I had a heart attack on June 15, 2009. Since, as most who know me can attest, I can be a bit slow at times, it took me 6 months to figure out that I should make a change in my life. In January 2010 I finally took my fist steps to a new me and started running. As the running shirts say, I started slow and tapered from there. Actually, I did something right and started the C25K program. On 3/14/10 I ran my first 5k at a blistering 41:29. My first 10k came in November of the same year and was 1:21:42. I stretched myself and ran my first half marathon on 5/7/11 and finished with 2:50:35. And now, on 10/30/11 I officially became a marathoner.

Let me rewind back to Friday, 10/28. Sarah & I went to the MCM Expo to pick up my packet. It was pretty cool to have the Marines wish me luck and congratulate me for entering. Sarah got a pic of the Marine giving me my bib and we toured the vendors. I picked up some new headphones and a special MCM tumbler with the MCM motto “Always earned, never given” on it. I decided that that glass would not be used until I had earned it, so it was put away until Sunday night.

After the expo we went to the First Timer’s pep rally. It was a pretty fun event with some food and cheering items for the kids. Since my nieces would be joining my kids on the course we grabbed multiple sets of pop-poms, flags and other such items and headed home. On the way home we learned that my sisters & mother had struck a deer on their way down from Ohio and would be delayed by a day. Luckily everyone was ok so we knew we’d see them the next day.

Saturday was intended to be a chill day to allow me to rest for the impending marathon. Sarah & I ran a few errands and generally relaxed while waiting for my family to arrive. They got here safe and sound around 4:00 pm. I can’t say enoug how much it meant to have my mother and sisters come down to support me. We had dinner together and then I headed off for bed about 9:00 to attempt to go to sleep. While I did that, Sarah, Thing1 & the gang led the little ones through making posters to cheer me on. I think I finally managed to fall asleep around midnight.

I’d say my day began at 4:30 am but I actually woke up almost hourly, sure I was oversleeping. I got up just before my alarm went off and got dressed in my racing clothes with an extra old sweatshirt over them. I kissed Sarah good bye and headed over to Elaine’s house for my ride to the race. Elaine is the best running partner you could ask for. She’s an awesome cheerleader and will always help you out. I’m truly blessed to call her friend. By 5:15, Elaine, Jill, Scott & I were in the car and heading for the race. After chilling at the hotel lobby until 7, we started walking to the start line.
This is what I saw while walking to the start:

Almost immediately after walking through the arches in search of my starting corral, we got to see a fly-over by a pair of Osprey’s. They’re pretty cool planes and made quite an impact:

Since Elaine, Jill and Scott are all much faster an I am, I bid them good luck and went off to my start area. Once there I managed to convince a nice lady to shoot a pic of me:

and of the bib I was wearing on my back:

Finally it was time to start. The race starts at 8:00 and I finally crossed the start line at 8:20. The first few miles passed by fairly uneventfully. We got a fly-over by Marine One as we crossed the Key Bridge, which was pretty cool. Before I knew it we were passing the Kennedy Center and cruising to mile 10. I was hitting my paces just fine and was feeling pretty good about myself. Life got even better as I saw my sisters and children in front of the Lincoln Memorial. I waved and kept going, hearing their cheers and getting a wonderful lift from them.

The course went around Haine’s Point which is pretty boring unfortunately, but there were some funny signs to keep us going and a cool group of dancers at the point. About mile 15 I started to flag a bit and was doing a 4/1 run/walk to try to keep going. I got another boost from seeing my family, and I mean all of my family, around mile 17. I managed to get high-fives from them as I cruised by. Unfortunately, I hit the wall hard around mile 18-19 and was having major cramping issues in my legs. I was determined to keep going and beat the bridge though. Once again, the family came through as Sarah, Kelli, Gabi, and Dre met me on the Mall and walked with me for a bit. We walked until we caught up with my cousin Sean and his beautiful wife Julie who had also come to support me. I got a drink refill at that point and kept going.

Mile 20! I beat the bridge! Nothing could stop me now, except of course my own legs trying to tie themselves in knots. Nothing like having the back of your right knee seize up mid stride to almost send you to the ground. I felt a bit better as I notices many other folks walking as well. We finally came into Crystal City and once again, there was my family, with the addition of the Ramsey clan. Mark, Julie, Nick & Connor came all the way down to cheer me on. Since the course went down and back I passed them and then looped back to the gang. At that point I knew I was in trouble and needed some moral support so I asked for “chaperones” for the last 3 miles. Thing2 & Gabi never missed a beat as they fell into step with me and kept me company.

We passed the Pentagon and closed in on the last mile and came across my family one last time. I got to walk most of the last half mile with my entire family around me. Thats a memory I will always treasure. As we hit 26, they all peeled off and let me finish. I had to walk up the final hill but managed to find the strength to start running the final approach. I may have walked most of the last 6 miles, but I finished strong and running. There’s even video proof! Getting that high-five from the Marine and hearing “Way to finish strong man, Oorah!” will stay with me forever. Official time – 6:31:29

I collected my space blanket, my medal & my hospitality box and met up with my family. After a few misadventures involving dehydration, extremely low blood pressure, the wonderful folks at VA Hospital Center, and the worlds rudest cabby, we finally made it home

While I loved and appreciated everyone for their support, a few folk need to be singled out. My mom took time off work, traveled all the way from Detroit, got her car damaged, schlepped all over DC & VA for a few second glimpse of her son as he ran by. I love I you mom and can’t thank you enough. My sisters, who did all of the above too while towing their toddler daughters along. You guys rock, appreciate all the love. Ditto for my kids. I’m sure Thing1 & Thing2 had better things to do than watch their old man lumber along but they made me feel loved anyway. Of course WeeOne was cheering her daddy on every step of the way. I hear she even got quite upset that she hadn’t gotten a good picture for her daddy. Cousin Sean and the wonderful Julie who pushed herself just to support me. Thank you so much. Also many thanks go to the Ramsey’s, who probably spent 3 times as much time traveling as they did at the race, just to cheer me on.

Finally, there’s the one person who I literally could not have done it without. She kicked me in the arse 28 months ago and made me realize I was losing the best thing to ever happen to me. She encouraged me when I had bad days running. She put up with Sunday after Sunday where I had long runs planned, preventing her from making any plans. She chased down Gu, she made sure I had new shoes when I wore them out. She did a million other things to help me. And finally, on race day she busted her butt, (and everyone else’s), to make sure I saw people who loved me as much as possible and knew I was supported. I love you Sarah Lloyd, I couldn’t have gotten this medal without you. I may have run the 26.2 miles, but you did the marathon with me. This medal is as much yours as it is mine:

I write this post 8 days after the marathon and the first day I don’t have any pain in anything. I managed to get out for a 5 miler tonight and it felt wonderful. In order to run tonight I had to heal up from 2 major blisters, multiple bruised muscles, 2 bruised heels, 6 different IV sticks between my arms, and general dehydration. It was all worth it.

Would I do it again? Ask me that again when MCM 2012 registration opens up.

~Conan

Hey there folks, I know I’ve been slacking on the posting but life has been interesting. We now stand less than 3 weeks from the MCM and I’m starting to get both nervous and excited about it. The next 3 weeks will have plenty of excitement in them

This coming Saturday I will be running in my second half marathon. It’s the Baltimore half marathon and will get me an extra medal. If you run both the Frederick half and the Baltimore half you get the Maryland Double medal. So, assuming everything goes well, I’ll start catching up to WeeOne in the medal count standings.

Of course 2 weeks and 1 day after that I will attempt the MCM. My family is coming down to support me and I expect to lumber my way around DC & VA while being cheered on by various family members. If that wasn’t enough excitement, the very next day I will finally stop being a contractor and become a full time employee at my place of work.

Yep, it’s safe to say October will close out on a high note.

~Conan

Our Honeymoon Experiences

I wanted to give people a small glimpse of the things we saw & did on our honeymoon. No, not those things. Get your minds out of the gutter people, you’re blocking my snorkel.

Anyway, here is a day by day synopsis of events. I have linked some things to sites for more information in case people want to learn more about them. Happy reading!!

I have linked to many of the locations and items that I mention in this page. I thought this would make it easier for you to follow along. Don’t worry about losing your place, the links will open in a new window.

Saturday 9/14
It was after 11:00 pm by the time the last family member left our house, and we still needed to finish packing. Since we needed to get up at about 6:00 am to get ready and get into DC to catch our shuttle bus by 8:15, we made the decision to stay up all night and then sleep on the bus.
At about 1:00 am I noticed Sarah starting to fade. Since it had been a long day with just a wee bit of excitement, I suggested she nap until about 4:00 and I would wake her up.

Sunday 9/15
After a minor miscue, Matt made it over to drive us to Union Station where we would catch the shuttle. Matt helped us unload our luggage, gave us hugs and then headed back to the house, probably in search of more sleep.

We boarded the bus and did our best to get comfortable. I assume we found some level of comfort as we both fell asleep and slept through most of the drive into New York

Once we arrived at New York harbor, it was time to check our boarding passes and go aboard our ship. We were on the Pacific Princess, what better ship for a honeymoon than the “Love Boat”? When we got to our stateroom, we found a note from our Cabin Steward, Roberto, saying that it wasn’t quite ready yet. That just encouraged us to go up to the Lido deck and enjoy the buffet lunch. We also bought our drink passes at that time. These passes were a life saver, good for unlimited sodas everywhere on board except for the formal dining room. We highly recommend getting these.

Then it was out on deck in the light rain to watch New York slip by as we set out to sea. There was a quiet feeling of respect from the people on deck as we cruised by the spot where the twin towers had been, but the excitement quickly mounted as we saw the open sea coming up. Sarah & I returned to our cabin to unpack and relax before dinner.

We were eating at the second seating, which was at 8:15 pm. We met our table mates, 2 very nice couples with whom we would share dinner for the next week. Steve and his girlfriend Manuela were a couple in a long distance relationship . Steve lived in New York and Manuela lived in California! Brady & Mary were both from New Jersey and enjoying the cruise as his birthday present to her. After a wonderful dinner and walk around the deck of the ship, it was time for bed.

Monday 9/15
A whole day at sea! A whole WINDY day at sea! The wind was so fierce that food was blowing off our plates at lunch. I accidentally pelted people near us with tortilla chips that became airborne and I watched a woman’s salad make a break for freedom before she could get dressing on it.

More exploring of the ship after lunch. Played a bit of slots in the casino and checked out the duty free shop on board for goodies. Monday was mostly our day for relaxation after all the stress leading up to the wedding. It was truly great to relax and unwind.

Monday was also our first Formal dinner. Everyone looked nice in their gowns, dark suits and tuxedos and the dinner was scrumptious. After dinner it was time for another stroll around decks. We tried to go up to the bow observation deck, but it was so windy that Sarah had to stand behind me to not be blown back down the stairs.

Tuesday 9/16
Land Ho! Starting as early as 10:30 am we can make out a spit of land in the distance. By 11:45 we are cruising into the harbor at St. George. As we were cruising in, I looked down at the water by the bow and saw Flying Fish leaping out of the water in front of us!

We got ready to go ashore as we had a carriage ride booked for 1:00. We boarded our carriage and John, our guide, took us on a horse drawn carriage tour of St. George. He pointed out many of St. George’s attractions and historical areas like Somers Gardens & King’s Square.

After returning from our carriage ride, we went to Oleander’s to rent a scooter for the three days we would be in Bermuda. Visitors can’t rent a car while in Bermuda so scooters are the popular way to go. Sarah was a bit nervous about the concept at first. She had never been on a motorcycle before and they drive like maniacs on the island, but she soon calmed down.

We drove around for a while just seeing the sights, enjoying the views and generally having fun. We ended up at a beach near Fort St. Catherine and took a little dip before going back to the ship and getting ready for dinner. After dinner, we took another night drive around St. George and then returned the scooter to the lot. The ship would be moving from St. George to Hamilton in the early morning and we would pick up another scooter there.

Wednesday 9/17
Hamilton! We loved Hamilton! Tons of great shops and tons of scenery. We went to get our scooter, explored a bit and then went to our first excursion of the day.

To start our day with a little zip, we had registered for the Wildcat tour. The wildcat was awesome!! The tour guide was an absolute trip and the boat was fast!! It is a tri-maran that holds about 50 people and can get up to 45 knots on the open water. The fastest we got to was 43 knots, but that speed will rearrange your hair quite nicely. The Wildcat actually tours all the way around the island, showing you all the coves, beaches, forts and even the houses of the rich and famous. We saw Ross Perot’s house, Michael Bloomberg’s house and many others.

After that exhilarating ride, we felt the need to shop. One of the shops we found was Gosling’s Black Seal Shop. This is where we got possible the finest rum I have ever tasted. They also had some great clothes and other cool stuff. Gosling’s rum is the main ingredient in 2 of Bermuda’s favorite drinks, Dark n Stormy & Rum Swizzle. We also purchased a fair amount of alcohol and had it delivered to the ship. You wouldn’t believe the prices, $10.00 for a liter of good rum! After a few more purchases, we returned to the ship to get ready for our evening excursion.

Before we went on our excursion, we enjoyed the street festival in Hamilton. It was neat seeing some of the artists and craftsmen. We bought a few paintings for family and friends and just had a great time wandering around. I returned our purchases to the ship and we were off on our evening excursion.

Our excursion that night was an evening sail by catamaran through Hamilton Harbor. We had a witty and relaxed tour guide named John serving up sodas, champagne and an insiders view of Bermuda. It was nice to lay back on the deck, listen to the waves and watch the stars. I highly recommend something like this on every vacation, it was the epitome of relaxing.

We weren’t ready to return to the Princess yet, so it was off on another night time ride through the area. It was a lot of fun just to drive around at night and see the ocean pounding on the reefs. We also stopped by Bermuda Cathedral for a quick look. It is very impressive at night. After that, it was back to the ship and to bed.
Thursday 9/18
The Princess was moving again at 12:00. She was going from Hamilton to the Royal Navy Dockyard fro the rest of our stay in Bermuda. Rather than wait aboard, we decided to drive around the island and meet her at her new mooring. Sarah & I has a blast riding around on the scooter and seeing parts of the island that we wouldn’t have gotten to see otherwise.

We got to the Dockyard before the ship did and had some time to kill. We decided to see what attractions the Dockyard had to offer. We cruised through the craft market and saw some beautiful work. We also made mental notes to see the glass works and the rum cake factory before we left.

We ran aboard as soon as the ship docked to change into swim suits and grab a quick lunch because we were going snorkeling. After lunch we boarded the Restless Native catamaran for our sail out to the snorkeling spot. While Captain Kirk (really) dodged the storm that was trying to rain on us, his wife Joan served us fresh baked cookies and gave us a lesson on Bermudan fish. When we dropped anchor at the cove Rick, the First Mate, gave us a quick lesson on snorkeling and using the equipment.

Once in the water, he led us on an eco-tour around the islet pointing out the many varieties of fish and coral. I learned that you can actually hear the fish eating the coral underwater! When we finished snorkeling, it was back on the Restless Native for the trip back. On the way back there was more conversation, cookies and bottomless Rum Swizzles. For the record, Swizzles are awesome!

Back to the ship for a change of clothes, then off for another scooter ride around parts of Bermuda. I was a man on a mission due to the fact that Sarah had heard the following legend:

“If a couple kisses under a moongate on their honeymoon, they will be blessed with good luck through their lives.”

As a result, I was bound and determined to find one. I even stooped to the lowest thing a man can do while on vacation, I asked directions.

After securing our good luck, we took some pictures at the shore, collected some beach sand and enjoyed our last night in Bermuda.

Dinner that night was another formal affair. It was also French cuisine. Mary & I were feeling adventurous, so we decided to split escargot as an appetizer. I liked them, but Mary had a problem when her boyfriend pointed out that they have antennae like Shrek. She couldn’t bring herself to eat any more. We also tried Pate, which was also pretty good.
Friday 9/20
Off the ship Friday morning for some last minute shopping and pictures, then back on board by 11:30 for sailing. at 12:00 we waved goodbye to Bermuda as we steamed out to sea again.

I signed up for the on board blackjack tournament and we both enjoyed the gala lunch buffet they provided for us. We also had fun laying out on deck and generally just wandering around the ship.

Looking out our windows Friday evening, I saw lightning! We were cruising right between 2 storms. This made the ship rock and roll quite well. It was fun trying to walk a straight line and bouncing off the walls in the corridors due to the waves.

By the time we got to dinner, some of our shipmates were looking a wee bit green.
Saturday 9/21
Another full day out to sea. More lounging around and being lazy was the order for the day. Well, we had to pack too. Sarah took a nap while I played in the semi-finals of the blackjack tournament. I was losing until I got a blackjack on the last round and got paid 2 to 1. This got me just enough of the funny money to place in the finals.

At her request, I went to wake up Sarah so she could cheer me on in the finals. Again I was doing mediocre until the last hand. I bet everything I had left and ended being the only one who beat the dealer. I won! That netted us $215.00 after the $20 entry fee. I celebrated by buying Sarah a pair of earrings she wanted.

Dinner that night was a bit quieter than most. Nobody wanted to go home. We took pictures of our dinner companions and traded email addresses. After dinner, Mary Brady, Sarah & I went to one of the lounges to relax and chat some more. Finally it was time to head back to our cabins, we traded hugs and went our separate ways.
Sunday 9/22
Time to go. We docked, cleared customs and headed to our shuttle bus to head home. When the bus got to Philadelphia, I decided to call Gary to check on our ride home from Union Station. This started the great return dilemma.

Gary had realized that he couldn’t pick us up due to another appointment, so he called Scott. The real problem was that Gary couldn’t remember where to pick us up from. Gary thought we were coming into BWI and Scott though we had taken a water shuttle from New York. The third part of the problem was that Jason & Janine had our car. After multiple phone calls and some conversations straight out of a Marx Brothers movie, it was settled. Scott would come get us if we got off the bus in Baltimore instead of DC, Jason & Janine would bring our car to Scott’s house and we would have dinner with Scott & Kath and tell them all about our honeymoon.

After all that it was a relief to finally set foot in our own home and sleep in our own bed.

We can’t wait to do it all over again!

~Conan

One of our fellow passengers mentioned that our honeymoon was almost over. “Not true,” I replied, “the trip may be almost over but the honeymoon will last as long as we keep it alive.”

My hope is to head back there next year for our 10th anniversary.

~Conan

Sarah, if you’re reading this please know that I love you more than ever before. Thank you so much for making my world complete and for being such a wonderful wife & mother.

Our Wedding, Conan’s point of view

Sarah and I were married on September 14, 2002. Several of our friends asked me what was going through my mind the morning before the wedding. The following monologue is how the day appeared to me.

Read on and I hope you enjoy it

7:45 am
Ok, so I woke up 45 minutes before the alarm went off (don’t look so shocked, I can wake up early sometimes) and couldn’t get back to sleep. I lay there thinking about everything and nothing.

8:20 am
10 minutes before the alarm goes off, Scott (an usher) calls just to be sure I’m awake. Scott also asks if there is anything I need him to bring. I request caffeine and food as I won’t have time to get either before arriving at the castle.

8:25 am
5 minutes before the alarm goes off, Ryan comes bouncing into my room to tell me that he’s ready to be a ring bearer (that’s good to know since I already have his tux) and to make sure I’m awake. I turn off the now useless alarm and get Ryan into the bath.

8:35 am
Matt (another usher) shows up to help me wrangle my son, and to make sure I’m awake. I leave Ryan in Matt’s care and get into the shower.

8:45 am
While I’m in the shower, Gary (Best Man) calls to make sure I’m awake. (Notice a trend here?) Matt assures him that I am.

9:30 am
We get in our cars and get moving for the castle.

10:25 am
We Arrive at the castle and get all of our stuff into the groom’s room. While I am doing this, one of the catering staff asks me when the groom will arrive. I tell her I am the groom and she then tells me about problem #1 for the morning. The cake topper sank into the cake because the baker didn’t put any stays in the top like we asked for. We figure this one out and I get ready to change into my tux.

10:35 am
A friend and early arrival points problem #2 that the chairs are all off to one side instead of in the middle with an aisle through them. I send him to the caterer to correct this.

10:45 am
Scott wants to know where the unity candle is supposed to go. This shows us problem #3 as there isn’t a table where it’s supposed to be. I send Scott off to the caterer as he is already in his tux.

10:55 am
Matt has managed to wrestle Ryan into his tux and the little guy looks good, and knows it. I also get into mine and point out that the rest of my ushers should get dressed as they should be seating guests soon.

11:00 am
I should also mention that there were several people who were absolutely wonderful helpers. They constantly ran back and forth from the Groom’s room and the Bride’s suite (How come she gets a suite and I just get a room?). During all the fun, realization dawns that the flowers for the centerpieces have been left at the hotel, ushering in problems #4 & #5. Problem #4 is that we need someone to go back to the hotel to get them. The hotel is only 10 minutes away, so this should not be an issue. Problem #5 ensues when a family member is the one to go get them. Here’s a tip for the future. If someone has to run an errand 30 minutes before a wedding, do not allow it to be a family member or close friend. Pick the person that neither the bride nor groom know and is only there because he/she was dragged along as a date.

11:30 am
It’s show time!! Oh, maybe not since the family member isn’t back yet and we aren’t starting without my family. Also it looks like a sizable number of guests are running late. OK, we’ll wait…..

11:35 am
Waiting…..

11:40 am
Cool, not only did my family member make it back, but it looks like the rest of our guests did too. Now it’s show time! We line up the guys with Rev. Peters in the lead followed by Ryan with the pillow and the rest of the guys and I. I see all the guests looking happy and making comments about the guys in their tuxedos. “Isn’t Ryan adorable?”, “Matt is so handsome”, “I didn’t know Scott could clean up that nice,” “Ken looks elegant.”, “Chris looks so distinguished.”, & “My God! Conan looks like Orson Wells”. (Thanks Walter)

I stand there watching as the bridesmaids start walking up he path and up the short staircase t where we are. The first is my youngest sister Gabrielle and I can’t help thinking that she can’t be the beautiful young woman I see, she’s still my little baby sister. Next comes my other sister Kellianne and with her the same feelings. These girls were born when I was 13 & 15 and I can’t help thinking of them as little kids.

Third comes Beth, a friend of Sarah and she is smiling ear to ear. Following her is Jessica and she can’t stop grinning.

A note about our flower girl and ring bearer; we put them in outfits that duplicated ours. Ryan was the only member of the groomsmen with the same style tuxedo as mine and Kristiana wore a scaled down version of Sarah’s dress. Now I see my daughter in her flower girl dress and I’m stunned. Two thoughts hit my mind right on top of each other. First is that I can’t handle seeing my little girl looking so grown up. My mind has fast-forwarded about 20 years and I realize I am not ready to think of her in a white gown. The second thought is “If that is even a pale reflection of what Sarah is going to look like in her dress, I’m a dead man!”

After Kristi, Kathleen comes up. She tips me a wink and a smile to relax me as the music changes and everyone stands up. Everyone looks down the path and here comes Sarah.

Sarah…..

…Oh….

……..My…

……GOD!!!…

She’s so beautiful!

I can’t believe this beautiful woman is really willing marry me. I don’t hear the music, I don’t hear the crowd, and I don’t even hear Rev. Peters tell me to breathe. I do, however, notice a bit of movement to Sarah’s side and look. It’s Kathleen making a face at me to clear me out of the shock. I remember to breathe, and look at my bride to be. The rest of the service is just a blur to me. I remember saying “I do”, I remember Rev. Peters saying “I now pronounce you husband & wife”, and I definitely remember kissing the bride.

Sarah and I stopped by both of our mothers on our way by in order to give each a rose, and then we went out front of the castle for pictures. Now we’re the ones who can’t stop smiling. The reception was a lot of fun and a great time for us. I will leave the reception description up to someone who wasn’t walking around 10 feet off the floor.

I hope you enjoyed this little trip own memory lane, I know I sure did.  Nine years is just an appetizer, I plan to keep this wonderful woman by my side for 50 more years to come.

I love you Sarah Lloyd, more than you’ll ever know.

~Conan

Thing1 & Wee one had been working hard on the C25K program and wanted to try a real race.  We all knew that they would have to walk some but wanted to give it a shot anyway.  The first hurdle was figuring out how to handle their widely divergent running paces.  Enter Elaine who agreed to run with Wee One, allowing me to run with Thing1 and help her work through it.  Now we just needed a race.  Elaine suggested the Autism Awareness 5K in Potomac, MD on 7/4/2011 and I said sure.  I registered the 3 of us and we got ready to run.

Race day comes and we head to the site with Sarah along for the ride so she can see the girls finish their race.  We meet up with Elaine and her son and get ready to run.  Wee One heads off with Elaine and Thing1 & I join the folk waiting to start.  She’s a bit nervous but I calm her down and reassure her.  Finally it’s time to start.  We set off at a nice steady pace and cover some ground quickly.  Due to it being a quite hilly course, Thing1 has to walk a bit more than she would like but she is a trooper and keeps at it.  We crest the last hill and realize it’s straight down hill to the finish so I encourage her to give it all she’s got.  Wow, she just took off!  I catch her as we cross the finish line and hold her as the emotion of doing something she thought she never could hits her.  I know this feeling as it’s swept over me at many different points in my running journey. I let her know I’m proud of her and we rejoin Wee One & Sarah.  I learn Wee one had a fun time and ran a good race, she almost beat daddy’s time on his first 5K!

Another development in the past few months is that I experienced my first running related injury.  After doing the 17 mile training run I started having some bad pain in my left foot.  it turned out to be a stress reaction which is the precursor to a stress fracture.  Luckily we caught it early and I was only off running for 3 weeks.  I filled in the time by starting to ride my bike.  I discovered that it’s quite fun to ride to work in the morning.  It’s about 7.75 miles each way and has become a habit.

Yesterday was my first run in 3 weeks and it felt great.  Chris & I did 3 miles after work and averaged 11:54/mile which I was pretty happy with considering the layoff.  This was also after I biked into work and still had to bike home.  By the time I got home I was a bit tired but I felt great!  Gonna do it again today and see how I feel.  I have to admit the ride into work was a bit tougher but I can do it.  I do plan on driving in tomorrow to give my legs a rest though.

That’s all for now, I promise to write more often and I’ll even try to make it interesting.

~Conan

I said as much to Sarah and she laughingly told me Elaine would call me later to work out details for carpooling in the morning.  Around 10:30 Elaine calls me and starts off with “yelling” at me to go to bed as I need to rest for the 13.1 miles in the morning.  I mention something about pots, kettles and their respective colors and reassure her that I will be doing so soon.  We work out the carpool details, she lets me vent my mounting nervousness and then we hang up.

I finally got to bed around midnight but did not fall asleep until after 1:00 am. I then proceeded to wake up roughly every 60 minutes until 5:40 am when I have to get up, get dressed, walk the dogs, make a protein shake and be outside in 20 minutes.  I manage to accomplish all that, and even in the correct order, and hop in the car for the drive up to Frederick.  Due to a very timely suggestion from my training program director, we managed to skip all the traffic waiting to get into the fairgrounds and were parked by 6:40.  After taking a few minutes to relax, we worked our way towards the start area where i met up with my training group for a group photo.

Before I knew it, it was 7:20 and time to line up for the start.  Elaine & I got to the 2:40 corrall as that was the time we were aiming for.  (Well, it was the time I was aiming for, she could have done it MUCH faster)  Here is what the crowd looked like in front of us:

After the national anthem was sung we got ready to go.  I have to say it was the easiest start to a race I have experienced yet.  Not too much jostling or jockeying for position, just a bunch of people all running in the same direction.

We had decided to aim for 12 minute miles and Elaine was doing her best to keep me from going too fast at the start.  Like may folk, I get caught up in the race energy and start off too fast.  She kept me throttled down and before I knew it, we were at the first water stop.  A quick 20 second walk break to drink there and we’re off and running again

The first 8 miles were pretty uneventful.  We walked the water stops and she let me take a couple of other walk breaks here and there.  I did learn that my kind, enthusiastic, wonderful and otherwise lovely friend will lie to me though!  “Ok Conan, run for 4 minutes and I’ll give you a 30 second walk break”  Either she had a very loose definition of 4 minutes or she was fibbing!    It worked though because ay the 8 mile mark my average pace was 12:08 and things were looking pretty good for a good time.  I was struggling a bit but nothing too serious.

Unfortunately, at about mile 9.5 the wheels started coming off the wagon.  First problem was some chest pain similiar to what I had felt almost 2 years before when I had my hear attack.  I immediately switched to walking and told Elaine about it.  Luckily it subsided after a minute or so and I was able to run again.  That is when my system started to rebel.  Upon waking that morning, I had not been able to use the facilities and it appeared that was coming back to haunt me.

Without going into detail, I lost 5 minutes due to a “bio-break” but ended up feeling much better afterwards.  At least until around mile 10.5 when the next problem occurred.  My right knee, which had given me no issues during my entire training, decided that was the time to go wonky on me.  During a step, I felt it start to go loose and instinctively tensed up.  The resulting bolt of pain brought me to a halt.  Luckily no further pain ensued but after a couple minutes of running it would stiffen. up again.  I was now relegated to a run/walk for the last 2 miles.

The final problem came at the 12.9 mile point or so.  Apparently I had gotten dehydrated and was fighting a bit of naseua but was otherwise ok.  Of course that’s when the course takes us back into the fairgrounds and right by the horse barn.  The “fresh coutry air” smell coming off the horse barn did not mix well with my already upset stomach and I had to choose between walking or “tossing my cookies”  I chose walking for a minute to settle my stomach.

With all that working against me, there was still no way Elain was going to let me walk the finale of the course.  My ego wasn’t going to allow that either so I managed to start running again.  As a result, I managed to run through the finish at a pretty good clip. Due to my joking about how we had never gotten a good picture of me finishing a race, Sarah was apparently taking no chances.  She & Thing2 were armed with cameras at the finish

and Thing1 got video:

According to the official time, I managed to do the whole thing in 2:50:35 which equals out to a 13:01/mile pace.  I bet Elaine has never run that slow before and I’m willing to bet she won’t do it again.  (Thanks again Elaine, you saved me out there!)

Once I got my medal and recovered a bit, I wanted a picture with my “bling”  and Thing1 was happy to oblige while we got ready for Wee one’s .5 mile fun run:

Wee One was very excited to run her fun run and Thing1 & I were going to keep her company.  Now, I really didn’t think this through at all.  I had just struggled through the end of my half marathon, did I really have another .5 mile in me?  I also didn’t think about how Thing1 would fare since all our running to date had been after a nice warm-up walk and with controlled speeds.

When they lauunched the kids, Wee One took off like a shot.  Thing1 & I tried valiently to keep up with her and failed miserably.  Wee one was a champ though and did a great job.  Thing2 even managed to get video of her crossing the finish line:

She had a blast, Thing2 & I made it around and everyone loved the medals.  After a short tour through the expo to get our race shirts we headed home to clean up prior to going over to Elaine’s for a victory dinner.  Even with the struggles at the end, I had an awesome time and am already looking forward to killing this time next year.

Of course, I have to survive the Marine Corps Marathon in October, first.

~Conan

There’s no way I would have been able to do this race without the training I went through.  My running club, Montgomery County Road Runners, had a great training program which was run by awesome coaches & staff.  These wonderful people made it fun to get up at ungodly hours on Sunday mornings in order to run ridiculous distances.  I also made some wonderful friends with my fellow “back of the packers” and I look forward to running with them for many years to come.  I also got a bunch of coaching from my coworker, Chris L, who ran with me at lunch many days and encouraged me to keep going.  Thank you all for the coaching and inspiration to get out there!

Of course, nothing is possible without the support of my family.  They are my inspiration to succeed and my reason for everything.  I don’t think Sarah knew quite what she was getting into when she agreed that the half marathon training plan sounded like a good idea, but she’s been there every step of the way encouraging me.  Sarah, thank you, you’re awesome, I love you,  and hopefully I don’t annoy you too much with the upcoming full marathon training.

I also need to take a second to thank one more person who, quite literally, kept me going in the race. Elaine R. is a former coworker of Sarah’s who has become a good friend.  She is a runner and while much faster than I am, offered to run the Frederick Half at my pace to keep me company and keep me going.  She cajoled, comforted, nudged, nagged, and did everything needed to keep me going all race long.  She probably shaved 15-20 minutes off my time by keeping me focused and keeping me from quitting.  Elaine, thank you so much.  I quite literally couldn’t have done it without you

Ok, next post will have race details as my fuzzy brain can remember them.  If I missed anyone in my thanks I blame it on my advancing age and lack of oxygen!

~Conan

The last 2 miles were easy and before I knew it, I was crossing Nicholson lane and could see the balloon arch of the finish line ahead. Just then I heard someone joyfully yelling. I looked over and there was Elaine R. Waving at me. I waved back and started sprinting for the finish line. I crossed the finish line and then saw Sarah, Wee One and Katie waiting for me. Once I finally got my official time I was shocked to see I had finished in 1:10:15! This was 7:34 faster than my previous 10K time! I felt great and probably could have done it faster if I had wanted to push a bit. I held off since I was taking the girls on their fun run and then had to do Sarah’s brakes.

Here is my track, I’m very proud of my time on this one.

After my race it was time to take Wee One and Katie through their 1K fun run. The girls did great! I was amazed at Wee One as she had never run this distance before. Her most running before now was 3 minutes at a time. I kept waiting for her to ask me to walk for a bit, but she kept trucking along. Here are some pics of the girls:

It was a great day. I even got Sarah’s brakes done too

-Conan

Many, many moons ago my ex and I were having serious problems. We had no money, things were tight and we weren’t getting along. During this time my ex ended up having an affair. As protection was not used, she became pregnant. She never hid it from me and we tried to work things out. About 9 months after he was born we realized we were not meant for each other and we separated.

His mother always wanted to wait to tell him the truth and I let her. There was always an excuse to wait and we kept putting it off. I kept waiting for her to tell him and we just kept rolling along. Finally I realized we were risking him learning from someone else and hating us for it. Things came to a head when I offered to tell him for my ex. She asked me if I would, which led to open of the most difficult conversations I had ever had.

I took Thing2 aside and laid it out for him. I helped him work through the initial shock & anger and let him talk it out. He was, (and is), pretty angry but accepted it. I made sure he knew we were here to talk at any time and we would help him cope in any way we could.

The most important fact to take from this is that while I may not be his biological father, Thing2 is my boy in every way that matters. I made sure he knew that as we were talking on Monday.

There will be good days and bad days ahead but I have faith in my boy. I know he will be able to handle anything with our help. Thing2, if you’re reading this know that I love you very much and couldn’t be prouder thatni have you for a son!

-Conan (A proud dad)

BTW, this post was written with his knowledge and permission. Like I said, he’s a very impressive young man.

The day started off very well with pretty weather and we all headed out at 7:00 am. The miles seemed to just flow by and next thing I knew I was coming into DC. Since it was a beautiful morning, I had an awesome view as I came down the path:

A couple of miles later I got an up-close view of the Kennedy Center:

The route took me across the Memorial bridge and up the GW parkway to National airport. At that point I called Sarah to check on her since she wasn’t feeling well. I was feeling pretty good with my run and was willing to come home or finish the mileage. Sarah asked me to head home so I jumped on the metro and headed home. Final score, 13.2 miles and a new average pace. I got my pace down to 13:20 a mile and felt great.

Now we talk about this past Sunday. I did everything possible to screw up my run. I stayed up until 3:00 am the night before, I forgot to set my alarm so got up too late to get breakfast, and I had forgotten to buy GUs so I only had 2, which weren’t enough for the run.

With all that in mind, I bonked at about 10 miles. Got my first muscle cramp at around 11 and was a hurting unit by the time I finished the course. I definitely learned my lesson. On the plus side, I know now that I can finish a half marathon even under bad conditions.

-Conan