Brick Road Mile - 8/6/2014 :7:04 (3:59:01)
Shamrock Two Mile - 3/15/2014 : 15:20 (4:09:25)
Run for the Grapes 5K - 9/28/2014: 23:26 (3:48:20)
Five Mile mark of Cosie Laurello 10K: 41:37 (4:04:33)
Cosie Laurello 10K - 10/5/2014 : 51:37 (4:02:10)
Hermes Cleveland 10 Miler - 4/26/2014: 1:27:34 (4:05:48)
River Run Half Marathon -9/7/2014 : 1:55:05 (4:02:12)
At this point I still haven't decided on a race strategy. One option is to just go out and run at 8:58 pace and hold on as log as I can. There is no 3:55 pace group in my corral, so I thought of starting at the front of my corral and catching up with the 4:00 pace group in the corral in front of me
Race officials project 1.7 million spectators on the course but for motivation, I've decided to dedicate each mile of the marathon to special people who have been influential in getting me to where I am today.
Mile 1 - Dr. Anil
Patel for saving my life. Dr. Patel took the time to be thorough with
me following a routine colonoscopy that revealed no abnormalities. During the post procedure follow up, he
asked if I had any other issues or concerns.
I told him that I played in an adult baseball league and
that in recent years when I would run the bases, I would get extremely winded
and would need significant recovery time before I was breathing normally
again. I had dismissed it as the
asthma problems I have had most of my adult life. Dr. Patel thought it prudent for me to have
a stress test to rule out any coronary issues.
The stress indicated some irregularities that might be a sign of
coronary artery disease. A subsequent
CT scan and heart catheterization confirmed a 70% blockage in my left anterior
artery (the widow maker)
Mile 2 – Dr. Cliff
Packer – Cliff was my baseball teammate and a doctor at the VA in
Cleveland. When I told him I was going
in for a heart cath, he insisted I call him afterwards. He looked at my results and made the
suggestion that I consider an alternative to the bypass surgery that the
doctors at the Cleveland Clinic were recommending. He turned me on to the teachings of Dr.
Dean Ornish and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn who each had conducted separate studies
on the subject of reversing heart disease through diet and exercise.
Mile 3 – Dr. Caldwell
Esselstyn – The doctor and author of the book “Preventing and Reversing
Heart Disease” whose lifestyle plan I eventually chose. Learn more about his teachings at
heartattackproof.com. Dr. Sprouts as he is called by his peers, advocates eating nothing with a face or a mother, eliminate all oils from the diet, eating lots of whole grains, fruit and vegetable along with 30 minutes of vigorous exercise per day.
Mile 4 - Jim Smith
– (The axe murderer) Jim was one of the first runners I connected with when I
started running. I met Jim online
through DailyMile.com and he frequently commented on my daily postings, offering
encouragement and advice. When we
agreed to meet up one Sunday afternoon for a run, Carol just knew he was some
sort of deviant.
Mile 5 -Warren
Dillaway –Warren is always willing to slow down to help a back of the
packer. Warren is probably the most
influential person in the promotion of our sport in the entire county.
Mile 6 - Thom West
– Like Warren, whenever I was the lone turtle in group ADR runs, Thom would never hesitate
to drop back to keep me company. He
always seemed to know when to back off if I was struggling and when to push me
if he sensed I had something left in the tank.
Mile 7 - Don Gill-
The Encyclopedia. I've learned more
about running from Don than anyone else.
He’s always there for welcome advice and encouragement. Before every big race Don always calls to
wish me luck and he calls again soon after the race to find out how I did.
Mile 8 - Denver
Haught – Training partner extraordinaire.
Denver and I are close (he’s a little faster) in speed and is my perfect
training partner. He joins me on my
hard days (tempo runs and cruise intervals).
There are days I push him and days he pushes me and then there are days
we carry each other. One thing that is
guaranteed, when Denver and I run, we are both exhausted if and when we finish
the run.
Mile 9 - Drew Smith –
The pace setter. Drew refuses to
let me finish ahead of him even in long slow runs. If we go out for a tempo run with a target
of 8:00 minutes he’ll push me to 7:55.
If my plan calls for 8:30 miles, we have to run 8:25. I set three PRs running with Drew this past
winter and they were all during training runs.
Mile 10 – Amy Bodnar
and Elizabeth Bodnar – My running nieces.
Amy started this insanity.
Since Amy lived on the west coast we didn’t see her very often. One year at a family reunion I noticed that
she had become like myself a little pudgy (to be kind), at the next reunion she was this slim, trim
hotty preparing for her first half marathon.
We finally got to run together at the Detroit Marathon and toughed it
out together under some pretty grueling conditions. Lizzy started running about the same time I
did and is a great motivator for me. I
would make a breakthrough in training and think I had a chance to keep up with
her only to find out she improved equally as much. Keep setting the bar higher Lizzy.
Mile 11 – Heather
Harmon, Crystal Stoneman, Brenda Long, Mary Beckwith, Lisa Haytcher, Giovanna Kustala – Long run
partners. “My Girls” and I have logged
a lot of miles together this past year.
Many a Saturday morning I was content with blowing off a long run but I
knew my harem was getting up to run with me so out the door I went.
Mile 12 - Lexi Meaney – My early race partner.
When I first started running it was Lexi’s first year running cross
country. It took me six months before
I could beat her. She always used a
strategy of begging me to slow down.
She would claim that her side hurt or she couldn’t breathe and convince
me to walk for just a minute. It never
failed when the finish line was in sight though she could sprint like Usain
Bolt and cross the finish line just before me.
Mile 13 - Alyssa
Meaney – Lulu, Grand Daughter #2 hated running when we convinced her to try a 1
mile kids run. I think that’s changed
now as she seems to be enjoying her first year in cross country. She has shown steady improvement. I’m looking forward to the day when she
catches me.
Mile 14 - Angela Bodnar-Meaney - The unofficial ADR race
photographer was convinced I had a death wish when I started running. She convinced her husband Brad to start running so that he could keep an eye on me in case I had a heart attack during a race (as if he was going to make a difference).
Mile 15 - Brad Meaney
– Brad first started running on orders from my daughter. Brad was side by side with me in my other
marathon attempts and practically carried me across the finish line. It wasn't long before he got the bug and
started serious training and has become a pretty darned good runner himself.
Mile 16 – My Daily
Mile Friends – Lisa Kiser, Jean Smolka, Chris Bamberger, Robin Stewart and
Deb Roberts. During my first couple
years of running I logged all my workouts on DM and my online friends’ constant
encouragement kept me training. If
there was a day that I didn’t quite feel up to running, I would see their posts
and out the door I went.
Mile 17 - Nicholas
Bodnar – All year long I had to get up at 4am so I could meet Nick at the Y
for our morning workouts. The spinning
and weight lifting we did together added
an important new dimension to my conditioning which helped stay injury free
even though my mileage has increased dramatically over the previous couple
years.
Mile 18 – Eric
Riesterer – Eric joined me on some pretty tough tempo runs and track
workouts. I would be feeling like I
couldn't run another step and he would tell me I was looking good or something
like only one more lap, or two more minutes.
Mile 19 - Chrissy
Tobias – My main motivator. What
an inspiration. The first year that I
ran, Chrissy was always beating me (barely).
It wasn't until late in that first season that I was finally able to
catch her and that took an all-out kick passing her just before the finish
line. The next season, I got the upper
hand and finished just ahead of her in most of our contests. I like to think beating me this year was
some of her motivation to train like she has the past year. I can only dream of beating her again, but
she knows I’m going to try like hell.
Mile 20 - Steve
Wychock – My Guru. Always
available when I need advice or rehabilitation. I’ll keep telling myself during this
difficult mile what Steve always tells me.
“It’s not painful, It’s uncomfortable”
Mile 21 - Kim Kreider
–Kim is the most amazing runner I know, always one of the first to congratulate
you on a good run and say just the right things when I’d get those feelings of self-doubt.
Mile 22 - Jesse Sharp
– For setting such a high bar for me to shoot for. Jesse and I were in the same age group until this year, and
when I see him consistently finishing in the top five against runners many
years his junior he proves to me that my advanced years is not an excuse to not
be able to compete with the elite.
Mile 23 - Erik van't
Veer and Dan Loose - Two of the most
dedicated runners I know. Through the
mileage challenges we had this year they've shown me the kind of work that
is required to attain the lofty goals that we have in common. When I coached baseball, I used to tell my
players that hard work was no guarantee of success but without it they had no
chance. These boys have put in the
work and experienced disappointment despite the work that they have put
in. They keep persevering, Erik has
been rewarded with his BQ and I’m certain Dan will get his very soon.
Mile 24 - Flo Bodnar
– I’ll be counting on Mom to be sending me strength from above when things really
start getting tough. At an early age,
mom instilled in me an old world work ethic and encouraged me to “Dream the
Impossible Dream, to fight the unbeatable foe……TO RUN, where the brave dare not
go".
Mile 25 - Carol
Bodnar - My biggest fan and best
friend. When I made the decision to
change my lifestyle, she was terrified that I was making the wrong choice but
helped me stay on track. Together, we went from
living the life that most people in the western world live, high fat, meat centered meals with little exercise
to a life with daily exercise and a oil free vegan diet. I’ll bet most of you are thinking our meals
must be totally tasteless, but Carol is always creating exciting new recipes. It would have been absolutely impossible for me to travel this journey without her by my side.
Mile 26 - The
Almighty for blessing me with good health, good friends and a second chance
at life.
