Runner Insight

Do What Ya Gotta Do 

Last year I ran in a little 4 mile race that took place in an area of town I am not as familiar with.  The Missoula Roots Run is in conjunction with the Missoula Roots Festival:  lots of live music, arts and crafts and plenty of food!  Having lived in Missoula all my life, I knew the area but had not run in this particular part of town since the mid-90’s.  So while I “knew” where I was, I was still a little bit nervous about running this race and staying on the race route. 

The race started at 11 a.m. which I thought was kind of a late start for the end of August.  But as it turned out, it was quite pleasant: not too hot yet with blue, sunny skies.  

The time was getting close to the start of the race, so T positioned me somewhere in the middle of the group of runners off to the right side.  

We were waiting for the bang of the start gun to go off when Anders, the owner of our local running store “The Runners Edge,” announced that we had to wait a few minutes to start the race as there was a train crossing right on the road we were starting on.  

As we stood there, a gal who was waiting next to us said she has seen me running out by her house.  I commented on the hill we would be running less than a mile into the race.  I told her I had not run hills in years, and was not sure how I would do.  She told us about what a fellow runner had advised.  

He said, “If you want to be good at running hills, Run Hills. If you want to run fast…Run Fast.”  

This was such a straight-forward concept, but very profound at the same time.  How many times do we say “I wish I could….”  But how simple it is, really: If we just simply did it, eventually we would get good at it.  

Me, personally, however, I do not wish to be good at running hills…

How ‘bout it?

-Vision Runner 

P.S. The hill was fairly easy, and I also ended up with lots of help on the race route as people were so generous when they saw I was using my white cane.  I am so grateful for the kind and loving women who took the time during their run to make sure I was okay and following the right route.  Sure makes me proud of my fellow runners! 

And I finished the four miles in about 46 minutes…Not too bad for a blind runner.

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(Half) Marathon Madness!

^ Click Arrow To Listen

 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   

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Running Summary:

Yesterday was the half marathon! This was the first race that
I had to use my white cane. Here’s the videos of my day!

My pre-race update:

…Here’s a little clip of the start of the race, but I don’t think I’m in it.

The Race Clips…running, running and more running!

After the race….replenishing my glycogen stores!! In other words….FOOD!!!

I finished the 13.1 miles in 2:26:03.
Here’s my results:
Vision Runner’s Half Marathon Results

Victory Photo:

How ’bout it?
-Vision Runner

Run Over To Ellen’s Summary After Half Marathon on Sunday:

Start Date: April 20, 2009

Goal Date: Dec 15-18, 2009 (Whenever we can get Ellen Degeneres tickets to a taping of the Ellen tv show before they stop taping for the end of the year break.)

Total Mileage from Montana to the studio for an Ellen tv show taping: 1,222.25

Must Average: 36 miles of running per week or 5.12 miles per day.
Day Number: 84
Mileage Run Today: 13
Mileage Run so far: 592

Mileage To Go To Get There: 630.25

How ’bout it?

-Vision Runner

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