CM Diary - June 8, 2007

Entry 7: June 8, 2007

When my long runs were only a few miles and I wasn't race-ready, time wasn't much of a problem. My family was excited to have a more active dad.

Now, my running is no longer a new and novel thing. My long runs are often 2+ hours and I occasionally run in a local race. I'm learning that juggling running and family time requires a delicate balance.

I've found that getting up early and running before my family wakes up helps. This also allows me to beat the heat of summer by running in the cool of the morning. I'm also blessed to have a fitness center with showers where I work so I can also run over my lunch hour.

I also try to incorporate my running into family activities and vice versa.

My 7-year-old daughter caught the running bug after seeing a lot of kids run the Indy 500 Festival 5K. We've enjoyed jogging a couple of miles since then. She's going to be running a Kids' Marathon this summer, logging 25 miles over the course of several weeks culminating in the final 1.2-mile race in September. (Editor note on October 16 - This never panned out)

We went camping in southern Indiana over the long Memorial Day weekend. It just so happened that the campground was less than 10 miles away from a small town that had a 5K race on Saturday, May 26 (coincidence? I don't think so :) ). Not only did we enjoy a nice weekend, but I also ran my first 5K in 25:05 ( 8:05 ) on a warm, humid day on a hilly course. Of course, being my first 5K I was guaranteed a PR, but using the race time predictor calculators, it was my best race yet - better than my first 10K race, which I ran in 52:57 (8:32) on May 19.

On Memorial Day I ran an 8.5-mile long run before the family woke up. I wanted to experience running hills, something we don't have many of in the flat lands of northeast Indiana. What I didn't expect was making eye contact with a live skunk only 15 feet away. Usually I'm curious about things in nature I've never seen before, but I thought it prudent not to stick around and get "acquainted".

I really wanted to run the Sunburst Half- Marathon June 2 in South Bend, IN. My brothers live there, and the course included the streets around where my late parents lived. But that was the same weekend as the Relay For Life in Fort Wayne and my wife really wanted to participate in the Relay. She is a 10-year breast cancer survivor and one of the most courageous people I know.

The solution ... join my wife's Relay team and run 53 laps (13.1 miles) around the outdoor track at my son's middle school where the event was being held. I chose the 1:30-3:30 AM time slot figuring that would be the least-popular and least-crowded time on the track - plus it just sounded like something crazy to do. Coincidentally, someone from another Relay team was running at the same time - Tammy, my coach. It was great to have someone to talk to.

The event was a lot of fun and running in the wee hours of the morning is a unique experience. Unfortunately, my left Achilles started to cramp after 3 miles and by 7.5 miles I was done running. I was able to walk another 2.5 miles and completed 10 miles in my two-hour time slot.

As runners we get the luxury of picking and choosing the races we want to run. That's not so for cancer survivors who are entered into a race no one wants to run the moment they get the diagnosis. It was an honor to take part in the event and be around so many courageous people.

One step at a time,
Dave