My Solo Half-Marathon

Two men started, one man finished.

My training partner and I took off on a 13.1 mile odyssey around 9:30 in the morning. After meeting at my house and getting in a good stretch we started our timing devices and hit play on the Ipods. We took off side by side, sloshing through the mushy and partially melting snow. We both knew that it would be the hardest test of this young 2011. We have both completed a half-marathon. I had actually completed four, one as the finale of my first 70.3 at Cedar point last fall. But early on Friday morning, I wasn't competing with my running partner, the athletes of Rev3 and my other half distance marathons, I was competing inside my own head.

Running that 13.1 was one of the hardest "events" I have done in a long time. Without other runners close by, it was a mental struggle to keep going. I was alone, very cold with wet feet, and carrying my hydration on my back. Running with a Camelbak was not fun for me. The route I had plotted was one six mile loop, one three mile loop repeated three times, and a 1/2 mile out and back that really made this one of the worst  courses ever! The course also included a couple long uphills, each repeated three times during the smaller  loops. I hope that makes sense, I can barely understand it and I designed it!

The most positive thing to come out of the experience was a running philosophy that I started to embrace. It was simple, run now, worrier about later then! What I mean is, if you can run in the moment, don't worry or think about ten miles in the future. Many times I have asked myself,  "How are you gonna keep this up for X more miles?" Friday I ran at a steady, conservative pace and focused on the moment and let the future unfold with every step. It worked for me, I will make it work again for sure.

I lost track of my running partner at the end of the six mile loop, I never saw him again. We run at different speeds and know to go look for one another after a certain time has passed on our regular bi-weekly runs. Friday would be unlucky for my buddy when he developed a headache mid-run and had to abandon with over half the distance already under his belt. He consistently finishes our runs, but just ran out of luck last Friday, it happens.

I was also suffering, mentally and physically. My right glute and hamstring were both bothering me and my wet feet were freezing cold! My left index finger was numb, it always gets numb when I run, but it was twice as bothersome on this run for sure. I was pretty miserable and just wanted to finish. As I started to get close to home I realized that the course was going to be very long, probably a half mile too long. I decided to stretch and walk the excess distance, instead of continuing running and possibly injuring the hammy or glute.

I finished and started to walk, but that was just not sitting well with me. I was too cold to walk so I ran anyways. It helped keep me warm and got me out of the elements a couple minutes sooner. It wasn't until I saw my buddy's car was gone that I knew only one man was finishing the 13.1 miles on the last Friday of January.

We plan on running a half on the last Friday of each month, and I am sure he will be finishing strong in February, I only hope I will as well, because January's was brutal!

Half-crazy

I had this crazy idea, at least it is crazy for me. In order to prepare mentally for the rigors of running a marathon at the end of a 2.4 mile swim and a 112 mile bike ride, I set a goal of running a half-marathon on the last Friday of each month leading up to my races in the Summer and Fall. Today is the last Friday of January.

This is me running in Tour de Ashland half-marathon.

I am not running alone this morning, I will be going out with my training partner Dan, who ran his first half in early December 2010. He and I run at least twice a week and circuit train twice a week too. We have a regular six mile route that takes us through several residential areas. It contains several long climbs that always seem to arise at the worst times. Today we will be climbing those hills three times. Our six mile route will contain in it an additional three mile route of the hilliest section, just because I am a little maniacal that way. That will total just about twelve miles, so I will need to figure something out for the last 1.1.

This is the first time I have run a half-marathon unsupported. That part is slightly scary. I will be carrying a small Camelbak filled with water. I will also be carrying some bars inside my coat. I think I will fuel up with some steel cut oatmeal and a fruit smoothie along with my daily supplements.

Sometimes I have a hard time believing that I can do things like a 13 mile run, it wasn't that long ago that I could not do a single mile! I feel so fortunate that I turned that corner! Maybe I am not so crazy, just very, very lucky!

Blowing it!

I am blowing it! I can not continue thinking it is only January and that I have plenty of time. In the last week I have worked out every day, sometimes multiple times on the same day. Just like last year when I worked out like a mad man, I am exercising to extremes but eating poorly and my diet is negating my workouts.

Since I started this blog I have put on two pounds! Unacceptable! I should have lost a pound or two, instead I am further from my sub-two hundred pound goal than I was a week ago. I know when this started too, It started last Sunday when I decided I wanted some "healthy treats' while I watched my beloved Steelers play the Jets. While shopping at the local grocery, I found a buy one, get one special on Flatouts flat bread used for wraps. Once I took advantage of the discount I had 12 wraps, probably more than I should eat in two weeks. I also bought some chopped rotisserie chicken from the deli and some mozzarella cheese. I took all the ingredients home and made a "healthy" pizza combined with some marinara sauce I had in the fridge.

By halftime I was standing in front of the stove waiting for the second pizza to finish being baked. Since Sunday I have eaten the same meal enough times that there are only five pieces of the bread left out of twelve. The Flatout bread was better choice than pizza crust, and the rotisserie chicken much better than pepperoni or sausage. But it is far less beneficial for me than say a tasty spinach salad with that same rotisserie chicken and some other veggies.

I have a little over the week to come up with something special to eat as I watch the Steelers trounce the Packers in the Super Bowl. When I figure out what that is I will share it here so we all can enjoy some real healthy fare and a Steelers win!

Snow Tired

I am weary of this snow. My buddy wrote a blog recently on how he wants to ride his bike but can't because of all this damn snow! I agree with him for that reason but the snow is spoiling my running as well. I am tired of running in the snow. Running in the snow is not fun, as a matter of fact I get quite annoyed!

I had to put sheet metal screws in the bottom of an old pair of Brooks for extra traction, the screws do help out a lot. The screws keep my footing solid as I run through the ice and snow. So far I have not felt any screws invade the cockpit of my sneakers and they show very little signs of wear other than a bit of rust. To make matters worse, I have to wear plastic grocery bags between my socks and shoes to keep my feet dry. The bags crackle every time my soles make contact with the not-so terra firma.

I miss my fartleks! It is all I can do to stay upright at an easy running pace, there is no way I could pick up my speeds with out sliding off the road and hitting guardrail, or going right of center as I run against traffic! Without the fartleks I just kinda lock in at an aerobic pace and put in base miles. Don't get me wrong, base miles are important but I want to feel like I am progressing, not just sustaining. Recently during an inside running workout I could not believe how much faster my pace was than it is outside. More than 30 seconds faster pace inside than out.

A week ago my training partner Dan and I went out on a day that we shouldn't have. There was just too much snow. Schools were canceled, cars were stuck everywhere, and snow plows were pushing the white stuff into monster piles. We started out but wisely adjusted our normal route for one that was slightly less perilous. We turned a six mile run into a four miler, but when we got back we felt like we had run ten. The snow was thick and deep and gave us quite a good workout.

I am going to have to cut this blog short, it is time to bag up the feet and slip on those Brooks:)

Check out my buddy's blog here

A little bit about me...

Hello. My name is Jason Molyet. I turned 40 years old recently and I am married with no children. Most of my life I have considered myself an overweight athlete. Maybe I am delusional, but I have always felt that I was 40-100 pounds away from being an exceptional athlete. Right now my "delusion" is that I am 40 pounds away from being the triathlete I desire to become. Part of the reason I am writing this blog is to chronicle my daily life and monitor the good AND bad habits that will factor in to me achieving my goal.


Officially my goal to lose weight and become the athlete I desired started in 2008 after making a deal with my boss at work. I am a photojournalist at a mid-sized newspaper. I proposed writing a daily blog, narrating my efforts to get in shape for a 230 mile, 5 day tour through the mountains of Virginia on the Blue Ridge Parkway. This five day ride included 5 mile climbs with almost 100 pounds of gear towed on trailers behind our bikes. Our bike trailers contained our food and drink, our tents and sleeping bags, and a spare of just about anything that could break on a bike. I am happy to report that I completed that adventure and had an amazing time that I will never forget! I lost about 45 pounds getting ready for that trip.


Later I made another deal with my boss. I would continue my blog, this time my goal would be to complete a half distance marathon in December of 2008. Once again I blogged everyday and completed my goal. I don't remember my time, but it was over two hours, something like 2:10 or maybe even a couple minutes more. I didn't care about my time, I was just tickled that I was able to finish that grueling event! I have completed that half marathon two more times and knocked over 20 minutes off that first effort.

This is me after finishing the Rev3 and me
before I started blogging and losing weight.

In 2009 I asked my boss if I could extend my blog again. This didn't take much convincing since my prior blog was honored with the award of "Best Blog" for the state of Ohio by the Associated Press. This time I would challenge the hills of Mohican in a 100K mountain bike race. The race called the Mohican 100 boasted 11,000 feet of climbing through some of the steepest, rootiest, rockiest terrains in the area. That race challenged my mind and muscles more than anything I had done to that point. With five miles left I lost my rear derailleur and chain to a tree branch. I had to run an push my bike across the finish line.


In 2010 I brought my blog back again, this time to document my attempt at becoming a triathlete. It was the most rewarding experience of all the above. I never felt like a the climber I needed to be in Virginia, and I am certainly not the runner I wanted to be in the half-marathon. Mountain biking is fun and an incredible workout, but I am never  too comfortable on knobby tires, ducking under branches, and turning up switchbacks in my granny-gears. Being a triathlete feels right. I love the many facets of the sport. I love its extreme nature. The people I have met are the most positive and impressive people, they don't set limits on themselves, and the sky is the limit in their minds. I have only competed in one half-ironman, but it was one of the best days of my life!


As I write this blog, I am training to compete in a full ironman in September. My last weigh in I was 238.8 pounds. I can't tell you what my ideal race weight is. I am 6 foot 3 inches and have a pretty large frame. My gut (no pun intended) tells me that I should be under 200, maybe 185-195 on race day. I am going to see how close I can get to that before September, I should have plenty of time to lose it safely and responsibly with diet and exercise. 

Half is not Enough!

This morning I was running inside after finishing an especially grueling spinning workout at the Y. I was thinking about how much fun I was having running around that bean-shaped track. It occurred to me how far I have come in the last few years. I should be fairly proud of the advances I have made to my health and conditioning, and to some degree I am proud. Still, there is so much more I want and need to accomplish!

J.J. Molyet finishes half-distance at Rev3.

I wouldn't mind being half a millionaire, half my age, or half my weight when I am ascending some of the climbs in the area. Being half an Ironman is not enough for me. I want the whole enchilada. Unfortunately, eating too many "whole enchiladas" is part of my problem, but I will save that issue for another blog. Preceding some of my biggest accomplishments with the word "half" is getting really old! I want to be full, whole, and complete! "Half,"just doesn't have the uuuumph that someone that desires extremes needs. I want to sit back in my recliner, on my next birthday, and know that I am an Ironman!

In September 2010 I did complete a half-distance ironman race at Rev3 Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. I trained like crazy for the event, I was dedicated to finishing that race. I was terrified in the months leading up to the event. Terrified because of the unknown. Now I have a completed race in my back pocket, a finishers medal hangs proudly in my home. The accomplishment on that special day seems small to me now that I have a full-distance race coming up in eight months. What once seemed like an impossible achievement, now seems like a cute little task performed on a sunny Sunday afternoon. 

I think I will always lean towards the half-distance races in the future, they seem reasonable for someone with a full-time job and in a marriage. But at least once in my life I hope to go all the way, be one of the big boys, and experience the glory only those that go 140.6 miles can experience!