Okay, in my
last marathon blog I said I was going to do cardio exercises all throughout the
week. I even packed up my gym bag in a way I haven’t in the last few months,
determined to make myself go through with this important and much-needed mission.
Well, things did not go as planned as I ended up being a victim of check fraud
which depleted my checking and savings accounts, and I had to spend a
ridiculous number of hours getting an oil change, getting my rear brakes
replaced and a new tire put on my car. It also didn’t help that the guys at the
tire shop kind of forgot about me and my car for at least an hour.
Oh yeah, Ben
Stein was also at the tire shop too if anyone is interested to know…
Anyway, this
week’s Team to End AIDS run was the “Bring a Friend” run, so naturally I
brought Bubba Eeyore with me. This is the same Eeyore that accompanied me on my
23 mile run when I trained for the LA Marathon in 2014. Hey, they said bring a
friend!
Bubba ended
up staying behind to guard the car keys of those running the Honolulu Marathon
to where Coach Jennifer was convinced he
wanted to come to Honolulu as well (I’m sure he would jump at the chance).
We had a
choice today of running either three or five miles. I decided to run five.
Since all my fellow marathon buddies were running in the 12 minute pace group,
I stuck with them. I guess there are times where I can’t help but be a follower.
To say that it was relatively cool that morning in Griffith Park would have
people staring right at you with their jaws dropped as if to say, “ARE YOU
FUCKING KIDDING ME?!!” Let’s just say that we’re all really glad to run early
in the morning. It sucks not to sleep in on a Saturday, but at least we got the
run out of the way before the temperature reached an unbearable level.
This run
took us outside of Griffith Park and into parts of Burbank many of us have
traversed before. It also allowed us to catch up with the Bolivars who were at
a local park serving us with all the treats any runner could ever need any day
(especially on one as hot as this). And of course, this marked the return of those
peanut butter pickle covered Ritz crackers which remain as addictive as ever.
Coach JC may be repelled by them, but for everyone else they are insatiable.
Having
trained time and time again for the LA Marathon, I usually come into a run like
this saying, “It’s only five miles.” It drives those who don’t run nuts, but it
makes perfect sense to those who have long since been bitten by the running
bug. But this run definitely felt longer than usual, and it wasn’t just because
of the heat. Having missed my opportunity to do those two maintenance runs
during the week, the strain showed to where I didn’t even try to hide it. I
didn’t falter or give up, but my form was definitely off this time around. I
need to keep up with training during the week and to get myself to doing all
those cardio exercises I promised myself I would do throughout the week. Also,
a decrease in junk food would be helpful too (don’t ask why).
As the group
made their way back to where we started, I had to stop at one point to “drop
the kids in the pool.” I thought I could make it to the end before having to go
to the bathroom, but then I remembered that there’s not much in the way of
portable toilets near our running site. I wasn’t sure if anyone heard I was
going to give a shit and not wait up for me… I know the correct term is to “take
a shit,” but who really takes one? You don’t take a shit, you give a shit.
Granted, the term “giving a shit” may have multiple meanings, but when it comes
to going to the bathroom that term makes a hell of a lot more sense.
Thankfully I
didn’t have to spend too long at the bathroom and the finish line was not all
that far away. As I made my way back to Griffith Park, Winston (who ran the
2015 LA Marathon with me) came running my way to make sure I was okay. I was
fine, and even he admitted there was no way I would drop dead during a run.
As we
approached the finish line, it was getting hotter and hotter. When you
literally yards away from the end, the run begins to feel a lot longer than it has
any right to. I always kind of resent that about running in general. Maybe it’s
because I keep getting Vietnam-like flashbacks of when I ran cross country in
high school and feeling like I would die a painful death before I even crossed
the finish line. Either that or the sun was shining so brightly that I couldn’t
stop thinking about that cup of ice cold water waiting for me at the end and of how I wanted it sooner than
later. This was especially the case when we did runs in 80 degree heat without
any shade.
Well,
considering that I am writing about this run, it’s safe to say that I completed
it and am still breathing. Coach JC, however, was concerned that me and several
others were in the wrong pace group. He said he understood how runners always
try to push themselves to another level, but considering the time we finished
in, it made more sense for us to run in the 13 minute pace group. This should
show you just how much JC is looking out for us as a marathon coach. Do not
doubt his dedication to making sure we cross the finish line next February.
So hopefully
I will get those maintenance runs and cardio exercises in during the week week
as I have a lot of catching up to do. Not to worry though. We are still in the
beginning stages of marathon training and have plenty of time to improve.
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