San Francisco Marathon

Endorphin Dude & The Chiweenie!

When I crossed the finish line of last year's San Francisco Marathon, my inaugural 26.2 miler, I feared that the intensity of runner's high would send me into cardiac arrest.  My heart pounded so hard I thought it would register on the Ritcher scale. It felt so surreal to me. That out of body experience felt like one big fantasy, but it quickly become a reality when the finish line volunteer put that medal around my neck.  I looked at the shiny object and proudly announced, "I AM A MARATHON MAN!"  I never thought that feeling could ever be duplicated again, but exactly that happened today at that same finish line one year later.

Unless you've been living in a remote village somewhere out in the mountains of northern Vietnam, you probably know the Endorphin Dude story.  For those new to the Endorphin Empire, I'll give a quick recap.  Two and a half years ago, a heart attack scare served as a wake up call for your marathon caped crusader.  I knew I had to make some changes or else I wouldn't be able to live past age 37. I took my dog for a walk around the block. That short walk eventually turned into multi-mile urban hikes with the dog. I then started to jog, and before I knew it, I was running. A year later, I dropped a huge chunk of weight, was weaned off all meds, and discovered this little thing called running.

I believe I tipped the scale at 223 pounds in the picture on the left.

In July 2009, I headed out to the Embarcadero in San Francisco to cheer on some friends running the marathon.  Mind you, I knew nothing about running back then, and I actually thought that a full marathon was only 10 miles.  When I saw the look of pride on every runner's face as they crossed the finish line, I felt that second hand runner's high in the air. Endorphins ran amok. Something in my heart snapped, and I found myself proclaiming that I wanted that runner's high for myself. I boldly stated right there and then--in front of witnesses--that I was going to run the 2010 San Francisco Marathon!  Over the next year, I trained my butt off and on July 25, 2010, I crossed the finish line of my very first full marathon.  One year later, I did it again, and it felt like the first time all over again.

The 2011 San Francisco Marathon marked my two year anniversary of running.  The funny thing is that my first marathon was supposed to have been my last.  It was supposed to have been my one and done bucket list race, but somewhere along the way I got hooked.  In two short years, I became a Marathon Maniac and Half Fanatic, completed 6 ultra marathons, 23 marathons, and 39 half marathons, and really made a name for myself in the marathon community. Who would have thought that the fat kid who always got picked last in PE would be where he is today? I am Endorphin Dude and my life got awesome when I put on that first pair of Mizunos and took my first shot of GU. Running has completely changed me, and I seriously do not want to stop.

By now, you probably figured out that San Francisco is *MY* marathon.  This weekend was all about celebrating Endorphin Dude's rite of passage from couch potato to marathon super hero, and I enjoyed every second of it.  From the expo to the carbo load dinner to the actual race, I cherished every moment.  Here is a photographic recap of my incredible marathon weekend.

The slogan this year is "worth the hurt."  Indeed it is!

So I walked up to Marshall Ulrich at the expo and said, "Do you remember me from The Modesto Marathon? I gave you a big hug at the finish line. I was the guy in the cape." He looked at my shirt and said, "That's right, Endorphin Dude! You were the only one smiling, everyone else looked like they were in pain." It was raining hard that day and after 7 hours on the course, nobody looked happy!

Who wants to see Endorphin Dude in a running skirt?

After the Bad Bass 5k, Denver Michelle and I went to the expo!

Guess who showed up to The Endorphin Dude Marathon Carbo Load Dinner?  That's right, Mr. Bart Yasso, that's who!  Ultra Woof invited him and he said yes.  What a treat.

What an awesome bunch.

Mad Hatter Fancy Pants singing Wabbitz's Marathon Maniac shirt.

Good Morning Marathon Maniacs and Half Fanatics!

The start line. Endorphin Dude is in wave two with the elites!

E-Dude and Jessica Wabbitz!

Ah yes, my running partners of the day, Stephanie and Ultra Woof.  Running across that Golden Gate Bridge is pretty amazing.

This was a training run for Hector. The following weekend he ran the Headland Hundred!

There's Sharon!  We met at the Salinas Valley Marathon last year.  She said she was running it again, so the two of us will celebrate our one year marathon anniversary in Salinas!

Chris Bliss not only made signs, but she brought Chewbacca out to cheer!

Here we are right before heading to the half way mark.

Eileen!

Here's an amazing person.  Algis has pancreatic cancer.  He contacted me last year and said what gets him through chemotherapy is reading my blog.  He decided to run his first marathon, and chose San Francisco to be it.  We met up at this race.  Check it out, this guy runs barefooted!

Oh Poop.  I could have used a different four letter word that means the same thing, but I refrained!

There's the 5 hour pacer, Patrick!

Of course, we had to take a pic with The Walking Diva herself, Miss Yolanda Holder.

I got to play Dr. Dude throughout the second half of the course.  Stephanie's ankle was killing her.  Ultra Woof and I were not going to leave her behind.  We stuck together to the very end, and it was so worth it.  

Maniac Girls!

Loved the cheering section on the Haight.

Andrea qualified for Marathon Maniacs with this race!

And there's my buddy Jon, the 5:45 pacer.  I'm so glad we didn't see him earlier!

Two For His Heels!  The Cribbage Crew comes out to cheer on E-Dude!

Finish line shot.

And there's the July Endorphin Dudette, Miss Nadia Ruiz!

Woo Hoo!

Only at The San Francisco Marathon will you ever see me not ham it up for the paparazzi at the finish line. The final .2 mile stretch of this race is my moment, and I "sing like no one's listening, love like I've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth." - Mark Twain. If I could bottle up this feeling and sell it, I would be a gazillionaire.

Titanium scoreboard: 22 down, 30 to go.

When I see my two San Francisco Marathon medals, all I think about is how I no longer have to inject insulin into my body. I have come a very long way, and I am very proud of the person I have become.  A healthy dude is a happy dude.  Life is sweet.

Bad Bass 5k

Seriously, how cool is this medal?

This is the most important weekend of my running life: San Francisco Marathon Weekend!  As you all know, I ran my very first full marathon here in my home town one year ago, and that was truly a defining moment in my life.  Fast forward one year and I'm ready to do it again.  This is my marathon and this weekend is not just about running 26.2 miles, but about celebrating life, good health, and happiness.  I wanted to be well rested for this huge event so that I could fully enjoy every kilometer of *MY* marathon.  Why then did I choose to run a 5k the day before?  Because I am a bling whore, and there's no denying it.  I ran the Bad Bass 5k just for the medal.  Come on, look at that bad ass Bad Bass fish on that medal!  I had to have it!

True confessions: to say that I "ran" this race would be a gross fallacy.  I walked it.  No, to say that I walked it would be another false statement!  Let's just say that I got through this 5k in just a little under two hours.  Along with my partner in crime, Ultra Woof, and my long time Denver running buddy Michelle, we strolled our way through Lake Chabot like little old ladies at the grocery store.  There was no point in tiring out our bodies before the San Francisco Marathon, and we sure had a lot of fun out there.  It didn't matter to us that most of the 10k'ers finished before us.  Heck, it didn't phase us when some of the half marathoners got to the finish line before us!  And you know what?  We didn't even bat an eye when a six year old girl and a four year old boy passed us up!  It was all about having fun, and the three of us had exactly that!

Paparazzi!  Gotta make it "look" like we're running!

This was the "Western States" portion of the race.

Gotta get the BQ!  Who am I kidding, I was running for the BBQ.

Finish line!  We did it!

Presidio Cross Country 5k

It took me 8 hours to get home from Southern California, but I was determined to get home so that I could run the Presidio Cross Country 5k with my running club.  I need to complete 10 races with DSE by the end of the year so that I will be eligible for the Mongo Trophy!  Yes, I am a bling whore, what can I say.  I made it home a little after midnight and woke up early on Sunday morning to get to The Presidio.  I met up with Ultra Woof, "Weird Haired Mom" and her kids, and all my DSE Peeps.

You gotta love this shot.  I told the kids to do something funny and this is what they gave me!

It took my about an hour to get this very hilly 5k done.  At one point it was all uphill in sand! This was not an easy course, especially after having run a full marathon the day before.  I'm glad I was able to get this recovery run in.  My alarm clock was my worst enemy this morning, but I'm glad I got out of bed to run this race!

Woo Hoo! After the race, we all went to breakfast!

The Marathon Show Marathon

I am exhausted.  I am so tired that I cannot come up with a race report to save my life.  Hey, cut me some slack, I was up before the crack of dawn to get to the start line at 3am.  Yes, 3am start time.  I ran the marathon in the dark and after I crossed the finish line, I drove 425 miles back home to run another race the next day.  To top it off, I was stuck in LA traffic for hours!

Because I am so exhausted, I am going to steal the description of this race from The Marathon Show website.  I know the host, so I don't think he'll mind.  I hope he doesn't mind!  I will give him full credit!  Ladies and Gentle Peeps of the Endorphin Empire, I give you the host of The Marathon Show, Mr. Joe Taricani!  Voila:

Back row from left to right: Jessica Wabbitz, Elizabeth McKay, Chewbacca, Endorphin Dude, Yolanda "Walking Diva" Holder, Jim Simpson, Marina "Vasolina" White, Ryan Launder.  Front Row from left to right: Dianasaur Kitching, Andrea Kooiman, Luigi Giovanni, Joe Taricani.

The Marathon Show Marathon was held July 23, 2011 in Newport Beach, CA. The race was billed as “Small, Free, Fun and Different.” The race was hosted by The Marathon Show host, Joe Taricani in his neighborhood. The race was 100% free and people registered on a first-come, first-served basis. It was certainly small – only 11 people started the race. What made it different was the manner in which the race was started. Everyone ran with a goal of finishing at 10:00 am which meant people started running between 2:50 am and 6:00 am. The race was run on a 3.03 mile loop course so everyone got to visit on the course a couple times. “We finished in a city park, sat in the shade and celebrated together as everyone came across the finish line,” said Joe. With thanks to Allied Running Medal Hangers in Redmond, WA, each participant was given a special chrome medal in the shape of The Marathon Show logo.

There's Endorphin with the race director, Mr. Marathon Show himself, Joe Taricani.  Chewbacca ran this race bandit and cranked out a 10k!

I had a great time running this race.  I got to hang out with a bunch of my Marathon Maniac friends and I got to meet some new runners.  I liked the intimacy of this small race and I loved that we all finished at the same time.  Well, almost.  People did wait around for Endorphin Dude and The Epinephrine Pup to finish.  I also liked that we got super cool medals.  I really wasn't expecting anything, so to have such a shiny piece of bling around my neck is awesome.  Thanks Joe for putting on this race.  I hope you do it again soon!

Titanium score board: 21 down, 31 to go!

Cool Moon 24 Hour Run

The Plan:  Endorphin Dude drives from San Francisco to Oakland to pick up Ultra Woof.  We leave Oakland at 9pm and arrive in Sacramento by 11pm.  Sleep in a Motel 6 and head to race early in the morning.

Fail!

 
What Actually Happened: 11pm, the Mini Cooper is packed with ultra gear, we're plugging along on I-80, and then chug chug chug chug ka-plowy!  Yes, I realize that my onomatopoeia for the tire exploding may look cartoonish in writing, but believe me, the actual incident was pretty extreme. The rear passenger tire of the Mini exploded, and the impact was so intense it ripped off a chunk of the bumper, shattered the brake lights, and mangled up the side panel. Thankfully, we were near an exit and were able to safely make to a gas station in Vacaville.  Sadly, Ultra Woof and I were halfway to Sacramento, so this minor setback not only put a dent in my car, but also in our spirits!  

Fortunately, I had just renewed my AAA roadside assistance and was able to get the Mini towed back to San Francisco, some 60 miles away.  Chris Bliss, the chiweenie's doggie nanny, rescued us by coming out, loading all our stuff into her car, and driving Ultra Woof back to her place in Oakland while I had my car towed to the other side of the bay.  My running partner in crime then crossed the bridge to pick me up in San Francisco and we headed back to Sacramento.  We finally arrived at about 5am.  Oh, did I mention that we got pulled over because the Woof-mobile's brake lights weren't working? Boy oh boy.

In any case, we made to Sacramento in one piece and were able to squeeze in a two hour nap before our 24 hour ultra race.  The math just doesn't add up: 2 hour sleep before a 24 hour race.  Oh boy!  To top it off, the 9 mile loop was a treacherous course!  To complete the loop, we had to climb steep rocky hills, hop from stone to stone Frogger style to cross a creek, and run through snake infested and horse manure filled "Lovely Bones" fields.  For those unfamiliar with the Lovely Bones reference, this was a book and film about a 14 year old girl who was murdered in the fields very much like the one we had to walk through.  Ultra Woof was quite disturbed by this.  I don't blame her, because honestly, I was a bit perturbed by this too.  Even in broad daylight, a serial killer could very well be lurking in those fields, and if anyone fell prey to him or her, their screams would not be heard.  Imagine being out there at 2am under the pale moon light. Think I'm being over dramatic, just ask Ultra Woof and she'll tell you just how unnerving it was!  In any case, the Cool Moon 24 Hour Run course is by far the toughest course I've ever set my Mizuno-clad feet on.

The start.

Dennis Mori and Ernie Nunes.  These two are every race.  Notice the rocky terrain.  This was actually the flat portion.  There was one section where the rocky hills felt like they went for miles!

Ready for a game of Frogger?  Notice the giant chop sticks in my hands.  More on that later.

I wasn't lying about the snakes!

Ah yes, the lovely bones.

My goal for the weekend was to hit 50k, the bare minimum number of mileage for Marathon Maniac qualification.  Ultra Woof wanted to hit 100.  The problem was that this course was pretty intense during the day, one can only imagine what it would be like at night.  I told my running partner in crime that I would do my best to pace her through the night.  In theory, this sounded like the perfect plan, but in practice, it was very difficult.  It took roughly four hours to complete each of the 9 mile loop, and as the day went on, it lingered longer and longer. 

The good news is that Endorphin Dude discovered the chop sticks, thanks to Ultra Woof and Dianasaur!  These two have been using sticks for some time and Woofie introduced me to them this weekend.  Endorphin Dude caught on to the stick quite quick!  This marathon caped crusader flew with those chop sticks, pulling in an 11 minute pace after mile 28 up rocky terrain at 2am! It was a very liberating feeling.  The sticks helped me make it through the night, which I desperately needed.  Night time at Cool proved to be quite interesting.

You can call me Stick Boy.

This way?

Endorphin Dude and Ultra Woof with Ultra Royalty Ed "Mad Hatter Fancy Pants" Ettinghausen.

This lake started out as puddle at the beginning of the day.

Ugh.

And delirium kicks in...

That final loop took us over 6 hours to complete.  Crazy things happened.  I'll be writing a book about this race one of these days, and in it I will give all the gory details.  For the purpose of brevity in this blog, I will only bullet point these strange happenings:

• I swear, we didn't smoke any shrooms, but dude, the flora kept growing and growing!  What started as a flower turned into a tree by 4am!  I know it wasn't delirium because we witnessed this phenomenon throughout the day.  Very Alice in Wonderland.
• The sticks pumped up my upper body, and by midnight I felt like the Incredible Pussy Cat Hulk.  I MEOWED at the moon!  This clearly is an inside joke, and I bet most of you are confused by this.  Just go with it.  I'll explain in detail in the forthcoming book.
• Mad Hatter Fancy Pants, Mr. Badwater 135 Marathons In One Year Guinness Book Record Holder, was completely dejected by midnight.  He plopped himself in a chair at the aid station and asked Ultra Woof and I if he could walk with us the final six miles of our fourth loop.  The guy looked beat, so we figured we would all be at the same pace.  WRONG!  That jester's walk pace is our running pace!  We had to politely and diplomatically ask him to keep moving ahead!
• There was the invasion of the sticky burs which crept into Ultra Woofs skirt when she squatted during a bio break.  Perhaps this had something to do with the "presence" that she felt earlier.  The girl was spooked.
• There was the slip of the foot and Endorphin Dude went rolling down a hill.
• There were noises in the night. Were there wild bores roaming the trails of the Sierra Nevada?  Or was it really just bull frogs?

Together, we toiled to get done with those 6 miles done.  Ultra Woof and I finished that fourth loop at about 5am.  When we crossed that finish line, I said, "NO MORE!"  We had been out there for 21 hours and my body just couldn't handle it any more.  Ultra Woof was ok with that.  She did not get her 100 miles, but she did manage to squeak out 37.  There's certainly no shame in that.  The two of us devoured all the food we saw in sight, packed up the Woof mobile, and headed back to the Motel 6 for a nap before heading back home.

Titanium score board: 20 down, 32 to go!

I thought the Cool Moon 24 Hour Run would be a breeze, but boy was I wrong.  Both Ultra Woof and I had to work our Camelbacks off to get to that finish line.  I'm glad I got my 36 miles in, because it's 5 more miles than what I came in to do!  Most importantly, I am injury free and healthy, and I'm back on track to hit Titanium.  The rest of the year will be very challenging, but I'm ready to take the bull by its horns! 

Dolphin South End 6 Hour Run

My running club put on a 6 hour race one day after the Dirty Dozen 12 Hour Endurance Run.  I knew there was no possible way I could pull off a 50k in six hours, so pushed myself to run the half marathon distance.  Any other day, this would have been possible, but my legs just couldn't bear it after being attacked by killer acorns and murderous twigs at the Dirty Dozen!  I was only able to squeeze out 10 miles.

Feeling a lot lighter!  I lost 20 pounds!

Now this is team work!

There's Mae!

Me and one of my favorite Marathon Maniacs, Martha!

Here I am with the DSE President!

Congrats to Chris Bliss for pulling out two back to back half marathons!  Congrats to Ultra Woof for pulling out the triple: DSE 6 Hour, DSE 5k, and the Dirty Dozen 34 miler!

I am totally ok with my 10 miles. Even if I hadn't run the 12 hour race the day before, I would have been perfectly fine with not hitting the half marathon mark.  The reason why is because this was a DSE event.  I love my running club.  It's always like a family reunion. I summed up my feelings about this club in my Dolby South End Awards Ceremony & Gala race report.  Here is the repost:

I woke up at 7am every Sunday I wasn't running a marathon or half last year so that I could hang out with these folks.  These people have made my life better in so many ways. When I received my first DSE ribbon, I gushed like a little kid who just won an award.  I absolutely loved that ribbon, and I proudly displayed it on my wall! Until the 2009 San Jose Rock & Roll Half Marathon, my first 13.1 miler, I had never won any award for any sporting event. I was that fat kid who always got picked last in PE, so any award I received for running, big or small, is cherished.  Since that first race with this cool running club, I have collected many more ribbons as well as 38 half marathon and 26 full marathon medals.  I have come a long way with my running, and I owe a lot of it to the folks at DSE.  There is definitely a sense of community here.  The support I receive from them helps me to improve.  I know that I am always in the back of the pack, but I work hard to finish, and it's so nice to have cheerleaders on the sidelines encouraging me when I cross that finish line at every race.  I am very lucky to be a part of this awesome club.

Woo Hoo!

Dirty Dozen And Half Dozen Endurance Run

Fly Endorphin Dude, Fly!

The Dirty Dozen And Half Dozen Endurance Run marked Endorphin Dude's 26th life time marathon, and coincidentally enough, the marathon caped crusader's bib number was 26! This was definitely a good sign.  Karma was on my side this time around.  For the first time in weeks, I felt healthy!  Acupuncture has done wonders for my nagging injuries, and I seriously feel like a born again runner.  Different things work for different people, and I am ecstatic to have found the treatment that works for me.  Being on the injured reserve list is no fun, and I am so happy to be back on the marathon circuit!

I chose to run a local twelve hour race as my comeback 50k.  To get Marathon Maniac credit, any 12 or 24 hour race is considered an ultra, so the minimum mileage needed is 31.  I can comfortably walk a 50k in about 10 hours, so I had no concern about finishing. The course is a 3.1 mile loop with approximately 98% dirt fire trails. Total elevation gain on the loop is about 150 feet. An additional .7 mile loop was available to run for the last hour of each timed event, starting at hour 5 for the 6-hour runners and hour 11 for the 12-hour runners.  My plan to finish in 10 hours got thwarted by headaches caused by the sun and killer acorns and murderous twigs.

Fortunately, Tylenol alleviated my mini migraines, but sadly, there was nothing I could have done about the acorns and twigs.  I swear, with every step that I took, these forest props would ricochet off my Mizunos and hit my eye, leg, arm, and throat!  I got pegged so many times that at times I felt like Tessie Hutchinson, the reluctant winner of Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery."  It's not often that Endorphin Dude will make a literary reference, but this is one of the marathon caped crusader's all time favorite short stories.  Others include William Faulkner's "A Rose For Emily," and Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell Tale Heart." And just for the record, my all time favorite novel is Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" and I totally dig William Shakespeare's "Macbeth."  Really.  Bet you didn't know that about Endorphin Dude!  In any case, these little oak nuts and rogue branches made life somewhat difficult, but I made it through the day with minimal cuts and scrapes.

I wasn't kidding about those acorns!

I believe this was at mile 1.5.  We all still look so fresh.

I can play the evil paparazzi game too!  By the way, Not That Lucas (the guy in the photo) qualified for Marathon Maniacs with this race.  He looks more like he's going to beat up the paparazzi than running!

There's Cora and Christine. Sounds kinda like a band: Cora & Christine.

According to Not That Lucas, this person is known as "Weird Haired Mom."  I think she looks more like Pink.  I kinda want to break out into song and dance right now. I'm comin' up so you better get this party started!

Fellow Marathon Maniac Valerie Hower running. She must have passed me a dozen times.

"Uncle Mike." This guy ran 69.3 miles. Wow.

Action Shot!

When I hit the half way mark, I had to take a break.  My head pounded so hard that I needed to sit down to fuel myself with a hot dog and a Tylenol.  The good thing was that I felt much better after doing this.  The not so good thing is that I sat there for over 45 minutes, which really cut into my goal of completing the 50k in 12 hours.  Thankfully, I had Ultra Woof around to pace me.  Furthermore, my sciatic nerve wasn't acting up!  However, I knew I couldn't goof off at the aid stations for the remainder of the day, so I hustled.  I limited the aid station pit stops to the bare minimum.  I dodged all the evil acorns and killer twigs.  My diligence paid off, as I finished my 50k with 13 minutes to spare.  Woo Hoo!

Yay!

Yeah, we're a good looking bunch, what can I say.

Not That Lucas, Weird Haired Mom, and Endorphin Dude. Sounds like the Justice League of America!

Titanium Score Board: 19 Down, 33 To Go.

Strawberry Hill 5k

Woo Hoo! 5k finishes for Endorphin Dude and The Epinephrine Pup!

I'm smiling ear to ear in this photo for a few reasons.  The most obvious is because I'm holding my dog.  I'm always smiling when I'm with that little mutt.  You can probably figure out that the second reason is because I have just completed another race. The ribbons kinda gives it away, don't you think?  Notice that I said ribbons, as in plural.  I got one and the chiweenie got one too!  Yup, Endorphin Dude and The Epinephrine Pup both finished 5ks.  Woo Hoo!

There's more.  I did say in my opening paragraph that there are a few reasons for the smile, and that last one may not seem so obvious.  You may recall from my Seattle Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon race report that I couldn't finish the full marathon and detoured to the half.  I had some pesky kidney stones that wrecked havoc in my body.  Well, there is actually more to that story.  Though I did finish 13.1 miles, I cut my trip short and went home, opting to skip out on the Firecracker Triple in Portland the following week.  It was a very tough decision, but in the end, I had to think of my health, both physical and mental.  I'm not going to lie, I was completely dejected.

I headed home on Tuesday so that I could reboot.  I went back to the basics and took Chewbacca for a long walk.  I had lost my mojo and I desperately needed to get it back, and I knew the chiweenie would be able to help me find it.  Sure enough, that little six pound mutt lead me to my healer.  Up to this point, I had tried physical therapy, chiropractics, drugs, and cortisone shots for my sciatica, but nothing worked.  I had my reservations about acupuncture, but I just figured I had nothing to lose.  I gave it a shot and it did wonders for me.  I went in for another session the next day and felt even better.  All of a sudden, my confidence returned and on race day, I boldly ran!  For the first time in weeks, I felt awesome running.  I couldn't believe it!  When I crossed that finish line, I let out a roar as if I had just finished a full marathon.  It was only a 5k, but I ran it pain free.  I knew then that acupuncture was it.  Who would have thought that me turning into a voodoo doll would cure all my sciatic issues?  I am now a believer, and this explains why in the photo above I am smiling ear to ear.

On another note, I ended up passing those kidney stones...ON MY BIRTHDAY.  Now there's another reason to smile!  Well, passing the kidney stones and being pain free, that is, not it happening on my birthday.

DAMN YOU KIDNEY STONES!!!