Featured on www.RunIndiana.com

I have had the extreme pleasure to have my co-worker, Vamsee Gadagottu, here in the US for three weeks. He is from Hyderabad India and we've worked on the same project for the past 2.5 years. In November 2007 he ran the Hyderabad Half-Marathon. While the 10K race is the more popular distance, Vamsee decided to "go the extra mile" (pun intended) and complete the full 13.1 miles. This didn't surprise me as Vamsee applies the same energy to his job as he does to running.

When I realized he would be in the area on the HF4 weekend, I asked if he wanted to run the race with me. Of course he said yes. If I was in India and had the chance to run in a local race, I know I'd jump at the chance. So this small 100-person-or-so race in Huntington, IN can honestly say they have gone international ... how cool!

A photographer from RunIndiana.com got wind of this and decided to take a few pictures and write a feature story. Originally published on 3/2 at http://www.runindiana.com/runindiana.html, I've copied it below in case it eventually gets purged off of that website. Thanks RunIndiana.com for the honor to be featured on your website.

Dave

Runner from India competes in Frozen Four race...
MARCH 2 - If they gave a prize for the runner who traveled the farthest to run the Frozen Four in Huntington Sunday afternoon, Vamsee Gadagottu was the clear winner.

Gadagottu, an IT employee of General Electric and citizen of Hyderabad, India, is in Fort Wayne for a month-long work-related visit. He returns to India in another week.

Dave Craker, Gadagottu's host and supervisor, invited Gadagottu to partipicate in the Huntington race as a way to experience small-town Indiana running.

Although Gadagottu has run few races, he participated last year in a half-marathon in his native country.

Craker, also new to the sport, marked his second anniversary of running at the Frozen Four. In his first year of running, Craker ran marathons in Chicago and Grand Rapids.

Start of Year 2

Today's Huntington Frozen Four marks the start of my second year of racing. My goal this year is to run each race faster.

With the way training has been going this winter, I am feeling that goal is in serious jeopardy. I was able to get in a 10.5 mile long run in on Valentine's Day weekend when my wife and I went on a special get-away to the UP of Michigan. Last weekend I was able to do an 11 mile long run. But my mid-week mileage has really suffered. With bad weather and a business trip to Louisville, I've only be able to get in 3 to 4-mile runs on treadmills only 1 or 2 days. Going from low-mile, mid-week totals to a double-digit long runs is tough and I can really feel it the next day in my extra-sore legs.

Yesterday I ran only 8 miles. In part because, strange as it may sound, I felt my body was telling me I needed a step-back week and also because I didn't want to be sore for the Huntington Frozen Four today. I met up with the PR Training group at Swinney Park to start the run. It was cold and the Rivergreenway was in bad shape as parts that had recently been under flood waters were still icy. Unfortunately one of those places caught me off-guard and down I went. My right hip and right elbow took the brunt of the fall, but I was able to get up and continue on. Even though the fall happened just past mile 2, I was able run 6 and run/walk the last two miles.

Today was the HF4. I wasn't sure how things would go. During warm-up I felt good. The weather was about 45F. It was by far the nicest day yet this winter. As the race started and I had a decision to make: run with Vamsee, my co-worker from India (more about that in the next post), or try to go for a course PR. As the gun fired, Vamsee jumped out to a 20 foot lead over me and maintained that for awhile. That told me he was open to running our own races instead of trying to hang together. The first mile felt very fine and I knew I had a good shot at bettering my time from last year. Remembering that I told Vamsee I expected him to run his best even if that meant beating his "boss", I decided to do the same and go for the PR. With split times of 8:15, 8:39, 8:44, I realized all I had to do was run the last mile sub-9:00 to beat last year's time. I was shocked when I crossed the finish line and realized I ran the last mile in 7:56. I've only run a sub-8:00 mile split in 2 other races but they both were the first mile. After a really rough winter, to run a course PR by a minute and have my last mile sub-8:00 was a real encouragement.

The first race is done and I'm really psyched that my goal is within reach. I don't think I did my best at the Nutri-Run last year, so I'm looking forward to setting another course PR (and distance PR) in 3 weeks.

Run on.

An Incredible 2 Years

Wow, I just realized it has been 2 months since I last blogged. A lot has happened:

- I turned 43
- Christmas, New Years
- 2 races
- VERY COLD Weather

The wind and cold were just brutal for the Just Plain 10K and the Fanny Freezer 5K so my times were a bit off. I'm hoping that as the temperatures warm up, so will my times.

I would love to say that this chart reflects my stock market portfolio the last 3 months of 2007. But unfortunately it reflects my weight gain. The low point of 179.5 was the week before the Chicago Marathon. I'd love to say that Thanksgiving and Christmas are to blame. I'd love to say it is because I reduced my mileage so I'm burning fewer calories. Of course, both of those are true, but the real reason has been that I've had an "I ran a marathon, I deserve a bowl of ice cream" mentality. It's time to get serious again. I'm sure my slower times are in part due to this extra weight.

Training for the Indy Mini has started. Unfortunately the weather (and motivation) have been bad so I've only gotten in one 8-mile long run in the past 4 weeks. I've had to resort to running on a treadmill a lot. Last year, that was fine because I hadn't experienced an entire summer of running in nice weather. Now the treadmill seems so unbearable. This is where I have to dig down deep and suck it up and just do it. At this point last year I was up to 11-mile long runs.

Last night I had the pleasure and incredible honor of speaking at the Fort Wayne Track Club's (http://www.fwtc.org) annual banquet. They asked 3 people to speak: Zach Raber, coach of the Carroll (Fort Wayne) High School boys and girls cross-country teams who had a terrific season, Rebecca Hollenbaugh (http://beccascancer.blogspot.com), a veteran runner who epitomizes strength and courage in the face of incredible adversity, and myself, a beginning runner. I shared the past 2 years of my life emphasizing how sometimes dreams bigger than one can ever imagine can seemingly sneak up on you. It was great to publicly thank my friends that have been such an encouragement. The speech was well received and I was humbled by a standing ovation when I finished.

The fact that the speech came on the week of my 2-year anniversary helps to mark what I believe will be a significant turning point in my life. I have been showered with much praised over the past two years for what I've been able to accomplish. For that praise, I'm very thankful. But, I did not do it alone. Much of the credit goes to my family, friends, medical staff and fellow runners. But, I'm ready to move on from the role of the "once-fat-guy" to the role of the new Dave. I ultimately don't want to be known just for losing weight. I want to turn my newfound zest for life, health and love of running into a life of encouraging others to become the best they can possibly can be. My story is not an end in and of itself, but a springboard to motivate others to succeed. Volunteering to help out with races, helping train obese people to walk the Fort-4-Fitness 4-mile event in September and even encouraging strangers while out on my runs are just some of the ways I plan to make a difference.

One final note before I end. I have been applying for new life insurance and I found out last Friday that I qualified for the best premium rates available. This results in a nearly $60 savings per month for the amount of insurance I've applied for. I started to get teary-eyed when my agent gave me the news. It certainly defines a tangible measure to the success I've had. To go from morbidly obese to top-notch health is something that wasn't even on my radar screen of possibilities when I started 2 year ago.

Happy Anniversary

Today is my one-year anniversary of first lacing up the shoes with the intent of turning running into a serious endeavor. Wow what a year it has been !!!

What was I thinking back then?

I wasn't thinking of all the things I could accomplish in a year or what I'd be writing today. I wasn't thinking Indy Mini or Chicago Marathon or Grand Rapids Marathon. I wasn't thinking of PR Training, Tammy and the new friends I'd meet. I wasn't thinking of 5:30 AM runs in the dark or of sub-zero blizzards or of falling or ERs or of injuries or physical therapists or sports massages. I wasn't thinking about a summer of 130-plus-mile months or road-trips to races. I wasn't thinking of sub-2 hour half marathons or sub-10:00/mile marathons. I wasn't thinking of being chosen to blog my training for the Chicago Marathon or being a valued member of a race committee for an inaugural half-marathon in Fort Wayne or being chosen as a guest speaker at the Fort Wayne Track Club's annual banquet.

None of that was remotely in my mind.

I was thinking just one thing: "It is possible." It is possible to develop a training plan to be able to run a 5-mile Nutri-Run race in 3 months. That's it. That's all I was thinking. Just a simple belief that I might be able to train to run 5 miles in 3 months. Maybe looking back that seems like such a small, easy goal. But back then, it seemed like a major but possibly attainable endeavor.

Looking back now I realize how important that little thought was. It was the most important thought of all my thoughts. In that simple "it is possible" phrase there is belief, history and hope.

A belief in myself. A belief that I could accomplish something athletic that had eluded me my entire life. A belief not built on a wild idea or a whim but built on 10 months of history. A history of new-found accomplishment. A history of successful weight loss. A history of walking that became ever-increasing aerobic endurance. A history of seeing myself change before my eyes into a person I had only dreamed of but never thought I'd ever meet. A history that gave me hope. Hope to accomplish even more. Hope to dream bigger dreams. Hope to believe that the next thing is possible. A belief that drives me to leave my comfort zones and try something new. And so the upward spiral of success goes. Action based on belief based on history that drives hope that even bigger dreams are possible that drives action ...

My belief that I could maximize my weekly weight loss while on the Optifast diet with exercise drove me to walk daily. My success with walking gave me the confidence to try to walk the treadmill at the fitness center (it is very intimidating for an obese person to go to the gym). Success with walking on the treadmill gave be confidence to try the elliptical. Success there led to running on the treadmill,
> Which led to taking up running as an official endeavor,
> Which led to signing up for the Nutri-Run in December (I signed up so early I was the first to register and wore bib #1),
> Which led to training that demonstrated that I could possibly do the Indy Mini and Chicago Marathon,
> Which led to signing up for PR Training (which was the only way to get into the sold-out Indy Mini),
> Which led to Tammy and friend and better training,
> Which led to a sub-9:00/mile 10 mile goal run,
> Which led to believing I could run a sub-2:00:00 Indy Mini,
> Which led to believing I could complete the Chicago Marathon,
> Which led to a sub-10:00/mile Grand Rapids Marathon,
> Which now leads me believe that I can succeed with whatever I set my next goal to be,
> Which gives me the confidence to push on through tough times now, because I have done what it takes to succeed in the past and I am a winner.

It all comes down to the belief that "it is possible" and turning that belief into action.

It all started with the first simple step I took on February 15, 2006 during my first lunch hour on the weight management program.

What am I thinking today?

Today my dreams are bigger than my next race; bigger than accomplishing something new in 3 months. Today I can think about what I will write a year from today.

I will report on how well I did on accomplishing my goal of repeating all of my 2007 races with improved times in all of them. I will report on my experience of being on the F4F race committee. I will report on my continued dream of one day directing a road race. I will report on how I gave back to Lutheran Weight Management and helped train a group of obese people to accomplish their first 4-mile race. I will report on the lives I've touched to dream big dreams. And I will report on the big dreams I hope to accomplish the year after that.

It has been a good year.

The Power of a Plan

This past week was the first week since I started running that I didn't have a plan. And I floundered and lacked motivation. I ran/walked 1.5 miles on a treadmill on Wednesday and ran for 5 miles on Sunday. My legs felt like tree trucks. I've also gained 10-11 pounds in the past 5 weeks. Ouch! I can feel it and see it. It is amazing that now I'm slender, I can notice a few pounds visually and physically. When I was 305, a few extra pounds went unnoticed; that's now no longer the case.

I know it is OK to take some time off. I have intensely trained for months now and I need to give my legs and body a rest. Yet, if I don't have some plan, I'm afraid I'll squander my off-season away and not be ready for the 2008 season to pick up in late January.

During Nov, Dec and Jan I'm going to run 3-5 miles two or three days mid-week and 5-10 miles on the weekend and spend the other days working on my core and upper body strength. I'm still going to run the same intensity: 1 tempo, 1 easy, 1 long, etc., but just not as many miles.

I'm also going to try to make the next 3 months fun so I'd like to run a fun race once a month and try to add some variety in my routes and running. Hopefully this will be what can carry me through the upcoming holiday season and keep me motivated. But I need to make that plan!

Halloween Fun

My daughters wanted to canvas the neighborhood for candy on Halloween. Instead of being a parent that just followed along in the street, I decided to go "in costume."

But what should I go as?

Why not a marathon runner?

Does this really count as a costume?

The #1 bib was the one I was assigned for the Nutri-Run back in March - one of the "benefits" of being the first person to register for the race. Of course I had to wear my GRM shirt and medal :-)

GRM left a burning image

Monday night was 2 days before Halloween and we hadn't carved pumpkins yet. Every year I try to do something unique. Last year we vacationed at Disney World the week of Halloween so my pumpkin was a glowing Mickey Mouse with smaller pumpkins for the ears.

Well this year there was no question what I wanted to carve. What do you think?

Happy Halloween !