the lake aid station at what had been the 14 mile point the first time around. Now we around 21.4 miles and I was starting to wonder if I would make the cut off time. I had about an hour to make the 3.6 miles to the halfway point. On a normal day that would have been a piece of cake but on this day on this course it was a serious consideration. So after refilling the water bottles I headed back out on the trail.

Soon enough I hit the second serious climb of the race. Another 2.2 miles of rock steps and serious pitch. And once again my legs started cramping. I continued to tell myself to move forward and eventually they worked themselves out but it caused me to lose more time. Eventually I hit the top of the bluff, we were up so high that when I looked over the edge of the trail I got the same feeling in my legs I used to get when I did a lot of rock climbing and parachuting. There were quite a few rock climbers that had anchors points set up and were rapelling down the cliff face. I asked how their day was going as I ran by and they gave me a thumbs up. I hit the highest aid station on top of this bluff at mile 23.5, as I downed water I saw that I had 25 minutes to make the 1.5 miles to the cutoff at the 25 mile point. It seemed doable as the course now headed down off the bluff. As I headed down I started cramping up again on the steeper sections. I really had to alter my stride to keep moving. I started running scenarios through my head, weighing the options on what to do if I continued on. Would I make the cutoff time? If did could I even finish the race in my condition? If I made the cutoff and continued on what was my rescue plan if I had to stop? I really struggled mentally as I continued running down the mountain. My cramps seemed to have gone for now but blisters on my feet were starting to form and all the pounding was taking its toll on them as well. My pride told me I should continue the race but my common sense told me to call it a day. This is why I love these events, pushing yourself to the limit you learn what you are made of. Doesn't really matter what the results are its the journey that counts.

Ultimately the decision was made for me, I hit the checkpoint at mile 25 in 6 hours 31 minutes 18 seconds. That was 1 minute 18 seconds too slow to continue the 50 mile course. As I checked in they informed of that in the nicest way possible, I told them thanks but it was probably for the best anyway. Well although my hopes were dashed I now had plenty of time to finish the 50 kilometer race as I had suddenly went from having 6.5 more hours to run 25 more miles to having 6.5 hours to run 6 more miles. So I totally chilled for about 10 minutes. I drank water, chatted with my support team, ate a few more sandwiches and then headed out on what had now become my last leg. I told my support team I was probably going to take a while as my focus now was off the time and was shifted to just finishing a race.

I headed back along the same fairly flat to rolling trail I had encountered on the trip out. I was still able to maintain a running pace stopping to walk the uphills. I could feel my hamstrings twinge every time I ran downhill and I really was trying to take it easy on them. Eventually I hit the steep downhill section that I had climbed on the way out. My legs were just too shaky so not wanting to take any chances and fearing I would be stuck in the middle of nowhere and have to be rescued I started walking. I probably walked the last 2 miles downhill over the rocks and roots and trees. Once it flattened out I started running again at a slow deliberate pace, I knew I was close to the finish as I started recognizing some of the terrain. I heard the music at the finish line and picked it up as best I could. I rounded the corner out of the woods and into the meadow and everyone started cheering. I threw my water bottles off my hands towards my daughter and stopped to take a picture of the clock before I crossed the finish line. The clock read 8 hours 28 minutes and 34 seconds. It had taken me roughly 2 hours to travel that last 6 miles, but it was finished. As they handed me my finishers medal they asked me my age for age group awards. I just laughed and told them my age but not to worry about it as I didn't think it would be an issue.

My official chip finishing time for the 50K was 8:27:47.9 just as a comparison to show the difficulty level of this course here are some of my other recent race times. I finished a previous 50K last December during a blizzard here in Iowa in 7:21:42 on a much flatter course. In May I finished the Rockford Marathon (26.2 miles) in 4:29:50. What did I learn? Well I learned that some days your the bug and some days your the windshield. I learned next time I attempt his race I need to do more hill work. And last but most important I need to somehow get ahead of this cramping issue. I have had this issue on both Ultras I have done. I am taking a few weeks off from running to heal up. I am going to concentrate on riding my mountain bike and do some MTB races at the end of the month. As I write this my legs are extremely sore but I am already thinking ahead to my next 50 mile attempt. I will accomplish this distance before I turn 50 years old. I have 2.2 years to make it happen.

Alliant Energy/CVRA Races 5K

So for something like the 15th time I ran the Alliant Energy 4th of July  5K. I haven't missed this race much in the last 20 years. I even managed to make it most years I was in the military. The 8K race is the premiere road race in the area with quite a few professional runners that show up for the prize money. I usually run the non competitive 5K however. I don't need the money.

This year the course changed due to some construction in the downtown area. Instead of a out and back loop from the downtown area it was an out and back loop from the Little Bohemia area of town that is south of the downtown area proper. This was good as it made the course over all flatter and faster, however it was bad because the course itself was more remote and the amount of spectators and spectacle was significantly diminished this year.

So I got up this morning put on my running togs and drove down and parked in the parking lot at work. I did this for two reasons, first I knew parking would be at a premium and second I wanted to get some warm up miles in before the race. So after parking I jogged the .75 miles to the start outside the Chrome Horse saloon. The Chrome Horse is a local establishment that is becoming somewhat of a sponsor for local sporting events. They sponsored the New Bo Fest Half Marathon last year and also the local mountain bike club (Linn Area Mountain Bike Association) has their board meetings there. Once there I saw a huge crowd of people waiting for the 8K racers to finish so the 5K could start. I guess the race organizers had counted on everybody running at least a 12-14 minutes pace for the 8K. This was not to be and even though the 8K had started at 0700 and the 5K was slated for 0815 we didn't actually toe the line until closer to 0830. So directly after the National Anthem we were given the word to move up to the start line. In an unusual move for me I decided to start closer to the front. In the past I have always hung out in the back and then once the race started picked people off. However I had been thinking that this was causing me unnecessary delays in the initial miles of the race and kept me from hitting my goal pace of 24 minutes.So I decided to head up front to see what would happen.

When the starting gun sounded I took off at a comfortable but steady pace. We ran a few blocks east before turning right and heading south along the Cedar River. Once we made the turn we were headed slightly up hill and I was passing people as I usually do heading uphill. As we crested the hill we started a long downhill section and I concentrated on lengthening my stride and taking advantage of gravity. This section was probably .5-.75 of a mile then we bore slightly to the right and dumped out on to the flat river road. This was also the first water stop and the one mile mark. At the one mile mark I had run a 07:37 minute first mile which was faster than I had run the first mile in a few years. Maybe my strategy was working?

As we headed towards the turn around I settled into a comfortable rhythm. I tried to breath evenly and not let the few people who passed me affect my own race plan. I also passed a few people and was in the top third of the pack as we made the u-turn at the halfway point. I made the halfway mark in 11:26. I was on pace for a sub 24 minute 5K and things were going to plan.

As we headed back along the course I could see the rest of the racers stretched out along the mile or so of the course that I could see. Somehow even though it was exactly the same distance seeing all those people made the return trip seem longer. I was starting to breathe a little labored and I could feel my pace slowing even as I tried to hold it steady. I hit the railroad tracks at the 2 mile point and started up the long uphill which had previously been the downhill, funny how that works. I had forgotten to look at my watch at the 2 mile mark but about halfway up the hill I looked and I was at 18 minutes.

I kept chugging up the hill not quite sure if I was slowing or it was an illusion due to the effort I was putting out running uphill. At the crest we now had a short down hill before making the left hand turn back west to the finish. At the turn as I saw the finish line about .02 of a mile ahead. I looked at my watch and saw it was going to be close hitting that 24 minute goal. I didn't speed up but I tried not to slow any further and once again tried to make my foot turnover quicker. I crossed the finish line and looked down at my watch, I had missed my goal by 34 seconds!! My time of 24:34 is still the fastest 5K I have run in the last 4-5 years and I have improved my time on every consecutive 5K in the last 2 years. I know this won't last for ever but for now it feels good.

Post race I grabbed a Gatorade and banana and then jogged back to my car. Total mileage for the day was 4.87 in 39:54 which will be my long run for the week. I am tapering for the 50 Mile Ultra Marathon I will be running for charity next Saturday. More on that next week but until then check out my donation page.
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/michaelmcelmeel/danceswithdirtdevilslake50mileultramarathon

Still here but on Hiatus

Hi folks. I am sorry for not posting for an entire month. My life has been really crazy and the creative juices were just not flowing. I have some ideas in mind I will be writing about soon. Meanwhile checkout some of my other sites which I have been updating regularly.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/mikemac356
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Mike-McElmeel/675689242
Tumblr:http://mikemac356.tumblr.com/
Dailymile: http://www.dailymile.com/people/mikemac356
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/mikemac356

Also I am running a 50 Mile Ultra Marathon in 9 days to raise funds for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation. Check out my page and consider a donation.

http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/michaelmcelmeel/danceswithdirtdevilslake50mileultramarathon?fge=ask

Thanks for stopping by
De Oppresso Liber

Memorial Day 2011

Remember those that have went before and those still to come. Thank you to all those that gave the ultimate sacrifice and those that still guard the gates of freedom.

Here is my Memorial Day post from last year, not much more I can say:

http://mikemac356.blogspot.com/2010/05/memorial-day-me-and-jerry.html

Rockford Marathon 2011

After running the half marathon last year, see this post http://mikemac356.blogspot.com/2010/05/fatslow-distance.html and setting a personal record I decided to make this marathon one of the two I will be running this year.

I couldn't have picked a worse weekend, it was 40-50 degrees and pouring rain all day Saturday. After driving the 3 hours to Rockford, I picked up my race packet and chilled in the hotel room watching the latest episode of Doctor Who on Justin.TV with the J-Man. Boochie took a nap until it was time to eat at Buffalo Wild Wings with her significant other and his parents. We had a pleasant dinner and she went over to his house to hang out while me an J-man returned to the hotel. Me being me, I laid out all my gear for inspection and prepped for the race by drinking lots of water and eating some ibuprofen. Between the strange bed,noises, and pre-race jitters I didn't actually fall asleep until midnight. The Boochie came back and I was awake again at 0100. So prior to the race I got about 4.5 hours of sleep as the alarm was set for 0530.

We woke bright and early and packed all our gear into the car in case misfortune would happen and we didn't make it back to the hotel before the 1300 checkout window. Surprisingly all the kids got up and even Boochie's boy friend arrived on time, so we were out the door by 0600. The race was to start at 0700 and even though we had some trouble figuring out where to park, I was still on line at the porto potties for the pre-race dehydration by 0630.Weather was surprisingly similar to last year. Even though the rain had stopped it was windy,overcast and about 50 degrees.

This race had pace groups similar to the Quad Cities Marathon, and I had such a good experience last time I decided to utilize a pacer this time as well. I was using this race as a training run for a longer 50 mile run I will be doing in July so I wanted to beat my pace from the Quad Cities but not kill myself. I had run a 4:44 in the Quad Cities so I decided to go with the 4:30 pace group for this adventure. That works out to 10:18 minutes per mile over the 26.2 mile course.

A few minutes prior to race start the played the National Anthem and then the gun sounded and we were off!! As we crossed the start line I hit my Garmin Forerunner GPS and fell in behind the pacer. Her name was Val and she was from PA. Over the course of the marathon I was to find out she had run about 10 marathons and many ultramarathons. As usual the first 5 miles were pretty easy, the pace felt slow but I knew it would get harder as we went. The only bother was we were headed directly into a pretty stiff wind. So stiff I had to turn my hat backwards to keep it from blowing away. They had changed the course slightly from last year but I did recognize several of the landmarks from the previous race.

There were aid stations and/or water stops at every mile marker and most also had more porto potties. This was good as I had to utilize them every mile for the first half of the race. Approximately mile 6 we headed back towards the start line and of course now we had a tailwind which was nice. The course wound along a bike path by the river which was very scenic. I was still feeling very strong at this point which was about the 10-12 mile mark.

We emerged from the bike path to hit the city streets again. Running about another .75 miles the marathon and the half marathon courses split. We said goodbye to all the half marathoners that had been running with us as we turned left up a steep hill. At the top of the hill we took a right and crossed over our previous route and headed west back through downtown. At this point the course would cross back over itself several times and we would hit some of the same roads we had run on previously.

Miles 13-16 were pretty uneventful as I still felt good. There were 4 of us counting the pacer in our group and we were all still holding conversations although the pauses were getting longer. We had noticed and commented on the fact that the mile markers seemed slightly off from what our Garmins were reading. Several of us had them and they all showed us about .25-.30 miles ahead of the official mileage.Val apologized for any discrepancy but she reminded us she had to pace to the mile markers and could not rely on the Garmins. She mentioned maybe we would be banking some mileage for the end.

Approximately mile 18 we lost our first casualty as a lady whose name I didn't catch dropped back and started walking. A little later on about mile 20 Vas, a gentleman who said he worked in a hospital and had recently lost 40 pounds started to fade and eventually we lost him. I saw him at the end and he did finish somewhere around 5 hours. So at that point it was myself,Val the pacer and another young lady from Muncie Indiana. She was running her second marathon.

Mile 22-25 were killer as usual. I think it must be some unwritten code amongst race directors that the last miles of a marathon must be in the loneliest,most godforsaken area available. Devoid of any human contact or encouragement, we ran down a bike path through a forested park. Conversation was at a minimum and I for one was concentrating on my pace and breathing. As noted earlier the mile markers seemed to be a little off. What this did was effectively put us at a faster pace than what we had planned. Approximately mile 24 I started to fade myself. it was requiring increased effort to maintain the same pace. It was at this point I decided I needed to run my own race. I reasoned this was a training run and I could still finish under my previous time for the Quad Cities marathon. So I slowed my pace slightly into something more comfortable. The pace group slowly widened the gap until they were still in sight but out of reach.

At mile 25 some joker decided that it would be funny to put a large hill on the course. I powered up this hill with the finish line in sight and took a left to head back down the hill. It was at this point I saw Val again. She had actually slowed down as she discovered what we had suspected, which was we were ahead of our goal pace. I caught up with her and as we rounded the last curve I saw my kids piling out of our car. They were carrying a the big pink sign they had constructed which said "GO DAD GO." They got an "A" for effort but I told them they needed a little more practice as a support crew. They tried to keep up with us but Boochie stopped because she was laughing so hard .Val and myself ran across the finish line together in 4 hours 29 minutes and 50 seconds.

All in all this marathon was a good time and a success. Not sure I will do it again next year as I want to try some different events. But you never know it might be a yearly event. Training for my Ultra starts tomorrow!!!