Bittersweet Surrender

So last Sunday morning was the Phoenix Rock 'n Roll Marathon, which I had signed up for in a moment of weakness or bravery, I'm not sure which. Stupidity? Yep, that's more likely. Now that I think about it, it's impressive how difficult those traits are to discern...

Anyway, as noted previously, there's training involved in this sort of thing. What I didn't mention is that since that training run in early December (and a bit before that too, really), I've been having trouble with my IT band, which is a batch of connective tissue that runs along the outside of your thigh from your hip to your knee.

My target time before my leg injury flared up had been about 3 hours and 45 minutes. Not fast, but respectable. But my goals had to change when I got hurt. Irritation to the IT band is a common runner's ailment, and it sucks. For most of December, I couldn't run because the pain was getting worse, even though I was doing the exercises and stretches that are supposed to help. Lately I've managed to get some physical therapy from Sharon at Select Physical Therapy and Day Care, and it's been much better, mainly because of the application of anti-inflammatories directly to the spot on my knee that hurts the most when I run. But there's a big difference between "much better" and "ready to run a marathon."

I didn't really expect to make it the whole distance without walking, but I had hoped the pain would be managable. I was wrong.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. First, the setup:

We left Thursday morning for Phoenix. When we arrived at the KC airport, the thermometer on our car said it was 3 degrees F. When we landed, Phoenix was 73 degrees. This is change we can believe in.

We rented our car and headed north to our friends Travis and Jodie's place. They graciously took us in, showed us some nice restaurants (Thursday evening was Memphis style BBQ), and volunteered their dog, Lloyd, for extended periods of "attention" from Adam. Unfortunately for Lloyd, attention from Adam for a dog typically means Adam screeching loudly as he proceeds to grab and/or smack the dog with enthusiasm. He enjoys this a great deal; the dog usually does not. But Lloyd took it well, even though he clearly would have preferred it if Adam had not come into his life.

But, by Monday, a measure of detente had been achieved:

Friday, we picked up my race packet and had lunch at a nice Mexican place. We took a quick trip to the YMCA, where I got in a little run and Jean and Adam enjoyed their (heated, outdoor) pool and went "home" for yummy NY-style pizza for dinner.

Saturday, Jean, Adam, and I went to the Desert Botanical Gardens, which recently added a Dale Chihuly exhibit. Some of it worked very well, some of it less well, but either way, it was interesting and a nice way to spend the afternoon.

From there we headed out to Peoria to visit with Jean's cousin Stephen and his wife Angela and their two children at one of their two tanning salons (and if you're wondering about tanning salons in Phoenix, don't ask me; I haven't wrapped my head around it yet either). We walked down to a deli nearby and I had a gigantic pastrami and egg salad sandwich that was several kinds of awesome. After that, we went back to the house and made chicken, squash, and pasta for dinner, and we all tried to get to bed early.

Race Day:

Distance races mean early mornings - gotta get 'em done before it gets too hot - and the marathon was scheduled to start at 7:40. So we got up at 4:45ish and got moving. Travis and Jodie live about 40 minutes north of downtown Phoenix, so we had to get on the road. Jean dropped me off around 6:30 and headed toward Tempe and the finish line, and I hung around, trying to stay calm and trying not to think too much about my IT band and whether or not it would hold up for 26.2 miles.

The weather was perfect at the start - upper 50s, little-to-no wind, and right at 7:40, we were off. The first few miles were generally uneventful, except for about four and a half miles in when, just as I was running past, a Winnebago tried to drive under an old gas station with a roof over the pumps that was about 18 inches too low for the air conditioning unit that used to be on top of the Winnebago. Just a word of advice: if you're going to rip the AC unit off the top of your camper, don't do it as thousands of people are trotting past. Somewhat embarrassing, I imagine.

Like nearly all marathons of its size, Phoenix provides pace runners - people who run the race at a predetermined pace holding a sign saying what their pace is - so that other runners can easily see how fast or slow they're going and what finishing time that will translate to. For the first 4 miles or so, I ran just ahead of the 3:45 pacer. I was feeling good, so I moved up to run with the 3:40 pacer (about 8:20 per mile).

My cardio was doing just fine; I doubt my heart rate exceeded 145 at any point in the first 10 miles. But the mild discomfort in my knee that I had learned to live with during my training and that I had been feeling most of the race to that point turned into something more serious somewhere between mile posts 9 and 10. I tried running on the crown of the road, in the lane grooves, wherever. None of it helped and by miles 13 and 14 the pain had jumped substantially. Even with my knee getting worse, I still managed to complete the first half of the race in 1:50 (right on the 3:40 pace, with room to fade to my 3:45 target). But after passing the 14 mile marker, I walked for the first time. It would not be the last.

I tried walking for a couple minutes, then running to the next mile marker. This worked for a while, with my pace settling in somewhere in the neighborhood of 11 minute miles, but the pain was getting worse with each run and I was bouncing back a little less well with each walk. Around the 20 mile mark, my calves started cramping, and I was getting blisters on my toes, and my walks got a little longer and my runs a little slower. Each mile was more difficult than the last. The last three miles were... unpleasant.

A couple of times, I considered stopping and dropping out, but I decided it was easier to keep going than to quit.

Skipping over quite a lot of pain, that's pretty much how things went. It hurt to walk, but it hurt more to run, so I did a little of each and made it to the finish. My time was 4:27:29.

I can't say I'm pleased about the time, but I am proud of the effort. It just wasn't my day, and there wasn't anything I could do about it. So, no matter what my time was, I know I earned that dang medal.

Jean and Adam were there to greet me at the end, as were Jean's parents, who happened to be in the area looking for a place to spend the winters of their retirement and came up for the race. I grabbed a handful of snacks at the finish, and we went back to Ray and Beth's hotel room for a quick shower and then some Chipotle burritos. After that, we went to the Phoenix zoo, where Adam had a good time, and I found a comfy spot in the shade and put my feet up.

As many of the people who stop by this little corner of the intertubes are aficionados of American cinema, especially what we might call "cultural touchstones," I'll summarize my marathon experience with a few relevant movie quotes (bonus points if you can guess the reference without clicking on the link):

Mile 1-8: I have come here to chew bubblegum and kick ass... and I'm all out of bubblegum.
Mile 9-11: K.I.T. Keep It Together. Keep It Together. K.I.T. Keep It Together...
Mile 12-14: Pain don't hurt.
Mile 15-20: Turds. (Spaulding, how many times have I spoken to you about your language?)
Mile 21-23: Double Turds! (Spaulding!)
Mile 24-26: F*** it, Dude. Let's go bowling.
Mile 26-26.2: Actually I have no concept of time.

And for those of you less cinematically inclined, here are my mile times:

1 8:26.0

2 8:24.7

3 8:21.5

4 8:39.1

5 7:45.6

6 8:20.0

7 8:25.6

8 8:19.9

9 8:22.8

10 8:21.9

11 8:35.3

12 8:24.2

13 8:39.9

14 8:47.0

15 10:28.8

16 9:50.0

17 11:24.6

18 10:45.8

19 10:59.8

20 10:27.5

21 14:41.9

22 10:16.2

23 12:47.7

24 15:18.8

25 14:56.9

26 15:13.1

26.2 2:17.8

Total: 4:27:29

Monday we went to Carefree, AZ for lunch and a little Adam playtime before heading back south to the airport.

It was 32 degrees, windy, with a little freezing rain when we landed.

Oh, well. You win some; you lose some.

Visualize Whirled Peas

And maybe some spaghetti too:

Leading By Example

As Adam approaches his first birthday, he's been doing a lot more things that are suspiciously similar to actual human things (beyond the walking). It's more than a little worrying when you realize a lot of the things he's started to do he learned by observing us. For instance:

A) When we change his diaper, we roll up the used one into a ball and use the adhesive tabs to hold it closed. The other day, Adam grabbed a diaper and started playing with it (don't worry - it wasn't used). He was trying to fold it up and wrap it into a little ball. The only thing he had trouble with was getting the adhesive tabs to work; other than that, he had it pretty nicely prepped for the trash.

B) When he falls, we don't want to make a big deal out of it. Sometimes Jean will give a gentle and supportive "Uh oh." About a week ago, Adam fell, and Jean said "Uh oh." Adam replied "Uh oh." Then he got up and kept going.

C) Three weeks ago, Grandma Beth was sure she heard Adam say "Damn it!" Ummm... BAD DOG!!

Well, You Can Tell By The Way I Use My Walk...

I'm a woman's man...

No time to talk.

Happy Festivus!

As we are traditionalists, and we do not yet have mulitiple children who can participate in a wrestling match, today Adam will grab at Sliver's tail and Sliver will retaliate with a lick or two to Adam's face.

In addition today will include me lifting Adam and other feats of strength.

The airing of grievances is ongoing.

This year's theme is: Following in his footsteps.

2008 Recap - It's all about Adam (UPDATED W/ PICS)

Happy Holidays from Jean, Ted, Adam, and Sliver!

We had quite the year - lots of changes in the Jones household! After waiting and waiting for months, Adam Robert showed up on Jan 24th, four days early. Jean's parents arrived on the 26th and stayed for two weeks, and then Ted's parents were in town for 4 days after that. Once they were all gone, we had to figure out this baby thing on our own! It seems to have gone pretty well so far. I credit having the dog with getting us at least a little ready for kids. Of course, now that Adam is here, she is totally neglected (or at least she thinks so).

Anyway, back to the year.... Ted had been working out at the gym and Jean joined him again after Adam was 6 weeks old. We rapidly discovered the need for good daycare at the gym, and shortly thereafter changed to a different gym with better hours and different staffing. This was vital, because Jean and Ted were scheduled to do several running events, triathlons, and other sporting things during the summer, and Adam needed the interaction with other kids, adults, and germs (we are exposing him to build immunity).

Jean went back to work in April, and Ted became the full time stay at home dad. This involves daily trips to the gym where Adam can spend 2 hours in day care, so Ted is not only in shape, he keeps his sanity! They also run errands, and come to the office every day so Jean can feed Adam his lunch. Nice of John Deere to have a "mom's room" with privacy for such things!

In May Jean and Adam took advantage of a work trip out west to visit the families and introduce Adam to most of them, since only the parents had met Adam up to that point. It was a good trip, and at 3 1/2 months he was perfect on the plane. Ted stayed at home and enjoyed a nice vacation from child care - these things are needed every once in a while!

In June Jean's parents made another trip to visit, and we did the zoo, lots of trips to the park or long walks, and enjoyed getting out and seeing the sights. June was also the kickoff for the Corporate Challenge, which is the month and a half long series of sporting events that companies can sign up for to build employee morale, encourage participation outside work, and get people in shape! So Jean was biking, running, swimming, playing soccer, volleyball, softball, and triathloning during the month. It was fun, but exhausting by the time it was over! And it was worth it, as John Deere came in first in our division!

After the Corporate Challenge ended, we still kept working out, since Beth and Holly were coming for a triathlon in July. We did take a break on the 4th of July to hang out on the patio with our friend Toney, eat grilled foods, and talk a little politics, religion, and all the other fun subjects. The triathlon was fun - Beth and Holly drove up from Texas and stayed with us, and we did the .6 mile swim, 19 mile bike, and 4.2 mile run in Shawnee Mission Park. Jean particularly enjoyed it because she had been worried about being last, and finished ahead of both Holly and Beth!

In August we headed out to WA to visit the families, and spent 11 days. It was fabulous to see everyone, to participate in two birthday parties, visit the beach, do some hiking, see all the siblings, and just relax. Of course, the plane ride home was a little stressful (tired cranky baby who did a big poop that needed changing on the plane, melted chocolate on Jean's shorts that had to be cleaned off, etc, etc).

September and October were the usual routine - as usual as it can be with Adam, who likes to mix it up with changes in sleep patterns (he went from sleeping until 7am, to 6am, to 5am, and is now back to 6:30am), the occasional restless night with a cold or fever, or just not wanting to nap during the day (poor Ted, Jean is glad to be at work on those days!).

Adam was a popular guy for Halloween this year - he had 4 costumes, and managed to wear 3 of them (the 4th was just too small for his huge head!). Unfortunately Jean was traveling for work part of that time, and missed two of the parties, but made it home in time for Halloween night.

Around this time, Ted decided to start training for a Marathon, so he is getting ready to go out and run the Phoenix Marathon in January - anyone who wants to come and join us to cheer him on is welcome. It will be the MLK holiday weekend.

In November and December Jean had trips for work, and Adam, Sliver and Ted made sure the house was still standing when she got back. Luckily her travel is done for a while, as it is tough on everyone when she is gone for 4 or 5 days in a row. In a fun change, Jean stayed home for 5 days in November while Ted took a trip out to WA to do a roadtrip and see a WSU football game with some college friends. While WSU was terrible (it was so bad they left at half time), they had a great time touring WA and reliving some of the good old days.

In mid-December Jean's parents were back for a trip to visit, which was fun, because they brought plenty of holiday cheer with them, and got us all organized and ready for Christmas. They even helped with some home repairs, so they left us in better shape than we were when they arrived! They had to go home before the holidays, but it was a great visit, and much appreciated, since we won't make it out to WA this winter. We will try to get out there next summer when the weather is better, the planes aren't as crowded (or delayed), and Jean has more time off!
So as we finish the year, Adam is almost 11 months, is standing and balancing on his own, is eating us out of house and home with his very healthy appetite, and our lives revolve around him. We wouldn't change it. Sliver is 10+ years, starting to slow down a little, and not sure the baby is all good - although any food that gets dropped for her or she can lick off his face is appreciated. She would like it if he didn't pull her tail so much!

So that is our year! If you want to see pictures or see more of Adam, just scroll down and check out some of the previous posts. And leave a message if you would like - we would love to hear from you!

Have a Lovely Holiday Season, and keep in touch! Jean, Ted, and Jean

It's The End Of The World As We Know It, And I Feel Fine

Adam is mobile.

What began with his patented commando crawl:

Has now become this:

Game over, man. Game over.

Probably Much Better Than Drugs

So this whole "running a marathon" thing? Turns out you have to train for it. And one of the ways you do that is to run really freaking far. Last Sunday was my first 20 mile run. I did it, but I faded pretty badly after about mile 18. By the end, I was hallucinating, thinking I had just killed a bunch of Soviets/Cubans (it's not really clear in "Red Dawn" either), so I raised my Gatorade bottle in the air and shouted "Wolverines!!!" At which point one of the other gym patrons shut off my treadmill and led me to the showers.

I am a golden god.

One Of These Things Is Not Like The Others

Jean goes away for a few days, and the boys hit the bottle.

Turkey Day #1 (posted by Jean)

Yesterday was Adam's first Thanksgiving. He "helped" throughout the day, from the safety of his highchair - every time the oven was open, he was contained at a safe distance, and then he could roam the house while we were waiting for the cooking to happen. He thought making food was pretty fun - the mixer made cool noise, the smells were good, and he had his own pan and spoon to bang around and "mix" with.

We cooked a HUGE turkey (for the 2 1/2 of us), mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, salad, stuffing, and then orange rolls for dessert.

Adam loves turkey and stuffing, and he gobbled those down (Get it? Gobbled? Turkey?).

Then we tried mashed potatoes. And his facial expressions and flapping hands said it all. "What did you just put in my mouth? EEEWWWW! Get it away! Are you trying to poison me? Never do that again!"

As a special Thanksgiving treat Sliver got to lick the tray when he was done. After which the tray was cleaned and disinfected.

Then we all had to take a walk around the neighborhood to digest and work off a little of the feast.

And for the next week we will be thinking up new ways to eat turkey leftovers. Sandwiches, soup, lasagna, casserole, tacos, and anything else we can think of that can have turkey in it instead of other meats.

Hope you had a good Thanksgiving too!