Mercy Health Glass City Marathon Price Increase

If you haven’t then NOW IS THE TIME to registered for the Mercy Health Glass City Marathon, Yark Subaru 5-Person Relay Marathon, Owens Corning Half Marathon or the Medical Mutual Glass City 5k, the clock is ticking down and the price increases at the end of the day on March 31!

Price increase amounts are as follows:

The marathon increases by $10
The relay increases by $25
The half marathon increases by $10
The 5k increases by $5 

Here is a look at how the races are filling up, and with the half marathon over 80% full you better act fast, because this one can sell out quick!

Post Surgery Update # 9

     So what has been happening?  RUNNING that's what!  Since I was given the green light two weeks ago today things have felt really good.  Despite not doing the distances that I was doing, it felt just like old times getting out there and running again.  

     Last week began with a 3/4 mile run with my physical therapist to see if I was even ready, which by the time you finish this post you'll see that obviously I was.  She instructed me to run one mile each day for a total of five days, so I counted that run as day one.  I then proceeded to run Thursday, Friday, Sunday and Monday while I rested on Saturday and Tuesday.  Things went smooth with no issues, however I will say when it is still in the 30s when you go for your run, it really sucks getting all bundled up to run just one mile.

     

     Week two started great and finished on a down note.  Since things went well I was to proceed to two miles a day for five day, basically doubling my mileage from previous week.  I set up the same schedule as the previous week running Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  All three of those days went absolutely great!  I was feeling good, I had no pain and I thought nothing could stop me, then the weekend came.  My work has a huge three day event every year around this time and this was the week that it landed on.  In a normal day I probably split sitting and standing 50/50 or maybe 60/40, but during this event I am standing, walking and lifting product 98% of the time for three days straight.  Friday's run didn't seem to bother me at all and Saturday was a rest day, but Sunday the plan was to run before work and I was so tired from the previous two days that I decided I would sleep in and get my run done after work.  When after work came, I should have listened to my body and just skipped the run, but us stubborn runners can't do it so I went out anyway.  That evening after relaxing in the chair, my whole leg was stiff, aching and my knee was bothering me as well.  I decided to take Monday and Tuesday off completely from all running or workout activities and contact my PT.

     Alisha agreed I needed to rest myself from running, but I should do a modified workout on Tuesday.  She also recommended that today I should only attempt a one mile run as well.  After almost two whole days of rest, the modified workout felt pretty good and I was feeling pretty confident again.  Today's run went fine, nothing to write home about, but I got through the mile without any major pain or setbacks.  I reported back to Alisha and she is writing me up a schedule that will vary the days and distance of my runs.  With the Glass City and my Run-aversary right around the corner, I got to keep the momentum going.  

      

Calling All Volunteers

The Mercy Health Glass City Marathon is looking for course marshals to help provide direction to runners along the course. All volunteers receive a volunteer shirt and are invited to our volunteer party for instruction and food.

If you know of anyone interested please email us for an assignment: erin@glasscitymarathon.org.

There are volunteer opportunities in the weeks leading up to the event, on the day of the expo, and on race day with most volunteer activities only requiring a commitment of 4 hours or less. Help us to continue the long tradition of the Glass City Marathon by volunteering.

Team Elite

     I have a new plan for the Mercy Health Glass City Marathon and I am really excited about it.  Back on March 9th I had my PT appointment with Alisha at Elite Sports and Orthopedic Physical Therapy.  I won't go into detail, because you can read about it here, but long and the short of it was I ran.  Alisha took me for a 3/4 mile run to test the hip, before cutting me loose to slowly start reintroducing my body to running.

     When we were finished she asked me if I was interested in running on a relay team that she was thinking of assembling for the Mercy Health Glass City Marathon.  It immediately reminded me of all the fun I had doing the Ragnar relay back in 2014.  You can read about it here: Ragnar Recap 1, Ragnar Recap 2, Ragnar Recap 3.  Of course I said yes!  Now I just have to worry about getting my mileage up to ensure I can cover the leg I am assigned.

     The Yark Subaru 5-Person Relay takes place during the Mercy Health Glass City Marathon and consists of five team members each running a portion of the race at varying distances.  For those that aren't ready to tackle a full or even a half marathon but wants to go further than a 5K than this race is the perfect way to join in on the fun.

     Lastly, if you haven't heard of Elite Sports and Orthopedic Physical Therapy then I recommend you get familiar with them.  They can help with all kinds of recovery from various injuries that are sports and non sports related.  You can visit them at toledophysicaltherapy.com or on Facebook by clicking here.  You can also meet them at the Mercy Health Glass City Marathon Health and Wellness expo on Saturday April 23rd from 9am-5pm.  They will be selling these awesome shirts you see below with proceeds being donated to Racing for Recovery  Stop out and say Hi, and tell them Dean sent you!

Today Was The Day!! P.S.U.#8

     Today was the day I have been waiting for, for what seemed like months and months, I have been cleared to start running again.  Despite my lungs being a little out of it and my legs being a little tired from it, it was awesome to get out there and finally do it again.  

     I got to my physical therapy appointment early and found Alisha hanging outside of the building, which on a day like today I wouldn't think was strange, because it was so nice out.  Here in Northwest Ohio we have finally hit a stretch of nice weather, and today for the most part, it has been in the mid 60s and sunny.  She said we don't need to be cooped up inside on a day like today, and that today we RUN!!  I followed her down to a local metro park that was packed with people, and I can only assume that most of them were playing hooky from work.  We did some light stretches and marching drills to warm up before we headed out on the natural paths through the woods.

     The loop we took was rather short at three quarters of a mile, but had some nice quick elevation changes, for northern Ohio anyway, which allowed me to put my hip through its paces.  We kept the pace nice and easy right around a ten to eleven minute mile, which didn't seem to be to terribly bad for me considering I haven't truly run since the beginning of December.  Alisha kept an eye on my form making sure I wasn't favoring my hip at all and dictated the pace for the entire run.  She told me my form looked good, which means all the marching drills she had me doing paid off and the pace was no problem either.

     When we finished, she had me stretch out and then do some single leg and double leg squats to finish up.  She informed me that unless I have a set back of any kind, the need for in office therapy visits were no longer needed and I could begin running regularly.  What does regularly look like?  Well, I am allowed to run a mile a day for four or five days the first week and I am to add a mile each week following till I am consistently able to run 5-6 miles with no issues.  All of my miles are to be easy pace / easy effort runs also.  I am not to do any speed work or any other specialty training for awhile, which is A-OK with me, because I hate speed work.

     It is amazing how bright things ahead can look when it finally feels like you are making progress.  I don't have any delusions that I will have a few minor set backs and if all I am ever capable of is a nice steady ten minute mile, I am just fine with that too!

     I want to thank everyone for your well wishes and support through this running 2.0 journey.  It has meant a lot to me over the past few months.

GCM Family Activites

     If you were planning on coming to town and leaving the little ones at home you may want to reconsider that decision.  The staff at the Mercy Health Glass City Marathon go to great lengths to include the entire family by offering events and running distances for all ages and abilities, not to mention the awesome family friendly activities the great city of Toledo has to offer.

Your kids want to say "I RUN TOLEDO" too!

click here for more information

 

Findley Davies Kid’s Marathon

The biggest kids run around, the Findley Davies Kid’s Marathon includes runs for kids ages 2-12. Location: Rocket Track & Field
Date: Saturday, April 23, 2016
Runner Premium: * New This Year — Shirts for all participants; color coded red, white, blue depending on distance/event

Start Times

11:30am — Meet the UT Football Players, with Agility Angels Dog Show to Follow
12:00pm — 1/4 Mile Run, with 1/2 Mile and 1 Mile Run to Follow

Suggested Age Groups

Ages 2-3 — 1/4 mile
Ages 4-12 — 1/2 or 1 mile

Registration

Parents can register their children online, by mail-in brochure, or until 11:30am at the Expo in the Savage Hall Arena. Registration includes a teddy bear, finisher’s medal and refreshments.
*Shirts are only guaranteed with registration through March 31, 2016.

Imagination Station

      A wonderful facility in downtown Toledo that features a hands-on science museum with over 300 exhibits for children of all ages.

Toledo Zoo

      This year features newly renovated Aquarium houses 3000+ aquatic animals in 178,000 gallons of water – nearly four times the volume as the previous Aquarium.  As an institution with a more than 100-year history, The Toledo Zoo understands the need to preserve the past even as it reaches out toward the future.  The Toledo Zoo is one of the world’s most complete zoos—it’s also the region’s top family destination! Let The Toledo Zoo take you from the Arctic tundra to the wilds of Africa, from the tropical rainforest to the Sonoran Desert and all points between—all in one great day. 

Toledo Museum of Art

     The Toledo Museum of Art is an internationally known art museum located in the Old West End neighborhood of Toledo.  It houses a collection of more than 30,000 objects and special one of a kind traveling exhibits throughout the year.  The museum was founded by Toledo glassmaker Edward Drummond Libby in 1901, and moved to its current location in 1912.

   Whether you want updates of how you are doing while you run or your friends and family want to follow along as you traverse the 26.2, 13.1 or 3.2 miles, you can do so with the official race tracker.  With the mobile Glass City Marathon app you can fully experience the race. Share RaceJoy with your friends and family and ask them to sign in as a spectator. If you carry your phone, they can track you live and send you audio cheer clips.

Post Surgery Update #7

     Ok so I am not living up to my end of the bargain and posting like I really should be, but to be brutally honest I just haven't felt like it much lately.  I feel like anything I write will be negative anyway, so why fucking bother.  Realistically it was fun to write when the majority of my post were about positive things that were happening to me and lately it just doesn't seem to be a lot of "fun" things to write about.  However I am going to give it a try.

     So if I am correct it has been almost a month since my last update on my rehab, and the big story is I am jumping.  Alisha had me basically go into a squat position and jump straight up, then landing on both feet evenly using my knees to cushion the landing.  I didn't have any pain on the landing, which is where I thought I would have a problem, no my problem was on the take off.  I was getting pain in my upper thigh muscle as I would push up with me feet at the end of the take off.  This is the same area that has been causing me the most issue and pain during this recovery.

     The following week I continued the vertical jumps starting with 10 and adding 2 each day till my next appointment.  Now this is the part when I tell you I was super excited for PT because I could have sworn that she said once I am jumping, the next step is running, but that wasn't the case.  We'll chalk this one up to my selective hearing my wife is always talking about, because it was dual leg jump, single leg jumps and then attempt running.  At therapy we worked on a few more things and did some single leg work as well, but I got no indication that a running attempt is in my future yet.  At this appointment Alisha informed me of her vacation so my next PT appointment will be in two whole weeks, which is now only a week away.  

     Last thing before I go, and I don't want to make a big deal about it, and keep it on the down low because I don't want my Physical Therapist to hear, but I RAN!!!!  We finally got some nice weather here so Mandy and I took the boys for a walk.  As we made the turn for home, Jedi started pulling like he really wanted to run.  It got to the point that he was almost standing up on his hind legs he was pulling so hard.  Now I know he is just a small chiweenie put the little guy has some pull to him when he wants to.  We got to the last tenth of a mile home, if not less and I said the hell with it and took off.  It was like in the movies when two people in love are running toward each other and everything is in slow motion, yeah call me crazy but it kind of felt like that.  I had no excessive pain of any kind following that and I even went for a two mile walk by myself after that without any noticeable difference.  The good news is I now know it is possible, the bad news is all it did was kick start my running addiction into high gear! 

P.S. My therapist reads my blog so she probably will have seen this before my next appointment!