Memory Lane

Two weeks out from this year's Chicago Marathon and I'm back on the roads again.

Today, to get to 21 miles this week, I logged 6 around Thornton and South Holland here in Chicagoland. I decided to run into SoHo for a change. Normally, I stick to a nice route that goes around Kell's hometown of Thornton and takes me through some woods.

This time I was feeling a bit sentimental and wanted to run through the town I grew up in. From Kell's parent's house to the house where I spent most of my childhood is almost exactly 3 miles, making for an easy out-and-back.

The photo (thanks Google maps!) is of the park that sits next to the culdesac where my old house stands. I did one loop around the park, running by the baseball fields where I used to practice and the playgrounds I spent so many hours on. It was fun heading down my old street and seeing what had changed and what little things were still the same.

My old house still had the same rickety shed along the side that my dad put up -- broken door and everything! He also put up this small strip of pickett fence on the front corner of the house to "hide" the garbage cans. Yup, still there. I was cracking up. My friends' old treehouse, where no girls were allowed, still stands a few houses down, too.

I actually took a break at the 3-mile mark to walk around the end of the culdesac before heading on my way. I noticed a neighbor in the house next to my old home pulling back some curtains and peering out at me. Probably seemed weird to have some random dude running on his street. When you live on a street like that, it's rare to see anyone who doesn't have a reason to be there. We always could tell when a car made a wrong turn onto our block. Everyone knows everyone.

As I was walking by my old house, a woman came out with a couple of kids, looking at me funny. I smiled, said hello and said I was just taking a run down memory lane -- that I lived on this street a decade ago and happened to be back in the neighborhood. She smiled back and said OK, but still was looking at me like I was some whacko. As to avoid anyone calling the cops on the strange runner guy, I headed on my way.

As for the run itself, my left foot was a little sore throughout. I've had some minor pain on the underside of my foot at the base of the two toes next to my big toe. Pounding the pavement so soon after a marathon might be the cause, just overuse. I also switched back to a pair of shoes that have 400+ miles on them, which could have contributed.

My other pair of Saucony's are still drying after a fun run I did a few nights ago. It was pouring rain, but I didn't let that stop me from heading out for a quick 3 miles. I got drenched, and had a blast. At a certain point, I no longer cared about running through puddles -- that's how soaked I was. I'll take a day off here to let my foot rest and to let my the shoes with fewer miles on them dry some more. Might have to take a blowdryer to them.

That's all for right now. Just thought I'd add a quick update, as well as some photos to the blog. Kelly and Hayden and I are planning on heading back to Toronto in early November, so it'll be back to running north of the border, where it's a bit colder than here. I'm thinking of sticking to 3-6 miles each time for a while, so I might just stick to the track/treadmills back home.

Who am I kidding? I'll probably get out the winter gear and run through the snow like I did all last winter. Sometimes those are the most memorable runs. Today's certainly ranked up there.

3-peat: Running Chicago 2009

I did it. I never doubted that I would cross the finish line at this year's Chicago Marathon, but I definitely did not expect to do as well as I did this past Sunday. Here on the couch, with my feet up and the race behind me, I am completely satisfied with the results.

First, the raw data: I finished my third career marathon in 4:04:04, representing a new personal best. Among 33,608 finishers, I placed 12,117. Among 18,983 men, I ranked 8,811. Among men between the ages of 25-29, I was No. 1,493 out of 3,117. Not too shabby in my book.

This marathon was the most satisfying of the three I have run.

I'd say last year's Chicago Marathon (4:22) was the most fun. Once I knew the extreme heat was not going to allow me to meet my time goals, I slowed down and soaked up the experience of my first 26.2. Running the Disney Marathon (4:09) showed me something about myself. I set a PR at the time, despite running the final 7 miles with increasing pain in my hip.

But this year's marathon was the most satisfying.

I went in without expectations. The birth of Hayden on Sept. 1 took away about two weeks of training during the most critical period. Leading up to his arrival, I had actually cut down my mileage, trying to convince myself that running a marathon under the circumstances was not a good idea. I was talking myself out of it.

Then, the more I thought about it, I told myself that I've never backed out of anything in my life. When I put my mind to something, I do it. Full training or not, I had the experience and determination to carry me through. So, in the two weeks leading up to the marathon, I banged out a 20-mile run and did some workouts to get myself as prepared as I could.

The last thing I wanted was to be sitting at home on marathon day, having not even tried. Giving up is something I have never done and -- with a new son to raise -- I am now an example. Sure, he's just a baby right now, but when he is older, and he's asking about my marathons, I don't have to say I sat one out because I wasn't sure I could do it.

That is why this run was the most satisfying.

I went in with a specific strategy. My only goal was to cross the finish line, but I came up with a plan to try to shoot for a new personal record. I hadn't logged the really long runs, and I was 15 pounds heavier than last October, but I knew I could do the first 13-16 miles at a good clip. So, I figured my best shot at coming close to 4 hours was to go out fast and slow up late.

I ran the first 13.1 miles in 1:51 -- not bad considering I ran the Las Vegas half in 1:41 in December. I knew I couldn't hold that pace, but that early split could make up for my slower pace in the second half. I did the second 13.1 in 2:13, falling four minutes shy of cracking 4 hours, but beating my previous best by five minutes.

How could I have made up those four minutes?

Well, there were two quick porto-potty stops and few brief walking breaks between miles 16-24. Then, during the last mile, I stopped to help a guy who was collapsed in the road after having his hamstring blow up on him. I ran by a guy crawling off the road last year and that always stuck with me. This year, I decided not to be one of the people who ran on and did nothing.

So, with all of that, there's your four minutes. But, who cares? I didn't know I'd even be able to set a new best time thisyear and I can look back knowing I helped someone. I have nothing to be upset about.

The weather conditions were almost perfect. I say "almost" because it was cold - in the low 30s at the start. I wore short sleeves and gloves to start off and was warm enough 3-4 miles in. I ran by my sister Melissa between miles 4-5 -- gave her a big hug, so there's another 5 seconds I can't get back! -- and gave her the gloves before moving on.

About a half hour after finishing, I started to get really cold again while waiting to pick up my stuff at gear check. Even though it was so cold, it still beat the 85-degree day we had in Chicago for the marathon last year. That wore me down so much in the second half of the run. If only I could've combined last year's training with this year's conditions.

After the race, I met up with Melissa and my wife Kelly drove downtown with Baby Hayden and Grandma to join us for a celebratory lunch at my favorite Chicago restaurant: Flat Top Grill. In the days since, I've had a Chicago pizza, Taco Bell and Kell's awesome lasagna. Living it up before getting back to running the roads.

Next year, I'm thinking about doing a November marathon. San Antonio? New York? We'll see.

For now, I'm satisfied with calling myself a three-time marathoner.

Here is Hayden modeling my medal.

Where there's a will...

Can you see me in that crowd? I'm right there, on the left, about 300 yards in front of that big white tent back there. Can't see me among the 45,000 runners? This year -- on Sunday -- I'll be a little closer to the front, in one of the designated start corrals rather than in the open section.

A year ago, Chicago was my first marathon. Over more than a year of running up to that point, I had shed more than 40 pounds. Now, a year since that photo was taken, I am a two-time marathoner. Did Chicago in 4:22 in very hot conditions, did Disney in 4:09 with a bum hip for the last 7 miles. Ran the Las Vegas half in 1:42 in perfect conditions in between.

This Sunday, I will be able to say I'm a three-time marathoner. I haven't trained as hard leading up to this one -- funny how bringing a son into the world will throw off your priorities, and your training (Kelly and I welcomed Baby Hayden Bastian to our family on Sept. 1). I haven't been blogging, because I haven't been running as much. Only recently did I pick it up hard again, and I feel like I've been cramming for an exam.

This year will be all about experience and will power. I want to crack 4 hours, but if I don't I'm not going to get all worked up over it. My goal this year is to cross that finish line. Last week I successfully logged 20 miles after not having gone 10+ in a month. The 32 miles I ran last week were my most in one week since January. Sunday is going to hurt and I know it. And I'm ready.

Having run two marathons before, and with that 20-miler under my belt recently, I know what I'm in for and I know I can handle it. I might not be able to clock as fast of splits as in the past, but I will hold a steady pace with the goal of not slowing much as I get deeper in the run. I want to prove to myself that I can push beyond my limits, using my experience.

I look forward to putting that medal on after I finish my third career 26.2. I also look forward to updating this blog more often as I get back at it over the next year. I hope to run at least one marathon per year from here on out. I'm already thinking that one in October or November of 2010 will be next.

I'll post more after Sunday's adventure...