The Reminder

The Summer heat and humidity has made my running a bit more difficult this year. The fact is when it's this hot, I shouldn't be running outside. The doctor told me last year that I shouldn't run in extreme heat an humidity. I have been running, but at a far reduced scale.

Ideally I would like to be running 3-5 miles at a time, but with a heat index of 100, I'm running 1.5-2 miles. I want to be active, but I don't want to really stress my body, specifically my heart. It's a reminder to me that I need to be cautious.

People who know me, know that I hate having to be like that. They know I would rather be using myself harder than that, but the reality is I can't. I want to live to run another day. Runners by nature are stubborn people, who believe they should push through whatever. Well, I'm breaking that tradition. If I push myself, and something bad happens, I may lose the ability to run - period. I'm not sure how I could handle that prospect, so I listen to what the doctor says, and I back off a bit.

For Hood to Coast, I already have it in my head that if it is this hot and humid, I will be walking the legs, more than running them. This makes sense. My team might want me to be a bit faster, but I bet once I explain to them, they'll be in agreement with me.

In the end, I think it's better the be able to live to run another day.

Charlie

Hood to Coast 30 Days Away: Update

I'm getting asked quite a bit about how I feel about the race. I feel good, nervous, anxious and excited. That's quite a bit to feel, but to be honest, that's no different than how I feel before any other race.

My running is going well. Yes, I would rather not be running in this damned humid weather. It makes it unpleasant to run, but I can't really do anything about that. I feel good out there running.

I wish I knew which legs I was running so I could better prepare. I'm told I will know soon, but because there are two companies involved in putting the team together, soon means....not soon. I think that is where the anxiousness comes from.

The nerves come form the unknown. Not sure what I will face, so I'm about nervous about how I will tackle things. I've driven through the parts of Oregon we will run, so I have an idea of what it's like. Of course running and driving are two different things, but I am mentally, and physically preparing for a rolly, hilly run. Flat takes on a new meaning when you leave Illinois and Indiana.

I was asked yesterday if I feel like this is a dream coming true. I do. When people have asked me what races I want to do, Boston, Paris, Comrades and Hood to Coast are the ones I talk about. Comrades I will never do, but I would love to go watch. Paris, I can do in my lifetime. Boston is the ultimate dream, and until I worked for my company, I could not imagine how I would do Hood to Coast. It's the only relay race I have wanted to do. So yes, dreams can come true.

30 days away.....things are good.

Charlie

Hood to Coast 35 Days Away: What Will I See?

One of the amazing things about running long distance races is what you see. In Chicago, the marathon takes you through 26.2 miles of unique neighborhoods. Chinese dragons, Mariachi bands, drag queens, and about one million people line the streets to cheer you on. In Indianapolis, you can a run a race which takes you around the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In South Bend, IN, you can finish on the 50 yard line in Notre Dame Stadium.

A relay race like Hood to Coast gives you something more. You get to see the passage of land from a mountain to an ocean. You start in a high elevation, surrounded by trees. You wind your way through small towns, in the woods, through Portland, making your way to the sandy finish at the Pacific Ocean. That sounds incredible.

I want to take in the scene. I want to take in the people who will come out to cheer us all on. I want to see some runners in costumes. There will be silliness, perseverance, joy, sorrow, all of the emotions. This is one thing running does, that few other sports allow - you get to see the world around you.

So while I will be busy trying to get from point A to point B, I will also take it all in. This may be my only Hood to Coast and I want to be sure I see all I am supposed to see.

Charlie

Hood to Coast 37 Days Away: Who Runs?

As we draw closer to Hood to Coast, I've found myself wondering who runs this race? Of course the documentary gives you a glimpse into some of the people who gather at Mt. Hood to start their journey across Oregon. They are young, old and any age in between. They are seasoned runners, with a great deal of years under their belts. There are also those who are attempting to run for the first time. This relay is where all the stories come together.

This blog has been about my story, and what I bring to running, and now Hood to Coast. I've been running about 10 years. It's been an interesting ride, as I have experienced: learning how to run, losing weight, entering races, finishing my first 5K, 8K, 10K, half and full marathon, training people to run, loving running, not always liking running, surviving a heart attack, and coming back. My story feels unique, yet at the same time, similar to a good many other stories out there.

A relay like Hood to Coast, brings people together as a team for a shared and solitary experience. You have a bond with your team, yet you are on your own on your legs of the race. You share stories. You laugh. You may even cry.

Races like this are a part of the human element, where one person shares their love of running with another. 99.999999% of the teams won't win the actual race, but they will win in what they accomplish over 197 miles.

Who runs? Everyone runs a race like this. This is what I love about running. It's isn't for a select few, it's for anyone who can go right foot, left foot, repeat....quicker than normal,

Charlie

Summer Running

Every year I think I can do a Summer race, then I get to running in the actual season, and I hate it. I would rather run on a 25 degree Winter day than 94% humidity as I did this morning. Now if it were 72 degrees and low humidity, I could feel could about this seasonal running, but no.

Yesterday was the Narragansett Bay Half, which I had thought about doing. As I walked around Providence in 90 degree weather, I was so glad I didn't run it. I've never had a race I've enjoyed in the Summer. So I am really hoping Hood to Coast can break that for me. :-)

Today I just checked miles, not time. I ran 1.5 miles, and really that was all I could muster at 5:45am. Maybe I should run at 3:30am?

I just hate peeling clothes off me at the end of a run. To be honest, they were sticky getting on, which I also didn't like. Did I mention how much I dislike running in this heat and humidity?

Charlie

Hood to Coast 40 Days Away: From Here On

The training up to this point has included speed work, hill work, two a days, and just running in various temps. Things are going to be a bit different from here on. Now it's time to increase the miles. I feel I have a good base, now I need to add the miles.

I know how to navigate a rolly area. I know it takes a bit of a toll on me, so now I have to add the miles, so I can have the stamina to do 5-8 miles of such a route. The only way to do this is to increase miles. In stifling humidity, that can be difficult. I need my base to me 3.5 miles, and then take it from there.

This is very different than training for a marathon. At least my long run isn't 4-5 hours. In this case, I am looking at 1.5-2 hours of a long run. That's more manageable to say the least.

I also need to figure the nutrition. I have really embraced Honey Stinger products. They are natural, and they seem to give me the boost I need. Of course NUUN is always with me on hot or longer runs.

My shoes are beginning to wear down, I can feel it in my legs, so now it's time to transition to my newer shoes(thanks Brooks). I know I will need an additional pair as I get closer to the race.

If I am frustrated about anything, it's that I still don't know which legs I am running. The team has not heard from Nike(our sponsor), and I am told there was a personnel change, so we aren't sure who is helping us. Ugh! No stress there.

Still I feel good. I'm excited. I will also watch the Hood to Coast movie a few more dozen times between now and the race.

Charlie

Hood to Coast 42 Days Away: The Course

I've been asked where exactly are we running in this race? Easy, we are running from Mt. Hood to the Pacific Ocean. It's a course which weaves 197 miles through the northwest part of Oregon.

Elevation changes are fairly extreme. The infamous first leg of the race has you descending 2500 ft. Yes, 2500ft down!

Now for the casual person it's easy to run downhill. It isn't. It's very hard on the body to run downhill, especially at that steep a decline.

We will run on roads, trails, gravel, dirt, all kinds of terrain. We will encounter solitude and big city. We will run through the woods, and in wide open spaces. We will see a snow capped mountain, and squish our feet in the sand at the ocean. The course is varied and diverse.

Since I don't live out there, training for whatever comes my way is not easy. In fact, I can't. So my training has involved lots of rolly and hilly runs. I've run twice a day a few times. I've worked on speed, but mostly on endurance and feeling good during my run.

My team won't win. Sorry to break that to them. We won't. We will see some marvelous sites. We'll meet new people along the way. We will run Hood to Coast!

Charlie

Hood to Coast 50 Days Away: Two a Days

From the start of this I knew at some point I would have to run two a days. Seemed fitting with 50 days to go, I would start today. This morning I headed out around 5:45am and ran 2.42 miles. I chose my mostly uphill route around the neighborhood.

I felt good out there. Everything seemed easy going. It was warm out already, but no overly so. Usually there are a few folks out running, not so this morning. It was just me, and that suited me fine. Like I said, it felt good out there, like I hadn't put too hard an effort into it. At the end, the GPS said I did a 15:50/mile pace. That's pretty good.

I went about with my day. I did dishes, a bit of laundry. When Mark came home we went to a mall and walked around. All the while I knew I wanted to run later.

I ran around 5:00pm. I wasn't sure how it would go. It was more humid, so I thought I should take it easy. Off I went. Because I've never run twice in one day, I thought this should be a shorter run. I did 1.55 miles. I thought it had to be slower, because I didn't feel like I was pushing hard. It was a 14:56/mile pace. That's my fastest pace since I moved to RI.

Now, one thing I know I have to do is develop how I want to run the two a days. I don't want to go full out on the first run, because I want something for the second. At some point I want to make my second run the longer of the two. I can't do two a days every day, but they'll become more common in my running.

So today was a success. Of course now I have to take my second shower of the day. I feel grosser after run #2 than I did this morning.

Charlie

One Year

My life has been marked by the major events in my life. How I dealt with them has pretty much dictated how I moved through life. I lost my brother at a young age. I coped with being Gay. I lived through a false HIV+ diagnosis and suicide attempt. I've had love, lost it, and found it again. I've lost a parent. I've dealt with pre-diabetes. And....a year ago I had a heart attack. I imagine this would make an interesting book.

How do you come back from a heart attack? For everyone it's different. Some people get depressed and wallow in it. Some people fight back. Some use a more measured approach. I fought back. I didn't want this to define me. I wanted to define me.

I plowed through rehab with the goal of running again. When I got the ok to run....I did. Now, I don't run like I used to, and that has taken some getting used to, but I am running. Better to run, than to not run.

I also had to make changes in my life. My work was not in a good place for me. It's safe to say the stress caused by certain people in my work contributed to the heart attack. I decided to make a change. Mark and I left Indiana to move to Rhode Island, where I have opened and manage a running store. No stress there. :-)

Since we moved, I've felt more at ease, happier. I've explored running areas in the Providence area, and are still finding new places to run. I've developed a running routine.

I've come from a place where I didn't know if I would live or die, to training for Hood to Coast. I fully understand most people don't come back from heart attacks and go run relay races. I'm not most people. I've watched myself. I've monitored my food, my meds, and my running. If I don't feel well, I don't run. If I don't feel well on a run, I walk. My Hood to Coast team won't win, but we will be winners for doing it. I'm already anticipating an emotional race.

The year has been a learning curve, and I am still learning. It hasn't been easy for me or Mark. We both forget at times I have heart disease. He gets frustrated, as do I.

I have had amazing support from family and friends. There are people in my life that I don't see on a regular basis, or haven't seen in years, who have been so kind and wonderful to me. I feel very fortunate.

So here I am a year later....feeling good....taking on challenges...living life. It's easy to say this is a new lease on life, but really, it's a continuation of life....I'm just getting better at living it.

Charlie

Hood to Coast 56 Days Away: In Oregon You Can't Give Up

Running has enough challenges for me. There are days the right foot, left foot repeat are harder than others. This morning was not a difficult one. I ran my 3.1 mile hilly loop near my home. My focus was more on speed this morning. I did this loop a couple weeks about, and I finished in about 52 minutes. This morning I did it in 48 minutes plus change.

The old saying is, in order for you to go faster, you have to go faster. The only way to make sure I did this route faster was to tackle the first incline faster than I had previously. The first incline is the first  1/4 mile. When I got to Smith St., which is the top of the hill, I saw my pace was 15:49. I knew I was good.

The challenge for the run was ran the second loop around the park. It's tough sometimes to sustain a pace. This is where you have to go into your head and get into the pace. I like to use phrases. Usually I use "World Peace, " and I say part on the inhale, and the rest on the exhale. Today I wanted to say something different. "In Oregon, You Can't Give Up." This made sense. I'll be running a race, in 100% unfamiliar territory, with people waiting for me. I can't give up. So I pushed myself every time I said it.

I saw my pace drop as I got through the middle of the run. Towards the end I slowed a bit, but wow. I liked my overall time and pace.

Over the last couple months, I've gotten a sense that my running has improved, and I have felt very happy with my running. With less than 2 months before Hood to Coast, I like where I am, and how I feel. I like the notion that I can't give up.

Run on!

Charlie