project262.com | Marathon Training for Patrick O'Brien

July 30, 2005, 6:00am: The Big 21-Miler

GOAL: 21 miles RESULTS:
21 miles

LOCATION: Alton to Pere Marquette State Park in Illinos

CONDITIONS: 68° - 75°, sunny, low humidity

SUMMARY: TIME: 3:46:38
PACE: 10:47/mile

HEART: 138 or 74%

TOTAL TRAINING MILES TO DATE (walking & running): 460 miles

They Call This One "Graduation"
This was it. The biggest run yet. The practice run for the marathon. We were to treat this run as if it were the real deal. This was also the day I was retiring my shoes after 460 miles of training, I just loaded up my MP3 player with some new tunes last night, I got a decent night's sleep, and I was prepared with Pepto Bismol tablets. My left thigh injury from Thursday's run was completely gone. I was ready to rock and roll.

The 4:00am Alarm
The alarm goes off at 4:00am, and I'm up and ready. Still so dark outside, and I haven't seen 4:00am on the wake-up side of the day since I produced the Y98FM morning show. I even woke up to the song on Z107.7 titled, "Listen To Your Heart". And my first thought was 'hey, I better listen to my heart today. You know, check my pulse every now and then and just listen to my body. Just have fun and run at a decent pace, saving energy in the beginning to use later in the run. I got up and ate a piece of toast and a banana right away. Then I hit the shower for a refreshing start to one of the most challenging days of my life. We were encouraged to pack some clean clothes to change into after the run, since the foundation was grilling and picnicking after the run. After I packed, I got on my running gear and headed out the door.

The Long Drive to Alton...Still Dark
It was so so dark, and I had a 30-40 minute drive to Alton. The roads were mostly empty, except for the few that were speeding at 95mph. What could you possibly be in a hurry to get to at 5:00am? Anyway, I crossed over the Clark Bridge in Alton and passed the flickering lights from the Argosy Alton Belle Casino in search for a painted bird on a cliff--The Piasa Bird--which was out starting point (see picture).

Once everyone arrived, we had a group photo taken (picture), and we went over the events of the day. There were going to be volunteers at the 5, 10, and 15 mile marks for water refills and checkups. Each volunteer was assigned a pair of runners. I was paired up with Suzanne, Shelly was teamed up with Jessica, and Stephanie was teamed up with Jenni. It was just the six of us. (Coach Rich couldn't make it out this morning because he was in Detroit for a family gathering.) After we gave the volunteers our bags and after all the chit chat, it was after 6:00am, and it was starting to get brighter. Suzanne said, "Let's go. We're wasting daylight."

Rundown
The 21-mile run is a straight run from Alton to Pere Marquette State Park. No loops or out-and-backs...it's a straight run from east to west. After the run, the volunteers would drive us back to our cars:
1.5 miles: The Blue Pool: It's on the right just below the Bluff.
3.0 miles: Ouatoga Bluff: Small community
3.5 miles: Clifton Terrace: Small Park, parking lot, porta potty, etc.
5.5 miles: Piasa Landing: Gas Station, Boat Docks, etc. on left
7.5 miles: Our Lady of the River
9.0 miles: Principia College is located on top of the Bluffs to your right
10 miles: Elsah, A tiny historic quaint community.
11.5 miles: Chautauqua. This was a summer resort complete with hotels, etc. accessible only by rail and boat before the Great River Road was built.
12.5 miles: Raging Rivers Water Park
13.5 miles: Grafton Visitors Center
14.0 miles: Grafton, Great river view. Trail crosses the River Road to the left
15.5 miles: Trail crosses the River Road again. Just ahead on right is the Illinois Youth Center Department of Corrections for boys in school grades 7-12
16.0 miles: Marquette, Joliet Monument
16.5 miles: Hills on the trail.
17.5 miles: The Brussels Ferry crossing the Illinois River
18-20 miles: Farmland.
20.5 miles: Pere Marquette Lodge ahead on right. Almost there!
21.0 miles: Congratulations! You have arrived!

The Run: Miles 1-5
Suzanne and I hit the trail first. The first few miles went by pretty quickly. There were mile markers spray-painted on the asphalt trail. We were hit with quite a few cobwebs for the first 3 miles. There were times when the creeks ahead would give off cooler temps, and those patches of cool air felt so good. It was cool to begin with, and we were in the shade in the beginning. I remember seeing a huge power plant ahead of us (picture), wondering it we would be passing it. Well we passed it pretty quickly. Obviously, I had to idea just how far we were going to run. We passed the Mile 5 volunteers without a problem, and not too far after that, the power plant was far behind us.

The Run: Miles 6-10
Going into the next 5 miles, the trail became part of the right side of the Great River Road (Highway 100), and the only thing separating us from the cars was a white painted line. The road was constantly painted with "Bike Only" indicators (picture). To the left of us was the Missouri River with barges were coming and going, and to the right were huge cliffs (picture). Most of these miles were on a slight incline, but the scenery was beautful. I hit my first GU at Mile 9. I was surprised I was still running with Suzanne. In the past (such as in Forest Park), I'd usually keep up with her until Mile 6. So, I don't know if it was the perfect weather or if she wanted to slow down her pace a little bit. At this point, we were running about a 10:00/mile pace. And we hadn't stopped to walk at all. It has been a consistent run the whole time. We approached the volunteers, and this time, we stopped briefly to fill up on water, but we only stayed for about 30 seconds (picture).

The Run: Miles 11-15
We were still running alongside the Great River Road. The sun was coming out above the cliffs at this point. It was starting to warm up a bit, and the sunglasses were finally put on. A group of volunteers were at the 12.5 mile mark, which was right in front of the Raging Rivers Water Park (picture). That water never looked so good, and I told Suzanne was definitely going to go there after the run. We continued running past the volunteers, heading toward downtown Grafton. We made a left into the town, and there was another volunteer there, and we filled up again. This was about 14 miles into the run. After we passed the volunteer, we walked for about 2 minutes. I drank quite a bit of water. The trail was right next to the Missouri River now. We could've jumped into the water it was so close. It was starting to really heat up at this point. I was starting to feel the exhaustion, and Suzanne told me to hang on until we get into some shade in a couple more minutes. So, I took down my second GU, and continued running, despite my mental urge to start walking. Once we reached the shady area, we walked for about a minute, then crossed the Great River Road, met up with the volunteer once again, I took two bottled waters, we walked about a minute more, then headed for the final 6 miles.

The Run: Miles 16-20
This part of the trail separated from the highway, and parts of it went in and out of shady areas. The heat was just intensifying, and knowing we were just a "Forest Park Loop" from the end was comforting. (Forest Park's loop is about 5.6 miles.) I couldn't believe I was still running with Suzanne still. This was 16 miles! If I run this whole thing with her, that would be an accomplishment that I would never have predicted. Going into Mile 17 when the trail started to veer to the right, she said, "OK. These are the hills we don't talk about." Oh boy. I knew I had some experience with hills, since I trained at Forest Park, which has hilly areas. So, I was feeling optimistic about them, despite having 17 miles of running already beating me down. I attacked the hill and left Suzanne behind just for a moment. She caught up with me pretty quickly though when about 3/4 the way up the hill, I slowed to a walk in frustration. Well, it wasn't the only hill. There were about 5 or 6 of these hills, and each one was tough. The scenery was nice, though, and there were many wooden bridges that we crossed and the landscape was beautiful. I was off and on running these hills, and Suzanne stuck with me the whole time. By the time I got past Mile 19, I was pretty beat, and as we were approaching the Mile 20 mark, I went to a walk. Suzanne wanted to keep going. I wanted to keep going so bad, but the combination of rising heat, exhaustion, nearing the end, and overall soreness kept me from pushing further. After a couple minutes of walking, I attempted to run again, and did for a while, actually trying to catch up to Suzanne, but I went back to a walk. When she crossed the Mile 20 mark (picture), she turned around and yelled, "MILE 20!" That was a great motivation for me, and I started running again.

The Run: Mile 20
The final mile. Here it was. And there wa the "Pere Marquette State Park" sign just ahead of me (picture). I could do this. Only 10 more minutes of running. So, I ran slowly, building myself up to a decent run again. I could see Suzanne ahead of me the whole time. When I turned the final corner before running up to the finish line, I could see that she had just finished. I started to hear cowbells clanging. Then I started running harder, and the closer I got, the more I heard cheering and cowbells. It was so COOL! All that noise for me! So, I ran the fastest during the final moments, and passed the finish line with pride! WOW! What a feeling!

The Call to Lindsey
After I drank some water and some walking to wind down, I called Lindsey and told her the great news about finishing with a 3:46:38 overall time! She was so proud of me. She was at work and looked up my pace for me. I asked her to calculate my projected marathon run based on today's run. She told me at today's pace, I could run the 26.2-mile marathon with a 4:42:31 time. That's well under 5 hours! I'd be ecstatic with that overall time!

The Picnic
So, after a change of clothes, I relaxed under the Joints in Motion tent and took advantage of their complimentary body massage (picture). They had a massage table and everything right next to the tent, and it felt so good just to lay down and let someone work out the lactic acid buildup in my muscles. It felt like the massage lasted 30 minutes. After that, I scarfed down 3 hot dogs and some Diet Coke. It was a little over an hour before the next two runners showed up. I was so proud to join the volunteers in clapping and ringing cowbells for the team. There was something emotional about watching your fellow teammates experience the same thing I did just over an hour ago. I still don't consider myself a runner, but with a time under 4 hours, you'd say running was in my blood. The other two runners--Jenni and Stephanie--finished not too long after that, and we were all past the finish line by noon. Before we left, Jan from the Arthritis Foundation passed out medals for the runners as part of our "graduation" (picture).

The Trip Back to My Car
This was the most rewarding part of the run. Taking 30 minutes to go back to my car. Just seeing the trail again, and remembering every twist and turn in the trail was so amazing. It felt like the trip back took forever, and it was so hard to believe that I actually ran 21 miles. I was still tempted to head back up and chill out at Raging Rivers Water Park, but it was so crowded and I could only stay for a couple hours, so it just wasn't worth standing in line for. I was still hungry, so I headed over to Fast Eddie's Bon Air in Alton, but again, that place was packed, and the line just for food was all the way around the bar inside, so I knew it would be about a 30 minute wait, so I decided to just go back home and eat.

So, the question to ask is, "Could I have run a marathon today?" Yes. I would have ran the final 5 miles in a run/walk, similar to interval training, and I would have kept up my pace and completed it in under 5 hours.

THOUGHTS: I had no idea how rewarding this run would be. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever done in my life. The more I think about it, the better it gets. I'm so glad I kept up with this blog so I could share my thoughts and experience with everyone.

WHAT I'LL
REMEMBER MOST: Hearing the cheers and cowbells on those final moments of the run. The adrenaline was like nothing I've ever felt before.

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	TODAY'S PHOTOS more photos in gallery...

	A map of the 21-miler from Alton, IL to Pere Marquette State Park (black line).

	The team was to meet in front of the painted bird on a cliff in Alton called "The Piasa Bird".

	Back L to R: Suzanne, me, Stephanie, Angie Front L to R: Jenni, Jessica, Shelly, Jan.

	A power plant near the Missouri River. It was something to look at for the first few miles.

	The path became part of the Great River Road for many miles.

	The cliffs along the side of the Great River Road. Right side is the track, let side is the river.

	The volunteers took this photo of me and Suzanne as we stopped for water at Mile 10.

	Passing Raging Rivers Water Park was difficult. I was determined to go back there afterwards.

	The most motivating spray paint I've ever laid my eyes on. One more mile to go.

	The sign of all signs. I must be near the end!

	The volunteers cheered on the runners as they crossed the finish line. I made it!

	A change of clothes and the massage afterwards. Hell yeah.

	Food. Coach Rich made some brownies for everyone, even though he couldn't be there.

	Graduation. I'm an official Joints in Motion team member of the Arthritis Foundation!