The All-athlon - 1 day, 5 races, 53 miles - Marathon, 1/2 Marathon, 10k, 8k, 5k

Sports & Exercise
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I have been wanting to share this but it took me a few days to collect my thoughts on all of it. I want to tell all of you about a day. It was a day unlike any I have had.

I will share some details, but the important thing to me is not the specifics of the day - those are super fun and I need to share some of them! - but rather the reason I wanted to do this and what I hope this day will represent.

Before I get into it all, I want to express my love and gratitude to my wife Leslie who provided so much logistical and emotional support. Without her it could not have happened.

I also want to say that the FUD community provides so much feedback and support. This really is a place like no other. Nobody else has given me what FUD has, and for that I sincerely thank each of you.

Okay, I will get it started…

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Whoa, 5 distance races in a single day!!! Unbelievable, Eric! You are amazing, T1D or not, this would be one heck of challenge!!! I can’t wait to hear more!!

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Wow, that is a hyper-mileing day! I assume as usual that you did all of them in world class time.

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Sorry, I gotta disappoint you there.

My goal for each race was to be able to finish the next race.

It takes a while to replenish muscle glycogen. If you are running at best-effort for the distance you can completely deplete muscle glycogen in a race as short as a 10k.

Since I was doing them all in the same day I could not fully replenish, so the goal was to finish all the distances and not bonk.

There was a lot of discipline involved in not pushing beyond a target pace, even when I felt really good and a faster pace would have been easy at the moment. Kept having to tell myself to save it for later in the day.

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I’m pretty proud of myself when I manage a leisurely 5k on a treadmill. Awesome buddy.

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And here I thought you were dying of cancer or something after you asked for thoughts and prayers…

I’d actually taken up an FUD collection for your final expenses.

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2 Angels

The racing landscape changed a lot this year. My last in-person race was in March. There have been a lot of cancellations and changes to the way races are done since then.
(@LarissaW had that happen too for her marathon. :frowning:)

Racing alone is tough. It is difficult to put forth a best-effort when there is nobody on your shoulder pushing you, no crowds watching and cheering, no course support like water tables, no road closures.

One of the things that has been the most special to me in recent years was getting to meet my 2 special little angels in person after a marathon.

You know the image of an angel on a person’s shoulder - I am lucky enough to have 2 angels. When I met them, they were etched in my heart.

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So all the changes and the fact that I would not get to meet with them again this year after a race led me to this idea.

Carmela and Liam, I want to give a day to you.

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I am sure your little angels helped put the spirit in you to help you finish the next race! Let’s hope 2021 will have plenty of opportunities to meet in person after your races!!! :pray: :heartpulse:

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Just a few miles!

Sounds like Leslie and you pulled off a logistical marathon too.

Super happy for you and proud of you :clap: it sure wasn’t easy to train for or accomplish

Next up- run all those races without any breaks in between :smile:

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Thanks! And I am gonna get to your part soon, too! :heart:

Can I get back to you in a few days? :grinning:

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A seed is planted…

The last time I had doubt about a race was my first marathon many years ago. I have not had any doubts about a race since then. I realized that simply meant I was not going beyond the known. If you don’t have a bit of fear or doubt or uncertainty from time-to-time, you are not really growing or pushing yourself or extending yourself outside your comfort zone.

I was sitting outside in July thinking about my next target race. I remember the moment clearly - a bright day, sitting in the sun in a lawn chair thinking about it. There were a few options, and I was going to have to decide between a marathon, a 1/2 marathon, or a 10k.

And then of course it became instantly clear. Why do I have to pick one?

Why only run one?

The distances popped through my head quickly, and the idea kept growing. If I do a marathon, 1/2 marathon, and 10k, that would only be 45.5 miles. Nobody goes to bed at 45 miles. How are you gonna leave it there? Go ahead and break 50, what are you thinking?

So if I add an 8k, that gets me over 50, but it leaves out one of my favorites, the 5k. Why not go for the full-house of distance events and do all 5 races? 53.6 miles?

Okay, now we are getting somewhere!

I have always had this idea that I wanted to be able to run any race distance at any time. Like I could just show up at a race and they would tell me how far it was that morning and I could run it. (I am not there, but it was just a thought I always had that it would be cool to be able to do that.)

So the next logical progression was to think - not only can you run any distance, but you can run them all on the same day.

Now my thoughts were getting really silly!

Well, the way these thoughts work…once they are in my head there is just no way to get rid of them. I can either do this or spend the rest of my life thinking about it.

So I guess I gotta do it.
:man_shrugging:

Okay Eric, now let’s figure some of this stuff out and get your head wrapped around this thing.

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outstanding the way that your brain works!!! And congratulations on your achievement. You are a force to be reckoned with, always. :heart:

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Totally!! :smiley_cat:

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You are one of a kind!! This would not occur to me!! You remind me of my ultra extreme runner friend. Her mind works in the same direction as yours’!! She is also a very, very perceptive and bright person!! :heart:

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I am totally assuming here, but I am gathering that you are referencing to Eric’s brilliant genius. :wink: (his way of thinking is uniquely his own by every measure!!!)

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Yep, good catch!!! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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Thank you both, @daisymae and @Trying!
:heart:

There was actually a little personal thing in the Marathon that I wanted to do in honor of you both, when I was setting this thing up! You prolly didn’t even know that!

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The distance

When I was getting mentally prepared for this, I needed to wrap my head around the distance. I also wanted to share it in a way that helps put it into perspective, but it’s a bit tough.

I could say, “a little more than 2 marathons”, but if you haven’t run 1 marathon, that doesn’t really mean much. Or if I say, “run a mile and then do that 52 more times”, that’s kind of a meaningless way of expressing it.

I thought about this, and it helped me get my head around it a little better.

Imagine you are on the highway. It’s a clear day and there is not much traffic, so you set the cruise-control on your car at 65 mph. You glance out your window to the left and then set the timer on your phone.

The dashed lines pass by your car. You pass exits, truck stops, signs for gas stations and signs for fast food restaurants. More exits. You go under some over-passes. Fiddle with the radio, you lost your favorite station…Still driving…Sometimes you pass a car, sometimes a car passes you…Still driving…

You have been on cruise-control at 65 mph the entire time, never touched the brakes or gas.

Eventually your timer goes off. It was set for 49 minutes and 30 seconds. Look out your window.

That is 53.6 miles.

Let’s go run it! :+1:

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No, but I know I’m honored by you thinking of us!! As if you didn’t have enough to do in setting this up and training for it!!! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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Hah, you make it sound like the run was easy, on cruise control!!! Couldn’t possibly have been for a normal person, um, but not you!!! You did say that you had to pace yourself and not go all out to be sure you conserved energy to get through the final race. Still, that in itself is a tremendous challenge, not to mention all of the BG management, THEN the actual RUN!! Phew!!! :tired_face: :sunny:

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