Operation Jack

Fighting autism, one mile at a time.

Archives for 2010

Race Report: Big D Texas Marathon

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In Sunday’s Big D Texas Marathon in Dallas, I think I finally realized that yes, this attempt at 60 marathons this year is going to be difficult and painful. On paper, the schedule is daunting, and I’ve never run a marathon that wasn’t tough. But I think I’ve reached the point that I’m going to have to accept and expect physical and mental struggles. I went 3:24:05 in the race, a time I’d consider to be my slowest of the year when considering the course and elements.

This race, my 18th marathon of the year, was pure pain from start to finish. Granted, I ran the Olathe Marathon in Kansas the day before, so there was no reason to expect this to be easy. But the one recurring thing that kept running through my mind was how much I was hurting.

The course itself was fairly nice, but unspectacular. We didn’t run by anything that you’d think of when you think of Dallas — no downtown or anything like that. It was primarily a pass through a bunch of older sections of town — mostly modest neighborhoods, but there were a few nicer neighborhoods and some pretty bad parts of town. We spent some time running around White Rock Lake, which was nice, and almost the entire race went down tree-lined streets. Probably not a destination race, but it was a nice run. There was a competition amongst the aid stations, so all the volunteers were enthusiastic and had a good time.

The weather started in the low 60s and worked its way up to the high 60s by the end of the race. It was fairly humid, but overcast. Not perfect running conditions, but I’ve run in worse.

As for my running, I got going and felt kind of OK. I had told myself before Saturday’s race that I would attempt to go no faster on Sunday than I did the day before. I’m not good at exercising restraint, though. I still went out gunning for 7:15 miles to try to get back into the sub-3:10 range that’s been eluding me since February.

I was inconsistent early on and my legs were fairly sore. I tried to not think about the fact that I had run a marathon the day before, because 26.2 miles is a long ways and there’s no sense psyching yourself out. My heart rate was a little low, maybe around 160 (my target marathon HR is 170), so I stepped it up and was able to run right around a 7:00 pace for the most part for a little while. I turned in some good miles, but I didn’t have enough in me to hang on to that effort. I hit the half in 1:38:05, six seconds slower than being on pace for another BQ (3:15:59 for me). I had zero confidence I could negative-split the course, though.

I kept plugging along, trying to find some fight to run hard. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a whole lot in me. The entire race hurt pretty bad physically and I spent a lot of time praying about things. I thought back to yesterday, how I started a new Train 4 Autism chapter in Kansas City. Tony Rezek is going to be that chapter’s president, and I caught his attention with my attempt at 60 marathons, not my 3:07 in Carlsbad. It’s the effort I’m putting in, not the times I’m pulling out.

I realized that pain is just part of the deal. It’s my job to do this, my job to run myself into the ground, but people will respond and join me and Train 4 Autism to fight the fight. So I kept on running. Physically, I was miserable. I never felt comfortable. Mentally, I was more-or-less fine, just trying to ignore how thrashed I felt.

At about 17.5 miles in, I got a pretty bad side stitch that reduced me to a shuffle. For those of you non-runners, a side stitch is a bad abdominal pain that feels like someone is stabbing you. It makes it hurt pretty bad to run and to breathe. Normally when I get these, they last a half-mile or a mile. Today, though, it didn’t go away until about mile 22. By then, I had really slowed and at that point, it’s tough to pick up momentum.

I think other people were struggling because I was actually passing folks over the final few miles. With about 1/2 mile to go, there was a man and a woman who I’d passed a few minutes earlier and I could see they were making a charge to pick me off by the finish. I stepped it up and got my pace into the mid-6s to hold them off. Not exactly the way I wanted to finish off 52.4 miles of racing this weekend, but I guess it was appropriate to burn until the end.

I went 3:24:05 according to my Garmin. Somehow, that was good for 20th overall out of 598 finishers. I saw Ally Phillips and her husband at the finish — she’s a Dallas resident and a great friend of Operation Jack. She ran the half marathon and was only a minute off her PR!

All-in-all, it was a tough run for me individually and I’m not thrilled with my time, but I think something inside me clicked. I’m learning to be content with my effort and the progress of Operation Jack regardless of how long it takes me to reach the finish line.

18 down, 42 to go. Time to try to get another chapter started!


Me and Ally about 30 minutes after the finish. I tried to smile, but I couldn’t make it happen. Yeah, it was that painful!

Race Report: Olathe Marathon

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I feel pretty blessed to be in the middle of this Operation Jack journey. It’s extremely exhausting, but I have a good chance at making a difference, and there’s really no better feeling. It’s nice to run fast, but it’s even nicer to not run fast and have a day like I did on Saturday in Olathe, Kan.

For those of you who don’t know, I’m a marathon runner and a father of three and my middle child, 6 1/2-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. I’m trying to run 60 marathons this year to raise awareness and money for Train 4 Autism, a great charity I’m a part of. I named my endeavor Operation Jack after my little superstar. Today was race 17, the Olathe Marathon.

My plan going in was pretty simple. I wanted to run miles at around a 7:15 pace, stay as consistent as possible and hang on for dear life. That pace is not beyond my ability. But I’ve reached a point where my body is a little angry with this 60-marathon attempt, so I’m trying to find ways to get as much out of myself as possible.

I really enjoyed the course in Olathe. I’m biased, because I love Kansas back from the days I used to live there, but it was exactly what you’d expect running a marathon in the Heartland. We ran by a mall, through some nice neighborhoods and some older neighborhoods, past schools and parks and churches, then spent 10 miles running on an asphalt path through a wooded park area. I got to run about 1/4 mile from the first apartment I lived in with Tiffany after we got married.

For me, it was a dream course. For most other people, I’d call it a nice run, but I wouldn’t necessarily recommend making it a destination race. It’s a small, local marathon with a fair amount of charm.

Anyways, I fought a little in the first mile or so trying to get into a groove. My heart rate monitor was inaccurate and I was trying to find a steady rhythm. I did, and I felt pretty comfortable with how I was running by the second mile. I started to feel a little bit of pain in my hamstrings by around 6, but nothing significant. I was ticking off miles at a pretty good rate and felt pretty comfortable with how my day was unfolding.

I really just wanted to end up with a 3:15 or better and get my first BQ in a month, but my stretch goal was to run a consistent race and get a sub-3:10 and pick up the confidence that brings. I didn’t hit the greatest tangents early and I could tell I was making the race longer than I needed it to be. My average pace was something like 7:13 at the half, but my time was right around 1:35:30.

I kept trucking along, but somewhere around 18 or 20 or so, I could tell that I had nothing left physically. I had no push and I had no power in my stride. My miles had been floating between 7:15 and 7:30 and they seemingly instantly dropped to the 8:00 – 8:30 range. Faster than a tortoise, but I knew it was the beginning of the end.

I started to feel hungry and I could tell I was getting dehydrated. I was thirstier than I normally am and my mouth felt pretty dry. There was no remarkable kick or late surge or anything like that. I think I stepped it up a tiny bit in the final mile, but it was nothing great.

I finished in 3:19:05, good for 29th overall, 6th in my age group. Not a terrible run and nothing I’m going to lose sleep over. Just something I’ll learn from as I continue to try to improve my nutrition.

One cool thing about the race was a buddy of mine from college named Dan Merker who ran the half-marathon sporting his Operation Jack tech shirt. It was only his second time running the 13.1 distance and he nailed his sub-2 goal. He knew me back in the day when I was the last person you’d expect to run 60 miles in a year, let alone 60 marathons in a year. I think I’ve had some impact on him taking up running, so it was pretty cool to be out there at race with him.

Also, the Kansas City Star ran an article about Operation Jack the day before the race, and a man named Tony Rezek saw the article. I ended up meeting up with him during lunch after the race and he’s going to start a new Train 4 Autism chapter!

So what can I say? I didn’t hit my time, but I don’t care. This was a successful race because of Dan and Tony. And I got to run 26.2 miles through a beautiful course in Kansas. Does it get any better than that?

17 down, 43 to go!


Me and Dan after the race.

Weekend Preview: Races #17 and 18

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Here we go again, and again. It’s time for my next marathons of Operation Jack, and I’m using the plural form of the word marathon, because I have my third double of the year this weekend. I’ll be running Olathe, Kan. on Saturday and Dallas on Sunday to bring me to within 42 marathons of completing Operation Jack.

Just in case this is your first time here, I’m a marathon runner and a father of three. My middle son, 6 1/2-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. I hatched up this crazy idea of trying to run 60 full marathons this year to try to raise awareness and money for a charity called Train 4 Autism. So far, things are going well. I’m raising money, building new Train 4 Autism chapters and doing a fine job running my body into the ground.

As I frequently mention, while I want to tackle the world this year, I know that it will be a lengthy process that takes more than just 2010. I’m planting seeds this year. I really hope to see growth down the road! But right now, it’s just one day at a time. And it’s already Thursday. Wow, these weeks fly by.

Weekly Pick-My-Time Contest
Every week, I have a contest where people guess my time in the form of a small donation. Basically, if you think I’m going to run a 3:15, you donate $3.15. To donate, you can click here or you can click on the “Donate Now!” link at the top of any page on this site.

It’s an easy way to support the cause and I really appreciate it because it tells me that you believe in what I’m doing. It’s the proverbial pat-on-the-back. Last week, Dina Williams was the winner. She also won her NCAA Tournament bracket and donated her winnings to Operation Jack!

Anyways, to help with this contest, I give you my insight on the course. One thing that’s different this week is that I’m running two races. So, we’re going to go with Sunday’s race as the one I use for the contest. I’ll get to details on that in just a minute.

Orange County Marathon Weekend
I’ve mentioned a couple of times that we’re going to have a Silpada party on Friday night, April 30. We’re waiting on one last confirmation and then we’ll post the evite next week.

Also, we finally nailed down a location for a pasta dinner on May 1. This one should a little less hectic than the one we had the night before Surf City. I don’t want to totally announce the exact details because we’re still confirming the time, but it looks like it’s going to be an all-you-can-eat thing for a reasonable price at an Italian restaurant in Irvine. If I have this confirmed today, which is very likely, I’ll update this blog. E-mail me if you’re interested and I’ll get back to you.

This Weekend’s Races
OK, I have the Olathe Marathon on Saturday and the Big-D Texas Marathon on Sunday.

Olathe is a suburb of Kansas City and starts just a few miles from the first apartment Tiff and I lived in after we got married in 1999. I’ll actually run within about 1/2 a mile of that apartment in Overland Park, Kan.! I’m so excited! The course is pretty flat. The elevation profile I saw shows some rollers, but there’s only about 40 or 50 separating the highest point from the lowest point. So, I’m mentally treating this as a flat course. I’m not expecting anything (other than having to run 26.2 miles) that’s going to cause much trouble.

One problem I really have right now is a lack of confidence. Catalina was a 3:48 and that was a decent run because it was a hilly trail course, but I followed that up with two 3:20s and a 3:23. I have no confidence in myself right now, and I haven’t really decided how I’m going to run. I’m thinking I’ll resist any kind of temptation to run anywhere significantly below 3:10 regardless of how I feel. I’ll try to keep the pace between 7:10 and 7:15 and if I get the feeling that’s conservative, maybe I’ll try to push a little bit starting at around 21. Otherwise, I’ll just hang on for dear life.

I’m thinking that if I run smart, which I’m going to try my best to do, I can go 3:13.

Sunday’s race in Dallas isn’t terribly hilly, but it’s not flat. There will be a few more challenges than I expect to see. In my five previous doubles, I’ve gone 3:17/3:16, 3:04/3:09, 3:24/3:19, 3:18/3:21, 3:28/3:29. For the first three, I’d say the course/elements were slightly easier on the second day. The fourth time it was a little tougher the second day. The fifth time, I ran in wind, mud and hail the first day, then had perfect weather and had an easy time leading the 3:30 pace group the second day.

So, I’m thinking that whatever I do on Saturday, I’m going to head out and try to run at the same pace to maybe two minutes slower per mile on Sunday. So, if I average 7:22s on Saturday, I’ll try to run between 7:22 and 7:27 per mile on Sunday. I’m thinking I’ll start to struggle no later than mile 20 on Sunday, but I’ll still push forward as hard as I can.

What does that all mean? I think I’m going to be about 2-4 minutes slower on Sunday and if I were betting, I’d probably go with a 3:22 just based on how I’ve been running lately. But don’t get me wrong — I’d be very disappointed if I went 3:22 either day.

April Campaign Plug
I’m making a push on an easy campaign in this month. Take a look at what I’m trying to do!

OK, That’s All For Today
Have a great weekend, everybody. And please enter the contest! Please, please, please!

What's Up With OJ Wednesday

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It’s Wednesday, so I’ll give you my weekly quick rundown of what’s going on with Operation Jack. It’s spring break for my kids and I’m kind of taking a tiny bit of a break mentally. This relaxing thing is nice, but I need to get back on track. On the bright side, though, I’m a world-record holder now, and I have a photo to prove it!

Real quick, just in case this is your first time here, I’m a marathon runner and a father of three. My middle child, Jack, is severely autistic, and I wanted to do something to use my running and make a difference in his honor. So, I’m running 60 marathons this year (well, trying to, at least) to help raise money and awareness for a charity I really like called Train 4 Autism. I named this endeavor Operation Jack in his honor.

Train 4 Autism helps people raise money for the autism-related charity of their choice while training for event, such as a race or a triathlon. I really believe in the model, because it’s very similar to Team In Training, which has raised about $1 billion over the past two decades. There’s room in the market for Train 4 Autism, because there isn’t a big autism-related organization like this. We’re at the grassroots level right now, but I’m hoping that Operation Jack can help provide some of the boost we need. So far, we’re doing well, with new chapters popping up all over the country!

Weekly Contest Winner!
I have a contest every week where you guess my time with a small donation (for instance, if you think I’m going to run a 3:15, you donate $3.15) and the winner is the person who comes the closest without bidding under. If I choke, and run slower than everybody’s guesses, then the person who came the closest wins. Oh, the prize is your choice of an Operation Jack t-shirt, tech shirt or sweatshirt.

For the second straight week, I choked and ran slower than all of the predictions. I thought I was going to be down in that 3:15 range and I ended up going 3:23. But, somebody has to win. And this week, it’s Dina Williams. She’s played every week, so I’m glad she won.

I’m not sure if I’m going to do the contest this week. I have two races, so I don’t know what I would do — pick one of them? Make folks make their guess for both times combined? That would be a little bit more expensive for everybody. So, I’m kind of thinking I’ll pass on the contest this week. I might change my mind by tomorrow.

April Donation Push
This is a long year and I’m quickly learning that fundraising is extremely difficult! My goal for the year is to raise $100,000. So far, I think we’re at somewhere around $15,000 or $16,000. We’re a touch behind, but still doing raising funds at a fairly decent rate.

This month, I’m running seven marathons in seven states, so I figured I’d start a campaign focusing on the number 7. I figure a $7 donation is pretty easy to obtain, so I’m pushing for those. Just like everything else with Operation Jack, a little bit of help from a lot of people can go a long ways! I spelled out details in my April update I sent to everybody. It’s pretty simple … just read that page, and if you’re on Facebook, post a link to it with a tiny explanation on your wall. Super simple stuff!

Cleveland Marathon
I just got an email from the Cleveland Marathon. If you’re planning on running that on May 16, they’re running out of space in a hurry in the half-marathon. There’s information on the event here, including a charity code to use to get a discounted entry.

I’m A World Record Holder!
About a month ago, I saw an article about how the Angels were giving a way Snuggie-type blankets on April 6 and were going to set a world record for the most people covering up with blankets in one place at one time. I posted a link to the article on my Facebook page, complaining that I thought was the cheesiest promotion I’d ever seen.

And then a friend of mine commented that he thought it was a great idea that his kids would love. And then I thought about my 8 1/2-year-old son Benjamin, who’s really into reading the Guinness Book of World Records right now. So I told him to tack a couple of tickets on to the order. I told Benjamin last week that we’d be going to a ballgame AND getting a free blanket AND setting a real world record and he just about jumped out of his chair.

So, last night, we went.


My little goofball.

Lots of red.

They even played a baseball game!

There, it’s official.

Maybe on Saturday, I’ll turn to the runner next to me at the start line, and say, “I hate to brag, but I’m a world-record holder.” Yeah, or maybe not?

OK, That’s All For Today
Enjoy your Wednesday, see you tomorrow!

Ten Random Things For Tuesday

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I couldn’t think of anything to write about today, so I just came up with 10 random things to talk about, ranging from baseball to Chutes and Ladders.

1. I went for a run this morning and saw a dude driving a convertible with top down. It was 42 degrees outside and the sun was just starting to rise. In Minnesota in January, that might be top-down weather. But this is California. And it’s baseball season. I don’t know if he thought people would think he was cool, but he was wrong. I thought he was an idiot.

2. Speaking of baseball season, it’s baseball season! Albert Pujols’ two home runs were pretty sweet and Jason Heyward’s home run in his first major-league at bat was an amazing moment. Talk about living up to the hype with your first swing! I think we saw the play of the year, though. Every team still has 161 games to go, but I can’t imagine we’ll see anything more incredible than this:

3. I think I get the loser dad award for using the wrong words with my 4-year-old daughter. We played Chutes & Ladders last night. She’s pretty competitive, which is good, because you can’t teach that. But she was cheating, and I caught her several times. I don’t care if I win the game, but I do care if she cheats. I won’t put up with that. So, I told her I wasn’t going to play games with her any more if she cheated like that. Well, she’s 4, and she basically heard me say that her daddy wasn’t going to play with her any more. She was hysterically upset like I’ve never seen before. Nice job, Sam. Everything’s better, though.

4. I’m going to the Angels game tonight. They’re going to give everybody blankets and set a “world record” for the most people covering up with a blanket in one place at one time. That world record and $6.47 will get me lunch at In-N-Out. I think it might be the most ridiculous cheap attempt at a world record ever. But then I remembered Benjamin is really into world records. And he loves baseball. So we’re going. Should be a good time.

5. My father-in-law saw that I put my sister-in-law in my blog yesterday and jokingly asked when I was going to put him in. Well, I guess this covers one of my 10 random things. Random fact about my father-in-law: He’s 5 inches shorter than me!

6. That basketball game last night was amazing. I’m not a big basketball fan, but I loved that game. I was pulling for Butler, and if that last-second shot would have went, it would have been replayed for 100 years. Regardless, it was an amazing game. I can’t stand Duke, probably because they win so much. But Coach K is the kind of guy I want coaching my kids.

7. My ice cream streak is alive and well at 65 days now. I know my wife reads this blog, so Tiff, can you please pick up some more from the store? We’re just about out. We also need toothpaste and deodorant. Thanks! Love you!

8. One of my best friends, Kevin, turned 39 on Sunday. I told him that I keep thinking I’m catching up to him in age, but he keeps getting older! I can’t wait until next year, when I can give him a truckload of grief on his 40th birthday. But then I realized … one of my best friends is 40. Does that make me old just for associating with him? Yikes!

9. Jack likes spring break. There’s no rush in the morning and he gets to chill and eat breakfast at his own pace. He gets to sleep in and chill and have lazy mornings. Good for him — he deserves a little bit of a slowdown!

10. I guess I’ll use this 10th item to do a plug for something I’m trying to do this month. It’s a simple fundraising push, one that requires barely anything. I’m not using this 10th item to ask you to do anything other than take a look at the April Operation Jack update I sent out to everybody if you haven’t already seen it.

That’s all for today … have a great Tuesday everybody!