kypdurran

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March 22...    Like the number 464 this day will always hold a special place in my heart.   Two short years ago on March 22, 2006 I started my weight loss journey - and oh what a journey it's been!   Making today even more special is my favorite race of the year, The New Orleans Crescent City Classic 10K is today.  This was my 'big goal' and one of the last goals on my original goal list.   Never did I think that I would be able to run 6.2 miles when I weighed 464 pounds, much less 26.2 as I did last month in the Mardi Gras Marathon.  It's literally going to be a walk in the park compared to the marathon but it's still special to me as is my annual running of the Mardi Gras Marathon will be.  I just may partake of the unusual aid stations that will be offered this morning course handing out beer, hot dogs, coffee and donuts.   :)

So I guess the only big point I still have to prove to myself will be in October 2009 when I toe the line in Kona for the Ironman.  That day is closer that I think.

Best of luck on YOUR journey!

Well after the smackdown in the pool at the Athens Triathlon I've upped my swimming considerably. I've been doing 65 minutes (1.25 miles) in the morning before work in addition to a 4 mile run shortly after. I'm slow but I think I can definately make the cutoff times easily for the half and full Ironman with more training. I'm doing 90% of it freestyle now too with some breaststroke thrown in to 'rest'. My issue NOW is open water swimming. The difference between pool swimming and open water swimming is considerable to say the least as I learned over last weekend during a clinic that my local triathlon club, The Baton Rouge Triathlon Club, sponsored. I struggled to make around 400m in the cold, murkey waters of False River in New Roads, LA. I'm a little concerned because my next tri is a Quater Ironman distance event off the coast of Galveston in Texas.

I also got word that I'm in this months issue of Obesity Help magazine. I haven't gotten this month's issue yet but hopefully I'll get it soon.

The race report for the Athens Triathlon that I did on Saturday is up at http://www.team464.com/athenstri/

It was a great time and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing (and living) it.

I competed in the Athens Triathlon yesterday in Athens, Texas.   Other than getting kicked in the face on the first 30 seconds of the swim, it was a great race and I can't wait until my Quarter-Iron Man challenge at the end of the month.  I finished 200 something out of 444 competitors and will be writing a full race report in the next few days. 

For now, pics are up at www.team464.com.

The full race report is up at:

http://www.team464.com/mardigrasmarathon2008/ 

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing (and living) it.

 

 

Visit www.team464.com/mardigrasmarathon2008 for all the race pics.

This is the account of my first marathon, the Mardi Gras Marathon on February 24th, 2008. The movie "The Spirit of the Marathon" begins with the quote, "When you cross the finish line of your first marathon your life will change forever." I can say that I wholeheartedly agree. The moment my feet touched the finish line I experienced a flood of emotions that I never could have imagined. I joined an elite club of .05% of the living world's population that have run a marathon. It feels good. Here is my story...

I guess it's normal to be wide awake at 2AM for a race that starts at 7AM. I hadn't planned on getting up so early but a combination of nerves along with drinking a half-gallon of water right before bedtime
may have added to my sleeplessness. My girlfriend warned me before I downed it but I guess I'm hard headed and wanted to get that extra little bit of hydration in before the race. What followed was a steady trip to the bathroom every five minutes. I followed the "words of wisdom" from previous marathoners knowing that I probably wasn't going to get a good night's sleep the night before the race so I got a 'straight eight' on Friday night. So, there I lay in bed from 2AM to 5AM tossing and turning all the while seeing the prize, the finish line of the marathon, in my minds eye. That thought was not new to me. I often pictured what the finish line would look like during my training runs and most of the time it choked me up. Each of my three separate alarms started blazing at 5AM. I was already wide awake so I hopped out of bed and started dressing for day ahead. I placed all my racing 'gear' out on the table the night before which included my racing belt with my "464" bib number, my gel packs in the racing belt pocket and my clip on 4 ounce water bottle holster. Breakfast consisted of half a bagel with some peanut butter smeared on top and around 4 ounces of coffee. I slathered a copious amount of sunblock on my follicle challenged head and double checked all my gear and especially made sure that my timing chip was securely fastened to my shoe. I read about a fellow marathoner losing his timing chip at his first marathon at Disney and I can't imagine how frustrating that must have been. I was out the door at 5:45 feeling both excited and scared of what the day had to offer.

The air was crisp and heavy but there was no wind as my girlfriend and I started the half-mile trek from the hotel to the Superdome. The hotel we stayed at is the same hotel that my friends and I park at when we attend the Saints games. The only difference about the walk today and on Saints gameday is that this walk will be made without a bloody mary in hand. As soon as we exited the hotel we found the nearest newstand distribution box and bought a copy of the Sunday paper. I flipped through the sports section to see the article that Michael Montelbano, a new friend, fellow marathoner and reporter for the Times-Picayune, wrote about me. I was absolutely floored by what I saw. The article itself was amazing and very well written but to make it even more impressive is that it spanned two pages complete with a couple pictures and a nifty 'quote' box you often see in magazines. It was very uplifting and a great to start to what was shaping up to be one of the most memorable days of my life.

We arrived at the dome around 6:20AM and we walked around a bit until I found a clear patch of space where I could start stretching. Before I knew it it was 6:55 and Mike Cambre, the race director was introducing the guests of honor to start the race and sing the national anthem.  The crowd of racers was thick and I'd say I was probably around 150 yards from the starting line. Next thing I know the race horn is blown and off I go. I kissed my girlfriend goodbye and then I was off. The crowd of racers slowly shuffled to the starting line and finally spread out a bit to allow everyone to jog across the mat on their way to Poydras Street. 26.2 here I come!

We ran down Poydras for what I assume was around half a mile and made a turn onto the street leading up to Bourbon. As I crossed Canal Street into the French Quarter I found it amusing seeing the partiers that were still 'out' from last night trudging along outside the still open bars. I thought they were crazy to be up from the night before but I'm sure that the same thoughts were going through their heads about us.

PART 2 or actually the full race report is up at www.team464.com

I'm gonna give a full, detailed race report as well as the pics of the day up later today on my blog but I wanted to let everyone know that I absolutely did finish.   Right now I feel like I've been hit by a truck then had a 2 ton ball dropped on my head.   I'm past exhausted. 

I think my overall time was 5:30.   I hit 'the wall' at around 18 and it just got plain ugly from there.   When I got to the halfway point (13.1 mi) I actually had a pretty good pace of around 9 minutes per mile and clocked in at just over 2 hours.   I hit 'the wall' at around mile 18 and it got UGLY from there. 

Here's a link to the article they did about me from from the Times Picayune that was published in this mornings paper.

http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/sports- 36/120383418613170.xml&coll=1

Mike Montelbano, the reporter that did the story, did a wonderful job on the article and having people on the route shout, "Hey...  464 guy!  Are you the guy from the paper?" helped out so much.   3 minutes after I crossed the finish line, which unfortunately I was so exhausted I only remember bits and pieces, Mike had a tape recorder in my face so he could do a follow-up piece tomorrow.  Oh... blubbering crybaby at start and especially for the last quarter mile and the finish of the race?  CHECK!   :)

And a couple pics of right before I bonked.   The rest of the pics that my girlfriend took at the start / finish and at the halfway point I'll post tomorrow.

http://www.team464.com/images/mardigrasmarathon/marathon-cit ypark1.jpg
http://www.team464.com/images/mardigrasmarathon/marathon-cit ypark2.jpg

Fear of the unknown...   I guess that's how I can describe my apprehension leading up to Sunday's Mardi Gras Marathon.   I've trained for many months and I know that I can do it but toeing the starting line on Sunday I'm sure to have mixed feelings.   This last week of tapering has probably been my toughest week of training.   It hasn't been tough physically but rather mentally.   I've only run 9 miles so far this week and my longest run has been 3 miles.   The MENTAL aspect of the taper is what's getting to me.   I went from running 50+ miles a week to 9.   Something about that just hasn't digested well with me.  Will I really be able to run the 26.2?   Will I hit a wall at 20?   Will I be able to keep my carb intake up without dumping in the middle of the race?  Will I have to walk at any point?   I guess these questions are normal but it doesn't make things any easier.   The next time I post I will have officially lost my marathon virginity with a full race report of the experience.  :)  Until then...

I did my 12 miler on Saturday doing the majority of it along the levee near LSU and downtown Baton Rouge. Overall it was a good run, although it wasn't as fast as I would have liked. The tapering really goes down this week with only 3 miles a day and a 6 miler on Saturday. I'm now less than 2 weeks away from the marathon! I can't wait.

I took a new set of before and after pics last night. Here's the comparison to the night before surgery. A little bit of a difference. :)

22 March 2006	10 February 2008

I seriously doubt that 48 seconds is worth even mentioning as a workout.   I got my first experience with open water swimming in my wetsuit today in the Lake Maurepas north pass right on the outskirts of Manchac.   As soon as I hit the water I was frozen and my breathing was erratic and fast.   That coupled with the fact that the water was somewhat shallow and I kept touching some weeds or something on the bottom kinda freaked me out a little bit.    I lasted 48 seconds before I got back in the boat a shivering mess.   No, it wasn't a workout but it did expose me to what to expect next time I jump in the drink.   Open water swimming is going to be something that I have to baby step into.   I've got 5 months until the first 'big' race which is the Gulf Coast Triathlon in Panama City, Florida.  (1.2m swim in the gulf / 52m bike / half-marathon run) Plenty of time!  

Here's some pics of the ordeal:   http://www.chadsoileau.com//racesandtriathalons/firstopenwaterswim/