(photo by J. Canole)

Buffalo Marathon 5/29/2011

I ran my first full marathon last week.

My goals were:

 - finish standing up

 - finish under 4:30

 - don't shit my pants


I'm proud to say I managed to achieve two of these goals.


Injuries

I had a variety of injuries leading up to race day.  I missed about 10 days in March and April because I tweaked my knee pretty bad.  They tell you to not ramp up your mileage too fast when you're training for a marathon.  They tell you to cross train and get other kinds of activities in other than running when you're training for a marathon.  I did not do these things.  Lesson = learned.

Two weeks before my race I cut my finger pretty badly and required 4 stitches.  While this didn't really have any impact on my race, it was pretty stupid on my part.

The final injury happened toward the end of my 20 mile training run (two weeks before race day).  I had a strange pain I had never felt before on the top of my right foot.  I thought it was the shoe's fault.  I briefly toyed with the idea of running the race in a different pair of shoes.  But two weeks isn't enough time to break in a new pair of shoes.  The pain didn't go away as I got closer to race day.  I convinced myself I had a stress fracture.  I started to panic.  I ended up taking a detour from the camping trip and finding an orthopedist in Ellicottville, NY (population: 12) two days before race day.  Long story short, I heard what I needed to hear: it's not broken and you're not going to do permanent damage to it by running ("the joint is irritated").

Race Day

The forecast was for rain (thunderstorms actually).  I did not sleep well the night before.  I got up at 5:30, ate my oatmeal, and got dressed.  I went out at 6:30 and made the "rain gear or sunscreen" call.  I went with sunscreen.  I was glad I did.

It ended up being hot and muggy.  Way too hot for Buffalo. 

Having done the half marathon twice, I was pretty familiar with the first 13 miles of the course.  After 13 the pack thinned out considerably.  There was a batch of us that I considered "my group".  There was a little bit of chatting, but not much.

The crowds were great.  Sure they don't get enough fiber and cheer for a lousy football team owned by Mr. Magoo, but the people of Western New York are genuinely good people.  The reactions were mostly positive, with a few "What the hell are you people doing?" faces thrown in.  I got a lot of compliments on my Red Sox hat.  I got high-fived by a cop.  And a priest.

Up to this point, the longest run I had ever done was the 20 mile training run two weeks before.  The marathon was worse than the 20 because of the heat.  The last half of my 20 was done in the rain.  Rain would have been much better.  I was toast for the last 3 or 4 miles.  The weather was too much.  I was zig zagging from side to side looking for whichever side of the street the shade was on (and I knew I had been out there a long time because I could smell that people were now cooking lunch instead of breakfast).  It wasn't that I was particularly sore or crampy.  I was just out of gas.  After training through a harsh winter and a cold, wet spring, my body just couldn't handle the heat.

I had to resort to the little mental tricks you play with yourself when you're first starting to run.  "Just run to that light post then you can take a break."  "Just run past this intersection and you can walk for a bit."

Eventually I made it.  Someone was sadistic enough to be offering beer at mile 25.  I politely declined.  I probably would have just stayed there if I had one.

I spent a few minutes feeling sorry for myself about not making my goal time.  And then I reminded myself that I just knocked a MAJOR LIFE GOAL off the to-do list.  So I got that going for me.  Which is nice.

The Next Day

I woke up super hungry.  My muscles ached with hunger.  Whoa...

I was sore, but not completely wrecked.  Little Man took charge of the "active recovery" part and made sure I don't sit too much.

There were some extra calories.  And a second cup of coffee.

Last year after my second half marathon I remember thinking that this was pretty nuts and I wasn't eager to try it again in the near future.  For some reason, I'm ready to go as soon as possible again this time.  I've definitely got another marathon in me.  And I'd like to see how I do under better conditions.

Thanks to my family and friends for putting up with me the last few months.

On the Bikepath...

13 Year-Old on a Skateboard:  "How far is it to the Lincoln Mall?"

Me:  "Jeez, probably another 4 or 5 miles."

[long pause]

13 Year-Old on a Skateboard:  "How far have we gone so far?"

Me:  "I don't know.  Where did you start from?"

Thursday at the Gym


Characters ME (running on a treadmill, because it's too cold to go outside) and Old Guy, late 60s, on the treadmill at 2.0 MPH, who we'll call FRANKIE.


FRANKIE: They took my hip out.  I don't move so good these days.  Look at you!  You're doin' good.

ME: But you're still moving.  That's the important thing.

FRANKIE:  I can swim.  But that's about it these days.

ME:  Swimming is great for you.  I should be doing that more.

FRANKIE:  I used to run like you.  But not no more.  I run da Boston race there.

ME:  That's great!

FRANKIE:  I used to play basketball.

ME:  That's always how I end up hurting myself.

FRANKIE:  We were playing against some college kids from BC a while back.  Me and some guy.  And we beat them!  He says to me 'You're pretty good for your age.'  I tells him, 'Fuck you, I'm good for any age!  I just beat your ass!'



(FRANKIE then cracks himself up laughing and has a coughing fit.)

"LOCKED OUT"

A short film by P. Canole

INT. OFFICE HALLWAY - DAY


COWORKER

You running today, Pat?

PAT

I sure am!

COWORKER

At the gym?

PAT

Nope.  I'm hitting the track.  I'm outside, Baby!

EXT. PAT WALKING ON SIDEWALK.  MIDDAY.  EARLY SPRING.  PAT HAS RUNNING CLOTHES ON.

PAT

(to self)

Boy, I sure can't wait to run on the track!

(smiling, looking around)

PAT WALKS AROUND CORNER AND SEES

PAT

(quietly at first)

No... No...  Just... No...

(then louder)

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

(a single tear falls down PAT's cheek... camera pulls back... rain starts to fall)

END

Running Fuel

Bike Path

Oh when oh when will I get my bike path back?

So sad.

Sorry Dude...  Flow Chart Says "No"

Running Hat Be Sweaty

Buffalo, Part 2

I ran my second half marathon in Buffalo last week.  I did pretty good.

I'm a much smarter runner than I was a year ago.  Mentally tougher.  I remember my mind spinning at registration last time.  Where do I go?  What are all these people doing here?  This time I felt like a seasoned pro.  It was more like a business trip.  Let's get my number and get back to the hotel room.  I've got some more hydrating to do.

 photo by J. Canole

The neti pot was invaluable all week.  I'm so glad I brought it.  I'm convinced I prevented a sinus infection from taking root in the week leading up to the race.

Race day - I lined up at 6:40 AM and it already felt warm.  It would be about 12 - 15 degrees hotter than last year by the time I finished.  There was a lot more hurling than last year.  People started dropping by miles 8 - 9.  One guy turned gray.  It was kinda gross.

The heat definitely slowed me down some.  I didn't dare skip a water station (How awesome would it be if I could get a team of volunteers to hand out water just for me on my long Sunday runs at home?  That would be great.)  I think I sweat more than I ever have in my life.

New this year at Buffalo was the pacer people.  Runners in orange shirts with times posted on the back in big numbers.  That was great.  If I could see the 2:05 guy, I was in good shape.  If I could see the 2:20 guy, I knew I needed to pick up the pace.

photo by J. Canole

I ended up doing a 2:17:21.  I didn't quite make my goal of 2:10 - 2:12.

BUT...

I still knocked 5 minutes off of last year's time. 

Plus I had a 3 minute train delay. I shit you not.

This was between miles 10 and 11.  Right as I'm trying to make my final push.  Last year I probably would have panicked a bit.  This year - meh.  Nothing I can do about it.  Just get a little rest and fly like the wind when the train finishes.

Part of my problem was that I ran too much earlier in the month.  I ended up going over 82 miles for the May (and I had never done 70 miles in month prior to that).  I didn't do a good job of sticking to my taper plan.  Now I know better.

I'm giving myself two weeks off after the race to recover (both mentally and physically).  I need it.

photo by J. Canole

Post Run Happy Guys

And don't sit on the furniture...


Jen: You going to take a shower?

Me: I was going to wait until later.  Why, can you smell from there?

Jen: (silence)

Me: Oh.

Jen: There's a funk.

Pat Miles by Month

(guess where I get sick...)

The Finisher

Thursdays this Fall on TNT, Pat Canole is...

The Finisher.

Pat's Buffalo Half Marathon

(Some will win... Some will lose... Some were born to sing the blues...)

I ran a half marathon on Sunday. My first. All things considered, it went pretty well.

Line for the bathrooms at 6:50 AM.

We left our camping vacation half way through to spend a night at a hotel in Buffalo (Hey, a TV! I had forgot about TV!). We drove up Saturday. The race was on Sunday.

Getting there sucked. Registration sucked. The race itself was great.

Driving the course the night before was incredibly helpful. It's good to know when you're going to be running through abject poverty, abandoned factories and giant grain elevators. You don't want to be slowed down by the visual shock of all that.

Parts of Buffalo they don't show in the brochure.

The people of Buffalo continue to impress. All the volunteers were incredibly friendly and supportive.

There was probably 2500 people there running the race. It was a good 2 minutes after the start of the race before I crossed the start line. That feeling of anticipation is a rush.

Right before the start.

Conditions were just about perfect for a long run. 60 degrees. Mixed sun and clouds. Occasional light rain. I couldn't have asked for more.

Best line of the day - two minutes into the race, the guy next to me takes off his headphones and announces "I've just been informed that the Kenyan has already won".

I ran the first third of the race slow and steady. Didn't care who passed me. The second third of the race was a little faster. I begin to pass people as they stopped to stretch and go to the bathroom. By the last three miles, I was pretty consistently passing people. Now keep in mind that this is probably the bottom third of the order here that I'm passing... Not the elites. But it still felt great to finish strong.

The author at mile 5.

The crowds were great. Very supportive. It sounds stupid, but you really get a rise out of people cheering for you after 12 miles. Some guy was blaring "Don't Stop" by Journey out of his truck at the 12.5 mile mark. I found this hilarious.

I didn't make my goal time, but I did just fine (Although... Holy shit! I think a Little Person beat me...) And I enjoyed the process itself. One guy gave me his life story. I spent 10 minutes trading Simpson's quotes with another pair of guys. It was a blast. Could I have squeezed out a few more minutes if I just kept my head down and ran? Probably. But I also wouldn't have had as much fun.

Despite constant fluid intake during and after, it was about 6 hours after the race finished before I finally peed again.

"Hey! Are you drinking my juice box?!"

I'm taking 2 weeks off from running. After that, I'll see how I feel and if I've got any more races in me.

Running

I'm running a 1/2 marathon next weekend.

No really... Stop laughing...

Wish me luck.

You can read about my training here if'n yer interested.

Big Day

I ran my first 5K today.


You might be saying to yourself, "Pat runs?". Well, I've never really done it consistently until about six months ago. I was somewhat shocked by how much "sympathy weight" I had put on while Jen was pregnant, so I figured I better start doing something about it.

The Crowd

I'll admit I was a little nervous. I didn't know where to go or what to do. Does my number go in the front or the back? Where do we line up? Are we starting now?

I lined up toward the back of the back. Not knowing the course, I figured that was a safe bet. The elite runners took off. The rest of us all bunched up real quick. Things thinned out a bit once we hit the hills. I was finally able to start passing people.

Running with a crowd is much different than running by yourself. There were times when I wanted to make a move to pass and I couldn't. Some of the Bryant sports teams were there running in groups. The rugby team was in front of me blocking the whole path and decided they would all walk for a bit. Grrr...

But despite my frustration with the people I was stuck behind, I feel like I did pretty well. I was picking people off almost the whole way after that. All these people that looked like there were in much better shape than me couldn't run up the hills. Passing them felt great.

The Course

The course was almost all hills. I had no idea. The first (and last) 800 yards or so were flat. But other than that, you were either running up a hill or running down a hill. That got old fast.

The path through the woods was only about 8 feet wide in parts. There were several 6 - 7 foot puddles. You had to tip-toe along the edges (or run right through the puddle and risk hitting a rock or a root). Not cool.

The Conditions

The conditions were awful. We probably had 3 inches of rain over night. And it was still very humid. Not great for running.

There were a lot of sharp turns and slippery muddy spots. I don't think I've ever had to look down so much while running. There were at least a few wipe-outs.

Jen and Little Man braved the elements to cheer me on. That meant a lot to me.

I didn't reach my goal time, but I had a blast anyway. And I don't feel like I left anything out there. So we'll call it a success. I'm going to take this week off, but I'll probably be doing another 5K sooner rather than later.

I would like to thank Joel, Jess and Jen. I couldn't have done it without my support system. Thanks guys!

P.S. I had a GREAT shower when we got home. It felt so good to wash off the sweat, grass and mud. Then Jen brought me a hot towel right out of the dryer. Best. Wife. Ever.

(Photos by J. Canole Action Sports Photography.)

I Don't Think They're Bike Path Regulars...

I got my "Long Run Sunday" in on Sunday morning.

I ran over to the bike path. There was a... um... bigger... family there on bikes.

I was running 10 minute miles... and keeping pace with them.

They were stopping every 1/4 mile to look at birds and stuff (and because the mother was out of breath).

For some reason, this was hilarious to me.

Fat Lady on Bike (pulled over): What kind of bird is that?! You don't get birds like that around here!

Me (without breaking stride): I'm pretty sure that's a Great Blue Heron.


It's there all the time.

Running Report

I've been out running four out of the last six days now. Not super long distances or anything, but hard enough to feel it.

My legs are sore (obviously). My feet feel a little tight from breaking in new shoes.

But my knees... My knees feel great. After years of bitching about my knees and thinking it was just a part of "getting older", I'm feeling much better.

The difference? I've been taking fish oil supplements for the last three months.

I'm not usually a big supplement or alternative medicine guy. But man... This really seems to work. My knees haven't felt this good in years (and it's funny how much easier it is to focus on your mechanics when you're not in pain).

I'm sharing this information in the hopes that it might help someone else. You don't hear that much about fish oil because it's cheap. There's no money to be made off it.

Obviously, talk to your doctor if you're having problems. I talked to my doctor about my fish oil intake and he seemed cool with it.