Since it is almost six months now since my cardiologist gave me the thumbs up to start working running into my exercise program, I thought it would be a good time to look back and see what kind of progress has been made.
Here is an entry that I logged into dailymile.com, the website where I log all of my runs.
September 19, 2011
Cardiologist gave me the ok to start working in some jogging into my
walks. Started out with 20 minutes of zone 1 walking, then picked up
the pace. Worked in stretches of 100-200 yards of jogging about 6
times. Figured I got a half mile jogging in. Felt GREAT each jogging
session for the first 20 strides, but heart rate would spike into the
150's and figured it prudent to back off the intensity. Still felt
good to push it a little. Total time was actually 3 minutes slower than
last time I walked this course, but that's because of the extremely
slow first mile. When I did this course in 83:06 I only spent 3
seconds in zone 1.
Distance: 5.08 Miles
Time: 1 Hour 26 Minutes 53 Minutes
Pace: 17:06 per mile
Speed:3.51 miles per hour
Heart Rate: Average 132, Maximum 167
A note about zones: Zone 1 is a area where your heart rate is 60-70% of maximum heart rate. Zone 2 is 70-80% of maximum heart rate.
Now lets fast forward to today. I thought it would be a good idea to see where I am today, so I decided to run the same course I ran that day in September.
Distance: 5.08 Miles
Time: 55 Minutes 05 Seconds
Pace: 10:53 per mile
Speed 5.5 miles per hour
Heart Rate: Average 139, Maximum 152
When I completed that first walk/run in September, I had serious reservations about whether or not I should have gone through the bypass surgery that doctors at the world renowned Cleveland Clinic had recommended. A meager 100-200 yards of running was pushing my heart rate near my maximum and I quickly became out of breath. From that day it was nearly three months before I could complete a 3 mile run without having to stop and walk and another month after that till walking was no longer required to get me through my running sessions. Today I am convinced more than ever that I have made the right decision.
I am convinced now more than ever that Coronary Artery Disease is a food borne illness that can be prevented and even reversed by making some simple lifestyle changes. What are these changes?
1) Eat Properly: For me that meant eliminating all meat, dairy, oils or nuts. As Doctor Caldwell Esselstyn puts it, eat nothing with a face or a mother. Eat more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes and lentils. When I first started on this program, my cardiologist suggested having fish (specifically salmon, tuna and halibut) twice a week and a nice lean steak once a month. He didn't want me to fail, so he allowed me to cheat just a little. I no longer have the cravings for red meat and have adopted an even stricter diet. Keep in mind that I'm trying to reverse a blockage in one of my main coronary arteries that took nearly sixty years of unhealthy eating to develop. If you don't have coronary artery disease, you don't necessarily have to go to the extremes that I have.
2) Exercise: At least 30 minutes a day for 5 days a week. Something aerobic that gets the heart rate up. Sorry guys, golfing is not exercise. I think running is perfect for me, but you can walk fast, play tennis, swim or some of the new high intensity programs like Zumba.
3) Medication: Since I had advanced coronary artery disease, I needed to get my high cholesterol down and reduce my risk of stroke and heart attack. My doctor prescribed a high dose of Lipitor for my cholesterol, a low dose beta blocker to keep my heart from being able to pump at high intensities to reduce the risk of a stroke and finally a low dose aspirin regimen . I have taken control of my own health care and I agreed to these medications as a short term treatment until the life style changes can take effect. But my orders to my doctors are to come up with a treatment plan that weens me off the drugs and treats the causes of the disease rather than the affects of it.
Friday, March 16, 2012
Saturday, March 10, 2012
2012 Road Racing Season Off to a Good Start
The 2012 road racing season got off to a good start. I signed up for the St. Malichi 5 mile run and set a goal of 50:25 based on my training in recent weeks. In training runs, I've been able to get some decent runs in at about 10:15 per mile and I figured I ought to be able to knock 10 seconds per mile off that in a race environment. I downgraded my goal a little because I decided to run the 2 mile race that day with my grand daughter. In my senior year in high school, I did double duty in track. I competed in both the mile and half mile and although my half mile times did suffer slightly when I ran two races in a day, it wasn't dramatic.
Going into the two mile, I had already eclipsed my goal of 19:00 in training with an 18:50 earlier in the week, so I was hoping to take 10 seconds per mile off that and get a 18:30. I reached the mile mark at 8:54 and thought to myself, "Wow, if I can keep this pace I might crack 18:00". Last half of the course was mostly uphill, so my 2nd mile split dropped off considerably and I finished at 18:34.
After a 15 minute break in which I wolfed down a banana, downed a bottle of water and changed my running shoes it was time to line up for the five mile race. The starting line was a mad house with over 2300 hundred runners jammed into the narrow Washington St.. I spent most of the first quarter mile jockeying for position, weaving in and out of the masses trying to get some running room, but after the first mile the runners became spaced out and it wasn't too bad. My strategy was to try and run this race with negative splits, to just take it easy the first mile and run a pace that I knew I could improve on in the 2nd mile, then to run the third mile faster than the 2nd, and so on so that my last mile would be the fastest. A sound strategy I thought till I realized that the first half of the race was primarily down hill and that I would have to battle 1 very tough hill and two long and steady inclines on the return back to the finish line.
The first incline was from the west side of Cleveland Browns Stadium running up West 3rd to Lakeside Avenue. It wasn't a real steep incline, but it was long. The reward for getting to the top was a brief level run west on Lakeside Avenue which then went down a steep hill into Cleveland's FLATS. The bottom of the hill was the four mile mark, which I passed at 39:59. Hmm! Under 40:00 which meant I only had to run the last mile in 10:25 to beat my target of 50:25. The only problem was that after running through the Flats, we had to run up a long AND steep hill before getting to the home stretch. I looked down at the ground through most of this hill because looking up would only tell me how much more I had to go up.
Finally I reach the top of the hill at Superior Avenue. Just over a half a mile to go and the watch reads 43:10, but half the distance left still in on an incline. When I reached the highest point on the Detroit / Superior bridge I knew I had a chance to break 50:00 if I could finish strong. When I turned the corner onto Vermont Ave I could see the clock at the finish line and it read 50:30 with still another 50-60 yards to go. I crossed the finish line at the clock read 50:53, a new PR but not as well as I hoped. Then I realized that was the Gun Time and not my Chip Time. Chip time was 49:49:32, A new PR and 35 seconds faster than my target time.
Going into the two mile, I had already eclipsed my goal of 19:00 in training with an 18:50 earlier in the week, so I was hoping to take 10 seconds per mile off that and get a 18:30. I reached the mile mark at 8:54 and thought to myself, "Wow, if I can keep this pace I might crack 18:00". Last half of the course was mostly uphill, so my 2nd mile split dropped off considerably and I finished at 18:34.
After a 15 minute break in which I wolfed down a banana, downed a bottle of water and changed my running shoes it was time to line up for the five mile race. The starting line was a mad house with over 2300 hundred runners jammed into the narrow Washington St.. I spent most of the first quarter mile jockeying for position, weaving in and out of the masses trying to get some running room, but after the first mile the runners became spaced out and it wasn't too bad. My strategy was to try and run this race with negative splits, to just take it easy the first mile and run a pace that I knew I could improve on in the 2nd mile, then to run the third mile faster than the 2nd, and so on so that my last mile would be the fastest. A sound strategy I thought till I realized that the first half of the race was primarily down hill and that I would have to battle 1 very tough hill and two long and steady inclines on the return back to the finish line.
The first incline was from the west side of Cleveland Browns Stadium running up West 3rd to Lakeside Avenue. It wasn't a real steep incline, but it was long. The reward for getting to the top was a brief level run west on Lakeside Avenue which then went down a steep hill into Cleveland's FLATS. The bottom of the hill was the four mile mark, which I passed at 39:59. Hmm! Under 40:00 which meant I only had to run the last mile in 10:25 to beat my target of 50:25. The only problem was that after running through the Flats, we had to run up a long AND steep hill before getting to the home stretch. I looked down at the ground through most of this hill because looking up would only tell me how much more I had to go up.
Finally I reach the top of the hill at Superior Avenue. Just over a half a mile to go and the watch reads 43:10, but half the distance left still in on an incline. When I reached the highest point on the Detroit / Superior bridge I knew I had a chance to break 50:00 if I could finish strong. When I turned the corner onto Vermont Ave I could see the clock at the finish line and it read 50:30 with still another 50-60 yards to go. I crossed the finish line at the clock read 50:53, a new PR but not as well as I hoped. Then I realized that was the Gun Time and not my Chip Time. Chip time was 49:49:32, A new PR and 35 seconds faster than my target time.
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Month 2 in the Books
February brought another month of unseasonably warm temperatures and great running weather. It also brought a setback in the training in the form of a groin injury. After returning home from a Florida vacation that permitted me to run every day in shorts, I returned to six inches of snow on my scheduled long day. Temperatures were warm so I got the Yak Trax out and had my wife drive me out to the Western Reserve Greenway, an old rail line that had been converted into a bike path that traversed from northeast Ohio to Cincinnati. The snow had been packed down by snowmobile traffic and for the most part the trail was shielded from the wind by trees. The Yak Trax helped, but after about 3 miles of the scheduled 7.5 mile run, I felt some pain in my upper leg.
It's not unusual to have some soreness the day after a long run, but when the pain occurs during a run it is not a very good sign. I cut the run short and called the honey to change the rendezvous point. This occurred on Sunday and by Wednesday it felt much better, so I headed out for a quick 3 miles at lunch to test it out. The leg felt great and I hit the first mile under 10 minutes. Mile 2 slowed down significantly and before I reached mile 3, the pain returned. Three days prior to the first 5k race of the season and I have to shut down the training again.
Saturday February 18th: First 5K race of the season and I'm waffling back and forth about competing in the "Running Out of Our Mine" 5K race in Wampum, PA. Since four of us were making the trip, I decided to go and decide after I had a chance to warmup. Since the race was in an old mine that had been re-purposed for boat and RV storage, the temperatures were a constant 55 degrees and we got there in plenty of time for a warmup run and stretch. The leg felt good, but I was still a little apprehensive about going 100% in a race environment and risk setting the training back even further. I finally decided that I would treat this as a training run and just take it easy (at least for the first mile). I was running with grand daughter Lexi and and we hit the mile 1 mark at 10:15, slightly slower than my usual race pace, but slightly faster than my training pace. I could feel a little tenderness in my leg, but not the sharp pain of the two previous workouts.
Mile 2 was exactly the same pace as mile 1 and the leg felt better so I told Lexi that we were going to pick up the pace a little. The harder we ran the better the leg felt and we were steadily passing other runners who were fading at the end. When the finish line was in sight, we picked it up even more but Lexi had more in the tank than her dear granddad and beat me by two seconds. The groin stiffened up a little on the way home, but it felt pretty good but I'm going to give it a couple of more days before resuming full training.
The Orange Hat Running Club
Earlier in the month, I had emailed one of the board members of our local runners club to find out when they would be publishing the new year race schedule. In the course of the email exchanges, I had mentioned that I had seen him with a small group of runners occasionally. The group called themselves the "Orange Hat Running Club" and got together on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for runs of 5-6 miles. They graciously invited me to join them, an offer I gladly accepted. They said they usually run about an 11:00 per mile pace, which fit perfectly in with my training program. On Wednesday Feb 22nd, I joined them for the first time. Their plan for the day was to run 5 miles on a course that featured several challenging hills. Up to this point most of my running had been on fairly flat courses. We ended up with an average pace of 10:34, a little faster than I was used to, but it was still a conversational pace. The guys told me of another larger group that met on Saturday mornings for even longer runs. I told them I would skip their Friday session and check out the Saturday morning group, but reconnect with them the following week.
The Saturday group was a much faster pace but Warren, the leader of the Orange Hat Club ran with me while the faster pace group quickly put distance between us and were soon out of sight. The run got challenging at about the five mile mark, but I fought through the wall and eventually finished the 7 mile run, my longest in 3 weeks.
Monthly Recap
Total mileage for the month dropped due to the injury and the resulting downtime, but my overall fitness is continuing to rise.
The numbers:
Week 1: 23.54 miles; Average pace (10:59); Longest Run - 7 miles
Week 2: 20.44 miles; Average pace (10:49); Longest Run - 3.9 miles
Week 3: 6.05 miles; Average pace (10:36); Longest Run 3.1 miles
Week 4: 20.93 miles; Average pace (10:44); Longest Run 7.02 miles
It's not unusual to have some soreness the day after a long run, but when the pain occurs during a run it is not a very good sign. I cut the run short and called the honey to change the rendezvous point. This occurred on Sunday and by Wednesday it felt much better, so I headed out for a quick 3 miles at lunch to test it out. The leg felt great and I hit the first mile under 10 minutes. Mile 2 slowed down significantly and before I reached mile 3, the pain returned. Three days prior to the first 5k race of the season and I have to shut down the training again.
Saturday February 18th: First 5K race of the season and I'm waffling back and forth about competing in the "Running Out of Our Mine" 5K race in Wampum, PA. Since four of us were making the trip, I decided to go and decide after I had a chance to warmup. Since the race was in an old mine that had been re-purposed for boat and RV storage, the temperatures were a constant 55 degrees and we got there in plenty of time for a warmup run and stretch. The leg felt good, but I was still a little apprehensive about going 100% in a race environment and risk setting the training back even further. I finally decided that I would treat this as a training run and just take it easy (at least for the first mile). I was running with grand daughter Lexi and and we hit the mile 1 mark at 10:15, slightly slower than my usual race pace, but slightly faster than my training pace. I could feel a little tenderness in my leg, but not the sharp pain of the two previous workouts.
Mile 2 was exactly the same pace as mile 1 and the leg felt better so I told Lexi that we were going to pick up the pace a little. The harder we ran the better the leg felt and we were steadily passing other runners who were fading at the end. When the finish line was in sight, we picked it up even more but Lexi had more in the tank than her dear granddad and beat me by two seconds. The groin stiffened up a little on the way home, but it felt pretty good but I'm going to give it a couple of more days before resuming full training.
The Orange Hat Running Club
Earlier in the month, I had emailed one of the board members of our local runners club to find out when they would be publishing the new year race schedule. In the course of the email exchanges, I had mentioned that I had seen him with a small group of runners occasionally. The group called themselves the "Orange Hat Running Club" and got together on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays for runs of 5-6 miles. They graciously invited me to join them, an offer I gladly accepted. They said they usually run about an 11:00 per mile pace, which fit perfectly in with my training program. On Wednesday Feb 22nd, I joined them for the first time. Their plan for the day was to run 5 miles on a course that featured several challenging hills. Up to this point most of my running had been on fairly flat courses. We ended up with an average pace of 10:34, a little faster than I was used to, but it was still a conversational pace. The guys told me of another larger group that met on Saturday mornings for even longer runs. I told them I would skip their Friday session and check out the Saturday morning group, but reconnect with them the following week.
The Saturday group was a much faster pace but Warren, the leader of the Orange Hat Club ran with me while the faster pace group quickly put distance between us and were soon out of sight. The run got challenging at about the five mile mark, but I fought through the wall and eventually finished the 7 mile run, my longest in 3 weeks.
Monthly Recap
Total mileage for the month dropped due to the injury and the resulting downtime, but my overall fitness is continuing to rise.
The numbers:
Week 1: 23.54 miles; Average pace (10:59); Longest Run - 7 miles
Week 2: 20.44 miles; Average pace (10:49); Longest Run - 3.9 miles
Week 3: 6.05 miles; Average pace (10:36); Longest Run 3.1 miles
Week 4: 20.93 miles; Average pace (10:44); Longest Run 7.02 miles
Sunday, February 26, 2012
The OSF - Fleet Feet Photo Shoot
Pretty cool experience today. Got to meet with five of my teammates on the Ohio Sports and Fitness Magazine Everyday Athletes team for a photo shoot. We were modeling spring running fashions supplied by local retail Fleet Feet Sports. The shoot wasn't very glamorous, but the merchandise we were modeling was too cool. Can't wait to visit their store and see everything they have.
Each athlete was photographed individually, then we were paired with partners. Following the individual shoots, we all ventured to Cleveland's near west side to shoot the cover for an upcoming issue of Ohio Sports and Fitness Magazine. Modeling spring fashions outdoors in Cleveland in February! I think I'm ready to give up modeling already.
Each athlete was photographed individually, then we were paired with partners. Following the individual shoots, we all ventured to Cleveland's near west side to shoot the cover for an upcoming issue of Ohio Sports and Fitness Magazine. Modeling spring fashions outdoors in Cleveland in February! I think I'm ready to give up modeling already.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
First Month of Training Complete
One month of training and the progress has been slow but steady. Logged 90 miles for the month that has seen my long Sunday runs progress from 5 miles to 7 miles. What a wonderful month of January we've had on the north coast. There were only two days that I had to move my runs to indoor on the treadmill due to weather, and only two others that I had to utilize my Yak Trax outside. My goal for the month was strictly to build a mileage base so that I could continue to build up my endurance and reduce the risk of injury once the training intensity increase as the half marathon date grew closer. I did not try to run faster, but that ended up being a product of my training.
Here are the weekly summaries of my first month of training.
Week 1: 19.13 Miles ran; Average pace 12:58, longest run 5.6 miles
Week 2: 19.51 miles ran; average pace (12:07); longest run 6.11 miles
Week 3: 19.86 miles ran; average pace (11:28); longest run 6.11 miles
Week 4: 20.54 miles ran; average pace (11:20); longest run 7 miles.
I'm beginning to think that my stated goal of a 2 hour and 30 minute half marathon may have been too conservative. My long runs have settled into a comfortable pace of about 11:15 per mile with no emphasis on speed. I feel that if I get to the starting line healthy that maintaining an 11:15 pace is certainly achievable and that would put my half marathon time at 2:27:29. With that said, my only goal for this first half marathon is to get to the starting line healthy and to finish with a smile on my face.
Here are the weekly summaries of my first month of training.
Week 1: 19.13 Miles ran; Average pace 12:58, longest run 5.6 miles
Week 2: 19.51 miles ran; average pace (12:07); longest run 6.11 miles
Week 3: 19.86 miles ran; average pace (11:28); longest run 6.11 miles
Week 4: 20.54 miles ran; average pace (11:20); longest run 7 miles.
I'm beginning to think that my stated goal of a 2 hour and 30 minute half marathon may have been too conservative. My long runs have settled into a comfortable pace of about 11:15 per mile with no emphasis on speed. I feel that if I get to the starting line healthy that maintaining an 11:15 pace is certainly achievable and that would put my half marathon time at 2:27:29. With that said, my only goal for this first half marathon is to get to the starting line healthy and to finish with a smile on my face.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
The Training Program
Now that I've lost significant weight and have gotten myself into reasonably good shape, I begin the next phase. The 2011 running season is behind me and my sights are now set on the Cleveland Half Marathon.
As one of the 8 members of "The Cleveland Experience" team selected by Ohio Sport and Fitness Magazine, I got to meet with John Rolf an acclaimed exercise physiologist. John put me through a series of fitness tests to see what kind of condition I was in and came up with a custom training plan for my quest to run in the Rite Aid Half Marathon in Cleveland this coming May. The fitness evaluation contained four tests, each with one having a maximum score of 250. The tests measured strength, flexibility, endurance and aerobic capacity. I scored miserably, but I like to look at it in a 'glass half full' scenario, or in my case 1/4 full.
John laid out a five day per week program that includes 1 long day followed by an easy recovery day and 3 other days of running 3-5 miles. The weekly long run started off at 5 miles and increased very gradually over 18 weeks till I built my distance up to the 13 mile half marathon distance. Walking has been eliminated from the program I had been following. After about 8 weeks of base building, the program started to work in some speed work sessions, including Tempo Runs, Fartlek and 1,000 meter intervals. Three weeks before the marathon, we start to taper off the weekly distance and the length of the weekly long runs.
As one of the 8 members of "The Cleveland Experience" team selected by Ohio Sport and Fitness Magazine, I got to meet with John Rolf an acclaimed exercise physiologist. John put me through a series of fitness tests to see what kind of condition I was in and came up with a custom training plan for my quest to run in the Rite Aid Half Marathon in Cleveland this coming May. The fitness evaluation contained four tests, each with one having a maximum score of 250. The tests measured strength, flexibility, endurance and aerobic capacity. I scored miserably, but I like to look at it in a 'glass half full' scenario, or in my case 1/4 full.
John laid out a five day per week program that includes 1 long day followed by an easy recovery day and 3 other days of running 3-5 miles. The weekly long run started off at 5 miles and increased very gradually over 18 weeks till I built my distance up to the 13 mile half marathon distance. Walking has been eliminated from the program I had been following. After about 8 weeks of base building, the program started to work in some speed work sessions, including Tempo Runs, Fartlek and 1,000 meter intervals. Three weeks before the marathon, we start to taper off the weekly distance and the length of the weekly long runs.
Friday, December 23, 2011
The Best of Christmas Presents
Met with cardiologist this morning for evaluation of treatment plan. Discussed a wide variety of subjects including my hopes to run half marathon in Cleveland this coming May and full marathon somewhere in the fall. Doc was thrilled with my progress over last few months and is totally on board with a stepped up training program. When he told me my cholesterol had dropped to 123, I thought he was referring to my bad (LDL) cholesterol. When he informed me that it was my total cholesterol I was so excited I almost started crying. Five months ago I couldn't run a hundred yards without having to stop to rest, the doctors at the Cleveland Clinic felt that bypass surgery was my best option, but at the suggestion of my friend Dr. Cliff Packer, I checked out some life style changes and adopted a program developed by Dr. Dean Ornish who had a lot of documented success in treating heart disease with diet and exercise. It was a radical program. Thirty minutes of exercise daily and the "Eat More, Weigh Less" diet that eliminated all animal products from the diet with the exception of fat free milk and egg whites (got to get the protein from somewhere). Two months of walking 3-4 miles every day turned into gradually working in some jogging, which turned into running. The diet has evolved into a little less radical one that allows fish twice a week and a lean steak dinner once a month.
A concern that I had was that when I started the diet, the weight was just melting away but has remained steady for the past two months despite an increased intensity in training. According to common BMI charts, I am considered about 10 pounds overweight for my height. The doctor wasn't too concerned with the weight and made a reference to Lebron James who would be considered obese with his weight of 275 pounds. He told me that fitness was a better measurement stick than the scale.
I was hoping that he would start lowering the dosage on my some of my medications. I expressed concerns over possible liver damage from Lipitor, but he insisted those risks were miniscule and the benefits far outweighed the risks. He didn't want to change the dosage on my beta blocker either. He said it would help keep my heart rate down while exercising.
I had some concerns about the diet being so low in fat and protein. Since I started the Ornish program we read the labels on everything and have been avoiding anything with any fat at all, especially saturated fats. I love peanut butter but it has a very high amount of fat, but also has lots of protein. He told me it was a good fat and assured me that it would be ok and encouraged me to eat it, especially in the morning.
Since my last posting, I ran one more race (a 3 miler on a flat course) and finally beat Lexi. In our previous races, we ran together for most of the race then she would beat me at the finish with a good kick. In the "Jingle Bell Run", she started getting stomach cramps at about the half way point. There was a guy I knew who was running with his young son just behind us, so I felt it was safe to leave her. When I crossed the finish line at 30:30 my wife and daughter greeted me with a panicked "Where's your grand daughter". After about 30 seconds she came into view so I was off the hook.
Last Sunday, I met with Marla Swinggy of Ohio Sport and Fitness magazine. When I was on the Cleveland Marathon website, I noticed an article that they were looking for everyday athletes to feature in upcoming editions. I sent them a short story of my quest and was selected as one of their six runners who will be running in either their first marathon or half marathon. She met with four of us to take pictures and videos and do interviews with us. One of the benefits of being featured is that we will get a fitness test from an acclaimed exercise physiologist who will evaluate each of our fitness levels and design a custom training plan for each of us to get us ready for our marathons.
A concern that I had was that when I started the diet, the weight was just melting away but has remained steady for the past two months despite an increased intensity in training. According to common BMI charts, I am considered about 10 pounds overweight for my height. The doctor wasn't too concerned with the weight and made a reference to Lebron James who would be considered obese with his weight of 275 pounds. He told me that fitness was a better measurement stick than the scale.
I was hoping that he would start lowering the dosage on my some of my medications. I expressed concerns over possible liver damage from Lipitor, but he insisted those risks were miniscule and the benefits far outweighed the risks. He didn't want to change the dosage on my beta blocker either. He said it would help keep my heart rate down while exercising.
I had some concerns about the diet being so low in fat and protein. Since I started the Ornish program we read the labels on everything and have been avoiding anything with any fat at all, especially saturated fats. I love peanut butter but it has a very high amount of fat, but also has lots of protein. He told me it was a good fat and assured me that it would be ok and encouraged me to eat it, especially in the morning.
Since my last posting, I ran one more race (a 3 miler on a flat course) and finally beat Lexi. In our previous races, we ran together for most of the race then she would beat me at the finish with a good kick. In the "Jingle Bell Run", she started getting stomach cramps at about the half way point. There was a guy I knew who was running with his young son just behind us, so I felt it was safe to leave her. When I crossed the finish line at 30:30 my wife and daughter greeted me with a panicked "Where's your grand daughter". After about 30 seconds she came into view so I was off the hook.
Last Sunday, I met with Marla Swinggy of Ohio Sport and Fitness magazine. When I was on the Cleveland Marathon website, I noticed an article that they were looking for everyday athletes to feature in upcoming editions. I sent them a short story of my quest and was selected as one of their six runners who will be running in either their first marathon or half marathon. She met with four of us to take pictures and videos and do interviews with us. One of the benefits of being featured is that we will get a fitness test from an acclaimed exercise physiologist who will evaluate each of our fitness levels and design a custom training plan for each of us to get us ready for our marathons.
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