Route 66 Race Report

Attitude Adjustment:

This race was a psychological nightmare for me. Not the actual race itself but the month and a half leading up it. A few months ago Jono and I decided to run the Route 66 marathon and use the event as the official kick off of our fundraiser. At the time I was really excited to run it but I soon remembered how much I don't love running long distances on pavement.

For my entire life I abhorred running but I have recently realized this was because running on pavement would quickly bore me. After about six months of Jono's persistent nagging I finally went for a run with him on Turkey Mountain and realized that I actually love running...as long as I can mainly do it on trails in the woods. I have always been drawn to this type of environment. I found that running among nature keeps my mind excited and occupied and refreshes my soul. Every time I train on pavement the miles just seem to drag on forever even though I am usually running a faster pace. I want to run because I enjoy it, but it is hard to enjoy a run when all my mind will think about is how much farther until I can be done.

These types of thoughts quickly started creeping into my psyche after we registered. It wasn't long until I went from the elation of knowing I get to run another race to dreadfully wishing I hadn't paid $100 to bore myself to death. This was compounded by the fact that every time I would train on pavement it seemed as though any progress I had achieved in healing my Achilles was set back. I had become convinced that running 26.2 miles on the streets of Tulsa would mean at least a month or two of limping around, cussing at myself, and wondering if and when I would ever be able to get back on the trails. Something had to change. Either I was going to have give up and not run or I was going to have to drastically change my attitude about what was going to happen on November 18th, 2012.

With a week to go before the race I decided that the attitude adjustment option was my ONLY option. Besides, the prior weekend I had run 31 miles on the tough trails of Turkey Mountain and still had a lot of gas left in the tank when I finished. I could do this! I would do this! And I would have two intact Achilles tendons when I finished! It was time for change.

For the next week the first thing I did every morning was spend time meditating on positive and healing thoughts. I was constantly striving to put myself back in the positive attitude I had before my last 50k race. “You’ve got this. Easy Money. The Achilles is strong.” By Friday before the race I was finally feeling ready to run. I had already proven to myself that I was physically ready. It was the mental readiness that was actually harder this time but I was getting that under control. Saturday I continued to build my enthusiasm and with that came the confidence I needed. Jono told me that he could tell a big difference in my voice about the whole thing. By Sunday morning I was jazzed up and ready to go. My favorite author, Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” Sunday was going to be the best day of the year. I told myself it was going to be just another Sunday morning stroll. Basically, that is what it turned out to be. Jono, Jeff, Amelia and I set out to run, and enjoy, an easy 4 hour and 45 minute marathon pace. I crossed the finish line in 4:45:12 and, most importantly, didn't have to go see my orthopedic foot doctor guy the next day!

Lesson Learned: The mental training for a run can be just as important as the physical training. Sure, I was bored (and in pain) for a few moments during the race. But that was expected and I was mentally ready to tackle those issues head on. There is no doubt that if I had not “trained my brain”  I would have either ended up not starting at all, walking much of the last 8 miles, dropping out altogether, or seriously injuring my Achilles while running with such a negative vibe around me. The power of the mind is incredible. Don’t let YOU, and your negative thoughts be the reason why you don’t do something you have wanted to do but may be afraid of. Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.”

Thanks for reading,

Paul

P.S. I also need to mention that being able to run with 3 great people helped pull me through to the finish. Thanks Jono, Jeff and Amelia. You guys rock! I had a blast! 

Route 66 Marathon

Friends-

Today we kicked off our Run to Uganda with the Route 66 Marathon.  Originally we were going to use this a training race for our for our run from Tulsa to OKC along Route 66.  Once we decided we were going to recruit a team to log the miles from Tulsa to Uganda (8,225 miles), the marathon seemed like a perfect place to kick off the event. With 6 of us running today, we knocked out a cool 132.2.  If any of your are doing the math, all 4 marathoners ran the extra .3 mile detour to the center of the universe.  Only 8,092.8 miles to go.

We also decided this would be a great place to start promoting the run and the blog.  So at 6:45 this morning decked out in our Run to Uganda t-shirts and 100 business cards, me, my mom, and sister set out to talk with as many people as we could.  I was interested to see how one of our major fundraising efforts would be accepted.  It was encouraging to talk with people who seemed truly interested.  We spoke with several who were aware of Project Hope Worldwide and the efforts already taking place at our orphanage in Uganda.  There were even a few who had run in our inaugural 5K "Orphan Run".  There were also a lot of  supporters along the course who commented on our shirts.  Even the clever comments like "You still have a long way to Uganda" were encouraging.  What was important is "Run to Uganda" was getting noticed!

I'm sure Paul will post a full race report, so I won't say a lot about the race itself.  This was my first marathon back in 2010, so it holds a special place in my heart.  It is an awesome course around some of the coolest landmarks in Tulsa.  Each landmark brings back great memories of growing up in this great city.

In 2011, Jessica Hargis an executive at the Tulsa Area United Way set out to make the race "Green".  Once I realized the amount of trash created at an event like this, I knew I should be doing something different.  My goal today was to not add to the problem.  I am happy to say the only things I threw away today were the couple of cups a beer I had.  It is great Tulsa is doing something to make a difference.

Thanks for all the support, and WE'RE OFF AND RUNNING!

Jono

Presented by Lawn America.

Friends-

We are very excited to announce Lawn America as our presenting Sponsor.  Brad Johnson, the owner of Lawn America has a passion for helping others and has a special interest in education.  Since Brad was once a science teacher and currently volunteers as a teacher in Tulsa schools, helping us build a school for the orphans is a perfect fit.

Brad hiked the Appalachian trail in 2010 and raised $106,000 for 6 local agencies.  Since the two fundraisers are so similar, his experience and insight was very beneficial to us during our early strategic brainstorming.  His book A Compassionate Journey,which tracks his journey, also continues to offer insight.

Lawn America will be donating 50 cents per mile up to the 8,225 miles (Distance for Tulsa to Uganda) our team will be running over the next year. WOW!  Thank You Lawn America!  Remember it is going to take $50,000 to build the school for Calo Me Lare.  We are 10% of the way there, but still have a long way to go.  We need your help.


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Peace,

Jono

OF COURSE IT'S A RACE!!!

Race Report for Turkey and Taturs 50K

What a beautiful day it was to run on Turkey Mountain. Let me start by saying that if you have never been out there you are really missing out. These are the trails that got me hooked on running about a year and a half ago so it only seemed logical to do what I did yesterday.

About a week before the race I signed up to run the 25k (15.53 miles). I have been wanting to run another 50k for months but since I was/am still trying to nurse my Achilles tendinitis back to health I hadn't been able to put together many long training runs. Over the past month and a half I had run a tough half marathon on Turkey mountain, another tough 25k the following week at Flat Rock, and had 16 mile and 13 mile training runs on the roads. It just didn't seem like the numbers quite added up yet to make the jump to a 31 mile race. I am a numbers guy, and even though I had been wavering back and forth on signing up for the 50k  I just settled on the 25k.

Buried not so deep in my subconscious was the knowledge that I was strong enough to run the 50k and with that confidence came, the very conscious notion that I would change my registration on the morning of the race and just run the 50k against the advice of a few people I know. I spent a good part of the day Saturday getting ready. I had all my clothes laid out early. I wrote up a timeline of the race and determined exactly what and when I would eat. I mentally prepared myself and then spent a few hours trying to contain my excitement. I was finally going to tackle another 50k after having to miss so many that I had planned on runnig.

Sunday morning I woke up at 4:45, got ready and headed to the event. It was pretty cold starting out but I knew after running for a few minutes my excitement and elevated heart rate would warm me up. I was right.
My 'official' plan was to take it easy the whole way and just finish without injuring myself. My real goal was to finish in under 7 hours. Since I wasn't planning on setting any records and wanted to take off slow I started towards the back of the pack. After everyone got spread out a little I settled in behind a girl who was running a pretty good pace for me and followed her to the first aid station about 2.6 miles from the start. I filled up my water bottle and headed out to the dreaded Power Line trail.

We got to head north the first trip on Power Line which is the easier, more downhill direction. I quickly caught up with a group of 3 guys, 2 of which (Richard and Kevin) I would run with for the next 18 and 21 miles respectively. Once off power line I settled in behind Richard, an Oklahoma City Resident, because I knew he was a very experienced ultra runner. At 59 years old he is not as fast as he used to be but he runs smart and I really enjoyed getting to know him and hearing all his stories. Kevin is from Denver and ran with us but didn't chat much until I finally got him talking around mile 19. The girl I followed to the first aid station also followed us until she started playing wipeout. Within about two miles she had tripped three times, each time going down hard and flat. She wasn't used to running trails and it showed. We didn't see her after that until the finish line. She did great, finishing 2nd woman with plenty of blood running down her knee to prove that Turkey Mountain is nothing like road running. I bet she is hooked now though.

The rest of the first lap was pretty uneventful. Most of the time I would look at my Garmin to see that our pace was faster than what I had planned on running but since my heart rate was low and I still felt fresh, I just  stayed with my group. Having people to talk to makes it much easier than going it alone.

At mile 15.5 we made it back to the start/finish line, restocked our food and quickly headed back out to run the same lap in the opposite direction. After about a mile I looked back and found out we were now a group of five. Wes had joined us again (he was with us off and on for for the first 18 miles), and we now had a new guy whose name I don't know so I'll call him "Yellow Shirt Guy" or YSG for short. YSG ran with us for about a mile and then decided to pass. This was the first and only person to pass me all day and it made me mad. I kept telling myself, "this isn't a race, this isn't a race, this is just a long fun run, this isn't a race". Anyone who knows what it's like to run a long race knows that no matter how much you don't plan on racing, when it comes down to it the competitive juices start flowing and it's hard not to want to beat the person you can see 100 yards ahead of you. "OF COURSE THIS IS A RACE!" I had plans for Mr. YSG.

When we made it to the first aid station of the 2nd lap I knew the next mile and a half was a section that was mostly flat or downhill. I was still feeling good and knew this was a place I could kick up the pace. However, I've never had a race or long run over 15 miles in which I didn't at some point start hurting, aching or at least feeling tired. There is a quote I have saved to my computer that says, "If you start to feel good during an ultra marathon, don't worry, you'll get over it." Every time this would enter my mind it kept me in check. But since I was still feeling fresh and I had confidence that my fueling plan was working I decided to take a chance and speed it up. Fortunately it didn't cause me to Bonk, but unfortunately I ran off from Richard. At mile 20 Kevin mentioned the distance and I was shocked. I honestly felt like I was just warming up. Kevin stayed with me for another 3.5 miles but was having a sharp pain in his foot and had to back it off a little.

So now I was on my own. I was a little nervous because when I run by myself I tend to run at a pace that is faster than I ever plan on running. I did run faster than planned but only because I still wasn't getting tired and I knew if things changed I could just slow down and still finish in under 7 hours. At the last aid station before the return trip on Power Line I asked if there was anyone anywhere ahead of me. The girl said, "a guy is about 10 minutes ahead". It was about 2 miles to Power Line and I was determined to catch him before that. I did. He was at a water stop when I sprinted up. He could tell I was running fast and feeling good and waited until I filled up my bottle to let me go ahead. One more down.

As sadistic as it sounds I was looking forward to the southbound trip on Power Line. It was 3/4 to 1 mile of super steep hills with a little bit of less steepness in between. When I got on the trail I was elated to be able to see three runners ahead of me. One was about 150 yards away, one was about 400-500 yards away and the other was almost to the top of the farthest hill I could see. OF COURSE THIS IS A RACE! Game on! I quickly caught the fist guy and out-walked him on the first hill. The second guy was leaving the aid station at the top of Power Line as came into it. The aid station workers looked at me and said that I looked way better than anyone else who had been through. They told me that I could easily catch the guy who just left and the next guy was about 2 minutes ahead of him.

This last section of the race was about 2.6 miles. I knew it was too late to bonk and it was now time to give it all I had. It took about a minute to pass guy number 2 who heard me coming and just stepped aside. Now I was fishing. The trees were so thick so I couldn't see very far ahead but I knew I had to be reeling the last guy in. With about 1.5 miles to go I saw someone. Behold, it was Yellow Shirt Guy! That's all it took. I passed him at a pace that I have probably never managed at Turkey Mountain and didn't slow down until I crossed the finish line.

This was the third race in a row that I ran negative splits. The first 25k lap was 3:15 and the second was 3:02. Finish time was 6:17, 11th overall and 43 minutes under my goal! I didn't come close to winning The race, but I definitely won My race. I'm not sure how much farther I could have run but I do know that I still had some miles in me. This totally perplexed me and the only thing I can think is that changing my diet up over the last year had a lot to do with how strong I felt. More on the diet thing later. Maybe next year I will shoot for a sub 6:00. Barring any injuries I should be ready for my first 50 miler in March.

Paul

Minimalism?

Friends-

So I have become very intrigued by the idea of minimalism over the last year or so.  While the extremity of the possibilities to minimize are probably the reason for my initial draw, the practicality of doing this in real life with a family of 5 seems a little unrealistic.  A little over a year ago, after only recently learning about the idea, I presented it to my wife.  After some deliberation we ended up in the garage where she pointed to my work bench and my toys, and said we will start here.  A little secret I learned about getting rid of tools is it gives you an out on honey do's.  

My only real attempt at minimization has been in my closet where I have tried to cut my clothes collection in half twice over the last year, and I have come pretty close.  I also got rid of my prized hat collection.  Over the next year, I would really like to learn more about practical ways to minimize.  I am asking any of you with experience to please share, and I will be periodically posting what I have learned.

We have a team currently on their way to Calo Me Lare in Ugnada.  They will be meeting the 16 new orphans, which brings the total to 64.  The dream is becoming reality.  These kids really need a school house.

Good Job today at Turkey and Taturs Paul (50K), Jeff, and Amelia (25K)!

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Peace,

Jono