Pine Belt Pacers Forum

So, I don't know a lot of you guys by name on here but I have talked to you or at least said hi to you on the trace during my early morning saturday long runs. I am the guy always wearing a southern miss shirt while running, well actually this summer i have been one of many guys wearing just shorts to run in because of the heat. But anyway, just figured I would share my little story with you:

Ok, so I went to the Dr. thinking that I would just get a shot in the butt today to help me fight off this nasty sinus infection that i have been having and be sent on my way to heal...... Come to my surprise I was diagnosed with the swine flu.... WHAT???? Didn't see that coming! Being the runner that I am I asked him what the chances are that I would be OK by Friday? He said, "Why, you have a vacation planned?" I said, "Well you see my wife and I are flying out on Friday to California to run the Disneyland Half Marathon, and I have to run it on Sunday." He then smiled and said, "You runners amaze me. We will do our best to get you better by then, but don't expect this to be a new "PR" or anything. Just play it safe, and if you feel good enough to fly on Friday, go for it. Just make sure that your fever is gone!" He also said, "On race day if you do decide to go, make sure that you stay very hydrated, and listen to your body. Walk if you are feeling bad." I was just glad that he didn't say no to the whole thing! So talk about a taper week! No running at all except for the 3 miles i did on Monday when I started feeling bad. Oh well, we will see what happens. I really don't want to miss this race since I have paid for everything; flight, hotel, rental car, and race entry fees; and it's all non-refundable! I figured all that I would have to fight for this race was some smoke from the fires that are burning out there, HA! Just sucks that I have been training so hard for this race. Was on pace to smash my old PR too. I did a 1:49:19 in New Orleans averaged an 8:41 mile. Have been training to get myself down to a 1:45:00 or less half marathon, and I really think that I would have done it too. I have been running an average of 8:30 on my long runs and doing all of my speed work outs at a 7:20 pace! Oh well The next race I am signed up to do is the St. Jude full marathon in december (my first full) and I want to get under a 4 hour marathon for that. Then maybe I can get that PR in Jan when we run the Disney world Half in Orlando, was going to try to do the cost to cost Disney Challenge where you run a half or a full in each park in a year. OK I'll stop the story here, I know you must be tired of me rambling on if you even made it this far down the page!

chris maul
www.chrismaulphotography.com

Whoa! Chris! I knew you were sick because of your posts on FB, but dang! Swine flu? No wonder you've been feeling so bad. I sure hope you don't overdo this weekend. Please listen to your body. You can replace the money you put out, but you can't replace Chris. You've got a lot of races left in you. Take care.

Thanks Susan, I have been fever free now for over 24 hours. The dr said if I was fever free I could go. Going to see how the day goes today. Our plane dosent leave until 7:00 pm so I plan on staying in bed and resting until it's time. I do feel a lot better today. The meds are doing their job. I just plan on getting there and seeing how I feel by race day which is Sunday. Probably going to run 4 or 5 miles on the treadmill on Saturday at the hotel and see how I feel. I will let you know how it goes.

glad you're feeling better! i hope that as the day goes on, you perk up even more. yay for fever free!

take it easy, rest up, and run carefully!

So sorry about the bad timing of your illness. I HATE when that happens. Hopefully, Jenny will have a good race, and maybe you can just go and enjoy the trip and jog the race (I know that is hard to do).

Anyway, I hope you continue to feel better.

(when I said on fb to "look on the bright side, better to get sick early in the marathon training rather than later" - I didn't know about your half marathon plans)

Have Fun! Safe Travels!

Thanks Dawn and Ginny, I think I am ready to go. We are leaving for the airport at 5:00. I definately feel a lot better. I hope Jenny has a great run there at Disney, she has been training hard. I just hope she dosent get sick while we are there. I'll let you know how everything works out.

Chris

how did the race go for you both?

OK, this is attempt number 3 at posting this message. I have been out of town, so I have been out of pocket. Hope everything is better for you. Let us know how you did with your run. Take care, listen to your body, and don't push too hard, too soon!!

I saw in the results where he ran a 1:51:16, quite an accomplishment after having the swine flu the week of. Congrats!

Hey guys, thanks for asking about the race. It was amazing, but I wish that I could have enjoyed it the way that I wanted to. I trained my butt off to try and beat my 1:49 PR that I had in New Orleans, but my body had other plans for me. I definately pushed myself too hard, but I am happy with a 1:51:16 (I think that was my official time). It was definately an interesting adventure to say the least. I'll write more about it for anyone that cares in a race report if I can figure out how to post one on this site.

Thanks again,
Chris

That is a GREAT swine flu time. Most people would love to run that anytime. Looking forward to hearing all about it.

i agree with ginny, great job! you'll get that pr soon enough, but celebrate that victory! congratulations!