tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-273960722024-03-07T01:54:24.908-06:00Scott's Running AdventuresMy attempt to capture my running adventures. My goal is to complete 50 marathons in 50 states before the age of 50.Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-34241442240850511622012-11-07T21:48:00.000-06:002012-11-07T21:48:07.889-06:002012 Brookings South Dakota marathon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Rob had mentioned Brookings to me several months ago. I was pretty excited about going as it was another state I could mark off my list. I had looked at the elevation map and it was pretty flat, though it was at 1600 feet of elevation. I typically run at 1100-1200 here in the Ozarks. We left early on Friday morning and we knew it was going to be a long drive since it was 615 miles. As usual we enjoyed some movies and our typical sophomoric humor on the way up there. We stopped at the border to take a picture of the South Dakota sign. Rob had booked the accomodations for him, me and his friend Mike McMahon.<br />
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We arrived a decent time and Mike arrived shortly thereafter. We went to the expo and picked up our packets and walked to a restaurant nearby to taste some of the local flavor. We could tell the weather was going to be shape up to be for a cool race morning even though there had been some higher temps in the region recently.<br />
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I was cautiously optimistic about the event from a time perspective. My plan was to do a 5:1. I started out a little too fast and Rob kept seeing me on the course and telling me that I needed to slow it down a little. He was running with Mike and I was so cold at the start I was just trying to stay warm. Sometimes it is so hard to make yourself slow down. I got to 13.1 after a quick stop at the port-a-potty. The course was decent but there were a lot of curbs and sidewalks that we had to step up and down on. My optimistic goal was to run a 4:10 or better. By the time I got to 23, I realized I had slowed down too much to accomplish that. After the race I scored some chocolate milk and tried to fight off the nausea. We headed back to the hotel for a quick shower and started our journey home. The swag was nice, but the course was nothing special.<br />
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<br />Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-64316532995719179972012-05-14T05:34:00.000-05:002012-05-14T05:34:09.378-05:002012 Derby Festival MarathonThe original plan for this race was concocted last fall and Rob and I had planned on running it together. We were going to drive over stay with Joel and participate in the marathon. Well, my work plans changed slightly and I was going to be in Lexington, KY the week before making me unavailable to split resources/driving with Rob so he opted to save Kentucky for later.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joel next to the course map.</td></tr>
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My good friend and co-worker Lynn loaned me her car to drive over to Joel's place and Joel and I headed in to pick up our race packets on Friday. After an early lunch at Q-doba, Joel and I picked up our packets then walked around downtown Louisville. We stopped by the Louisville Slugger museum and store. We each took turns in the batting cage. It's been awhile since I've hit in the batting cage. We headed back to Elizabethtown and Joel met his sister for a brief visit at the local truck stop (she was traveling with her husband the truck driver). <span id="goog_102497884"></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">KC Maniac and friend Amy Reed (met her in Jackson 1/2012)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cade and Adam. I met Cade at Myrtle Beach. Adam is from Springfield, MO</td></tr>
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We enjoyed a great meal at Cheddars and went back to his place to chill and get a good night's rest. We headed to the race early Saturday morning and found a parking spot about 3/4 mile from the start. The weather was shaping up to be pretty nice for the day. I hustled to the start for the Maniac picture. There I saw Adam Irvin, Cade Remsburg, Amy Reed, and Tim Nave as well as quite a few other maniacs.<br />
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The day was shaping up to be a fun time. I had decided to change my strategy a little. I was going to run 4 minutes and walk 30 seconds. Adam and I talked about how fast he would be running. He had never tried run-walking before.<br />
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For the first 13.1 I yo-yoed back and forth with him as we passed the miles. We ran through Churchill Downs at mile 8 and it was pretty cool. The biggest climb in the race came at mile 11.6. This was when I stopped to use the port a potty. After spending about a minute in the port a potty, I was able to charge up the hill and quickly caught up to Adam. The next several miles Adam struggled to keep up with me. I had changed my strategy to 4:1 and around mile 15 Adam caught me and I asked him if he wanted to run/walk with me the rest of the way. He agreed and we had fun running the next 11 miles. I spent time bringing up some good music on Spotify to include the Beastie Boys. Our pace slowed a little, but I was having so much fun that I didn't care about my time. I wanted to get Adam in under his recent best time. </div>
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We came around the corner and I actually did a 360 at the finish line. We came in under 4:20 and he was very pleased.The food at the finish was pretty disappointing. Joel quickly found me and we walked back to the car to head back to Elizabethtown to his place. </div>
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After grabbing a quick shower at Joel's, I drove back to Lexington to where I was staying with Lynn and her husband Dwight. They cooked me an amazing steak dinner and we had some great conversation. Lynn graciously gave me a ride to the airport the next morning. </div>
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That's when the real adventure began. We got fully boarded on my return trip to Chicago. We taxied all the way out to the runway and then they informed us that there was an instrumentation error and that we were returning to the terminal to de-plane. They were canceling our flight because the repairs were going to have to wait for a part to be flown in from Chicago. Due to all of the happenings at Lexington that week, there were no available outbound flights for the next several days. I spent the next 45 minutes on the phone with United trying to secure a way home. I was able to get a flight out of Cincinnati getting me home around 8:15. I had to get a cab (courtesy of United) to drive me the 80 miles from Lexington, KY to Cincinnati. I had plenty of time to spare as my flight didn't leave for another couple of hours. I finally made it back home around 8:15 and Susan was waiting for me at the airport. It was an enjoyable trip but I was glad to be home.</div>
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<br />Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-76975280400682907482012-04-24T20:26:00.002-05:002012-04-24T20:26:13.371-05:002012 Go St. Louis Marathon<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-igbx8J6waLs/T4xkrAV9EiI/AAAAAAAARKs/b4xud0LYctc/s1600/IMAGE_D7C73C98-14C7-4D4C-BF57-1BC9927D498D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-igbx8J6waLs/T4xkrAV9EiI/AAAAAAAARKs/b4xud0LYctc/s320/IMAGE_D7C73C98-14C7-4D4C-BF57-1BC9927D498D.JPG" width="320" /></a>The Go St. Louis Marathon weekend started early Saturday morning as I picked up Rob at his house around 8. We both were working booths at the expo, which was on the St. Louis University campus at the Chaifetz arena. This was my first road trip in my 2012 Ford Focus SEL. I was anxious to see how the mpg would do on the highway. As usual we enjoyed the conversation on the road, mixed in with some on-screen entertainment via Rob's Galaxy Nexus. I, of course kept my eyes on the road. We stopped in Cuba for a bathroom break and to get some food. When we ordered our food at the McDonalds the counter staff asked Rob his name and he responded "Frodo". After she took my order and asked my name, I responded "Bilbo". We thought that was pretty funny when they called both of those names out loud to get our food. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our McDonalds receipts. </td></tr>
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We experienced some pretty heavy rain on some sections of I-44 between Rolla and St. Louis. When we finally got to St. Louis, the rain had let up a little. We milled around the expo after picking up our packets. I really haven't seen anything at the last several expos that have "rocked my world". I did meet a couple of contestants that were from Season ? of the Biggest Loser, Jay and Jen. We spoke briefly for a few moments and I took a picture with them to send to Susan. I was slotted to work the Team Beef booth from 2-4. Rob was working the Pacer booth from 1-3. After Rob finished his shift at the booth, he spent some time setting up his brand new MotoActiv watch that was given to him to try out. The features of this watch seem really cool and I am a little jealous that he has such a great new toy. After my time at the Team Beef booth, we headed over to the hotel where I was going to drop Rob off. He inquired for me if there were any rooms available. I had originally planned on crashing at my brother's house in St. Charles, but logistically this made so much more sense that I opted to stay at the same hotel where Rob was staying. After chilling for a couple of hours in my room, Rob and I headed down to Lombardos with the rest of the Pace team. I was Rob's plus one. We had a very enjoyable meal and I was absolutely stuffed after the meal, I just knew that I was ready for a good day on Sunday. I was noticing that I was having a little cough, so I took a small 1/2 tab of Benadryl to fight off any pollen issues. </div>
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Being so close to the starting line has so many benefits. You can sleep later and you don't feel the stress of finding a parking space, etc. After a small breakfast of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, I walked with Rob and the pacers toward the start. I was hoping to make the Marathon Maniac picture at 7:15 but wasn't sure where the St. Louis Memorial was. After getting to the starting line, I milled around watching all the people gather. About 7:10 I saw Brian Wright and he was trying to find the MM picture too. We actually jogged down about 1/2 mile looking for it and then decided to turn around. After coming back to the starting line, I attempted to connect with Stephanie Davenport and Cara Whitney. Cara was doing her first marathon and I wanted to give her some encouragement. The corrals were so packed that it was impossible to catch up with either of them. I was able to get close to Rob and his pacing group. This was a huge day for him as he trying to redeem himself from an overheated pacing at the same event last year in which he through the pacing sign in the trash. He was thoroughly prepared for this one and I was sure that he would do great. </div>
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I had originally committed to attempt to run with Rob and the 4:30 pace group. I wasn't sure how I would do that using my 4:1 strategy. I really didn't want to falter at the end, so I took off pretty quick in the first 13.1. The first 6 miles weren't too bad. I had to stop and pee at mile 5.5 and that was my slowest mile (10:33) in the first half. With the temps already in the high 60s, I was already dumping water on myself when I got the chance. At mile 6, I noticed that my bandaids had come off my nipples because they were wet. I was starting to get some abrasions. I decided to take off my shirt and run with it in my hand. I came through the half at 2:09:33 and was pretty sure that I could hold that or be really close. The section through Forest Park was tough as it had some hilly sections. At mile 15, I finally saw a guy with vaseline on some sticks that he was passing out. I grabbed that stick and put the vaseline on. I put my shirt back on and had no more chaffing issues. I knew if I could stay strong until mile 20, the last 6 wouldn't be too bad as they were mostly downhill. </div>
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After hitting mile 20, I was able to keep gutting it out at the 4:1 pace. I felt confident that I would be in under 4:25, so I gave myself permission to add a couple of extra walk segments at mile 23 and 25. I came in at 4:22:25 and was really glad to be done. This was my 4th marathon of the year and was very enjoyable. </div>Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-46133277841834711242012-04-23T14:34:00.000-05:002012-04-23T14:34:06.822-05:00Shamrock Virginia Beach Marathon 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKvN1Cw73iTkpB6UaOnwrTHfk_q_7Fhv5x8zrDKNL_xbF4QT-igNqFG81s4e_f0_0L3iqhB9iLjdPZXx_QJxxX75y5dh3wB1IziV8Yj9wUaEcPXSfYfDOILZ0VZ7gOj39xKefvDw/s1600/IMAGE_2B8C14D1-2755-48DE-8D21-C48BFDA78937.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKvN1Cw73iTkpB6UaOnwrTHfk_q_7Fhv5x8zrDKNL_xbF4QT-igNqFG81s4e_f0_0L3iqhB9iLjdPZXx_QJxxX75y5dh3wB1IziV8Yj9wUaEcPXSfYfDOILZ0VZ7gOj39xKefvDw/s320/IMAGE_2B8C14D1-2755-48DE-8D21-C48BFDA78937.JPG" width="320" /></a>I have been noticing the Shamrock Yuengling Marathon Advertisements in the Runners world magazine for the past several years and I always thought it looked like a lot of fun. When I discovered that I was going to be in Washington DC that week for work, I quickly figured out a way to get the race on my agenda. The girls were on spring break that week and I thought it would be fun to take them back to DC as teenagers. Brittany couldn't attend this year because of soccer practice. Susan had to work as well.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emily showing her power in DC.</td></tr>
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The girls had fun touring DC while I was working on Thursday. The girls and I managed to sneak in a quick 3 miler on Friday morning before we left DC. My left gluteus was bugging me and I started to worry a little about how I would feel during the marathon.The race was scheduled for Sunday, so Friday we got the rental car and headed southeast towards VA Beach. Our plan was to relax Friday evening and the girls wanted to shop on Saturday. The traffic heading out of DC on Friday was insanity all the way to Richmond. Heading into Norfolk on Friday was also pretty crazy. We got to the packet pick up. I was feeling anxious about this marathon because I was coming off a small case of influenza 1 week prior. I knew I could do the distance, I just wanted to feel good after the race.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtney and I at Ruby Tuesday</td></tr>
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Saturday the girls and I slept in a little bit and had a nice breakfast. We headed out to the local mall. I caught a flick (21 jumpstreet) and they shopped for spring clothes. After the movie, I grabbed some pizza at the food court and caught up with the girls. The weather was starting to change a little outdoors and we headed off to the go-kart track. We had a very brief but enjoyable visit to Motorworld. The rest of the day we debated on whether or not to do any more activities. Bowling was ridiculously expensive in this region, so we focused on finding a nice restaurant to eat for the evening. We settled on Ruby Tuesday very close to our hotel and headed over there. It was a fun evening and I loaded up on pasta as I like to do. Emily continued to read the Hunger Games and was having a very hard time putting the book down.<br />
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We got back to the hotel and relaxed the rest of the evening. The next morning, I had decided to forego the free shuttle to the race area, because I was concerned about getting back on time. I drove over to the starting area and attempted to look for a parking spot. I was hoping to find a free spot, but I wound up paying a guy $10 to park at his dad's business lot. This concerned me a little as I didn't want to get my rental car towed (if the guy was scamming me). But there were others there as well, so I figured it would be a safe bet. I walked over to the beach area and found the other Marathon Maniacs for the picture.<br />
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We had a nice picture with King Neptune and I headed over to drop my gear check bag. I still had a little cough that I was battling and I vowed to myself to try and take it easy.<br />
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After dropping off my gear, I had about an hour or so to kill. I walked over to the starting line area and milled around trying to keep warm. I had my arm warmers on but it was a little chilly. I spoke with a couple of runners for about 15 minutes, chatting about college basketball, etc.<br />
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It was finally getting around to lining up for this thing. The half marathon had started at 7, so our start was at 8:30. That is a little late for my tastes.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1 hour until the race</td></tr>
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The race started promptly at 8:30 and I started my interval timer on my watch. What I had not realized was that my watch was still set from my 1/2 marathon settings from Little Rock (run 4: walk 30 seconds). I decided to not attempt to change it and went with the 30 second walk segments.<br />
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The first 3 miles, I completely missed the mile markers and by the time I hit my split I was around 27:45. I knew I was running a little quick. This course was essentially flat and had a bridge we had to run over at mile 2.5 and then again at 10 miles.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bridge at mile 2.5</td></tr>
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There were a lot of runners out there and it was fun to run through all of the military sections of<br />
the course. There was one portion around mile 8-9 where we ran through what I think was Marine barracks. Several of the guys came out and cheered for us as we ran by. Pretty good considering it was Sunday morning.<br />
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I came through the half split in 2:03:55 and was thinking to myself "I did that way too quick". By the time I hit mile 20, I was texting Rob and Susan and letting them know I was slowing way down.<br />
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The sun was out and was beginning to warm up. There was a very nice breeze still blowing. Around mile 21, I gave up the 4: 30 second ratio and just focused on running short segments and walking. I was still hitting my splits but my miles were slowing way down. I really wanted to finish under 4:30 but I knew it would be close. I really wanted to feel good at the end, but wasn't sure how it was going to play out.<br />
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I came through the finish really struggling to maintain a run as people spurred me on. It's funny how spectators really have no idea what might be going on with a runner when they are cheering words of encouragement.<br />
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After finishing up the marathon, I proceeded through the chute, got my medal, food and headed straight for the gear check truck. As I was attempting to get the zip tie off my bag with a pair of safety scissors a massive wave of nausea hit me and I had to run over to the bushes and puke. As I was wrenching, my abdomen cramped up into a ball and would not release for about 20 seconds. This told me that I was severely depleted in electrolytes. After throwing up a small amount, I got my bag and slowly walked to my car. I got to the rental car and sat inside for a couple of minutes trying to recover. I plugged my phone in and charged it as it was almost dead. I got back to the hotel and walked in around 1:45. The lady at the front desk said they were offering 3 p.m. checkout. I got up to the room and the girls were getting restless and hungry. They knew immediately that I was feeling pretty bad. I went to take a shower but was so wiped out that I wound up sitting down in the tub and just laying in the water for twenty minutes. I finally was able to get out, get dressed and get on the road back to DC. By the time we got back to DC, checked into our hotel and walked to the nearest restaurant, it was nearly 8 and I was getting really hungry again. We had a great dinner at Chilis and we went back to our hotel (Sheraton Crystal City) and crashed. It was a very enjoyable trip and I was glad to have the girls with me. </div>
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<br />Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-77224725693692576552012-03-11T09:58:00.000-05:002012-03-11T09:58:18.046-05:002012 Myrtle Beach Marathon<div style="text-align: left;">
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My quest to run a marathon in all 50 states continued in Myrtle Beach, SC on 2/18. When I set this thing up in early January, I was looking to use my AirTran reward miles to make the trip out. The best airport option appeared to be Raleigh/Durham in NC about 220 miles from MB. Fortunately my co-worker Julie lived close by and offered me some hospitality for when I was traveling in. I arrived on Thursday evening and we enjoyed some conversation. Friday morning, they made me a great breakfast of bacon and eggs and we sat around the breakfast table having more enjoyable conversation.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and my new buddy Lauryn.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A rest stop in NC</td></tr>
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The weather was shaping up for a beautiful weekend in SC as I traveled south east towards the coast.<br />
My friend Joel Maxwell had offered me a bed to crash in but I have an aversion to hide a beds and I politely declined his offer. I had booked a hotel room at the Springmaid Beach Resort on Hotwire for about $50 but really wasn't thinking that it would be that great for that price. I arrived to the expo between 1 and 2 and wasn't really impressed with anything there. I decided to drive to my hotel to see if I could check in a little early to chill in my room. They let me check in but told me my room would not be ready until 4. I walked out on the pier and took some pictures and then decided to drive back out to the strip to obtain some food for the next morning.<br />
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I settled on a Dollar General and was able to get some Jif 2 Go packs and a loaf of bread. I scouted out the strip for a place to eat some pre-race pasta later. I had tentatively talked with a couple of Maniacs from Springfield about meeting up with them for dinner but they weren't to arrive for some time later. After getting back to the hotel around 3:45 the front desk staff continued to insist that housekeeping wasn't done with my room and I spoke with a manager about getting me another one. He was very accommodating but you can tell that rooms booked with Hotwire definitely are given a lower status because the hotel doesn't make as much on those rooms. After getting all of my clothes laid out for the next day, I decided that I wanted to get the pasta meal done earlier than later.<br />
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I drove down the strip and found a little local joint that had pizza and pasta on their sign. The spaghetti was respectable and a perfect size. The waiter was a local runner and we chatted about the race the next day as there was no one else even in the restaurant at that time. After I finished eating I headed back over to the expo to meet up with my local running Maniacs and while I was there I ran into Joel. He was heading over to the 5k area to watch his son Jeremiah run. We talked about heading to the race together the next morning and we settled on me picking him up at his hotel so his wife wouldn't have to get up so early to drive him in. I chilled at the expo for a few more minutes until Brian, Adam and the other Springfield runners had gotten there to pick up their packets. I met up with them at Carrabas restaurant to enjoy some conversation and meet some new people. I had a great time as watched these guys stuff themselves with pasta and I sipped on water. It was such a great time. I headed back to the hotel, hoping to get some sleep as the morning would be coming quickly.<br />
<b>Race morning</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joel and me</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brian Wright, Adam Irvin and myself.</td></tr>
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After some decent sleep, I got up and ate a peanut butter sandwich. I didn't drink any coffee as I usually do because I wanted to use my 5 hour energy for the race and I didn't want the diuretic effect. I headed down to pick up Joel and we had a nice chat on our way to the race. The parking was about 1/2 a mile away from the starting line. It was still pretty dark when we arrived. I decided to use a drop bag because I didn't want to carry the car keys the entire race. I wasn't sure what to expect of myself for today's event. I knew the course was flat and the weather would be decent. Right before the start of the race, I drank the 5 hour energy.<br />
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The first few miles I did my best to settle into my plan for the day, attempt to run another negative split marathon. The first mile I looked down and my split was 9:09 and I thought to myself I really need to back it down. My next mile I did in 9:41 so I had done a good job in reeling in my pace. For the first half I held that pace around 9:35.<br />
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Around mile 9 I started having some back pain. I had forgotten my little bag of tylenol that I usually carry for a halfway med stop. Another maniac offered me some Ibuprofen 800 and I gladly accepted it. I thought her name was Magda but I can't seem to track her down now. I hit the half split at 2:05:05 so I thought my dream of a negative split was in serious jeopardy, but I decided to keep pushing hard. At mile 18 it was a little bit sad to see another runner had collapsed on the course and there were other runners as well as paramedics who were doing CPR on him. I'm not sure if that person made it or not. I think they were getting ready to load them into the ambulance so I think they probably did live. I caught up to Adam at 18.5 and we exchanged greetings as I moved past him. We had talked the night before about his strategy of going hard as long as he can then walking it in. He wasn't walking at this point. At mile 20, I was still feeling pretty good though the sun was out and was beginning to heat up. I made a point of dumping a cup of cold water on my head at every water stop to keep me from overheating. To this point in my running career I had only one time run faster than 4:17 and that was a brutal 3:59:59 marathon in 2009 in Tulsa. I had a feeling that today was going to be a good day from a time standpoint.<br />
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As I got closer to the finish, my hunger for the negative split was still there though I was pretty sure I wasn't going to get it. I hit the 26 mile mark right under 4:10 so I knew I was going to be a tad over. I finished strong through the chute and hit 4:11:38. For the first time in many marathons, I wasn't nauseous but I started yelling "chocolate milk" and I had a big smile on my face. For the first time in many marathons, I had not carried any water bottles and I had successfully fueled on Clif Shot blocks and water.Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-73409739117307453372012-01-08T09:31:00.000-06:002012-01-08T09:31:40.174-06:002012 Mississippi Blues MarathonLooking back on 2011, my running had taken a little bit of a step back time wise. My last several events I had struggled to maintain a steady pace and finished just under 5 hours. I know it's not about the time you get but the time you have, but I had definitely experienced a drop in my marathon fitness related to ineffective training and mental preparation for those events. I was determined to start off 2012 with a different approach and went into this event with the goal of having a negative split. This idea was presented to me by Rob and he even offered me a free Frosty if I could complete the task. I had managed to negative split on two different events, 2010 Rocket City and 2011 Little Rock. I managed to pick up some new Zensa calf sleeves from the expo. They were the perfect size and seemed to provided a good amount of needed compression. When we walked out of the hotel, it was quite foggy and it looked like it might rain on us. The temp was 55 degrees with about 80% humidity. We were attempting to get to the capitol building for the Marathon Maniac picture. We got to the capitol at 6:30 but no one was there. We walked down to the race start and someone told us it was at the old capitol building. Bummer, we missed the photo. We hung out for a few minutes and conversed with the other maniacs as we got ready to gear it up. I was planning on using the timer on my watch and not use my Nike GPS app or my Garmin 310xt. I had a focus of marking my splits at the markers. The markers will well set up, but I did miss a few during the race. While waiting to start I met a maniac from KC by the name of Amy Reed, she was shooting for her 4 star streak and was excited about doing the event. We chatted about pacing strategy, etc. When I hit the first 4 minute mark, one of the local maniacs from Ozark, Chris Revoir asked to run/walk with me. I said sure as I always enjoy company during a run. Chris and I ran and talked about all kinds of things. The first mile split we hit at 10:53. At first I thought that was a little slow, but then I remembered my goal for the day and I thought that it might work out okay. Interestingly enough the 4:40 pacer was right in front of us and I wondered if I would have enough to come in ahead of him. Around mile 4 or so, we caught up to Amy and she started doing a run/walk mix with us. She hung with us for a mile or so but then decided our run pace was a little too quick for her. I started to feel the need to pee, but kept trying to put it off because I didn't want to wait in line at the port a potty. At mile 10, I told Chris to be on the look out for a place I can duck into to go. Pretty soon I spotted a trash dumpster inside an enclosed area. I ducked in there took care of my business and got back out on the road. I caught up to him just past the 11 mile marker. We ran together until we hit the halfway mark (2:17:30) and Chris thanked me and told me to go on without him. I obliged and stepped it up for the next several miles trying to be cognizant of my goal "Negative Split!" I kept an eye on my splits and they were very consistent between 10:15 and 10:25 every mile. Around mile 22, a volunteer said "you're on pace for a 4:32". I thought to myself, we'll see about that. Surprisingly, I continued to feel strong and was envisioning finishing the last mile without a walk segment. This course got tough over the last couple of miles as there were some difficult hills thrown at us. At the mile 24 marker, they were playing James Brown and started dancing for the spectators. I was feeling the energy and knowing that it was going to be a good day. Rob called me right before the 25 mile marker and asked me where I was. I think he was surprised that I was almost done and it encouraged me to hammer it in. At 25 I knew I had some time to play with but was just focused on finishing strong and not fading in the last mile. The last .2 was all uphill into the finish and it was very difficult. Rob was there at the finish line getting some video and I knew that I had accomplished my goal. I got my medal, water and we headed to the food tent as I did my usual "fight off the puking" feeling that I have after almost every marathon. We walked back to the hotel and to get showered before the road trip home. We were both basking in our accomplishments for the day. Rob got another sub 4 hour marathon state and I had negative split. We got loaded up and headed down the road. Saturday events are quite enjoyable as we knew we had a day to recover on Sunday. We saw a beautiful sunset as we traveled through northern Arkansas.<br />
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<embed flashvars="host=picasaweb.google.com&hl=en_US&feat=flashalbum&RGB=0x000000&feed=https%3A%2F%2Fpicasaweb.google.com%2Fdata%2Ffeed%2Fapi%2Fuser%2Fscottgriffith22%2Falbumid%2F5695255219917718177%3Falt%3Drss%26kind%3Dphoto%26authkey%3DGv1sRgCPi4sqnEvpvaYQ%26hl%3Den_US" height="400" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" src="https://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="600"></embed>Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-56174399688764726562011-12-28T16:04:00.000-06:002011-12-28T16:04:00.934-06:002011 Run for the Ranch Marathon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This was my 3rd year of participating in the Run for the Ranch marathon. The first year I dropped at the half due to extremely cold weather. The weather was a perfect 51 at the start though there was a slight breeze. I wore my jacket in the beginning and that was a mistake. I got pretty hot and after two laps around the course I was ready to shed it. I had parked by the sidewalk on National and had to only move 5 feet off the course to throw my jacket in the trunk of my car. My strategy for the race was to run 3 minutes and walk 1 minute. Somewhere around the 10 mile mark I stepped into the grass and felt a twinge of discomfort shoot up my right leg and into my gluteus. I took some tylenol not too long after that and waited for it to kick in. I stayed on my plan to take a gel every loop (around every 35 minutes). I came through the halfway mark at 2:12 minutes and was hoping to be able to catch Susan and her friends that were running the Half marathon. They were using a 2 minute run, 1 minute walk strategy and I was starting to hope I could run with them. I finally caught up to them at the end of my 5th lap and we ran the 6th and 7th lap together. Susan was struggling a little and I didn't want to leave her behind so I ran with her until right before she finished. Susan let Sherry go since she was feeling fresh. I wanted to finish under 5 hours again and I had to really pick it up for the last lap to accomplish that. When I finished my legs were starting to cramp extremely. Susan was in as bad a shape as I was. She was very dizzy and felt like throwing up. After a few minutes to recover we got our food and got out of there. Rob drove home and by the time we got back to Republic I was able to down some Mt. Dew and my leg cramps were subsiding. Thanks to Dave Mari for taking some great pictures during the event.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMQpogHIrVE4TCyqZs7pp3qnw73QWNaU0whkPh4uwV1mTXox58m76iCWyxDsscqHnpgdPqVun7HUh6e11-H_p0nPgU0Tv2gkQK8hgg9r47My7zOhYfFfGNQCJgUWuLBppwU4D9_A/s1600/IMAGE_B0C96343-A42C-42C4-B06D-7B6ABF2AB929.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMQpogHIrVE4TCyqZs7pp3qnw73QWNaU0whkPh4uwV1mTXox58m76iCWyxDsscqHnpgdPqVun7HUh6e11-H_p0nPgU0Tv2gkQK8hgg9r47My7zOhYfFfGNQCJgUWuLBppwU4D9_A/s320/IMAGE_B0C96343-A42C-42C4-B06D-7B6ABF2AB929.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com0Missouri State University, 901 S National Ave, Springfield, MO 65897, USA37.2011031 -93.28099837.1884556 -93.300739 37.2137506 -93.261257tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-71062324505940747212011-11-13T17:59:00.000-06:002011-12-28T14:31:23.451-06:00Louisiana Missions Marathon 2011<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #404547; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">This was a trail marathon on a single track mt. bike course in Shreveport, LA. The starting temp was around 55 with some mild winds. There were a mixture of half marathoners and 50k racers in this event. I started out trying to keep it under control and to allow the gravity to assist me on the downhills. I settled in behind some half marathoners and worked really hard to mix in my walk breaks. I decided to take in a gel every 45 minutes, that worked well for at least the first half. I came through the first loop in 2:16 and thought to myself, "I shouldn't have a hard time finishing under 5 hours". Once I hit the first section of the trail again, I began to realize that the first section of the trail was going to be the end to my momentum. I struggled to make myself take in gels in the back half, I drank gatorade, ate skittles but did not take in enough glucose, so by the time I hit 20 miles, I was feeling so nauseous. I pushed through and came across the finish line at 5:08:34. By the time I finished the nausea was gone and I was feeling much better than I had in recent races. Rob and I jumped in the car and drove back home. Rob did 80% of the driving, which I appreciated. We made it back late Saturday night and had a good recovery day on Sunday. State #17</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #404547; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-18381992781443206802011-10-30T20:24:00.000-05:002011-10-30T20:24:39.939-05:00I needed this great run<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #404547; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;">then turn around. It seemed like the further I got, the better I felt. I knew I had to help Susan with dinner, so I had just enough time to get a full 9 in. I walked 30 secs to 1 minute about every 5 miles. Once I turned around at 4.5, the wind was at my back and I felt the surge of confidence. I imagined my best speed days of 2009 and my 5k PR and my sub 4 hour marathon. I took several pictures of the beautiful foliage. I guess I had to trick my logical brain so my creative side could take over.</span>Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-74868638095600998722011-10-23T21:12:00.000-05:002011-10-30T21:18:01.786-05:002011 Dogwood Canyon 25k<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Skinny Bear trying to convince me to sign up of for the 50k</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dwight ready to rip it up. Dick chilling in the background (red shirt).</td></tr>
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This was the third time that I had signed up for the Bass Pro Shops Dogwood Canyon 25k. I had originally envisioned doing the 50k, but I got scared off by the thought of the hills and how tough a 50k this would be for me. I had offered to pay for Rob if he would run the 50k with me. After changing my mind recently to the 25k, I decided to extend the offer for that as well and Rob agreed to run with me and provide me some companionship. I knew he would really enjoy it. We met Dwight, Debbie and Dick at Dwight's clinic at 5:45 a.m. Dwight graciously volunteered to haul us all down there in his mini van. I wasn't expecting much in terms of how fast I was going to run. I planned on wearing my Nathan Road Vest with all of the needed fuel in the back pocket. We got there early enough to stand around and visit with some of the other runners. Rob jokingly was attempting to get me to change to the 50k. Interestingly enough, the temps were much warmer than the past two years races had been. It was about 55 at the start of the race and not much humidity that I noticed. We started out smoothly and ran for the entire first mile and a quarter. We hit our first major incline sometime soon and it was a hill that went straight up. We took it out smart and walked slowly on the hills, though these were so steep that you had no choice but to walk. We had a plan to do a little goofing around when we hit the last water crossing. By the time we hit the halfway mark, it was starting to warm up. We were having fun though, talking and whenever we hit an aid station we drank Mello Yello or Coke and I ate gummy bears. We continued to run smart and by the time we hit the last mile, we were able to pick it up and pass about 4 runners. When Rob ran downhill though, it was extremely difficult to keep up with him. We came across the finish line about 100 yards apart and the video below, shows some interesting footage throughout the race. Overall it was a very nice experience to share with my good friend.<br />
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<br />Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-29096250358728696312011-10-12T17:46:00.000-05:002011-11-01T19:55:28.084-05:002011 Wildlife Marathon. Concord, MI<br />
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We (Rob and myself) chose this weekend for the second straight year to travel a farther distance, since we had Columbus Day off. Rob picked me up from work on Friday afternoon and we picked up Robin at work and headed toward Chicago. Traffic was decent and we got to our hosts (Brett and Carla Saffron) around 11:30. Brett and I were pretty excited because the Cardinals had won the NLDS against the Phillies. Brett is one of the only Cardinal fans that loves the birds more than I. The next day we took our time in the morning and drove 4 hours to Concord, MI. A funny thing happened to our Maniac flag. I was trying to be courteous and roll down the window after some flatulence. I completely forgot about the flag being on the window. We were being put up by Mark "Doc" Ott. A marathon maniac in his own right. Mark was celebrating the beginning of his 50th state weekend which commences coming up next weekend. We visited during the afternoon and had a large pasta dinner that evening. I met John ( a barefoot runner) and Joel (a CC athlete from Jackson Community College, competing in his first marathon). We had a good dinner and running related conversation. I was a little nervous about the event since I hadn't had a 20+ mile run since the marathon in July. I knew I could do the distance, but wasn't sure how I would feel in the end. I planned on doing a 3 min run to 1 minute walk mix. The weather would have been ideal if the temp had stayed the same all day, but alas it was going to warm up. Prior to starting the event a runner came up to us to express her excitement about soon joining the Marathon Maniacs. April had confessed to Rob that she usually starts out fast and falls apart and walks it in. The event started and we were off and running. By the time I had hit 4 miles, I was starting to get bored. I missed having someone to chat with as Rob and I usually do our long runs together on the weekend. I had been passing April and she would pass me back when I would walk. About mile 4 I offered to help her complete her goal of a sub 5 hour marathon. I encouraged her to try the run/walk method and she said sure but she wanted to change it to 4:1. I agreed as I love to help other marathoners achieve their goals. At around mile 7 or 8 another runner (James Bowers) began doing our intervals with us and the next 45-1 hour passed quickly. We talked about world events, the economy, etc. It was awesome. Pretty soon, the gravel country roads came and it started to get tough. The temperature was beginning to rise and I could tell April was beginning to get tired. James let us go at this point, he was beginning to feel the hills I think. April was being a trooper, but I started to get the feeling that she wasn't going to make it. She told me at mile 17 that I should go on without her. I argued with her a little, but she convinced me to go on. The next 3-4 miles, I dropped it into a faster gear to make up for some time that we had lost. I think this section really took it out of me. By the time I hit 21 miles, I was starting to question my motivation for running. I had developed a large blister on my pinky toe on my right foot and it had been screaming for the past 4 miles. I took a gel at mile 22 and by mile 23 my mental state was better. I passed 4 runners within the last two miles and I was pretty convinced that the heat played a major factor in many of our demise this day. Rob called me as I was approaching mile 23 and told me that the clock time was around 4:19. I knew that I had time to still make it in under 5 hours. Rob encouraged me to use 2:1 intervals. I came in at 4:55:55 and went straight for the shade and some water to drink. I experimented with Pickle Juice Sport to prevent leg cramps. I used it before, during and after the marathon. I went inside the school to take a shower and by the time I got outside after the shower I was feeling very nauseous.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Border crossing picture</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, Mark "Doc" Ott, Joel Medina, and John Yohe</td></tr>
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Rob had left to go get us some Coca Colas. I crawled in the car when he came back hoping that I wouldn't have to vomit anytime soon. After a few sips of Coke and 15 minutes of cool air, I was feeling a little better. Rob and I headed south (accidentally, Rob put his home address in the GPS). We stopped at a rest stop McDonalds and had our traditional post marathon burger. When we got back to Chicago, we celebrated with a large "Chicago style " pizza from Ray Malnatis. It was my 19th marathon and my 17th state.<br />
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<br /></div>Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com0Concord, MI 49237, USA42.1778187 -84.643020642.166051700000004 -84.6627616 42.1895857 -84.6232796tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-69248743735563862602011-01-24T19:02:00.001-06:002011-09-15T19:55:49.194-05:00Icebreaker Indoor Marathon 2011<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9SLK023QIX-7W-af2JJPd6ghoiRkCGnoIQUASHcw1jeR_lz3WLRNFZoYz-zpnWHQVC-J7uMAzGpf9E1E571lJQbzcEMg2A6BvscxxTKQaMBAQZw85mVivmefuH0UC9w9HKF5GFQ/s1600/100_2554.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9SLK023QIX-7W-af2JJPd6ghoiRkCGnoIQUASHcw1jeR_lz3WLRNFZoYz-zpnWHQVC-J7uMAzGpf9E1E571lJQbzcEMg2A6BvscxxTKQaMBAQZw85mVivmefuH0UC9w9HKF5GFQ/s400/100_2554.JPG" style="clear: both; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0;" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK38TjCY1JWTcE5rsnlA-GMcqHjIJD4yPCrYPLd1mZtEUU6BvImucjRvp-TFjgajL6WaEut1Uf4Hdx5aLxRE0ism0uhWT-N5p6lAiFMRil02Nnqwr5S19EENmt1jcw3OQPe4i1CA/s1600/100_2576.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK38TjCY1JWTcE5rsnlA-GMcqHjIJD4yPCrYPLd1mZtEUU6BvImucjRvp-TFjgajL6WaEut1Uf4Hdx5aLxRE0ism0uhWT-N5p6lAiFMRil02Nnqwr5S19EENmt1jcw3OQPe4i1CA/s400/100_2576.JPG" style="clear: both; float: left; margin: 0px 10px 10px 0;" /></a> This marathon was limited to 130 entrants. There were officially 105 finishers for the event. Rob and I left Saturday morning to drive to Milwaukee, WI. The drive was easy as a Saturday drive could be. The event had race day packet pick up and we were excited about not having to worry about finding the venue on the day before. We garnered some cheap lodging at the Motel 6 and enjoyed a dinner of PF Changs Chicken Lo Mein to load up glycogen reserves. The morning of the event we were very glad we weren't running outdoors as it was 4 degrees fahrenheit. We made it to the Pettit National Ice Center around 6:15 and went in to get our packets. With an 8 a.m. start we had time to relax, eat breakfast and walk around the indoor track to get familiar with the loop that we eventually would do 95.4 laps on. At 8 they started us and I managed to do a 4 minute run to 1 minute walk ratio for the entire event. I hit the 48 lap mark at 1:58:30 and I started to envision my second best time ever in a marathon event. That evaporated as the energy drained out of my legs over the next couple of hours. My glutes started to have some discomfort but I managed to finish strong. This event was interesting in the way that I saw Rob frequently throughout the event and had a chance to visit with various runners of different levels throughout the race. That is a very unique experience as the faster runners are usually way ahead of me. I was able to encourage Rob to finish strong knowing that I was getting closer to the end myself. After the race, I felt very nauseous and even went to the bathroom thinking I was going to throw up, but I never did. We had originally planned on driving back after the race, but we were both not feeling well and we went back to the Motel 6 and got a room for another night<br />
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Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-30898209082238537512011-01-10T19:27:00.000-06:002011-10-12T19:29:47.933-05:002011 Disney MarathonEver since I started running back in 2006, I had heard from friends about the Disney marathon and how much fun it was. For three years I didn't have the confidence to do a marathon and after break through in 2009 with my first, I knew I could do more. Brittany's birthday was 4 days after the event and I offered to take her to Orlando with me to watch me run the Disney marathon. The trip started out with an adventure of it's own. We flew out of Branson on Saturday and the packet picket up was going to be over before we could get to it. I asked Rob's sister Sarah if she could pick up my packet for me and she agreed. When we got to the airport in Branson, we checked in, got through security then I realized that I only had my military ID with me. Whoops, how was I going to rent a car without my driver's license? I called Susan and as we waited to board our plane, we called everyone from Hotwire, to the rental car counter at Orlando to figure out a way to make it happen. There was no way they would do it. I called my friend and co-worker Chuck and asked him if he was going to be in the Orlando area and by coincidence he was going to be there. I asked him if he could pick us up at the airport and take us to our hotel. He agreed. We arrived in Orlando without a hitch and Chuck picked us up as planned. After a nice dinner at Caraba's Italian, we got to the hotel and settled in for a quick few hours of sleep.<br />
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Rob and Sarah picked us up at 3:15 so we could get to the parking area soon and not get shut out of the parking lot. The lot was well lit up and we saw a lot of Marathon Maniacs as we walked up toward the starting corrals. I was in corral C. I saw Utah Sue and Doug Care Bear and we had a good conversation before the race started. The race started at 5:35 and the corrals were being started in waves. Our wave started at 5:45 and I ran with Sue the first 9 miles using a 5 min run 30 second walk break plan. At about mile 2, Brittany called me and was upset that she hadn't seen me run by. I encouraged her to look for me about mile 10.5. When we approached Magic Kingdom, I got excited because I absolutely love Disney World and was looking forward to getting some good character pics. I had decided to take my time for this one. The miles came by quickly and there were so many characters to take pics with. As we ran through all of the parks it was such a neat experience. At about mile 21, I met another runner (Tim) who was struggling to finish his first marathon. He asked if he could run/walk with me and I gladly accepted. I think that I would be a great Galloway group leader/pacer. Maybe the 5 hour pacer. When we got to the finish line, I did my typical wings out finish. Brittany and I enjoyed the rest of the day hanging out in the hotel room as I recovered. It was really special to have her there with me. Brittany and I chose Epcot as our park of choice the next day with my free ticket. We had a great time checking out our favorite rides as I hobbled throughout the park. As a side note, we got stuck in Orlando for a couple of extra days because of an ice storm that hit Atlanta. On our extra day we went to Sea World and saw Shamu and the gang. We were supposed to fly out on Tuesday, but wound up coming back on Thursday.Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-37210468306458798312010-12-05T19:46:00.000-06:002011-11-13T06:54:20.639-06:002010 Rocket City Marathon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Rob and I headed to Huntsville, AL on Friday morning. It was about a 500 mile drive and we enjoyed the conversation as we drove across southern Missouri, portions of Arkansas, Tennessee and into Alabama.</div>
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We had a room at the LaQuinta Inn. We had a very nice dinner at Olive Garden and left the restaurant stuffed.
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/SJ3ZZNQTsnk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> Going into this marathon, I was pretty set on run/walking a 4 min/1min. I set my Garmin up to pace myself at a 9:00 min/mile pace while running and 16 min/mile pace. This was a great strategy. I actually negative split for the first time in all of my marathons. It proved to me that I can run faster if I will do some speed work. </span>Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-54285068610333091542010-11-08T12:38:00.001-06:002011-09-18T21:45:01.822-05:00Bass Pro Shops Marathon 2010<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJiWuoVgNoRQ7nHzcp1qn5HCt06CDAmDfdOb1rOPzo4X-ylPPraODhEzNQ872l-dPBjNwURf62wB2uAURdUjl-go6oFhKr7cLthDt6ti9VdErnb4M7efRwfWhVj5VS_nHpgx2iMQ/s1600/IMG_0759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJiWuoVgNoRQ7nHzcp1qn5HCt06CDAmDfdOb1rOPzo4X-ylPPraODhEzNQ872l-dPBjNwURf62wB2uAURdUjl-go6oFhKr7cLthDt6ti9VdErnb4M7efRwfWhVj5VS_nHpgx2iMQ/s320/IMG_0759.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">After running this Half marathon in 2007 and 2008, I took 2009 off and just focused on supporting my local friends. This year, I decided to run it as I was initially planning to run it with Susan. This race was an organizational disaster. The traffic was not controlled very well. At 4 miles some idiot almost drove right into myself and a group of runners. I ran the first 7 miles in 63 minutes and I had a feeling that was too fast. I was using a 4 min run to 30 sec walk plan. Around that distance Rob came out to meet me and took some pictures. I met a guy from Chicago named Marco Lopez. He like me had just recently become a marathon maniac. We started chatting as we ran along. I was feeling pretty tired from the race the weekend before</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10px;">. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">We trudged through the course together and finished in 4:58. I felt decent at the end, but I always feel a little bad for the first 20 minutes or so after finishing.</span> I talked with Susan off and on throughout the marathon and she was definitely feeling the challenge. When she was getting close to 24 miles, she called me and I met her out there and walked her in the last 2 miles. I was a little disappointed with some of the residents of Springfield and their lack of respect for the runners. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Marco Lopez finishing together</td></tr>
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Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-75015390849577665512010-10-16T15:26:00.003-05:002011-08-08T06:00:20.163-05:00Indianapolis Marathon 2010<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Susan feeling pretty rough at this point (21 miles)</td></tr>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;">This is an exerpt from Susan’s DM post</span></div><div style="color: #404040; font: 14.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br />
</span></div><div style="color: #404040; font: 14.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"> “Scott and I went to Indianapolis with Rob and Robin to run my first full marathon. The day of the marathon started with us getting to packet pick-up and finding out we had not registered. LUCKILY they had race day registration. The weather was perfect! It was like 40 degrees at the start and didn't get over 70. Scott and I ran/walked the whole thing together.</span></div><div style="color: #404040; font: 14.0px 'Helvetica Neue'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><br />
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</span></div>Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-33326081282193800052010-10-10T16:15:00.001-05:002011-09-15T19:40:58.532-05:00Scranton, PA SteamtownWHEN ROB AND I FIRST DISCUSSED DOING STEAMTOWN, WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE IDEAL BECAUSE WE BOTH HAD COLUMBUS DAY OFF AND WE COULD SAVE SOME VACATION TIME AND HAVE AN EXTRA DAY TO DRIVE. WE BOTH HAPPENED TO HAVE SOME COMP TIME AND WERE ABLE TO TAKE FRIDAY OFF. WE LEFT AT 4 A.M. ON FRIDAY AND DROVE ALL THE WAY TO YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO THAT DAY (850) MILES.<br />
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THAT GAVE US A SHORTER DRIVE ON SATURDAY MORNING. WE DROVE ACROSS PA AND THE LEAVES WERE AMAZING COLORS AS THE SUN WAS RISING. THE WEATHER WAS COOL SETTING UP FOR A PERFECT RACE DAY AHEAD. WE ARRIVED IN SCRANTON AND WENT TO THE HIGH SCHOOL TO PICK UP OUR PACKETS. I WAS A LITTLE CONCERNED THAT I HAD RECENTLY HAD STREP BECAUSE MY THROAT HAD BEEN SORE AND ALL OF A SUDDEN I HAD A RASH ALL OVER MY BODY. I WANTED TO GET CHECKED OUT BEFORE I RAN BECAUSE OF THE RISK FOR SERIOUS KIDNEY DAMAGE AFTER A MARATHON. WHILE ROB WAS LISTENING TO THE MARATHON LECTURE I WENT TO A LOCAL URGENT CARE. THE DR. TOLD ME THAT MY STREP SCREEN WAS NEGATIVE SO I FELT MUCH BETTER ABOUT RUNNING THE NEXT DAY. I WENT BACK TO THE HIGH SCHOOL, PICKED UP ROB AND WE DROVE THE COURSE. IT TOOK QUITE AWHILE AS WE HAD TO DRIVE TO FOREST CITY (THE START) AND TRY TO FOLLOW THE MAP. IT GOT A LITTLE TRICKY AT TIMES BECAUSE THE COURSE WAS WINDING THROUGH SOME VERY SMALL TOWNS AND EVEN USED SOME RAILS TO TRAILS. AFTER DRIVING THE COURSE WE DROVE TO WILKES BARRE TO OUR HOTEL. WE HAD MODEST RED ROOF INN ACCOMMODATIONS. RACE DAY MORNING WE GOT UP EARLY TO DRIVE THE 20 MINUTES TO GET ON THE SHUTTLE TO TAKE US TO THE START. WE PARKED NEAR THE FINISH LINE AND STARTED WALKING TOWARD THE BUSES. THE RIDE UP TO FOREST CITY WAS ENJOYABLE AND WE WERE BOTH LOOKING FORWARD TO HAVING A GOOD RACE. WHEN WE GOT TO THE HIGH SCHOOL AS WE GOT OFF THE BUS, WE HAD CHEERLEADERS CHEERING US ON AS WE WALKED TOWARD THE ENTRANCE TO THE SCHOOL<br />
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WE GOT INTO THE GYM AND GOT BAGS FOR THE BAG DROP. STEAMTOWN DOES A GREAT JOB WITH BAG DROP.<br />
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THE RACE STARTED EXACTLY ON TIME WITH THE BLAST OF A CANNON. THE FIRST MILE WAS DOWNHILL WITH A HUGE STRAIGHT DOWN PORTION AT THE 1/2 MILE MARK. I CONCENTRATED ON KEEPING MY TARGET PACE FOR THE ENTIRE FIRST HALF (9:00/MILE). I HIT THE HALF SPLIT AROUND 1:59 AND WAS FEELING PRETTY GOOD. I MADE A DECISION AT MILE 14 THAT I WAS GOING TO CHANGE MY WALK SEGMENTS TO 4 MIN RUN AND 45 SECOND WALK BREAKS. I MET UP WITH A GUY NAMED ADAM FROM NJ. HE WAS EXPERIENCING SOME DISCOMFORT AND WE DECIDED TO RUN TOGETHER. WE RAN FROM THE TIME WE ENTERED THE TRAIL PORTION AROUND MILE 14 UNTIL AROUND MILE 22. OUR SPLITS STARTED TO GET SLOWER AS WE STRUGGLED TO KEEP OUR PACE CONSISTENT. WE PICKED UP ANOTHER COUPLE OF RUNNERS ALONG THE WAY WHO WERE HAVING SOME CHALLENGES. AT MILE 23, ADAM AND THE OTHER TWO LADIES WERE HAVING TROUBLE MAINTAINING THE PACE AND I WOUND UP LEAVING THEM BEHIND. I GOT A SURGE OF ENERGY AROUND MILE 23 AND MY WALK SEGMENTS BEGAN TO GROW SHORTER. AS I APPROACHED THE MAJOR HILL AT MILE 24, I WAS FEELING VERY EXCITED ABOUT MY NEW ENERGY. I DANCED FOR THE CROWD AND PUMPED MY FIST. I COULD SEE MYSELF FINISHING STRONG. MY 25TH MILE SPLIT WAS 9:40. THE LAST THREE MILES OF THE MARATHON WERE VERY CHALLENGING FROM A HILL STANDPOINT BUT I HAD THE EXTRA ENERGY TO MAKE IT THROUGH. COMING IN THE FINISH LINE, I WAS HOPING TO HAVE A DECENT TIME. I FINISHED IN 4:17:29 WHICH IS MY SECOND BEST MARATHON TIME TO DATE. SURPRISINGLY AFTER THE FINISH, I DIDN’T FEEL LIKE TOTAL CRAP AS I USUALLY DO. I PICKED UP MY GEAR BAG, FOUND ROB AND WE GOT ON THE ROAD TO COLUMBUS, OHIO. WE INITIALLY STOPPED AT A TRUCK STOP AFTER THE RACE TO SEE ABOUT TAKING A SHOWER AND DECIDED THAT THE PRICE WAS TOO HIGH ($10). WE FOUND A REST STOP A FEW MILES DOWN THE ROAD AND WASHED UP THERE AND CHANGED INTO FRESH CLOTHES. WE MADE TO COLUMBUS, OHIO THAT NIGHT AROUND 9:30 AFTER EATING OFF AND ON ALL AFTERNOON AS WE DROVE. I THINK THAT WE ATE EVERYTHING FROM MCDONALDS TO WENDYS TO ICE COLD COCA COLAS.Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-89408670584799990252010-09-11T20:24:00.000-05:002011-09-15T20:31:29.328-05:002010 Patriot's Run<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKnlQ2U9YMlSGfAp3deVEZGFZHtBy-ScA2fjpSjgL7D8ilBnvg3jH0nAaM8kZ1WmQ5kIyCT6l7o1VlU8vBKkUXdS9BBWMcJMZyEfaUDHblW1wQe9HkVlnsIqHWTljKmfTUmcsM8A/s1600/100_0884.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKnlQ2U9YMlSGfAp3deVEZGFZHtBy-ScA2fjpSjgL7D8ilBnvg3jH0nAaM8kZ1WmQ5kIyCT6l7o1VlU8vBKkUXdS9BBWMcJMZyEfaUDHblW1wQe9HkVlnsIqHWTljKmfTUmcsM8A/s320/100_0884.jpg" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-family: ComicSansMS, 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10px; line-height: 14px; text-transform: uppercase;">THE PATRIOT’S RUN ON 9/11 IS TWO EVENTS. IT IS EITHER A MARATHON OR YOU CAN RUN AS MANY MILES AS YOU WANT WITHIN THE 9 HOUR AND 11 MINUTE TIME FRAME. LAST YEAR ROB DID 48.5 MILES DURING THE 9:11 AND I CREWED FOR HIM DURING THAT DAY. TODAY WE BOTH SIGNED UP FOR THE MARATHON AND WERE EXCITED ABOUT DOING THE EVENT. THE WEATHER WAS ABOUT 77 DEGREES AT THE 12 NOON START AND WAS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE LOW 80S. THE SUN WAS QUITE BRIGHT AND I GOT REALLY WARM AFTER THE FIRST HALF (2:04). I BEGAN TO SLOW DOWN AT MILE 18 AND ROB WAS REALLY STRUGGLING TO MAINTAIN HIS MOTIVATION. HE HAD ALSO GONE OUT FAST (13.1 IN 1:45). I’M NOT SURE EXACTLY WHEN WE STARTED RUN/WALKING TOGETHER, BUT IT WAS ENJOYABLE TO HAVE SOMEONE TO SUFFER WITH. I DRANK SOME</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-family: ComicSansMS, 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10px; line-height: 14px; text-transform: uppercase;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-family: ComicSansMS, 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10px; line-height: 14px; text-transform: uppercase;"><a href="http://www.goldenpicklejuice.com/" style="color: black; text-decoration: underline;" title="http://www.goldenpicklejuice.com">PICKLE JUICE</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-family: ComicSansMS, 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10px; line-height: 14px; text-transform: uppercase;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-family: ComicSansMS, 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 10px; line-height: 14px; text-transform: uppercase;">AROUND MILE 18 AND THAT SEEMED TO HELP SOME. I USED CYTOMAX FOR MOST OF THE ENTIRE RACE AND POURED A CUP OF WATER ON MY HEAD AND EVERY MILE. THAT IS THE ONLY THING THAT KEPT ME COOLED DOWN. AT MILE 19, 20 AND 21 I WAS REALLY HURTING AND FELT LIKE THROWING UP. I KNEW I COULD FINISH, BUT WE WOULD HAVE TO WALK MOST OF THE MILES. AT MILE 23, WE KNEW WE HAD THE GUTS TO FINISH THIS THING. EMILY DID A GREAT JOB CREWING FOR ME</span><br />
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Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com0126 S Cherry St, Olathe, KS 66061, USA38.8813958 -94.819128537.2694138 -97.345984 40.4933778 -92.292273000000009tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-13937464737257746742010-06-14T20:12:00.000-05:002011-10-18T20:15:51.121-05:002010 Seattle Marathon<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-family: ComicSansMS, 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-transform: uppercase;">WE GOT UP AT 4:30 SO WE COULD CATCH THE SHUTTLE TO THE STARTING LINE. WE GRABBED A QUICK LIGHT BREAKFAST AND LOADED UP IN THE BUS. WE WERE DROPPED OFF ABOUT A MILE FROM THE STARTING LINE. WE HAD PLENTY OF TIME TO SHOOT THE BREEZE PRIOR TO THE RACE. IT WAS ABOUT 55 DEGREES AND OVERCAST. IT LOOKED LIKE IT WAS GOING TO BE A PERFECT RACE DAY. AT MILE 1 , WE CAME TO OUR FIRST BAND AND PATRICK SLOWED DOWN TO RECORD SOME VIDEO. WE PARTED WAYS THERE AND I DID MY OWN THING FOR THE NEXT 25.2 MILES. NOT HAVING RUN OR</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-family: ComicSansMS, 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-transform: uppercase;"> EXERCISED FOR TWO WEEKS PRIOR TO BEING SICK REALLY WAS TAKING IT’S TOLL ON ME DURING THE RACE. THE RACE GOT DIFFICULT AT THE 16 MILE MARK AS WE HAD SOME SERIOUS CLIMBING TO DO. FROM MILE 20 ON I STARTED TO SMELL THE END OF THE RACE. I CAME INTO THE FINISH LINE AT MY SECOND SLOWEST MARATHON YET. 4:39:26. I REALLY DIDN’T CARE ABOUT MY TIME AS USUAL. I JUST COUNTED IT TOWARD ONE MORE UNDER MY MARATHON BELT. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-family: ComicSansMS, 'Comic Sans MS'; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px; text-transform: uppercase;"><br /></span>Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-15578000360132943882009-11-22T19:20:00.000-06:002010-03-28T20:16:41.968-05:00Route 66 Tulsa MarathonThe purpose of today's adventure was to attempt to become a sub 4 hour marathoner. I brought <a href="http://robhortonrunning.blogspot.com/">Rob</a> along to mule for me. He carried all of my gels and my water bottle. He kept the time and set the pace and provided me with motivation. Through the first 10 miles, Rob was becoming concerned because I was running pretty fast. I hit the half marathon split at 1:54 and some change. I wanted some time in the bank because I was concerned about fading in the end. Rob was convinced that we could drop the walk breaks in the last 10k, but I proved him wrong. The last 13 miles of the marathon were on a very flat course, but the temp got up to about 65 and there was little shade. I fueled well up until 18 miles. By the time I got to 22, the thought of eating anything sounded disgusting. At mile 23 I started to feel nauseous and knew that if I vomitted, that would be the end of my quest for a sub 4 hour marathon. I slowed to a crawl and told Rob that I needed to walk some. He gave in, but knew we were going to be cutting it close. I did terrible at mile 23, 24 and 25. My pace slowed to 10:36, 10:53 and 11:39 respectively. Rob pushed me at the 25 mile mark to take it up. He said "no more walk breaks". I ran the 26th mile in 9:42. The watch showed 3:58:24 when we hit the 26th mile. We had 0.2 to go. Rob said "you've got to find another gear". We rounded the corner and turned another corner and could see the finish line. I could see the time running out on my goal. I pushed it as hard as I could and finished in 3:59:59. I ran the last 0.2 in 1:34 which is around a 6:20 pace. I don't know how I did it, but I did. It was nice to make that goal, but I don't like feeling like I did.<br />
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<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/or_s5NVQ9cM&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/or_s5NVQ9cM&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-62626990994994861762009-10-27T19:40:00.004-05:002009-11-07T11:48:29.664-06:00Dogwood Canyon 25k Race Report<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcUpxjZj1tpFneuOQuOhgv2ggl92dK-TZNpexIRoONFfsq8xd-7qYG-gY2SqfxZDXuBxVgIJ9RQedAEZjmjfJnxlOCPiPHMQqkFloW0aNYDQKWoeA-fko-S_4AK_a8PL4qA7mJjw/s1600-h/Dogwood+Canyon+stats+1.JPG"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcUpxjZj1tpFneuOQuOhgv2ggl92dK-TZNpexIRoONFfsq8xd-7qYG-gY2SqfxZDXuBxVgIJ9RQedAEZjmjfJnxlOCPiPHMQqkFloW0aNYDQKWoeA-fko-S_4AK_a8PL4qA7mJjw/s400/Dogwood+Canyon+stats+1.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5401359723366059106" border="0" /></a><br /><table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Sd0UlQ_KDiVzzhm_IMWUvA?authkey=Gv1sRgCJP_gIS7257hiAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbLY5_ixwz3uI_5K6eXcGvvrHO3EmNUJ334pmb57BOHknHeU-YgxXwUpNbNCZNC-QmxlyvkHzWGDV2UR97jvknLSvkfyn-37wZYT53L9ByPik80DhQgFPIXcJdWNlAmnZVzqS8tQ/s400/DSC_0174.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/scottgriffith22/DogwoodCanyonTrailRun?authkey=Gv1sRgCJP_gIS7257hiAE&feat=embedwebsite">Dogwood Canyon Trail Run</a></td></tr></tbody></table> I was so happy to be done!<table style="width: auto;"><tbody><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/bVwUWNI9S3Nb4E9nncsNEA?authkey=Gv1sRgCJP_gIS7257hiAE&feat=embedwebsite"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn2qywf1zaDVEEjr_4D3MyeWBY9lSpbBODpvsHdH3QBvp36vJYupMJ007lHwScj4rM2SQBL2d6SUFNfEZJoempWbNKa2p3VUm_r4lDeI-5ow-5_YdAli1KNv8H7yEJJy4Q7Jiy0A/s400/DSC_0172.JPG" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family: arial,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-align: right;">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/scottgriffith22/DogwoodCanyonTrailRun?authkey=Gv1sRgCJP_gIS7257hiAE&feat=embedwebsite">Dogwood Canyon Trail Run</a></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>This past Sunday October 25, 2009 I ran the Bass Pro Shops Dogwood Canyon 25k. A little background is needed to completely tell this story. Thursday night, I started to feel a scratchy throat coming on. Friday morning I woke up with a chest cold and called in sick to work. I had taken the week off from running to rest a left ankle that was giving me some irritation. I felt better on Saturday and heard that for completing the trail run we would receive a North Face Fleece Pullover. I took it easy on Saturday and woke up early Sunday morning and took Mucinex DM and headed to meet Dwight, so we could drive to Lampe, MO. The <a href="http://www.dogwoodcanyon.com/">Dogwood Canyon Nature Park</a> is a beautiful place and has some gorgeous scenery. The hills were the longest and toughest I've ever run in my life. I ran the first 2-3 miles on pace with Dwight, we walked the first major hill we came to. Everyone had to walk portions of this course. Before we reached 4 miles we had crossed the water 15 times. I had worn both compression garments for my lower legs and they actually absorbed a fair amount of water during the crossings. This made my legs quite heavy. I did wear wool socks and they managed to keep my feet warm even when they were wet. At about 4 miles, I decided that I couldn't keep pace with Dwight for much longer so I let him go. I passed a co-worker of mine, Jill Tillman about 5 miles. I knew that I wasn't running much faster than her and eventually she would catch back up to me. Throughout the run, I ran with several other runners for periods of time as we conversed about various subjects. Jill caught me about somewhere between 7 and 8 miles and we ran for a mile together. I was trying to converse and I could tell that she wasn't used to talking and running. She was really pushing it and I was content to run slow enough to talk. I let her go ahead and figured that I would see her after the race. On any other day, I would have stayed with her to the finish. But, I just couldn't maintain that pace she was running. About the 8.5 mile mark, I was starting to feel sick to my stomach and not wanting to take any calories in. I had packed some fun size snicker bars and swedish fish. I was carrying my hand held water bottle and was sipping on that every so often.Around the 9 mile mark or so, it started pouring down rain. It really didn't bother me except for the size of the drops. The cold rain drops actually cooled me down a little. I trudged through and mind was kind of going numb. I walked the uphills and the downhills were so steep, that my quads were completely "trashed" by the end of the day. The surface on several downhills was very treacherous and I found myself hoping that I wouldn't fall down one of these hills. Once I reached 9.3 miles, I thought "okay, now you just have a 10k left". That was a long 10k. When I got to 11 miles, one of the other runners had hurt her knee going down the hill in front of me. Myself and another runner assisted her down the hill where there was an aid station before we got on a 1.5 mile stretch of asphalt through the nature park. This is where I really was able to make up some time. It started to rain again and pretty much stayed raining off and on for the next hour. I was hoping that these last 4.5 miles were on the asphalt, but I was pretty sure that it would go back into the wooded trails. I started taking a walk break after 4 minutes of running from that point forward. I just kept thinking to myself that I wanted to finish in under 3 hours. People were starting to pass me quite regularly, so I could tell that I was slowing down. By the time I crossed the finish line at 2:48:33, I was so relieved to be finished. Then the pain in my back started. Dwight was feeling pretty cold since he had been waiting for me for 26 minutes. He finished 14th overall with a 9:05 pace. That was amazing! I finished 51 out of 149 runners and 7th out of 14 in my age group of 35-39 year old men. My legs are so sore now 2 days later I can barely walk. I definitely didn't help my cold at all and have started on an antibiotic for bronchitis. Well it made for a great story.<br /><br /></div>Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-78283118129557576652009-06-12T23:43:00.000-05:002009-06-12T23:44:00.263-05:00A great friend.When I was 9 years old, I met a boy named Jimmy Jarvis. He was a very nice kid and we struck up an immediate friendship. For the next three years of school at Forest Park Elementary, we were the best of friends spending a lot of time together. His family invited me on camping/fishing trips. I spent countless Friday nights at his house. Jimmy and I were kindred spirits. In the summer of 1983, we moved away and it would be 6 years before I would see Jimmy again. Fast forward to May of 1989, I had just graduated high school and was heading to my grandparents house to visit. I called Jimmy and went by and saw him. We spent a couple of hours reconnecting and I went on my way. He was heading off to college at MU and I was moving on with my life in the Army Reserve and then college at Southwest Missouri State. Life happened over the next 20 years and we, like many people, lost touch. Thanks to the miracle of Facebook, I found Jimmy a week ago and was able to visit him this afternoon. He has a lovely wife and two great sons. I must say that Jimmy is one of those friends that I will always treasure. I look forward to spending more time with Jimmy and his family and hope to not let so much time go by between visits.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieBQeCL7CA2fGgAMua6SJnqd4TyBvoUA-v6V9qJh-L4BuBHQrrcum01umMzr99cPfhrC4le1yMpBxOMGopaIwDWyVg9J_au7z8VRBEiPZApSuiL8t-XPuC0pRlfgN0fGODvaF-oA/s1600-h/DSC_0240.JPG"><img style="CLEAR: both; FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieBQeCL7CA2fGgAMua6SJnqd4TyBvoUA-v6V9qJh-L4BuBHQrrcum01umMzr99cPfhrC4le1yMpBxOMGopaIwDWyVg9J_au7z8VRBEiPZApSuiL8t-XPuC0pRlfgN0fGODvaF-oA/s400/DSC_0240.JPG" border="0" /></a><div style='clear:both; text-align:LEFT'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-9788771696484529302009-05-08T10:14:00.004-05:002009-05-09T15:50:53.168-05:00The Cincinnati Flying PigSusan and I left town on Friday afternoon to head for my big marathon weekend in Cincinnati. We spent the night in Effingham, Illinois at the Hampton Inn. The next morning we headed about 5 hours southeast toward Cincinnati and arrived at the expo to pick up my race packet. The expo was huge and we wandered around in there for about an hour before we left to head for our hotel at the Sheraton North Cincinnati. We settled into the hotel and called a friend of mine from high school, Sarah Whitten. We met Sarah at Applebees and had a nice conversation while we watched the Kentucky Derby. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to relax. I had intended to go to bed early but Rob had a plan to come by the hotel and stay with me, instead of me picking him up early the next morning. Unfortunately for me, Rob had promised his boys that they could stay at King's Island until 10. By the time I finally got to sleep it was after midnight. We got up and left the hotel about 5:15 a.m. It was raining ever so slightly. We found a place to park and by the time we got to the starting line it was 6:15. Rob shared with me later that was cutting it a little too close for him. I had to take care of bathroom business before I got run/walking. As I was coming out of the bathroom at Paul Brown stadium I could hear the countdown to the start of the race. I knew I had plenty of time, because the starting line was packed with 16000 people preparing to run or walk the full or half-marathon. I finally was able to squeeze into line and approximately ten minutes later I was crossing the starting line to my first marathon. Since I hadn't run for three weeks, I was feeling good and I decided to run until my right achilles started causing discomfort. I had proactively ace-wrapped it. I was wearing my Salomon Pro X3D trail shoes with speed laces to keep from irritating the ganglion cyst on the top of my right foot. I was wearing my Swiss Gear hydration backpack with two quarts of hotel tap water in it (nothing but the best for me).<div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzkySFl_uB3kWlG4wDFrKFEQFbY3k9o-6gwxo9Nxkd9C-7NDUcedtziaAJ-JIM6i7va5jxeJZdfXiYGgDEhhUovAbqu-j_kGxrKw9X_AYekKTIxOLXbewb_QPjcq4bUJAqFhuVxA/s1600-h/Wireless+Run+Tracker+582009+105805+AM.bmp.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 231px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzkySFl_uB3kWlG4wDFrKFEQFbY3k9o-6gwxo9Nxkd9C-7NDUcedtziaAJ-JIM6i7va5jxeJZdfXiYGgDEhhUovAbqu-j_kGxrKw9X_AYekKTIxOLXbewb_QPjcq4bUJAqFhuVxA/s320/Wireless+Run+Tracker+582009+105805+AM.bmp.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333483489528009026" border="0" /></a><div>The first six miles (you can see by looking at the graphic) went very well. My foot didn't hurt. I stopped between mile 4 and 5 to remove my long sleeve shirt with my number on it. At mile 7 the elevation changed so I started my walking plan. I began to walk the uphill portions and run the downhill portions. As I'm typing this I'm starting to remember my frame of mind during this portion. I decided to keep running until 13 miles and then walk the rest of the marathon once I reached the halfway point. I was carrying my cell phone with me and Susan told me she, Robin and Rob's aunt were around the 13 mile mark. As the next few miles unfolded, I became frustrated because I came past 13 and still no sign of Susan. At mile 14 or so I rounded a corner and a fraternity had a table set up with a sign that said Free Beer. I wasn't so excited about that but I spied a Krispy Kreme box on the table. I walked up and asked if I could have one and they said "yeah man, get one". I slowed to a walk and ate that stale donut. I finally reached them and they were at mile marker 15. She explained that a cop had told them incorrectly. I sat down in the chair that Rob's Aunt Gayle provided for me and changed my sock and took off my ace wrap. My ipod was dead after 2 hours and 50 minutes of playing (I need a new battery). I gave Susan my ipod, a kiss and headed back down the road. I put my headphones in my cellphone and started the music up on it. I must have looked kind of tired at this point, but I was determined to finish. I had been receiving text messages regarding where Rob was on the course and I had just received that he had passed 19.7 miles. I told Susan and Robin that they better head toward the finish line because Rob would be crossing soon. I headed around the loop and by the time I got to 16.5 I stopped to use the porta-potty. It was nice to not be so focused on time that I couldn't go to the bathroom if I needed to. <a href="http://runtracker.runnersworld.com/ba/journal/index.php?blogId=7998&bimToken=ScottGriffithsrunningpara&skin=runnersworld">The technical details of the race are here</a>. Around mile 17 I saw a young lady starting to stagger like she was going to pass out. I asked her if she was okay and she said she was and put her hand up giving me the sign to leave her alone, so I did. Around mile 18 they were passing out gels so I grabbed about three and didn't use any of them. I gave them to Rob after the race. The last time I used Gels it upset my lower GI tract too much. About mile 19 I was walking off and on around a 13 min/mile pace. I called both of my brothers to let them know my progress. Once I hit mile 20, I knew I was going to finish under 5 hours. I decided to run as much as I could tolerate. Taking walk breaks turned out to be the key to my success. I crossed the 26.2 finish line in 4 hours 50 minutes and 18 seconds. I became emotional after I crossed, getting a little choked up at the thought of my accomplishment. I was now officially a marathoner. I wandered around and got my mylar blanket and was more concerned about connecting with Rob, Susan and Robin than I was getting my finishers medal. Eventually I found Rob and we connected with the girls.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3629/3503346372_9f5e0e29b5_o.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer; width: 394px; height: 603px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3629/3503346372_9f5e0e29b5_o.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />We went to the merchandise tent and got in line to get a finishers hat. While in line I met Biggest Loser contestant Bette-Sue Burkland. She told us that Ali (Vincent) was over in the Prevention tent. Ali was the winner of Biggest Loser season five. We headed over to the tent and met Ali and talked with her for several minutes. She was very nice and down to earth. We chatted with her for about 5 minutes and the girls had their picture taken with her. After the marathon, Rob and I headed to the hotel to take a shower. I'm sure that no one wanted to ride with us anyway. We stopped at McDonalds and both got a Big n Tasty and a Coca Cola. We eventually made it back to Rob's Aunt and Uncle's house for afternoon lunch of Lasagna and salad. Aunt Gayle had a friend who was a massage therapist. She came over and worked on my right leg and achilles for about 20 minutes. I wore a compression sleeve on it all day Monday and Tuesday it was feeling fine.<br /></div>Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-46148349545369863332009-05-05T13:31:00.004-05:002009-05-09T10:58:28.473-05:00My running story<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The early years</span></span><br />When I was a freshman in Cape Girardeau, I, like many other kids, decided that I would participate in track. I just wanted to be a part of something. I was chubby and not fast so I decided my event would be the two mile. I did not enjoy running, because I had no fitness. I would run with the group on training runs but always had to walk after several minutes. I took part in a couple of track meets running in the two mile, but I don't even remember my times. All I know was I was slow and after that track season my running career died. I ran a small amount in Army basic training and advanced individual training. My fastest two mile time in the Army was 13:54. I pretty much decided that I disliked running. When we would do the yearly physical training test for the Army Reserve I would run the two mile and throw up after running it. Over the years I would attempt to run, but never any distances greater than two miles. I particularly remember running on a treadmill at the YMCA one day and actually running three miles. I was surprised that after two miles, I started to feel different. That was my first clue that running longer distances had a different feel.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Adult Onset Athletics</span></span><br />In the winter of 2006 I made up my mind that I was going to start running, but I wasn't really sure how I was going to do that. I knew I wanted to lose weight and I thought running would be a great way to burn some calories. An injury while skiing to my right shoulder prevented me from getting started until June. At that time I weighed about 192 pounds. Despite being out of breath often and extremely hot, I soon realized that I would enjoy running and started training to run my first race (a 5k in October). I finished that first race in 26 minutes and 45 seconds. I didn't have an official time because I was carrying the timing chip in my pocket. I continued to enjoy running 3-4 miles 3 days a week until I did another 5k on Thanksgiving of that same year. My time was slightly improved, so that was encouraging. My friend <a href="http://s122036257.onlinehome.us/meet_a_runner/amstutz_dwight.htm">Dwight</a> asked me if I wanted to start meeting the group to run long on Sunday mornings. At first I was really intimidated by running 8 miles. After my first long run, I can remember feeling a huge sense of accomplishment. I realized that I might be able to run longer distances.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >2007</span><br />I continued to train running two days during the week and doing a long run on the weekend. I continued this pattern and started thinking about some longer distance races in the fall of 2007. My 5k times continued to improve. I completed the <a href="http://s122036257.onlinehome.us/results/2007/kitchen5k07.htm">Kitchen run </a>in May of 2007. My time was improved quite a bit. I ran a 24:57 which was an 8 minute and 12 second per mile pace. I hadn't run that fast since my Army days. My weight was starting to come down a little. I was around 185 when I started training for the Bass Pro Shops Half. While preparing for the BP Half I ran the <a href="http://s122036257.onlinehome.us/results/2007/sunshine10k2007.pdf.">Sunshine run</a> in October of 2007 and completed in 52:59 which translated to an 8:33 pace. My weight was slowly inching down close to the 180 mark. November of 2007 I completed the <a href="http://s122036257.onlinehome.us/results/2007/cohickhalfmarathon2007.htm">Cohick Half marathon</a>.<br />I ran it in 1 hour 59 minutes and 19 seconds. It was my most significant athletic achievement in my life. I had a taste for more of this challenge. During the 2007 training period, I ran into an old friend from church who I hadn't seen in awhile, Patrick O'reilly. Patrick and I started running together as often as we could. He had completed a couple of marathons in his transformation from an overweight guy to a new thinner runner. I appreciated his experiences and he helped me learn how to run conversationally. I had hernia surgery in December 2007 and it took awhile to get back into the swing of training for another race.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" ><br />2008</span><br />Once 2008 rolled around I wanted to do a marathon but didn't feel like I had enough time to train after the hernia surgery. I battled various discomforts in my knees during these runs. After a hot summer of training, I settled on running the Sunshine Run again in October of 2008 and participated in my first duathlon (bike and run). My time for the Sunshine run was quite a bit faster than the year before (48:07), but I found out that it was 0.3 mile short. The first Sunday in November, I ran my second half-marathon. I ran in 1:49:46.<br />A significant thing happened in September of 2008. My best friend <a href="http://robhortonrunning.blogspot.com/">Rob Horton</a> returned to running after a 18 year hiatus. Rob was a pretty special runner when he was younger but like many before him, life happened and he went another direction. For those who know Rob, it was no surprise to find him quickly obsessed with all things running. He inspired me to take my workload of running to a new level. I cautioned him about not starting too fast, but Rob moves to his own beat. I spoke with him about doing a marathon in the spring and we settled on the "beginner friendly" Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon. He was also about 265-270 pounds when he started so he had some work to do in that area. My weight had gotten down to 171 by the fall of 2008 and with my best friend now concentrating on running, it was time to take it to another level. Rob was progressing rather quickly and I was concerned that he was going to soon pass me in time. I knew I just had to beat him in at least one race. The 2008 Turkey Trot was the one. I ran it in 22:25 and Rob ran it in 22:48. That was a 7:14 pace and I beat Rob by 23 seconds. That will be my one claim to fame in our running journey together.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">2009</span><br /></span>Through the months of December, January and February I logged more miles than I had done in the previous nine months combined. Every time I looked at Rob's mileage, my competitiveness kicked in and I would add more distance. However, I couldn't keep up. My body just couldn't handle all of those extra miles. Little did I truly know the eventual outcome of this foolishness. By the time February was over, my weight was down to 158 and I was starting to look like a high school kid again (I'm only 5'9). During this time, my aches and pains were minimal. Rob and I were following the <a href="http://www.jeffgalloway.com/">Jeff Galloway training plan</a> for our long runs which included taking walk breaks at every mile. We had started doing some trail running and decided to run a 10 mile trail race called the Psycho Wyco in the KC area on Feb 14. We both had a phenomenal time. Rob wrote a nice detailed <a href="http://robhortonrunning.blogspot.com/2009/02/activity-route-elev_14.html"><span style="text-decoration: underline;">race report.</span></a> Eight days later on Feb 22, we ran 22 miles on the Frisco Highline trail. Our original plan was to run 20 but we were feeling so good that we added two miles. After that run, I started experiencing some discomfort in my achilles in my right leg. I also started experiencing pain on the top of my right foot which turned out to be a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganglion_cyst">ganglion cyst</a>. I decided to take 3 weeks off to let my achilles rest. In the mean time, I started swimming and biking to maintain my fitness. As soon as I returned to running my pain returned and I was developing some scar tissue back there. I spoke with my friend Justin who is a physical therapist and he told me to be careful that I might be developing achilles tendinosis which is a chronic condition. With the marathon a month away, I cut back the running. After a couple of weeks off I attempted to run two days in a row on a weekend 3 weeks before the marathon. I was convinced that I needed to see how it was going to feel. I could hardly walk on the next day. I officially scrapped the idea of running the marathon. I was bummed because I had already paid and Rob and I were supposed to run it together. I decided to skip the marathon and take 6 weeks off from running to allow the ankle to heal. I went to see an orthopedist and during my exam, he discovered something about my right foot. He told me I had a congenital condition called tarsal coalition. Essentially my right foot's bones are somewhat fused together. It causes serious rigidity which in turn creates severe shearing force agains the achilles because my flat foot overpronates so badly. He said I could still run, but I may not be able to put in the mileage I was doing before. He encouraged me to focus on shorter distances. I explained my plan of taking six weeks off, etc. and he thought that was a good idea. I still planned on going to Cincinnati to have a weekend away with Susan and support Rob in his marathon quest. I was biking and swimming and not having any discomfort. I decided that I would focus on doing triathlons instead of marathons. After a couple of weeks off of running, I was feeling much better. I went for a walk at Wilson's Creek with Rob. We walked 8.5 miles and I felt great. The walking didn't irritate the achilles like running did. Rob encouraged me to walk the marathon so I could get the finisher's medal. I was hesitant, but thought I could always quit if it got to painful to walk.<br /><div>We went to Cincinnati as planned and I ran/walked the marathon in 4 hours and 50 minutes. For a more detailed account read my<a href="http://scottgriffith22.blogspot.com/2009/05/cincinnati-flying-pig.html"> race report</a>. After this event I can say with confidence that I would like to run one of these again. I was concerned at one point that my long-running days were limited. I realized that with the right strategy and preparation I could do more marathons. I'm looking forward to doing more. </div>Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27396072.post-51027416996979938742009-04-28T10:41:00.001-05:002009-04-28T10:41:36.770-05:00New Adventure<DIV>I have started a new chapter in my life. I joined the U.S. Triathlon association (don't get too excited, it saves me money for the events). I am going to participate in my first triathlon on May 31 in Carthage, MO. It consists of a 250 yard swim, 15 mile bike ride and a 3.1 mile run. I have been training hard and look forward to this new chapter in my adult onset athleteticism.</DIV> <DIV>I recently discovered that I have a congenital defect in my right foot called tarsal coalition. It basically means that my right foot is not as flexible as my left. This in conjunction with my overpronation puts me at risk for achilles injuries. I am currently resting my achilles for 6 weeks. My first run will be May 24. I am walking the Flying Pig Marathon this coming weekend (May 3). I am logging all of my workout mileage on <A href="http://www.dailymile.com">www.dailymile.com</A> it is a great way to keep a journal of your training. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV>Scott Griffithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17464381395813422994noreply@blogger.com0