Little Rock Marathon 2014 Race Report

I have officially finished the worst marathon I HOPE I ever run, and the biggest cluster of a finish that I can even imagine. They weren't wrong when they named it EPIC, and the lightening bolt is a piece of foreshadowing I'm sure the race directors didn't intend.  I would have regretted it if I had missed it, though, because it will be the most memorable Little Rock Marathon yet.  Let me take you back to Sunday.

The day started off nice.  It was a nice 50 degrees and no rain, but the weather reports had been saying 100% chance of rain all week.  One even said freezing rain during the marathon, so I was prepared to run in the rain.  I thought about wearing ski pants, but then thought that was a little much.  I decided to go with normal sweat pants and a hoodie. I would regret that later, but not at first. I actually had to take the hoodie first for the first 13 or so miles.

I was actually not making bad pace.  Not awesome, but not too bad.  Little Rock Marathon has an early start, which allows slower participants start at 6 a.m. instead of 8 a.m.  The only rule is that you can't go ahead of the 6 hour pacer.  So, I tend to stick with them for the race.  I was keeping pace until the elites passed (around the 13 mile mark), and it started to drizzle a little.  I put my hoodie on and kept on trucking. 

I made it past the hills and saw my friend, who started with me, on the other side of the out and back, when I was around mile 19 (she would have been 22ish).  I was so glad to see her doing well and that inspired me to pick up the pace a little bit and cross the 20 mile timing mat.

This is all I remember until the Ninja Turtles.  My hoodie is a Ninja Turtle costume.  I thought it was funny since I'm slow.  The ladies at the waterstop on the out and back (probably mile 21? I don't remember) said, "You're the first turtle we've seen! We have turtle heads. I know you're in a hurry, but we can go get them!"  I waited and had a photo taken with Raph and Leo.  So, at this point not even the volunteers were saying anything was wrong.

The temperature had been dropping all day.  I think it was in the 30s at this point and we were all wet.  I wasn't too bad in spirits, but I was cold and getting colder, but at this point in the race you're almost there!  Just a 10k left.  No problems.

It was shortly after the ninja turtles that the race got insane.  My Garmin said 24.25 when I saw the first cancellation sign, but I don't think I had really crossed the 24 mile mark. I know I had passed 23 and the 18 mile marker on the other side of the out and back. The following is not my photo, because I was really too confused to even think of a photo.  The weather didn't seem  too bad, and I wasn't sure what was going on.  None of the volunteers seemed to know either (one told me a storm with lightening was headed that way in a few hours, but they weren't sure where we we supposed to seek shelter). 

After I saw the black signs, a cop told us, "You need to find shelter now.  The race has been cancelled. Buses are being called in." I said, "But we're so close...can't we just finish?" and he said, "Finish what? The race is over.  There is no race."  As I said, my Garmin said I was 24 miles in.  I didn't see any place to seek shelter and everyone was just running on, so I walked on. I heard police on the other side telling runners that the course was closed ahead and they needed to find shelter.  It didn't make much sense to me to quit and load us all into buses 2 miles away, even if there was no finish.

Shortly after that, another cop says, "You need to get off the course and find shelter.  There's buses coming to the Wal-Mart at the right."   I do not ever recommend completing a race against police advice, but I did.  Generally, what the police say is good advice to follow.  I didn't follow this rule because of the specifics of the situation.  Generally, when they say a course is closed, it's closed.  Get off.  It puts the volunteers and yourself in danger to keep on going.

However, first of all, I didn't realize there was a Wal-Mart literally right there.  I was thinking, "Wal-Mart is miles away.  What is going on?"  I said, "Wouldn't it be quicker for us to just finish? We're just about 20 minutes away."  They, again, said there was severe storms and lightening so we needed to seek shelter.  My mom at the finish texted me almost that exact moment to say that the rain was picking up and ask if I was ok.  I texted her and said, "I think the race is cancelled. I'm not really sure what is going on.  Do you know?" She said, "Cancelled? People are still coming through.  The guys at the finish are joking around with them.  It's raining and really cold here, but no really bad weather.  Are you sure you're ok?" [I guess she thought I was delusional, ha].  Then she texted, "Where are you anyway? How are you going to get back?"  Good question.  I stood there and thought that we'd be sitting out in the rain waiting for a bus (I didn't even think about going inside Wal-Mart), so I might as well finish. 

So, I kept on.  It didn't make much sense to stand around and wait for a bus when downtown Little Rock so was close and my car was there anyway.

When I got to the church, a lady (a volunteer I think) said, "They're telling people to get on buses, but you can finish if you want to.  There's no course support, but you can continue at your own risk."  I was cold and confused at the point, but I kept on going. I know the course, so I know the last part, after that last hill, is easy.  I wasn't sure what would be at the finish, but I figured my family was there anyway and I wasn't running into a tornado, which is what I really feared.  Surely they would have told the people at the finish if that were the case.

I'm pretty sure mile markers and volunteers were gone, but I was trying to just hurry up and finish.  Right before you turn to the finish, there was a nice unofficial stop where they had beer.  A lady said, "I really just need water right now." and one of the guys said, "Beer is 95% water." Ha.  I love that.  The lipstick stop was the next volunteer I saw.  She said, "You want some lipstick?" and I said, "Today, this is as good as it gets.  I'll just be happy to go inside!"

The finish was still open. Nobody was acting like anything at all was going on there.  I was very confused, but I crossed, got a medal and some snacks and headed to find my family (and some warmth) in the River Market.  I was colder than I have ever been in my life.  But, after I took off the hoodie, I was mostly dry at least.

I really regretted not wearing the ski gear.

After warming up a bit, I went to Gus's for some chicken and waffles and to tell everyone the story.  I sat at a table next to someone who was forced off the course at mile 13 by the police.  I was happy I got to finish the whole thing (the paper listed me as a DNF, but I Did F.  Here's proof).

I did the 5k and the unofficial Capital Hotel 10k detour walk the day before.  Both of those were great weather and great fun.  The  Capital Detour was a little odd.  There were only about 20 of us and they basically handed us a map and said, "Have at it."  The bad part is that sent us, potentially out-of-towners, behind Central High and into that area.  If you know Little Rock, that's not the safest place to be alone.  That being said, it was daytime and we mostly separated into two groups: a fast group and a sightseeing group. I'm not sure anyone was alone.  I'm not sure I'd do this again, but I'm glad I was there because I think I was the only local in my group, and I know quite a bit of history of the area.  Nobody understood why Central High had a museum, for example.  It wasn't bad, but I was glad someone in our group knew how to read a map (the map could have been more detailed).

Disney Marathon Coming Up

So, I haven't blogged since around last year's Disney Marathon, but I always seem to blog more at the beginning of the year. I did lots of all cool stuff last year including visiting Australia.  I've been meaning to blog about the food and culture there, but I haven't.  I'll try to be a better blogger this year.  Right now, I want to blog about Disney.

I've been training for the Disney Marathon's Dopey Challenge this year.  This is a 5k + 10k + half marathon + whole marathon.  Yes, I'm crazy.  But Disney is crazy fun.

I used Hal Higdon's guide, because I used Galloway's official guide for Goofy last year, and I didn't feel prepared.  Do I feel prepared this year? Not really.  I'm freaking out just a little bit.

Besides doing all the races, I'll be hitting the parks and using the new MagicBands and FastPass+ systems.  I hope to blog about each of those things (and maybe some healthy eating choices on the dining plan).  I wish I would have blogged about my park days more last year, so I'm making an effort to do it this year!

I do have costumes planned because I'm a nut.  I'm going as Ariel for the first two races, Vanellope Von Schweetz for the half and JUST KEEP SWIMMING Dory for the whole (may change my mind about one of the Ariels).  I'm looking forward to an awesome Disney time.  I just hope the weather holds out. They're calling for rain.

Boston Tragedy: Weakness and Warriors

As I came home from work yesterday, before the bombing, I was contemplating how much of our lives are dependent on other people.  I was stopped at a red light and I was thinking, any of these people could kill me right now.  Even grocery shopping, or at work.  Anyone could easily kill me.  All it takes is a gun, or a knife or anything.  There are so many times during the day that I'm basically unprotected from other humans.  There's not even a wall between them and me.  So much trust between us.

Physically, humans are pretty weak.  I'm surprised we've been so successful as species.  Chimps and gorillas are so much stronger than us.  They're so much harder to kill than we are.  The only reason we've survived for so long is because we really do help each other out.  We don't often go after our own.  We know, at some basic Darwinian level, that we are weak.  We need each other.

When I got home I started thinking about some warriors I know.  People who I would have never classified as weak.  People running the Boston marathon that morning.  I posted a "Good luck" on Facebook to my friends, who I knew were running and went to bed.  When I woke up and switched on the TV, my wind whirled.  It was around 4:00 Boston time.  What? Someone bombed the marathon? The most prestigious marathon in the US?  It doesn't make sense.

I was talking to a non-runner friend last night who said, "I'm glad Boston isn't one of the ones you decided to do."  I commented, "I want to do Boston, but I'm not good enough.  They don't let scrubs like me in."  It occurred to me after talking to her that most non-runners just think Boston is another race.  It's a big deal for a runner to run Boston.  It's a race most aspire to run.  You have to qualify (and be quite fast) to run the race and people come from all over the world.  It's "THE" marathon.  Some of the best runners in the world were there. 

The best runners were probably already finished by 4:09.  That's an average marathon time.  To put it in perspective, if you finished a qualifying race at 4:09, you wouldn't be allowed to register at Boston (you have to be quicker).   The time when the largest number of people would finish an average marathon (I'm sure it's the same at Boston.  Just because you have a faster qualifying time doesn't mean you're always fast, and they have some people who run for charity without qualifying).   The bomb was clearly meant for the masses and not the few first finishers.

The photos from yesterday are horrific, but I'm sure being there was even worse.  What did the runners, the warriors who I think of as strong and fearless do?  They ran, but many didn't run away.  They ran to help the people in need.  They ran to the blood banks to donate.  They ran into the mess to help clean it up.  People who had just run 26.2 miles, not an easy feat, gave blood, picked people off the ground, helped where they could.  That's amazing to me.  They really are warriors.

We do put ourselves at risk all the time. We're really at the mercy of the sanity of other people.  It doesn't have to be a car bomb or a gun, we're easily injured.  However, even in tragedy, we still help each other out.  There's something to be said for that.  When some other species would be running away, to protect themselves, we run in, to help others.  Maybe we're not so weak after all.

The 2013 Little Rock Marathon: Race Report

This weekend was my last marathon for this part of the year, the Little Rock Marathon!  It's my hometown marathon, my first marathon and my first half marathon.  I've done it every year since I started running (with the exception of one year when I was in Alaska).

It seems like every year I have some story at the Little Rock marathon.  Last year, it was a senior who grabbed my shoulder to lean on at the down and back and told me her legs felt too weak to continue,  but she would.  It was her dream to finish a marathon.  We walked to a water station together and she took off (finished ahead of me too).

This year, it was a young lady who was really struggling on the down and back (coincidentally, it's always the down and back where these stories happen).  I was struggling too.  This was my worse marathon ever. But, I'd been here before.  I could finish, just not as strongly and with as much fun as I normally do (I'm normally trying to cheer people on and having a great time the last 10 miles, I was in pain and it sucked).  This lady was feeling the same.  She pulled out a card that said believe in yourself and looked at me and said, "We're going to do this!  We can do it, girl."  At that point, I knew I looked rough.  Someone was trying to cheer me on!

I said, "There's only a 10 k left after that timing mat up there!  There's not much belief to it! We already finished the hard part.  The rest is cake!"  So, we started talking.  She said it was her first marathon and she said everything hurt and she's never running again.  I laughed and told her that I felt the same after my first marathon, but this was my 8th.  She'd be back.  "Once you cross the finish line and look back and see what you did...you just ran a marathon!  You're awesome.  So few people can do what you're doing now.  You never know.  You might be back."  She said, "I don't know, girl, we'll see.  I'm not even sure I can finish this one." I smiled and said, "You'll finish.  This has been a tough race, but anyone can do a 10k.  You're doing awesome.  You look way better than I did my first time.  You get a medal no matter what time you finish in."  At the last hill, she decided to slow down and I took off ahead of her, but I watched her finish.  She did great! [They actually ran out of medals. I didn't know this at the time, so I didn't even notice if she got one or not.  I saw her cross and cheered for her, and then took off for pizza.  I hope she really did get one.  I would have probably really quit if I didn't even get a medal.  I would have given her mine if I would have known they ran out!].   

Anyway, these stories are why I love marathons and why I don't mind being in the back.  I love how people meet defeat and pull everything they have for that last push to the finish.  It's inspiring.

My Race
This was my worst marathon ever.  It started out at 26 degrees (I did the early start) and didn't get much cooler.  I was still wearing my jacket at the finish.  Because of the cold, I wore two pairs of socks, two shirts, two pants.  I think the socks got me.  I was doing great (just ahead of the 6 hour pacer, and you can't be ahead or you'll get disqualified if you early start) up until about the half, thinking I was killing it because the pace was easy.  My plan was to keep up with the six hour guys until the elites passed and then take off.  Then, my feet started to get tender.  I could feel a blister forming.  By the big Kavanaugh hill, they were awful.  I could barely go downhill at any speed at all.  Ouch.  I was in pain and limping a little and my walk breaks were getting longer and longer.

Not to self: never wear something on race day you haven't trained in.  How many times have I said that to others?  I never get blisters.  Not even once.  Today, because of the blister, my hip hurts, my knee hurts, my food hurts.  The blister changed my stride and threw everything else off.  Two days later, I am still feeling it.  I'm normally bouncing around again the evening after.  Crazy.

Anyway, after the downhill, I decided to walk the rest of the way, time be damned.  I just wanted to finish.  I did.  That's all that matters.

The Course

You can kind of see the last hill here.

Everyone in Little Rock jokes about the hills.  It has an elevation gain of 727 feet according to my Garmin.  I think the reason Fort Worth seemed more hilly is that it has one big hill.  Little Rock's hill (Kavanaugh) is less steep, but longer.  Around mile 13, runners go up a long hill that continues a few miles and goes back down (from 300 feet in elevation to about 500 feet in elevation).  That hill is bad, but what is worse is the hill that appears around mile 24.  It's like, "What? ANOTHER HILL.  F-you marathon!"  But, you know that the finish is right around the corner, so the hill isn't that bad.

Aside from the hills, the course is awesome. It goes through all of the major sites of Little Rock and downtown North Little Rock: you run through the Quapaw Quarter, see the Arkansas State Capitol, the Clinton Presidential Center, the Governor's Mansion, MacArthur Military Museum, Historic Little Rock Central High School and end and start in the Little Rock River Market District. It really is a great way to see the city.

The Theme & Crowd

Little Rock is a fun marathon.  Everything is themed.  This year, they had a western theme.  The expo was full of horses and hay stacks.  A few years back they had a circus theme.  They had performers and clowns.  The medals always match the theme and, for the past few years, have been ridiculously large.  You can tell they have a great time putting the event on, and I really love how much dedication they have to the theme every year.

It's also got great crowd support.  I love everything about this marathon.  The shortcut map sign was just in someone's yard.  Love it!

The Medal

It's huge, 'nuff said.

Overall
Even though this year sucked, I still love the Little Rock Marathon.  I think every bling lover in the world should come and check it out.  You can't beat the bling or the people you'll meet.

2013 Cowtown Marathon Race Report

This weekend, I did the Cowtown Challenge in Forth Worth, Texas.  The challenge is to do a race on Saturday and a race on Sunday.  On the 23, I did the 10k (they also had a 5k).  On the 24th, I did the whole marathon (they also had a half and an ultra which was, I think, 8 miles extra).

The weather started out cold.  The 10k was dreadful.  I think it was still in the 30s when I finished.  The marathon heated up to the 60s, but started in the 30s.

Organization

First of all, I loved how the marathon centered in the Will Rogers Center in Forth Worth.  The expo was there and post race food was also there.  This gave spectators a place to hang out that was heated (it was about 33 degrees in the morning), and runners a place to sit down after the race.  They had tables and chairs setup for the marathon.  This is the only race I've done with an indoor meeting spot, and I liked it.

The organization of the actual race was really nice.  I didn't have any problems picking up my packet, even though I had registered for both races months apart (I didn't learn about the challenge until later).  I got my packet and a tech shirt for the marathon, a t-shirt for the 10k and a t-shirt for the challenge.  They also give a finisher's shirt.  The finisher's shirt was a bright red, long-sleeved tech shirt.  It was nice.  I love races that give finishers shirts.  Everyone was nice and helpful.

The expo had lots of free stuff, like always.  They had free 26.2/13.1 Cowtown car stickers.  I hardly ever see those for free.  Most of the other stuff was standard protein bars, yogurt, pens, bags, etc.  They had lots of clothes and shoes you could buy.  The official Cowtown Merchandise was a little expensive, but you don't expect much of a discount at a race expo.

Course

When I was looking at February races, I knew I had a race at the first of March.  I asked a few friends about this marathon and they told me that Fort Worth was fast and flat, so I should do the Cowtown.  It would be no problem to do the Cowtown and then a race the next weekend because "the Cowtown is easy."  They lied.

I talked to someone on the course and they said there was a White Rock marathon in Dallas that really was fast and flat, but the Cowtown is hilly.  I'm going to be honest.  I thought it was pretty much all uphill.  A cop yelled to me at one point, "It's downhill for a few miles after this turn!" and I said, "Yeah right, I think EVERYTHING in Texas is uphill.  Is that even possible?" and he laughed and said, "No really.  It's downhill."  It was downhill for a bit, but then another hill.  I was sorry I left my Fitbit at home by accident because I would have gotten awesome hill credit (I tried to buy a new one, but neither Wal-mart nor Best Buy in Forth Worth had them).

Total elevation gain: 570 feet

All races start and end at the Will Rogers Memorial Center.  The half, the whole and the ultra all start in the same place and split later.

The marathon course was really nice.  It first passes through the Greenwood Memorial Park and near the cemetery.  It's a pretty nice run, with trees and birds (but on pavement).  I enjoyed this part of the run.  It was a nice, peaceful warmup.  Then you hit some city streets.

The next major site is at around mile 6. I had read on the map you run through "stockyards."  I don't know anything about Fort Worth, so I was picturing running through cow dung and dirt.  This is actually a historic stockyard that's been turned into a shopping and restaurant district.  If you've never been to Forth Worth, many of the streets have patches covered in cobblestone bricks.  The whole area of the stockyard was covered in this.  It's very uneven, bumpy and a little tough on your feet.  It was quite nice scenery wise.  There were cowboys hanging out to cheer the runners on. As I ran through, I saw a sign that said the stockyard is the home of twice daily cattle drives. I made a mental note to go back later.  The stockyards had a lot of race support.  Lots of people cheering.  It was the perfect mile 6 pick-me-up.

[I went back at 4 to see the cattle drive.  It wasn't really that great, but the kids who were watching loved it.  About four cowboys (some of the same that watched the race go through) chased about six longhorn cows slowly down the stockyard main road.  I joked that the marathon runners ran through faster than the cattle.  I did hit a cupcake shop and Riscky's BBQ.  Yum! I earned those calories.]

After the stockyards, the marathon hits flat, paved streets until mile 9.  I was talking to a runner when we passed a mile marker (8 I think).  She said, "Shit.  I hate mile 9 and 10." I hadn't really looked at the course elevation map.  I only looked at the sights.  I said, "Really? What's at mile 9 and 10?"  She said, "You'll see soon enough."  Well, I did.  Mile 9 goes straight up (it seems), and you can see the hill from the bottom.  It was about a half a mile straight up into heaven.  That hill separates the men from the boys.  Mile 10ish goes downhill, though, but after a large uphill, downhill can be just as bad. The course goes up and down after that, but that was the worst of it.

I'm a back of the pack run/walker, and I noticed that I was running with mostly half marathoners.  I was a little worried about the half marathon split.  I didn't think I was last.  I was actually making 13-14 minute miles.  I was still worried.  The split was around mile 10.5.  The cop at the split saw my yellow sign and said, "You go this way, unless you're giving up on us!"  I said, "No, I'm great!  I'm not giving up." I was sure I was looking at him like he was crazy.  I think he was kidding, but did I look that bad?  I felt great . . . should I give up?   I was a little paranoid at that point that I was *too* far back, even though my Garmin said otherwise.   Still, I took the marathon turn.

After the course veers off, the marathon goes under a bridge.  I felt so alone under the bridge.  I didn't see anyone behind me or in front of me.  I was thinking, "Crap, I'm going to get lost in downtown Fort Worth!"  Still, I kept running and skipping my walk breaks.  I wanted to see someone...ANYONE.  I was so relieved when I heard cowbells.  At least I knew I was heading in the right direction.  They were around the next water station, and I saw a group of runners.  Thank goodness. I decided I would keep up with them for the rest of the run, but I eventually passed them.  Soon after I caught those guys, I saw more people.  There were some people behind us too. I felt relieved and invigorated.

This next part of the marathon, which goes through some residential areas, was not very well marked.  The pavement was marked with blue arrows in spots, and there were traffic cones in most spots, but there were some areas where it wasn't immediately clear which direction to go.  It was relief when I went the way I thought we should go and then saw a marker or traffic cone.  Also, in this area, the traffic wasn't stopped for us slow guys.  An SUV almost ran over the lady directly in front of me.  I think the traffic cones were designed to have traffic only use the one lane and yield to the other side, but this guy had somewhere to go and he wasn't going to yield.  There were lots of residents in their yards with signs, some offering tootsie rolls, bananas, beer, etc.

I was relieved when we hit the parks.  It says on the map we ran through Forest Park Trail, which looked like a paved recreational trail.  We shared it with non-marathon walkers and bikers.  I loved it.  Then we went through Overton Park, near a golf course (the traffic here at the intersection was a little hairy too, if I remember correctly).  The last few miles were along Trinity Park.  We also shared that with recreational users, including some kids who were cheering us on.  I liked this part of the course, even though it was sidewalk.  It overlooked the water and was just a nice path.  I see why Fort Worth residents run and walk so much!

The finish has a few twists and turns were you think, "It's here...wait" but I didn't have much of a problem with it.  The Will Rogers Center is a massive complex.  Race organizers were quick with the medal and water.

The After Event

I heard some people complaining that you had to walk across the Will Rogers Center to get your finisher's shirt.  The finisher shirts were in the same place as the expo.  I didn't mind, but I'm not fast so I wasn't in pain.  It would have been nice to have some tables outside.  You also had to go in to get your challenge medal.  I thought it was nice to go in there and sit down and enjoy your post-race snack anyway.

I also heard some complaining that you had to stand in line for food. One of the great things about being back of the pack is that there was no line.  They were throwing entire cartons of yogurt at me.  The milk guy gave me six chocolate milks.  I got as many protein bars as I wanted, a whole thing of bananas, apples.  It was like a shopping trip.  For the 10k, where I was quicker, I did stand in line for 20 minutes to get a little bit of food.  I can see where that would be bad if you had just run a 3 hour marathon.  Most races I've done have had more food tables, so traffic goes quicker, but this really didn't seem that bad to me.  At least there was food to go around.  I've done some races where the back of pack runners don't have any food left at all.

The Event Hotel
If I did this event again, I would stay at the Hilton.  I stayed at the Sheraton.  I stayed there because they were the event's hotel and they said they would give you late check-out.  They denied me late checkout because, "So many people are asking for it, we can't allow it."  Of course they are. You advertised that as a perk of staying with you.  

Another downside is that the Sheraton's restaurant was not that great and it's not really within walking distance of anything better.  When asked, the guy at the desk said, "Depends on how far walking distance is to you?"   I noticed on the shuttle ride that the Hilton was a lot closer to good places to eat.

The Sheraton's restaurant doesn't have a very big, varied menu.  I wouldn't have been able to eat  there more than once and not eat the same thing.   I thought it was funny that it offers a pasta special.  I asked about it.  They gave me a blank look and said, "I don't think there is a pasta special this weekend."  I know eating pasta before a race is a myth, but I joked, "On marathon weekend, there is no pasta?" and she just stared at me.  That doesn't make them bad.  It seems funny that the hotel "hosting" the event doesn't (she did eventually tell me, after I ordered the chicken, they had seafood pasta and lasagna).

The parking lot is not very convenient at the Sheraton and the valet actually claimed to have lost my car for a good 15 minutes marathon morning.  He found it, but how disorganized is that?   They did have a shuttle to the race, but since I had to check-out, I just drove to the race.  I took the shuttle for the 10k and it was fine.  It just seemed like this hotel, from the check-in, to the restaurant to the valet, was very disorganized.  I'm not used to paying so much for such a bumbling experience.

That being said, the rooms were large, clean and nice.  There are no fridges in the room, which I would have liked.  They also have a spa.  I wouldn't stay there again.  The only reason I paid the premium was for guaranteed late check-out, which I was denied by two different members of hotel staff.

Overall


Overall, it was a fun race.  I don't think I would have visited Forth Worth otherwise.  I took a trip to the zoo and saw the stockyard areas and a cattle run.  The city seems like a nice little city and I'm glad I went!

Body Media FIT vs FitBit at the Disney Marathon Weekend

I love on body trackers. I've had a Fitbit for a few years now.  When I leave home without it, I feel naked.  I got a BodyMedia Fit this year for Christmas.  I always kind of wanted one, but I don't like the idea of paying for the band and then paying for the service too.  Fitbit's service is free.  The BodyMedia FIT came with a free three month trial.  Since this is my marathon season, I figured I should use it and get some data.  I'll post a full comparison of the two once I've had more time with the BodyMedia Band, but here are some of the differences in data from the marathon this past weekend. 

One thing to note is that I got a bit chafed by the BodyMedia Fit, so I wore it for the marathon and then took it off for the rest of the day.  I've only posted data for the period that I wore both, but the "steps" on the BodyMedia data seem significantly lower.  That's because I visited a park after the marathon and I wore my fitbit, but  not the BodyMedia band. 

Both devices give you your activity level, more or less, in  Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET).  The Fitbit translates it to easy to view colors and activity levels.  MET  is a physiological measure expressing the energy cost of activities.   It is the ratio of your metabolic rate (or energy consumption) during a specific physical activity to a reference metabolic rate.  It allows you to gauge how much energy is consumed during various physical activities.  Sedentary, sitting activties are rated at 1.0 METs, moderate exercise is about 2-4 and vigorous exercise is around 8.

Half Marathon:

Here are the calorie overviews of the race.  You can get specific time data for Fitbit by setting an activity record.  However, I like the colors in the general overview.

Fitbit

The colors on the Fitbit graph represent activity level and loosely translate to METs.  The pink would be vigorous or very active (around 8 METs), yellow moderately active (4 METs) and blue fairly active (over 1 MET).  For me, fairly active is walking about 20-25 minute miles or the equivalent activity.  Moderate is 15-16 minute miles and very active is above that.  Cross Fit earns me vigorous activity, but just weight training at home earns me moderate.

It's interesting to see how BodyMedia breaks it down into actual METs, but the Y axis for the graph is actually calories (which relate pretty closely to METs, since calories are a measure of energy consumption too).  You can mouse over a time period and see your METs in the acitivity center with the BodyMedia FIT.   

BodyMedia

Note that the Fitbit's estimated calorie consumption seems higher only because the X-Axis of the fitbit's graph is in 5 minute increments.  Bodymedia elongates the graph and uses 1 minute increments (so if you're burning 10 calories a minute, one data point of 50 looks more impressive than 5 data points of 10).  The calories burned are very similar on both (1269 vs 1392), though the BodyMedia FIT band is supposed to be more accurate. 

You can get more detailed with the fitbit by setting up an activity record.  It will show pace, elevation (this marathon was fairly flat so it's not very interesting...wait until March's marathon.  I'll show you that one) and more.

Fitbit

The remarkable thing is the pace and distance figured up by the Fitbit is pretty close to what my Garmin calculated and pretty close to my timing chip.  I find the Fitbit's pace calculation is less accurate over short distances.  It uses stride length.  That varies, but averages over a longer distance.  Even over short distances, it normally does a pretty decent job.

The BodyMedia FIT has some neat color coding as well. This is the daily overview.

BodyMedia

Marathon

Here's what marathon data looks like like with these devices.

BodyMedia

Fitbit. 

You can tell the difference between running a marathon steps and visiting a park afterwards steps. No pink in those afterwards steps, which shows you that "I walk all day at work" steps probably aren't very high METs.  If you're noticing the activity spurt at the end of the day, it's because I noticed I had 70,000 steps and I wanted to know what the highest Fitbit badge was.  A staff member told me it was 70,000, but Fitbit always displays your "next highest" badge and it was displaying a 75,000 step badge.  I ran a quick few miles around the hotel to see if there was a badge after that.  Turns out that 75,000 is the highest possible badge (as of Jan 2013).

BodyMedia

Just for fun, I'll show you this graph.  I spent all day Monday in the Magic Kingdom and walked about 10 miles, almost a half marathon.  However, look at the METs.  It's nothing compared to the actual half marathon.

So, "walking around the house" or work probably won't help with physical fitness or weight loss as much as pointed physical activity. You just don't get the amount of metabolic push needed with these moderate activities.  Believe me, you don't feel like treking around the Magic Kingdom is taking it easy.  I think my feet and legs hurt more after walking around the parks than after walking the whole marathon.  However, I don't think I got much physical benefit from it.  You probably need to at least be doing moderate activity to get any really health benefits. 

It's arguable, and backed by some good data, that running marathons is bad for your heart too.  So, you probably want to shoot for somewhere between the two graphs in your daily life.  I like that these trackers do keep us mindful of exactly what our daily activity amounts too.  I think sometimes we give ourself too much credit for being "active" when we're not.

Disney 20th Anniversary Marathon Weekend 2013

Bling Shot

I've done several marathons and half marathons and the Disney has been the most fun so far.  I did the Goofy, which is a half marathon on Saturday and a whole marathon on Sunday. I went into it thinking I was going to try for a PR in the whole, and goof off during the half.  During the half, it became clear that with the mid-80s weather and humidity, that wasn't going to happen. It was the hottest Disney marathon ever, according to an official I talked to.  So, I just decided to have fun.  I'm not built for speed anyway.

The Disney marathon is great if you love Disney World. I would do it again (it's costly).  The marathon takes you through all four parks (the half just went to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot) and all around Disney property.  I didn't think enough of it was in the parks, but I guess that can't be helped.  The best parts were inside the parks.  The worst part was the additional loop through ESPN World of Sports at around mile 18.  I'm not sure what those miles were like last year, but that part was brutal for me.

The half and the whole started pretty much the same.  The first few miles you make your way to the Magic Kingdom.  It was dark at this point, and not that hot at all.  During the half, I slipped off some uneven pavement and fell a little.  I thought I twisted my ankle, but thankfully it seemed ok.  During the whole, I stayed away from the edges.

Magic Kingdom

I'm Tinkerbell

The fun part came at around mile 6 when you entered the Magic Kingdom and got to run through Cinderella's Castle.  The park was filled with spectators cheering you along, yelling out "Go Merida" (I was dressed as Merida from "Brave"), and holding up fun signs ("Sweat is liquid Awesome", "What do you mean this isn't the 3:00 parade?", "I'm a stranger, and I'm proud of you.").  The crowds in the parks were really uplifting.  You didn't really need it at mile 6, but it was still nice.

At this point in the race, I had decided not to stop for photos, though there were a few characters here and there for runners to stop and meet.  I remember Jack Sparrow, Ariel, Buzz Lightyear, Alice and Mickey and Minnie dressed as king and queen.

The Speedway

Vroom!

Attention runners, course narrows ahead.  It narrows right to the Walt Disney World Speedway.  The speedway was a new edition this year and it was great.  I loved it.  I can't imagine doing the long loop between the Magic Kingdom (mile 6) and Animal Kingdom (mile 10) without some sort of distraction.  You're in Disney.  Why not run somewhere fun?  There have always been character stops along the way to Animal Kingdom, from what I understand, but I think the race looked pretty boring before they added this section.  Lightening McQueen was hanging out with some classic cars.   This was probably my second or third favorite part of the race. 

Animal Kingdom

You gotta stop for Mickey.

I love Animal Kingdom and I was a little disappointed that this loop (mile 10-13) was so short.  Animal Kingdom is Disney's largest park. It deserves more mileage.  It was also this part of the trek that I was getting hot and thought I should cut back my effort.  As I cut back, a runner jogged up next to me and asked my pace.  I told her I was doing 14-15 minute miles, and I was just going to take it easy.  She asked if we could run together since I seemed to be keeping a consistent pace (I had two Garmins - I'm a geek). That was fine.  We talked a bit about the last Disney race, since she ran in it. Then I saw Rafaki, and he didn't have a line.  I stopped for a photo and figured I would catch up, because I wasn't  tired and I can run a lot quicker than I was running.  I never saw her again, because I stopped quite a bit more after that.  Oh well.  Sorry, if you read this.  I hope you finished in the time you wanted to finish in!

I think my phone said it was 85 degrees when I stopped to take a photo with Rafaki.  I decided that it was too hot, and if I'm going to have a photo with Rafaki, I need to get Minnie and Daisy (dressed in safari gear), and Mickey and Pluto, and a few more too.  From then on, my time flew out the window.  That's what Disney is about though.  If I hadn't stopped for the photos, I don't think I would have had as good a time.  I decided after Mickey (his line was about 20 minutes long) that as long as I finished in under 7 hours so I qualified for my Goofy medal, I would be ok.

Animal Kingdom also had some petting zoo animals on the route and it took us "behind" some parts of Animal Kingdom (before then I think I we went by some sort of waste plant.  It smelled even to me, and I'm used to working with animals).  Expedition Everest was open and runners got a "fast pass" to ride it.  It was a real blast.

ESPN World of Sports

This is how I felt at ESPN, though it was taken earlier in the race.

Contrast the "blast" of Animal Kingdom to the cruel and unusual punishment of ESPN World of Sports.  What was Disney thinking adding this?  This was new this year too, and it was awful. Though, I've read that other runners enjoyed it (could be the old route was even worse), this was the only part of the course that I felt overheated and sick. It might have actually been fun if it wasn't so hot.  There was no cloud cover and tons of concrete on the way to World of Sports, I'm sure that didn't help, but there was also very little in the way of shade at World of Sports.  We got to run around the baseball field, but I didn't even pay attention to the announcer or the crowd at that point.  I always thought I was too slow to "hit the wall," but around mile 18,  I did.  I could barely see straight.  I was thinking of trying to find a medical tent.  A water and banana stop came just in time.  After some Powerade and a banana, I felt ready to go again.  Thank goodness, because the special 20 mile spectacular Disney promised was right around the corner.  I couldn't bail out before that!  I was so excited to see what it would be.  A band?  A party?  A parade or fireworks?  Something only Disney could imagine, right? OMG I CANNOT WAIT! It's right around the corner . . .

The 20-mile Spectacular

Can my wish be for something more spectacular than this?

Uh wait, this is the spectacular, or should we say not so spectacular?  The big deal at mile 20 ended up being a bunch of Disney character puppets on stilts.  Lumiere, Genie, Mike and Sebastian were there and Mickey, Minnie and Pluto were dancing next to a 20th Anniversary banner.  Had it not been built up so much, I think it would have been a cool stop, but I was disappointed.  On the other hand, I think my total disappointment in this spectacular gave me a second wind, so maybe Disney knew what they were doing.  Or maybe the banana was kicking in. I'm going for the banana at this point.

Up the road from this was the more spectacular army man from Toy Story.  He was yelling out insults and inspiration, "This isn't a walk, soldier, it's a run.  Pick up the pace." "You can do it, soldier.  It's right around the corner."  He should have told the Disney folks their spectacular's pace needed to be picked up.  He was awesome.

Hollywood Studios

I think I'm still looking for the great 20 mile spectacular...is it over here? Anyone seen it?

This loop is too short too.  It's about mile 20-23.  Just enough to snap some photos of the iconic Sorcerer's hat and run through part of the backlot tour.  This area was at least shady and a little cooler, but people were starting to give up  by this point.  Everyone was walking.  When we walked through the backlot, I actually got up on the sidewalk and ran past everyone, because there was no getting around them otherwise and I was afraid I'd finish in more than 7 hours.

This is the point in the race where I only had about 26 minutes to spare if I kept consistent 16 minute miles from that point on.  A 16 minute mile is not hard to keep, but the people in front of me were walking 20-25 minute miles.  Everyone was beat.  I had read they check times, and will deny your Goofy medal if you're over 7 hours.  I wasn't going to make it to mile 20 only to get denied.  So, I started politely cutting through, trying to get passed people and obsessively checking my Garmin questioning "How many minutes a mile do I have to do?"  I was so frustrated.

After that we headed to the Boardwalk where there was no getting around people.  ARG!  I was so frustrated. I had saved a push for the end, just in case I needed it to get in under 7 hours and I wasn't going to be able to push through the crowd.

Epcot

I look Goofy here, but Spaceship Earth is AWESOME.  Plus, I think I'm dying from heat stroke in that costume. 
This is the half.

Epcot was my favorite part of the half marathon.  Seeing Spaceship Earth almost brought me to tears.  I've seen it before, but something about that morning made it special.  It reminded me of watching Walt on television talk about it, and talk about Epcot being the city of the future.  I get that every time I get near the great geodesic dome that is Spaceship Earth, but this was different. I can't explain it. I never get emotional at races.  The morning of the half, I did.  I was running through Epcot.  Awesome.

I can't say I felt the same way during the whole.  I was freaking out.  I knew there were less than 2 miles left and it looked like I wasn't going to get my Goofy medal.  I told myself I didn't really care.  Running this was about the experience and didn't I have fun?  Who cares about a medal?  But I did care. No amount of talking myself out of it would keep me from caring. I wanted my medal!  I pushed and pushed through the crowds of people.  I understood. It was hot.  Many of these people had been training in freezing weather and snow.  I wasn't upset with them.  I was frustrated at myself for stopping so much.  I was upset that I didn't run more and walk less.  I had 15 minutes to do the last bit and Jimney Crickets, I was going to do it.  I was going through a scenario in my head where they denied me the medal, and I argued that I deserved it, because walkers wouldn't move to the right, the course was too crowded, etc.

I ended up coming in at something like 6:54:07.  When I saw the time on the clock, I was so relieved (the time on the clock was actually a little over 7 because of the corrals, but I knew what I started).  I did it! I ran up to the lady and got my Mickey medal and asked where to go for Goofy.

The most grateful I've ever been for such a craptastic finish time!

Then they didn't even check times.  They saw my Goofy bib and motioned me over, "Here's your goofy medal."  I don't really care that they didn't check times, but had I known that I wouldn't have tried so hard.  I guess I'm happy I did because now I really earned the Goofy.  Had I came in at 7:15, I probably would have thought I didn't deserve it.


Overall, it was a really fun race.  I would do it again, but I think I need to aim a little higher next time.  I set my Garmin on a 15 minute mile pace, thinking that if I at least kept up with that, with all the stopping and stuff,  I would be fine.  I should have set it on 13 or 14.  That would have given me more running time and a little more buffer at the end.  On the other hand, I felt great and walked all the parks in the three days after the race.

This is at Chef Mickey's, but Goofy got a kick out of my medal there too.  I told him I'd been looking for him all day!

Wearing your medal around Disney is a lot of fun.  Even the characters notice.  Goofy flagged me over in Epcot when I waved at him and he noticed my medal.  He pointed at it and gave me a big Goofy hug.  Donald refused to be photographed with the Mickey Medal and only wanted the Donald one.  All the park staff make you feel like a hero too, telling you congratulations. I'm not normally one to wear a race medal after leaving the race, but this was too fun not to wear.  Heck, I want to wear it everyday.

I'll post some stats from my various body trackers within the coming days to compare them.  I think that will be fun.  My Garmin died right before the finish, so it will incomplete, but I also wore a fitbit and a Bodymedia band.

Chi-Chi-Chi Chia Brownies

Delicious Chia Brownie

Chia seeds are popular today and being showcased as a superfood. It comes from a plant called Salvia hispanica and is found in southern Mexico. I first really was intrigued about it when I read Born to Run, which is about a tribe of Mexicans called the Tarahumara who run for hundreds of miles without rest or injury. It also started the craze for those silly looking five finger shoe (some people swear by them, but they do look silly). In it, one of the reasons the Tarahumara are so atheltetic is because of the iskiate they drink.

The Aztecs were said to use iskiate like drinks to sooth sore joints and stimulate saliva flow. They believed a small amount of chia seed could sustain you for 24 hours. It does fill you up, because as it gets wet it turns from something the size and consistency of course ground pepper to the something the size and consistency of bubble tea bobas. They form their gel in your stomach, which helps keep you full.

They are also nutrient packed. These seeds have more omega-3 than flax, and they have antioxidants to boot.They provide fiber, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, niacin and more. They are 23% protein by weight. They also don't go rancid like flax and don't need to be ground to be absorbed.

I made myself some iskiate after I read the book. You just put about 1 tablespoon of chia seeds (they are the exact same things you probably slathered on a chia pet at some point in time) and flavor it (the Tarahumara use lime or lemon) and let it set for about five minutes, at least. It turns into a gooey gelatinous substance. Like thick water. I used a fruit punch mix to flavor mine.

This is my tropical punch iskiate.

I have a problem with textures. I didn't like iskiate at all. I grabbed my bottle and went for a run...and ended up gagging on the stuff. Yuck. I did find some uses for chia seeds that I didn't totally hate. I made my favorite overnight oat recipe. Oats are supposed to be a bit thick, right? I added a tablespoon of chia and let it set overnight. Those were gooey in a wonderful way. I made my favorite chocolate pudding recipe and added some chia seeds. That was also gooey in a wonderful way.

Chia pudding: better eat it before it sprouts (or not, chia sprouts are good too).

You an also grind them or add them whole to salads, in cereals and even add them to baked goods. I find in baked goods, they give an extra nutty crunch, so if your baked good would taste good with a nutty flavor, add a little chia and see what happens.

I added 1/2 cup to my favorite brownie recipe and it was delicious.

Chia Brownies (From Alton Brown's brownie recipe)

• 1/2 cup chia seeds
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup of sugar (make this lighter with 1 tablespoon of sugar and 3 bananas...it works)
• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 8 ounces of melted butter
• 1 and 1/4 cups of cocoa
• 1/2 cup of flour
• 2 tablespoons of vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Butter and flour your brownie pan.
3. In a mixer, beat the eggs until fluffy and light yellow. And the sugar (bananas too). Add remaining ingredients and mix.
4. Pour batter into pan. Bake for about 45 minutes, or until edges are brown.

Nutrition Facts

---

Amount Per Serving (makes 16)

Calories: 195
Total fat: 6.75 g
Protein: 3.6 g
Total carbohydrate: 39 g

• Dietary Fiber: 8.4 g
• Sugar: 30.9 g

With banana instead of sugar, it's 172 calories, 6.75 grms of fat, 31.2 grams of carbohydrate, 8.85 fiber, 21 grams sugar and 3.75 grams of protein.

Exercise: How Much Is Enough?

Two of my favorite physician bloggers have both weighed in on a heavy topic and I wanted to discuss it myself.  One of the physicians who supervises Biggest Loser contestants on the shows presented some research on some of the contestants and determined that intensive exercise programs, like Biggest Loser, can actually reverse disease like diabetes, hypertension and improve other health markers.

• Dr. John M - Did you Hear Any Real World Messages from Biggest Loser Science
• Yoni Freedhoff - Biggest Loser MD, Deluded, Unethical or Clueless

This study confirms what I've come to believe from observation of many people with heart disease.  You hear those miracle stories of people who stop taking their diabetes medications because they have started running or signed on to some bootcamp program.  As Dr. M says, this study confirms that exercise CAN improve health markers.  In my personal experience, it doesn't have to be quite as intensive as "The Biggest Loser."  People can hardly find four hours a day to exercise.  If it has to be four hours a day, we're all in big trouble.

I think the problem with some people and exercise is intensity.  Dr. M hits on this.  I was watching Dr. Oz the other day and he was saying that things as simple as parking at the back of the parking lot can cure obesity.  There's also the book 10,000 Steps a Day to Your Optimal Weight, which says taking small steps, like Dr. Oz speaks of, will end in your ultimate goal weight.

My personal opinion of this low intensity exercise is that it doesn't produce results if you're already diseased, though little steps like that may be part of an overall picture that will prevent disease.  If you're diseased, it takes more.  Just the other day someone was telling me, "I've been walking on the treadmill 20 minutes a day like my cardiologist said for months.  I haven't lost any weight.  I give up."  It's hard to convince someone about the benefits of exercise when they don't see results.  When I queried this person further, I found out he walks, but not enough to really sweat.  He does a very low intensity walk because he says it's uncomfortable, not painful, to go any faster.

Sometimes I think our bodies are out to get out us.  Mine seems to love sitting on the couch and eating Doritos.  It seems happy when I do this, but my brain knows the end results.  I'm a distance runner.  Whenever I push it, I can feel it.  My body says, "Whoa, slow down.  Don't go this far."  The human body has perfected homeostasis.  It wants to stay the same.  We have to fight that.  That's why exercise is "uncomfortable." 

That being said, exercise shouldn't be painful.  If you have chest pain or pain while exercising, of course don't push it.  "No pain, no gain" is a myth.  Muscle aches after exercising are normal, but real pain tends leads to injury.  Injury leads to giving up exercise.  How do you know how hard to push?  How do you find that limit between uncomfortable and pain?  That will be different for every person and every medical condition.  Listen to your body and your physician and make the decision. 

Back to the study. Obviously, I think moderate or intense exercise is important.  Do I really think four hours a day is needed?  I've seen results from much less.  I think consistency is more important than duration.  Thirty minutes to an hour three times a week is what is recommended currently and, for most people, 30 minutes of moderate to intense activity is enough to see results in my anecdotal experience.

Let's be clear: most Biggest Losers contestants are more diseased than most of us.  We are a fat nation, but contestants on that show are outliers.  They are morbidly obese. Maybe they do need the intense intervention. Maybe there's a point where you can damage your body so much it won't ever bounce back to "normal."  I would like to see what happens to the Biggest Losers when they get back to the real world.  Do they still exercise four hours a day?  How much does it take once the weight is off? I have a feeling we'd find that it takes much less.

The rest of us?  I doubt it takes four hours.  In my experience what fits into your schedule is most important.  I've seen people lose lots of weight with intense programs (not as intense as Biggest Loser), only to put it back on when they couldn't keep up with it.  When they can't keep up, they just quit.  Would they have still put the weight back on if they'd modified their schedule? Maybe instead of a daily 2 hour bootcamp, a daily 30 minute workout?  I've found that keeping it up over time is the most important factor.

Keeping it up means always pushing your limits.  Like I said before, your body likes to stay the same. You have to keep pushing because your body adapts.  Pretty soon, you won't feel uncomfortable anymore, and we'll be in the same spot.