Marathon, Take 2

After the disappointment of getting the flu right before the Denver marathon, I decided to give it another try at the California International Marathon in Sacramento, CA. Now I normally wouldn't go through so much trouble to run a marathon, but I'd been challenged my friend Tim to qualify for the Boston Marathon in April so that I could run it with him. So of course I had to try. After over six months of training, I was READY to do this. Unfortunately, the Boston Marathon reached its entry quota about a week before I traveled to Sacramento, but I knew that if I qualified I could run Boston in 2011. Rather than retell the story, I've re-posted an account that I wrote shortly after the race here:

Race day started well. I actually slept the night before, which I was not expecting. Up at 4:15 to eat the first of two bagels w/ peanut butter that would hopefully fuel me for the majority of the race. Had a really hard time eating due to nerves, but I choked 'em down with a lot of water and a little coffee.

Out the door of the hotel to catch the bus to the start. This was a point-to-point race, so we had to ride the whole 26+ miles to a little town outside of Sacramento called Folsom. You may recognize it from the Johnny Cash song. When I stepped out off the bus, it was COLD. Below freezing with a touch of fog and some breeze to top it off. I'd been acting all hard the past couple of days because I was "from Colorado," but this cold had me somewhat worried. I'd worn a couple of layers, along with pants and gloves, thinking that I'd throw them all in the gear bag before the race, but I only took off the pants in the end because it was so chilly.

Race time. I warmed up really well and literally ran up to the start line just as the gun was going off. I'd decided to run with a pace group to take away the stress of having to keep my own pace via my GPS watch, which turned out to be an excellent move. When I started, I was running with the 3:30 pace group but needed to catch up to the 3:10 by the finish. They guarantee that if you stick with them, you finish at the designated time. The guys and gals leading those pace groups were rock stars - our guy held a steady pace the whole way without fail. Anyway, I started a little slow and had to keep reminding myself that I had 26 miles to catch the guy. I chatted it up with a couple people over the first few miles and was feeling really good. I made sure to keep the 3:10 guy in site (they were carrying red signs on long sticks) the whole time.

Around mile 10 or 12, I caught up to the 3:15 guy and ran with them for a little bit. I'd heard that the course was deceptively hilly in the first half but a downhill cruise in the second, so I was trying to hold back. I cruised through the halfway point at about a 7:18 pace - I needed a 7:15 to qualify, so this was a good sign. My legs were feeling great, I was grabbing water and gatorade at the aid stations, and generally staying calm and collected. I talked to a couple of people looking to qualify as well, which was fun and connecting and energizing. I had the 3:10 pacer within fifty yards by mile 14 and actually started having thoughts that I was going to make it.

Miles 14-19 were tough. We turned into a 10-15 mph headwind and struggled up and down the rolling hills. People tucked in and were trying to draft one another, but I couldn't seem to find a good place. The pace group got tighter, but I was still about 20 yards behind most of the time. I noticed that my stomach was slowly emptying, which for me is a BAD sign. I had packed four energy gels to eat along the way (basically 100 calorie packs of sugar goo w/ caffeine) and dipped into them ahead of schedule, which worried me. My legs were starting to feel the hills, but I tried to stay positive and keep calm.

Everyone talks about miles 20-26 as "the wall." This is where I melted down in my first marathon, to the point where I was almost literally crawling down the Denver streets. People around me were starting to show fatigue, but I kicked through 20-22 with no problem. I'm feeling good at this point - fantasies about crossing the finish line and how I'll accept congratulations (confidently yet humbly) are floating through my head. Then things gets rough. My legs bottomed out around 23, and I had exhausted my store of gels with little benefit. I was really struggling to stay on pace and the group started to pull away. Then a few things happened - 1) I went through an aid station that was giving out energy gels and grabbed one. This gave me a little extra kick. 2) There were 3 or 4 separate spectators giving out orange slices along the course, and I was able to grab probably 10-15 total and just pound them. Stomach is feeling better at this point as the carbs and sugar are getting into the blood and solid food is taking up some space. 3) I run past a speaker system playing Alabama's "Roll On." You might wonder why that matters, but this just happens to be one of those songs that we used to listen to CONSTANTLY as little kids with my parents. So I get this surge of emotion and adrenaline around mile 24.5 and decide that I am going to do this. I started kicking a little harder and passing some of the people who were struggling. Gradually that pacer came closer and closer, and I just felt that energy building as the crowd got louder and the oranges kicked in. The last couple of miles of the race go down the same street with number avenues marking the blocks, so I was just counting down from 59 to 8 and praying that there was enough time to catch up.

I finally caught the pace guy at mile 26 even. The streets were packed with people cheering us on, which felt awesome. Here it's important to note a detail that I forgot earlier - my dad had surprised me by flying in the day before to watch the race. He called from outside my hotel and asked if I wanted some company for dinner, totally nonchalantly. So we'd spent the evening watching football and eating pasta. This was huge because I'd traveled to Sacramento mainly out of frustration after missing the Denver race and insisted that Carrie not come so that we could save money. So having him there was a big motivation. He used to be a runner, a really good one, and I had all sorts of fantasies about making him proud.

Back to the race. I pulled up next to the pace guy and said, "I've been chasing you the whole race - it feels awesome to be finally running beside you." He just smiled real big and said, "Nice work, man" and laughed. He was a great guy - one of those people who emanates positive energy even at mile 26 of a marathon. So I pass him and look up to see my dad, yelling and just looking SO pumped. He's normally a pretty reserved guy, but he's going all out, screaming my name with his fists in the air - seeing him all excited just sent this huge surge of adrenaline through me. It's choking me up to think about it again. So I run over and give him a solid high five as I run past, just feeling like I was the king of the world.

From there it was only another 300 yards or so to the finish - I took a couple of left turns to the finish chute and was pumping my fist the whole way, trying to get the crowd crunk. Whether they actually cheered louder or I just imagined it, it felt great. Then it was done - 3:09:45, one minute and fifteen seconds faster than I needed to qualify.

A Thanksgiving Getaway

Nothing like getting out of Colorado during the early winter - especially when you're going to Arizona! We had a fantastic trip down to Phoenix to celebrate Gigi and Tony's wedding and see the rest of the Butlers :) Our annual Turkey Bowl didn't turn out as well as last year (meaning that neither Carrie nor my team won), but we had a ton of fun anyway. The weather was awesome, and Gigi and Tony put on an amazing party complete with dancing, good food, and good company!

Pranksgiving

November was a fun month. We had a trip planned to Arizona to celebrate Thanksgiving and Carrie's grandmother's wedding celebration, so we decided to have our own version of Thanksgiving a week early. It gave everyone a chance to see our new place and let us entertain for the first time in our new house. As often happens with our family get-togethers, things got a little crazy and we had a ton of fun! Which led me to refer to it as Pranksgiving from that day forward. We missed Jeremy and Kirsten but hope to see them soon. Take a look at the pics to get an idea of our night :)

Ups and Downs. And Hair on Fire.

October was an interesting month for us. I'd been training for a long time for the Denver marathon only to get sick at the last minute. It was an agonizing decision, but I decided not to run that morning in hopes that I could save it for another day. I felt bad because my dad had flown in especially for the race. He said that he wasn't disappointed, but I sure was.

In other news, Carrie's hair caught on fire! We had an incredible Halloween celebration complete with spooky cocktails, a Wizard of Oz troupe, and some late night Rock Band. AND some fireworks. As she was leaning back to get a picture of us, Carrie's hair - chock full of hairspray to make a convincing zombie bride - got a little too close to the candle on the mantle and burst into flames! No pics of the actual fire, but you can see Doug's reaction as Carrie's taking the ill-fated picture.

Mysterious, Horrible Smell

A couple of weeks ago, we were driving to Emilie and Doug's when Carrie noticed a strong odor in the car. Something like a mix of wet dog, burnt hair, and manure. We decided that it was Emilie and Doug's sleeping bags, which we were taking back to them after they'd been in our garage for a while. We debated whether to tell them or just put the sleeping bags in their garage before they could smell them. Here's a shot of the way over.

As we got in the car to leave their house about six hours later, we were instantly alerted that it was certainly NOT their sleeping bags. Doug and Ben (Emilie's brother) made the mistake of sticking their heads in the car to check it out only to end up dry-heaving for five minutes afterward. Apparently having the doors and windows shut for six hours gave it time to strengthen in pungency to an almost lethal level.

Some searching around in the car led me to an old water bottle in the backseat floorboard that had once held Carrie's protein shake mix - Cookies 'n' Cream powder plus cranberry juice. What it now held was a fermented draught of evil. I opened the lid to confirm that it was the culprit and it almost burned my eyes out.

We threw the bottle away, went home, and googled every home remedy we could find for odor removal. Charcoal was the winner, and I drove my car around for the next week with two baking pans full of charcoal briquettes. No dice. I finally got my car detailed, complete with carpet shampooing, and that took most of it out. The smell is lingering but getting better with each Febrezing.

Moral of story. Cookies 'n' Cream plus cranberry juice is the worst combination ever for a protein shake.

For Holly

Yes, we are back in the blogosphere. Hopefully with a little more regularity this time :)

Many things have happened since our last post in March 2009, but most of them have happened in the past four weeks. Soooo....

1) I finished my post-doc in Boulder! As of August 12, I am happily self-employed and building my private practice here in Fort Collins! Feels great so far - it's definitely where I want to be putting my energy.

2) Carrie started back to "real work" - no more summer vacation (if there ever was one in the first place) - she was hard at work starting August 1, prepping to teach all the new interns at the counseling center how to lead groups. Tons of work, but she's the best one for it - as anyone who's seen her in action could attest, she has got some group-leading skillz.

3) I passed the dreaded licensing exam...the last professional hurdle or test that I will EVER have to take is done! This brings credibility and opens a lot of possibilities for me - always a good thing.

4) We moved! To a new house on the western side of Fort Collins near the stadium. We love it so far - tons of room and a yard :) I like the trails nearby too. It's a little bit longer bike ride, but totally worth it.

And of course.....the wedding! On August 29, we made it official. No more living in sin - we're totally legit now. Check out some pictures by going here and scrolling about a third of the way down. We had a complete blast with all of our friends and family over the weekend! Some karaoke, some drinks, a LOT of love and fabulous weather made for a perfect weekend - thanks to all of you who came to celebrate with us :)

The next month or so looks to be pretty busy too - hopefully a party in the new house, a couple of friends' weddings, and a marathon in October...

Snow Day

Those of you in Colorado know that we've gotten pounded over the last couple of days by some major snow. For once, BOTH universities closed, giving Carrie and I snow days! There's something nice about having an excuse to stay in the house and relax. Carrie is sadly back at work today while I'm still off on a university holiday, drinking coffee and watching the snow melt.

KARAOKE!!!

We had an excellent weekend. Friday night we went to dinner with Bethany and Robyn. Then to karaoke at the Armadillo where Amber, Ryan, and some other friends met us for Kim's birthday!!!! We weren't out on the patio yet, but Karaoke at the Armadillo is an all time favorite!!!

We've gotta get some practice in for our weekend celebration.

It was sunny and beautiful all weekend. On Saturday, We played outside at Dixon reservoir, and then on sunday we ran , biked , and had a couple beers with Emilie and Doug out on their back patio. A perfect weekend!!!

HONEYMOON!!

We are soooo excited!! After lots of debate, thought and research-we have decided to go to the Philippines for our honeymoon. We plan on waiting until December to take off because we have a break between semesters and will also get some time to save money after the ceremony.

It has everything we're looking for culture, adventure, budget friendly- and take a look at these beaches!!

My New Favorites

So I've taken eight months off. So what. Now I'm back because I want to talk about some things that I think are awesome.

1) American Idol: I'd never seen the show before this season, but Carrie got me into it. Now I love it - Tuesdays and Wednesday at 7 pm CST is a magical time these days. I think a big part of it is the resemblance to group therapy - honest feedback, vulnerability, etc.

2) Einstein Bros. Bagels: I got addicted to the Good Grains bagel with Honey Almond cream cheese over the past month or so. Add some Vanilla Hazelnut coffee and you're set for a good day. I recently procured a french press so that I could make it myself in the office instead of having to stop every morning.

3) Subway's Tuna sandwiches: Nine-grain wheat, provolone cheese, spinach, tomatoes, onions, and some jalapenos. I ate this three times last week.

4) Half-marathon training: I started training again this week for the Ft. Collins Marathon's half and remembered again how much I love listening to music and breathing fresh air. We've been working out in the gym all winter, and getting outside has been fantastic.

5) Rock Band (2): We got Rock Band back in December and have since rocked ourselves silly on numerous occasions. It's great as a social lubricator. Favorite songs - Carrie: Hungry Like the Wolf; Me: Ramblin' Man.

That's it for now. Hopefully back again soon with more!