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The donation page will up up until December 24th. Thank you for your support.
The Idea
The donation page will up up until December 24th. Thank you for your support.
The Idea
With the plan of running across the U.S.A. getting put on hold, I needed to figure something else out. While on a training run with my friend Sunny, we decided that doing something in town would be the best logistically for the time being. Running a marathon (26.2 miles) a day for 10 days seemed challenging enough, and would also give me an idea as to what it would be like to run high mileage everyday if I was to actually run across the U.S.A.
With the idea set of running a marathon a day for 10 days, all I had to do is pick a time to do it. December seemed to make the most since. My last race would be in November and nothing really planned until maybe April.
Picking The Date
I knew I wanted to do this in December, but I didn't have an exact day set that I wanted to start. In November Alisha mentioned that she wanted us to run a 50k together, and asked if I would want to do the Rodeo Beach 50k on December 9th. I looked at the calendar and decided that this might be a good start date for my run.
Day 1
My first day was the Rodeo Beach 50k. This race used most of the trail system that the Headlands 100 miler uses. It felt good making this the first stop in this journey. My first day of this journey would be at a place that I loved running the most. I was very happy that Alisha found this race and that she would be with me to start this 10 day fundraiser that I was starting.
The run was amazing!!! I got to run on the trails that I love and spend the entire day with someone who has become very important and close to me.
We had a blast on the trail, and it was fun showing Alisha the place where I love to run the most. We ran the entire race together and finished on 7 hours and 19 mins.
Day 2
Sunday morning... I was hoping that this day would go well, and it did. I had to teach 2 morning classes at the gym I work at, and then after that I went to church with Alisha. When we got done with church I headed over to Fleet Feet and met up with Oliver and Dave. They wanted to run a few miles with me and help me start my first run that would take place in Fresno. A few miles into the run, my friend Chris joined us along the running path that we were taking. It was nice having company along the way. Having them with me made the miles go by fast. I was also feeling pretty good, even after running a 50k the day before.
I had company up until mile 18, after that I had to finish up the last 8.2 miles solo. These last miles felt like they were taking forever. I eventually got them done, and headed home.
Day 3
Now that the weekend is over, I need to run between both of my jobs, along with picking up and dropping my kids off at school.
I drop my kids off at school at 8:00am, and then I meet my old friend Megan and start my run. Megan ended up running about 11 miles with me. Not too bad since she has only been running 8 x 400 meter repeats lately. We took it easy and talked a lot about what's been going on in our lives. Megan is one of my dearest friends. We don't get to hang out much, and when we do we are usually running, but we always seem to have very productive conversations. Megan and I eventually made our way back to our cars. I dropped her off at her car and I walked over to Panda Express. I got a chicken bowl because I was starting to feel super hungry and wanted food instead of gels. After a short rest to eat, I headed back out on the running path. I finished the rest of my miles solo.
I drop my kids off at school at 8:00am, and then I meet my old friend Megan and start my run. Megan ended up running about 11 miles with me. Not too bad since she has only been running 8 x 400 meter repeats lately. We took it easy and talked a lot about what's been going on in our lives. Megan is one of my dearest friends. We don't get to hang out much, and when we do we are usually running, but we always seem to have very productive conversations. Megan and I eventually made our way back to our cars. I dropped her off at her car and I walked over to Panda Express. I got a chicken bowl because I was starting to feel super hungry and wanted food instead of gels. After a short rest to eat, I headed back out on the running path. I finished the rest of my miles solo.
Day 4
This was mentally my hardest day. I decided to do a 3 mile loop by my house that I do quite a bit. I decided to do a 5 min run and 1 min walk interval. I figured the change up would good, but maybe it wasn't. I didn't carry any water or gels on me. I was making stops at my car every loop (3 miles) to fuel up, but it wasn't enough. I should have carried the water and gels on me because I crashed pretty hard on this run. My body didn't feel like it was too beat up from the days of running, but I was defiantly not getting in enough calories. I muscled through the run, and was able to finish with just enough time to go home, shower, and then pick up my kids.
Day 5
It's Tuesday today... usually that would mean Sunny and I are going for a run, and going somewhere to eat... but not today. I start my run from the parking lot at Fit 36 and my coworker Dre just happens to be starting his run at the same time as I am. We head out and run together for a few miles, and then I get a call from Sunny. Dre and I are running by Sunny's apartment and she meets us on the trail. We loop back to Fit 36 and drop off Dre. Sunny isn't feeling very good, so we run back to her place and drop her off. Sunny still wants to run with me a little more, so she decides to get in her car, drive a few miles up the trail and meet me for the more difficult later miles.
After I dropped Sunny off at her apartment I decided to kick up my pace a little. I was surprised that I was feeling good. I thought that for sure my legs would be giving me some issues by now, but they weren't. I ran up the trail and sent Sunny a text so that she would know where I was. She met me around mile 16ish with a Snickers candy bar, and it tasted amazing. Sunny ran the next 5 miles with me and kept me company.
After I left Sunny for the last time I really just wanted to finish up my run. I kicked out the last few miles as fast as I could. I eventually finished my daily mileage, made it back to my car, then went home so that I could get cleaned up before I had to go to work.
Day 6
I had a very nice surprise for this run. My friend Becky got a hold of me in the morning and and said she was going to run with me. I thought I was going to have to run solo today, so it was nice to know that I was going to have some company. Becky met me on the running path that I had been using the last few days. We met somewhere around mile 2ish of my run. She asked me where I wanted to go and I had her pick our route. I really just wanted to go on autopilot today and let someone else take the lead. Becky picked our route and dictated the pace. I was surprised how fast we were running, and how good it felt. We were running between 8 min and 8 min 30 sec miles. Becky ran with me up until I hit mile 15, and then she turned around and headed home.
After Becky left I headed out to a part of the trail that I have been using quite a bit on my training runs. I was starting to feel pretty tired and wanted the run to be over with. When I hit mile 20 I received a text message from Alisha, "Thinking about you and sending a prayer your way." Just as I was about to text her back I get a call from Sunny. She asks me, "Where are you? Do you need company?"
Wow... talk about good timing!! Maybe that prayer worked. When Sunny called I was about a 1/2 mile away from her apartment. She got ready right away and met me on the trail. I told her how I was hitting a bit of a low point and that I was happy that she was joining me.
Sunny ran the the rest of my mileage with me. Having her there really made the remaining mileage feel a lot easier.
Day 7
Alisha's friend Alissa joined me for the first 13.1 miles of this run. I was feeling pretty good still, and it was nice having someone to share a few miles with. I tend to run most of the time by myself, and having people join me almost everyday was making the miles go by pretty fast. It's fun having someone to run with that you don't know a lot, because it opens up a lot of random things to talk about. We discussed people who think the world is flat, people who don't believe in dinosaurs, life and death... most of the usual topics.
After Alissa left at mile 13.1, I was able to muscle through the last half of the run. I was surprised how good I felt at the end of the run. I realized that I was going to have to start my next run in about 12 hours after I finished this one. I had finished on Friday at 1:15pm, and because of my work schedule on Saturday I was gong to have to start my next run at 1:30am Saturday morning.
Day 8
I think I only slept about 3 hours, and I needed to run. I had to be at Fit 36 from 7:00am to 10:30am, and then at Fleet Feet from 11:00am to 6:00pm. After work Alisha and I were planning on taking her daughter to look at Christmas lights, so the only time I really had to go on my run was from 1:30am until I was done, and hopefully I would be done before 6:30am so that I would have enough time to get ready for work.
I started my run at 1:30am, and Alisha was planning on meeting me at 3:30am to help me with the later miles of my run. My plan was to be about 13 miles in before Alisha showed up to run with me. Unfortunately when she showed up I was only on mile 10 and I was going pretty slow. I told Alisha that I was 3 miles behind where I wanted to be, and that I needed to pick up my pace a little. Alisha ended up running just over 16 miles with me, and she helped me pick up the pace while I was getting very tired.
With Alisha's help I ended up finishing just in time to take a fast shower and get ready for work.
Day 9
I decided to change things up for this run. For some reason running 26.2 miles on a track seemed like a good idea. I wanted to just go out and not think about the run at all. Running around in a circle sounded like a good idea.
I met Alisha's friend Sarah at the track at Kastner Middle School. I picked this track because it is made of compact dirt and that surface seemed like it would be easy on me. Sarah ran 13.1 miles with me on the track. While she was running with me my friend Jeri came by and ran 4 miles with us. After Jeri left my friend Travis showed up, and then Alisha, and then Chris.
I had a bunch of people joining me on this run. It was nice having all this support. It was cool having all these people out here running with me. My feet were hurting a little, but it was my 9th day on a row of running a lot of miles. My feet were feeling a little sore, but Alisha kept running with me and encouraging me to keep one foot in-front of the other.
It was nice having my friends out running with me. I was getting even closer to accomplishing my goal, and sharing many miles with them was nice.
Day 10
I wanted to spend my last day of running at Woodward Park. I do most of my training there and I'm comfortable doing high mileage workouts on the 2.7 mile loop around the park. I didn't start this day wanting to run a marathon, I started it wanting to run a 50k (31 miles). I figured that since I started this journey with a 50k, it would be nice to end it with one as well.
My friend Benny joined me for 2 hours of my run. It was the first time we ever ran together. I know Benny through Fleet Feet. He's a pretty talented runner, and he is pretty fast. He's someone that I normally wouldn't be able to keep up with. During our run Benny asked me about Tibet and why it is important to me, and why I decided to run so much for 10 days in a row.
When I reached mile 15, Benny's time with me was over. I ran the last 16 miles solo. I honestly felt pretty good during this entire run. I really expected to be feeling really bad by the end of this journey, but luckily it didn't.
At the end of the day I had finished 31 miles... with just enough time to pick my kids up from school and then go teach a couple classes at Fit 36.
All Done
I'm happy that I was able to finish this fundraiser with no injuries. I'm surprised how well my body did with the mileage. I even maintained my weight (185 pounds) the entire duration of my 10 days of running.
I feel very lucky to have had so many people help me out with this fundraiser. It was nice having so many people come out and run with me and show their support and interest in what I was doing. I'm sure next year I'll do something like this again, and hopefully it will be bigger and better.
Thank you all for your love and support during this fundraiser.
until next time...
KEEP RUNNING!!!!
Day 6
I had a very nice surprise for this run. My friend Becky got a hold of me in the morning and and said she was going to run with me. I thought I was going to have to run solo today, so it was nice to know that I was going to have some company. Becky met me on the running path that I had been using the last few days. We met somewhere around mile 2ish of my run. She asked me where I wanted to go and I had her pick our route. I really just wanted to go on autopilot today and let someone else take the lead. Becky picked our route and dictated the pace. I was surprised how fast we were running, and how good it felt. We were running between 8 min and 8 min 30 sec miles. Becky ran with me up until I hit mile 15, and then she turned around and headed home.
After Becky left I headed out to a part of the trail that I have been using quite a bit on my training runs. I was starting to feel pretty tired and wanted the run to be over with. When I hit mile 20 I received a text message from Alisha, "Thinking about you and sending a prayer your way." Just as I was about to text her back I get a call from Sunny. She asks me, "Where are you? Do you need company?"
Wow... talk about good timing!! Maybe that prayer worked. When Sunny called I was about a 1/2 mile away from her apartment. She got ready right away and met me on the trail. I told her how I was hitting a bit of a low point and that I was happy that she was joining me.
Sunny ran the the rest of my mileage with me. Having her there really made the remaining mileage feel a lot easier.
Day 7
Alisha's friend Alissa joined me for the first 13.1 miles of this run. I was feeling pretty good still, and it was nice having someone to share a few miles with. I tend to run most of the time by myself, and having people join me almost everyday was making the miles go by pretty fast. It's fun having someone to run with that you don't know a lot, because it opens up a lot of random things to talk about. We discussed people who think the world is flat, people who don't believe in dinosaurs, life and death... most of the usual topics.
After Alissa left at mile 13.1, I was able to muscle through the last half of the run. I was surprised how good I felt at the end of the run. I realized that I was going to have to start my next run in about 12 hours after I finished this one. I had finished on Friday at 1:15pm, and because of my work schedule on Saturday I was gong to have to start my next run at 1:30am Saturday morning.
Day 8
I think I only slept about 3 hours, and I needed to run. I had to be at Fit 36 from 7:00am to 10:30am, and then at Fleet Feet from 11:00am to 6:00pm. After work Alisha and I were planning on taking her daughter to look at Christmas lights, so the only time I really had to go on my run was from 1:30am until I was done, and hopefully I would be done before 6:30am so that I would have enough time to get ready for work.
I started my run at 1:30am, and Alisha was planning on meeting me at 3:30am to help me with the later miles of my run. My plan was to be about 13 miles in before Alisha showed up to run with me. Unfortunately when she showed up I was only on mile 10 and I was going pretty slow. I told Alisha that I was 3 miles behind where I wanted to be, and that I needed to pick up my pace a little. Alisha ended up running just over 16 miles with me, and she helped me pick up the pace while I was getting very tired.
With Alisha's help I ended up finishing just in time to take a fast shower and get ready for work.
Day 9
I decided to change things up for this run. For some reason running 26.2 miles on a track seemed like a good idea. I wanted to just go out and not think about the run at all. Running around in a circle sounded like a good idea.
I met Alisha's friend Sarah at the track at Kastner Middle School. I picked this track because it is made of compact dirt and that surface seemed like it would be easy on me. Sarah ran 13.1 miles with me on the track. While she was running with me my friend Jeri came by and ran 4 miles with us. After Jeri left my friend Travis showed up, and then Alisha, and then Chris.
I had a bunch of people joining me on this run. It was nice having all this support. It was cool having all these people out here running with me. My feet were hurting a little, but it was my 9th day on a row of running a lot of miles. My feet were feeling a little sore, but Alisha kept running with me and encouraging me to keep one foot in-front of the other.
It was nice having my friends out running with me. I was getting even closer to accomplishing my goal, and sharing many miles with them was nice.
Day 10
I wanted to spend my last day of running at Woodward Park. I do most of my training there and I'm comfortable doing high mileage workouts on the 2.7 mile loop around the park. I didn't start this day wanting to run a marathon, I started it wanting to run a 50k (31 miles). I figured that since I started this journey with a 50k, it would be nice to end it with one as well.
My friend Benny joined me for 2 hours of my run. It was the first time we ever ran together. I know Benny through Fleet Feet. He's a pretty talented runner, and he is pretty fast. He's someone that I normally wouldn't be able to keep up with. During our run Benny asked me about Tibet and why it is important to me, and why I decided to run so much for 10 days in a row.
When I reached mile 15, Benny's time with me was over. I ran the last 16 miles solo. I honestly felt pretty good during this entire run. I really expected to be feeling really bad by the end of this journey, but luckily it didn't.
At the end of the day I had finished 31 miles... with just enough time to pick my kids up from school and then go teach a couple classes at Fit 36.
All Done
I'm happy that I was able to finish this fundraiser with no injuries. I'm surprised how well my body did with the mileage. I even maintained my weight (185 pounds) the entire duration of my 10 days of running.
I feel very lucky to have had so many people help me out with this fundraiser. It was nice having so many people come out and run with me and show their support and interest in what I was doing. I'm sure next year I'll do something like this again, and hopefully it will be bigger and better.
Thank you all for your love and support during this fundraiser.
until next time...
KEEP RUNNING!!!!
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