Running Blog: In The Here And Now part two of a three part series

26.2 Is three numbers seperated by a lonley period. It's only a numbers game right? Having gone from completly inactive, and reactive to active and dare I say for the first time in my life, on the offensive trying to find what I want for me. My running means more to me than physical condition. As I mentioned in my last blog it transends who I am. Iam someone who will push himself to the edge of everything I thought I could do, and then edge out a little further. My friend Gregg asked me the day after my marathon if NY had changed me, if I feel like a different person. And I answered him, "Yes, but no and not for the reasons you think" See I've been through a lot, but what person hasn't. Running marathons, helps me find a balance that I've never had. In anything. It's why I run, it's why I will keep running. yes, I am helping people while doing it, and of course, anyone who knows me knows that too is a part of it. but for me. When I run, and I know I have 23 miles left, 21, 15, 12, 7, 4 whatever, I run in my mind for me. For all those things but also to prove to me, that I am stronger mentally. And sure, training tells me I can do this but until you do, you just don't know. See I've seen people in a lot better shape than me fall by the wasteside, get injured, on cruches, in wheelchairs. Yes it's a greulling sport. Without a doubt. But nothing worth doing doesn't have it's risks. It's why I've chosen to make this past year all about me.
In my mind when the calendar turned I told myself, you will do things for yourself, you will work on you. Better yourself, find peoople who want to be in your life, and embrace them and if they didn't they would fall by the wasteside. I'm ok with that. One of my friends here said to me a week or so ago, that I've gone cold, that my heart right now is not warming up to others. See I disagree, I'm just not willing to give it out to everyone I meet. I now gaurd it but still put myself out there to see what's out there. Running has provided me with an outlet for my anger, for my stress in a way I can't explain. I'm a stronger person that I've ever been. Am I still me? I sure think so. I have the same group of close friends I've always had. Have I changed, you betcha. But I don't fear that change anymore. I know who I am and what I can do. I know that a day of being dedicated to my causes either for me or to help others is a day better than others. But it's a balance, I can't get too caught inwardly, which is why I love Team In Training. It keeps me humble, keeps reminding me that while I run for me, I still represent others, others who can't run, others who need help and while I can't cure them, maybe with my friends and donations along the way we can. It's humbling when you sit there and here all these mission moments given by your teammates, people you soon call your friends bare their soul about why they run, fathers, mothers children dying, getting really sick. Going to hospitals to see these chidlren. It reminds you of what you have and how you need to make the most of your health when and while you have it. It can be gone like that. It's moving, humbling and drives me. I won't like during the SF marathon there was (and for those who run there usually is) a point where you have to talk yourself out of quitting, you just want to. Your body hates you, your mind doesn't want any more, but then you see your teammates who have finsihed ahead of you still their cheering you on, one of my teammates whom I had just met that season ran out into the road with me and ran with me for a mile extra. Imagine running 26.2 miles then running back out there for one more to help someone else get through another mile. She looked at me as she ran along side me and said ,"Scott I am so proud of you, you have overcome so many injuires to get here, and you are almost there. You didn't quit then, you came to all the practices, and you are 3 miles from the finish so I KNOW you won't quit now. I am so proud of you, and so are all your teammates...LOOK" At this point I shook back into conciencious and looked around and saw team mates whom I didn't even know if they knew me, or saw me before this running up the road with me, yelling and cheering me on. When you see a sea of purple yelling at you to keep pushing it gives you a second, thrid or fourth wind. I looked at my teammate who came out nodded, growled something that I assume was thank you and kept pushing. There are more miles like that, espeically as you get closer to the finish, but that one stuck out to me.
As the calendar turns, and I look back a bit I ran 2 marathons in 6 months, 3 half marathons, countless races of smaller portions and will have ran more miles (roughly 625 miles this year) than I have driven (0). It's humbling t oknow taht all those people who supported me were right. I've gone this far, what's a little more.

Part Three: Where am I going?

Running Blog: Retrospective part one of a three part series

Sat on the plane ride back to SF and I thought a lot about the past 12 months, the reasons I started running, where it's taken me and who I am now. I am going to break this blog into three segments, retsopective, where I am and where I want to go with all this.
This part of course, started with a lot of pain, me in place that seems like years ago. I remember sitting in the corner of my room just aching inside. Feeling like I had hit rock bottom. There was the break up, the death threats, bar fights and of course the health scare. I truly felt like things were at the their worst and I felt like I was drowning. It was scary and for the first time I really felt...alone.
My friends, you have to know, are amazing people. They tried to pick me up as much as I would let them. I wouldn't tell everyone the everything becasue I was afraid of being exposed even more than I felt I already was. Then one day a friend whom I had lost touch with for a bit called me. Aja, said to me after I had finished telling her what all I had been through, asked if I had, "Ever thought about running a marathon" I think she really believed she thought I would laugh her off the phone because the Scott about 2 months, 3 months ago, probably would have. I admitted I hadn't. She told meshe would have the Team in Training Coordinator get in touch with me because Spring Season was going to be having a kick off and I should go. So I agreed.
This meeting I was a little nervous about going to, no one I knew was there, had really no clue what I was doing there, I was out of shape, and the furthest I had run was to the mailbox. But i went, checkbook in hand already knowing that you know what it's $80 to sign up today, and if nothing else I'll meet some people and see what happens, I can always run/walk the half marathon if need be.
Signed up for the Country Music Marathon that night, the event was April 26 so plenty of time. I literally had no clue what I was getting myself into or how much therapy I'd find in running, and how much confidence the next 12 months would bring me. I had no idea about running shoes, running clothes, fuel belts, proper gear, anything. All I knew is you put one foot in front of the other in rapid succession and off you go. So I showed up in sweat pants and a sleevless tshirt...in 42 degree cold weather. This is how I'd be remembered all season as that guy. Well at least I was memorable and hey I had an icebreaker right? So off we went. I met some amazing people. And as I ran I began to find the confidence again. I heard stories about life and death, leukemia, blood cancers and it made me realize that what I've been through while maybe a big deal in my eyes was nothing compared to what so many people were going through or had been through. Some of my running friends were running for various reasons, the cause, to meet people, going through a divorice, one even told me they just wanted to run because it was the only time in their day she felt free. And so i found my release, my therapy in these people and with every step we took Istarted to build my confidence back. it was a shaky ground for sure to start. But as we progressed I did too. I lost 20 lbs, my mile time went from 15:00 down to 11:30. I could run at a marathon pace around 12:00 minutes
About amonth before the marathon I knew I had to give something back to this Society. I had to give someone else this same experience I was having. So I applied to be a mentor. Guy who had never run more than 25 yards in the past 10 years now wanted to mentor a new group of runners and run 2 full marathons and two half marathons in 6 months.
When you run a marathon for more than 5 hours, you think about a lot of things. Like EVERYTHING. You think about the ups of life, your friends, family, the poeple who have inspired you. You think about the negative, the naysayers the people who look at you and say "You are running a marathon" with that look of disbelief and you remember the people who tried to hold you down. But you use all this as motivation to move along. You don't stop. You use everything in your aresnal because you discover that a marathon is truly mind over matter. You can will yourself to do ANYTHING.
Crossing the finish line in Nashville, was something I have never felt. I've done a lot of things, thought I felt pretty accomplished. But when i crossed the finish line hands held high in the air, I let out the largest scream I could muster as if in doing so all the demons all the things I had gone through were expelled from my body. I looked at my friend Jillian, the woman I had ran with for the last 5 hours and we both wanted to cry, but we didn't have any body fluids left to export so we just hugged for 3 minutes. I still can't put into words, fully, what that moment ment, or how it changed me. What I can tell you was the confidence laid down in those 4 months changed me forever.
I can't thank Aja enough for that day. I wish I would have gotten the chance to actually sit and talk to her in SF but she was immensly busy with her Chapter and I undestood that, but I really wanted to tell her, she changed my life again. One of my best friends in college, gave me the tool to remake myself and in a good way. It's something I'll never forget. And I'll always be greatful for that.

Patience...Patience

When you get injured, minor or major the first thought any athlete is when can I come back. Too often athletes rush back and don't listen to the their bodies, because they feel bad they are letting down their team. Some injuries, sure you can come back early and be ok. Others there's no cure unless you are 100% better. If you are like me, running for an event it's ok to take some time to heal. Better now than the actual event day. Rushing back from shin splints, ankle sprains (remember this is a running focused blog) could hamper your running, if not get a lot worse if you keep pushing on them, so relax, take a couple of weeks if need be and get better. When you show up to run, you want to be able to compete at the level you are used to. If not, you will (and I know this from my past weeks of not heeding this advice) get frustrated with yourself that you can't complete what you set out to do. Enjoy the rest, your body probably needs some anyways. You won't lose everything in one swoop, go to the gym work on your upper body, jump on the bike, you can still be active and cross train...so do it!

Patience is the key, in your event and out of it.

Injuries!

Anyone who runs, knows or should know, this puts an intense strain on your body. Your feet, legs, back and so on. Some injuries (as detailed here) are easier to get over than others. You should listen to your body and pay attention to what it tells you. The legs feed the wolf. So when your legs start to hurt, and really hurt listen. I have shin splints and thought I would outline what exactly shin splints are, how they feel and what you can do to heal them as quick as possible.

According to healthscout.com shin splints are defined as "Shin splints are characterized by a pain in the front and sides of the lower leg that develops or worsens during exercise. There may also be tenderness over the shin and edema (the accumulation of fluid) of the surrounding tissues. Shin splints are a common problem to runners."

What causes shin splints? There are several ways and reasons but given this is a runners blog I will keep this answer as runner oriented as I can. "Shin splints (an inflammation of tendons and muscles of the shin) is typically brought on by the impact forces of exercise.

The shinbone (or tibia) is covered by the periosteum, a band of soft tissue that has both nerve tissue and a blood supply. Just above the ankle and below the knee, tendons help attach muscles to the periosteum. When the shin is over-stressed, problems can develop in the periosteum, the tendons, the muscle, on the shinbone or in the four muscle compartments of the lower leg, which are covered with a wall of connective tissue (called the fascia). If recurrent, this latter condition is called chronic compartment syndrome.

Shin splints are a common, often seasonal injury that usually occurs when you start to run after a long layoff. They can also result from playing a sport (such as tennis) on a hard surface, changing your style of workout shoes, dramatically increasing workouts, or gaining a substantial amount of weight and then exercising.

Anterior shin splint is due to a muscle or tendon injury (that help to lift the front of the foot) and results in pain and tenderness on the front outside of the leg. Posterior pain (a soreness that radiates along the back and inner side of the lower leg or ankle) is typically caused by stressed muscles that help support and stabilize the arch of the foot."
What can you do to self medicate well at the first sign of pain in the shins, stop your activity. Trying to exercise through the soreness will only aggravate the condition and cause it to worsen.
Immediately massage the area with ice to reduce inflammation and irritation. The ice acts like a quick-acting, anti-inflammatory medication.

For pain relief and help to decrease the swelling, your physician may suggest taking ibuprofen, as directed.Do not apply heat to the area. Shin splints are an inflammatory condition, and heat will only irritate the area even more.

Healing time can be as little as two to three weeks (if you cut back on your exercise and begin aggressive self-help measures), but in some cases, recovery can take as long as 12 to 14 weeks before pain subsides.

So what can you do to prevent shin splints?
Replace or repair exercise shoes that are worn down to the heels. Switch to well-fitting shoes with plenty of impact-absorbing material in the forefoot and heel area. Remember that your running shoes may lose much of their shock absorbency after as few as 500 miles.
Warm up before running by first walking, then gradually increasing your speed to a jog.
When you raise your heart rate and lightly perspire, stop and stretch your calf muscles with a wall stretch. One way to stretch out tight calf muscles and Achilles tendons after warming up is to walk slowly on your heels for 100-200 yards.
Whenever you go for a run or walk, do it on dirt, grass, cinder or a rubberized track to minimize shin trauma.

Second Time Around Is Harder Than The First

Hi Everyone,

Miss the blog? If you have you are in luck. I'm back. So it's been just over a month since my last post. I've started training for my second marathon, this time in SF for the Nike Women's Marathon on October 19th. I have to admit I took a week off and then started back into training. Thus far it's been frustrating. I've only been able to run between 4-6 miles. My legs feel like weights and it's humid out now. It's amazing how the conditions can make this more difficult than the first time around. I'm working on resting my legs as much as possible and I have plenty of time to get them back however it's frustrating all the same.

They say to allow yourself 1 day of rest per every mile you run. So 26.2 miles=26/27 days off. I gave myself 10 days. Yeah.

So give yourself sometime, let your body heal and then lace it up. That doesn't mean by the way you can't run during that time, it should be shorter runs however.

So there you go. A quick update! Just keep on running!

Running My 1st Marathon Experience

So I completed my first marathon. I have to tell you it feels amazing. I know I've talked to most of you since it's happened but I really wanted to do some recaps.
My Time, I honestly had no real care about my "time" whatever i ran would A) be ok and B) would also be a personal best sooo either way win win. But my times and placing are at the bottom.
Overall including half marathon runners there were more than 30,000 participants of those 30,000 only 4373 participated in the full marathon. So what went ... during and after the race? Well here's an idea of the kind of stuff I use during the race:

• peanut butter and a bagel


• water...lots of water
  
• Gatorade don't just drink water! Replentish the electrolytes!
  
• Your bib...duh
  
• Stop watch I use mine to make sure I'm not going too fast out of the gate


• Sunglasses
  
• Sunscreen
  
• Your singlet
  
• Fuel belt, in case you get thirsty before a water/Gatorade station

Here is my time for the marathon, this includes different mile markers as well:

• Full Marathon Time: 5 hours 18 minutes 58 Seconds
• Average mile time: 12 minutes 10 seconds

Time at the following markers:

• 5k: 36:58
• 6 mile: 1:11:44
• 10 mile: 1:58:15
• Half (13.1 miles): 2:37:20
• 20 mile: 4:02:18

In all the experience was unlike any other. Running for that long feeling so totally free of life and problems. There was mental challenges and rough spots along the way, but in all my training was wonderful the coaches and everyone did a great job of prepping us for what laid ahead and honestly I couldn't have imagined preparing for a marathon, especially my first without the coaches. It was incredible. Crossing the finish line, all the reasons I started down the path to running and all the reasons I know now why I am running for rushes to my head and if I could have cried, I would have. I was exhausted mentally & physically at the end. I called 5 people and couldn't compose a decent sentence I don't think, it was overwhelming. I still can't really put into words what it felt like to run 26.2 miles. If you've never run you may not understand it, or what I'm talking about. If you have then you understand. It transcends words and emotions. All I know is I'm excited to run again, excited for another season of TNT and to continue to run for Robert Schultze and his family. I'm sure I'll post a follow up with race pictures soon once they become available. But I really want to send a big thank you and everyone who donated support, effort, energy, time and money. It means the world. Just think, we do it all over again in a month! So if you didn't get a chance to donate...there's another opportunity for you! =o)

Here are some other photos from my marathon experience:

My inspiration to run and start training for my second marathon in October

Words of encouragement from friends, mentor and my personal everyday inspiration "Silly"

My TNT Friends, great group of peeps!

Race Anxiety

So I wanted to take a general step back and talk about something I'm experiencing, mostly because I believe most runners, well new runners (I'm not sure if experinced runners get this too) but I will tell you this much it is pretty much the most nerve wracking experience of my life. Why? Not because I don't feel prepared but just the magnitude of running 26.2 miles. It's wild, and crazy to think about. It's always something I've said no way, could never even run to the mailbox to do.

Physically I've lost weight since I started nearly 5 months ago, but I don't feel I look all that different. One thing I've really discovered about running, is that it's truly more mind over matter. That there are points in a race where you have to will yourself to keep going. Yes you have to listen to your body still but there are times where you want to stop and say "fuck it, I can't go on" but it's at that point you have to really dig deep. See running a marathon is more about your mental conditioning as much as it is physical conditioning.

Some tips that I've found VERY comforting. Surround yourself with good supportive people because you will freak out a little, and it's good to have some reassuring friends, drink water and gatorade after all water is good but remember to replace all the things water flushes out, eat right, pasta and carbs are good! =o) Most of all enjoy your experience as you get to the start line look around and remember how far you've come and now all you need to do is go another 26.2 miles. Hey you've done all the hard work, ran step over step and mile over mile. This is just a formaility for you. Enjoy it, bask in the moment because they don't come around very often.