Operation Jack

Fighting autism, one mile at a time.

All Bets Are ON!

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It’s never too early to line up bets for January 1 and Super Bowl Sunday. That’s what I’m doing now. But my wagers have nothing to do with college bowl games or the NFL. They’re about my attempt at weight loss and my pacing battle with Operation Jack coach John Loftus, a national-champion marathoner.

First, though, a quick status report.

Standard introduction: If this is your first visit here, I’m a marathoner and a father of three — but not in that order. My middle child, 6-year-old Jack, is severely autistic and next year I’m planning on running 60 marathons to try to raise money and nationwide awareness for Train 4 Autism, a wonderful charity.

Running & Hyperbaric Chamber Update
I had another session scheduled for Saturday at Advanced Hyperbarics, so I planned my long run for that morning to beat myself up for fun. I didn’t have enough time to go 30+, but I got 28 in. I ran 19.5 of the miles with a friend of mine who took it a touch slower than I would have, but it was still a good enough pace that I’d consider it a fair workout to beat me up somewhat before my session.

I went in with Jack for the chamber session on Saturday afternoon. He was a little uneasy, but nothing like last week and he was fine within about a minute or so. We’re supposed to hold masks up to our faces during the process. It’s a little (OK, a lot) difficult to do that with Jack, but he let me hold it up a bit and things went well. I held my mask up for the full hour, plus I took a new anti-inflammatory supplement called Moxxor I was just introduced to, and about two hours after I was done, I felt a LOT better than I normally do after a 28-miler. I felt like I had run about 8 miles, not 28. Now, I don’t know if that was because of the slower pace, the oxygen or the Moxxor. But I’m going to pay very close attention and try to figure it out, because I like it when I don’t hurt! This morning, I felt great and ran quicker than I have lately on my 14-miler. I’m thinking it’s going to be a good week.

Surf City: Time For A Wager!
First of all, if you have any intention of registering for the Surf City Marathon/Half-Marathon/5K, don’t take too much time. I’ve been getting emails letting me know that it’s close to selling out. Sure, that’s marketing, but if you’re definitely going to run it, you might as well sign up. And on that note, when you do, PLEASE select Operation Jack/Train 4 Autism as your running club. It costs you nothing, but Surf City will donate a portion of your entry fee back to the charity. So, thanks in advance (or thank you if you’ve already registered).

Now, on to the wager. Operation Jack’s coach John Loftus is pacing the 3:10 group at Surf City. I’m pacing the 3:30 group at Surf City. It’s about even for each of us based on our abilities. His fastest time over the past 12 months is 2:41:19, 28:41 faster than his assignment. My fastest time over the past 12 months is 3:01:31, 28:29 faster than my assignment. I have to say, though, I’m money when it comes to pacing. I only paced once — Surf City this year — but it was the 3:30 group and it was on one hour of sleep (work emergency!) and I went 3:29:57.

So, I talked with John last week and told him that we’re going to have a wager over who paces closer to their target without going over while keeping a consistent pace (no running two minutes faster than the goal and then running a 9:30 final mile). We’ll talk a little smack in here as the race gets closer, but we need something to wager and something to get you guys involved. Any suggestions? And who do you think will win? Do you bet against me? You all say such nice things all the time and I couldn’t imagine you’d turn against me. Or do you bet against the guy who’s probably one of the best 2 or 3 runners in his age group in the country?

Speaking of wagers, …

My Weight-Loss Quest
On Thursday, I talked about how I really want to get from 203 down to 190 by January 1, even though I haven’t been below 195 since I started running marathons. I want some kind of penalty to drive me as motivation. A lot of you suggested I run a race in a dress. Heck, my mother-in-law suggested I run in a bikini, although I’d only do that if she watched, and I know that’s not something she wants to see. Anyways, I started thinking that I’d combine this dress thing with an attendance drive. Maybe I’d wear a dress and run the 5K in Cleveland the day before the marathon if I didn’t make weight and I got 25 people on my team. Or, maybe I’d run in a dress regardless of my weight if I got 50.

I’ve gotten mixed feedback. Some people think it would do a great job bringing attention to the charity. Others think it would make a mockery of what I’m doing and it’s not something I should do. What do you think? I’m kind of torn on the issue.

OK, That’s All For Today!
Have a great start to your week! May Friday come quicker than Monday did!

Does This Dress Make Me Look Fat?

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OK, so I don’t wear dresses, but I need to drop a few pounds. I’m not out of shape, but I’ve never really minded carrying a little extra weight. I love to eat, and I just feel like eating whatever I want whenever I want is a reward for all the training I put in. But a couple of weeks ago, I came to the realization that I really should drop a few pounds. I’ve slow chasing a few time goals, and in all reality, I am carrying around some extra garbage.

I weigh about 203 pounds right now, and since I’ve been running marathons, I’ve never been less than about 195. But I’m 6-1 (6-2 with shoes on), and there’s no reason I can’t weigh 190 pounds. So, I’m pretty committed to getting down to 190 by January 1, the first race on the Operation Jack schedule. I say that and I’m going to In-N-Out today, but I really do think I can get down to 190.

I’m a competitive person, so I’m trying to think up a challenge. Maybe if I miss, for every pound I miss by, I don’t eat In-N-Out or ice cream for that many weeks. A friend of mine suggested I make a contribution to a political charity I don’t agree with if I miss, but I don’t think I should bring politics into Operation Jack.

Do any of you have any ideas? I need to think of something that I can set as a challenge to keep me on this. And on that note, …

Ice Cream Streak Update
It’s at 1. Yes, 1. I woke up on the morning of October 12 and the first thing I thought about was, “I didn’t have ice cream yesterday!” And as a result of that colossal mental lapse, my 109-day ice cream streak was OVER. I was so distraught, I went without ice cream on the 13th, too. But I got back into the swing of things on the 14th. I ran up a quick streak of six days, but I went without it on Tuesday. So, last night, after a bowl of some caramel pecan or something like that, I’m at 1. 108 days to tie my record, 109 to break it. And one more food topic …

Chick-Fil-A Night!
If you live anywhere near me, come out to the Chick-Fil-A in Foothill Ranch on November 12 between 5-8 p.m. for dinner! 20% of the proceeds will be donated to Operation Jack. They’ve been really nice to deal with, so I hope this works out well. I’ll mention this again. And again …

Surf City … SIGN UP NOW!
If you’re in Southern California, or if you’d rather be in sunny Southern California in early February, consider running the Surf City Marathon (or half marathon or 5K)! And, if you’re considering it, just take the plunge and get it done with — put your money down and you won’t turn back! The marathon is nearly filled, and while the two shorter distances have space available, they’ll fill, too. If/when you register, PLEASE select Operation Jack/Train 4 Autism as your running clubs. If we get enough team members, the race will donate a portion of the entry fees to the Operation Jack Autism Foundation. There’s no cost or obligation other than the standard race entry fee, so selecting us as your club is an easy way to help!

Cleveland Marathon, Anybody?
I know this won’t come as much of a surprise, but I’ve been talking with a lot of races and a lot of race directors to try to organize things for next year. Well, I have to say that the Cleveland Marathon has been about as pleasant as any of them. They have a very generous charity program and I’m really determined to build a good team there.

Cleveland is on May 16 next year (marathon, half marathon and 10K) and they have a 5K the day before. If you are anywhere near Cleveland, or if you know anybody near Cleveland, or if you have any interest at all in running Cleveland, PLEASE contact me or put your name on the list! I’ll have discounted entry fee codes shortly, plus I should be able to provide comped entries to team builders.

OK, That’s All For Today!
I won’t be writing a blog for tomorrow, because I have a meeting I’m going to tonight and I won’t have time. So, have a great Thursday, Friday and weekend, and I’ll see you back here on Monday!

We Just Got Exactly What We Wanted!

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Who hasn’t had the What’s-The-First-Thing-You’d-Do-If-You-Won-The-Lottery discussion? Tiff and I have, and there’s something we’d do before buying a new car or taking a trip. Lucky for us, we just got it on Saturday.

For us, that lottery splurge would be sessions in hyperbaric chambers for Jack. Just in case you’re new here, I’m a marathon runner and father of three. My middle child, 6-year-old Jack, is severely autistic, and next year I’m planning on running 60 marathons to raise money and nationwide awareness for a charity called Train 4 Autism. I named the endeavor Operation Jack after him, hence the name of this site.

Anyways, back to the hyperbaric chamber. We’ve heard lots of success stories of children with autism who have delayed speech showing rapid improvement in that area after treatments. Jack’s speech is very limited. He can do some counting and some repeating, but not a whole lot beyond that. We’ve wanted to get him sessions, but it’s not something that’s in our budget right now. So, I’ll rewind to August 15.

I was at a resource fair trying to spread the word about Operation Jack. At the table next to me was Mark Westaway of Advanced Hyperbarics. Mark is a really nice guy and we spent the evening talking about all sorts of things. He works a lot with special-needs children, but he also works with athletes. The sessions help athletes recover and are pretty popular amongst professionals.

Jack, with his autism, and me, with my high-mileage running, are both logical prospects to use Mark’s services. The hyperbaric chambers at Advanced Hyperbarics are big enough for multiple people to use at the same time, so Jack and I participating in joint sessions makes total sense. On August 15, I think we won the lottery without even plunking down $1, because Mark offered complimentary services between now and the end of Operation Jack next year for me and Jack.

When I got home that night and told Tiff, she was speechless. It was like a dream come true. This was something we’ve talked about for a while. I really hope that Operation Jack does lots of great things, from raising money for autism-related charities to raising awareness for Train 4 Autism to encouraging people to live a healthier lifestyle. I’m excited to have an opportunity to make a difference. But beyond all of that, from a selfish standpoint, if these sessions get Jack rolling with the speech, then running myself into the ground next year will be totally worth it as a dad. I’m pretty sure any other dad would feel the same way.

Anyways, Saturday was our first session. It was really sad — Jack was TOTALLY freaked out when he saw it. He tried to run out of the building. He was terrified and crying hysterically. I hate seeing him struggle, but this was truly heartbreaking. Words can’t really explain what it was like. I never want to see him like that again.

Mark deals with a lot of special-needs children and is very good with them. He was very patient and we worked together to try to get Jack to calm down. He wasn’t 100% calm, but I carried him in for our first session and within a few minutes, he was OK. We sat there for an hour, watching his Baby Einstein DVDs, hanging out and checking out our surroundings. By the time we were done, everything was fine. Jack actually wanted to keep playing in the chamber. I tried to pull him away, but Mark suggested I let him have fun with it for a few minutes, so that next weekend, he’ll looking forward to climbing in when we get there.

It’s not realistic to determine what kind of a difference it made with him after one session. I’m not sure how it impacted me, although I went on a 30-mile run yesterday and felt stronger than I have lately. I plan on running long next Saturday before I go in, so I’ll be curious to see how I feel next Sunday and Monday.

So for us, we got to cash in the first of our residual lottery checks on Saturday. I’ll definitely keep you posted and let you know how the continued treatments go! Thank you, Mark!

Tiff's First Marathon: He Said/She Said!

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Any of you who have been following my blog at Operation Jack know my wife, Tiffany, ran her first marathon Sunday and that I ran it with her. I was going to write a race report about the race as my blog for today, but my friend Erin Ruff suggested Tiff write the race report. I’m going to get the best of both worlds with a he said/she said take on the race.

Sam Says:
Long Beach has always been a pretty good course for me. I ran a 17-minute PR my first time there, I ran my first Boston qualifier the next year, and ran a 3:06 last year with a bad hamstring. Three races, all were great. I was hopeful that Tiff could have a good experience out there, too.

She really wanted to run a 3:40 and qualify for Boston. That’s kind of an ambitious goal for a marathon debut, but I thought it was on the edge of what was possible. She ran a 1:45 half marathon in January, and has battled injuries since then, but I think she’s a little bit faster than she was back then. Tiff’s spring was filled with great long runs. She ramped up the distance and held sub-9 paces on long, hilly runs stretching to 20 miles — a great job for somebody looking for a 3:40.

But she got hurt, battled issues with inflammation in her right leg and missed her first shot at a marathon — San Diego Rock N Roll on May 31. The inflammation was off and on over the summer, but the speed was there. She ran a hilly 17-miler in late July at an 8:42 pace, a decent run.

Heading into Sunday’s race, I was concerned about her inflammation and her endurance. Her longest run was 20, which she had done only once, and that was six months ago. We went out for a 20 two weeks ago, but we cut it short to 10 because her inflammation was bothering her. She told me it was something she thought she could run through, but she didn’t think it was worth aggravating. I thought we’d go in, I’d keep her in range for 16-18 miles, and then we’d see how her cardio held up. I planned on monitoring her effort and heart rate, doing the math on the time in my head, and making a decision somewhere after 20 on when to turn it up.

When the race started, she seemed right on the edge of her 3:40 goal, but once we settled in, I knew by about 5 or 6 miles in that she was going to probably on the outside looking in. Still, I thought she would probably have a good chance at running a 3:45, which would a) be one heck of a marathon debut, and b) qualify her for Boston 2011 (she’ll be 35 for that one). Maybe not the time she was looking for, but she’d be flat-out in for the Boston Marathon in 2011. Can’t argue with that.

She was complaining that I was running her too slow, but I tried over and over to explain that if 3:45 was the best she could do and she tried to run a 3:40, she’d blow up, fatigue early and run 30 minutes slow. I’ve run 26 marathons now, so I’ve made plenty of mistakes that she doesn’t need to repeat! She kept ticking the miles off perfectly. She wasn’t too talkative, but that was OK. We weren’t out there for conversation — we were out there to rip through a marathon.

And then, it started. The inflammation flared up, somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 or so. I thought she’d fight through it, and she told me a few minutes later that it was starting to feel better. But then about a mile or two later, the inflammation kicked in for good, and the downhill spiral began. I didn’t let her worry about her time — I just tried to keep her rolling. I know how important her time was to her, so I was just trying to push her in any way possible.

She slowed down a little, but then she slowed down a lot. Her slow run turned into a shuffle, then some walking and it was obvious she was in a lot of pain. I didn’t know what to say or do to try to motivate her. I ran out of buttons to push, and I was wondering if she was in pain or if she was going soft. I don’t care what time she runs, but I want her to look back on her effort fondly. Only she would know if she was really going all-out, and I thought she probably was. But I just wasn’t sure, and I’ve never been involved a breakdown this epic or a race this slow. I really didn’t know what to do out there, so I just stayed with her and tried to keep her rolling. I’ll be honest — I got a little frustrated with her and I let her know that. I just wanted her to give it her all. In hindsight, I hope I wasn’t being too much of a jerk.

She picked it up a little bit over the last 1.25 miles, but despite having a reasonable chance at 3:45 at around 17 or 18, she finished in 4:22:41. At least she beat my time on Sunday by one second! Apparently, I ran a 4:22:42! The way she struggled yesterday, I don’t think she’ll ever run another marathon. But I know she toughed it out through a lot of pain. I’m proud of her effort. Her training was tough and her race was tough. I just hope she realizes what she did is incredibly difficult. Even though they look like they come pretty easy to me, every time I run them, I think to myself about how difficult they really are. They’re hard. They’re challenging. And really, out of my 26, I’d say that maybe three have gone the way I want them to.

So yeah, I’m proud of her. That’s my take.


Before.

During.

After.

Tiff Says:
On the morning of the marathon I was more excited than nervous because I felt so blessed that I even was able to make it to the starting line! Honestly, I thought that I would have a fair crack at the 3:40 goal. I told myself I wouldn’t be surprised if I didn’t get that time but I’d still be happy if I finished sub-4. At the starting line, I was a little nervous, but not that much. Still, I was just happy to be standing there. I told myself that if I just stayed calm and relaxed, that would help me during my run. I guess some of it’s psychological. I told myself that I was just gonna go out there and run two half-marathons … that made me feel better than thinking it was a full!

As soon as the gun went off, me, Sam and our friend Ben were fired up to go. Sam told me to tell him every few minutes or so what my heart rate was and that if it went above 175, to let him know so we could slow down. He didn’t want me to overdo my cardio early into the race because then I’d burn out fast. My heart rate stayed a touch higher than I wanted it to. For about 16 miles it ranged mostly around the 173-177 area. At around 12 miles I was starting to think that my chances of my 3:40 were slim-to-none. Once I saw the 3:40 pace drift out of sight at around mile 15, I knew that I needed to shoot for a sub 4 goal.

At around mile 17, my inflammation started hurting a lot. I felt a lot of sharp shooting pains in my ankle, achilles and right off my shin. Sam warned me not to stop and walk even for a few steps because if I did, my legs would stiffen up and it would be hard to start running after that. Well, that’s easier said than done. The pain was unbearable in my ankle and I had to walk. What a huge mistake that was! Right after the first walk is when I spiraled downhill. My whole body was in pain. I could barely lift my feet up off the ground to run again. My jogging turned into a shuffle that turned into a walk again. From that point on, it was shuffling, walking, shuffling, walking (with some whimpering as well).

I couldn’t believe that I was in the same body I had started the race in. I felt like I was in a body that had never run before. Everything for about eight miles was a complete blur/nightmare. I wanted to practice mind-over-matter but was unsuccessful. All I wanted to do was get to the finish line, then go home and lay down.

Once I crossed the finish line, I thought to myself, NEVER AGAIN! From now on, I’ll just work on half marathons. I was disappointed in myself as well. I thought, “how did this happen when my training runs were so promising?” I realized then that maybe, probably, I would’ve run a better race if not for the inflammation. I know it sounds like I’m making excuses, but I think that had something to do with it. And I should’ve never started walking!

After swearing to never doing it again, the next morning I woke up thinking to myself that I should train for another one next year … probably the Long Beach one since I really enjoyed the course. Surprisingly enough, it’s not my time that upset me the most. What upset me the most is the fact that after putting in so much time and effort in training, it wasn’t fair that I was left with such a miserable memory of my marathon. Next year, I’m going to make sure I go into the race completely healthy. I know marathons aren’t supposed to be easy, but they should at least be fun, in a weird sort of way.

That’s It!
Thanks for reading!

What A First-Time Race In Long Beach Yesterday!

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If you’ve read my blog, you know my wife made her marathon debut yesterday in Long Beach. I’ve talked about it a lot, I’ve been excited about running with her, and we finally got to tackle a marathon together yesterday. But I’ll talk about her another day. Today, I’m going to talk about my brother Josh, who completed the Long Beach Half Marathon yesterday. It’s flat-out amazing that he was able to do what he did.

I’m going to rewind to February 28, 1993. That’s the day that my little brother got in a car wreck so bad that the coroner came to the accident scene. It happened about 250 yards from the house in the morning, so a neighbor let me know while I was eating my breakfast and I was on the scene immediately. It’s something I’ll never forget. It was horrific seeing my little brother, only 16, getting cut out of a car with the jaws of life. My dad thought his left leg looked so bad when they pulled him out that it would end up being amputated.

He ended up having his shattered hip operated on that day, he spent about a month in traction, missed a semester of school, he had to use a walker for a while, he wore ankle-to hip braces, he’s had countless knee surgeries over the past 16 years … basically, he has horrible legs — his left leg and right leg are both thrashed. He saw me at the end of the Pacific Shoreline Marathon (now Surf City) in 2007 and got inspired to run a marathon. One treadmill workout later, he tore up his knee (again) and went under the knife (again).

On top of it all, he’s never really been athletic or taken good care of himself. He has gotten into a gym routine over the past year or so, but all-in-all, he’s probably about the last person you’d expect to run a half marathon.

In the spring, he started talking about running a half marathon. I didn’t necessarily doubt him, but I didn’t have 100% confidence. His injury risk, the chance that maybe he’d get sidetracked and fall off of a training plan … in hindsight, I’d say I probably would have given him a 60% chance of going through with it. That’s not an insult — just an honest guess.

I gave him a training plan, and when I told him about Operation Jack while I was planning it, I think he really locked in on this. He can have a very tough exterior at times, but he has a softer spot for Jack than probably anybody on this planet. Well, maybe Tiff has him beat, but maybe not. Josh is proud that he has the same initials as Jack (JAF) and he probably wouldn’t admit that he had a favorite out of my three kids, but if he took a truth serum, I know he’d say Jack.


Josh is the good-looking guy on the right with “Josh” on his bib. I’m the better-looking guy on the left.

Anyways, he stuck with it, did his long runs and got himself ready for the race. I saw him at the expo on Saturday and I could tell he was excited. He asked me a few questions about race day when I saw him, then texted me with some more on Saturday night. I thought it was going to be pretty cool that I’d see him as a fellow participant after a race, not just as the president of my fan club (I swear, I think he’s been to more of my race finishes than my wife!). I glanced around in the starting area but didn’t see him. But the race started and I got rolling.

During the race, I focused on Tiff, but I thought about him, doing the math at times and wondering where he was. At one point, me and Tiff were talking about how he was doing and where he probably was. I thought he would run a 1:55, and I knew he started about five minutes after us, so I figured when we hit the two-hour mark, he was done.

He ended up with a 2:05, but there’s nothing wrong with that. As I pointed out to him when I saw him in the finishers area, he beat my debut half-marathon time by 24 minutes! And while I came from being overweight, he has Evil Knievel’s legs! That’s a really bad thing for a distance runner. It was really cool seeing him standing there with a medal around his neck. It was something I’d never expected to see and I was really proud of him.

So, good job, dude! Yet set out to get this done, and you took care of business. I hope you always look back on yesterday with fondness!