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Racing to Save Lives

(Updated: 3/30/09)

Welcome to my Team In Training home page. Updates are being posted below...scroll down for the latest info. If you're here for the first time, thanks for taking the time to read this!

I ran the 2009 ING Georgia Marathon as a member of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team In Training. All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives.

I completed this event in recognition of the 5th anniversary of my own diagnosis of Anaplastic Large T-Cell Lymphoma and in honor of all individuals who are battling blood cancers. We need your support to cross the ultimate finish line - a cure!

I'd sincerely appreciate a tax deductible donation to support my participation in Team In Training and help support LLS's mission. 75 cents of every dollar raised goes directly towards research, public and professional education, and patient services.

For updates on my progress, bookmark http://pages.teamintraining.org/ga/Georgia09/bcarty (or http://tinyurl.com/bcarty), and encourage your friends, family, and coworkers to join us!

Thanks in advance for your help and support.

==Latest Update!==

(3/30/09)

We did it! The ING Georgia Marathon took place yesterday, and after waking up at 4 a.m. to get dressed, driving to the Dunwoody MARTA station to catch the 5 a.m. train to Centennial Olympic Park, I counted down the final minutes before the race while waiting in the warmth of the TNT tent.

Based on my own timer, I cruised through the first half of the course. My 10K split was actually 1 minute faster than the last 10K race I ran (and set my PR), and I hit the halfway mark in 2:17 - 32 minutes faster than my half marathon time from last year!

Somewhere between miles 15-16, the course decided that I was doing too well. I felt perfect from the waist up, but my legs were starting to wear out. I knew there was a huge hill between miles 16 and 17, and I was planning to walk that to conserve energy. It didn't really work. It felt like every turn, hilltop, or too short downhill section turned into another uphill stretch!

The final 6 miles were more of a walk with an occassional jog than a run, and by mile 22 or 23, my legs were completely shot, but thanks to the help of my TNT captains and coaches, I was able to cross the finish line at the 26.2 mile mark under my own power.

Running the marathon was rough, but 24 hours after the race, I'm already feeling significantly better. The fatigue I've experienced after 5 hours spent on the marathon course is infinitesimal in comparison to the impact of months of arduous treatment faced by those who are fighting their own battles with blood cancers.

Thank you again to everyone who supported me throughout my training and contributed to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society on my behalf. I couldn't have done it without you, and if you ever consider taking on an endurance sporting event (half/full marathon, triathlon, or 100 mile bike ride) of your own, I'd highly recommend checking into doing it with Team in Training. Training with highly experienced coaches, captains, and mentors was a huge part of my success, and the race day support (especially the heated tent!) was priceless!

Who's with me for training for a full 140.6 mile Ironman triathlon now? :)

==Previous Updates ==

(3/26/09)

It's race weekend! The ING Georgia Marathon is this Sunday, and based on an email I received last night, it looks like I'll be wearing number 5086.

Thanks again to everyone who has supported me during my training! If you want to receive periodic updates of my progress throughout the race, sign up on the Runner Tracking page .

(3/12/09)

Bring on the marathon! We're about 16 days away from the big day, and I'm coming off of some of my best runs ever!

This past Saturday was the last long run of the training program - 20 miles. It was another combined run with the Kennesaw & Atlanta teams starting down at the river, and I spent a good portion of the previous day getting mentally prepared to go 20% farther than I'd ever run before. My previous long run was by far the worst I've had since starting the program, and I wanted to avoid the issues I experienced then.

Given the distance and the fact that I had already run 24 miles that week, I was a bit jittery going in to the 20 miler. I went to bed early, but I woke up every hour for the first 6-7 hours, and eventually, I started waking up ever 30 minutes.

Once I got all my gear together and made the drive to the starting point, I started calming down. I was already familiar with about half of the map from previous runs, and once I realized that, I was able to stop worrying about things like hills, traffic, and where my turns were going to be.

Over the past few weeks, I've been experimenting as much as possible with my drinks, energy gels, methods of lacing my shoes to reduce pressure points, etc., and everything clicked perfectly during the 20 miler! I actually ended up closer to 21 miles by the time I got back to the parking lot, but there's no doubt that I could have gone on to do 26.2 that day. If the marathon goes nearly as well as that 20 mile run, I'll be very happy!

We're starting to taper down our miles so that we have fresh legs for the marathon in just over two weeks. The hard part now is having to wait, staying injury free, and not running too much!

(2/26/09)

It's been a while since my last update, but with the marathon barely a month away, things are still going well with the training!

On 2/14, I completed what was then my longest run ever - 14 miles! What's even better is that I did it significantly faster than the half marathon (13.1 miles) I did back in 2008.

Last Saturday was a real test - 16 miles. I finished it, but it was rough!

I have a light week this week - only 10 miles this Saturday. It's crazy to think that a 10 mile run is taking it easy, but I'm going to need my energy for next week. I'm supposed to do another 10 miles next Wednesday and then 20 on Saturday 3/7! It's going to be a rough run, but I'll finish it one way or another.

After the 20 mile run, we start tapering down the mileage until the actual marathon. I'm thinking/hoping that the marathon will be easier than next week's 20 mile run. Race crowds and all the volunteers really help take my mind off of the fact that I'm spending so much time running.

(2/4/09)

Just a quick update today. Our Wednesday night group run was cancelled due to wind chills in the single digits and low teens throughout the day. I made up for it with a 6 mile run on the treadmill at the gym and finished in just under an hour! A little faster, and I'll unofficially meet one of my personal goals - to finish a 10K (6.2 miles) in under an hour.

Last Saturday was our 10 mile run, and I finished it while averaging the same pace as I did over my 8 and 9 mile runs. This week is going to be interesting since we're going for 12 miles, and on Valentine's Day, I'm scheduled for 14 miles, which will be my longest run to date and officially put us past the half marathon point!

(1/28/09)

Another weekend has passed, and that means another long run has been crossed off my calendar. This past Saturday, I ran 9 miles, and I felt better during that run than I have in weeks!

As crazy as it sounds, I'm actually looking forward to a 10 mile run this weekend. In just a few weeks, our training runs will pass the half marathon distance (13.1), and I'll be running my longest distances ever!

(1/19/09)

I'm back to 100%! My ankle is completely healed, and it's a relief to look at my training calendar and see that I'm scheduled to run only 5 miles!

We've had wind chills in the single digits lately, and it was so cold this past Saturday that our weekly group run was cancelled for the first time. That didn't give us a vacation from training, though! I completed my 8 mile run yesterday.

Other than the half marathon I completed (barely!) last year, 8 miles is the longest I've run, and each week, the long runs are getting longer and longer, but I'm knocking them out week by week.

Here is the route I ran yesterday. I started at the Chattahoochee River Cochran Shoals park entrance to the Sope Creek entrance of the park and continued the entire length of Columns Dr. to Johnson Ferry Rd. At that point, I turned around and ran the whole way back, completing the loop!

(1/1/09)

I suffered a slight setback last week, but I'm back on my feet in the gym and on the roads!

I ended up with a severely sprained ankle after a nasty fall during a trail run on Christmas Eve. A patch of leaves hid a tree root on a downhill path. My right foot hit that root and turned in on me, sending me face first towards the ground with the top of my foot flat on the ground. I shifted all of my weight backwards to save my face from hitting the dirt and rocks, and in doing so, I pulled the ligaments in my ankle.

I had some nasty swelling on Christmas, but after a week's worth of rest, ice, compression, and elevation, I felt strong enough to run the Atlanta Track Club's Resolution Run 5K (3.1 mile) race today, and I finished in 29 minutes and 10 seconds - a new personal best, smashing my previous best of 31:30. Training is paying off!

Thanks again to everyone who has helped in my fundraising efforts! With your help, I've already passed the 50% point for my goal.

Happy New Year!

==Brian

(12/18/08)

Training is going great! Between the gym and our group runs, I'm running 4-5 days a week consistently, and we're just starting to increase our mileage. Last night's group run had me doing 4 miles, and I'm due to put in 5 miles this Saturday, including some grueling hills that pass right by my house.

I've been running in pouring rain, sub-freezing temperatures, and the dark, and I'm not slowing down with a little over three months to go.

Thanks again for those who have contributed!

==Brian