My First Marathon

Hope you do not mind hearing a little about me. In 2002, after The Ohio State Buckeyes won the Nationals, my baby then 17 years old decided that was the university of his dreams. That of course was my nightmare. My baby was going almost 3000 miles away. Why not California State "Anything". Anything but, that far away. But how could I destroy his dreams, I just suffered silently, and helped him prepare for his new journey.

But, I needed something to prepare me for the moment he left and the duration of his studies. That year I decided to train to run a "Marathon". People still ask me " Why not a dog"? They require less time to train, and surely,training them is less painful. I finally said " Okay guys, if I do this for a good cause, would you stop picking on me"? So I decided to select a good cause and my choice was Train To End Stroke an endurance training and fund-raising program, benefiting the American Stroke Association, a division of the American Heart Association, in which participants train to run or walk a full or half marathon.

I became part of this program shortly before I took my "baby" to The Ohio State University in September 2003. By the way, they gave me a gym bag which says, "I swapped my kid for this bag at Ohio State". Wow, they had no sympathy, they had to rub it in. In the beginning I could not stand to look at it, but then I started to use it to carry my training gear. Well at least I got something for all the extra out of state tuition I was paying for.

I trained constantly, and I finished my first marathon which was the The Los Angeles Marathon in March of 2004. And like they state in the movie Spirit of the Marathon," When You Cross The Finish Line It Will Change Your Life Forever". This event changed my life. It will also change your life.

As for the bag I traded for my kid, it's still kicking after the countless Marathons and Half-Marathons I've completed. It's a little faded to say the least, and I keep telling my son, that he needs to come home, so I can put it away. But, he's not listening. Sometimes I think he's challenging me, or maybe he likes the person I've become after my life changing experience of completing a Marathon.

Clothing

I recommend the proper attire for training as well as racing. Do not use cotton. It’s best to use fit dry loose clothing. This type of material will prevent your body from overheating. I’ll always remember being asked to go into the Ladies room and take my cotton shirt off and replace it with a fit dry one which someone was nice enough to loan me for my first race. I never experience overheating, but I saw many male participants get rid of their cotton shirts along the route. I was thankful and still think about how that fit dry shirt saved me.

My favorite socks are Wright Sock Double-Layered. Before I started using them, I would get blisters. I’ve been using this type of sock since 2005, and if I do get a blister it’s because I laced up incorrectly, or my toe covers were not properly positioned.

Shoes are the most important piece of you attire. I always make sure that the material which surrounds the area around my toes is a mesh material. The reason for this is that when you run your entire body swells, and of course your feet are the most venerable.
Leather or any other type of material will not allow your feet room to expand.

I ran with a pair which had leather material surrounding my forefoot. I ran (5) miles and my feet felt like they were on fire. I lost circulation and was in extreme pain. This happened approximately (5) years ago. I spent over $100 on the shoes, and had to buy another pair. I never made that mistake again.

I now get my shoes from Road Runner Sports. They have a policy, by which if you have a problem with the shoe you purchased, no matter how many miles you’ve traveled in them they will exchange them for a new pair at no charge. You have (60) to test run your shoes.

I always wear a hat. The hat keeps me cool during the hot summer days, and keeps me warm during the chilly winter.

Wear the best and you will perform your best.

Be True to Your Training

Before I started my training, I placed a great deal of time on a Conditioning and Strength training program. I later combined them with a Weight Management Program. The programs combination taught me how to eat healthy and maintain a healthy weight for life. The best part was that the healthy foods just gave me much more energy and strength.

Once I developed strong, regular conditioning and strength training habits, I applied the system to my ultimate desire to complete another Marathon. Training to complete a Marathon requires about (6) months preparation.

My goal during the week is to complete the exact or as close to as possible to the amount of miles I’ll be running on Saturdays when I do my endurance training.

I continued my conditioning and strength program during the week, but increased distance for my Saturday runs gradually. The distance increases from (1) mile the first week of training to (22) miles two weeks before the marathon. It is very important to increase the distance gradually to avoid injuries and set backs. It is also important to be true to the distance requirements on Saturdays. Although the preparation does not call for you to complete 26.2 miles the actual marathon distance during training, it’s only 4.2 additional miles on the day of the marathon which you have to go.

I remember finishing my first Marathon which “changed my life forever”, I immediately anxious to start training for the next event. I thought it would be easy. I thought “I just ran a Marathon; the next one will be much easier”.

But, it was not that simple. First my body had to recover from the event. In order to recover properly, I had to take it easy, somewhat like the beginning of the training. It takes (1) week per hour of the duration the event. If it takes someone (4) hours to complete a Marathon, their recovery time is (4) weeks. After these weeks, the Saturday endurance runs can be challenging again.

Remember be true to your training to guarantee an exciting finish, and a rewarding life changing event.

Endurance Runs

This component is very essential in training for a Marathon. I run during the week for conditioning but, on Saturdays my long runs are solely to prepare my body to endure the 26.2 mile distance.

I’m presently training for the Pasadena Marathon, and this past Saturday, to my surprise I had to run 19 miles. I don’t know what I was thinking but, I thought I had to run 14 miles. Since I like to know the mileage before the day of, so I can program myself and my body to accept that distance, I was a bit distraught. But, at the start I just said, okay the sooner I start the sooner I can take care of my plans for the day. Considering the difference in the distances, I was a bit behind schedule the entire day.

Since I had programmed myself for (14) miles, the last (5) miles were a bit of a challenge. The mind is very powerful! Had I programmed myself for the (19), I would have handled the entire distance well.

Instead of enjoying the entire run, there was a constant battle between my body and my mind for the last (5) miles. There were many arguments. For example, “My foot hurts”, “I thought I was only suppose to run (14) miles, while not stop at that?” “I’ll do (19) miles next week promise.” “The hill is too hard today don’t do it, stay on the flat course.”

It is very important to pay attention to your training schedule. Make sure you prepare and condition yourself during the week physically and mentally for the weekend endurance runs. Handled properly these long runs can be challenging in a fun way. When you reach the (22) distance in training it’s a GREAT feeling. Don’t mess it up.

At this point you are ready to tackle the 26.2 mile distance. You can rest assured that your mind and body will work together so that when you cross the finish line, you will be overflowing with joy and fulfillment.

My Son's First Marathon

My son who is a natural sprinter would always tell me that he would never endeavor in the task of completing a Marathon. So when he sent me a text message in August of 2007, saying he was going to run the LA Marathon, I was truly shocked. My first reaction was to text back and say, "What have you been drinking?" At this time I was struggling with my training after my surgeries. When I realized he was sober, I text back and said," I'll do it with you".

I felt that this agreement would keep us both inspired. I was struggling with pain, and this was his first event. Since he was training in Columbus, Ohio, the training seem to go well until the freezing weather set in. My son is not the type to run 22 miles on an indoor track or any track for that matter. In his words, "It's too boring". So as you can imagine the text messages and my coaching tips were well taken until the mileage was up to 22 miles. I would text, "22 miles today", and he would reply," I tried but only made it to 16, will try again next week".

One month before the Marathon, the last text he sent was on replay. He never got past 16 miles. When I recommended new shoes one month before the Marathon. His reply was, "My shoes are fine. I don't have time working overtime at MS".

When he arrived in LA the weekend of the Marathon, I could not believe it. He had "nothing". All the items I recommended were never purchased. He had nothing to protect his "Jewels", his shoes were so worn one toe was sticking out, I don't recall if it was the left or the right, all I know it was a sad scene. It was too late to try new shoes, since it is wise and recommended to start breaking them in (1)month prior the event.

We did go shopping for "jewel" protection, nipple guards, body glide, a dry fit t-shirt and double layered socks. Needless to say, he was as prepared as he could be for the day of the event. But, there was another problem, he had promised his friend to go watch a live boxing match the day before the event. I don't think he realized that even a 22 year old needs a good night sleep before venturing out to run 26.2 miles, especially when that 22 year old did not train or prepare as required.

At the boxing match his friend had a little too much to drink so my son had to drive back to my house. His friend came in to sober up a bit before driving himself home. I'm in my bedroom trying to sleep, when all I can hear is my daughter telling his friend to be quiet because we had a Marathon to run in the morning. He was too drunk to even realize that he was sabotaging our attempt to sleep. My daughter called his sister hoping she could come to pick him up. When that failed my daughter called one of her friends. Her friend took her and my son's friend to the movies, and finally my son and I could go to sleep.

My son finished his First Marathon in under (4) hours. He slept for (12) hours, and limped the entire week. He could not understand why I was wide awake and could walk normally. All I could say to him was, "proper training, the right shoe and comfortable attire does make a big difference"!

The Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon

I was very glad to hear my son say that he was going to train for The Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon. I thought that after his bad experience with the LA Marathon, he would not train for another one. He was really excited about this one though. I think it was the name of the event that attracted him to it. Neither of us had heard of "Flying Pigs". He wanted me to fly out and participate in the event as well. I told him I could not beIcause I needed to recover from the last one. After all, The LA Marathon was my first event after my recovery from ( 2) surgeries. I told him I did not want to push myself so quickly. But, I registered for the Half-Marathon and did not tell him because I wanted to surprise him.

The secret was well kept, and even my daughter who has a hard time keeping a secret, kept it well. Everything was going as planned until a week before the event. I received an email in reference to the upcoming event. This email was expected, because all the event organizers start a count down and email all the registered participants. But, the email for some strange reason wished everyone luck in the upcoming "Flying Pig Kids Event". Of course my son thought he had registered for the wrong event, so he went online to check the status of his registration. When he searched he typed his last name, and (2) names came up.

He then called me and said, "Sorry Mom, I just ruined your surprise". Well the surprise was ruined. My daughter's reaction was, "do you know how hard it was for me to keep that secret?" I started to think that it was only fair for the person who sent that email to pay for my registration, flight and the hotel. After all they were responsible for ruining everything.

The weekend of the event, I had scheduled a Friday morning flight from the Burbank Airport to the Cincinnati/Kentucky Airport. I scheduled an early flight, because I needed to sleep well Friday night, since normally it is very difficult to sleep the night before an event.

I arrived at the airport in Burbank at 5:00 AM, to discover that due to poor weather conditions all flights to and out of the Chicago Airport ( my layover location), had been delayed, because the Airport was closed and would be for most of the morning or the entire day. The delay and wait at both airports were intensive. I arrived at my hotel room at 3:00 AM Saturday. So much for Friday's good night sleep. Between the (3) hour difference and the LONG travel time, I was exhausted, I really did not know how I was going to function for the duration of the event on Sunday. And to top it off I was not able to have my pasta dinner Friday.

I slept a little then had to wake up to pick up my race packet. The packets are not mailed to you. All participants have to pick them up the Friday or Saturday before the event. My son and I went together to pick up the packets. He brought his friend along to try to inspire him to sign up for the next event. After we picked up the packets we had spaghetti for dinner. Then my son dropped me off at my hotel room. He was staying with his friend as he had previously planned.

Since he was not staying with me, I did not get to witness any of his night before event preparation ordeal. I was having issues of my own. I had to get up at 4:00 AM. This is normal on the day of the event, so logically I would have to go to bed by 8:00 PM. But, my body was saying it was 5:00 PM ( note the 3 hour difference mentioned previously). I closed all the shades tightly to make it look and hope it would feel like night. But, I could not fool my body. By this time, I was really scared. I had not slept well Friday because of the long travel time, and now I can't sleep Saturday because of the time adjustment my body had not made. I really did not know how I was going to perform on Sunday.

Sunday came and I woke up to the alarm at 4:00 AM exhausted. Well, I had to do it. After all this planning I could not back out of it now. My son came by to pick me up, so we could drive together to the event. It was pretty chilly and I was sorry I did not bring a trash bag to wear over me. This is something I normally do since I can easily remove and discard it after I start running and warm up. My son was pretty layered though. He had sweat pants a sweat shirt and thermals. We wished each other luck and said, "see you at the finish line".

Along the route I saw a large number of "Flying Pigs", costumes that is. They even had the little pig tails. And when I crossed the finish line, one congratulated me. Another gave me a face towel with a "Flying Pig"on it, another gave me a blanket with you guessed it , "Flying Pigs" on it. One removed the timing chip off my shoe and another placed a medal around my neck. It was all about "The Flying Pigs".

To my surprise, my son cross the finish line with only shorts and a short sleeve T-shirt. And I started to wonder, " What happened to all his clothes"? You see a trash bag you can discard and not worry about. But, sweats and thermals, I'd worry about. It could get to be a bit expensive leaving clothes along the route.

When I asked about the clothes all I got was a talk to the hand signal. Since I did not want to talk to the hand, I let it go. I would try to address the issue again later. As I was hurrying to get to the car, I heard my son say, "Mom", and saw him point to his feet as he limped. I got the hint and slowed down my walking pace. He then asked me if I could drive, because he was in pain and could not. I drove to his friends house where we showered, rested a little and ate lunch.

After the warm shower and nourishment, my son packed up his belongings because he was going back to Columbus since he had work on Monday. Before he headed back, he rested a little at the hotel where I was staying. It was then that I notice something strange. His toe nails looked like claws. He had not cut his toe nails before the race. No wonder he was in pain and was having problems walking. I asked him," How can you run like that?" He asked me for clippers which I did not bring, since I did not want TSA to confiscate them as a possible "weapon". I then proceeded to ask him how was he able to run during training without trimming his nails. He confessed that he had not trained that well. I was really surprised, because I thought he had learned his lesson from the first event.

By now I'm starting to believe that 22 year old young men really believe that they don't need to prepare for anything. They truly believe they can do anything. And they can if they put their mind to it. But, I don't know if the consequences are worth it. If you don't train properly you will have a bad experience instead of inspiring one. Worst yet, you can get injured. It is my advice to be true to the schedule and the training required to complete a Marathon. This will guarantee that you will truly have a positive life changing experience once you cross the finish line.

Is Sneaking Fiber in Your Children's Diet OK?

When my children were young, I could get away with sneaking in some bran in the cream puff dough. After all they loved the homemade cream puffs I whipped up especially during the holidays. They even volunteered my services for any school celebration.

Now that they are older, that trick went the way of Santa Claus, The Easter Bunny, and the Tooth Fairy. I had to confess. They now know that being regular is not hereditary, it was the secret work of mom. It became very obvious when they went out on their own and they started having regularity problems. The answer, mom was not around sneaking in a little bran here and there.

Because I was sneaking it in, and not being honest about the importance of fiber in their diet, they grew up thinking that it was magically in their system. They did not understand why their friends were having problems and they were not.

My advice is for you to educate your children early on the importance of fiber in their diet. This way they start a good habit early in life and keep it for life. Don't make the same mistake I made. My children are now learning how important this is, and although I'm not a believer of the phrase " You can't teach an old dog new tricks", the difficulty they are having including this basic ingredient in their diet is challenging this disbelief.

You can still keep Santa, The Easter Bunny and The Tooth Fairy a mystery, but please do not add "The Fiber" in your diet to that list.