Archives for 2010

I had a great weekend. I spent plenty of time with the kids, got some work done in the garage, hung out with the wife, visited my grandparents, ran a marathon and even took a nap on the couch. It was wonderful! And that made me miserable.

I had been looking forward to this weekend for a while — it was my third weekend staying home this year and for the first time I wasn’t overwhelmed with planned Operation Jack activities. But by the time I woke up for my race on Sunday morning, I was totally bummed about how much I enjoyed Saturday because it made me realize what I’m missing every other weekend.

I have naysayers who think this is the wrong thing for me to do, and for the first time, I understood why. It would be so nice to do these things every weekend, like just about every other dad in America. But I’m spending my weekends everywhere but home. I woke up on Sunday morning and was sad for the first time this year. It’s tough being away, but it’s really tough being home and realizing what you’re missing when you’re away.

I got ready for my race in the comfort of my own home while everybody was sleeping, even the dogs. On my way out the door, I went and checked on Jack and covered him up, because he’d slipped out from his blanket. I gave Benjamin and Ava a kiss on the cheek — they were camping out in the playroom in their sleeping bags and they looked so cute! I went and gave Tiff a kiss on the cheek and told her I’d be safe and take care of myself, as I always do when I’m leaving before a race.

And then I got in my car and made the drive to Pasadena, completely unmotivated to run. I had my upbeat pre-race CD in the car and that didn’t even do the trick. I got to the race and just kind of roamed around aimlessly until the start. It seemed like all work, no play. I didn’t want to run. It was pretty miserable.

But somewhere along the way, it just kind of snapped for me. I thought back to my fifth marathon ever, the 2007 Carlsbad Marathon. That was one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had in a race. In my previous marathon, a runner died at the finish, and that shook me up. So in my next race, that run at Carlsbad, I went out and ran scared. I held back, afraid of not dying. It was absolutely miserable. I swore to myself during mile 24 of that race that I’d never run another marathon, but that changed about an hour after the finish, when I knew I didn’t want to dwell on that race forever. So I ran the Pacific Shoreline Marathon (now Surf City) two weeks later, 16 minutes faster. I got my groove back.

That mindset I had on that drive home from Carlsbad is similar to the mindset I had early on during Sunday’s race in Pasadena. At some point, I broke out of my funk and knew that I need to be all-in mentally. I know that as a family, we’re taking care of everything and moving along just fine. So I need to stick away from my short-term emotional swings and just keep rolling forward, chasing my goal of helping Train 4 Autism grow.

So, to wrap up this “Dear Diary” moment, that’s how a good weekend can actually be a miserable weekend. As I keep saying, the running is the easiest part of all this. I just need to keep my head up and my eyes focused straight ahead. Ten down, 50 to go!

All this week, I’ve been working to establish a new weekly routine for my blogs. Continuing along with Thursdays, I’ll be using this as my final posting of the week (aside from race reports) to talk about my upcoming race(s) and any surrounding events. This weekend it’s pretty simple — I get to stay at home, run the Pasadena Marathon and visit my grandparents. What more could I possibly ask for?

Operation Jack Race 10: Pasadena Marathon
I’m really looking forward to this weekend, because the logistics should be pretty easy. Pasadena is no more than an hour or so from my house, so I don’t have to pack a suitcase and I get to stay at home. On top of that, it’s looking like it will be the most low-key weekend I’ve had this year. It’ll be nice to exhale!

This is actually my third weekend staying at home, but it’s going to be the easiest, by far. The other two were filled with other obligations and time commitments and I ran myself into the ground before I even had a chance to truly run myself into the ground (in a marathon). This weekend, there’s not much planned before my race aside from going to Advanced Hyperbarics with Jack on Saturday morning, so I might actually be able to think about my race a little bit.

I took a quick look at the course profile and it doesn’t look too ridiculous aside from one decent climb. In a way, it reminds me of Carlsbad, which has one tough climb and rollers the rest of the way. I always feared Carlsbad, and Pasadena is something I’ve perceived to be difficult, but I just attacked Carlsbad and ran my fastest time of the year (so far). I’ll probably do the same thing with Pasadena on Sunday.

I feel like my fitness is improving, although I’m not 100 percent and I won’t be this entire year. But I’m not worried. I should be fairly well rested. I’m going in for a session in the hyperbaric chamber on Saturday. My diet has been fairly good this week. I’m feeling fairly fresh. And I only ran one marathon last weekend.

That “only one marathon” sounds kind of ridiculous, but I’m noticing that I’m a little less solid the weekend after a double. The weather has also been impacting me quite a bit. My four best runs have been in ideal running conditions. My four worst runs have been in poor weather. There was also Surf City, when I paced the 3:30 group. The weather was perfect that day and the run was very easy. Sunday should be in the 50s or low 60s during the race — good enough for a marathon in my book. Not perfect, but not bad.

So add it all up and I’m feeling pretty confident about this one. The mental aspect of a marathon is pretty big and I’ve made the mistake of heading into a marathon afraid.

I’m going to try a slightly different strategy, trying to keep my pace at 6:52 (3:00) as long as my heart rate doesn’t go above 174. I run a marathon between 170 and 172 and I feel like I blow up once I cross 177 or so. I’ve been feeling stronger lately, so I’m going to start pushing it again. And I guess one good thing about what I’m doing is that if I mess it all up, I can give it another crack next weekend.

If I had to put an over/under on this one, I’d go with about 3:08. I really think I have a good shot at going sub-3:10, which I really want to start doing on a weekly basis. But anything can happen during a marathon, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned through 37 of them, it’s that they’re ALWAYS difficult. So we’ll see!

Perfect Post-Race Meal
I’m having the perfect post-race meal on Sunday. Part of that is the company and part of it is actually the food.

If you’ve been following along, you know I beat my grandma in our 22nd-annual Super Bowl bet this year. So, she’s taking me, the wife and the kids out to Souplantation (in some parts of the country, they call it Sweet Tomatoes). They’re featuring sweet potatoes right now, which are not only one of my favorite things to eat, but they’re a great recovery food for me. And of course, they have ice cream there. Barring anything unforeseen, that will push my current streak up to 22 consecutive days with ice cream or frozen yogurt.

Beyond all that, though, it’s a treat to spend time with my grandparents. I absolutely adore them and with my schedule this year, it’s tough to find time to see them. So when I get the opportunity, I will, and I’ll have the opportunity on Sunday afternoon!

One side note: I earned a penguin stuffed animal at my first marathon of the year, the Texas Marathon in Kingwood, Texas, on January 1. They gave one to each finisher with the place we finished around the neck. My grandma LOVES penguins (you should see her house — penguins all over the place!) so I’m going to give it to her. I’ll post a picture in my blog on Monday.

Have A Great Weekend Everybody!
A weekend at home, a race I’m confident about and a visit with my grandparents … I think I’m going to have a great weekend. I hope yours goes well, too! Thanks for stopping by and supporting Operation Jack!

All this week, I’ve been laying groundwork for new standard weekly formats for my blogs. Mondays will be weekend recaps and on Tuesdays, I’ll be discussing something that really matters to me (or telling an anecdote from my past so you can get to know me a little bit better). On Wednesdays, I’ll give a weekly rundown on Operation Jack — upcoming deadlines, special announcements, good news, etc. And since today is Wednesday, I guess it’s time for an Operation Jack update.

For those of you who have never been here, I’m a marathon runner and a father of three. My middle son, 6-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. So, I’m attempting to run 60 marathons this year to help raise money and awareness for a charity called Train 4 Autism. Train 4 Autism helps people train for races and raise money for autism-related charities. I’m trying to get people to jump on the bandwagon with my “stupid-human trick,” hopefully planting seeds for growth in the process.

Shoe Shopping?
I bought two new pairs of shoes yesterday (I’m at about 275 miles on both pairs I’m currently rotating) and I’m hoping some of you are willing to consider taking the same path on your next purchase. The shoes I buy normally cost about $90 plus tax. I got two pairs for about $130 total AND Operation Jack is going to earn $17 from that. Here’s how:

In the navigation at the top, click on “Store” and you’ll see a link to RoadRunner Sports. When you click through to the site from here, Operation Jack earns 13 percent from everything you buy. You get free shipping if you’re a VIP Member, and since VIP membership only costs $1.99 a year, it’s a no-brainer to add that to the cart. They have a sale for the next few days where if you spend $150 or more, you get $40 off your purchase (if you’re a VIP member) if you use the discount code CB10Y43E. Even if you don’t go over that amount, you get 10 percent off.

My shoes are on close-out (I wear Saucony Guide 2s, and they just came out with 3s, but I’m totally fine with the 2s). So my shoes, regularly $90 each, are discounted to $75. I bought two pairs, got my 10 percent and $40 off, which worked out to about $130 with tax. Shipping was free. So there you have it, two pairs of $90 shoes for $130, delivered to my doorstep, and Operation Jack nets $17 out of the deal.

If you know the shoes you’re going to buy and you’re like me and you shop for discounts, take a look and see if it makes sense for you!

Sweatshirts Are In!
If you saw the picture of me in Monday’s blog, you saw that sweatshirts are now in! We’re shipping them out this week to everybody who still needs to receive one, but we still have enough if you want one. Here’s the deal: Go to the Sponsors page and you can see the donation levels to get everything. The sweatshirts are pretty darn comfortable. I like mine and I know Tiff slept in hers last week. She’s a total princess, too, so that says a lot!

Last Call For Napa!
We have a really good arrangement ($45 off the entry fee) if you want to run the full marathon at Napa Valley on March 7. I need to send entries in on Saturday, so if you’re interested, go to the Contact Us page and drop me a line.

Thank You Ben Delaney
A few weeks ago, I wanted to start thanking people in each blog, but I think I’m going to save that for Wednesdays as part of my weekly Operation Jack update. Today, I’m thanking Ben Delaney, one of my best friends and a fellow runner. We’ve been friends for 17 years, so it’s not a surprise that he’s excited about what I’m trying to do.

But when I read his Facebook status updates (“Going to the expo to pick up my bib, wearing my Operation Jack shirt with pride!“), see him running a race in his Operation Jack tech shirt, hear that he took flyers to everybody he mixes with at his running shop and find out that he’s talking to everybody he knows around the country to help with the cause, I know I’ve got some pretty good support.

Sure, a good friend should be supportive if his buddy is doing something that needs support. But he’s really supportive, beyond what is necessary. It’s tough to do what I’m doing, and every little bit of support helps. This isn’t a little bit of support, though. It’s a lot of support — above-and-beyond support. And it’s awesome, because I know I’m not alone. So Ben, thank you. But it’s still your turn to buy lunch today, because Kevin bought last week and I bought the week before.

Questions, Anybody?
I don’t know what y’all want to know, so if I’m leaving anything unanswered, or if you have any questions, let me know! Post a comment, fill out the Contact Us form or drop me an email!

Get Over That Hump!
I’m heading to In-N-Out for lunch today and I get to start carb loading (again?!?!?) tomorrow. Ice cream streak is at 17 days. And that’s all for today. Have a great Wednesday everybody!