Marathon #2

It's only fitting that I just put this quote from Eliud Kipchoge on our motivational white-board at work Friday (Eliud is the current marathon world record holder at 2:01:39):

"Only the disciplined ones are free in life. If you are undisciplined, you are a slave to your moods. You are a slave to your passions."

This ended up being total ironic prophecy for me the very next day. I would also add: never run a marathon angry or hung-over.

Yes, I ran my 2nd marathon yesterday at the Fort4Fitness Fall Festival. The picture above is the traditional post-race beer enjoyed with my wife and daughter. Jane ran the half-marathon, and Carrie the 10k.

THE STORY
Remember what I said the other day about enjoying the journey, remembering to smile, gratitude and all that? Yeah, it pretty much went out the window Friday afternoon.

I may (or may not) write about it in more detail later, but my boss made me angrier than I have been in a looooong time. Angry enough that I wasn't sure I would even bother showing up for work Monday. It's still up in the air as to how long it will last (I think Jane gave me the green light to quit. Maybe.).

I was seething all afternoon and evening Friday, and ended up drinking a bottle of wine and three beers, you know, to calm down (because that always works, right?). I intended to have my usual couple glasses of wine the night before the marathon, and go to bed early. So much for that, or any discipline whatsoever.

I slept a few hours, but woke up at 1:30 am to use the restroom, then I lay there and started to rile myself into a tizzy all over again. I tried counting sheep, meditation, breathing exercises, praying... Finally around 3 am I just got up and did some reading to take my mind off how mad I was. Eventually I had a bagel with jelly and a couple cups of coffee, and just got ready for the marathon.

THE RACE
It poured rain the entire night before right up until around 6 am. The marathon started at 6:30 am. I am at least glad it stopped before the start, but I was worried about stepping in a puddle and getting my feet wet. Fortunately that never happened.

Just before the start of the 2019 marathon

We left the house together around 5:45 and got a parking spot on the street just a block from the starting line. Poor Jane didn't start her race until 8:30, and daughter Carrie showed up to see me off too and her race wasn't until 7:30. Anyway, I was actually in a much better mood when the almost-two-hundred marathoners took off to the cannon shot.

Somehow I ended up in corral B. I must have turned in a faster time than I did last year. Right from the start I knew I was going too fast. I ALWAYS try to make my first mile my slowest. However, my legs felt really good, and since I was running by myself I thought, 'what the heck.' I was going to try to get a 4:15 (4 hours and 15 minutes).

The first 4 1/2 to 5 miles were in the dark. There was also apparently a problem getting volunteers this year, as there was a steady stream of cars all the way down Calhoun Street (it was supposed to be closed). So my good mood soon started to sour again because of all the traffic and possibility of getting hit by a car.

As I made my way through the first 13 miles, I started to think maybe I could catch up to Jane at the start of her race. I saw daughter Carrie on her 10k run, and I was going way faster than planned. I was doing under a 9-minute pace at that point. I ended up doing the first half in 2:04.

Then I was hit with another fit. When marathoners start the second lap, there has usually been a water station at our church on Baker Street. They also usually have energy gels here as it's the only place only marathoners go. I was planning for them to be there (as were others)! The table was there, a big cooler was there... but there were no people, and no gels. So I knew I was going to be one short. I was pissed! I was pissed at the lack of organization by the race people, but also because I figured they asked our church to provide volunteers (like always), and someone just didn't do it.

So I started the second half of the race with my pre-race bad mood. Then I got mad at myself for being mad! Instead of enjoying myself and appreciating the joy of running and all the good vibes going on around me, I was Mr. Grumpy Pants. Argh.

I plodded along though, and just before the 4-mile sign I caught up with Jane. I was so happy to finally see her, and have someone to talk to.

Pretty soon, though, things started turning south. My left leg started tightening up. I suppose it didn't help that most of my "talking" was actually complaining, and I really started wearing down. Fast.

I think we were at about the 18 or 19-mile point and I just couldn't go anymore. I had to walk. Jane walked along with me for awhile, but I felt bad making her walk, I was mad at everyone else, and I was mad at myself for being such a jerk. I told her to just go on.

At that point of the race it hurt even to walk. It almost hurt worse. As I entered the south end of Foster Park - which was about mile 19 for me - I was ready to call it a day. I was hoping a golf cart or gator would come along and give me a ride in.

Just then someone came along and asked if I was okay. It was one of my running partners from last year. She was with the 4:25 pace group. My head was hanging and I was nearly in tears. I told her I was done. As they went out of sight, I wished that I had known there was a 4:25 pace group, because that's what I would have done. And, again, I felt like a fool. I hadn't been this dejected in a long time.

I started to plan my route from the park back to the start/finish line. Instead of following the course back south from the park, I was going to just walk north along the quickest path possible. I thought there was no way I could even walk another 7 miles.

All at once, though, I realized that if I didn't follow the course, I was not going to get a finishers medal. Granted, I already had my shirt, and say what you want about "participation awards," but that medal was the only thing that kept me going.

I don't know if that was enough to take my mind off my pain, or if the walking for a mile helped that much, but I was finally able to start jogging again. I was going to finish even if it took me 6 hours!

Eventually I could actually keep a 10-minute-mile pace again. For awhile. So I decided to walk up hills and try to run on straight and down-hill sections. I was going to shoot for a 5-hour marathon.

It was gruesome, and it hurt just as much to walk as run. Every time I went from one to the other I found myself mumbling, "Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck... ow fuck, ow fuck, ow fuck..." That was my mantra for the final 6 miles.

Once I'd come to terms with the fact that I was going to finish, and it didn't matter what time I finished in, I started to loosen up a little. I was in pain, but I began to be more appreciative, and aware of other people. This was going to be a good day... no matter what!

I chatted with a few fellow strugglers along the last few miles. At one point I even thought it might still be possible to come in at 4:30. That hope soon faded, but I knew I could make it under 5 hours.

When I rounded the last curve before the Parkview Field tunnel my daughter and the grandkids were waiting. I didn't know if I could make it down the ramp onto the field, but I knew I would make it to the end.

From the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

Right when I entered the stadium I heard them announce Jane's name. She finished just minutes before me! I jogged as best as I could across the finish line. Someone draped one of those shiny blankets around my shoulders. Someone came and gave me a finishers medal and a water. I was searching for Jane. Finally I found her, and it was the first positive emotion I'd had all day. We hugged and I fought back tears. It was over.

AFTERWORDS
We found Carrie and the kids, had our celebratory beer(s), and just took in the vibe of one of my favorite days of the year - in spite of my idiot attitude leading up to this moment! There's nothing finer than being on the concourse following the Fort4Fitness Fall Festival with 7300 other runners and their support groups!

Eventually Jane and I went home. I soaked in the tub - and fell asleep in the tub - for a long time. Jane made us breakfast/lunch. Then we were both napping, aching, and recovering in the recliners the rest of the night. We'd made it.

Last night I couldn't really go up or down stairs without using my hands. We both slept good last night, and didn't get up until after 8 this morning. I was sore, but was finally able to do some stretching. I've even managed to go up and down the basement steps while standing upright!

I am sore, but I made it through this year with no blisters, and my ankle and knee don't really hurt any worse than anything else.

It's too early to make any plans for next year, but I'm not ruling out a third marathon in a row. If so, I need to pace myself though!!! Lesson learned!

THE FACTS
I've heard there were 7,300 total runners. I thought someone said there were 200 marathoners. 171 finished.

I finished in 4:39. That's less than 10 minutes slower than last year, so I was happy about that. If I could trade the two miles at 15 and 16 minutes for 10-minute ones, it would have been a darn nice race for me. Anyway...

My marathon results are here: http://f4f.onlineraceresults.com/individual.php?bib=9080
Jane's half-marathon results: http://f4f.onlineraceresults.com/individual.php?bib=7487
Carrie's 10k results: http://f4f.onlineraceresults.com/individual.php?bib=5411

I guess someone from the Fort Wayne newspaper interviewed Carrie after her run, as she was waiting with the kids for Jane and I to finish. I'm not sure how it ended up in this particular article, but I was quite taken aback at reading it: https://www.journalgazette.net/news/local/20190929/cancer-survivor-cheers-on-others

Here's the part that matters - just in case the article goes away someday:

Across the street from the Liv It Up group, Fort Wayne resident Carrie Feipel and her three kids were encouraging the marathoners while waiting for her parents, Dan and Jane Horwedel, to pass by. Feipel and a friend ran the 10K Saturday morning, while Dan Horwedel ran the marathon for his second time and Jane Horwedel completed the half-marathon.

Feipel said she's done one race a year for eight years.

“I'm just so proud of my dad and everything that he overcomes to run these races and all the training he does,” Feipel said. “This is my favorite week to be in Fort Wayne.”
Feipel said her father does a long run every Saturday to prepare for the race, on top of working and helping out with family.

“Even after he would go run 20 miles on a Saturday, he would come move our dressers for us and just be awesome,” she said. “He works pretty much full time and fitting that training into his schedule is just amazing. It changes his whole life. He has to eat different, do everything different for 18 weeks.”

Feipel said every year it feels like the entire city comes out to support Fort4Fitness and the runners.

“I love coming out here because we don't all look the same. We see every kind of person here all doing these races,” she said. “Just the vibe everybody has when they finish, you can feel it in the air.”

Participating in Fort4Fitness' Fall Festival is “about the only tradition we have” as a family, Feipel said. Even her kids are getting ready to be runners.

“We always have a beer afterward to celebrate,” she said. “It's just awesome.”

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So, another Fort4Fitness has come and gone. I think we started running in these in 2012. Now I will take at least a week off from doing anything so my body can get back to normal. Then... who knows.

There were a number of complaints I had about this year's event, but right now... it's all good. I might be sore, but I feel pretty fine.

I still don't recommend being angry or hungover...