Event Report: 2016 Mainly Marathons (Heartland Series, Day 3)

Event Summary
Mainly Marathons
Heartland Series, Day 3
Potato Creek State Park (Plymouth, IN)

6/7/2016

www.mainlymarathons.com

I just ran my ninth full marathon+ overall. This was also my first event with Mainly Marathons. In a word: amazing!

First, the staff is top notch. They know the drill and have every base covered. From the beginning, I was impressed by the speed with which they respond to email. You get nice pre-event communication as well. Once you show up for race day, everything functions smoothly. The aid station staff are friendly and very encouraging. They joyfully stay alert for each person and celebrate all the way to the last finisher. I particularly enjoyed being addressed by my name throughout the event. The staff alone is reason enough to run a Mainly Marathons event.

The quality of the aid station fare is unusually high. I've ran a few ultra/trail events, and this aid station is more like what you'd see in that setting. You've got a wide variety of fresh options: pretzels, gummies, M&Ms, soup, pickles, etc. Be careful though ... you're likely to find a lot of foods that you never even thought to try in your training, and it's a risky proposition to try something new on a race day. I'd encourage you to stick with what you know you can handle.

The medals are some of the best you'll ever find. They're unique and high quality. Very cool.

The routes tend to be short loops or down-and-back affairs. I know some runners who hate loops, and if that's you, then this will be tough. A typical Mainly Marathon course is roughly a mile long and you run it multiple times. For my marathon, I had to complete twelve circuits of 1.1 mile "down-and-back" track. I understand the logistics of using such a short course (it makes it possible to have the above mentioned amazing aid station). On the plus side, these courses typically have lots of shade and are fairly flat.

Mainly Marathons seems to attract a certain type of crowd ... and it's a good crowd. All of the runners were encouraging and supportive. Some of these folks are attempting to run 7 marathons in a single week, and yet they're out there helping others along the way. You'll be hard pressed to find a cooler running community anywhere.

On the negative side, they've got me thinking of doing something crazy... I ran only one race (part of the Heartland series). I enjoyed the experience so much that I'm now seriously contemplating a "seven for seven" next year. I'd like that "183.4" sticker for my bumper. Just be real careful around these guys or their enthusiasm is going to rub off on you.

Overall, I give this outfit a score of 6 stars ... on a scale of 1-5 :) ... top notch all the way around!

AccomplishmentS

I've had a lot of conversations over the past two years about weight loss. People often want to know how I did it. I enjoy these opportunities to talk about my journey. Inevitably, these conversations end with a comment that goes something like this: "you must be so proud ... losing all that weight is quite an accomplishment!"

No, it was not. It was not an accomplishment ... it was accomplishments.

Don't miss the "s" on the end of that word, because in that single letter, you'll find the secret to losing weight, improving your running pace, or accomplishing any other major goals you set for yourself.

You see, it took me about six months to lose that weight. It was not a single accomplishment. It was a series of accomplishments. Every time I woke up before 5:00 a.m. to get ready to go the gym, that was an accomplishment. Every time I pushed myself and completed a workout, that was an accomplishment. Every time I passed on eating a free doughnut, that was an accomplishment. Every time I logged a meal in my food journal, that was an accomplishment.

Do you see the pattern here? Reaching a goal like this is not a single victory, but a series of victories ... and each one of my small victories laid groundwork for future successes.

If you're one of those folks who make New Year's resolutions, I hope you'll adopt this perspective. Maybe you're planning on going to the gym more often ... or eating more responsibly ... or any other of a million different admirable goals.

I believe you'll be far more successful if you take a piecemeal approach to reaching your objective. Your success is not found in making a single good decision on January 1st ... you're going to need to make a series of decisions every day. And when you climb that mountain and have an opportunity to reflect on your success, I hope you'll recognize what an amazing series of accomplishments you've made.

500 x4

Well ... It's that time again. As of this morning, I've crossed another 500 mile milestone. I need 165 miles in December (which would be a monthly PR for me) to get there before the new year, and I got it with hours to spare.

My first 1k took exactly one year, and the second 1k took exactly seven months. Not sure what my goals are for 2015, but I suspect there's a few more miles to run ...

And every 500 miles, I watch/listen to a song that I've really come to like ...

It's extra special this year, because it happens to coincide so closely with my 25th wedding anniversary as well. Rose, I wanna be that man for you ...

Three goals

Note: I'm not sure where this "three goal" idea comes from, but I heard it from somebody else a long time ago. If you know the source, please let me know.

I go into a race with three goals ...
1) a "would be crushed if I didn't meet" goal,
2) a reasonable, yet challenging, "push myself and could hit it" goal, and
3) a "you've got to be crazy" goal ...

In turn, those goals for Columbus were 4:30, 4:15, and 4:00.

I thought I still had a shot at 4:00 around mile 16. I had about four minutes to make up at that point, and finally realized that if I did get it down to zero, I was unlikely to have enough left in the tank to finish strong. I didn't want to lose 4:15, so I tried adjusting my pace and expectations ...

The 4:15 pace group was breathing down our necks for the last 8 miles or so. We stayed just ahead of them, and I had enough for a strong kick at the end (my last 1/2 mile was a sub 8 pace).

(Incidentally, my three goals for my first marathon were finish, 4:30, 4:20.)

Columbus!

Ok ... Today's been an incredible day, and normally I would have been all over Facebook, but I've been in self-imposed media blackout because I DVRed the Lions/Saints game and I didn't want any spoilers ...

First, I ran the Columbus full marathon with Maureen, and she came through in a big way. Without her help, I wouldn't have succeeded today. I had run my first full marathon in May 2014 and notched a 4:56:56. Today, I ran it in 4:11:14! Let that soak in for a second ... that's an improvement of 45:42!

My 2nd half was only 38 second slower than the first half. It was an awesome, exciting, fulfilling day. Thanks to my wife, Rose, and Maureen for getting me through it!

Second, my son Tim and I are on the same Ultimate team (at Brookside), and we won big. I love how well our team plays as a team. It's a privilege to play with these guys. Go Llamas!

I also got to watch the Lions after our Ultimate game. I won't give any spoilers here.

I'll cap the evening off with a little hot tub time ...

It's been an awesome weekend ... I will sleep soundly, I think.

Thank you to everyone for their support, encouragement, kind words, and prayers. When I finally got on Facebook, I had 47 notifications! What a blessing it was to read through so many neat comments!

I am definitely the sum of many parts ... My friends and family inspired me to get off the couch and take responsibility for my own health, equipped and encouraged me to live a healthy lifestyle, helped me find joy in exercise (especially running!), and dared me to dream that I could finish a marathon. My successes are simply the returns on the investments of so many people.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.