My Curious Life

Chris Chiacchierini is a person who has found a way to make a difference in his own special way. He’s making a one year, one-thousand-and-one-mile journey to help children with cancer and their families.

His goal is to raise money for the Children’s Cancer Association by committing to run about 20 miles a week for the next year. Businesses and individuals can pledge a per mile amount toward his cause, and he’s journaling his runs on the website. It’s a great idea, since even a penny per mile equates to $10.01.

His journey started on September 29, 2007, and so far he’s raised a little over $4,000 in pledges and run over 50 miles.

It’s heartening to see someone take something they’re doing and use it to benefit others. It can seem so overwhelming when looking at a problem in its entirety, but by each making our own best effort to help, we can make a big difference in this world.

Chris has my best wishes, heartfelt thanks for taking the initiative, and of course, my pledge of support.

That’s about 15.5 miles for those of us snobbish Americans. And it’s a heckuva long way to run.

Saturday (July 14th) was another benchmark run for the running group I joined back in March. They had aid stations set up along the way, and while the run was, I admit, quite scenic, about two-thirds of the way into it I lost any track of the scenery and just kept praying that they wouldn’t find me collapsed near the river and show pictures on the 10 o’clock news.

It’s funny, but my own mental motivation is picturing the “good angel and little devil” perched on either shoulder, either driving me onward or trying to convince me to give it up. Ironically, the angel is a ruthless taskmaster who reminds me that 40 pounds ago this would have been easy (at least, so he says) and to suck it up and keep moving. The devil is a sympathetic tempter who constantly reminds me that I’ve gone further than ever before so why shouldn’t I deserve a break (and perhaps an Umpqua ice cream cone)?

Through it all, though, I’m learning a lot. I’ve learned that my body is capable of a lot more than I’d ever believed possible. And that the biggest hurdle to overcome is just showing up. And that those little round band-aids that I never had a need for before fit nicely over your nipples to prevent chafing. And that some products that sound silly can actually be pretty tasty.

Ignore the fact that I was passed by the world’s fittest 70-year couple, a 14 year old kid with ADHD (makes him run faster I bet) and gaggles of women who were barely out of breath. Instead, focus on the fact that despite cramping up just after mile 12 and coming across the finish line with a bloody nipple (sorry for those who are faint of heart), I managed to pull off a nice, average 11 minute mile for the full length of the course and was still able to walk later in the day. For my first half marathon, I’m feeling pretty good.

All in all, I was very impressed with the Helvetia Half Marathon and its organizers. It was well organized, well staffed, fantastically supported and quite scenic. I’m definitely adding this as an annual event on my calendar. Here’s a look at the course courtesy of Runpix.info:

Assuming that I can keep up my training, my next target for this fall will be the Portland Marathon. And in the meantime, I’ll be buying stock in Bodyglide and finding a solution to the, ahem, chafing issues elsewhere, too.

You know you’ve run a long way when all you can think of is how sore you are in unexpected places.

Today was my longest run ever as part of Portland Fit … an impressive 11 miles, which is a personal first for me. I can’t say that I flew along the course, but I have to admit that my pace was pretty steady up until the last mile or two. The worst of it was when the group leader all-too-perkily flew past us yelling encouragement as he ran ahead to meet us at the finish line. I wasn’t the only one in the cluster of people running near me muttering under our (strained) breath about how he was making this exertion look effortless and much too easy. Of course, at probably about 120 pounds soaking wet and with concrete laces, he’s got a lot less body to move around and I know he’s got a few (dozen) marathons on his belt.

Regardless, I did it, and I have the blisters, sore nipples and thighs to prove it. (That statement alone ought to flag a few firewalls and web surfing filters, but ah well, sometimes the truth hurts … literally.) If you’ve ever run long distances before, you’ll find that as you sweat, various parts of your anatomy begin to wear against your clothing and/or each other. Body Glide is a must, but even it has its limits.

Having survived my 11 mile ordeal, which was mostly a mental toughness exercise, I signed up for the Helvetia Half Marathon, paying $39 to torture and torment myself for 13.1 miles in just a couple of weeks. We’ll see how it goes … I definitely won’t be breaking any records, but if I can run 13.1 miles, than anything is possible. Perhaps even the Portland Marathon …

It really does make me wonder how ultra-marathon runners survive what seem like insane distances to me … 50 miles, 100 miles or more. I understand the mental aspects of running, and especially endurance, but there is a definite science to managing your body’s physical limits over a grueling distance … hydration, nutrition, temperature control, chafing, fatigue … there are enough studies of regular marathon runners exceeding their thresholds to suggest that ultra-marathons are in a class way beyond normal. If you want to read up on someone who’s mastered this art, just check out Dean Karnazes … he’s incredible.

And if you want to hear an overweight guy whine about doing a half marathon … stay tuned.

A couple of months back I joined the local branch of USA Fit, a running group that meets once a week to help you train for your local (or any other) marathon with others at a similar fitness level.

At first I wasn’t expecting much, and was even a bit disappointed at where I was placed … I’ve been a runner for several years now, having run regularly to be prepared for the annual Hood To Coast Relay. In past years I’ve run as fast as sub eight minutes per mile, but after a rough winter and many months off, I’ve put on a lot of extra weight and am running over 11 minutes per mile. An embarrassment for me, but also a good motivator to improve yet again.

Over the last several weeks, however, I’ve found that while my weight loss hasn’t been very fast, my overall conditioning is greatly improved. Today I made my longest run ever of just over 9 miles at a pace of about 10:15 per mile. It was exhilarating to realize that I basically ran 1/3 of a marathon and am only 4 miles from running a half marathon. The real shocker was that, had I needed to, I probably could have run another mile or two at the same pace. Come June 9th, I plan on running the Helvetia Half Marathon … doing that will be a huge achievement and a good stepping stone to the Portland Marathon in October.

If you have any interest in running (or walking) a marathon, either as a personal achievement goal or as a means to get in better shape, I’d encourage you to check out USA Fit and join your local chapter … it has been a worthwhile investment.