Impromptu Double

“Only travel in an emergency.  If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case you become stranded.” – The Weather Network’s forecast for Jackson, Mississippi on January 8^th, 2011

The 50 States Marathon Club regularly presents to its members dates of back-to-back marathons.  These “Seeing Double” dates allow runners to knock off two marathons in one weekend, often in neighboring states.  If the marathons are within a certain driving distance, this permits would-be registrants to cut down on their traveling expenses while checking a couple of states off their list.  January offered the Mississippi Blues Marathon (Jackson, MS) and the First Light Marathon (Mobile, AL) on consecutive days.  Organizers of both races partnered and were offering a rebate on the entry fees and special awards to finishers of both events.  As an early gauge of my fitness level, and to kick-start my 2011 racing schedule, I eagerly signed up.

I wasn’t expecting to run any personal bests, but I was curious to see if I could indeed run two marathons in one weekend.  When I arrived in Jackson, I drove directly to the race expo to check in for the race.  This is a small marathon with approximately two thousand total runners entered in the three events: marathon, half-marathon, marathon relay.  The expo was very modest, but I did raid a booth that was selling Nip Guards.  Local running specialty stores don’t seem to be carrying this product anymore, so I loaded up and now have a year’s supply to protect my overly sensitive nipples!  For a small event, I was pleasantly surprised at the race swag in the gift bag: T-shirt, CD of blues music, Elvis sunglasses complete with sideburns (the marathon was celebrating what would have been the King’s 76th birthday), a harmonica emblazoned with the race logo and many product samples were all included in a nylon shoe bag/backpack.

 

The host hotel was about 300 yards from the start/finish area, allowing runners to linger in their rooms until mere minutes before the start.  As I prepared for marathon #1 of the weekend, my television was on the Weather Network and forecasters were suggesting that a major winter blast was heading towards the area.  Since the storm front was still about a half day away, runners would enjoy sunny conditions, a bit of wind, and temperatures in the low teens (or low 50’s on the Fahrenheit scale).

Jackson, The City with Soul, is the State Capitol and largest city in Mississippi.  This city is named after the 7^th President of the United States, Andrew Jackson, and has a fascinating history.  Native Choctaw roots, settlement by French-Canadian traders, civil war battles and civil rights movements helped shape this city.  During the run, what I found glaringly obvious was the disparity between economic classes.  I suppose this is common in many cities, but as we ran through different sections of Jackson, I was amazed that only a few miles separated some beautiful mansions on large properties and the boarded-up and dilapidated homes literally on the other side of the tracks.  Although the city is in a period of rejuvenation and growth, Jackson still ranks as the 23^rd most dangerous city in the U.S.

 

Like most runners, I always make a point to thank the volunteers during a race.  Anyone who has ever race-directed will agree that without the help of these people, races would simply be impossible to organize.  What I found extremely amazing at the Mississippi Blues Marathon was the fact that the volunteers were the ones thanking the runners.  In all the races I have run over the years, I don’t ever recall volunteers thanking me, the runner!  Even police officers directing traffic along the course were heard saying:  “Thanks runners for coming out to our race.”  I guess the citizens of Jackson recognize the importance of the tourism dollars that the marathon generates for their city.

The course itself was one of the hilliest road marathons I have run.  There were no major climbs but there weren’t many flat sections either.  It’s all good since the rolling terrain forced me to walk some sections and save energy for tomorrow’s marathon…which I was still unsure of.  I still had a few hours to debate whether it was wise to make the four hour drive to Mobile after the race, run 26.2 miles in miserable weather on Sunday, then drive back to Jackson, potentially in a storm, that evening.  During the race I questioned a couple of locals about the forecast and most agreed that with any wintry mix, people down there panic and everything shuts down.

In addition to the super-friendly aid station attendants, marching bands and blues ensembles entertained the runners along the course.  At the 17-mile point, one particular blues band was performing and the lyrics that they sang as I ran by were:  “Oh Lord, you’ve got to get back home again”.  Were they trying to tell me something?  Of the dozens of bands out there, these are the only lyrics that stuck in my head.  Was this a sign?

I finished the race in a leisurely time of 4:16:38 (over 30 minutes slower than my time at the Hamilton marathon two months earlier) and received one of the biggest medals I’ve ever seen.  That sucker must weigh almost 2 pounds! After a much deserved shower, I checked out of my hotel and headed straight to the airport to see if I could catch an earlier flight.  I stopped at a gas station and even the attendant said:  “You ain’t from around here, right?  You headin’ out of town before the storm hits?” I took this as another sign that I should forgo the second marathon.  As luck would have it, I was able to board an earlier flight that was scheduled to depart in less than an hour.  I managed to save on my rental car because I was returning it 3 days earlier than anticipated; I cancelled my hotel reservation in Mobile and boarded the plane to Atlanta.  I was back at home, safe and sound, shortly after 10PM Saturday night.  As it turns out, my original Monday flight out of Mississippi and its connection in Atlanta were both cancelled.  I would have been stranded at the Harstfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, along with thousands of other travelers, for who knows how long!

On the journey back home, I decided that since I had signed up for two marathons but had only run one, I still had some running to do.  So to complete what I set out to do, I headed to the gym on Sunday morning to run marathon #2.  You read that correctly…the gym!  I had no desire to battle the elements outside and didn’t know any measured 42.2K (26.2 miles) route near my house, so I chose to run the distance on a treadmill.  I had run three hours on the treadmill in the past, but this was going to be the farthest I’ve ever run on one of these machines.

I went through my regular pre-race ritual at home, prepared a small bag of gels and electrolyte drinks, lubed certain areas of the body, got dressed and was out the door.  I never run with an iPod outdoors, but I knew I would certainly be in need of some distractions today.  At the gym, I took the treadmill placed directly in front of the big screen TV, set it to TSN and hit the START button.  My plan was to take a short break after every 5-mile section.  The short break would allow me to replenish my bottle and take a gel.  I tried to limit my break to less than 2 minutes.

The first five miles were excruciatingly tough.  I kept asking myself what was it I was trying to prove, but each 5-mile section after that kept getting faster and I was feeling stronger.  I rocked out to some 80’s metal music and played a little game to keep my mind occupied by altering the speed setting on the treadmill every five minutes.  As I ran, I got to watch/read “The Sports Reporters”, the first half of the Raptors game and the trailer for the Vince Vaughn and Kevin James “The Dilemma” way too many times!  Consequently, I have no desire to see that movie now!  The entire experience wasn’t as mind-numbing as I thought, and I finished my second marathon of the weekend in 4:26:27, a mere 10 minutes slower than the previous day’s result.  I didn’t get a finisher’s medal and there are no official results for this endeavor.  The weather didn’t permit me to run consecutive marathons in different states, but I improvised and did manage to run two marathons in one weekend.  A fellow 50-states club member is planning a “triple” on Labor Day weekend.  He claims:  three marathons, three states, one hotel….stay tuned!

Gotta run,

Vince

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