Pay it forward. . .

Sometimes injuries happen, sometimes you get a little knocked down. Those issues come and go but the timing usually sucks. I'm nursing my own nagging injury, the triathlon was two weeks ago today, my foot feels better so I decided to give it a try, unfortunately it was only good enough to get me from my normal starting spot to the next driveway. It sucks, not because I have a race I'm preparing for, but because I was preparing for someone else's race.

If you're new or unfamiliar with marathons and half marathons, there's an unheralded group that you may not know even existed. Pacers. There are people who instead of signing up for races for their own accomplishment they choose to be responsible for others', which to me means more. Pacers have one job, to cross the finish the line at an assigned time. People volunteer for these positions, their responsibility is finishing the race at the exact time they signed up for. Why do pacers exists? So other runners can just concentrate on running and not worry about how fast or how far, just run. Some runners use pacers so they can PR, some use them to try and push themselves faster than they've ever gone, some use them because they don't know. Whatever the reason, it's the pacer's job to reward those that stay with them, that gut it out and push themselves. The pacers are quite recognizable at races normally wearing neon shirts and holding a stick that has a number on top of it. It's not just a number, it's a time, it's someone elses' goal time. There are plenty of opportunities to meet these pacers: 1. at the packet pick up at the Madison Mini Marathon, 2. before and during the race and 3. after the race. I encourage all of you to thank these pacers, you can read about them here.

My names on the list but I probably won't be there. I'm most frustrated that I won't be able to pay it forward this race. The more races I run the more I realize that I'm not thinking about me when I cross the finish line. I see my family and friends smiling, cheering, enjoying the moment. As I approach the finish line my thoughts and feelings race, emotions fill my heart and I get choked up. The race was a time to reflect and think, think about the things I thought about hundreds of times on training runs, but those thoughts meant more during the race. It was my intention to give that opportunity to someone else at the Madison Mini Marathon. But what I can be most proud of; the fact that last year I ran this race with a friend, it was his first half marathon. . . his names on the list too, he'll be there.

Finisher

For a hack runner like myself approaching the finish line is always the most welcome and exciting feeling of the entire race. Above, I'm coming down a hill to the entrance chute of the finish line, I'm about 300 yards from the end of a Half Iron Triathlon. It's the only part of the race that I remember what I was thinking, almost in a "what were you doing when. . . " moment. I was fixated gingerly running down the steep hill because my right foot was hurting and every time I applied pressure towards the front of my foot it felt as if a nail was being driven through the ball of my foot. I made the decision as soon as the run portion started to never walk (except the ridiculous hills). Not long after the picture was taken I saw my family: wife, kids, mom and dad; that's when my mind really went ablaze. I started raising my hands and clapping my way down the remainder of the hill and on to the flat. The pain went away in my foot as I began getting choked up thinking of how happy I was to be finishing as strongly as I did. I thought about my grandfather and Grandpa's Marathon, seeing the turkeys and attending his funeral. I thought about the Daddy Hug's Hustle and pushing my daughter around on a hot windy day when she fell asleep. I thought about close friends who suffered and are still suffering. I thought about my wife and kids and all their support through the race and the race year. Tears filled my eyes and my throat closed as I entered the finish chute. In racing this is one of the most exciting places to be, in Door County it was a 50 yard long gated off runway with bleachers lining the left side. A large metal gate awaits decorated with Door County Triathlon across the top. I continued clapping and raising my arms to the cheers of the crowd, adults and children lined the fence to the left and children excitedly reached their hands out to receive 'high fives' from willing competitors. I left no hand un-high fived as these people who have never met me shared in my excitement to finish. As I approached the finish line I could see that my dad had positioned himself as the last person on the fence prior to the finish line. He was holding a video camera that captured these final moments of the race with his other hand offering the last high five of the race.

Racing is a an incredible feeling second to seeing your family cheering you on and finishing.

What's the difference between me and you?

Was I born with some special Mexican blood that makes me able to run mile after mile? Was I blessed with athletic abilities beyond your wildest dreams? Truth is I'm the same. I'm no better, worse or gifted than any of you. But I had to make a choice. I had to take the first step and believed that I could follow it with another and another and another.

If someone says it can't be done, go out and do it. Don't let people's fears or roadblocks be yours; they don't apply to you. Go out and find your own limits, set your own boundaries and do it for yourself. Yes your health is important, yes looking good for your partner is important but if you can't sit back and enjoy your accomplishments then you're wasting your time. I love races because I love hearing people cheer for me. I love the fact I get a medal. I've never won state in a high school sport, I don't know what it's like to win a Big Ten Championship, but I know what it's like to round the corner from West Washington to the Capitol Square to a cheering crowd. I know what it's like to cross the finish line; no one can take that away from me. No one can take what it feels like to have people tell you that you've inspired them.

A week from today I hope to be celebrating completing something I never thought possible; I'm competing in a half ironman triathlon. That doesn't make me special, the 500 miles I've run this year don't make me special, being around thousands of other people that decided that they weren't bound by other peoples' limits, that's special.

The right to Bare Feet

If you've been running within the last couple years you have probably heard, read and seen some of the bare foot running craze. Some credit a book "Born to Run" written by Chris McDougall. Despite your opinion on bare foot running the book is actually a good read for any runner of any level. The premise of the book is obviously given away by the title and is based on a remote tribe that runs wearing a slice of car tire strapped on by leather as their footwear. This tribe runs as a part of daily life, endless miles on trails up and down mountainsides. No member of the tribe suffers from any of the most common running injuries that we hear about or experience. This "injury free" running is accredited to the tribes running form which starts at what's on their feet. The argument is that because they wear a primitive shoe that doesn't have inches of rubber and foam as a sole, the tribe runs "naturally" in a way that uses what humans are born with instead of relying on our modern day running shoe.

When I get in this conversation I always preface it by stating that if running were politics, this topic would have a far right and a far left. On one side those that are hard-core believers in bare foot running feel that running bare foot can eliminate most to all common running injuries as well as end world hunger, cancer and the common cold. The other side of the argument feel that the bare footers are quacks that have nothing to medically/physiologically support the argument. As with so many things in life, I feel the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.

I can only comment on my experiences with the shoes. According to my training log I have 78 miles on my Vibrams (Bikila). My overall opinion is that there are gains to be had for almost all runners. Let me start with some background on my running style: in running technical terms I'm a neutral runner, this means that I generally land flat on my foot as I roll back foot to front (regardless of heal strike). This further means that I don't need a shoe that helps correct additional movements or pronation in my ankles/feet when I run. Since I began running I spent time researching efficient running styles. As I read further and further I realized that if you removed the titles from "How to run efficiently" and "How to run bare foot" you may find it hard to determine which article was which. Because of this research and me 'trying' to apply it in normal running shoes, I did not have a huge break in period with the Vibrams that you often hear about. The biggest issue I had to deal with was sore muscles in my feet. Wearing the Vibrams require you to wake up and use muscles that have been sleeping probably since we were children running around the back yard. It's quite interesting to have your feet be sore in this manner, it's not like any foot soreness I've ever experienced.

As far as performance, I feel lighter and faster in my Vibrams. Why? When I run with shoes, even a light weight trainer like my New Balance 890, I find that I have to 'try' and land exactly how I want and 'try' to keep my form flowing freely. When I wear the Virbrams it's effortless, there's no additional 'trying', I concentrate less on how I'm running and just let go, just run. It's hard to explain, but I feel more efficient because I'm minimizing wasted movements, as subtle or abrupt as those movements are with shoes. I've run faster and farther in Vibrams. This is a function of training as I lead up to my triathlon next weekend but I feel it is also because of how light I feel in the Vibrams. I feel my feet carry me along as compared to when I run with shoes I feel like all my efforts are in my thighs; again hard to explain but that's how it feels. I feel I reach my stride in my Vibrams, that point where there is no effort and I'm able to just sail along and all I can think about is how I could go faster; my heart rate regulates and my body just does what it does and is there for the ride.

Again, the shoes aren't for everyone, but that doesn't mean that you can't incorporate bare foot running in to your training and get some of the benefits. Here is a good source to start, this blog even links to one of the characters from 'Born to Run', Barefoot Ted.

I run for those that didn't get the chance to

Sometimes life gets in the way of training. Sometimes emotions get in the way of training. Sometimes things happen that can't be explained. It's those times that miles don't matter, heart rate doesn't matter, pace doesn't matter; that's when running becomes therapy. When every step is an accomplishment, when the next step is the first step to recovery. Every time your foot touches the ground it's your way of telling the world that you're not going to stop, you're not quitting. You're stronger because of your next step. It's not about being skinny or fit, it's about the journey you've started and not letting anything stop that. Stop on your terms.

CSB