Operation Jack

Fighting autism, one mile at a time.

Archives for 2010

Weekend Preview: Lewis & Clark Marathon

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I’m still coming down off of my high that was last weekend’s Tahoe Triple, but because of what Operation Jack is, I have to get over that now, because it’s about time to head out of town to run a marathon. Marathon No. 47 of the year is in St. Charles, Mo., and as difficult as running a marathon is, this is just the break I needed.

Real quick in case you’ve never been here before, I’m a father of three and marathon runner. Click here to see why I’m running 61 marathons this year for Train 4 Autism.

Lewis & Clark Marathon: Just What I Need!
Here’s what I did in September:
– September 4, Pocatello Marathon, starting at 6,400 feet and ending at 4,500 feet. The elevation made it tough and the downhill did a number on my quads.
– September 5, Operation Jack 7-Hour Challenge. Yes, that was the next day, and it was in Portland. After a long drive to the airport from Idaho, I got in, had a dinner function, then woke up early the next morning and ran 45 miles on a 0.94-mile loop.
– September 11, Patriots Run. This was a 9:11 timed run and I won it with 54 miles. For me, it’s pretty challenging to run ultras five days apart. What made this one even tougher was it started at noon, we were completely exposed to the sun for the first 7.5 hours, and the weather at the start was 80 degrees with 70 percent humidity. It gradually warmed up from there.
– September 19, Mountain Air Marathon. This race, in Gunnison, Colo., started at 8,950 feet and ended at 7,850 feet. This was extremely difficult for me since I don’t train at altitude. The 150-foot climb at mile 23 was pretty brutal, too. After flying to Denver, I had to drive 225 miles through winding mountain roads to get to and from this race. That didn’t make my weekend any easier.
– September 24, Emerald Bay Marathon. The first leg of the Tahoe Triple, after just four days off following my previous marathon. Elevation started at 6,830 feet, ended about 200 feet higher than that, but dipped down to 6,200 feet and had a brutal climb from miles 23 – 25.5. This was the toughest marathon I’ve ever run.
– September 25, Cal-Neva Marathon. The second leg of the Tahoe Triple. I was anything but fresh. This was the easiest leg of the Tahoe Triple, but was still among the top 5 or 6 most difficult marathon courses I’e ever run.
– September 26, Lake Tahoe Marathon. The third and final leg of the Tahoe Triple. Tougher than the second day, but a tiny bit less tough than the first day. This capped a brutal month, although I was pleased to finish third overall in the Tahoe Triple.

So that brings me to Sunday’s race, the Lewis & Clark Marathon in St. Charles, Mo. I couldn’t have asked for anything better than what I’m facing on Sunday. It’s at about 400 feet above sea level, which is sea level as far as I’m concerned since I train at about 1,000 feet.

There are some very gradual rolling hills early that don’t faze me at all. In fact, I think I’ll like them because they look like they’re slight enough that they’ll give me the opportunity to use different muscles and mix it up. There’s a climb between 15.5 and 18, but when you’re looking at a climb of 75 feet over 2 1/2 miles, you know it’s nothing major. I had two climbs last weekend that were about 750 feet over 2 1/2 miles — yes, 10 times as steep.

And the weather? High of 58, low of 37, no precipitation.

Really, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. I’ll be feeling it in my legs when I get going, but the course won’t set me back at all. For the first time since August, I should be able to just go out and run hard and get a time my body is capable of. In that race in August, I went 3:12. I don’t know that I have enough in my legs to run a 3:12 right now, but I’ll be disappointed if I don’t run a 3:15.

Weekly Contest
Normally, I have a weekly contest where y’all make a donation equivalent to the amount you think I’m going to run, so for instance, if you think I’m going to run a 3:15, you donate $3.15, and whoever gets closest wins their choice of an Operation Jack t-shirt, tech shirt or sweatshirt.

Well, I’m trying to raise money for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Center for the St. Jude’s Marathon in Memphis on December 4. It will be my 58th marathon of the year. I’m more than halfway to my goal for that, so once I hit that, I’ll get back to having my weekly contest.

Function With St. Louis Cardinals
If you’re in the St. Louis area, or if you know anybody who is, we’re having a really cool function on Saturday with two players on the St. Louis Cardinals. Starting pitcher Adam Wainwright, who won 20 games this year and finished second in the National League Cy Young voting last year, and second baseman Skip Schumaker, who finished 10th in the National League in batting in 2008 and hit better than .300 each of the previous three seasons, will both be at Hot Shots in Fenton, Mo. about two hours after the game signing autographs.

For details about the event, head to operationjack.org/cardinals.


Adam Wainwright

Skip Schumaker

OK, that’s all I have for today. I actually had something more, but I’m out of time. Have a great weekend, y’all! I’ll have a race recap up on Sunday!

How I Ran Three Marathons In Three Days

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I like to write a weekend recap, and with what was essentially a 3 1/2-day trip to run the Tahoe Triple, you’d think I’d have a lot to write about. But I take more of a business-like approach to this one than any other weekend, because even with all the marathons I’ve run this year, I couldn’t just show up and take the races for granted. I had three marathons to run, three marathons to finish, and there’s no way I’d allow myself to turn in a lousy effort.

Ordinarily, three marathons all-out in three days would be tough physically. But I knew it would be a little tougher than normal, because the courses are on rolling hills at elevation. I started to find that I have troubles above 4,000 feet, and the courses we ran on varied between 6,300 feet and 7,040 feet above sea level. I tried not to think about it all heading in. I knew I had three marathons, but I mentally blocked out how difficult the courses would be. I certainly wasn’t looking forward to it, though.

I left work after lunch on Thursday, flying in to Reno. When I got in, I had to drive straight to Tahoe, which was about an hour away, to attend a dinner for all the Triple runners that started at about the time I landed. I was a little late getting in, but I got there just in time to hear Dick Beardsley speak. He’s a running legend, a 2:08 guy back in the day, and it was fun to hear some of his stories. I sat at a table with a friend of mine, Lucia Lake, who is the race director for the 72-mile ultra associated with the weekend of events. I didn’t know I took the seat next to Beardsley until he was done speaking and sat down there next to me.

No big deal, but then when Lucia went up to speak, she started talking about me and went on for a little bit about Operation Jack. At that point, Beardsley started playing 20 questions with me, interested in how I was training, what I was doing to raise money and all those types of things. It was fun to get quizzed by him, but it was kind of awkward, because I’ll never be 1/10 the runner he was.

Anyways, I grabbed some pasta and some pizza and some rice krispie treats, then went to my motel and got settled in. I didn’t have to get up until 5:15 a.m. on Friday, which is fairly late for me on a race day. I think I got to sleep somewhere around 10 or 10:30, so I was fairly well rested. I’m used to running marathons on 4-5 hours of sleep this year due to the travel. I knew rest would be critical, so I was glad to start with about seven hours the first night.

After getting up and ready, I ran the first marathon (recap here) and was pretty wrecked. I texted my wife Tiffany to let her know I was done and safe (women worry about that stuff, I guess) and told her it was the most difficult marathon course I had ever run, because it was. If I had come home having just run that, I would have had a tough weekend. I finished fifth overall with a 3:49. It was that tough.

One benefit of the lake is that it’s cold water, perfect for an ice bath and easier than climbing into a tub. I went in for about 20 minutes before I went back to my motel, then stayed off my feet and got a bunch of work done on the computer. I didn’t have much of an appetite, but knew I needed to eat. About five hours after I finished the race, I went to Denny’s and forced myself to overindulge on all-you-can-eat pancakes.

I was full after three, but I forced myself to eat seven. I wasn’t convinced that I’d really be able to use all the carbs I ate for Saturday’s race, but I figured that if I didn’t burn all those pancakes, I’d use them for Sunday. I wasn’t tremendously concerned about protein after the first day. I’ve run at least 10 or so doubles before, so I know I can fight through it.

After eating, I went back to the lake for a second ice bath. It was about a 10-minute walk to the lake, so that was nice for a tiny bit of recovery. When I got back, I took some ibuprofen PM. It was only about 6:30 at that point, but I figured that would make me tired at a reasonable time. I picked up a couple of protein bars at a grocery store, then went to Burger King to get a small order of fries. My real reason to get the fries was so I could get a ton of salt packets. I had about 6-8 to get the salt back into my system, and I drank a ton of water and a couple of Gatorades to rehydrate. I called it a night, iced my right knee and right foot, and went to sleep, ready for the second day. Oh, I stretched, too. Two ice baths and stretching — definitely important when doing a triple!

I woke up on Saturday morning after getting about 7 1/2 hours of sleep and didn’t feel very tired, which was nice. My legs were a little tight, but not as bad as they normally are the day after a marathon. The ice and stretching must have helped, as did lounging around and staying off my feet for the most part.

I ran the second race on Saturday and my legs were pretty dead, but the pain wasn’t too bad. It was just tough. The run was nice, but it wasn’t a ton of fun because it was so difficult. I was pretty happy with how I did, because out of the top five finishers in the triple, I was the only one who was faster the second day. The course was easier (or, should I say, less difficult and miserable), but the other four were all slower. I went from 3:49 to 3:36 (recap here).


Using the lake for an ice bath after the race.

I went into the lake after the race again, but didn’t eat aside from a handful of pretzels. I wanted to work up an appetite, because I knew protein was important before the third race, and I was going to an all-you-can-eat stir-fry restaurant called Fire & Ice. I showered, got some work done on the computer, and about four hours after the race finally ended, I went to eat. I did a number at that restaurant, eating four full plates (each were the size of a dinner restaurant entree) and loading up. Chicken twice, mahi mahi, and then a huge serving of salmon. Lots of rice, tortillas and veggies in the mix there, too. I sat at the bar in the restaurant watching college football and the bartender was amazed by how much I was eating!

I got back to my motel, took another ice bath, then sat in bed watching football. I took some ibuprofen PMs at an early hour again, drank a couple of gatorades, had about 6-8 more salt packets, drank a ton of water and called it a night again.

I got up on Sunday and wasn’t tired but my legs were pretty tight. My left hamstring and right knee felt sore. I guess that’s to be expected after two marathons in two days. The third course is about as difficult as the first one and I knew it was going to be a tough day. It was pretty difficult to have a positive approach. I knew at the end of the day I would have completed the Tahoe Triple, which is a difficult challenge, but I really didn’t want to run 26.2 miles. There’s nothing quite like running 26.2 miles in the mountains when you don’t want when you’ve run marathons each of the previous days.

But I had to do what I had to do, and I battled through the third day (recap here). Of us top five in the Triple, I don’t think any of us finished faster the third day than the second day. But I was the only one who finished faster than I did the first day. I knew I did a good job taking care of myself and that I was ready for this. And I knew I was glad to be done! Any one of these three races would have been one of the toughest courses I’ve run. Lucky me, I got three of them in a row! I finished third overall in the Triple out of maybe 100 or so entrants.

After the race, I went and took another dip in the lake. It felt pretty nice to soak my legs. I was pretty exhausted! When I finally got back to my hotel, I showered, checked out, drove back to Reno and stopped at In-N-Out, then flew home (with a stopover) and finally walked through my door at 9:30 p.m.

I had a snack, posted my race report, worked on my blog, then called it a night. I have to get out the door before 7:30 to get Jack to school on time, which I did yesterday morning.

So, that was my weekend. Normally I have a function, I see something interesting or have fun anecdotes to tell. But for this weekend, I had to take a very serious approach, because if I didn’t, I’d be setting myself for a miserable experience.

Like this entire year has been, it was fun, challenging and memorable, but I’m not so sure I ever want to do it again!

Three Fun Things From The Triple Weekend

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I’m not going to write a ton today for my weekend recap, because to be quite honest, I’m short on time and I want to do a blog on the anatomy of a three-marathon weekend. But I do have three fun things from this weekend that I want to share.

Real quick, in case you’ve never been here before, click here to see why I’m trying to run 61 marathons this year to help raise money and awareness for Train 4 Autism.

Over the weekend, I ran three marathons as part of the Tahoe Triple.
– Friday: Emerald Bay Marathon
– Saturday: Cal-Neva Marathon
– Sunday: Lake Tahoe Marathon

I finished third overall in the Tahoe Triple to cap off a tough month. I ran two ultramarathons (timed races in which I ran 45 and 54 miles) plus five marathons with an average starting elevation of more than 7,100 feet and an average finishing altitude of more than 6,400 feet. Seven races … thank goodness all I have on the schedule for October is six marathons!

I’m calling three as the number of the day, since I finished in third place in a three-marathon competition. I’m pounding myself into the ground for charity, not for fun. So if you’re glad you have your legs and not mine this morning, I’m begging you to make a contribution of $3 (or more if you so desire) to help fight pediatric cancer. I know I’m taking a slight detour from my passion, which is fighting autism, but it’s for a great cause.

And heck, while I’m at it, can I ask you for another favor? I haven’t done a “spread the word campaign in a little while, so if you’re on Twitter, don’t hesitate to let people know about me, and if you’re on Facebook, direct people to the fan page!

Now, on to the three funny things I wanted to share from this weekend.

My Flight Attendant Had More Jokes Than Me!
If you’ve ever been on a flight, you’re probably familiar with the safety instructions they tell you at the beginning. Seat belt, flotation device, emergency exits, etc. Well, the flight attendant giving the instructions over the PA on my flight back last night was firing off the jokes, and I just had to share. Here were some of her nuggets:

– “Just in case you haven’t been in a car since 1950, this is a seat belt.”

– “In the event this flight turns into a cruise, underneath your seat you’ll find a Big Bird flotation device with a matching Louis Vuitton belt. Look for the exits. When you get out there, row, row, row. We’ll be behind you with peanuts and an open bar. When you’re safe, the flotation device will be yours to keep.”

– “If the cabin loses pressure, these cups will drop down. Don’t scream or panic — that will really annoy your neighbors. Instead, just put the mask over your face and breathe normally. If you don’t know how to breathe normally, just breathe however you normally breathe. If you’re traveling with two or more children, what are you thinking? On the bright side, this will be a great time for you to pick the one with the most potential.”

– “It is a federal offense to tamper with the smoke detectors and web cams in the lavatories …”

– “Soft drinks are complimentary. Beer, liquor and cheap wine are all $5.”

– “Raise your hand if you’re feeling warm! Good, now while your hand is up, turn on your fan.”

– “If you look up, you’ll see a button with a hairy lightbulb. If you press that button, it will turn on the light. Next to it, you’ll see a button with a flight attendant. If you press that button, it will not turn on the flight attendant.”


The hairy lightbulb: I looked like an idiot taking this picture with my phone.

Sign Of The Week
I’ve never seen a sign like this one. So I took a picture.


I’m not really going to explain this.

I Wonder If This Has Ever Been Booked
So here’s the motel I stayed in over the weekend.


I know, looks fancy. But it’s not.

They have a gazebo for weddings in the parking lot. I mean, I guess to each their own, but do people actually get married at the parking lot of the Rodeway Inn?


That’s my rental car. $17/day and chrome rims!

OK, that’s all for today. Oh yeah, and my Chiefs are 3-0! And my Wildcats are 4-0! I’ll see you back here tomorrow!

Race Report: Lake Tahoe Marathon (Tahoe Triple #3)

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I headed into Sunday’s Lake Tahoe Marathon, the third and final leg of the Tahoe Triple, dreading the final challenge of the weekend. I don’t fear running marathons, but I don’t enjoy pain. And I knew it would be close to four hours of pain.

I had heard that the course had a reputation of tough hills and when I drove the course on Saturday, I was able to visually confirm that reputation. There were two good climbs after mile 15. One was about two miles long and gained a good 700 feet, and the other was less than a mile and probably gained 300-400 feet. Those hills are tough at sea level. Tackling those up near 7,000 feet is something else.

So, I had some apprehension heading into the race, but at this point, I just run through pain for 26 miles on a weekly basis. I expected that to be the case today. Before the race started, my hamstrings felt pretty tight. I felt fairly good aside from that, but I’m more used to fighting through quad pain so I was a bit concerned.

Mentally, I planned on taking the first four miles as a warmup and then pushing a little harder when I felt loose. My goal for the day was to break 3:45. I also had outside hopes of capturing third place in the Tahoe Triple overall for the weekend. I entered the day in fourth place, trailing third place by about 10 minutes. I felt confident that I could run well, because if nothing else, running marathons through pain and fatigue is what I do on a weekly basis nowadays. I don’t have speed, but I can edure.

So, we took off and I didn’t feel great, but I moved fairly well. At a solid effort, I was turning 7:50 miles, which is a decent pace for 6,300 feet. I settled into a groove and felt decent by about four miles in. I caught the third-place runner by about mile 6 and we chatted for a bit. I asked him what he typically runs and he’s a 3:10 runner with a 3:04 PR, so I knew I was competing with the right caliber of runners.

By mile 7, he had to let me go. He told me he was shooting for a sub-4 because he was feeling pretty beat up. He ran the Triple four years ago, so he knows how he handles the breakdowns. I figured that if I ran my race and stayed strong, I’d have a pretty good chance at third place.

The first half of the race wasn’t tremendously challenging, other than the altitude. Some rollers up and down, but we stayed fairly level in the 6,300-foot range. I hit halfway right around 1:45, which I was pretty content with. The first hill, which they call the “hill to hell” came a little after 15. I knew it was a beast, but I just told myself that I only had five miles left in the triple. It’s all downhill and flat from 20, so I just wanted to get myself to that point.

The hill was a killer and the sun started peaking out. I ran the whole thing, because once I take walk breaks, I’ll shut down mentally and convince myself that more walk breaks are okay. A little before I got to that hill, I passed the runner who was second overall in the Triple. He had 25 minutes on me, but it was a pretty good confidence boost — I knew I was running well.

Between the first and second big hill in the second half, there’s a big downhill and I took it pretty hard. I wanted to get my turnover going and keep moving as fast as I could towards the finish line. As I told several runners over the weekend, the faster you run, the sooner you’re done! My left hamstring started to get pretty tight and my right knee started to hurt. I get tendinitis flare-ups in that knee occasionally, and it didn’t surprise me to feel it after 70 miles of racing on hills in about 50 hours.

The second hill was very steep, but I told myself that once I peaked, I was done for the weekend. My legs would turn themselves for the last 10K! I got to the top, and we were right where we started the first day. I had run around the entire lake! I had a pretty good view at that point and it was kind of mind-boggling that I had run all the way around. I try to think of running a marathon as 26 one-mile laps, and I know how my body reacts as the race progresses. I try not to think about how far I’m actually running.

Anyways, the last 10K starts with a pretty steep downhill and I did all I could to move my legs as fast as possible without losing my balance. I was moving at about a 6:50 pace — the faster I run, the sooner I’m done!

I was looking like I was in pretty good shape for a sub-3:40, which would have been an amazing day in my book. Times are relative to the course, and for my ability, a sub-3:40, especially on day three, would have been pretty nice. But I hit the wall hard at mile 23. From about 21 on, I was really wanting the race to be done, and all of a sudden, I couldn’t move my legs. I had been turning at about an 8:00 pace on fairly level ground and that dropped to about 10:00/mile.

I tried to take shorter strides and increase my turnover, but that barely worked. I also started to feel pretty nauseous, but there was nothing I could really do. I just needed to get the race over with. I got near the finish area and saw the finish line about 3/10 of mile ahead and did my best to kick. My 3:40 was long gone, but I had a chance at staying below 3:44. I crossed the line in 3:43:50 and was finally done! The guy who started the day in third place in the triple standings went 3:58, so I took third overall out of about 100 or so people who entered.

For the first time in a long time, I was actually very happy with my effort and output for a run, really more for the series of runs over the weekend. This wasn’t a course I could be blazing fast on, but I felt like I ran hard all three days and really pushed through and battled. By the end of this race, I was completely beat up. It’s been an exhausting month from a racing perspective and I completely ran myself into the ground. I told people before the race that I’d give it my best and I know I did that.

It’s incredibly satisfying to leave it all out there and I know that I did that. Now, I just need to find my legs within the next seven days!

46 down (plus a couple of ultras), only 15 to go! Next up, St. Charles, Mo.!


Done, done, done! I was too tired to stand for my finish-line picture. Please forgive me!

Some of us lunatic triplers before the start of the race.

Me and a friend of mine named Katie before the race. She’s an Operation Jack supporter and will probably comment on this race recap.

Me and Katie after the race.

Race Report: Cal-Neva Marathon (Tahoe Triple #2)

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I headed into Saturday’s Cal-Neva Marathon expecting the easiest run of the three marathons I’m running in three days for the Tahoe Triple. The race might be the least difficult of the three, but it was far from easy.

I iced my legs in Lake Tahoe twice on Friday, stretched, took some ibuprofen, carb-loaded with an all-you-can-eat pancake feast at Denny’s and got a fair amount of sleep, so I didn’t feel too bad when I woke up. When I got to the start line, I had a “here we go again” mentality. Running marathons is what I do. Time to do it again.

During the pre-race instructions, we were told that it would be downhill for the first seven miles and then flat for the next 12. We’d hit a hill near the finish. Fair enough, I can handle that, not that I have much of a choice.

It was chilly at the start and with an elevation of 6,830 feet, it was pretty oxygen-free, too. Sure enough, we were running downhill right away, but I didn’t have any zip in my step. I wasn’t really sore (well, maybe a touch in my hamstrings), but my speed just isn’t there right now. My stride is strong, but my turnover is weak. It’s part of being beat down from fatigue, plus I’ve taken it easy during training in September because my schedule for the month is challenging for me (one double, two ultras, one triple, five marathons starting at 6,400 feet or above, seven races total) and I just need to get through.

I couldn’t run very fast, but I had the feeling I’d just pound away consistently and finish another race without much issue. During the early downhill stretches, there were some uphill portions that were a little tough. Not ridiculous, but I saw a man who was in fifth place at the time walking up them and we were only five miles in.

There also some uphill portions between miles 7 and 19, including a pretty good climb somewhere around 15 or so. I was running in fourth place from about mile 11 on and didn’t see anybody ahead of me until about 15, when I spotted the third-place runner about a quarter-mile up. He was taking walk breaks periodically and I was gaining on him.

I finally got on his heels by about 17, but I couldn’t pass him. He was faster than me when we were running and when I’d catch him on his walk breaks, he’d start running again. I just kept chipping away and he couldn’t fight me off and we started leapfrogging each other at about mile 19. At that point, I really wanted third place and I hoped I could keep it close because I knew I could outkick him. I had no idea how fast he could kick, but I knew I’d get him if it was close.

He was a really nice guy named Ryan, from Minnesota, we chatted a bit since we were so close to each other. He passed me and I started to fade at around 22 and got about 1/4 mile ahead of me again. There was a pretty tough climb at about 23 and I started to close on him as he took walk breaks. But when we crested, there was a long downhill section and I had nothing. Normally, that’s where I’m strong. But I couldn’t go to well and it was too early to kick.

I thought I had no chance at him, but I started to go at 24.75 anyways. No sense leaving anything out there. So I kicked and started to move pretty well. That’s tough to do when you’re well above 6,000 feet! I was gaining on him and he was taking walk breaks. And I gained on him and gained on him some more.

He knew I was coming and started moving a little bit, too. I closed the gap and really thought I was going to pass him. I wasn’t exactly sure where the finish was going to be, but I was right on him. I had closed to maybe 20 yards or so and I was closing fast. And there it was. The white chalk line. We were done and I was at the finish until about one second away.

If the race was 50 yards longer, I would have had it. Oh well, I guess I had to settle for just a marathon! But it was a lot of fun racing hard at the end like that. I was pretty out of breath at the end, but I was telling him and his crew how much fun I had in that race. I have no doubts that we were each about two minutes faster than we would have been if not for the other. We really pushed each other and it sure is fun to race to the finish.

I went 3:36:12, obviously good for fourth overall. I talked to the winner, who went 2:57, and he’s a 2:30 marathoner. So that made me feel good about my efforts. I knew the Tahoe Triple would be tough because it’s three marathons in three days. But either of these two races would make for a tough weekend. I rode Sunday’s course after the race and it looks even tougher than Friday’s run. This Tahoe Triple is three brutal races in three days.

After the first two legs, I’m fourth in the overall Triple standings and that’s where I suspect I’ll end up. But there are no guarantees of anything for anybody out there. Sunday’s race will be tough, so I’ll go out there and do my best. That’s all I can do!

So, for the weekend, two down, one to go. And for the year, 45 down (and a couple of ultras), only 16 to go!


Done!

Me and Ryan after the race. Two down!

Using the lake for an ice bath after the race.