The passing of my father, Donald Rauschenberg

I thought trying to find the words to describe a challenging race or a hard-fought victory was tough.  I was wrong. Trying to encapsulate how you feel when your own father dies makes everything else seem like a walk in the park.

I do not often go into details of my private life in public, and will hardly open the vault in this post (you can, however, see my father’s obituary by clicking here). But after a simple posting on facebook about my father had me flooded with condolences I wanted to at least take the time to thank those who spent a few seconds of their day wishing me and my family well.

Even my closest friends knew very little about my father.  He was a quiet man who kept to himself for the most part. Having been physically crippled by a hunting accident, a series of post-accident surgeries, infections and his personal bad judgment, I only knew my father one way my entire life- fairly immobile. Yet this did not keep him from attending just about every event I participated in, if at all possible. I never so much as played catch with my father but there was no sport that I took on that he did not fully support my participation in.  Yet, there were times when he could have been a better father or husband.  He was far from perfect.  Then again, so am I.

About four years ago I was participating in a race on a very unique day.  This race put me at the exact age (just a few days off) from when my father was shot. From that point on, I would have had the full use of my legs longer than he ever had in his life. During this race, my father back in my hometown, went to the hospital. What we would later learn was the beginning of a slide into Alzeheimer’s took roost.  Given the nature of my race (a 24 hour event where runners simply tried to run as far as they could on a 2 mile loop) I had the ability to take phone calls while I walked certain portions. When I called my father and spoke to him, it was clear he was quite confused.  He was absolutely convinced he was still at home even though he was obviously hooked up to machines in a hospital. Even though I had seen my father has a diabetic crippled man my entire life, this was the first time that shield of invincibility finally cracked.

The race itself was hard on me and each time I spoke to my father (which I did every few hours) I was beginning to realize things would never be the same. Not long thereafter, I pulled out of the race. I blamed heat and fatigue when in reality I knew it was simply because I had just completely beaten myself up mentally over seeing Superman fall.

Over the next few years, as long as my father was home, while his memory itself was slipping, he was rather lucid. This change a little over a year ago. Sparing the details, suffice it to say both his mental and physical health deteriorated rapidly. We began preparing for what seemed inevitable. Always a stubborn SOB, my father rallied on numerous occasions until finally my mother called me to tell me that I needed to say goodbye to him. If you think an 18 mile training run is hard, try saying goodbye to the man who helped make you who you are, over the phone, when he cannot respond.

I lost my Dad on Friday around 9 AM EST. He was 68 years old. If you can, please do me a favor and call your own father and tell him how much he means to you today.

Transitions

Recently, I had a friend mention they really enjoyed an article I wrote about a year ago and would like to see it again. I do enjoy making my friend happy so the following is that article.

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Transitions. Life is full of them. I am learning, as a newbie triathlete, that they are almost as dreaded in this sport as they are in real life. We figure out our swim time, bike time and run time and often forget about the transition time. I am beginning to think transition time in triathlons is like the last .2 of a marathon – often forgotten, almost always a bite in the butt at the end.

But transition need not be that way. It need not be the bane of our existence. As we change from one thing to another it can be the source of great comfort and happiness. As I make the transition into taking on more triathlons and enjoying the new and exciting rush of entering a sport that I know so little about, I could be filled with dread. I know I sometimes get frustrated with all of the rules. In running, you put on your shoes (sometimes not even those), line up at the start and go. Triathlons require much more planning, much more preparedness. There is simply so much more to know. Yet I welcome the change.

This past weekend I competed in my first Ironman 70.3 in Boise, ID. For the uninitiated, that is 1.2 miles of swimming, 56 miles of cycling and 13.1 miles of running. Aside from a little wind on the bike course, the weather somehow shifted and changed perfectly for me along the way; warm when I wanted it to be, cloudy when I needed it to be. The Idaho Beef Council was out supporting me and some 75 other members of Team Beef on the course, which was an unbelievably fantastic boost whenever I needed it. The camaraderie was great amongst everyone competing regardless of whom they were racing for. Rarely is such a transition so smooth.

Most transitions in life are like when I went from the swim to the bike. With my feet freezing from the 52-degree water, I thought the pain in my toes would go away soon on the bike. I did not realize the pain was from the spare handlebar caps I put in my shoes and forgot to take out. But I soon figured out what the cause of my problem was and fixed it. That is like most transitions in life. Problems are presented, usually painful ones, and only after trial and error do we come to a solution.

Presented with these transitions we know we must go through them to get to what waits on the other side. We must persevere and push forward, or the next leg of our journey will never begin. The best way to do so is to ignore distractions, focus on only what is needed in order to move forward and then do just that.

Afterward, the transition period in life seems just like it does in triathlon- a small and annoying part of the overall journey that we soon forget about.

Impressions from the Olympic Marathon Trials

In a word, Wow.

At the Olympic Marathon Trials in Houston, we all knew it was going to be an unprecedented day.  First and foremost, this would be the first time in trials history that the men’s and women’s race would be held on the same day, let alone the same course.  With a multi-loop course layout, this meant standing in one spot allowed a spectator to see the runners no less than four times. With the two different genders starting 15 minutes apart and an as-to-be-expected thinning of the herd of each race as the event moved forward, there were times where runners were coming through an area for a solid 10 minutes straight.

I was fortunate enough to be offered a pass to watch the race from just a few yards away from the finish. I had thought about donning running shoes and trying to cut corners and see the runners all over the course taking close and personal action shots but when presented with the opportunity to watch from the finish, could not pass it up. I enjoyed a little breakfast courtesy of the Olympic Marathon organizing committee and reveled that the sport I love allows so many to see its premiere events so easily. Throughout the day I was mingling with people who obviously were there to support someone but who didn’t know a whiff about marathoning as well as people so firmly entrenched in the running world that their names are legendary.

Much has been written about the top three finishers (well, four actually – as Dathan and Amy Hastings' near-hits and obvious emotional responses at just missing the team were heartbreaking) and I too was quite moved by them all. However, more so than that was the pure electric feel this race had to it. Each side had about five people who may have a shot at making the team.  Yet even knowing more or less who was going to make the team did not take away some of the drama.

Weight Loss

With the New Year comes the resolutions.  With the resolutions comes the desire to “lose weight” and “get into shape”. Very arbitrary goals which allows them to easily be forgotten, changed or given up on. The problem is many people are looking at the wrong things when it comes to weight loss.

When we say we want to lose weight, most people mean they want to tone up or cut down on the amount of fat on their body.  In reality, the number on the scale shouldn’t mean that much at all.  How we look, how we feel and how healthy we are should trump the scale.  But the scale is far more measurable.  Weigh 127 today when you weighed 129 yesterday?  Hooray!  It would be great if we all had easy access to a device that actually kept track of the fat content on our body or instantly allowed us to know that what we are doing in our diet and our exercise was beneficial to us and in what way. For the most part, the scale is not that.

Here’s an example: I weigh myself pretty much every day when I am home.  I always do it after a workout (so if I am dehydrated or at my thinnest, at least I am always dehydrated and at my thinnest -constant) and I try to remember to keep everything the same as possible.  I do it most to laugh at anomalies like this:

Friday: 10.1 mile run; weight = 176 lbs
Saturday: 15.8 mile run; weight =178 lbs
Sunday: 5.6 mile run; weight = 180 lbs
Monday: 12 mile run; weight =180.8 lbs

If I had not been weighing myself for quite some time, I would either be freaking out thinking I had a tumor or would want to give up eating or exercising or both because obviously something is askew.  But I know that weight alone means oh so little.  There is no doubt in my mind that within a day or two of my continued normal exercise and diet, I will drop back into the 170s.  But if I don’t I won’t lose my mind.  In fact, as I am ramping up my miles this year for a couple of longer distance events, I would not be surprised if, even though my clothes are more loose, if the scale doesn’t register much change at all.  The scale doesn’t know my waist is thinning a bit while my quads are growing a touch.

Sure it is helpful to have a scale in the house but if one does not use it correctly, or relies too heavily on the little number readout then it is probably better to not care at all.  What really matters much more than a scale is to make a food diary.  Sure they are annoying and tedious but if you yes YOU (me included) make note of what you eat in a day, you will probably be more than surprised at how many calories you take in during the course of a normal day.  2000? If you are lucky.  Chances are it is much higher.

So as January turns into February and beyond, don’t worry too much about weight loss per se.  Worry about exercising and eating right.  The weight will probably take care of itself as long as you are smart about the other two things.

Hydration Products

This past weekend at the New Year's Revolution Run a few runners were talking about how they were surprised when they had miscalculated their hydration in a race where you could get a drink of water about four times a mile. I mentioned I had learned the hard way this myself and we began talking about ways to hydrate. Recently, I had experimented with two new products and I wanted to share them with you.

One, called Simple Hydration, is simple a water bottle, to put it bluntly.  But it is a pretty unique one in its design.  Not meant to be a solution to an ultrarunning distance, it is for athletes looking to get runs in up to about 10 miles who need a little support on the way.  I first gave it a test run in Fort Lauderdale in November and was a little skeptical.  I honestly do not like much of anything in my hands or on my waist when I run. 

The Simple Hydration bottle is meant to fit on your waistband, in the center of your back.  Here goes the chafing, I thought.  Much to my surprise, even though it took a little bit getting use to (I would run naked if it was legal and not an eyesore) it neither chafed, moved nor bothered me.  My only problem was that with so much of the surface area of the bottle touching my skin, the potential for chafing remained.  In addition, body heat really can warm the fluid quickly so making sure the liquid is ultra cool is imperative. (The bottle also will fit in a utility belt like SPIbelt, although I did not get a chance to try that out.)

I think it is a sold product that fits the market exactly where it wants to.  It is not going to be something you use for trek over the Rockies but it definitely is enough to get you through 90 minutes of running on a hot day.

Another watery product I tried was called was called 82Go which is basically a product which touts its major green initiative. Like Simple Hydration I see the product being used best for shorter runs or where there is not a need for a great quantity of water.  Or, as seems to be one of their goals, to replace water cups at aid stations in races.  Given the amount of plastic is the same amount used in just the lid of most water bottles, that is a very good thing. I am far from the most ecologically friendly person on the planet (although i do try my best) but I think this is an excellent goal.

The product itself takes a second or two to master and you will occasionally squirt yourself in the eye. However, slipping one into the shirt pocket of a bike jersey or into again a SPIbelt, seems like a pretty good way to carry 8 ounces of liquid refreshment.  And while this may be pure conjecture, the water tasted really good.  I am not one who buys into purified water or has a problem drinking from the tap but for some reason, these little 8 ounces bods were yummy.

I think both are worth a try. Either way, get your water people, even in the winter.

New Year's Revolution Run Recap

A Runner's Ramblings: Volume 6; 45th Edition 
713.1 miles raced, 7480 meters swam and 202.3 miles biked in 2011
Race: New Year's Revolution Run
Place: Kearns, UT
Miles from home:  15 miles
Weather: Indoor

With the turning of the year, I almost forgot to write this recap.  Don't worry.  As I am already full into 2012 this will be relatively short.
 

My only goal for this race was to run 30 miles. In case you didn’t click on the above link to read more about the format of this race, it is simple.  Runners have four hours to see how far they can traverse an indoor track course.  Bam.  That simple.  The clock starts, you start moving (or not depending on when you plan to start) and your laps are counted by chip timing.  With the track being next to the ice speed skating oval, it was slightly larger than your standard 400 meter track.  So each mile was just 3.65 loops instead of 4.  This mean, and believe me, this took more math than I wished to do, that in order to run 30 miles, I had to average a 2:10.5 lap and run 110 laps to nudge myself just a hair over 30 miles.

I was very happy as I rolled into the race venue to see so many people there doing one last race in 2012.  At the same time I knew this was going to involve a lot of dodging, bobbing and weaving. Having done similar races, I knew what to expect and was hoping people would try to abide by not only the rules the directors sent us but also common sense and courtesy.

The gun went off at 8:04 PM and I steadied myself for four hours of NASCAR-esque left turns.  When I mentioned what I was doing earlier in the week, someone asked me if I was going to get dizzy. After pausing to see if I really needed to answer the question, I asked them if they get dizzy when they walk around a city block. I honestly do not understand many people far too much of the time. 

New Year's Revolution Run

Earlier in the year I was barely ahead of the least miles I have ever run in one calendar year (which was, ironically the year I ran 52 Marathons). I knew the reasons – travel, racing, and working all lowered the numbers.  My threshold for a successful year is 2,000 miles.  Not because it is arbitrary but because I have found if I am running around that many miles in a year, my results are best. When it appeared I was going to be in the 1800 mile range I didn’t fret.  But slowly a few things fell into place and with the last three weeks of December all being spent in my home (a rarity), the miles piled up. It wasn’t until this past weekend when I did my fake marathon run at Liberty Park that I realized that not only would I probably get 2,000 miles, I might actually get 2011 in 2011.

Then I also realized this was unnecessary.  I would already be upping my miles quite a bit this week and given that I had a fleeting bout with the beginnings of an injury just a few months ago, ramping up for the sake of hitting some milestone was pointless.  So I decided I would simply run what I was planning on running and if 2,000 was hit  - great! That said, barring an injury in the next three days, I will hit 2,000 miles somewhere on the Olympic Oval here in Salt Lake City early New Year’s Eve morning.

Two years ago, when a race got canceled on NYE I made up my own 6 hour run, doing 2 three hour loops of Liberty Park with a brief break in between each.  I did this to simulate what I would experience in the 202 mile run I was going to do just a few months later.  Last year I went to San Francisco and on a day where many seasoned ultrarunners ran well below their usual goals, was able to win the One Day Run with a total of 41.4 miles in 6 hours.

This year, I neither have to travel nor make up my own race as I will be running the New Year's Revolution Run. Supporting the Autism Council of Utah, running with old and soon-to-be-new friends as well, I am looking forward to another great ending to another great year. I will be shooting for about 30 miles, or 110 laps of the oval but the entire four hours will be just about having fun. hope to see many of you there!

Loopin around Liberty

So I described my Christmas morning run last week and I can say it went off smashingly yesterday morning. Seventeen loops of Liberty Park with a jog there and back to give me a smidgen over 26.2 miles. 

My friend Chris was kind enough to waste part of his holiday morning with me and helped me kick off the first four 1.5 mile-loops at a nice clip (12:28, 12:16, 11:53, 11:47).  Chris is mostly a cyclist who is is trying to cycle all of the designated state routes in Utah.  You can read about his adventures here. He has, however, taken to enjoy running even more lately, so it was a pleasure to have him out there helping me get my butt moving.




We talked about how I hoped to see Henry, who is an older gentleman I see on occasion when I run in the mornings.  I talk about Henry, ironically, in this post about a run on Christmas morning two years ago. We had not seen him by the time Chris skedaddled to go home to his wife and celebrate the holiday but three loops later (11:38, 11:49, 11:53), there Henry was!  I saw him for the next more loops before he went about his business once again. As certain family members of mine struggle with health issues it is a melancholy feeling I get seeing Henry, so vibrant and alive, out here all the time.  It will be a truly sad day when I don't see him anymore.

The next series of loops was, to put it one way, odd. Somehow, even though at the halfway point of each loop, my times were all over the place, the next 7 loops somehow being almost exact mirrors or one another (11:38, 11:38, 11:38, 11:31, 11:38, 11:38, 11:36).  When each loop pooped up with that 11:38, I just laughed more and more.  being a little tired, i would forget about it until the loop was ending, hit my watch, and laugh again.

I saw more than a few runners out on this morning but a couple running together were out there for quite sometime.  They were running the opposite direction (who runs clockwise?! Weirdos) and slightly slower than me so I got to see them pretty frequently.  They would sometimes stop, sometimes walk and sometimes utilize either the cedar chip trail or sidewalk.  I was very curious about what exactly they were out there looping around for but I am sure they were thinking the same thing of me.

My friend Darby showed up and did a few loops as well and it was nice to be able to see her.  A few other friendly faces popped in and out and I loved how so many people were taking advantage of a pretty darn nice running day.  The inversion (Utah pollution for those not in the know) wasn't too bad, the sun was shining and the temperature was in the high 20s or low 30s.

I saw I had an off chance to run virtually the exact same time as I had run last year (3:24:26) so I picked up the pace a touch on the last three loops (11:27, 11:24, 11:14).  It wasn't enough however and I ended up running just a hair off in 3:25:31.  I was pretty darn pleased. Kind of amazing to me how just running a minute or so off of pace can make even 26 miles seem relatively easy.  Given the adventure I have coming up next April, this was definitely food for thought.  

Here's hoping you all had a wonderful Christmas.

Christmas Running Fun

Last year I had my plans for all the major holidays mapped out.  Then life intervened. So I had to change them.  On Christmas morning I decided I would run a marathon distance around the loop in Liberty Park, the park across the street from where I live.   (I seriously love this freaking park. Made a video of it HERE. Yes, it is schmaltzy in purpose.)

When I move from Salt Lake City, I am going to total up the number of miles I have run on this 1.5 mile loop. It would surprise me none if the total was over 2,000.  It is convenient, safe, clean and flat. It is absolutely perfect for me.  Some people think the idea of doing 17 loops (25.5 miles plus the .75 of a mile total from my doorstep to the start and back) sounds monotonous and boring. Perhaps it is to them.  I find it quite nice.  It allows me to just zone out.  No stoplights to worry about, just the occasional idiot drive in a car not realizing they need to slow when they enters a pedestrian place and lots of time with one's own thoughts.

Last year I was clipping along at a very solid pace when I realized that I was actually going to run a solid marathon time for a simple training run.  I ended up running 3:24. I had a few people pop in for a few laps which really warmed my spirits on a chilly day. Christmas this year looks like it will be more of the same - quite brisk with a light covering of snow.

I have no idea what I will run this year in the Second Annual Dane Rauschenberg Memorial Christmas Mid-Morning 26.25 Marathonish Distance Classic and it really doesn’t matter.  It is about embracing the ability to exercise and having fun while doing so.  Even though it is Christmas morning and I would rather be spending it with my family and friends burning of 3500 calories, enjoying what should be by then clean air and spending time to think about those I cannot be with is not a bad replacement.

So starting at 9 AM (ish - again, it's Christmas!), you will know where to find me for the next 200 minutes or so.  And if you don’t see me, stand in one spot and in less than 12 minutes guaranteed I will go running by.

Merry Christmas everyone! Love you, Mom and Dad!

2011 Marathons in Review

I knew this year would not be one that was focused on marathons. In fact, half-marathons alone outnumbered fulls 20-14. Throw in my beginnings of a foray into the triathlon world, all while continuing to travel and speak and promote health and fitness, and I am surprised I even got 14 marathons in at all.

Of course, one always hopes to do well when they toe the starting line and in spite of training that really did not point to it, I was hoping for a PR in the marathon distance in 2011.  That didn’t happen.  But in hindsight, 2011 was a very good year for me marathon-wise. 

First, I did my first ever back-to-back sub-3 hour marathons. I was surprised I hadn’t done this before, but lo and behold there are still plenty of things for me to achieve in marathoning. Second, in spite of a nearl Achilles tear that would have sidelined me for quite some time, forcing me to shuffle through a marathon and reconfigure my schedule for the remainder of the year, I averaged the fastest overall marathon time for a calendar year since 2008.

So as the year comes to a close, here is a look back at the marathons I did in 2011. (Full recaps can be accessed by clicking in the name of the race!)

01.08.11    Mississippi Blues Marathon - MS

For the third straight year I was honored to be the guest of the MS Blues Marathon in Jackson, MS. In 2009, it had been hot and humid.  In 2010, bitter cold.  2011’s weather was darn near perfect.  Finally starting to get over what had been a horrendous-month long cold, I was just one week removed from winning the 6-hour NYE race in San Francisco.  Funny how one thinks that because the calendar changes the body should be refreshed.  I remember going out at a sub-3 pace for the first 5 miles and knowing there was no way that would continue.

Somehow it did and I ran a 2:59:43. (Video HERE)

01.16.11    RNR AZ Marathon - AZ

Right before the race I did some stat searching and was shocked I had never done consecutive sub-3s before.  Well, I figured I could not only do that but also try to knock off  “2:57” from the times I have never run previously in a marathon.  I fell off the pace in the last 5k and missed that 2:57 goal but still got a nice 2:58:39 to get the back to back sub-3s. Great way to start the year.