We touched down in Little Rock behind schedule but right on time to start the party. Morgan’s friend, Sara, picked us up at the airport in limousine style service and drove us
At the Expo.
to her house so we could drop off our bags and get ready for the night out. Morgan bought a shirt and some coasters and magnets with running slogans. I drove back with Marcia to prepare my knee for the marathon on Sunday. I hadn’t been able to train, much less run since the Houston Marathon in January. I continued foam rolling, icing and stretching and little by little it eased up to the point I could run with the support of Kinesio Tape. Two weeks prior to the Little Rock Marathon I tested my speed and endurance, placing 3rd overall at the 5k on a muddy cross country course, and finishing a half marathon with Alex in a perfectly paced run of 1:28, which earned her 4th overall female.
Last minute hill training to the top of Pinnacle Peak
Along the way into town, Marcia drove the 2 crucial hills of the marathon course, the ascent up Kavanaugh and the decent down Cantrell, which would peak around mile 15. They looked brutal but still manageable compared to other hilly marathons I’ve run like Pittsburgh. Knee supports and inflammatory medicines are not my preferred way to run, and I hope my knee returns to health soon.
We crossed the Arkansas River on the Broadway Bridge into Old Town Little Rock. With the mile 16 water station in view, I tore into my first energy gel and grabbed a water to wash it down. I flew down the side of the hill, which must be one of Little Rock’s big rocks and had my second energy gel at the mile 19 water station. I crossed under the Mile 20 portal and timing mat in 2:18. I washed down my last energy gel at the mile 22 water station and passed a few runners. Then I saw David on the out road. It’s a good feeling when you see a mile 24 marker, expecting to only see mile 23. I grabbed my last cup of water before ascending the last hill which topped out at mile 25. We grabbed a beer and headed toward the finisher chute to watch Morgan finish. She came through in 4:01:20, her fastest marathon yet, capping a great homecoming race.
Follow this link to read the entire report
Thursday, January 12, 2012 was the beginning of what would become my most inspirational weekend as a runner. The Runner’s High Club arranged for Michael Wardian, an Olympic Marathon Trials qualifier from Arlington, VA, to give a speech about his accomplishments, experiences and advice as a professional long distance runner. Not only that but how he schedules his time between a full time job and his family. I left the room very motivated to become a stronger and faster runner. I wasted no time and took the first step by running back home.
The Tornados Running Club had its annual Pre Houston Marathon Pasta Party. I put my culinary skills to work and prepared an Oso Bucco to be served on a bed of Saffron rice with a side of ratatouille and stuffed mushrooms. I got to sample a bit of all the other great dishes to get our carbo load on. The evening progressed and after participating in
The Tornado’s Traditional Tequila Toast
the Spaghetti Super Suck Off playoffs, votes were tallied for yearly awards and board members. I had one great race in 2011, a 2:48 marathon PR in Memphis, which impressed my friends enough to earn Most Improved Runner honors. Next, my friends showed their appreciation for the work and ideas I put into the club and voted me onto the Tornados Board as an At-Large Member. The evening capped off with the Tornados Tequila Toast.
After the party, Saturday morning came quick because many of us woke up early to volunteer for the Olympic Trials. We were proud that Houston would be in the limelight as the first city to host both the Men’s and Women’s US Olympic Trials on the same day and same course. I joined Tom and Anna’s crew in downtown, charged with maintaining course integrity and creating a swinging gate for the first inner loop of the course before the runners left to run the outer loop 3 times.
Anna’s going loopy over the signs
Droves of spectators lined the length of the course to witness a rare opportunity; the nation’s fastest male and female marathoners competing for 6 Olympic spots and represent the USA in London for the 2012 Olympic Games. The Houston Olympic Committee worked hard to make it a great success despite having to compete with all the sports coverage the Houston Texans Football team was getting for entering its first NFL Playoffs.
There were a few incidences that our team of volunteers helped clear. About an hour prior to the start, we heard an engine crank up and saw a plume of black exhaust rise from the underground parking garage by our volunteer station. Tom rushed to the scene and found a number to call building operators who soon stopped testing the emergency generators and the diesel fumes blew off course. A man
holding a protest sign for rights and advertising his organization was causing a raucous and refused to stay off the course. Eventually we alerted police and they put him into custody. A few vehicles managed to enter the course by exiting underground parking garages. We manned these driveways to control traffic and direct unauthorized vehicles off the course.
Tom and I are using our heads for this volunteer job
We successfully directed the male runners onto the inner loop then allowed them to pass the second time to run the outer loop. We closed the human gate again to direct the female runners onto the inner loop and opening it again on their second time by to run the outer loop. It was great to feel the power that the race was in our hands.
Tom and I tied our yellow Race Crew volunteer shirts around our heads, as a silent “Occupy Head” demonstration for not receiving volunteer caps. Anna commented that I looked like a giant cat toy with shirt fabric on my head and bells strung down my neck to make noise and cheer. We got to see the runners fly by 4 times. It was an amazing experience and I was honored to be a part of the success, showing that Houston is a running city.
I ran into a few friends at the GRB Convention Center while I was there to receive my packet for the Houston Marathon on Sunday morning. We wished each other luck and I jogged a mile or so to the venue where CDifferent was having its appreciation lunch. I had the privilege to meet and hear from inspirational vision impaired athletes and their great supporters. I believe so much in the opportunities that CDifferent provides for these athletes and the running community. I passionately received my packet to guide Brandon in the Marathon.
Finishing with Brandon
Maurice and I had the honor of guiding Brandon through 26.2 miles of the 2012 Houston Marathon. We navigated the dense crowds at the start, saved Brandon from tripping over ruts and edges of pavement, cheered for him along with all the other spectators and runners, read aloud the signs that lined course, brought him water from each station and celebrated together as we crossed the finish line. I heard many runners and spectators admiring his courage and strength and expressing how inspirational it is to see a blind athlete participate in an athletic endeavor that only a handful of people try to undertake.
The marathon however is nothing new to Brandon. He ran the 2011 Houston Marathon and later that year finished the inaugural Texas Ironman. His goal for this marathon was to qualify for Boston, which for vision impaired athletes is a finish time under 5 hours. All the training and races leading up to Houston indicated that this was certainly achievable and we targeted a 4:50 finish. CDifferent paired
four other blind athletes with guides, three of whom ran the full marathon. Brandon’s father would also be joining the parade and running his first marathon and his mother ran the half.
On race morning we all met prior to the start of the race and discussed for the final time the plan of attack. We wanted to run a comfortable pace the first 10 miles in order to set us up for the rest of the race. Then we would try to increase the pace for the next 10 miles and finish the last 10 kilometers strong. We executed the first 10 miles well, crossing in 1:55. Our pace slowed, however and we ran through the first half in 2:40. We quickened the pace to 9:40 minutes per mile and crossed 20 miles in 3:55. If we could maintain a 10 minute per mile pace for the remainder of the marathon we would finish under 5 hours.
Brandon knew to expect various CDifferent supporters along the final 10k of the race. Philip with Shama Cycles at mile 21, his sister at mile 22, Andy with Finish Line Sports at mile 23, and other friends dotted in between. Brandon was fading as the thermometer kept rising with the sun beating down on us. At mile 23 we stopped and Brandon embraced Andy to try and get a second wind. Rosie came back out to the course after finishing her half marathon and ran with us for a little to offer encouragement. We passed his dad on Allen Parkway as we got closer to downtown.
We slowed to a walk as we entered downtown under the 25 mile marker so that Brandon could try to regain his strength. In the final quarter mile, we tried running again, but unexpectedly he tripped and fell. Some spectators rushed over and offered their assistance. We continued walking up to the final turn. Cheers from the crowd filled us with confidence, allowing us to run the final straight away through the finish. We crossed the line in 5:15. It was short of our goal, but it was a 30 minute personal record for Brandon. Five minutes later we saw his dad cross the finish. Reunited, we had our pictures taken.
Marcia laminated this section of the newspaper and mailed it to me!
I stood in the median of the street looking like a bum as David turned in the drive behind my parents’ house. Marcia waited in the car, while David and I picked up our packets and walked around the vendors. We warmed up back to the corrals and waited our turn to start the marathon, which was different from any other marathon I had run. My strategy was simply to run even at 6:30 pace the entire race and finish in 2:50. The park exit was around 15k, and I felt relaxed running through in 1:02. I ate a GU as I approached the mile 10 water station, 1:05:41 into the race. There was an awkward U-turn on 4th Street that made us run 100 meters down then 100 meters back. I crossed 30k right on pace in 2:01:46. The half marathon walkers (on their 7th mile) cheered me on from across the street expressing their awe at the speed in which I gracefully ran. I walked back down to see David finish in 3:12:28, an exceptional time for a first go around. Back home, silly Morgan sent David and me cheer texts while we were racing. Beale Street is a scaled version of New Orleans’ Bourbon Street.
My family ordered me a trophy.
Follow this link for the full report.
With Shea, Brittany and Anthony and downtown Pittsburgh in the backdrop.
Anthony invited me to join him and his newlywed wife, Brittany, to run the Pittsburgh Marathon with Shea, Brittany’s sister-in-law, who lives in Pittsburgh. We flew out of Houston early Friday morning and Joey, Brittany’s older brother picked us up. It was time to start the pre-marathon routine. Joey took us to the historic Southern Slopes District where we ate and drank at Fat Heads. They had an impressive food menu and their beer selection was amazing. Next we headed out for a walk to stretch our legs along the riverside hike and bike trail which led us to a little shopping district. Joey and Anthony ordered two 2 liter pitchers each of the Dunkel and Heffeweisen. Great beer must be accompanied by great food, so we enjoyed a plate of imported German soft pretzels with beer cheese. Joey then drove us to Shea’s loft apartment in the Strip District. To cap off the night we walked into a jazz bar for more hydration and carbo loading. We slept long and hard that night because it’s sometimes hard to sleep well the night before the race.
Saturday morning began with a leisurely breakfast prepared by Shea. Anthony and I escaped the jewelry show and explored the market along Penn Avenue. We grabbed a quick seafood lunch and continued walking down the sidewalks lined with vendor tents and tables selling flowers, clothes, souvenirs, and food. Miles was having a good old time sniffing out all the new smells. Andrew and I ordered a burger and perogies from the kitchen so our food came out before Anthony, Brittany and Shea got their pizzas from the brick oven. Back at Shea’s, we relaxed for a while then started to prep for the race. We stretched, pinned our bibs, packed our dry clothes bags, double checked and got to bed early. Race morning was casual as we ate a quick breakfast and walked the mile or so to the start. My race however was a bit more composed. A couple miles later I pulled aside for a pit stop. I ran through the half at 1:29:30 with Laura and Kelly, a couple local female runners. I dropped my pace a bit to catch my breath and held steady for the next couple of miles. The real test came at the end of mile 23 which greeted me with a 1/3 mile descent of 150 feet. The last couple miles were a struggle, but I kept Kelly in sight. Check off Pennsylvania, farewell Pittsburgh!
Good times are always had hangin with Andrew
After we ate and drank our fill, we piled into Andrew’s VW and on our way back to Shea’s picked up a couple growlers from The Church Brew House and some ice cream. We took a picture together of our turkey legs. Anthony played with a bit more strategy and some luck on his side made him a winner.
Follow this link to read the full report
The Schwiet Life 