Concern about Saucony changes

The old adage is that everything changes. On the heels of running my first Marathon in Saucony Pro Grid Triumph 4's (the yellow and black ones), I find two pieces of news that concern me:

1) Stride Rite, the parent company, was purchased by Payless Shoes.

As I read the reports, the plan is to keep the premium shoe brands separate from the retail operations. It sounds like a diversification move rather than an attempt to leverage savings by using the brand reputation to drive low-end sales in the existing sales channel. Hopefully that means continued production of high end running shoes.

2) The "neutral high-cushion" shoe that I run in is getting boring! Fall colors are white and blue; nothing super flashy. . .

3) The "neutral high-cushion" shoe is not one of the models getting "winterized." The Pro Grid Triump 4's have GREAT ventilation. Great for summer, that is. They are COLD in the winter. I heard rumors that some models in the fall will have less "breathable" (read more wind-proof) outers. But not the models I run in. Another winter of heavy wool sox and cold toes!

I have attempted to run in both Nike and Addidas. I had problems with both shoes and will stick with my Saucony as long as I can. I have 3 active pair and two retired pair in my closet, and I will need to add a pair or two in July for the fall season.

A Few posts from other blogs

Here are a few posts from other blogs I am reading:

Chad Austin called me:

"Marc may be one of the year’s most inspirational stories."

I am humbled, but also wondering if Chad's wife could check his temperature. . . There are lots of people that have overcome more than me. I just show what is possible to give lazy guys less excuses. . . ;)

I am also reading Eric. I found his blog when he commented on my Marathon post. We shared a serious complaint with the cold wind on 25th Ave S at Fargo. We both ran our first marathon last Saturday. But from here, the stories differ. Eric started at the front between Dick Beardsley and Andrew Carlson. He also finished second overall. Good job Eric; I hope to actually meet you face to face and shake you hand sometime.

Here is his reports:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

I have Scheels Run Club tomorrow night and I am going to take a lesson from Chad and interview some of our runners for postings. Look forward to them in the next week.

Gotta run. . .

Goals Update

I posted my 2007 goals here! Now let's check status:

1) Target Weight 164#

Not going great. I have "plateau'ed a bit and I was 20 pounds over goal when I started the Fargo Marathon. Still need work here. Attacking this with a new plan from Nancy Clark to eat two lunches and cut back on evening calories.

2) Finish Fargo Marathon

Done 5:46:36

3) Finish Outerbanks Marathon

Registered for 11/11/2007 race.

4) Finish Beardsley Half-Marathon

"Intent of goal" was to run a half-marathon. Ran Earth Day Half-Marathon on 4/21/2007. Running Beardsley on 9/8/2007. Also running 2-4 other half-marathons this year.

5) Run 29:59 5K

Lowered PR twice in two races this year (from 34:57 to 34:40 and 33:11) I think success here is possible, but it will depend on #1 and #8!

6) Scout Twin Cities Marathon

Schedule conflicts means it probably will not happen.

7) Scout Grandma's Marathon

Schedule conflicts means it probably will not happen.

8) Add track/speed work in 3rd Quarter.

Depends on #1, but looking at starting in July.

9) Stock up on some really cool "Pre" t-shirts

Have one, need two more.

10) Help Cooper run 5 kids races.

Ran one on 4/14/07. He was not able to run at Fargo Marathon because I was too tired after Marathon to stick around or help him with running.

11) Help Paige run a 5K

Paige has talked about an "in-line skate" marathon, and also about running, but has not started a training program yet. . .

Scheels Fargo Marathon -- Full report

Saturday, May 19th, 2007 was the Scheels Fargo Marathon. I was registered to run; it was my FIRST marathon. My main goal was to FINISH; my stretch goal was to finish in under 6 hours.

Weather: Blessing here! Five days before race, the forecast was for Sunny and 81*. Race start was in the low 50's* with a cold north wind and overcast. It stayed that way until after the race. It rained hard the night before and I had my first allergy free run in over a month! Could have done with a bit less wind, but at least I had plenty of chance to “train” for that. :)

Start: I was in the rear of the pack. That meant two problems: the north wind was hitting me in the back of my legs and I heard nothing from the starting line. Missed the anthem, prayer, instructions, and actual starting gun. . . I just moved when the pack did.

By the time the pack started moving, I had stopped stressing about how I was going to get through 26.2 miles. I also stopped stressing about lack of a mantra. My main thought was: “It's COLD!”

½ mile: Finally warming up. Turned out of the wind, feeling great, and short sleeves and shorts were the right uniform for today.

2 miles: Need to unfog these sunglasses! Too humid for me after the rain.

3 miles: Ran by a bike shop. They had signs out that I will have to paraphrase. Basically, the message was: You're looking strong, but a long way to go. When your knees hurt, consider riding a bike next time. It took all my self control to not give them the “bird.” Instead, I made a mental note to put my bike up on E-Bay and sell it.

4 miles: Some guy was holding up a “Go Pre” sign. Gave him a big thumbs-up! Still no mantra. . . .

5-6 miles: Ran by a house playing Springsteen. “Born to Run” just makes me run faster! Then there was a house with a block party. There must have been 300 people on the block and some guy had a bullhorn: “We still have 125 Breakfast Burritos; who's hungry?” I also saw my cousin, Eric, for the first time and it was great to see him.

10 miles: WIND. Turned north into the wind on a 4 lane street with no trees. It was only about a ¼ mile, but I was chilled and not happy.

11 miles: Met by the “Windahl Support Team” for the first time. My wife (Paige), son (Cooper), and parents (Ron & Gloria) were all dressed in matching tee-shirts cheering me on.

12 miles: I was “Gumping!” Someone was blasting “Running on Empty” and again it picked me up. It made me feel like I could run across the country. Still no mantra. .. (Mom & Dad: This is a reference to "Forest Gump"; it is the song that plays while Forest runs across the country a couple of times. . . )

13 miles: Right hip starts hurting and I am worried this will prevent me from finishing. I was approaching the Scheels Aid station and they had a bunch of signs with facts and quotes to read and take your mind off running. I had a brief moment of panic when I worried that it would be like so much at Scheels with a test at the end, and I could not remember what animal could lick it's own eyeballs. (its the giraffe for those of you that don't know how to google it. . .)

Made it to the actual aid station, high fived my coworkers and friends, picked up my resupply of Sharkey's, and continued on with new energy from all the support.

15-20 miles: Chip and GPS say I ran it, wish I could remember it. I do remember giving a long-time family friend (Bev) a hug and I called her by a last name that has not been accurate in 30 years. I also vaguely remember running through the Concordia College campus. I was a bit disappointed that it was not full of girls like Welsly is during the Boston Marathon, but then again, I did not have any energy to react anyway. There was also an orchestra somewhere in there; nice kids. And I met a couple from Thief River falls; she was running her first marathon. I looked for them at the finish, but never found them again. Saw the guy with the "Go Pre!" sign again. Still no mantra. . .

Mile 20: Saw my family and cousin Eric again! More energy!

Mile 21: Working on inventing a time machine so I can go back and kill Phillipides at the 21 mile point and not have to run the last 5.2. If he is going to die anyway, why not help him, and myself, along a bit. I am almost through the equation that will prove Einstein wrong and make the time machine possible when I catch the smell of a brat on a grill. Now I can't remember it. . .

Mile 22: Made a mental note to cancel the E-bay listing of the bike, and instead use its wheels for a temporary wheelchair. Notice a “fat Elvis” in a jump suit singing on a Karaoke machine. It occurs to me that the songs he is signing are ONLY known by my son as from “Lilo & Stitch”. Huge generation gap here. . .

Mile 23: Lonely. Runners are fairly thin and I have few near me. I ask a cop if they know who stole the Fargodome, because I was sure it was supposed to be on that corner. He laughed. I was able, at times, to find a comfortable stride where I could run with zero pain and feel good. Unfortunately, I could stay in that place for longer than a block. Then I had two to three blocks of painful shuffling. I was worried that I over-tapered due to my allergy problems. I did not notice it in endurance, but I did notice it in my feet. The course had to be changed due to flooding, and 4 miles of asphalt bike trail were replaced by concrete streets. I trained on softer surfaces, and by this point my feet were VERY sore. I have not had blister problems since I started running, but the balls of my feet and at least 3-4 of the toes felt like they had blisters now.

Mile 24: Saw family again. Cooper yelled: “Go daddy go! Only two more miles!” Wish I could bottle that feeling for tough days and away races.

Mile 25: Parrot station. I was a bit disappointed. I had built this up so big in my head, but it did not live up to expectations. They were not playing my favorite Buffet song, they were out of beads, and despite the signs, I got neither a Margarita nor a cheeseburger. It was not the paradise I was looking forward to, but it gave me enough to know I could finish. About a block later, I bent over to set my cup down on the curb and almost didn't finish. Huge protests from the back and leg muscles. Dropped it and continued on. Consider and reject "fins to the left; fins to the right" as a mantra. . .

Mile 26.2: Home! Entered into the Fargodome stadium. Family and friends cheering. Great comments from the announcer. Crossed the line and emotions were huge. The last two times I remember feeling like that was when Cooper was born and Paige and I were married.

I don't know that I can ever completely explain to friends and family how much their support, encouragement, hugs, and congratulations meant to me, but it was beyond my wildest expectations. It felt awesome.

I met both goals, finishing in 5:46:36. I lost more than 90 pounds to get to the starting line, I now know that if I lose an additional 80, I can run faster times. I am excited to continue my progress!

Went home and soaked my legs in ice water and then took a long shower. Dressed and went out to eat with my family and my parents. Cooper fell asleep at supper; it was a long day for him also!

Day after, I walked about 2 miles. Quads and feet are sore; calves never complained. The race was well run, the crowds were great, the support was fantastic. I am looking forward to my next marathon.

Finished!!! 5:46:36

I finished my first marathon yesterday, the Scheels Fargo Marathon in 5:46:36.

Here is my results page.

Full report to come. . . Going to shower and do some walking to stretch out my legs first!