miles run to date: 316.2 miles
current shoe-o-meter: 115.4 miles
Overview
Oprah did it. Puffy did it. Running a marathon can’t be too hard… Right? I’m told the Chicago Marathon takes place in October, so we have about 7 months to prepare. Who’s with me? We have verbal commitments from my brother Brady, Rachelle, and Laura. Royce is committed to drive the water wagon or run the last 100 meters if we can work out a relay of sorts.
Sunday, February 29
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 0:22:16
Mike and I, with CT pacing on the bike, headed out to the Rock Island Trail for the first training session of the year in unusually warm 61 degree weather. The last clocked distance that I ran was 3 miles in a high school cross country meet, so we thought that would be a good bench-markable distance to start with on our quest for 26.2 miles. After completing the first 1.5 miles in an easy galloping stride, we turned to fight the 24mph wind for the final 1200 meters. Afterwards, my calves felt like two tightly would baseballs… things are starting out good!
Monday, March 1
While consuming some of Carrie’s birthday treats with Royce (brownies and cupcakes are good runnin' food), a co-worker chimes in with his preferred distance running regiment: Weekdays- 2 to 4 mile run & Saturday- alternate 6 miles and “max” miles. Sounds like a fine plan to me, now there's nothing to it but to do it!
Sunday, March 7
This whole training thing isn't really getting off to a blazing start. I've been sidelined with a 101.5 degree fever this weekend following a good birthday bash on Friday. Like any good Renshaw would do, I've decided to beat this fever with a strict diet of Jell-O with a side of Jell-O.
Monday, March 15
I'm back on the horse... just riding real slow. I took a 1.5 mile running tour of the mountainous terrain (maybe just hills and valleys) that is my neighborhood. I'm going to get going slowly here to get my leg muscles acclimated to running day in and day out.
Wednesday, March 17
After destroying one of the best teams in the Caterpillar basketball league, I took the 1.5 mile loop again. How many miles did I run in during the basketball game? I think that counts..
~40 total shots made@ roughly %40 shooting percentage= 100 trips down the court
100 trips*75 feet (short court)*1.2 (misc slop factor)=9,000 feet
----1.7 miles----
Friday, March 19
1.5 miles, I'm really enjoying these runs around the neighborhood. I'm seeing things only two blocks from my house that I never knew existed. Here's the route:
Saturday, March 20
2.0 miles, I thought about going out to a nice running trail, but traffic looked bad. The weather was a wonderful 65F, so I thought I would run around and meet some more of my neighbors.
Monday, March 22 & Tuesday, March 23
2.0 miles, refreshing like an Irish spring.
Wednesday, March 24
We trounced our opponents in the CBL (Caterpillar Basketball League). The season started a little rough, but we are really pulling it all together down the stretch as we have been victorious in 5 out of our last 6 games. We are now 7-5 with 3 games to go. I ran 1.5 miles after the game.
Thursday, March 25
2.0 miles after an invigorating 2 hour evening Operations Management class (MBA pre-req coursework). Evenings are getting crowded studying and attending two classes, running, and basketball... but efficiency increases with workload.
Friday, March 26
2.0 miles
March 27-28: spent the weekend in Springfield attending services for a loved one
Monday, March 29
1.5 miles. CNN tells me that I can exercise and increase cognitive performance by simply listening to music as I run! This is a perfect excuse to buy one of those iPod minis that are just so damn cool (always be alert when running with an iPod). I'll need to come up with a 4 hour playlist of motivational songs to encourage my running (assuming I can average 9 minute miles)... I'm thinking Eye of the Tiger from Rocky for the final stretch and Vivaldi's "Four Seasons" to kick things off. That just leaves me with the tunes for miles 2 through 25 to figure out. Suggestions are welcome.
Wednesday, March 31
It's been rainy and cold here in Peoria, that's my excuse for not running the past two days... BUT we have continued our reign in the Cat Basketball League. Our opponent tonight beat us the last time we met, so we came in with a chip on our shoulders and ran out to an early 28-1 lead. Don't make us angry, we will crush you.
Thursday, April 1
3.0 miles after class tonight.. and that's no joke.
Saturday, April 3
With CT pacing on the bike, I ran (and she rode) 6.0 miles! This is twice the longest distance I've ever run in my life and it was pretty easy. I found that if you just run slow enough - average about an 8 or 9 minute mile - your body never really passes that threshold that brings sore muscles and shortness of breath. For all you mechanical engineers, it's kind of like staying under the fatigue limit on an s-n curve. Looking at the curve below, you could say that the 'S' axis represents speed and the 'N' axis represents distance. Simply stated, the slower you run, the greater the distance you can run. If you run slow enough, I think you can effectively run forever (with other conditions being ideal) by taking yourself below the purple curve on the graph.
Of course, I'm talking a lot of talk for only running 6 miles. I still have no ideal what it is like to run 26.2.
Monday, April 5
3.0 miles on the Rock Island Trail (from Pioneer Parkway to 6 and back) on the way home from work... it took me 20 minutes to find the trail, but the run was worth it. Very nice.
Wednesday, April 7
Shoes are only good for 300-400 miles, time for a fresh pair. I picked up these before my basketball game and tried them out afterwards. My joints loved them!
By the way, we won the game with an 11-6 run in the last 4 minutes to finish 41-38. Yours truly blocked a three point attempt with seconds remaining, but a great effort by the whole team took us to the promise land despite being without our starting shooting guard and leading scorer, Mr. Greg.
Thursday, April 8
I met Laura at her house after work and we ran the 3 miles to operations management class. We didn't get hit by any golf balls as we ran across the golf course, we didn't get hit by any frisbees on the frisbee golf course, we didn't get hit by any cars running across traffic - all good for us! We didn't smell that bad after the run - good for the other students in our 2 hour lecture!
Friday, April 10
3.0 miles around the neighborhood
Saturday, April 11
5.0 miles on the Rock Island Trail. The new shoes felt great with one exception: my left foot feels a little cramped. I had resigned myself to the idea that my left foot must be slightly longer than my right foot. Why I hadn't noticed this in the past? I was considering buying new shoes one size larger when I decided to put another hypothesis to the test -- could it be that the shoes were actually defective rather than my poor little left foot?
Hallelujah, my genetics aren't severely flawed, these damn shoes are. What in the heck?? I checked the tongue and they both said "US 10". Despite having logged 11 miles on these shoes, I decided to return them to the store. Brandi, seasoned in the art of selling shoes, had never seen such a thing! My only guess is that the 6 year old kid getting paid $0.15USD per hour accidentally put the wrong tag on the shoe... I hope I didn't cost him his job.
Tuesday, April 13
After rest and some moderate weight training Sunday and Monday, my legs were ready for a quick run today after my Financial Accounting test. The new Avia shoes are amazing! They are the cheapest shoes I've ever owned -- with the exception of those Velcro Pro-Wings I sported in 1st grade -- yet they are extremely lightweight, supportive, bouncy, and equal in length! I'd like to thank Brandi, shoe goddess, for getting me such a good deal on these fine Chinese products.
Thursday, April 15
I met Laura 45 minutes before class for a run around the Bradley campus. It was a good 3.9 mile run mostly in West Peoria that included running by two cemeteries and jumping over two garbage cans.
Sunday, April 18
It was a nice day, so I decided to head out to the Rock Island Trail for a run. The sun's radiation was searing my skin, but the 30 mph wind really added a significant amount of convective cooling. I ran 3 miles before walking off a charlie horse in my left calf for one mile and then running yet another mile to my car. I need to do some research and figure out why my left calf always knots up like that. First I thought maybe I need to add some muscle mass in that area, but then got a mental picture of those skinny Kenyans that always win marathons. Lack of muscle never stops those guys.
Tuesday, April 20
It was rainy - and thanks to my #1 fan letting me know this in advance - I was prepared for it. I ran 3.5 miles around the Bradley University campus before class narrowly avoiding several attempted spashings by passing cars.
Thursday, April 22
My partner in crime, Laura Swickard, met up with me before class for a 3 mile run down historic Moss Avenue. My knees hurt. Is complaining about sore body parts a sign of old age?
Sunday, April 25
Prior to celebrating Laos New Year with CT's family here at the CodyPlex, I took a 4.3 mile jog around the area. It seems that usually with distance, something goes first. It could be you wind, your calves, your quads, your hams... with me it seems to be my knees that are really giving me pain on the inside. The three days off helped, but I can even feel it when I'm walking now. Knees, get your act together! I've had jumper's knee in the past, could this be runner's knee?
Tuesday, April 27 - Thursday, April 29 - Sunday, May 2
3 mile runs.....
Saturday, May 8
Paintball at the Chilli Paint Pits. That's gotta count for something! My kill-to-die Ratio was a stout 3 to 1 over the course of the day... beware of the Cody. Paintball has got to be one of the most enjoyable things a lad can do. It's like being in a incredibly immersive video game with real surroundings and real pain. I have a couple of battle wounds in the form of a welt on my back and poison ivy on my wrist for all those non-believers.
I case you were wondering, Technical Foul (my ball team in the Cat League) finished with a nice 10-5 record winning 7 out of the last 8. We are the team to beat next year, watch out fellow Cat League-ers.
Tuesday, May 11
I've been on a running hiatus due to papers, projects, and finals the past couple of weeks. I completed my Operations Management final exam this evening after taking the day off from work to study...
Enter a new era in Mission: Marathon... the iPod mini era. This little masterpiece was delivered via FedEx yesterday and I haven't been the same since. I think it has made my life more complete in a way :) iPod, I think I love you. I'm getting married in two months -- I hope CT can accept this little guy into our lives. I took my baby, loaded with 762 songs, out on the road with me today for a run. It was amazing and here's why:
I've come to realize that my brain can't multitask very effectively. For instance, if I listen to music while I read, all I hear is the music and I don't comprehend any of the text. What sucks for reading is great for running. Instead of hearing my brain tell me, "Cody, your legs hurt... you are getting tired.. are you sure you can make it... why don't you just stop and walk for a while" the whole time that I am running, now all I hear is the tunes! I ran 5 miles in 40 minutes today with the iPod on shuffle, feeding me the following classic jams: playlist
Here is my best attempt at an action shot with the iPod mini strapped to my arm. My backyard is the set as I recreate an exciting moment from my run around the neighborhood:
Sunday, May 16
Ran like a shish-kabob on fire today, 7.0 miles. Brady, also training for the marathon, was in town for the CT birthday BBQ bash and provided moral support in the effort-- although he could not participate due to soreness from a big run the previous day. BBQing was tons of fun with a full cast of crazy (pee baaw) characters on hand for the festivities. Here is an easy to follow map of my very structured 7.0 mile run in case you would like to repeat it on your own:
Thursday, May 20
I ran 3.2 miles today around the Franciscan Recreation Center area enjoying the balmy 82 degree air... it was either raining very very lightly or the air was possibly just saturated with humidity, hard to tell. I followed that up with a good 1.5 hour session of running court in the non-AC equipped Franciscan gym. The 3s were dropping from the sky like crazy... I think running before basketball improves my shot. Brady should be moving into the area in the next month -- get ready for Thursday basketball and marathon training Mr. Renshaw.
Sunday, May 23
Problem: I need to find a route that allows me to run specific increasing distances. Such a route would allow me to increase the lengths of my runs without having to continually drive-off my routes.
Solution: Run to and from a track a fixed distance away and vary the number of laps run on the track to adjust the total distance.
I had a very nice hour long run to and from an old Bradley track (including 4 laps around the track) for a total distance of 6.7 miles.... all while groovin' to the melodic sounds from the iPod. I included a graphic making use of aerial photos, a rendered house, and a 2-D running man to help the viewers at home better understand my Sunday afternoon.
Wednesday, May 26
5.7 miles + 2 laps*0.25 miles/lap = 6.2 miles
Tuesday, June 1
I ran 3 miles today after a fantastic Memorial Day weekend in Springfield. I received my registration confirmation from the Chicago Marathon in the mail today... no going back now!
The huge news over the weekend was the wholly matrimonial union of Rachel Renshaw and Justin Bently. There is no way my wedding can top that... it was amazing. The pictures are here under weekly webshots. Also big news, Amanda Hazelip has joined the marathon challenge... not that she needs monetary motivation, but her boyfriend Lance is throwing down a $1000 prize if she completes it.
Thursday, June 3
I ran 2 miles today followed by an hour of basketball at the Franciscan center.
Sunday, June 6
How do you follow up a 12-welt (including 3 on the rear end!) 100 vs. 100 game of paintball on Saturday with Brady and Chris. How about a 15km (converts to 9 miles) course beginning in downtown Peoria, up through Glen Oak Park (twice), and back downtown. Laura, Brady and I took the surprisingly smooth run with ease - helped along with Gatorade stashed along the way in the park. We finished with about a 9min 30sec pace, or just slightly ahead of Oprah's marathon pace. Surely we can run faster than Oprah!!! Brady and Laura: be sure to watch for speed bumps :)
CLICK HERE to see the course and where Brady and Laura bit the dust.
Sunday, June 13
I came out with hopes of running big miles today but ended with only 3. I seemed to have aggravated my right achilles playing basketball on Thursday. It feels like my achilles tendon is trying to pull away from my calf. I'm sure this has nothing to do with my complete lack of a structured conditioning. But this is OK with me. I bet Pheidippides didn't have any formal training when he ran the original marathon from a battlefield in Marathon, Greece, to Athens in 490 B.C.. Of course, Pheidippides supposedly died after reaching Athens to report the outcome of the battle.
Wednesday, June 16
2 miles in the morning before work.
Sunday, June 20
A new longest run has been achieved! I ran 10 miles today in 93 minutes in sunny Peoria, Illinois. I ran the old Bradley track route as described on the May 23 entry, with 17 laps around the track tacked on to the 5.7 mile road course. I played basketball on Thursday with a tight ankle brace that seemed to really help prevent re-straining my achilles. My achilles/calf injury really only started to pain me in the last couple of miles today.
I'd like to extend a special apology to all of my fans around the world for my lack of consistent updates recently. I'm not one to give excuses (this is just a nice thing to say - the truth is that I love to give excuses!), but I've been very busy with wedding preparation. My bachelor days number less than 13 now.
Wednesday, June 23
1 mile in 6:28
Saturday, June 26
Bachelor party, wahooo! Thanks Brady and all those that made it for the big event!
Tuesday, June 29
1 mile in 6:05
Saturday, July 3
Chanthala Thongsithavong becomes Chanthala Renshaw.
Saturday, July 10
I'm back with 3 months until the big event! It's been a wild couple of weeks with getting married and related festivities, so what do I do after 20 days of throwing down healthy McDonalds meals without any distance running? Brady and I decide to go for a little run to the tune of 12 miles! I was ready to die after 9, but Brady called me some unrepeatable bad names which kept me going. My legs feel like Jello and I have three wonderful liquid filled surprises on my feet -- but it feels so good at the same time.
If you haven't seen the pics of our two ceremonies and the band and DJ fueled party that followed, check 'em out:
Tuesday, July 13
Away on business in San Diego, I woke up at 7:45 my time, which translates to 5:45 San Diego time, and decided to a get a nice run in around the hotel. The hotel was situated near an industrial park that close to Caterpillar subsidiary, Solar Turbines. I think those guys I passed on Balboa Ave protesting "Unsafe Paving Procedures" finally got their point across as I saw nothing but the safest imaginable procedures the rest of the trip.
The two other mornings spent on the west coast were very limited sleep nights leaving no time for running... but I did somehow manage to find the time to relax by this pool in at the Del Mar Country Club in Rancho Sante Fe.
Saturday, July 17
Brady and I decided to do a little speed work, so we went to the track and sprinted 1/4 mile, 1/2 mile, and then 3/4 mile. I don't know if this adds any value to my marathon training, but it was still a good time none the less!
Tuesday, July 20
Time is getting scarce with the compressed 4 week Finance 522 class that I am taking at Bradley consuming a large chunk of my day. I now read a chapter a day and take a 25 minute quiz on that chapter every weekday (Mon-Thur). This eats up my lunch period and about 2 hours in the evening... but I'm still going to try to get on a steady running routine, so I went out and ran 2 miles this evening. I'd like to thank my wife, Chanthala, for being so understanding!
Wednesday, July 21
I'm back and with RENEWED VIGOR! Something clicked in me today as I ran 4 miles under the cover of darkness... and it wasn't that popping in my right hip due to that ill-advised handstand at Rachel's wedding reception. Today marked my maiden run in my American Cancer Society tank (or singlet if you are down with the lingo) that I will be wearing in the marathon. As I was running, I started thinking about the reasons that I am running and a rush of emotion came over me. It is a test of my endurance, my drive, my heart -- but mostly it is a tribute to my mother's life. Her life was cut short at age 48 and Brady and I intend to raise money for the ACS through our running and training in her honor (Team KRISTINE). My left leg feels like it is slowly defecting from my body, but I will make it the full 26.2 miles even if it requires that walk or limp at times.. I'll get there and I only have 2.5 months to prepare my body.
Friday, July 23
I
ran 2 miles immediately prior to a joint promotion party for Jeff Lamb and
myself at the CodyPlex. It also served as a going away party for Jeff as
he is transferring to the Chicago area a month from now. I know what you
are thinking: How is Technical Foul (our Cat basketball league team) going
to fill the huge void that Jeff leaves? Jeff turned down request by his teammates
that he drive down for the weekly games. We have until January to find a
suitable replacement for this dynamic, versatile, and deceivingly quick
all-position player.
Saturday, July 24
6.0 miles, silky smooth
Sunday, July 25
2.0 miles with CT on the pace bike
Monday, July 26 - Tuesday, July 27
2.0 miles in the 'hood....
Wednesday, July 28
3.0 miles
Thursday, July 29
3.11 miles (5k) in a random route around the neighborhood with the Garmon Forerunner 201! This thing is amazing... my newest toy is GPS enabled allowing me to run wherever I want while it reports back pace, distance and a myriad of other information back to me. It also links up to the computer so you can map your routes and record running history and so forth... What fun will be had with this thing!
Sunday, August 1
After a 13 mile canoe trip on Saturday, I ran 2.5 miles on Highway 8 in Steelville, Missouri. Go here for some pictures of the canoeing. While not quite as wild as last time, it was still a full 2000 lbs (one ton) of fun.
Tuesday, August 3
4.7 miles -- I woke up early and ran the back roads in my neighborhood to the golf course down the street. Crisscrossing the sprinkler laden golf course at 6 in the morning left my feet soaking wet... but the fairways were especially pleasant on my knees. I even got a chance to download GPS and other data from my fancy little watch to the computer and I have the picture below to show you. The yellow line is my actual path while the graph below that plots my pace versus distance. You can see that I hovered around my target 9 minute mile pace. NICE!
Thursday, August 5
5.8 miles -- Today I decided to trot down to the track and run a lap. The wind really started to work against me on the way back which really made it difficult to keep up with the "little man" I was racing on my watch. I commanded the "little man" to maintain a 9 minute pace throughout the run and as I turned around to head back the little man, let's call him Frediferous, was ahead by a good 100 virtual feet. I struggled to pick up my pace in order to catch up, but the wind was conspiring with Frediferous against me. With only a couple of blocks to go I decided to make my charge with Frediferous a whopping 500 in front of me. My speed nearly doubled, going from my pace speed of 6.6 mph to 11 mph, as I sprinted for the finish. All of this and Frediferous still edged me out at the line... although it wasn't exactly a photo finish as my virtual training partner beat me by 20 feet.
This got me thinking, do you think things would have been different had I been suited up in one of the Speedo Fastskin FSII outfits that our Olympic swimmers wear. After all, all of my loose clothes and various accessories -- iPod strapped to my arm, Garmin Forerunner on my wrist, and aftermarket Nike headphones -- have to slow me down.
Sunday, August 8
This weekend, I traveled to Iowa for a Renshaw family reunion! Despite being in a far away land, marathon training must go on. Brady and I woke up at 4:45 in the morning in Perry, Iowa for a 15 mile fun run down Highway 141. We initially set out on four wheels in order to strategically place four Gatorade bottles along the way. We stashed our four 24 ounce bottles in a bag full of ice next to a large red gate 4 miles down the road. Upon returning to our upscale hotel (Super 8), I programmed the little man on my watch, Frediferous, for a comfortable 10 minute mile pace. Frediferous stayed with us as we each picked up a bottle of Gatorade at 4 miles, as we re-stashed our bottles at the 6th mile, we picked up our pace at as we closed in on the 7.5 mile half-way point (only 5 miles from Jamaica). I think Frediferous was getting thirsty down the home stretch (we refused to share our drinks with him) because he was steadily falling behind and finished a whopping 1/4 mile behind us. Poor fella. The highlight of the run for me was when my dad drove by on the way to pick our grandmother up for breakfast and pumped his fist at us. Feels good!
After breakfast, we made a 6 hour pilgrimage to Fleet Feet Chicago for a gait analysis. Our friendly gait specialist informed me that my running style - in simple terms - is wack. I roll my foot from the outside to the inside as I stride. He brought out three pairs of shoes that offer enhanced support from the heel through the arch and let me run in each and choose the ones that felt best. And the winner is the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 5 -- sounds like a fast car!
<Brooks Adrenaline GTS 5 Detail>
It was impressed upon me at Fleet Feet that cotton is evil. I think I would have to agree as evidenced by the disgust on the salespersons face when I took off my old Avia shoes and revealed my blood stained cotton running socks. Enter my new super high tech $14 socks! These socks actually are labeled "L" and "R" and have different materials all around, each serving a different purpose. My favorite material is the white ventilating mesh. The shoes also have a great ventilation and my feet feel incredibly cool with this combo. These new Asics Kayano socks are probably the ugliest socks ever made, but they are mine and I'll accept them into my home and make them part of the family..
BTW, according to Fleet Feet, Brady falls within the lucky 5-10% of the population that is truly biomechanically gifted when it comes to running technique. Ain't that swell? That makes him a cheater in my book.
Wednesday, August 11
After recovering from my 15 miler, I took off for 6.0 miles in the new shoes and socks... unfortunately it was very cold for this time of year (~50F) so I couldn't really appreciate the cool ventilating mesh. Nature will pay dearly for this slight.
Saturday, August 14
I woke up in Springfield at CT's brothers house with a plan to run 6 miles prior to kicking off the wedding festivities that I was taking part in that day, but a inaccurate clock at CT house left me short on time and a 1.5 mile scramble had to suffice. Rachel and Nick Barnard's wedding was amazing and it was an honor to be asked to be a part of it. Good times.
Monday, August 16
Brady and Tracey stopped by the Cody-plex and we ventured out as a quartet for a whimsical 7.8 mile tour of the city of Peoria. With Brady and I on feet and CT and Tracey on bikes, we set out toward the track via the backroads and veered off toward Bradley University through Bradley Park before returning to the greater Cody-plex area for treats at Baskin-Robbins. "Smoothie, you are delicious!"
Wednesday, August 18
5.7 miles on the back roads with CT biking along. From the marathon update desk: Upon Brady's suggestion, we began our search for lodging the evening before the marathon. Dan Mikrut, Caterpillar's resident Chicago-land expert, guided me on my search. After exhausting our efforts to find a location close to Grant Park and finding nothing but flashing "no vacancy" signs, we decided to check out the Chicago Transit Authority L lines for a hotel along the train route that we could grab early Sunday morning... and there she was on Expedia glimmering like a cubic zirconia at a swap meet. The Clarion Hotel Barcelo! I quickly cross referenced the CTA blue line map to verify that this $94 jackpot was indeed located just a couple of blocks from the blue line stop -- yes.
| Clarion Hotel Barcelo |  |
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| 5615 N
Cumberland Chicago, IL 60631 USA |
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Saturday, August 21
1 mile warm up run for Sunday
Sunday, August 22
19 miles.
Brady and I set out around 7:30am after loading the bike in the car for Tracey, Brady's wife and drink carrier. We drove out to the Rock Island Trail for what would be our longest run thus far by four miles. The run was surprisingly easy 3:01:25 with the exception of a few moments where I thought my right knee would have to be amputated after the run.. but that was come and go... all in all it was a much easier run when compared to our 15 mile run two weeks prior. Frediferous didn't stand a chance as we smoked him by 3/4 of a mile and finished with a 9:33 pace! Sorry Fred, maybe next time. I wish I could nail down what made the run different, but there was too new many variables such as:
We took Tylenol before we ran to numb the pain
I was wearing my new Brooks running shoes (no blisters!)
I was wearing my new Asics high tech socks (no blisters!)
We took an electrolyte replacing gel pack half way through
We were running on dirt, not pavement
The terrain was almost entirely flat
I helped Jeff move the day before
Tracy was delivering us water/Gatorade the entire way at every mile marker
I had Taco Bell the day before for lunch
I was wearing my new light weight running shorts (they were so light, I had to keep looking down to make sure I wasn't living one of those dreams where you leave the house with no pants on.... you know the one)
Because I don't know which of the 10 variables made it such a good run (I'm leaning toward the Taco Bell), I suppose I'll have to do the whole routine in a couple of weeks when we go for 23 miles. As mentioned, Tracey did a wonderful job of dispensing the 188 ounces of Gatorade and water that we brought along on our run. You can see our mile times below as recorded by the GPS watch.
Thursday, August 26
Today I ran 23 feet before turning and walking back. Ouch. My right knee doesn't feel right at all. If I had to describe it, I would say that it feels like a tightly wound rubber band stretched across the inside of my knee and on the verge of snapping every step... delivering a sharp pain.
Saturday, August 28
I wanted to run with Laura today, so she could keep warmed prior to her second 20 mile run the next day, but the pain is still there and I didn't want to risk anything.
Sunday, August 29
The pain was strong throughout the first quarter mile, but subsided as I continued on for a 1.5 mile Sunday run.
Tuesday, August 31
Ramping back up slowly with a 3.0 miler in the morning before work.
Thursday, September 2
I was planning on simply running 6 miles after work, but Brady and Tracey surprised me with an offer to run 15 miles with a visit to our good friend, the Rock Island Trail. We loaded up the backpack with Gatorade, water, toilet paper, and gel-packs. We stayed very close to a 9 minute mile pace the entire run which is a pretty good clip faster than our previous 15 and 19 mile runs. All in all, there was very little pain in my knees but something did happen that I've heard stories about but never experience myself. My left nipple started hurting like crazy! This is due to my nylon singlet bouncing up and down as I run. Some people get this in a major way like the poor fellow below. Fortunately, NipGuards offers a solution...
+
=
I hear duct tape also works.
Thursday, September 9
Jealous of Brady's 46:30 six mile run, I set out to match it in the wee hours of the morning. It was still pitch black outside as I started out at 5:45 with the temperature a cool 51. It was a strenuous run across fairways and curbs, yet in the end I came up short crossing the line at 48:50. I even stuck my chest out to shave a second, but my efforts were fruitless -- although I did enjoy a banana upon arriving at the Codyplex.
Saturday, September 11
1 mile run around Laketown in Springfield in preparation for our Sunday run.
Sunday, September 12
Back to the Rock Island Trail just outside of Peoria for what was to be our longest run yet, 23 miles. CT and Tracey were both ready with backpacks and bikes for run support. We took off at a pretty fast clip running sub-9 minute miles -- but the pain in my left knee was getting unbearable. As we arrived in Princeville, 10.5 miles into our run I slowed briefly to read some road markings in an effort to determine what direction we should run to follow the trail.... as I tried to pick up my speed again, I went down clutching my left knee. What was a sharp stinging pain had now transformed into a vise locking my leg with jolts of piercing pain. Doh.
Tracey grabbed Frediferous and the GPS watch and took off to catch Brady still making his way down the trail. So there we are.. 10.5 miles from our car with a bike, a backpack, a gimpy Cody and week 1 of the NFL starting in just a couple of hours! The horror!
CT and I got creative and tried some interesting tandem bike riding positions in an effort to speed things up. CT even took a turn at running as I rode the bike. On a side note, CT also "borrowed" a couple of pears from a tree overhanging the sidewalk on the way back. Shame on you! You need to have your clepto-fruity-itus professionally cared for.
Brady and Tracey came creeping up behind us about two miles into our return trip.. Brady was still moving at a good clip and my knee was feeling better so I jumped back into the run. We covered another 3 miles and were approaching Dunlap when Brady decided that he had exhausted himself after coving 20 miles at a 8:45 pace. I stopped with him and like clockwork, my knee seized again sending me to the ground. Doh. We hobbled/walked a little more before I volunteered to jump on a bike and pedal the next 4-5 mile to our cars. That was a grueling bike ride, but riding was a lot easier on my knee than running or even walking. I returned to Dunlap to pick up the others and we made it back home in time for kickoff... but what a disappointing day! One bright spot, no bleeding nipples thanks to successful application of duct tape.
Monday, September 13
I went to have my knee looked at today as I was still experiencing big pain. The folks down at Orthopedic Institute of Illinois really know there stuff. The description of the pain indicated to Dr. Ryans that I had a case of upper patellar tendonitis... but he was concerned that I might have a stress fracture because I wasn't tender at all around the tendon. X-rays came out negative (thank goodness) so we were left with tendonitis. He said it can go away in about 6 weeks with proper stretching and exercising.... I'm hoping he meant to say 4 weeks because that's all I have :) He indicated that it probably wouldn't cause any long term damage to tough it out during the marathon, but told me that Cortisone injections are out of the question. Looks like me and Ibuprofen will have to get well acquainted on October 10th. After our volleyball game this evening (we got trounced!), I did the 1/2 hour exercise and stretching regimen that the Doc recommended that I do every day. It's going to be tough, but I'm going to do what it takes to be ready for the big day.
Friday, September 17
Not able to run on my gimpy knee, I decided to get some low impact cardio work on the funny contraption known as the Gazelle. I picked it up at a garage sale the previous Saturday for $30 bucks! I Gazelled for 2.5 hours while CT and I watched Denzell and Dakota in "Man on Fire", which left my legs-on-fire.... actually it was very light work. I've been doing my stretches and exercises every evening as directed.
<--
Tony Little doing his best Cody Renshaw impersonation.
Saturday, September 18
Brady is ready for the marathon... so ready in fact that he decided to run a marathon early on Saturday!!! That's right, Brady ran 26.2 miles in just under 4 hours! His strategy included a full breakfast 1 hour before the run, the cool weather helped a bunch, and he stayed full of energy with Red Bull, gel packs, Gatorade, and bananas. Congratulations, Brady. Meanwhile, I was enjoying a wedding in Springfield. Congrats to Natalie and Brian.
Sunday, September 19
CT and I headed out for a 12.6 mile photographic bicycle journey on the Rock Island Trail prior to week 2 of the NFL. After a disappointing week one loss, I'm bouncing back this week in the BMPFL (big money pigskin football league). After all, I am the defending champion after a masterful 12-4 2003 campaign by the Stinky Stallions. R U E?
Wednesday, September 22
How sweet it is. I drove straight to the Rock Island Trail after work to cover some good distance before sunset. I covered 26.2 miles in 2:09 as I received an eclectic infusion of grooves from the iPod. That's an average pace of just under 5 minutes. What changed you ask? It was either the olfactory disaster area that I encountered just outside of Princeville that invigorated me or the fact that I was riding a bike. The ride was easy on my left upper and lower patellar tendons, which was the goal, but reeked havoc on my derriere. My bony backside isn't well suited for long bike rides. I couldn't keep up the 100 revolutions per minute that Mr. Martini suggested, but it was a good exercise none-the-less as evidenced by the burn I currently feel in my quadriceps. It's burning so good in fact, that I'm employing a technique that Mr. Evans (marathon guru) suggested: ice down with frozen veggies!
Saturday, September 25
What a beautiful day for a bike ride. I wanted a change of scenery so I drove ahead to Princeville so I could ride from Princeville to Toulon.
Another change for the 27 mile bike ride today was the absence of music -- instead I opted to download an audio book from Apple iTunes. The abridged version of Rich Dad's Retire Young, Retire Rich was just the right length for the bike ride. My knee felt great as I managed to improve my per mile time from 4:56 to 4:40. I think I will pick up a nicer non-crappy non-Target bike after the marathon so I can continue riding on the weekends.... after all, it is in my blood! My dad and his brothers are studs on two wheels and Ragbrai veterans. Ragbrai is a week long 500 mile bike ride across the Iowa. Thanks for the genes, dad!
Wednesday, September 29
OK, enough lolly-gaggin around on the bike! Let's get out and run after work and see how my leg holds up after about 5 or 6 miles.
Mile 1 - feeling great, not a hint of pain in the knee
Mile 2 - how sweet it is, I think my knee is completely healed!
Mile 3 - ooooh, there is now a hint of pain around my upper patellar on the left knee
Mile 4 - HEY, WHAT THE HECK (it's a family show, folks) IS GOING ON WITH MY LEFT KNEE!
Why are you acting up again little fella? The pain is too much -- not too much to run through,
but enough that I start to feel my knee tightening and enough for me to think that I am undoing the
healing that I experienced that last two weeks without running.
Frustration is what I'm feeling as I walk the next mile and a half to my car. This marathon is going to be crazy tough, but it's only 4 hours of my life... I think I'll be able to tough it out.
Friday, October 1
On advice from Laura, I called Dr. Kim to see if there was anything that could be done with one week to go to better prepare me for the marathon. Dr. Kim is apparently a miracle worker with super powers beyond any other doctor. I really thought calling her would be fruitless, but I proceeded with a shred of hope. It wasn't until I arrived at her office and started filling out the pile of "first office visit" papers that I realized that she was a chiropractor. Interesting... I've never been to one and was curious to see what she had in store for me.
Meet Dr. Kim - She is incredibly enthusiastic and confident... she's the type of person that makes you smile when you hear her talk. She introduced me to another patient gearing up for the Chicago Marathon. This young lady told me that she came to Kim one year ago unable to walk with injury six days before another marathon. After Kim worked her magic, she ran and finished the marathon with ease. What kind of crazy voodoo doctor is this, I asked myself.
Kim first asked me whether I really needed to run this marathon. She proposed that I could wait and run another one once healthy. I informed her that I HAVE TO run this marathon. "The only way I would back out is if I was risking permanent damage by running.... outside of that, I WILL cross that finish line next Sunday." She retorted with confidence and said she could make it happen for me if we worked at it every day.
*CRACK* Kim pops my back. *POP* POP* Kim pops my hips. "I'm getting your body aligned," she explained. She then proceeded to go to town on my knee - twisting, pulling, pushing, twisting some more. Next up is the ultrasound treatment. Electrodes are hooked up to pads on my knee and the juice is turned up enough to induce spasms in my leg.... then comes the ultrasound magic wand for five minutes. Ahhh, that feels good.
Saturday, October 2
It's 8AM on Saturday and cooold outside as I head to Dr. Kim for my daily magical knee healing session. Afterwards I stopped by the trail for a 6 mile bike ride to keep the knee loose before heading to Springfield to assist CT with a wedding shoot. Tracey also pitched in and assisted with the weddding. SHAMELESS PLUG: If you need wedding pictures, get with CT!
That
freezing bike ride got me thinking -- what's the temperature going to be like in
Chicago on the 10th?? According to weather.com: 
Sunday, October 3
1 week to the big race! I ran 1.5 miles in between football games to keep my knee loose -- with no pain! Brady and I also had time to chat today and he said that he was going to run along side me and carry me on his back if necessary for the marathon. I told him to feel free not to wait for my gimpy self, but he replied that his finish time isn't really what it's about and that he'd be happy to run with me. That really means a lot to me and will make the race 1000 times more fun. Laura will also probably be running and chatting with us for 4 hours next Sunday.... now if we can just get Dr. Kim to come along and adjust our spines during the race :)
Tuesday, October 5
Brady
and I headed over to Runner's
Central to pick up some supplies for the race. Brady and I picked up
carbohydrate and electrolyte infused gel packs in the following exciting
flavors: Cola Fizzz, Mocha Mocha,
Kiwi-Strawberry, Tri-Berry and more. These should help add to the
enjoy-ability and refreshing-ness of the marathon running experience and help us
avoid the dreaded "wall". We followed up that visit with a 2
mile run down historic Moss Avenue. Gotta stay loose for the race.
In Dr. Kim news, I've been getting and will continue to get daily treatments for
my knee all the way up to race day. I've got to say that Dr. Kim and the
staff (Brandi and Jaime) are very nice and friendly and really make things fun
-- and I'm not just saying that because Dr. Kim and her husband, Ruben, could
give me a serious "tune up" with their master Tae
Kwon Do skills -- I'm saying it because it is true!
Back to those tasty gel packs for a second.... I think I just developed the ultimate sandwich... give me a second while I contact the IP department. OK, done. How's this for a sandwich:
Yum... now that's a tasty treat that kids of all ages (2-64 yrs) will enjoy.
Wednesday, October 6
Laura and I ran 1.7 miles and talked race day strategy.
Friday, October 8
Pasta dinner. Carbs are good... don't listen to them.
Saturday, October 9
Following Dan and Anne's wedding, CT and I headed to Chicago and met Tracey, Brady, and Ray for dinner at the hotel.
Sunday, October 10 --------------- RACE DAY -----------------------
We woke up bright and early at 4:45AM so we could take the train downtown to meet Laura at her hotel at 6:30. The train was stocked with other runners heading in the same direction. Prior to the race we set up shop in Grant Park and all cleared our bladders repeatedly and took time out to apply "blister shield" to our bodies and safety pin gel packs onto our shorts for consumption during the run.
One of the strangest scenes was just before the race started you could see thousands of runners throwing their warm up shirts and water bottle off to the side of the street. Bill was good enough to tell me about this ritual in advance so I was prepared with a $2 Salvation Army long sleeve t-shirt that I threw as far as I could. This fun little ritual also proved hazardous as the street was littered with plastic bottles and clothing -- very dangerous for a weak ankled individual like myself!
The start of the race was amazing! It took us ten minutes from the gun sounding to get to the starting line -- all the while the music was pumping and the crowd was going crazy. The race started a tad slow as the streets were packed with runners. A matter of fact, the first 5 miles or so found us looking for opening in the crowd to get through while still trying to maintain a steady pace. We passed our spectators (CT, Tracey, Rachel, Justin, Ray, and Amanda) at 3.5 miles but didn't see them in the mass of spectators.
Around mile 8 or 9 I started going a little nuts because the race was going so easy and we were having such a good time. It was particularly invigorating when people in the crowd would cheer yell "American Cancer Society" or "Charity Runners!"... I was getting hyped. That is precisely why I went nuts for about a quarter of a mile when I saw a huge crowd with no excitement or enthusiasm. I ran up the side of the street and was waiving my arms like a bird yelling "let's get pumped up", "come on people", etc. at the top of my lungs eliciting roars from the crowd. I tried to get the crowd to do the "wave" for us down the next stretch to no avail. All that yelling left me a little hoarse the next day.
One of the big highlights of the day came around 11.5 miles. We were scanning the crowd for our peeps when all of the sudden Ray comes out of nowhere blindsiding me two Red Bull energy drinks. What a great feeling that was! I then looked over and saw CT with a camera along with Rachel, Justin, and Amanda all screaming for us. Tracey's mom had also joined the cheering crew at this point. You can't beat that feeling... really. That goes down with the time my dad drove by Brady and I as we were finishing our first 15 mile run in Iowa and pumped his fist in the air. How sweet it is!
Sometime around this time I decided to make a sacrifice in order to stay on pace. We were keeping a good 9:30 pace and stopping to empty my bladder would have really slowed things down... I leave it up to you to fill in the blanks. I would also like to comment here that it was a great pleasure to run with Laura and Brady. They were great motivators and made the race tons of fun. I would also like to thank our spectators who had a tough day just getting around the city to see us at four different locations, I hear the L was a mess!
It's mile 17 and we are still coasting when out of nowhere comes Laura's cheering section, Eric and her photographer friend running along with us. They ran with us for quite a long distance snapping pictures the whole way... I bet those shots turn out great. It was uplifting to see these guys again and really gets you pumped.
I'd say between 18 and 20 somewhere my hamstrings really started getting tight. Oh how they hurt. My steps were getting smaller and smaller and shortly after the 20 mile mark I insisted that Brady and Laura to go ahead as I needed to stop and stretch my hammys. I think I reached my mental limit around 18 or 19 and pushed through that but I felt that my physical limit had hit me hard and wouldn't let me pass at 20. I walked and stretched for about a mile and then jumped back into the race -- and with perfect timing too as Brady apparently stopped to use the porta-johny and then found our cheering crew in China-town at 21 miles where he waited for me a couple of minutes. I came running by just zoned out and didn't hear or see our crew but was surprised and pleased to see Brady join back up with me. What a good big brother he is.
Brady and I would stop and stretch a couple more times before crossing the finish line pushing back our finish time by about 20 minutes from where I wanted to be... but that didn't bother me at all. After the race, the pain wasn't immediatly evident as the emotion and excitment of the moment takes over. After all, we were running in honor of our mother and I kept thinking of her looking down and smiling on us. Despite a middle of the pack final time, I am extremely happy with the way the marathon turned out. We raised over $3,000 for the American Cancer Society and overcame huge mental and physical hurdles over many months to get to that finish line. It meant a lot to have everybody there that could make it -- CT, Tracey, Rachel, Justin, Ray, Amanda, Kay, Royce (even though we didn't meet up) and of course our running partner Laura.
You were probably expecting to hear something about me falling down and clutching my knee in pain, but you haven't! You know why? Because Dr. Kim Gayon is amazing and lived up to her word and more as my knee was not the limiting factor and I went on to finish the marathon with a solid time despite having a tough case of tendonitis just one week prior. Fantastic job Kim and thanks to Laura for referring me!
Well, that's it for Mission: Marathon. I'll have tons of pictures up taken by CT and Laura's friend as soon as I can get them up on weekly webshots.
--- Special thanks to CT and Tracey for all of your support! ---
