February Goals

Well, hello there...

Fancy meeting you here. Been a little bit since I have been here but have continued working towards getting back into marathon shape and have made some modifications to my training based on what I have been learning in class.

First step in this process was to go visit one of my professors in the field of physical conditioning, the wonderful Dixie Stanforth. She and her husband, Phil, have been teaching the Physiological Basics of Human Conditioning at UT for 25+ years. They are great and filled with tons of technical knowledge that can help make decent athletes good, and good ones great.

I don't know what category on that spectrum I fall, but I know they will be able to increase my training regimen and make me better.

She gave me some ideas for how to increase my stamina and endurance. The main idea was to increase my intensity at least once a week by doing an interval run on a hill. I actually did this today and, let me tell you, it was tough. I attempted to sprint up a hill 10 times with the walk back down being my recovery time. At 5, I was incredibly winded and starting to feel the twinges in my calves and hip flexors. I decided to do one more and call it a day.

I do feel as if i can gain on this and am happy that I have a baseline for improvement. These interval runs will become my Friday morning staple. Six is my bottom, the only way to go is up from there.

What I am trying to gain with these interval runs is an increased stroke volume, meaning, I am trying to increase the amount of blood per stroke that my heart pushes out to provide oxygen to my muscles so that they may maintain their ability to work at a high level.

In order to find a limit for this production level, I also went to have my overall fitness tested and now know where I need to improve certain aspects of my fitness. I will go over all of these results tomorrow with you, but now it's time to get back to school.

Total miles for the week(so far): 5 with 2 runs planned tomorrow and Sunday.
Week goal: 12
Miles left: 7

I still haven't figured what full races I plan on doing this year, but am going to do a half sometime this spring semester. Am hoping that the run the Big D half again because that one was quick and easy. That is on my goal sheet for next week.

Have a wonderful and safe Friday out there.

Goal Setting and Meeting

So, twice in the past week, I have run across goal setting in my daily life and feel like it has come about as a reminder that in order to succeed at your goals in life, whether they be short or long term, big or small.

So, I have decided that in order to get back on my feet, literally, that I need to set some fitness goals, mostly with running.

They say that one of the main precursors to success when it comes to goal setting is to write them down, that way you can measure your progress. Another thing that I find to be incredibly helpful is to make your goals known to your friends, family, and really anyone that will listen, because then you have a support group that will try to keep you on track.

So, support group, here are some of my goals for 2013 as far as running and fitness are concerned and some of the steps I am currently taking to make them become reality:

I would like to complete two marathons this calendar year. It's only January so I have plenty of time seeing as it took me 16 weeks to train for the last one. First things first, I feel that I need to select a race and make it a realistic goal. That is my long term goal.

Now, in order to achieve a long term goal, I've been told it's best to set up short term, measurable and intermediate goals to help achieve long term goal status. So, this week I have challenged myself to log 12 miles on the road as well as cutting needless calories from my diet so I am also attempting a week, to start, of no soft drinks or fast food. As many of you may know, in the restaurant profession, with hours being somewhat ridiculous, that fast food sometimes presents itself as the easiest option. But, starting this week, I am holding off, at least until I build my fitness level back to where it needs to be.

Also, this week, I will be selecting my first race of the year. I am probably aiming for late May/June for a viable race that I will have time to train for and this is where you guys will come into play. I am going to narrow the field down to a few races and have you guys weigh in on what you think will be my best option. I WILL have a race chosen by Friday.

I am not setting any weight loss goals even though I could stand to lose a few pounds because if I do my training properly enough and couple it with a good diet, an actual weight loss goal will not be necessary.

So, you may ask, have I started chipping the miles away this week? It is Monday AND a holiday AND inauguration day, although I don't understand the purpose of shutting the capitol of our nation down to hold a seemingly unfree party to tell me that we have the same president, but I digress. Today would have been an easy day to chalk up excuses, but I am not going to. I knocked out 3 miles around the 40 acres and it was okay.

I forget what an arduous process this is and get frustrated sometimes, but the feeling of the earth pounding beneath my feet is amazing.

Thank you all for reading and for your continued support. As always, feedback is appreciated. I want to make this as fun for y'all as it is for me and can't wait to share this journey with you all again.

I will leave you with two things today:

In honor of MLK day, there's this. I tried to find a video, but there were none to be found of just this:

And this:

Will be back with progress updates later this week.

A year in the life...

Well, peace out 2012! What's up 2013?! I, along with everyone else, is wondering what you have in store for me/us. Will I win the lottery, get married, learn Kung Fu? Who knows? What I do know is that 2012 was a year of growth for me, I think.

So, as I sit here and enjoy my last few glasses of lavender and jasmine tea before leaving 2012 in my dreams and awakening in 2013, I wanted to just leave some thoughts on the page.

2012 seemed to just dart by for me. There were some firsts, like performing a wedding for two of my best friends, receiving my first text from my nephew, seeing my first show on Broadway, visiting Fenway Park and Boston, as well as many other small firsts.

2012 also marked the last time that I will see my Grandmother and Great Aunt Pat in this life, but I know that I will see them again someday. I'm glad they are not forced to suffer through any more illness in this place and may now finally rest in peace alongside their loving husbands. This holiday season was tough without them around, but we made it through with some fond memories nonetheless.

2012 also was a time of discovery for me. I found out how I want to be treated in a relationship, and while that relationship did not continue down the path it started upon, I am and will be forever grateful to Katie Phillips for making me realize and understand the importance of having a partner and the truth of a relationship being a give and take for both people. I will never be in a relationship again in which I am the only one doing the work and I have her to thank for it.

I also discovered exactly why they call it a "comfort zone" as I have decided to step out of mine and have reenrolled in college to get a second degree and change the path that I have been traveling down all these years. I am ready for a change and am taking up the mantra of fortune favoring the bold and putting myself back out there in order to make a better life for myself. I used to believe that good things would just happen to me if I treated others and myself well, but it's so much more than that. This is the first time in many years that I am attempting to make an opportunity present itself and it's scary as Hell, but it feels right.

I also rediscovered my joy for writing. Many of you who have been reading this blog may be scratching your head at this statement because y'all have seen me write and read what I have written so you know I have always liked to write. What I am talking about is different, though. I am talking about writing for myself. Putting my thoughts on paper to come back to and rework and work through in due time.

Now, I am not gonna sit here in my new chair and say that 2012 was the most seminal year of my life, but it was a good one and I look to build upon it moving forward into 2013.

Here are some things you can look forward to with me in 2013:

As I begin school in a few weeks, I will be asking you all to take the journey with me so be on the lookout for a companion blog to this one, tentatively titled jefffarrisstudying.blogspot.com

In this blog I intend to chronicle the life of a 33 year old back in school and learning a new trade. There will probably be some interesting and funny things come up in this area of my life and I am going to try to keep everyone abreast of the goings on in my neck of the 40 acres.

Also new in 2013 will be a third blog, tentatively titled jefffarrisreviewing.blogspot.com in which I will review stuff. Yeah, the title isn't that clever, but it's straightforward. I just know a lot of what I do and talk about when it comes to consumerism is based on what someone else has told me. I don't like reading national reviews, I like an actual person who is using a product, listening to a song, watching a movie, etc to tell me what they think about it so I am going to write periodically about stuff I buy, use or see, just in case other people are interested in the same thing.

There will also continue to be updates on my running. Starting when I wake up in a few hours, I'm gonna be hitting the road again. My goal for 2013 right now is two half marathons and two full marathons, although with school and work, there may not be enough time to do two full, but that is the initial goal.

I also want to do something fun this year, well fun for me. I want to write letters again. The internet is cool and email kicks ass, but there's nothing more exciting than receiving a letter in the mail so I am requesting that people send me their addresses and anyone who sends me an address will receive a letter from me.

I sure hope everyone had a wonderful and safe New Years celebration with those that they love and I hope 2013 turns out to be exactly what everyone wants it to be.

Jeff Farr is Marrying Folks!

I've been asked to do a lot of things as far as weddings are concerned. I have been an usher, groomsman, best man, performer in the band(well, I wasn't asked to do so, but they liked it anyway), caterer and so on. But it wasn't until this past week that I received one of the greatest, and most nerve wracking, honors that has ever been bestowed upon me, performing the ceremony.

When Jessica and Damon first asked me to do their ceremony, I accepted without hesitation. It sounded like fun. I mean, I knew them as single people and had been there throughout their (unorthodox) courtship and through virtually every up and down that they had had. We all work together and so at times I see them together 30 hours a week so when I say I have been through it all with them, I mean it.

Performing a ceremony for two people that you care about and know so well should be easy, right? I mean, there are endless stories and tales I could tell of them and so many things to talk about that could tell the story of their love and journey together. I was incredibly wrong.

It was tough, probably because of the amount of stuff I had on both of them. It was hard to narrow it down to just what was necessary, and that was to put their love on display and encourage them to continue to be there for one another as husband and wife.

It's harder than you would ever think to give two people you love the most memorable day of their lives together. I poured over countless websites and through the annals of my mind for the right story and anecdote to say. There is just so much pressure.

Long story short, I'm not here to pat myself too hard on the back. The wedding was gorgeous and they were pleased with the ceremony I provided them which has made me so happy. I'm glad to have not let them down. Thank you Jess and Damon for allowing me to play such a part in your special day.

Brazil 2016, Here I Come

So, As I logged in today, it told me my last post was February 15. Yikes! Where do I start after six months?!?! What do you all want to know?

Have I continued to run? Have I solved cold fusion? Did i pen the end of Breaking Bad? Answers! You all need answers and I shall do my darndest to provide them.

Let's start with the answer to the first and only real question listed above. Yes, I am still running... a little. Then again, that's what we are here to discuss today so I will delve into that here in just a second after I et everyone caught up.

So, you ask(maybe not, who knows), what in the world have I been up to that has caused a six month absence? In short, not much. Have run a 10K, Cap City in late March, also ran a half marathon in Dallas in mid-April. 

Went to Boston with my dad and uncle to watch the Rangers play the Red Sox, and win convincingly, on back to back nights in Fenway. Also saw Harvard, ate at Mr. Bartley's Burgers in the Harvard Square(highly recommended), saw a ton of smaht kids both there and at MIT. Ate pizza in the North End at Pizzeria Regina and had the best cannoli on the planet(Mike's Pastry) and had some terrific seafood.

I also got to go to New York City for my 30th birthday thanks to the most wonderful, supportive and grounded in her faith person I may have ever met. We experienced a lot. I wandered through Brooklyn a week after the passing of Adam Yauch, better known as MCA for the Beastie Boys, and listened to Paul's Boutique on repeat. Had a slice of Brooklyn style pizza. Went by the new Nets stadium and saw where the Huxtables lived on my way to Ebbets Field. It's no longer there, but to know that the history of baseball and American sports was altered on that strip of land where a school and park now stand was truly awe-inspiring. Also took the most excruciating, and fun, indoor cycling class at Soul Cycle on the upper west side.

I also took in my first show on Broadway and, since it was my birthday, I got to pick the show. Luckily for me, Katie(my aforementioned friend) is a bigger show nerd than me so she didn't put up a fight to my selection of Newsies! It was amazing to say the least. Great song, better dance and just a ton of fun all piled into a theater about a fifth of the size of GP High's. We also had our frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity, rubbed elbows with some celebs at the premier of "What To Expect When You're Expecting" and had potentially the best cupcake on the planet from Magnolia Cafe down on Bleecker Street. All in all, it was a pretty whirlwind few months for me to kick off summer.

Don't worry, in the tradition of this blog, I will link as much of this info for everyone in case you want to learn more about what I've gotten to experience.

After that, life has been a little boring, but I'm not complaining.

Summer has provided a few downs as well. In our family, we lost Aunt Pat. She was my great aunt and was truly a wonderfully giving, caring and carefree person. Luckily we have some time before the next holiday to figure out how we are gonna deal with it.

For the most part, though, summer and late spring have been a time for rejoicing. Multiple babies have been added to my social circle, and at risk of leaving someone off, I will not mention names. You all know who you are and I'm so proud of all of you and I look forward to watching your little ones grow with you.

Whew, I know I have probably left some stuff off, but we are here to learn about life and running, right?

Let's get to it. Last month I celebrated my second full year of sobriety with some delicious cookies and frozen yogurt and I remember last year at this time I was nearing the homestretch on my training for my marathon. I'm not quite in the same place right now but have been dealing with getting my body back into the physical shape it needs to be in in order to run again. I am seeing a chiropractor a few times weekly attempting to get my hips back level with one another so that it may ease the pain in my hips, knees and feet as I run. Have been working with Dr. Brent since March and love it, outside of the drive(it's a little far south).

I also immersed myself over the past few weeks in the Olympics and have determined that I would rather earn a $450 Nike jacket as opposed to paying for it so Olympics here I come. Just gotta shave 30 minutes off of my 10K and I'll be all over Rio.

That journey started today after almost four full months away from the trails and paths and roads of Austin. I am currently following a plan set forth in this past month's Runner's World magazine. Today that caused me to run for 15 total minutes, in alternating 15-30:30 run:walk intervals. It was much harder cardio wise than I thought it would be, but at the same time, it was very easy on my legs which was great. Tomorrow I just have to walk for 30-60 minutes and then more intervals Wednesday and so on and so forth.

I promise to keep with all of it, the running and the writing as long as you all keep reading. Thanks for hanging with me out there. I appreciate every ounce of support I have gotten from the bottom of my heart and won't ever forget it.

Sorry again for being gone for so long and sorry about the jumbled nature of this report. I forgot it had been so long.

And, as promised, LINKS:

Best burger in Boston: http://www.mrbartley.com
Best Pizza in the North End: http://www.pizzeriaregina.com
Great cannolis: http://www.mikespastry.com
If you're looking for a great workout in NYC(or West Hollywood):http://www.soul-cycle.com/
Cupcake Heaven: http://www.magnoliabakery.com/home.php

One of my favorite Beastie Boys songs:

And last, but not least, Newsies:

I will be back later this week to put in perspective what I saw at the Olympics and why I love them so much.

On Recovery. On Life. On Getting Better. On Running. Duh!

Well, it's been some time since I've sat here and done this and so please allow me to apologize to those of you who have missed reading my musings and inane thoughts in this space. I will try not to let it happen again and will thank you for your patience with this process for me.

So, let's get into it, shall we?

Where to start? Where to start?

Since this is a blog concerning my trials and tribulations and experiences with the act and art of running, I will start there. SO, after running my race on September 17 I found myself in a precarious position of physically being unable to run which was very difficult for me as you may well imagine. The process leading up to the actual race was such a rewarding one that it was hard not being able to continue the pattern and spend time outside pavement pounding. I was informed by a physical therapist that I "blew out" all of the muscles in both of my legs. Nothing was torn or broke, just severely overworked to the point of frying them so I was unable to support the pounding my legs would take during a long run. The really crappy news about it was that it wasn't an injury that I could actively rehab and that time was my only cure. So, time is what I gave it. I decided that I would get back out on January 1, at 9am. I did 3 miles in just over 30 minutes and didn't feel too poorly afterwards. I have since done that same loop 4 or 5 more times with eerily similar results every time. Am I completely back? Not just yet but I can see that on the horizon.

I have also started mixing in some cross training with spin classes at the gym and have tried to start lifting a few more weights to try for some complete body fitness. My last point on the running aspect of this whole kit-n-kaboodle is that I have signed up for a half marathon to be run mid April in Dallas. The Big D half. I am honored that I will be joined by two of my closest friends and expectant fathers, Travis Brown and Patrick Iglinsky, and happily invite anyone else who feels the urge to join us for a light 2 hour romp through the city of Dallas. It's gonna be a blast!

Recovery. Recovery. Recovery.

These words are all the same, I know, but they all mean different things to different people. I deal with recovery a lot in my life and not just from a physical standpoint. I actually deal with recovery on a daily basis, as so many people worldwide do, and without it I would not be where I am today. Recovery has saved my life.

If you're a tad confused at this point, that's fine. It was partially intended. I am about to explain anyway so hang in there.

Over the past few weeks I have had the mortality and seriousness of my recovery from alcohol abuse thrust in my face by having to watch a few of my favorite all time celebrities suffer setbacks in their personal walks through recovery. I have noticed in that time frame how little many people know about the everyday struggle that it is to remain clean and sober if you are an addict. I have listened to people scoff at hearing that Josh Hamilton had a setback in his recovery whereas I hear about it and it breaks my heart. it doesn't break my heart because I look up to him, it breaks my heart because I know what it's like to have that demon ride around in my car with me daily. It breaks my heart because I know how much stock and how seriously he takes his recovery and how much it hurt him to relapse like he did. This disease isn't one that's fun to have because the thing that makes you the sickest is also the thing that makes you feel so damn good.

Really think about that for a second....

Did you do so? Think about the things in your life that make you happy. Now imagine if you were allergic to these things. Don't get me wrong, illegal drugs and things of the like are no match for the happiness that your newborn's laugh gives you or that feeling you get after a nice long run, but they provide a level of happiness for the addict that is not found elsewhere.

These are the struggles of the addict. I see person A having a drink and their life isn't destroyed, I should be able to do that, right? Wrong. This is where the process of recovery is so hard. Beginning to think that I can deal with things the way I used to or the way I watch some of my friends do it is insane. Josh took a step backwards and it cost him a public black eye and nothing more, thankfully.

Josh admits it himself that he doesn't know in his brain where his switch is that makes him switch from beer and liquor to harder substances, and apparently neither did Whitney Houston. Her well documented struggles with drugs and alcohol apparently cost her her life over the weekend and and it's just sad. It's sad that she probably had friends, same as you and I, that don't/didn't understand how dangerous her problem was when they offered her a celebratory cocktail or a painkiller to help her sleep or whatever may have happened.

I am going to get off my soapbox now, but let me leave you with this; if you ever want to know exactly how an admitted alcoholic or addict in recovery deals with things or how they want to deal with things, just ask them what it's like. We all like to talk. It's not like AA or NA meetings are silent rooms. We all love telling our stories just so that other people that don't know what it's like can have a little insight.

I have been asked a few times in the last few weeks whether or not I would have served Josh drinks at the bar. I personally, wouldn't have because I know what he's going through. I don't fault those that did, though, because how can they know what his demons are if they don't face them daily.

Other than that, life is going wonderfully. I wish we were having a better winter, I love the cold weather. I no longer wear an ankle monitor for alcohol consumption but am still in court regarding my legal issues and will update you all when I have the time. I have met a wonderful muse who allows me to be me and more importantly supports my every decision with full conviction.

I will leave you all with this, if you or anyone you know ever needs to talk to someone with a supportive and open mind, please don't hesitate to call on me. Life is scary sometimes, but it's less scary the more people you have on your side, I can assure you that. I appreciate all of you for being on mine and would gladly join some of yours if you would have me.

A few songs to get us through the day:

And in remembrance:

Have a wonderful day everyone, and tell someone how they make you feel today, you could change their life.

Well...

What an experience! That was potentially the best four hours and 46 minutes I have ever spent doing anything. I attempted to take it all in but at times the emotions of what I was doing just overwhelmed me, almost to tears at some point.

I am gonna try to go through that experience here while I have some time waiting for my flight in the airport here in Dayton. I was originally going to write as soon as I got back to the hotel yesterday, but that just wasn't gonna happen.

So here goes. Dad and I got up here on Thursday night and it just so happens that after training in the hottest summer on record in central Texas, that I had flown into what was a degree off for setting a record low here in Ohio. It was somewhere in the low 40s Thursday night, I want to say 43-44. We did the runners expo which was held at Wright State University and then went and walked around the University of Dayton campus. Side note, if you are ever up here, do yourself a favor and check that place out. It's gorgeous.

Shunned the spaghetti dinner Friday night at the expo center and opted for Cincinnati's famous Skyline Chili. They serve it on top of spaghetti and it's more meat sauce than chili the way us Texans consider it, but I found it to be quite good and filling. Good? Yes. Great? No. But the service was great as it was everywhere else we went up here. Very friendly people the southwestern Ohioan.

Got to bed early as I was set to get up at 3:45 Saturday morning for the 7:25 B-1B fighter jet flyover and race start. After a pretty tumultuous  evening of sleep, I got up and started my pre-run routine which is as follows(in no particular order): Shower, Eat a banana and Clif bar as well as drink a liter of Zico coconut water, take 2 aspirin(took Bayer Advanced this time, most of the time it's Aleve), Vaseline up(you other runners get it), tape my Achilles tendon on my left leg with KT Tape, work the knots out with "The Stick" in my thighs and calves, put my watch on, grab my HR monitor and knee straps, sunglasses, hat and my favorite running tool, the Sweat Gutr. For yesterday I also added a windbreaker and sweatpants since we were getting there well before sunup.

We set off around 5 to make the 30 minute drive in to the base and there were virtually no cars out and about which is strange considering an estimated 13,000 runners were participating in total between the 10K, Half, and Full Marathons. There was about a mile and a half walk from parking to start gate and that may be the only detracting thing I would say about this race.

I was finally a little nervous. Not because of the distance or anything like that, but I had just put five months into training for an event that I was only sure in my mind that I could complete. I hadn't at any time during training come close to 26.2 miles. Hell, I had only gone as long as 18 once so I was a little nervous about breaking down before we even started. 

So, with a little nervous energy coursing it's way through me and an hour and a half to burn before the run and the temperatures in the mid 50s, I did something I rarely do before running, stretch. You see, when you train for something when it's 85 degrees before the sun comes up, your muscles generally are pretty warm to start. When it's 50, not so much.

I did some light groin stretches, hamstrings, calves, hip and back stretches. Gotta be getting close, right?

Nope! Still had about 30 minutes to kill so what to do. Ah, yes, the bathroom, just in case. Went to the bathroom and then stripped out of my sweatpants and Rangers windbreaker, strapped on my HR monitor and knee straps and then checked my bag into the race tent.

Now I needed to find my race group. Meaning the people who expected to run around the same pace or have an expected finish time around when I was hoping to finish. With my training, we had learned to not set time goals for this race, that finishing was the only objective and I was fine with that, but my competitive spirit wanted me to finish in less than 5 hours so I chose to run with the 4:45 expected finishers. 

I figured that was modest and attainable and would be another nice challenge.

There were pre race festivities, the national anthem, notation of honored guests and runners including the Governor of Ohio's wife who Dad said finished about 20 minutes before me.

The wheelchair guys got to start, then there was a large boom which noted we got to start. About that time a jet came out of the rising sun and flew right over the start line. It was vey, very cool to say the least.

We started herding towards the start gate, I prepared my iPod and got it running and I'll be a monkey's uncle if Kid Cudi's Pursuit of Happiness wasn't the first song that came on. I found it quite fitting considering that's what I was trying to accomplish tangibly with this race. Ever since I got in trouble the last time and have changed my mindset on so many things in my life, i have been on the pursuit of happiness myself so I found it fitting. First of many near emotional breakdowns on the day.

I had gotten my watch prepared to start as I crossed the start line so I would be able to better monitor my pace...too bad I hit the wrong button crossing the line and didn't start pacing myself until about two tenths of a mile in, which actually works alright when you think about it since the race is 26.2 miles. 

Right about the time I noticed that, I almost had a big big problem and tripped over some uneven ground and came close to eating it big time about a quarter of a mile in. But i caught my balance and didn't actually tackle anyone while stumbling forward towards the concrete and so we were good.

Most of the elevation change in this race, or so I was led to believe, was in the first 2 miles and coming from training in Austin, I didn't find it to be too terribly challenging. It was a gradual climb from about half a mile in to the two mile marker and then leveled off and started coming down a little.

Now, in many of my training runs, I was generally good for about the first 3-5 miles and then desperately needed to stop to walk, catch my breath, stretch, or something else but that wasn't the case yesterday. Around the end of mile one and heading into mile two, I started moving a little faster. It wasn't a breakneck pace by any stretch, but faster than my 10:55/mile pace time for the group looking for a 4:45 finish.

I found myself running with the pace group set to finish in 4:20, or 9:55/mile. I kept moving with them until around mile five and then started pulling away from them too. I had stopped at the water stations and walked through them, making sure to take water and Gatorade whenever they had it but it was around the fourth aid station around mile four that I got a few slices of orange and started to pull away from pace team 4:20. 

I was feeling great! Not moving too fast as I had been warned about. Not out of breath or struggling in any aspect. I was feeling really confident. Took my first pull of GU gel right as I finished my first hour, about six and a half miles in and wouldn't you know it, they were handing it out on the next station too.

I picked up 4 more and proceeded forward towards the seven mile marker and I was flying. Clocking in at about 9:30 a mile and feeling great but needing to pee. Saw a guy duck behind a building and followed him over. There was a porta-potty there and I popped in and had at it. I really thought that was gonna slow me down but it didn't, hopped back on the course and picked my pace right back up. 

Kept moving right along and was done with mile 8 around 1:10 which was 15 minutes faster than I had ever done 8 miles. We came off base and into a small town called Fairborn which runs right along the side of the base and it's downtown is very worn down but still functional and the people there were great. 

I high fived about 15 pee-wee cheerleaders standing in front of the closed down movie theater and moved down around the corner. We came into the town square and there were people everywhere cheering and encouraging us. There were three old guys playing Air Force songs with a polka style and there was a radio station or something trying to call out the names of the runners as they passed. 

As I ran past, he said, "...And here comes Jeffrey Farr followed by Janine something or other" and I hear her say, "Hey, That's me!" I told her that he called me right before her and we had a nice little half a mile chat for the next few blocks. I normally hate talking when I run, but I welcomed it this time.

She was in from Indiana, did undergrad at Ball State and graduate work at Miami(OH) and had been to Texas one time to visit her sister when she was at North Texas. We turned down a street and she patted me on my back and told me to enjoy my run and I never saw her again.

I finished the block and back out onto the main street still chugging along at about 9:30 a mile. Passed 10 miles right at an hour and a half and was feeling great. Started to believe that I could keep this up for the entire race. It was so pleasant outside, maybe 60-65 with the cloud cover burning off and i could see that we were about to continue to descend a little more back onto the base and on top of that, the halfway mark was in sight. I pounded some more GU and kept plugging along. At this point I could see the need to walk a bit was on the horizon but wanted to make it to the halfway mark strong, and that's exactly what happened.

I started nearing the marker for halfway and about that time the 4:20 pace group caught up with me just as we passed it, but I had passed the 13.1 mark in right at two hours, a good 30 minutes faster than I had done it in any area of training and it felt damn good. I decided at that point to take a little break and asses where I was physically. I also needed to check my ankle monitor and make sure it hadn't dug a hole into my leg and made me bleed yet. 

Was good across the board so i decided to walk a mile. Made it about four tenths before the next aid station, grabbed some water, gatorade and oranges and decided that I came to run and not walk so I started trotting again, aimed my orange peel at a container with a behind the back toss, missed and while I was admiring my poor performance on that shot, I ran up the back of this guy. I grabbed him to make sure he didn't fall. I apologized but he did not look happy by any stretch of the imagination. 

Oh, well, was time to run again. Made it to mile marker 16 before needing to stop and walk again. Took some more GU and walked the entire length of the runway we were on. When we came off the runway, I started up again, made it about half a mile, walked half a mile and then plugged along for about 2 more. As I passed mile 18, I realized I was still 30 minutes ahead of pace so I hadn't lost any time on my training pace in the last hour. 

18 miles in three hours and I had never gotten there faster than three and a half. 

It started getting a little harder to fire back up after walking but i kept moving pretty well through mile 20 when I realized that I only had a 10K left and if I could do that in the same pace as my way out, I would clock in between 4:20 and 4:30. Right about that time, the 4:30 pace team passed me by. At least my brain was still working, right?

I passed mile 21 and saw it. This giant hill of highway coming out of the base and up towards Wright State. I remember coming down this thing around mile five or six feeling great. Going up it after 21 looked like death. I could see the apex of this hill and determined that I would walk up this hill until the sign posted at it's apex and then I would get my momentum back coming down it. Right about the time I got moving down this hill, the Lupe Fiasco song The Show Goes On started playing and a wave of euphoria swept over me.

I started moving a lot like the initial pace that I had started on and that carried me through mile 23. More oranges, more water and gatorade. Off the 4:30 pace but hadn't seen the 4:45 crew pass me yet and that was my initial hope, remember? 

So, I turned the corner to go up this small rolling set of hills, three miles to go. We had come down this road on the way out and were doing it on the way in. Pass the 24 marker, try to get moving again. Was virtually impossible. Was starting to struggle a ton. Ran about 100 yards, then had to start walking again. It was starting to get painful but I was so close. Time to dig in. Time to find the competitive spirit inside.

It had been a long time since I have had to channel energy in that manner but just as I needed it, the 4:45 pace team passed me. We were 24 miles into a race and I had been outrunning people this whole time and I'd be damned if they were gonna take that from me. We were exactly a mile and a half away. Remember, my watch was two tenths behind so my round numbers were the numbers plus two tenths. I had these guys.

Luckily there was a hill to go down so that helped. I could barely swing my legs forward because my groin/hip flexor area hurt so badly on both legs. We came through the entrance to the base and there were people out there pulling for us, telling us we only had a bit to go and I could see the finish line. I knew Dad was there. I knew I was about to get to see him and I couldn't wait. I actually had a thing of GU left so I pounded it as we entered the base.

So we run in, I'm behind a blind runner and his guide that I had been following and I saw them slow down so I blew past them. By the way, blowing past someone in the last mile of a marathon is like watching 8 year olds play basketball, it's a very slow motion action.

I look at my watch and we hadn't even entered the final stretch but my watch read 26.00 which meant we were at 26.2 according to the markers and whatnot along the way, but my watch went 26 at the same time I passed the marker for it. 

Came into the fenced in homestretch lined with about 8-10 antique Air Force planes and could see the finish line. Kept looking for Dad and finally saw him. I think I shocked him because he wasn't ready for me to be there yet. About 100 more yards a guy on the side yelled out, "Come on Jeffrey, DIG!!!" and that added with seeing Dad there was all i needed to finish as hard as I could. Passed about 3 or 4 more people in the last tenth and then as I crossed the line I heard the DJ say, "Jeffrey Farr, all the way from Austin, TX finishes in under five hours! Good job." 

I followed the line a bit, sweat dripping from my hat and got my medal placed on me and then got my silver blanket and moved on to grab some Gatorade and a banana or two. They were giving pizza away but waiting in line was not in the cards for me. I went and picked up my stuff, found Dad and that was that, except for the aforementioned mile and a half walk back to the car.

Long and short, I finished my 26.4 mile marathon in four hours and 46 minutes and can't wait for my next one, even though I can hardly feel my legs right now and it has been a little tough moving over the last 24 hours.

The experience was moving, almost flooring me at points as I thought about Randy and what he would have said or how much I wished everyone could be there beside me. Some of you may know this about me, but being alone can be scary at times so running by yourself for that long can really let you free your mind. I thought about my dear friends Aaron and Courtney and how they got engaged on Friday night. I Thought about Robby King and his wife Reiko who are expecting their first kiddo and how much he cares for me and how much he cared for Randy. I thought about Reid and Kendall and Mom and Dad and so much more. I could feel all of you out there running with me, encouraging me.

Shoot, even thinking about it now makes me emotional. It was an experience that I got to have with God. There was something very spiritual in running this race for me and something I will look back on if I ever feel like I can't complete the task at hand.

I am gonna keep writing as I continue to progress and I am so flattered that many of you have taken time to read what I have written.

I will leave you all with this. One of the guys I was running with had it on his back. 

From 2 Timothy, 4:7- Fight the Good Fight, Finish the Race, Keep the Faith. 

I have done those things and couldn't be happier.