Praise God it finally happened!

I can trace this back to May of 2005 when I read Dean Karnazes' book, Ultramarathon Man. I was inspired to take up distance running again after a long hiatus post-college.

It goes back farther than that, of course, to all the hours I've spent running, hiking, backpacking, and generally soaking up the air and sights of the woods.

Fast forward and the past 2 years were tough, fighting one injury after another and even wondering if I'd ever really run again. Sarah would pray with me almost every night that my body would be healed and that I'd be able to run.

So yesterday when I completed the "Haulin' Aspen" trail marathon at Shevlin Park in Bend it was particularly sweet. Add to that, the tasty icing of running faster than anticipated, and it was a great day. Here's how it went (I'll work on posting pics at a future date)...

I woke up at 5 to get ready, and couldn't get the microwave to work (for my oatmeal). After a lot of beeping buttons in the dark, Sarah got out of bed, took over and had the magic touch (good thing too, because my back-up for breakfast was a bad tasting energy bar they'd given out at the race registration).

We got Ethan up early and drove out to the park. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't convince my nauseous, pregnant wife to rest at the hotel. Instead she chose to get up with me at 5, drive to the park, and chase our 18 month old toddler around in the chilly mountain air. Since there was no parking allowed for those connected to the race and shuttles were limited, this also meant she was committed to being there for 6 hrs. I tried to spell all this out and convince her to relax at the hotel pool, but she'd have none of that. As guilty as I felt for what I knew she'd be going through, it also felt great to have so much support (she wasn't going to miss my first marathon after praying with me all those nights).

After milling about for an hour, the race was finally going to start. It was pretty cold, and I noticed more than a few runners shivering (me included) as we stood in our tank-tops and shorts. We finally started and off we went. I remember thinking "here we go, no turning back now" as I turned on my Ipod. I have the "Nike+" addition for the Ipod which tracks your pace and mileage, so it was giong to be my running partner as well as my motivator with the music.

Unfortunately, at about mile 1 it shut off. It was so cold the Ipod battery got drained even though I'd completely charged it up. I tried to stay positive and avoid overreacting, but I sure wasn't looking forward to carrying the Ipod and headphones if they weren't going to do me any good. Fortunately at about mile 1.5 Sarah was there before we headed off into the woods. I tossed the Ipod to her, saying "battery's dead" as she yelled "we love you!" with Ethan and her watching me go by. That made me feel great and I focused on staying relaxed.

Staying relaxed proved to be a bit of an issue since I'd done so well at hydrating that I realized I had to pee about 1 mile in. Yikes! I was getting pretty uncomfortable somewhere around mile 3, so when I came to a fork in the trail I pulled off on the wrong trail intentionally and took care of things out of sight. I ran back to the right trail, and did a little mental inventory. At this point my wife hadn't been able to park so she was stuck, my Ipod didn't work so no music, my Nike+ wasn't with me (Ipod) so I had no idea of my pace, there were very few mileage markers so I wouldn't know my progress, and I'd had to stop and pee slowing me down.

I reminded myself to stay relaxed and be positive. I was here for the experience, and just 6 months ago I'd wondered if I'd ever be able to do this at all. I soon caught up to a guy named Rob and we chatted a bit. We seemed to be a good fit for pace and we ran together for almost and hour and a half. It was nice having some company out there, so that was good.

The course climbed slowly for the first 7 or 8 miles with 2 aid stations. I'd finished my gatorade bottle, and realized I'd be carrying an empty bottle most of the way and should have just used the aid stations. That was fine though, and I filled up with a little something at each stop. The aid stations were the only place with mile-markers, but for some reason I always forgot to look at them, so I never knew how I was doing. Around mile 6 my left knee started to scare me as it began to hurt, but I prayed about it and decided to trust to God's will and try not to focus on it. Fortunately that went away after a half mile or so.

I got to an aid station at 11.something miles (saw the marker at that one) and drank some "Heed" electrolyte drink before turning to the last steep section. The course had 2500 feet of total climb and it seemed most of it was packed from mile 8 to 12.5 or so. The road after mile 11 was really steep and I had to battle a lot of negative thoughts. I just kept shuffling up the hill, hoping it would end.

After finally cresting and catching back up to Rob (who'd left me on the steepest section) I downed a "Hammer gel" and some more Heed and took off down the hill in front of Rob. This was the first downhill and the first time we were on single track trail for a long stretch (most of the course was old dirt roads to this point).

I felt strong and went after the downhill section somewhat aggressively. About 5 minutes into it, though my left calf threatened to cramp up and my right knee began stinging. Again, I said more prayers and took an attitude of trust, as I pushed ahead.

It must have been around mile 15 when I started getting light-headed from a lack of calories. I started daydreaming about burgers much like the time I soloed a 33 miler in Bull of the Woods. I kept telling myself to keep pushing, knowing I'd make it to the next aid station soon. I finally saw it coming up, but as I got to it there was no one there and there were no supplies.

I got a little worried there. I was probably around 17 miles in (though I had no clue at the time) and I was getting really low on energy. The combination of not knowing my mileage and being lightheaded and tired was tough to fight through and I started slowing up, but tried to keep pushing.

In hindsight, I must have been doing ok, as I passed 2 guys before the next aid station. When I got there (forgetting to check mileage again!) I gobbled up several packets of Hammer Gel, several cups of Heed and a friendly aid-station volunteer filled my bottle with more Heed (so now I wasn't carrying the bottle in vain.)

I took a bit of time at that aid station so the 2 guys passed me again, but I left there in a much better state of mind and body. The half-marathoners joined us at that spot in the trail as well, and I began passing many of them one-by-one. It really helped to have so many people to key on as I kept telling myself to pick them off one at a time which kept me focused on the run and not on my fatigue.

I caught the 2 marathoners again, and went by them for good, but was getting pretty anxious to know how far we'd gone, so I asked one of them who told me he had us at mile 21 by his calculation. When I asked, I had expected him to say mile 17 or so, and I realized I was well ahead of my anticipated finishing pace.

That put plenty of wind in my sails and I motored on, passing more half-marathoners as I went. Around mile 24 there was a photographer who yelled "just a couple miles to go!" and I knew somehow I could finish. I was starting to get really tired, but I knew I could find a way.

At mile 24.3 there was one last aid station (yes I saw the marker at that one!) and I started getting pretty excited. I was really hurting, but I knew I could do it, so I tried to keep from slowing down, and since I was still passing people I felt positive.

With what had to be only about a quarter to a third of a mile to go I was coming up on someone I recognized from high school, who was running the half marathon. I figured I'd say hi as I passed and just as I came up behind her my foot hit something (rock? root? bump?) and I went sprawling on the ground, opening my knee. She turned around to ask if I was ok, and I was already up to push to the finish as I said "hi" and she recognized me saying "hi" back. I remember thinking how silly it was that I could get through almost 26 miles without incident only to fall at the last minute next to someone I knew.

I really didn't care though, and mustered the energy for the final push to the finish with a 3:36 finishing time, good enough for 11th male and 12th overall. Hearing Sarah cheering for me and looking up to see my time (faster than expected) made for the perfect ending to the run.

Not sure what's next, but it's too early to think about that anyway as I hobble around with stiffness everywhere today (even my shoulders and back are sore!)

Praise God I was able to do it, and here's to many more!

P.S. - I got a Western Bacon burger from Carl's Jr after we got back in town, which was a fitting end to my 2nd major trail run for those who recall my other one.