Thanks everyone for your support as I completed my first marathon. Did really well for 22 miles, then started to cramp up. Who’s the sicko that decided marathons should be 26.2 miles?

It was a great weekend in Washington, DC. The weather cooperated and was quite cool during the run. The highlight of the weekend was meeting August for the first time and seeing Janet, John, and Porter. I saw firsthand how they care for August. It’s not easy, but they’re doing a beautiful job. I wish I could of gotten a spoonful of Porter’s energy at Mile 22. I needed it. It’s been nine days now since the marathon, and my legs are starting to feel normal again.

Running this marathon for August has been quite an experience. It has run the spectrum of emotions. It has been very satisfying in training and completing the marathon. But most of all it has been humbling. I’ve been humbled by the outpouring of gifts you all sent. Words of prayers and inspiration have been sometimes overwhelming. And they came from all over the country, Portland, Wisconsin, Chicago, New York City, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Florida, and South Carolina.

The gifts have been extraordinary. They’re still arriving at my house. As of last night, the August Miles Fund surpassed $11,000.00. Unbelievable! All the gifts, t-shirts, cards, and notes I received are being packaged up and sent to Janet and John. Words can’t express how appreciative I am of your response. All I can say is thank you. I’m proud to call you friends and family.

Here’s some photos from the weekend.

Janet, me, and John’s martini

August and Grandpa

Prerace Strategy Meeting

This past Saturday (10/6) was the dreaded 20 mile run in my training program. This is the furthest distance I run prior to the marathon. It had been cool all week, so I was optimistic about Saturday. I took my son, Collin, to a birthday party in the late morning. It was cool and overcast. Walked out of the birthday party and it had popped up to about 85 degrees, no clouds, and really awful humidity.
It wasn’t pretty, but I chugged through it. Next day I read in the paper about all the trouble at the Chicago marathon due to heat. Now, I’m really glad I made it.

Two Saturdays ago were rough.  Schedule showed 18 miles.  My neighbor showed me this cool website, mapmyride.com, where you can zoom down to street level and plot a running or biking course.  It’s nice because it gives you a totalizer to show total miles.  Mapped out my run last Thursday.  It has been cool lately, so I was hopeful it would be that way on Saturday.  Nope.  It got up to about 85 with over 90% humidity.  Definitely not running weather.  I went out and finished.

I have to admit, one thing that is making my training easier is the inspiration I’m getting from the donations you all are making.  Thanks so much for the nice notes.  I’m saving them all and will give them to Janet and John when I see them at the marathon.  While running I think a lot about what my priest said a couple of Sundays ago during mass.  His talk was about being a Christian and that it is not easy.  It takes dedication and a conscious effort each day.  He compared it to training for a marathon.  It takes much determination, and conscious effort.  But the pay back of having friends and strangers cheer you on through the end of the race knowing what it took to get so far and wanting you to cross the finish line.  He said he hopes the first few minutes of heaven are like this.  I draw a lot of inspiration from that and wanted to thank Fr. Paul for that.

Well, 5am came early this morning. Got up and ran 8 miles. Training has been tough lately. I blew through 15 miles two Saturdays ago. My training schedule showed 16 miles for this past Saturday. At mile 14, I HIT…THE…WALL. I’ve been working out how much liquids I need to drink while running longer distances and that’s been working well. But at mile 14, I felt really dizzy from hunger. It’s weird to be out there and get hungry. I’m really getting lean from the training. Not having the spare tire anymore, I now have to figure out an eating plan while running. I guess that’s a good problem to have.

I can’t say thank you enough to all the people that have donated to the August Miles Fund already. It is so appreciated and motivating. THANK YOU

Wow, my first post.

 A lot of people have asked me how training is going.  Good, I guess.  I’ve never run a marathon before, so it’s tough to judge.  Ran 15 miles last Saturday.  It finally cooled off here in Charleston, SC, so it was a very comfortable run.  I ramp up to 16 miles this upcoming Saturday.  According to my training schedule, I will ramp up to 20 miles three weeks before the race.  That’s as far as it takes you.  But is still six miles shy of a marathon.  I’ll paraphrase what my book says, “If you can make it 20 miles, you oughta be able to suck it up and get six more”.  Inspiring, isn’t it?

 I’ll post again after my Saturday run.  Maybe include a picture.