Next up...and Thanks

Just a couple more weeks of hiking and riding to be safe. This week I started Crossfit, albeit slowly and conservatively, again. It felt good to be pushing myself again for the first time since the marathon. After three days on and today off, I'm feeling stronger already. I'm also relieved to be out of the office and away from the temptations of snack food during the long days of interviews. It never ceases to amaze me how different and better I feel after just a couple days of clean eating.

I've yet to decide on the direction my training will take from here. Scott has agreed to help me attain that elusive marathon PR...well a faster PR this spring. I will also be diving back into the books preparing for the Captain's exam in May. Another possible goal includes the Crossfit Games in early July held in California. Matt will be coaching a select team of 7 from crossfithel to go to the games. The program will include additional skills work, WOD's, and nutrition. Going to the games as a part of a team with anyone from that gym sounds like a chance of a lifetime and I'm definitely going to the informational meeting on Saturday to find out more.

Also, he Police and Fire Games, being only hours away, are a serious consideration. I haven't been since the year 2000 when I went to Stockholm, Sweden. The games are a big deal with firefighters and officers from around the globe competing. I am still in contact with people I met from the Sweden games and look forward to expanding that network of peers.

The difficult part is going to be choosing my path. The Captain's exam must take priority. Lately, whether life's stress or running stress, my body has not been recovering like it used to. For now I'll have to be thankful I can participate in some easy trail runs. Deciding on the marathon will come only after I'm certain I can juggle training for the race with studying.

Finally I want to say how inspiring it's been over the last year to witness so many barriers broken and goals exceeded by friends and family. Chris, Mike and Caleb are or will be lieutenants very soon. My mom re-adjusting to life state-side, finding a new job and looking for more volunteer opportunities as she settles back into life in Nashville, TN. My housemate, Sean, his company is inches away from receiving full funding and moving into production. Marcus, Daniel, and Nick worked their tails off to be ready for the interview process and agility in hopes of becoming new firefighters. Trisha completed her first, and second ultra-marathon. Darin ran his first 50 miler. Stacey damn near won the women's race at the Spartathlon, coming in second after leading most of the race. Scott won overall, again...missing his goal time for the 152 mile road race by only 20 minutes with his finish time of 20:20. Last but not least, Ronda. Ronda is no stranger to winning races. But watching from behind the scenes the discipline, dedication and passion that goes into her training has been a real gift. The relatively anonymous status she held at the beginning of the year is now shattered. She will be one to watch at the line. And even though this can be intimidating for some, she will have always done her homework. She knows exactly what she can do and her drive is unparalleled.

Thanks again everyone. And you take care too.

Last Day

The leaves are from the tree in my front yard. The morning after I got my Kodak M1093 IS I went out and started snapping. I have two days before the IT guy comes to get my first round of photos. I've been in interviews all week...so there haven't been a lot of shoots. But I look forward to using my camera this afternoon and at Mike and Sally's Wedding this evening.

This week of interviewing has been long and very interesting. There have been some amazing people sitting in front of us. A fellow panel member was talking about one particular candidate that graduated from a very prestigious school and had unbelievable experience for her young age. He wondered why she'd want to be a firefighter. I was surprised he asked. Obviously she wasn't just book-smart but knew what elements in her career would make her happy and it was clear the fire service was a perfect fit. I hope she will soon be a new recruit. There were many other fine candidates that left our panel feeling relieved, thankful, and so glad we weren't up against them for our own jobs! Today should be an earlier day. After work the girls and I are headed straight to Forest Park to get re-acquainted with the trails we've missed this week.

The Next Generation

For the next 8 days we will be testing and interviewing new recruits for the next generation of fire fighters. I love being involved with this process as people from all backgrounds step onto the drill ground hoping it is the beginning of a new career and life. The relief on their faces when we tell them, "congratulations, you passed (the physical agility course)" is heartening and takes me back to when I did the same thing almost 13 years ago. The regret and frustration of not passing is palpable. The only positive offering is our changed policy of testing every year as opposed to every two years. A small consolation to someone who has already worked so hard and put their life on hold for the outcome of this test. The agility test has evolved and changed slightly over the years but the tension and stress of completing it quickly and without incident remains intact.

Last shift myself and the crew went out for our yearly turn at completing the Physical Agility Test (PAT). After my first run since the marathon and well timed physical I was informed I may have another stress fracture. This time the culprit is my left foot. Without spending too much time on this subject, haven't we already covered this?, I did notice some swelling a few weeks ago...but it wasn't bothering me. I made it through the marathon and felt great afterwards. But the post marathon run left me with a throbbing foot that was difficult to conceal from my doctor. One round of XRays down and a bone scan appointment for the 28th, it'll be good to see ole' Mary again, and I'll know for sure. Until then...the PAT was not exactly my idea of a restful activity. But there was no way I was going to even try to shuffle out of this. Being one of the proctors of this test for the rest of the bureau and still feeling the need to prove myself to my crew, I used a whole roll of tape on my foot. It felt, well come to think of it...I couldn't feel my foot. This was perfect. I told Jamie, who happened to be my proctor, to please just keep me on time to make the standard which was 8:02.

Of course when he said go something happened and I took off racing. It is amazing how physical discomfort can be totally overridden by your brain. From the minute that stopwatch started my body knew nothing but it's immediate goal of pushing as hard and fast as I could. The strange thing is that it wasn't pre-meditated. This test has always made me nervous and sick to my stomach. I think most of us, being honest, would admit this. Perhaps we each have different reasons for these feelings...but few actually relish the opportunity to take the test. For this reason I have always been conservative in my progress through each station. I never wanted to race for fear I would run out of energy and not be able to complete the remaining tasks within the allotted time. Today, apparently, I had something to prove to myself.

I got to the fourth floor carrying the hose bundle before I started feeling tired. One more floor and I was on my way down. The fan carry and straight ladder are easy. The 35' Extension ladder raise was methodical and roughly the same speed for both extensions. The body drag was quick going out and I slowed some bringing the 165 pound dummy made of rubber hose back to his home across the white line. I had two more stations to complete. The buckets. Everyone hates the 400 foot bucket carry. We can set the two full five gallon buckets of foam down at every 100 foot point to rest, but not in between. The key, if you can do it, is to keep hold of those buckets the full 400 feet and just keep walking, no rest. I did it. Finally the sled. The sled is 125 pounds attached to a 25 foot length of hose with a nozzle attached. After the test your legs are a little shot. What would normally be an easy 100' pull seems tiring and slow. But I gave it everything I could not feeling any pain or discomfort. I finished in 5:50. I think this is my fastest time to date on this test. 30 seconds after finishing the test my foot started throbbing and upon removing the tape, appeared to have grown in size...a bit.

Two days later my foot feels much better. I am optimistic that it may not be a stress fracture at all. Perhaps at worst it is another stress reaction. I will stay off of it and take the rest from running that I had intended to do anyway. Yoga, swimming and crossfit have been more than enough to keep me occupied these days. Knowing I didn't further damage my foot makes my day at the PAT even better. But I would almost be willing to say it would have been worth it even if it took another two weeks to heal. I risked a lot not playing it safe that day. I care more than I should some days about the opinions of those I work with regarding my ability to do the job. If I would have failed I would have of course, first and foremost disappointed myself. But worse, I would have provided an example for any nay-sayers looking for the latest gossip thread. Instead, I tried something I've never been willing to try and ended up with the second fastest time on my crew. We all drove away smiling each feeling good about our performance as a crew. And that 5:50 minute test reminded me how important it is to take chances.

Portland Marathon 2008

photo:Joe English


I went out too fast. For the first three miles I kept my heart rate below 151. I was flying and feeling great. Then I allowed my heart rate to get up to 164 and I would back off. I kept this up for about 14 miles. Looking at my paces they were more consistent with what I wanted to do than what I was fit enough to do at this point. I ran 8:09's for the first 6.2 miles, 8:04's for the next 6.9 miles, then...8:38's for 8miles and finally 8:58 for the last 5 miles. Those last five miles were no doubt slower than that but I at least tore down the hills to make up for my sluggish flat and uphill pace. Darin, Ronda, Troy and Trisha were out in the rain supporting me with smiles. Seeing all my brothers from Portland Fire always cheered me and gave me energy. Darin jumped in to pace me from mile 18. I appreciated his helpful reminders to use the downhills, shorten my stride on the uphills and run in a straight line- no I'm not being sarcastic...this strategy seemed to elude me yesterday as I chose to run in serpentine style.

The rain was not a factor. It was warm and dry when we started and when the rains came I smiled to myself. This is Portland. I haven't run a marathon in over three years. I'm reminded that there is definitely a science to it. First, you have to do the work- missing workouts, for whatever reason, is not going to get me to my goal. Second, I have to FOLLOW my race strategy. It was a great experience to remember the flow and feel of the race...they hurt! I definitely want to come back and chip away at my PR (now 3:41:15). With training I believe I'm capable of a 3:30, maybe faster. Back to work this morning. My knees are a bit sore. I'm moving tenderly but feel pretty good. I woke up this morning and have some how decided to cut myself some slack and be happy with my performance yesterday. There is always room for improvement- I look forward to working towards faster miles. But 341:15 was a great time for October 5, 2008.

Finally, my friend Ken had never run a marathon. He will soon begin training for his first Ironman in my college town Madison, WI. He decided to run Portland, two weeks before the race. He was coming off a half ironman and decided to run easy 3-4 times a week and then just see what would happen. Well what happened was a 3:15! He qualified for Boston and walked around like he had merely completed a 5K. The guy is born to run and will be a real threat in Madison next year. I can't wait to be there on the sidelines cheering him on. Great job Ken!!!!

You calling me chicken? or...Shingles anyone?

The Taper. It's been two weeks of relatively light and easy runs. I decided against my last "long" run last week in an effort to allow my body to heal. Not content to believe it until I experienced it, I discovered first hand that Shingles is not strictly a grandpa's disease. I learned more than I wanted to know about the re-appearing chicken pox virus. Thankfully I had a very light case. My taper and plenty of rest has them already disappearing and me on the mend. Without fail the reduction in miles and hours of taper always plays tricks with my mental state. I feel like I might as well clunk an hour glass on my kitchen table filled with sands of my fitness. As each day passes by I watch the fitness fall through to the bottom of the glass. Logically I know this is not true...but I feel it every time. The upside of tapering is all of my aches, pains, and shingles have healed for the most part. I am heading into this marathon healthy and rested.

My speed and endurance never quite made it's way back from where I was this spring. But I am definitely ready to have an enjoyable race and still, hopefully, eek out a PR (faster than 3:47). Without being asked Darin, Ronda, and even my housemate Sean have offered to be there providing support and screamin' lungs to encourage. Before I even line up at the starting line I'm counting my blessings. Not only am I healthy and able to run this race in our green city, but I am so lucky to have patient and supportive friends witnessing and helping me finish.