Breathinstephen » Achievements

Boston 2011 Race Report

Stephen — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 17:36:26 +0000

They don’t call it the best marathon in the world for nothing , and this year was no exception. The weather was near perfect and the spectators and volunteers outdid themselves.

The moment I entered athletes village and the disabled athletes staging area early Monday morning, my worries and stress about the race just melted away. I felt so privileged just to be part of all this for a 3rd time. This year there were only 12 of us in the mobility impaired division. It’s kinda like an exclusive club where the members get together once a year to show the world what they have accomplished.

Here’s some various scenes I captured before and during the first few miles of the race. I think they speak for themselves..

[We have the course to ourselves for the first 22 minutes.]

Strategy– Because I feared I would have problems with my left foot if I tried to racewalk the course, I decided at the last minute to keep my pace up by doing a combination of regular fast walking mixed with some very slow jogging. I would the walk the hills and jog the downhills and sometimes the flat areas. I tried my best to walk on the inside corners of the all curves, but sometimes it was difficult because of all the people on the course. The farthest I was able to jog at any one time (because of my breathing), was about 50 yards. For the most part the strategy was working and I was able to maintain a pretty constant 14:30-15:00 pace for most of the first 20kms. By mile 15 though, the jogging intervals were making me way too short of breath and I had to cut back. By mile 18 I was getting so short of breath, I couldn’t jog at all. I was using my inhaler and neb machine way too much, and my leg muscles were starting to cramp. I thought it best at that point to stick to plain old walking (on Heartbreak hill, even the runners were walking so I didn’t feel that bad). So anyways, I’m tooling along at a much slower pace now just trying to survive the hills (which never seem to end), when I figured I better hit the next pit stop, as my stomach was getting a little iffy. That’s when every thing changed!

The Curse —As I’m stepping out the porta potty at mile 21, I take about 3 steps forward back onto the course, when all of a sudden my left knee decides to totally give out. I mean boom… it just went limp and buckled. As I’m trying to keep myself upright, my “good” leg then decides to lock up on me. I then somehow manage to simultaneously slip on a paper cup and fly face first toward the pavement. I was able to brake the fall with my fingers and forearm, but as I hit the ground and rolled onto my back, both of my legs cramped up and I couldn’t move. (We’re talking full calve and quadriceps cramps…) There’s blood everywhere and my lower body is spasming…what a spectacle. Thankfully, some very cool, but slightly inebriated college students came to my rescue and helped me work the cramps out and made sure I was OK. By then however, the damage was done. I knew the moment I tried to stand up and put weight on my left leg, that my hopes for setting a new a PR went down the toilet. After limping a few yards on it, I was having serious doubts as to whether Id be able to finish the race at all. I was so devastated I just wanted to cry. Why did this have to happen? At that point I was experiencing so many emotions, my brain kinda shut down. I went into survival mode and decided that PR or not, there was no way I was going to quit after making it 21 miles.

To give you an idea of the cup situation, here’s a photo from last year.

The last 5 Miles —Every mile seemed like an eternity. The pain was so excruciating that I was actually moaning and grunting, but I knew that if I stopped, even for a moment, that my body would totally cramp up and that would be it. Frustrated as well, I think I was starting to make Jon ( my spotter) nervous. Here I am limping, blood dripping down my leg, I’m breathing really hard and we still have several miles to go, yet he totally gets how important it is for me to at least finish the race and he continues to encourage me. Heck, even the police, which were everywhere and could obviously see me limping and grimacing in pain, were acknowledging by their facial expressions that it was OK and not to give up …they cheered me on as well. Had this been any other race, I probably would have forced off the course. Anyway, as it turns out, I had made such good time during the previous 20 miles, that even with the injury and the subsequent slow down, I still managed to finish 12 minutes faster than last year.

Lessons learned–I put everything I had into this race and was on track for a 6:45 finish. Then wham…to have this happen just 5 miles from the finish was really disappointing. I guess I could blame it on having the worst luck in the world, but in reality what happened at mile 21 was just a freak accident made worse by some poor judgement on my part. You see, while bolusing with prednisone prior to a race can sometimes keep a post race asthma flare from escalating out of control, it can also cause some wicked muscle cramps. Add to that a group of muscles that are already over-worked from 6 hours of constant pounding, and you have a marathon disaster just waiting to happen. The bottom line, is that I didn’t stretch or hydrate enough, and most importantly, I didn’t do ANY speed training. You can’t train at a slow pace and then expect to race at a fast one. If you wanna be a fast walker, you have to train as a fast walker. But of course, therein lies the catch 22. In order to do any physical activity fast you have to have good lungs. There’s got to be a happy middle in there somewhere.

Final thoughts –My hard luck story isn’t really unique. There were a lot of injuries that day and a lot of suffering going on ( you should have seen all the people who were limping through the airport when I left, it was almost comical.) Race officials later told me that they had never seen so many leg, knee and calve injuries. Weird huh?
Anyways, 72 hours later and different perspective, I’m now feeling a lot less sorry for myself or my race results. I may have lost 20 or 30 minutes with my little acrobatic stunt, but the fact that I was able to continue on despite my breathing, despite some significant injuries and despite some excruciating pain, proves once again ,that while I might be the slowest person on the course, I still am one tough cookie. My spotter Jon who works with lots of professional athletes, made these remarks…..he said “Steve, if it were easy, everybody with severe lung disease would do it. You are truly one of the great athletes that raced on Monday!” I can’t tell you how much that meant to me. Thank you Jon for tolerating me for 7 hours ( his neck was so sore from being on that bike all day) and Thank you to all my cheer-leading buddies for supporting me though my 8th marathon.

Jon and I closing in on the finish line

My left leg gave out right as I stepped on the finish map.

Speaking of race photos, almost forgot….A fellow Dave Alumnus and marathoner whom I had never met, heard that I was in the race and snapped this finish photo of me as I limped across the finish pad ( and later collapsed). Thanks Mary Ann!
(The rest of my race photos are so disturbing, I’m not even gonna buy them this year)

[Post Script] After being evaluated back home, turns out I tore a ligament near my knee and pulled 2 of the quad muscles in my left leg.Walking 5 miles with this injury probably didn’t help matters. They’ll have a better idea of the damage after they do an MRI , but hopefully I’ll be good as new in a few weeks and won’t need surgery.

Disappointed, but still finished faster than last year:-)

Stephen — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 01:01:20 +0000

I was on well on my way to setting a personal best, when at mile 21, I slipped on some wet paper cups, did a full summer salt, cut my finger open and tore a ligament in my knee. It took me almost 2 hours in excruciating pain to limp the last 5 miles of the race , but at least I finished. Jon Robertson my spotter ( bless his heart), bent the rules a little and stayed with me on the course right through the finish chute. In the end, despite the time I lost as a result of my little acrobatic maneuver, I still managed to finish the race 12 min faster than last year.

Hey, it wasn’t all bad. The spectators really out did themselves this year. Imagine experiencing this scene for 7 hours. My hands are raw from from having them high5′d so many times.

Thank you everyone for your support and well wishes. I’ll have a more complete race report up in a few days.

PS….Thank you Kerri, I just saw my Facebook Fan page. Naughty naughty..:-)

PPS…It was nice meeting you Chris and Laura!

I’m Honored

Stephen — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 17:29:26 +0000

Just found out that my story is appearing in the RCB’s annual Newsletter…. “Breathing Matters”.

I’m always flattered when an organization or a person writes an article about my fitness walking achievements, but this one is special because it comes from the same government agency that regulates Respiratory Care in the State of California where I live, and who issued the very license I hold to practice Respiratory Therapy.

I’m certainly not the only asthmatic RCP out there, there are a lots us out there who know what it’s like to be on both ends of the stethoscope. I know this for a fact, because Ive worked with many of them over the years. Heck, some have actually taken care of ME as a patient in the hospital at one time or another (and Thank you by the way). Perhaps my story will inspire some of them to take up fitness walking or maybe tackle a marathon someday, or maybe even share my story with some of their rehab patients.

My message is simple, don’t let lung disease ruin your life. Fight it every step of the way and include exercise in your daily life.

Oh… and one last thing, Respiratory Therapists are very cool people!

(Click the Newsletter cover for the full pdf)

Healing Walks

Stephen — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:33:58 +0000

Carolyn Scott Kortge’s new book is finally out and guess who’s in one of the chapters?

Carolyn contacted me about year ago for this project. She thought I had an interesting story to tell, and that it would fit in nicely with the motivational theme of the book. It’s really cool to finally see the finished work. She did a great job on it.

Healing Walks for Hard Times, maps a path through life’s difficulties with walks that tap the healing power of movement. She demonstrates how walking can restore momentum in lives that have been jolted by illness, cancer, grief, depression or trauma. With a focus on walking for wellness rather than walking strictly for fitness, it offers a path of resiliency in the steps of a familiar exercise.

More than an exercise guide, Healing Walks for Hard Times acknowledges recovery not only as a physical process, but also as an emotional, spiritual and mental journey—-a journey of Survivorship.

Carolyn lays out a progressive, eight-week walking program that encourages readers to get their feet on the ground and move forward, one step at a time. Included are personal stories from survivors of heart disease, cancer, depression, diabetes, chronic pain, natural disaster, and of course severe lung disease, that inspire and reassure. Week by week, walk by walk, readers regain balance and footing on a path that leads to healing, step by step.

Below are a couple of the pages I’m in…….

( Excerpted from HEALING WALKS FOR HARD TIMES by Carolyn Scott Kortge, (c) 2010)
(Published by arrangement with Trumpeter, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, Inc., Boston)
(www.Shambhala.com)

I hope you’ll check it out.

Dead Last

Stephen — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 15:47:20 +0000

Got my finishers certificate and the official results book for the 2010 Boston marathon in the mail today.

Out of the 23,177 people who started the race, only 22,721 actually finished it. And yours truly has the distinction of being the 22,721st person to cross the finish line. In other words…. I finished the race DEAD LAST! (Pretty cool eh?)
I mean if you’re gonna be slow at something, you might as well excel at it, right? But hey, last place or not, I still finished 15 minutes faster than last year. And who knows, maybe I’ll shave yet another 15 minutes off next years race.

( First place— Cheruiyot, Robert Kiprono 2:05:52)

( Last place— Stephen Gaudet 7:17;47)

And in case you’re curious to see what it looks like to come in dead last at the Boston marathon, here’s the last 6 and a half minutes of me doing just that.

My First Adsense Paycheck…Woohoo!

Stephen — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:46:10 +0000

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Wow…Ive hit the big time! I’m major player now. A force to be reckoned with. At the top of my game. Watch out world, I’m going places now!

Today I got one of these… Ben at his finest.
That’s right, my blog is finally paying ME!

So after 5 years, I finally reached the $100 threshold and received my first Google Adsense Payment. That’s a whopping 20 dollars a year. Wow ..I can retire now. Wait a minute …..I’m already retired. OK , well then I’ll take a nice vacation. (just kidding)

Seriously though, I never got into blogging expecting to make money. This little extra ad revenue is just frosting on the cake, and will help defray the cost of hosting this site. Thanks everyone for your continued support.

Born again Respiratory Therapist

Stephen — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 15:44:40 +0000

Following up on a previous post, I’m happy to announce that the state RCP board has accepted my RCP renewal application. I now have a valid license to practice Respiratory Care in the State of California. Yah….I’m legal again!

I have no plans on ever returning to the traditional work force as an RT, but there’s definitely a sense of security and satisfaction, knowing that I could if I wanted to.

I’m also considering sitting for the National Asthma Educator Certification exam later this year or next. I already do quite a bit of asthma educating from the sidelines, and having official recognition of that skill would be nice to have.

Just as with the RCP license, becoming a “certified” asthma educator is something I don’t really need to do, rather, it’s something that I want to do.

Lessons learned from Boston/

Stephen — Thu, 06 May 2010 18:55:55 +0000

It’s been just over 2 weeks now since I did the Boston marathon, and except for today, which I can’t blame on the marathon, Ive managed to stay pretty healthy. That hasn’t always been the case right after a big race. Looking back on how things played out on Boston weekend, I think the strategy of proactively medicating with prednisone, paid off . If you remember, I bumped up my pred to 60 mg 2 days prior to the race and then rapidly weaned back down afterward. I still got really tight and wheezy immediately after the race and had to take several back to back neb treatments throughout that evening, but thanks to the prednisone I was able to keep things from escalating. I think a lot of the post-race flaring was caused by my body being in state of shock from all the exertion I put it through. As much as I hate the stuff, I think the prednisone did a great good job at protecting my airways during the race and in the hours and days that followed. It might have even kept me out of the hospital.

Another thing I learned from doing this marathon, is that I need to take off a few pounds. I mean it just makes sense that the lighter you are on your feet, the faster you’ll be on your feet. The less you weigh, the less stress you’ll put on your legs and feet and even your heart and lungs. I might not look real fat, but the fact is, I’m 10 lbs over my ideal body weight. For the Boston marathon I weighed in at 150 lbs, which is the heaviest Ive ever been at any of the marathons Ive done. Part of that weight gain was probably from steroids, but I’m sure the bulk of it was from eating too much fattening food during the winter holidays.
Back in 2006 when I walked my fastest marathon ever, I weighed 144lbs. We’re only talking 6lbs less , but that 6 lbs made a world of difference when it came to speed. I ended up finishing that race almost 30 minutes faster than I did this one. Too bad I didn’t pre-medicate with prednisone during that 2006 race, because two days after that race I ended up in the hospital. But back then, the whole marathon/ severe asthma thing was still new to me , and I wasn’t yet convinced that walking a marathon could actually make me sick(which by the way, I fully believe is the case now.) As far as my weight goes, you might not know this, but since I began walking for fitness back in 2004, Ive actually lost and kept off nearly 20 pounds. That’s right, the steroids along with a lack of physical activity, was turning me into a little blimp.

So anyway, to put into action the things Ive learned from the Boston experience, Ive set a goal to loose 7 lbs and then keep it off. I will accomplish this by doing more strength training at the gym and by eliminating some of the junk food from my diet. I hoping to knock these pound off in about 2 months, just in time for my next gig ( whatever that might me). And from now, every race I do, I’m going to bump up my pred. Yes, I hate the drug, but if it will keep me out of the intensive care unit, I’ll take it.

Speaking of the Boston marathon, my friend and ever so funny walking partner/guide in that race , Miss Dizzy Lizzy, is finally getting caught up on her blogging ( Some excuse about not having her laptop). Anyways, she promises to have a race report about the Boston marathon , up by this weekend. I love reading other people accounts of that race.

Behind that finish line smile

Stephen — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 17:27:42 +0000

Ok, so I look really strong in some of my finish line photos, but believe me.. looks can be very very deceiving. I’m an expert at hiding what I feel inside (I think most asthmatics are, to some degree.) Behind those smiles were waves of excruciating pain shooting down my legs. My breathing was really labored at times and my calf muscles felt like they were going to explode, but I told myself at the start of this race that if I made it past mile 21, that no matter how bad my breathing was, or how much pain I might be in, that I would push on with positive thoughts in my head and a smile on my face….And that’s exactly what I did! And if for no other reason, that’s why I’m so proud of myself for finishing the race in style.

If you look really deep, you can see the pain starting to come through
(Finish line photos)

I don’t care how healthy you are, even if just walking a marathon, when you get to a certain distance in a race, your body starts to hurt really bad (I think that’s what they mean by “Hitting the WALL”). The problem is, you can’t really stop moving or you run the risk of your whole body cramping up. It’s happened to me before, and I’m telling ya..it ain’t a pretty scene. A full body cramp would end the race for you , right then and there. So after 20 miles, you do whatever you can to stretch out those muscles while you’re moving, but you never stop.

So what did it take to get this 55 year old severe asthmatic across the finish line at the Boston marathon?
Well, how about lot’s of training, lots of medications and a ton of determination and willpower! Having a good friend walking along side of you , who makes you laugh constantly, probably helps as well.. Thank goodness for Lizzy.

Here are couple photos I left out of the main photo set. I think you know why…

(Had to stop to sneek a neb treatment about every 7 miles along the course… this eats up a lot of time )

( Needed 3 neb treatments back to back after crossing the finish line. )

Here are a few other things you probably didn’t know

*To control my asthma during this 26.2 mile race, in addition to the neb treatments every 7 miles, I took appx 24 hits off my inhaler ( about 3 puffs per hour). On top of the inhaled drugs, I swallowed 10 mg of prednisone every hour , chased by an antacid to control the stomach burning that the prednisone causes in the first place . Thank You Jon ( our spotter who went and got me some TUMS in the middle of the race.

*To control the pain in my calve muscles and the metatarsalgia pain in my feet, I took 2 Motrins every 2 hours along the course, 6 in total.

*For energy and hydration , I consumed 2-4 oz of plain water every mile, alternating with Gatorade every other mile. I did this for the first 20 miles, then switched to a 50-50 blend of electrolytes and water (2 oz) every mile for the rest of the race. In addition, I swallowed one Powerbar gel ( tangerine with double caffeine) every 6 miles.

So as you can see, doing this race ( or any other for that matter) wasn’t as as easy for me as most people might think. I just make it look that way:-)

More images from the 2010 Boston marathon

Stephen — Sat, 24 Apr 2010 13:38:23 +0000

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During this trip I took close to 500 still photos and about 20 different video clips, which I still haven’t sorted completely.
I’ll be adding more photos to these albums as I get them.

______SOME SCENES BEFORE THE RACE______

______SCENES DURING THE RACE______

______SCENES AFTER THE RACE______

Still more to come about this amazing experience…Stay tuned!

Boston marathon video highlights

Stephen — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 21:35:07 +0000

Rather than bore you with a mile-by-mile account of everything that happened during this entire 7 hour-17 minute very fun but challenging, and at times a excruciatingly painful journey, this year I decided only to post what I can consider to be the highlights. The experience was a little overwhelming and with so many pictures , videos and texts to prepare and post, I’m gonna have to dole them out little by little over the coming days.

But, first let me start by acknowledging some wonderful people who helped make this a truly special day for me.

My walking partner in the race, Mike Mc Bride.
Our super cool spotters, Jon and Chris from the BAA
Our fantastic crew, Pete from Apria Health Care, and Tom and Brett from Caire Medical and Brett’s wife Shay.
The wonderful folks at the University of Pittsburgh’s Asthma Institute
And finally, our special course guide, the one and only Lis Shepard , who drove the spectators wild and who stuck by me the entire distance just so she could cross the finish line with me. A pretty awesome lady I’d say!

Introducing
“TEAM WHEEZY”

(hey…where’s Lis at? )

( Oh that’s…right, she’s yacking it up with the Boston Globe reporter dude)

*******************************************************************

So here’s a collection of unedited short clips that I took with my phone camera. Sorry, the video quality isn’t too good, but I wanted to give you a sense of what it’s like to be the first AND last people out on the Boston course. This pandemonium goes on goes on for 7 FULL hours!! See if you can hear my name being shouted during the middle and end portions of the clip. Every time my spotter John would see I was having problems with my breathing or my legs, he’s get the crowd cheering for me. It was like a magic potion that kept me going.

26 miles and 7 hours later , watch how Lizzy works the crowd and helps me make it to the finish line 6 minutes later. Again, this clip is a little long, but I wanted give you an idea of just how many die hard spectators waited for us to finish and how much fun it was to have Liz along for the ride.

I’ll have tons more photos and video clips in upcoming posts….

Boston—-7 hours 17 minutes and change

Stephen — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 23:00:33 +0000

20 feet from the finish line

Details and tons of more photos and videos in the following days.

( This is also the very first blog post Ive ever published from my cell phone…pretty cool)

#22194

Stephen — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 14:31:33 +0000

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This years highly coveted Boston marathon bib numbers have finally been announced. For you non-runner folks out there, this would be the equivalent of let’s say….. the Oscar nominations? (Well maybe not that important.)

It’s not that big of a deal for me, but it is kind of exciting in that it signals the fact that I’ve come a long way with my walking and that I’m actually going to be part of this event….. for a 2nd time!

As with most world class marathons, bib numbers are assigned according to rank, with the lowest numbers (single digits) reserved for the super elite runners. This years Bib #’s are as follows:

*Bib# 1 goes to Deriba Merga from Ethiopia with a time of 2:06:38 (London Marathon in 2008)

*Bib# 2 goes to Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot from Kenya with a time of 2:07:14 (Boston, 2006)

*Bib# 3 goes to our very own Ryan Hall from the USA with a time 2:06:17 (London, 2008).

Last (and I mean that literally) but not least, Breathinstephen ( aka..me!) from the City by the Bay, will be wearing the highly prized Bib# 22194, representing an astonishing finish time of 7:31:35 (Boston 2009).

The party begins in just 4 weeks. If you’d like to track me on the course on race day, sign up for Athlete Alerts Here

Race results

Stephen — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 12:30:52 +0000

Took a while, but I finally got my race results for the San Jose Rock&Roll half….3:08:22
For some reason the results of dozens of people weren’t showing up on the race website. Turns out there was a glitch with active.com when they tried to upload them. Better late than never I suppose. I think there were people out there who were starting to doubt whether or not I actually finished the race.

Anyways, not my best finish time, nor my worst. I was 15 minutes slower than my fastest time ever , but a whopping 52 minutes Faster than my slowest time ever, so I’m very pleased. A 14:24 pace is kinda slow for me in a half marathon distance, but I think that was because I was afraid to push myself too hard. I guess I should have went all out, cuz I got sick after anyway.

I don’t have anymore half marathons scheduled at this time, but if I did, I’m pretty confident now, that I could still finish one in under 3 hours. I know my finish times seem really slow by running or racewalking standards, but considering that I’m working with lungs that are about 130 years old, I think I’m pretty fast. This might sound silly, but if there was a way to age grade my race results based on lung age, Id be one of the fastest runner/walkers in the world!

Rock&Roll Race Report

Stephen — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:16:20 +0000

Sorry, this race report is a little late in coming, but I didn’t want my little prison stint to over shadow all the good things about this race.

First let me say what a pleasure it was to finally meet the famous Miss Dizzy Lizzy and some of the other Mc Govern alumni who trekked in from all over the country to do this race. Talk about a ball of energy, Liz has enough enthusiasm for 100 racewalkers!

Liz and a friend of hers, Elizabeth and myself, all met up at the race Expo on Friday. Inside the Expo building they had this huge banner that actually had Lizzy’s photo on it, that they had captured at this very same Rock&Roll race 2 years ago. Naturally she had to take a picture of herself standing in front of the image of herself…..pretty cool.

We did a once through of the Expo, I didn’t buy anything, but Liz bought a pair of her favorite shoes .After that we all headed over to the hotel coffee shop and chit-chatted for a couple hours. It was great hearing everyones race stories.

On the morning of the race I managed to get to San Jose a little before 6:30 am. I parked over at the HP pavillion arena where there were already hundreds of people beginning to fill the parking lot. Good thing I got there an hour and a half early. From the parking lot, it was a full mile walk to the starting area of race.

This was a much bigger event than I thought it would be. They had something like 12,500 participants doing this race and the streets were filling fast. They had 13 starting corrals extending out about 4 blocks from the actual start line.One thing I noticed right off the bat, was how many Porta potties they had set up. I kid you not, there were hundreds of them lined up side by side , on both sides of the main street and dozens more on the side streets. This is the first event of this size Ive been too , where there were NO lines to use the johns! . At an event this size , you can usually expect to wait 30 minutes to use the toilets. In fact, thats one of the reasons I wanted to get here early. Hats off to the promoters for that one.

At about 15 minutes before the start , Liz called me and we all somehow managed to find each other in this massive crowd. Liz made it easier by wearing her famous “Ears”. After some quick photo taking, we all went over to our respective corrals ( which they packed like sardines) and waited for this huge sea of people to start moving. Once the gun went off, it took about 10 minutes for the runners in the 12th corral to make it across the starting line.

And were OFF….. As always ,I waited till the pack thinned out , which happened pretty fast, and then I pulled over to the left side of the road. I didn’t really have a chance to stretch before the race, so for the first mile or so, my shins were killing me. I knew though, that as I warmed up, the pain would diminish. The next couple of miles would be my warm up mode. This is usually the part of a race where I try to find a comfortable pace and the easiest position on the road itself to walk, usually the center or the crest of the road where its more even. If theres a yellow or white dividing line on the road , I’ll usually hug that line and racewalk right down the middle of it. ( it’s a good way to practice your technique too).

The course itself had a very suburban feel. It was basically flat and meandered in and out of various neighborhoods, most of them tree lined , upscale and very beautiful….Lots of mansions too. I can see now why people pay so much to live here.

Somewhere around the mile and a half mark , I passed Elizabeth. I was going to walk with her for a while, but decided that I needed to bank some time while I still had my lung power. I told her that she would probably pass me up in the last miles of the race. Some how that never happened, and I didn’t see her again until after the race.

It was about mile 2 where we hit the first watering station and thats when it really hits me, of just how long a 13 mile race really is. I would have to pass 6 more of these aid stations before finishing the race. It was also about this time, that I got in the mood to racewalk more and more. With my headphones and music cranked up, I was pretty much oblivious to what was happening around me. The diversion of music also gives me the courage to racewalk in huge crowds without getting too embarrassed. One runner lady who did pass me, tapped me on my shoulder and told me what a nice butt I had , and how she had been been watching my hips for the last 1/2 miles. I just laughed and continued to racewalk. I had seen lots of other walkers on the course swinging there arms, power walking or speed walking (which is not real racewalking), so I felt totally comfortable doing my thing. Mind you, I might not be the best racewalker, but I am a real racewalker. I follow all the rules.

The next 10 miles were actually pretty boring. To break up the monotony I decided I would racewalk the rest of the race. I racewalked on and off as much as I could and even when I would slow to a snails pace to catch my breath, I would try my best to stay in legal form (that’s racewalking lingo for, maintaining technique…ie forward knee locked and one foot on the ground at all times).

Miles 10 through 13 were the toughest. It was starting to get really warm , the sun was shining right in my face and I could actually feel myself overheating. I forced myself to drink both the electrolyte and plain water that was offered at each aid station, but I could still feel my calf muscles and left IT band wanting to spasm and lock up. I was also starting to breath pretty heavily, which is not a good thing for me, because it means that Im gonna be trapping a lot of air in my lungs. The problem with breathing fast, is that I cant exhale fast enough to make room for the next incoming breath. The longer this goes on, the more air that gets trapped in the smaller airways of my lung .Eventually my lungs will blowup like a balloon.
For most of the race I was averaging an inhaler hit about once every half mile, but that increased to about 2 hits every half mile the further into the race I got. In total, I used my puffer about 20 times. It sounds like a lot ..I know, but not unusual for me.

There was nothing really special about the finish line, except that I was very happy to see it. I tried to pace myself through the last 1/10th mile of the race , so that I could racewalk through the finish chute and look good on camera, but I ran out of steam just a few feet short of the finish mat and ended up just walking across it. Oh…well, they didn’t take my finish line photo anyway.

I walked into the finish area, a little disoriented and trying to catch my breath. I got my medal and made my way to the Family reunion area where I spotted Lizzy’s Mouse ears poking up in the distance. She had finished about 10 minutes ahead of me and looked as fresh as she did before the race. I, on the other hand, looked like crap! Anyway, we rested a little and waited for the others to arrive. Elizabeth came in about 15 minutes after I did and looked good as well. Both Lizz’s and the rest of the gang walked with me to pick up my gear bag, we took one last picture as a group, said our goodbyes..and that was it. My 9th half marathon…completed!

Due to a glitch in the electronic timing system, my actually finish time has to be manually verified , which will take a few more days, but I think I finished somewhere between 3:00-3:10, which is much faster than I anticipated. Not a PR for me, not even close, but considering everything, I think it a respectable finish time. I performed well in this race and I’m proud of myself.

Some after thoughts While it’s obvious that pushing myself too hard during this race may have contributed to my asthma exacerbation and hospitalization that followed, I’d like to point out to the naysayers ( the people who criticize my involvement as an asthmatic in these types of events) that out of the 14 races Ive done in 3 years ( 5 of those being full marathons), Ive only gotten sick 2 times as a result of them. Id also like to that say, that even “healthy” people get sick after doing marathons and MANY of them end up in a hospital! I train very hard for every race I do, and if I get sick now and then from over- doing it… big deal. I’m not going to stop doing what I love and what keeps me alive.

Sadly, 2 young runners died during this half marathon. Both collapsed close to the finish line.

Another write-up

Stephen — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 11:14:10 +0000

(Click on cover to read article)

Im 20,089 days old !

Stephen — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:40:02 +0000

I can’t believe it . Today I obtained the age of 55, and the official rank of “Senior Citizen”. I guess I should start acting my physical age huh? (That’s a scary thought).

In my wildest dreams I never thought Id be around this long, but 13 marathons and 500 blog posts later…I’m still walkin, bloggin and breathin. I owe a lot to my friends, my readers and my partner Douglas for supporting my crazy endeavorers over the years.

Because I’ve been more fortunate than most people with the severe form of this disease, I’ve decided to give back, by devoting more of my time in the coming months to asthma research and education. In November I’ll be lab-ratting myself for an important severe asthma research study in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania (more about that in the next post). I’m also serving as an Asthma Community Administrator over at Medpedia.com and have become an asthma and fitness health advocate for several other organizations.

On my personal fitness front, I’m finally back on track with my training for the upcoming San Jose Rock&Roll half marathon and will also be attending Daves advanced racewalking clinic next month.

Empowered

Stephen — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:47:53 +0000

I wanna thank the folks, Lisa and Regina, over at theEmpowered Zone who were kind enough to send me this really cool hat with their special empowered symbol and the word “BREATHE” embroidered on it. What could be more fitting for someone like me?

I really love the concept behind their products and the fact that they always give back to the community events in which they sponsor. If you get a chance, please check out their line of custom inspirational apparel and Jewelry. They have some beautiful stuff there…. oh…and tell em Steve sent you.

Boston still follows me

Stephen — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 22:56:51 +0000

I didn’t even know that this was out there until an RT blogger friend on Facebook told me. Mike and I are on page 61 of the current issue of the “AARC Times”.

The Times is a publication of the American Assoc for Respiratory Care, a national organization that thousands of Respiratory Therapists belong to. They also put out a science journal called “Respiratory Care” in which I was featured back in 2008.

Click the cover to see the article

It’s official

Stephen — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:08:09 +0000

Received my Boston finishers certificate today. It took me more than 7 hours to do it, but I’m now officially the first person ever, with severe asthma, to enter and finish the Boston marathon!

He won’t admit it, but even Winston is proud of me. I can tell, because his eyes are glowing green.(No, I’m not allergic to cats)

PS..Registration for next years race opens in September…hmmmmmm I wonder ?