Global Positioning Excuses

There was a time when "How Far, How Fast?" remained an unanswered question for most runners. And the fact is they were perfectly fine with it. Before Garmin and Nike+ the only real way a runner knew their true distance was if they were lucky enough to have a trail with mile markers close by or they wanted to run countless circles on the local high school track. Of course you could always use the car to measure your route and hope you remembered exactly where you were supposed to turn. Even when you did know the miles you had to keep up with the time on your watch (digital if you were lucky) and then rely on your fading high school algebra skills to figure your pace.



But now you can slap a $350 Garmin Forerunner 310XT on your wrist, lace up your shoes, and return home with more information that you need to file a 1040ez. If you want to add some music while you measure your pace you can pop a little white dongle in the bottom of your ipod and a sensor in your shoe. You even get your choice of a male or female voice to motivate you at each mile. When your done Lance Armstrong will tell you you did a great job reaching your goal. (Thanks for the encouragement Lance but I don't know if I could even win seven games of Yahtzee in a row.) If you need to go one further and want to have a phone/webbrowser with you you can always download one of the many running apps on to your iphone.

So other than a little further down the road, where does all this technology get us? When I got concerned about my distance and pace I bought a used Garmin Foreruner on eBay for $45 dollars. It was outdated at the time and probably worth $5 at a yard sale now. I used it for several months and it made me realize that although I wasn't going to be passing anyone down the stretch at the Badwater Ultramarathon, I would be able to comfortably run in the middle of the pack at any local race. The sensor always seemed to be low on batteries and usually when I was 4 or 5 miles into my run. I eventually found a good deal on an ipod nano and went ahead and got a Nike+ ipod sensor. It was great and actually encouraged me to run more. I became a little obsessed with the stats I compiled on my runs. I uploaded them to the nike+ site and compared them with my previous runs. Eventually my computer stopped recognizing my ipod so I wasn't able to upload my runs anymore. Then I got a new computer, synced up my ipod, and updated the software. When I updated the software my ipod would not recognize the sensor. I spent $20 on a new sensor only to realize that the update caused the same problems for a lot of people. I didn't want to spend $200 on a new ipod with a built in sensor or $250 on a new Forerunner, and I couldn't find the sensor for my archaic Garmin, so I had a great excuse not to run. What was the point of running if I didn't know how far I had run? Was I running at my 5k pace or my Half-Marathon pace? Am I at the midpoint in my run, should I head back home? It was easier just to stay home, that way I wouldn't have to worry about all those questions.

So several months went by and I had not run at all. I went to first the Team A.S.K. meeting for the Half Marathon group and realized just how long I had used technology as an excuse for not running. A few days latter I grabbed the dog and let him decide the pace and distance. He took off like a young filly at Church Hill Downs, but found the scent of another dog about 10 minutes in and had to cover every last molecule of it. We ran for about thirty minutes and then walked back home. I felt great and instead of obsessing over the data on my wrist when I got home, I laid under the ceiling fan with the dog.

If dog shows ever decide to judge a dog's ability
to relax in style then we're headed to Westminster.

Sometimes we need to rid ourselves of the technology we have become dependent on and just run. We need to listen to our bodies not our headphones. When you get the first pain ignore it and run a little further (it will be gone before you know it). When you get in a zone and forget to turn where you wanted to, you know your on the right path. When you start to get that runners high, run a few more miles. Remember, you can always walk home if you need to.

Middle Half is Here Again

Last year I ran the Murfreesboro Half Marathon for the second time. I beat my time from the first year by almost six minutes and my knees felt much better. In addition to all the numbers associated with miles, pace, quarter time, and place I was able to achieve something greater than putting one foot in front of another, for a little more than two hours. I raised over $1,000 for an organization called Special Kids. The group was formed in 1998 when a nurse, Carrie Goodwin, saw children with special needs being turned away from out-patient facilities because they could not afford the bills. Special Kids has gone on to serve more than 1,700 children and families. Through the generous donations of businesses and individuals they are able to provide skilled nursing, physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, recreational therapy, and equine-assisted therapy through a program called hoofbeats. Children from around Tennessee also participate in a summer camp called Camp Ability, that is sponsored by Special Kids.

Team A.S.K. (Athlethes for Special Kids) was started by an avid runner whose daughter was recieveing services through Special Kids. One day while running with a friend he talked to them about the services his daughter was recieveing and how the organization that was providing them was in danger of closing their doors. They shared their story with other runners and formed a team to help raise needed funds and complete the 2001 Country Music marathon. This was the first event and now Team A.S.K. participates in the Country Music Marathon/half marathon in April, the Middle Half Marathon in September, the Marine Corps Marathon/10K in October, and the Disney World marathon/half marathon in January. Team ASK also offers teams for the H.O.T. 100 bike ride in August in Murfreesboro, TN (31, 62 and 100 mile bike ride) and the Tullahoma, Tennessee Mach Tenn Triathlon in June. The team is very inspiring and continues to gain new members with each event.

Everything about my experience with Special Kids filled me with rush of emotions I never expected. I was afraid I hadn't put enough into my fundraising efforts. I sent out about fifty letters and self addressed stamped envelopes. I didn't have as much time as I wanted and intended to send a lot more. As a few of the envelopes came back I sat them aside, unopened, on a corner of my desk. A few weeks before the half marathon I got an email from the fundraising director for Special Kids. She was asking how I was doing with my fundraising and if there was anything she could do to help. A day latter while I was running between errands and meetings I stopped by the house to check the mail and get the envelopes off the corner of my desk. I sat in the driveway opening the envelopes and I started to get very emotional. Every envelope had a check written for an amount I never would have expected. The outpouring of support from my friends and family absolutely amazed me.

In addition to the donations there were hand written notes in several of the envelopes. My brother had died a few weeks early after a battle with diabetes. People had enclosed notes to express condolences for our family's loss and asked that their donations be given on my brothers behalf. I sat in my driveway and cried as I thought about how many people I knew who truly realize just how blessed their lives are. I had to compose myself and drive to the Special Kids office to drop off the donations. From that point on it didn't matter if I didn't get in all the training I wanted to or how far and how fast I ran. I knew that I had done what I set out to do.

One thing my brother and I had in common was our love for our sister. This may sound obvious to anyone with a close knit family, but for our family it means a lot more. Our sister Leslie was born with moderate mental retardation. I can't imagine growing up with out her. She is a social butterfly and puts so much joy in the life of anyone who meets her. She remembers names better than I do and is always excited to have a visitor. I know her excitement for life gave my brother strength that he couldn't have gotten anywhere else. Even when his health prevented him from attending some family functions and being as social as he would have liked, he always had time for Leslie. He was almost as excited to see her as she was to see him. I can't think of a better person to donate on behalf of than my brother Paul.

My sister has been very fortunate as our family has always been able to provide her the unique care she has needed. She is large part of the reason I find myself starting to train for the 3rd Annual Murfreesboro Half Marathon and pulling out my address book again to raise money for some truely Special Kids.