SAFUN

I have committed myself to running the Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon in San Antonio this year, November 16th. I signed up a few months ago and have started my training. I thought if I blogged about it, I would be more inclined to actually going through with it and run it well.
I ran my first marathon in Chicago in 2005. I ran it just so say I did it. Now, a second one? Well, there is a whole list of other reasons on why I want to do this one. It is always a wonder on why people run marathons. There are many runners out there that can run long distances but have no desire to do a marathon. That’s just it. You have to have the desire to do it because more than 50% of the 26 miles is mental rather than physical. So why the desire? Well, for me, it’s a challenge and I like challenges. So at this stage in my life, what can I do to challenge myself? Run a marathon of course. So why this marathon? Well, here are a few reasons:

1. To support my hometown, San Antonio
2. To beat my first marathon time of 4 hrs 17 min
3. Because I can (physically capable)
4. To celebrate 26 years of my life
5. To keep me in shape
6. Because training with my running friends is so much fun
8. Because less than 1% of the world’s population has run a marathon
9. Because Lance Armstrong even said that completing the marathon was his hardest challenge yet
10. It gives me something to shoot for so my workouts aren’t so mundane
11. Relieves stress
12. To be a role model for young children (my dad ran the marathon when I was young)
13. I like to sweat!

13 more reasons to come…..

Gotta run!

Elite Racing, a sports marketing management company, announced on October 8th that they selected the city of San Antonio for the next Rock ‘n’ Roll marathon and 1/2 marathon.

The inaugural race will take place on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2008, and will replace the city’s existing San Antonio Marathon. Organizers expect to draw more than 15,000 runners and walkers to the event.

This is exciting news! This is the same company that organizes all the Rock ‘n’ Roll marathons including cities such as San Diego, Phoenix, and Virginia Beach. The current San Antonio Marathon, “Marathon of the Americas,” has been organized locally so very little marketing was done to promote the event. Elite Racing does extensive marketing for these Rock ‘n’ Roll marathons so the event is very well organized, promoted and something to rock out to. The event will host 70 live bands!

I am thrilled about this event. This marathon will attract many tourists into San Antonio. I was planning on running the Marine Corps marathon in Washington DC next year but I am might opt to stay in San Antonio now. We will see!

Yesterday was the La Salle Bank Chicago Marathon, one of the most popular, eventful marathons on the running calendar. The Chicago Marathon is known for it’s flat course, event organization, beautiful run through the city and most importantly, the spectators. 45,000 runners were registered for this marathon yesterday. Chicago received unusually high temperatures this past weekend. So high that 10,000 runners opted not to run. For the others that did run, it was a brutal run and caused many cases of heat exhaustion and unfortunately, one resulted in a death.

My cousins, Marina and Carina Alderete (native San Antonians), ran this marathon yesterday. They live in Chicago so they were able to train with teams following the world-renowned runner and coach, Hal Higdon. Training for a marathon is a very intense, emotional journey. It requires a lot of discipline. It can take anywhere between 6 months for experienced runners to 12 months to beginners to train for a marathon. After months of training, they were physically and mentally prepared come the morning of the marathon.

Each runner is given a tracking device to tie onto their shoe. At every 5K mark, the runner is tracked into a system. I was able to track both Marina and Carina from the Chicago Marathon website. Marina was pushing to qualify for the Boston Marathon so she was tracking 8:13 min miles and pacing very well. Carina was pushing to just finish the marathon so she was about 3 min per mile behind Marina so she hadn’t hit as many 5K markers as Marina yet. As time went by, I noticed that Carina kept progressing while Marina was stuck at the 35K marker (about 20 miles). That was not a good sign. Either her tracker fell off or she stopped for some reason. Carina eventually passed the 35K marker and yet Marina was still stuck there. Shortly thereafter, I received a call from Marina’s mom that Marina was taken to the hospital by an ambulance. What??!! At that time, you cannot help to think the worst.

Later, I learned that Marina had passed out due to heat exhaustion. She was given 4 IV’s and held at the hospital for hours before being released. Apparently, it was a bad day for many runners.

Organizers shut down the course four hours after the start of Sunday’s Chicago Marathon because of 88-degree heat and sweltering humidity that left one runner dead and sent at least 49 to area hospitals. Another 250 were treated at the site.

Thank God Marina is alright. Running 26 miles is hard enough on your body but in that weather, especially for those that did not train in or are not accustomed to warm weather, makes it twice as difficult.

Carina was able to finish however she said people were telling her to stop running. There was a water shortage and too many people had fainted so to prevent any further cases of heat exhaustion, runners were told to stop. She said it was complete chaos with fire hoses being sprayed and helicopters flying above her. She had taken her time, had a partner with her and drank plenty of water. She said she ran far enough that she just wanted to complete and her body felt fine.

Last year’s marathon had 40 degree cooler weather. I actually ran the Chicago marathon last year and I was freezing! Unbelievable. Weather is becoming less and less consistent and so unpredictable. How can anyone be prepared?

My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the man that passed away yesterday on the course.

With school, work and training, I haven’t had a chance to blog. Well, the marathon training part has been completed. The Chicago marathon was the past weekend, Sunday October 22nd.  I had been training for six months and the big day finally came. Is it everything I thought it would be? Yes. Well, except the cold weather part.
I arrived in Chicago on Friday morning. I went to the expo and this is when I started to get fired up. There were so many runners there from all over the world. Some novice marathoners, like myself and other experienced marathoners. You could just feel the excitement around you. There were really great booths, from Gatorade to PowerBar to Cliff Bar to New Balance to Nike and many more. They had some interesting running gear. I got stocked up on stuff.

On Saturday, I went to a broadway show, Wicked, which was amazing. Of course, I had a pasta dinner each night. Being in a different city, it was so hard to really think about running. I had only ran twice that week so in my head, it seemed so long ago. I went to bed on Saturday night very calm.

The weather on Friday and Saturday was great. It was about 60 degrees. Well, come Sunday morning, I figured shorts and a long sleeve shirt would do. I walked outside and went straight back into the hotel. A cold front had come in and it was about 40 degrees. The high was going to be 46 degrees. Luckily I was prepared with the right gear. I put my tights on, my head band, a sweatshirt and gloves. We walked to the race and I got in line and was ready to go. With 47,000 runners all huddled around, it got warm pretty quickly. So I got rid of the head band and sweatshirt.

The race didn’t start until 8am, however, being positioned where I was at, I crossed the starting line at 8:05.51am. That was my official start time. I started off at a good pace. It was so crowded so getting around people was a bit difficult. I had my Ipod and I was feeling great. I did have to use the bathroom though as I drank 2 bottles of water before the race. I took the 2nd porter potty stop and luckily, I found one that had no line and was super clean. This was about mile 6. I wasn’t going to need one again throughout the race.

The race took you all through Chicago, literally. I saw Lincoln Park, Michigan Avenue, Little Italy, Chinatown, United Center, Millenium Park, Grant Park and much more. It was a very scenic route. During a 26 mile race, there is a lot to do. I observed runners and read different t-shirts. I saw many friends running together or families such as father and daughters. I saw many runners running in memory of someone, which was really moving. The most amazing part of the race were the fans. There was a fan every part of the way. It was so awesome to see runners reunite with their fans different parts of the way.

Unfortunately, my fans never found me so I ran all those miles without seeing a familiar face except for the last mile. I saw my cousins in the crowd on the last 400 meters. They were screaming so loud and I turned and saw them. It was so awesome!

I would say the last 9 miles were the most difficult for me. I really felt like my legs couldn’t make it. I really had no choice but to go. I think what made me keep going was looking at everyone else going and I was like, if they can do it, I can do it. My body felt good, my endurance was holding up, it was just my legs that were killing me. My legs felt like jello.

It was 42 degrees and drizzly. I was so cold. I kept my running pants and long sleeve shirt on throughout the race. I barely broke a sweat. The cold wind was brutal. I mean, I am a Texan, what do you expect me to say. It was damn cold. I had trained in hot weather and this was my first real cold run. It was a bit different. I tried to keep up with the 4 hour pacers but kept losing them. Towards the end, I stopped for a banana, twice. I had a Milky Way, which I don’t even like. I had gatorade and water. My tummy was pretty full. I probably shouldn’t have had all that but I felt like I needed something to give me that boost.

When mile 20 came round, I figured 6 more miles should be a cinch. Well, not so. Mile 22 came and it felt like I had done 6 miles already. I kept thinking, when will this be over? I had to stop multiple times to stretch. Then I would jump back in and run really hard. I did this back and forth a few times. The last mile, I really kept a strong pace. The last 400 meters, I sprinted. I still had a lot of strength. I was beat. I was cold and delirious. I didn’t even pick a place to meet my family and friends afterwards so I wandered around 30 minutes looking for a familiar face and it never came.

Finally, I used a cell phone to call and I met up with my family and friends. I was so relieved because I was so cold! I put my sweater shirt back on, doubled my pants, put gloves and a scarf around me. I was still cold after 4 hours of running.

It was a great marathon and I am so glad I chose this one. The fans made the difference. You really feel special in that marathon. Now I can say I completed a marathon. Would I do it again? Heck ya!