Runner Insight

Half Marathon Madness Part 2

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It was just after I crossed McClay’s Bridge that I nearly ran into a little trouble. The half marathon route we were running was my normal route that I run while training, but I had never run it this early in the morning, and with my vision issues, I was a little disoriented.  I was on the look out for these thorny branches that sprawled out onto the path, as I knew they were there…I had run into them before!

I thought I had run far enough on the road to be past the branches,  so I could get back on the bike trail, but just as I was moving onto the trail, a woman yelled, “Branches!”  And grabbed me around the waist and pulled me to safety, away from a very thorny hazard. 

Happy to have avoided a potentially bloody situation, I thanked my champion, and asked her name.  Her name was Lisa, and we chatted about road hazards.  She said that where she regularly ran, she has to ask her husband to move dead deer from her running paths!  At least I don’t have that problem! 

Lisa stayed with me for awhile, and helped me navigate some turns, positioning me on the white line, before she took a walk break.  It was not until I was looking at the race results, that I saw Lisa finished right behind me!

The promised heat of the day stayed away for the most part.  The sun made its little appearance, and then stayed behind clouds, keeping it nice and cool for the race. 

At one point I asked someone what mile we were at and they said mile 4.  But it felt like we had been running longer than that, so when I got to an aid station, I asked what mile we were at, and they said mile 7.  The gal I had asked earlier heard the reply and said, “Oops.”  But I responded that at least it’s a good oops – better to be further than we thought we were than the other way around.

Around mile 8 ½ I heard someone call out my name.  T was on the side of the road, so I made my way over.  I had eaten about half my honey beads, so I finished them up and T gave me some water.  The report was that Dr. Krieg was about 15 minutes ahead of me, Leslie just a few, and Jade had not come by yet. So after a hug for luck, I went on my way, feeling strong and refreshed, knowing I was getting close to the end. 

Around mile 9 I started running with a gal named Tonya.  She paced me the rest of the way.  I was running alongside of her for awhile, but since I kept bumping into her, I told her I was going to run just behind her to avoid tripping her. 

At one aid station they were giving out gels and salty trail mix, but what got my attention was the volunteer yelling, “GUMMY BEARS!”  I said, “Gummy Bears! YES!”  And she ran right over to give them to me!  It was great to have that little boost of energy right towards the end. 

There were times during the race that I really wanted to go faster, but safety was my primary concern, with my finish time secondary.  So I stayed behind Tonya, and as we made the turn onto the Higgins Street Bridge, we could see the crowds lining the sides, the big balloon arch was in sight, and the music and loud speakers were blaring, signifying the finish line!  It was a great feeling, hearing all the cheers and Tonya yelling, “Sprint!”  So I did!

Finishing strong, Tim and Anders from the Runner’s Edge were there to greet the finishers.  I got my medal hung around my neck, and T was just coming through the crowds to greet me.  She led me to the Victory Pose photo area, where I got a free photo of me with my medal and all. 

With the increase in the number of people running the half marathon this year, there was a bit of a line to get into the food tent, but it was well worth the little bit of a wait.  The Good Food Store, our local natural food store, put out quite the spread.  There was a delicious pasta salad, bagels, frozen fruit bars, fig bars, fruit, and other snacks.  I chowed down, quickly replenishing my glycogen stores.

Replenishing after the Half Marathon

We then made our way down to the pavilion where there was music and more food!  We were going down a ramp when T said, “There’s the winner of the marathon.”  Going down to the park just ahead of us, he was not walking very well…Gee I wonder why?  He finished the 26.2 mile course in record time, at 2:33!  It just boggles my mind how fast that is: He did 26 miles at a less than 6 minutes per mile pace!! Wowsers!

T and I enjoyed the post race activities, and then headed home.  I was tired from the race and the lack of sleep the night before, but all in all I had a wonderful time. My finish time was 13 minutes slower than last year, but I’m not too disappointed with that…I am blind after all. So 2:26:03 is perfectly fine with me; I finished my 13 miles a handful of minutes before the first marathoner finished his 26 miles, so I’m happy!

Running with my white cane for the first time in a race worked out beautifully.  Not only did it bring awareness to other runners that I didn’t see well, it allowed me to run without fear of stumbling or tripping over curbs on some of the streets that had roundabouts.

The Missoula Marathon just keeps getting better and better each year.  I look forward to running it again…not sure if it will be a full marathon next year or just the half…Hmmmmm…

How ‘bout it?

-Vision Runner    

Popularity: 2% [?]

(Half) Marathon Madness!

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 Oh Boy, 4:40 a.m. came way too fast! My eyes snapped open – I was excited and animated and ready for the day to begin. But with only abut 4½ hours of sleep, it was difficult to get my eyes to stay open and make them focus (or at least my version of focused ).  But since I was pumped for my half marathon, the sleepiness left me fairly quickly. 

First thing I did was head for the kitchen for my pre-race meal.  I had asked a fellow runner who was preparing to run the full marathon what he eats for his pre-race meal, and he said pancakes. Good for him, but I couldn’t imagine eating that heavy of a meal before a race.  I slurped down my usual yogurt with maple syrup, and chewed on a small banana.  This was a little more than I normally eat before going out for a run, because first off, I was eating quite a bit earlier as the race wasn’t until 6:00 a.m., and secondly: I knew I would be running at a faster pace than I normally do on my training runs.

Then it was time to get dressed which, of course, took no time at all since I had laid out my half marathon running clothes the night before. 

We had the cameras and water packed, and we were off.  We arrived at the race site around 5:20 a.m., and there was already a big crowd gathering.  We heard on the loud speaker that there were about 1,000 more racers registered in the half marathon this year.  That is a big jump in one year!

We were hanging out when my chiropractor, Dr. Kevin Krieg trotted up.  He looked ready to run, and as always…excited to see me. That man has more positive energy exuding from one eyelid than most people have in their whole body. He is a force of nature!!

I asked him what kind of nutrition he was going to eat during the race.  He pulled a Luna Moon from his pocket saying, “They’re for women.”  We laughed at the way he said it.  But no worries, men can eat them too.  Then he went off to stretch, wishing me good luck in the race. 

Within a minute another friend of ours, Leslie and her 16 year old daughter Jade showed up.  While it wasn’t pre-planned, we decided that maybe it would be easier for me, if I would run just behind them.  We made our way over to the starting area.  We positioned ourselves in the middle of the pack.  T snapped a quick pic, and then got out of the way.

Vision Runner and Leslie and Jade starting line Missoula Half Marathon 2009

If I had it to do over, I would have started closer to the edge of the road, closer to the white line, as I lost Leslie and Jade soon after the starting cannon went off at 6 a.m.  There were just too many runners vying for position, and I can’t blame them: I used to do the same thing. 

But once I found the edge of the road, and the crowds thinned out some within a few minutes, I was fine running my own pace.  I ended up passing many of the runners who started out too gung-ho, as they were already walking! 

Unlike the year before, the first few miles were fairly crowded with runners.  Last year I could hear the wild turkeys, but not this year; only the sound of fellow runners’ feet slap-slapping the pavement.

The river was beautiful as the sun started to come up.  But it was the sun that got me as we turned right into its full force.  I had to stop and break out my white cane. 

This served two purposes – one, it let my fellow runners know I did not see well, and two, it kept me from running off the road!  Once I got my bearings, I could see the silhouettes of other runners, so I followed them.

It was not until I got over McClay’s Bridge, that I almost ran into a problem. . . 

How ’bout it?

-Vision Runner   

Popularity: 2% [?]

2009 Missoula Marathon:  Expo

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Wow, hats off to another awesome Missoula Marathon event this year!

With 1,000 more people registered to run or walk this year, it put the total at around 2,400 participants. The event was bigger and better than ever!

We stood in line to get my race packet and number, and this year the packet came in a reusable tote bag and we used it for all of our other goodies that we bought at the Expo. So after getting my race number (#930), it was time to shop! I checked out the Runner’s Edge booth hoping to find a last minute running singlet, but couldn’t find what I was looking for. But not to worry, I found plenty of other shirts with the Missoula Marathon Logo on it.

As we were checking out the cool custom bags that a Missoula woman makes with your running bib numbers and other race paraphernalia, another woman approached me and asked if I was the one who had a website. She said she’d been to it once, but couldn’t remember what it was called. Her daughter has RP, the same genetic eye disease that I have.

I actually had heard of this local teenager from several people I knew that knew her. I’d heard that she was only 17, and going blind from RP. It was great to talk to her mom. She said that Janie wanted to connect with other people with RP, so I gave her my phone number in case Janie wanted to talk, she could give me a call.

Then it was off for more shopping! We spied…LOL… these SPI belts we had seen on Donny Deutsch’s “The Big Idea” show last year. (The SPI in SPI belt stands for “small personal items.) I discovered a red one that I liked and decided I would try it out during my half marathon the next day to carry my honey beads. The woman promised that it was designed not to bounce around when you run.

Later we came across a booth with winter running caps and head bands. These lightweight hats and wraps are great for me. Since I have to wear my running hat all the time to help cut the glare, it’s been difficult to find a cap thin enough to wear under my running baseball-style cap. I ended up buying the head band, as it’s mostly my ears that get cold during winter runs.

After browsing through the farmers market that was going on in conjunction with the Marathon Expo, we made our way to my favorite Italian restaurant, Johnny Carino’s. We had the soup and salad lunch special. Later that evening I prepped for my half marathon the next morning by getting some take-out pasta from there as well.

Before bed, I got all my race gear and clothes laid out, ready for the next a.m. I put on my running outfit, so we could pin my race number on, and we placed the timing strap on my running shoe.

Of course, I had to test out the SPI belt I got at the expo. I ran around the house and jumped up and down, and it stayed in place the way it was supposed to…no bouncing. So I was satisfied it would work just fine. It was getting close to midnight before we hit the hay. With a 4:40 a.m. alarm, I knew it would be a short night!

 How ’bout it?

-Vision Runner

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