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.