UCP Life Without Limits Half Marathon

Florence, Alabama

10-26-2013

My 5th Half

Short story

Time:  2:03:37

Pace: 9:26

13/19 AG

174/377 OA

Pre race

Longer story with a few pics;

First and foremost, this run was dedicated to our friend TJ Norby. Robert and Angie, I hope you don’t mind me mentioning you guys. As most of you know from following their posts on FB, he suffers from Cerebral Palsy. All the race proceeds go to United Cerebral Palsy of NW Alabama to help children and their families. Here is their website http://www.ucpshoals.org/  , and here is the website of the race www.ucprun.com . The organization had a goal to reach $30,000, and they exceeded that despite the cold weather for the start of the race. It was 32 degrees at 8:00 am with no wind, and called for 46 degrees by 10:00 am with full sun. It was a beautiful day for a run.

I was planning to start around a 9:00 mm pace, and maybe pick it up if I felt okay through the race, hoping for an 8:48-8:58 overall pace, with a 1:55-1:57 finish time. I had been trying to follow a plan, but the quality runs just weren’t there due to dealing with PF all summer. I have been “racing” too much, my work schedule is rotating shifts, have worked 60 hours/week for the last 2 months. My ultimate goal has been to survive these races, treating them as a form of speed work, all in preparation for my Dec 14 first full marathon.  The last 2 races I would call a success, with a 15K time of 1:20:37 for an 8:40 pace, and a 5K time of 23:50 for a 7:36 pace. This HM is a different story. I wouldn’t call it a failure, but it was very tough and I think I’ve learned a lesson or two.

The course is absolutely gorgeous! This is a relatively flat course and crosses the Tennessee River twice. It has a few very small short rolling hills, but none of them were of any measure, at least to me. A lot of the course is run on paved trails of the local power company called TVA that manages the dams along the river. Here is a YouTube video of the course http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fyrXeV6SFk .  If you have trouble with the link, go to You Tube and search Life Without Limits Half Course. This will be your fastest half marathon ever! Another really touching point of this race, is that at every mile marker, there is a picture of a child that has CP. How can you not be motivated to keep going when you see all these sweet kids.

I had met a coworker there, and we sort of talked about running together, but that didn’t last long. I did a 2 mile WU, with the last ½ mile with my friend. Once we took off, he jetted out in front of me, and I never seen him again until the finish. He run a huge PR of 1:41 something, with his last half being 1:58. I started out way, way too fast as you can see from my splits. Somewhere around mile 7-8, my R foot started going numb (11:08 mile). I had to stop twice to adjust my sock and laces. This has happened to me before, and it’s just a something I deal with. I usually turn my socks inside out, or switch them to the other foot, and loosen the laces even more than they already are. By mile 10-11, my foot was fine. I almost think I need a wider shoe sometimes, but meh, it doesn’t happen all that often.

Once I recovered from the shoe problem, I started getting what felt like a side stitch. I did the opposite foot exhale thing, but it didn’t change much. This was odd because I don’t usually get side stitches, and from reading about those that do, I think mine was something different because of the location. It was on my left side, front of my stomach, just below my ribs. I am almost inclined to think it is Crohn’s related. The reason I say this, is today, during church, and even while writing this report, this pain is hitting me again. It is the type of double over pain that I’ve experienced in the past. Don’t worry; I have a doctor’s appointment on Thursday with my GI doctor, so I will let him know. During the last 2 miles, I had to walk a little to see if this pain in my side would ease up. At any rate, I finished the race running with a 7:37 clip at the end.

Here are my splits;

Mile 1 – 8:03 (way too fast)

Mile 2 – 8:09 (still too fast)

Mile 3 – 8:30

Mile 4 – 8:40 (still trying to pull back)

Mile 5 – 9:07

Mile 6 – 9:05 (much better)

Mile 7 – 9:35

Mile 8 – 11:08 (foot, sock, shoe problem, 2 stops)

Mile 9 – 9:53

Mile 10 – 9:27

Mile 11 – 9:44 (settling in for the finish)

Mile 12 – 10:40 (side started hurting, walking a little)

Mile 13 – 10:27

Point 1 – 7:37

Lessons learned

1. Don’t go out too fast(I have a chance to redeem this on Nov 9^th , with another half)
2. I am burning the candles at both ends, and therefore, shouldn't expect as much as I do. I can’t help this though, due to me being competitive, and wanting to push myself.
3. This course will be my PR attempt next year.

There is one more thing that I want to talk about here; I couldn’t leave this out, because it touched my heart. I had this little “bib” made of TJ that I wore on my back. I had 2 different runners come up behind me and asked what the story was behind my bib. I told them how Robert31320 and I met on the forums, and that we have become FB friends, and their only son has Cerebral Palsy, and that I asked Robert if I could run in honor of TJ. One guy even God blessed me, for being so nice. And after I told him my colon cancer story, he was even more amazed. This same guy is running the marathon that I am, and I hope I run into him again. I had another couple behind me for a bit and I kind of heard them talking about it, although they didn’t say anything to me.

When I crossed the finish line and got my medal, I just couldn’t help but to think about sending it to TJ. I went back to the area where the medals were being handed out, and as I talked to this wonderful lady, I asked her if it was possible to get another medal so I could send one to TJ. I told her the story, showed her my bib of TJ, and she almost started crying. She was so overwhelmed and touched by the story, that she graciously gave me an additional medal. This is the care package that will be mailed to TJ. I didn’t get her name at that time, so I went to the website, found a name, and sent an email hoping it was her. Her name is Julie, and here is her response.

Here is the medal that TJ will be getting

Robert, I sure hope you guys can make it for the 2014 Life Without Limits Half, it sounds like Julie wants your story.

Julie,

 I am not sure if you are the person I spoke to today, but someone gave me an additional medal to mail to my friend in Savanna GA, and I would like to know if that was you. I feel really bad for not getting your name, because I wanted to send a personal thank you. I had a little "bib" made with pictures of TJ on my back. That was such a kind gesture of you, and it will mean so much to his family. I surely hope they can make the trip next year. He made a statement to me once, that there were not enough people that "do" for Cerebral Palsy, and it really meant a lot that I run in honor for his son. If this was not you, could you direct me?

Thank you,

Mitch

Her response;

It was me. I would've given you 5 of those medals, sir. 

This is why we do this event. Our teachers and therapists do what we do because we LOVE these kiddos and support these families. 

I sincerely hope this family comes next year. It would be our pleasure if he wanted to be our feature runner/team. They usually get a 2-3 minute head start. 

You just let me know and I will make the accommodations. 

Thank you, thank you, for running today!  I wish I had taken a picture of your 'bib'. Do you mind if I send your email on and possibly put it on our site? 

Just want people to be reminded of 'why' we 'run'. 

Thank you so much for reaching out!  Don't you dare send me a written note. Your email is more than enough. 

Blessings to you,

Julie

This RR has the most meaning by far, of any that I’ve done. It wasn’t about any PR, or about how well I run my splits, or what pain I endured, or if it was too hot, or too cold. It was about people reaching out to others that sometimes need a lift in life. Parents of children with special needs are some of the strongest people we know. I could list at least a dozen people here on the forums and IRL that fit this category, but this story is for TJ.

Thanks for reading,

Mitch

Very cool!!  Awesome story, too!!

I don't get much success from the opposite-foot thing either.  Probably was just a side stitch because I've had them just below the ribs like that too.  (diaphram spasm, etc.)

Experiment with socks, too!!  Balega are good ones if you want to try something really good for races.  (I hate sock, foot, shoe, lace issues.  They're all annoying!)

Congrats again!!!  

Well how awesome is that!?  That is just way too cool.    You are awesome, Mitch!  2014 should be a very memorable experience.

As far as the race goes, sorry you missed your goal but you definitely had everything working against you.  What can ya do?  I always say though that as bad as a run may go, am I still grateful that I am healthy enough to cover the distance.

Well how awesome is that!?  That is just way too cool.    You are awesome, Mitch!  2014 should be a very memorable experience.

 

As far as the race goes, sorry you missed your goal but you definitely had everything working against you.  What can ya do?  I always say though that as bad as a run may go, am I still grateful that I am healthy enough to cover the distance.

Phil, I'm not going to lie, there was one point that I felt like giving up and just walking the rest of the way in. But to see those kids pictures, and to know that so many people can't walk, much less run, I couldn't stop.

My cold heart just thawed a little Thank you for sharing Mitch (and slow down next time!)

Definitely not a failure!  Any race where you learn something is a success.

You sound like a nice guy, but I have to tell you, after reading this I'm more interested in hearing about TJ.  I've missed hearing about his back story, and clearly he's an inspiring guy.

Mitch - simply amazing.  God bless you.

Sir, you are awesome! What a great story. Inspiring and humbling at the same time.. Loved the specially made bib.. Proud for Team TJ.