| Today
is Saturday, January 21st 2012, time for a trip to the beach!
I have been encouraging Cole and Carlos to start running to
help them with their conditioning for basketball and wrestling
respectively. They have been dragging their feet on this
subject, well kicking their feet up would be a better expression.
So it was much to my surprise when I asked them if they
wanted to run on the beach with me they both said yes! Jackson had
other plans, so it was a bonus for Christina as she had the house to
herself for a couple of hours. Cole ran with me the whole way, and
Carlos wasn't too far behind us on the at the half way point.
On the way back Carlos' feet were hurting, and he walked part
of the way back. See you next time! Keywords: 310XT, cancer, Corvallis, garmin, running, TNBC, Newport, Oregon, Coast, Cole, Carlos |
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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Running in the Sand with Cole & Carlos
Friday, January 20, 2012
Run through the flooded waters
| Today
is January 20th 2012. The mild temperatures in the
mountains and torrential rain led to rivers cresting their
banks, and flooding in many citiies in the valley. I decide
to go for a run near Mary's River and the Willamette to check it out.
I took a few videos along the way. I hope you enjoy. See you next time! |
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Thursday, January 19, 2012
Water logged
|
As many of you know, the flooding conditions in the valley are getting
pretty bad. Around our neck of the woods the Willamette river
is very high, and there is some major flooding in Philomath causing
some road closure. After the half marathon last Sunday, I
completed a couple of runs out in the rain trying to avoid the small
ponds in the roads, overflowing culverts, and oncoming vechicles
dousing with road grim as they plow through the aforementioned ponds in
the road. The plus side is that the temperature has risen, so the runs
have been pleasant. With all the rain, I haven't created in
new videos for fear to water logging my camera/phone!
Yesterday I ran 9 miles at a pretty good
pace, 7:38/mi. My workout schedule doesnt' start for about a
week, however I felt good so I ran at a best that felt good. Today I
decided to switch it up and go to the gym at the HP site, free is a
really good price! I hit the weights, and did the elliptical. Over the last couple of days, Christina have been talking more about creating our own race. Something came to be the other day; what about having a race at the beach? We love the coast, we were married at the coast, why not have our race there? Christina though it was a great idea, and we are making a few calls to see what it would take. If you know of someone that has created a 5k/10k fundraiser, please let us know. In the meantime, we are going to the coast this weekend and I hope to do a run on the beach. I'll post some videos weather permitting. See you next time! |
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Monday, January 16, 2012
Half Marathon, Snow in Corvallis, How to start our own race
| I
completed another half marathon this weekend, hooray! A few
days leading up to the race, the event website noted the forecast for
the race as I shared previously. The forecaster was dead on!
We saw the snow on the ground the night before, and in the
morning I tested my footing as I went to warm up the car.
Yip, there was ice under the snow, so I fear for a very
slippery race. As traveled to Turner for the race, the
weather cleared up outside of Albany. Unfortunately as we
entered Turner the snow was blanketing the streets. Runners
in the gym were all hoping the snow would melt off before the 9AM
start. Close to race time the snow started to fall again!
When the cattle bells rang, big flakes of snow floated across
the starting shoot. Fortunately the roads were not too terrible, patches of ice and slush, and patches of bare wet pavement. I set my watch to alert me when my pace was outside the range of 6:54/mi and 6:34/m. I started easy ensure I could get good traction, and once I was more comfortable I settling into a pace of about 6:54/mi. My watch buzzed every few seconds telling my to "speed up!", until I finally got my pace within range. The air was very cool with blasts of 8-10mph winds every once in a while, but after about 2 miles my body was heated up to the point that I didn't notice the cold too much. I picked off quite a few runners in the beginning, and settled behind a small group of runners that were about twenty yards head. As the runners ahead of me passed the turnaround, I counted them to determine were I was placing. I was in 31st or 32nd place out of ~880 runners! That was motivation for me to keep pushing, and keep my pace within range. At the turn-around we headed into the wind gusts. This slowed me down enough for my pace to fall below 6:54, and my watch told me to speed up! My body was telling me to slow down, take a break, take it easy, or even to stop and walk. My brain was telling me to keep pushing, you are past half way, and this is nothing compared to battles others are facing. It is hard to put into words of the actual movitating thoughts, but that is the best way I can put it. I notice I had a picked up a drafter at about mile 5 or 6, and he drafted behind me for a couple miles. He passed me on a straight stretched a mile or so after the turnaround. I don't like being passed, and in my younger years I would have tried to keep pace with him so I could pass him back. Today I just let him go and continued to run my race. I noticed another runner about 100m heading of me that I was closing on, but I just continued to run my pace. As I started to pace him he started speeding up, but he couldn't keep the pace and would slow down, and then speed up as I started moving past him again. This lasted about a 200m, and then I just had to stride out to pick up my pace a bit because he was throwing off my pace. That was at about mile 11. Two miles to go. My abs were tighening a bit, legs were a little heavy, and my breathing was I bit labored. Two miles is nothing I told myself, and thought about when or if I was going to start my kick. The one mile mark? Half mile? Finish chute? As I came through a series of s-curves, I looked back briefly to see if there was anyone close to me. The guy that I passed was about 200 to 300m behind me, and the guy that passed me was about 300 - 400m ahead of me. Since I had no feasiable target, and no immediate threats I decided to start picking up my pace a touch with about one mile before the finish. With about a quarter of a mile to go I shifted into fourth gear, striding out, and picking up the tempo. Going into the last turn, a volunteer was waving me in, yelling something, but I had my earphones in so not exactly sure what he was saying - I am sure something like, "Your almost there, good job, keep it up!" I was now in fifth gear, didn't have the RPM's for sixth ;-) Breathing was tough, heart rate threw the roof, and legs feeling like cement, I kept pumping through the finish line! Clicked stop on the watch, and looked for my family. My wife and kids congradulated me, and I just wanted water. I was really driven to hit 1:30, so I didn't stop at the water stations. I was a little nauseated from the tough race. Jackson went to the car to get my gatorade, and then we went to the post race area to get some food. I chatted with some racers, got some food, and left. Later I found online that I was 31 of 396 runners, and 9th of 44 in my age group! Pretty good I guess. "31 253 Curtis Garrett 44 M 9/41 M4044 Corvallis OR 3 0:07 1:31:25 6:59 1:31:32 7:00" Christina and I met with our neighbor the sponsor a 5k run about how to create our own run to raise funds for Christina's treatment, and to raise awareness of the benefits of alternative treatment modalities. Amy gave us some resources to help us get started, and offered her assistance when or if we decided to create our own race. Very exciting stuff! My next race is in April, the Corvallis Half Marathon. I have created a new workout plan that will start on the 25th, until then I will just do a few easy runs. See you next time! |
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Friday, January 13, 2012
4M Steady, Two Days before the Cascade Half Marathon
| Today
Christinas was in Eugene most of the day, the kids were at school, and
I spent most of the day in my office working. Tonight we went
to Cole's basketball game at West Albay High School. We won
by around 10 point, but it was a pretty close game up to mid way
through the forth quarter. Cole played really good both
defensively, and directly his team from the point guard position. His
shots attempts were limited, but he did hit a three point buzzer beater
at the end of the third quarter! We are just two days from the Cascade Half Marathon! Here is the weather report, " Weather forecast as of 1/13: Outside - Snow showers likely before 10am, then rain and snow showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 36. South wind between 8 and 15 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible. . Inside the gym - 72 & dry, chance of hot soup and hot showers - 100%" Start times:Half-Marathon (early start)...........8:00 am Looks like we are going to have to bundle up a bit, and maybe break out the snow shoes? How often does it really snow in the valley? We will see. I hope to break 1:30, but if there is snow that will slow me down. Wish me luck! Today is was cold, but not 36 degrees cold! I ran a 4 mile steady run, slower than race pace at 7:19/mi. I felt good, relaxed, and thought about the race. |
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Thursday, January 12, 2012
3M Brisk Run, Busy yet neventful day
| Today
was farily uneventful, I worked hard most of the day, took some time
out to go for my run, and now I have a late night meeting.
We'll keep this post short for today, I am sure tomorrow will
be more eventful. Today's run was a 3 mile brisk run, meaning 7 minute miles fast. That is a pretty good pace, a little above my planned race pace for the half marathon on Sunday. I ran a pretty flat course, and felt good the entire run. See you tomorrow! |
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6M Easy Run, Connecting with a friend
| Yesterday
I was a good day in that I was able connect with a friend from work,
Jana. We worked together on a big project a few years ago,
and we have remained friends since. We general talk about
career aspirations, balancing work and life, and some personal stuff.
It is always great talk with her because we struggle with
some of the same things, and we keep each other honest. I
came away from that conversation feeling better about my
current job responsibilities and plans for the future, thanks Jana :-) Yesterday was just a nice easy 6 mile easy run, hitting west hills road. I had a little twinge in my right knee at the beginning of the run, which led my mind down the path of , "I hope I didn't just injury myself just days before the race!". Throughout the run I focused on keep my pace slow, listening to my body, and enjoying the nice cool pacific northwest weather... brrrr. |
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Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Home Alone, Hitting The Track
| Recently Christina went to visit a new friend that has colon cancer. The woman is very young with young childern, and the outlook is not very good. It amazes me everyday by the number of people affected by cancer, and now that we are in the population how it seems to touch our lives directly and indirectly every day. We talked about the struggles that cancer patients go through, and it is very difficult to say the least. Christina has an immense capacity to give, even while battling cancer. She visits friends that are having a bad day, talks with other women various forms of cancer, continues to mother our many childern both near and far, and of course is the most amazing wife. Today Christina went to visit her friend Leslie up in Newberg, and later we will both attend our son's basketball game. What a woman! While Christina was visiting, I took a break around lunch time to run some intervals. During the many laps around the track at Corvallis High my mind was lost in just trying to keep my pace, I didn't think about work, about cancer, or about anything else really. I was so focused that after the run I forgot to capture my post run video! Anyway, it was a good workout and I hit my laptimes within pace. | |
Long night, Easy Run
| Last night I needed to do some work in preparation for the next week. I had to run into the office earlier in the evening to get a computer back online so I could access it remotely. After the computer was online I headed home to finish the work. I finished my work around 2:30AM Monday morning, not exactly how I planned to spend my Sunday night. Work life balance is difficult in current position, especially at night as I frequenlty meet with people in Singapore in my evening hours. I am working on fixing this for 2012 as I need to be available to my family in the evenings. | |
Sunday, January 8, 2012
21 Miles , 199LBs, & 6 - Month Diagnosis Anniversary, What a Weekend!
| This weekend seemed to fly by after having the extended holiday break. On Saturday I ran 12 miles, and Christina, Jackson, and I went on a 5 mile bike ride. The weather was pretty nice considering, and we had a fun time. I weighed myself after my run,and I can now say that I weigh less than 200 pounds! Just a couple of years ago I weight 269 pounds, and the beginning of last year I was at 230 pounds. It has taken a while to lose the extra weight, but I think I did it in a healthy way by adjusting my lifestyle, and set realistic goals. After my brief celebration I gave Christina a massage, and relaxed the rest of the day. Yesterday, January 7th, was the six month anniversay of Christina's diagnose. We chose to celebrate this day by living life to the fullest, and took a trip to Newport. We were married at the Oregon Coast, and love visiting every chance we get. Corvallis was socked in with fog, but just a few miles outside of Philomath the skies were blue and fog free. The coast was beautifully sunny, but a bit chill. There were a bunch of surfers hitting the waves decked out in wet suits. We had fun running around on the beach with the kids, taking a few pictures, and taking in the beauty of the Oregon Coast. After getting back home I went out for my 9 mile steady run. It was foggy and chilly, but a farily nice and easy run. This amounted to 21 miles over the weekend, which is amazing to me because today I felt like it was just another 9 mile run. Crazy, a couple of years ago I could not run one mile under 8:00 minutes! It is one week from the Cascade Half Marathon, and I am better prepared than my last run in Lebanon in October. Tonight we will relax, eat a little cake, and give my beautiful wife a nice long massage. Please post your comments! See you next week! | |
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Christina's Blog
Thursday, January 5, 2012
3M Brisk Run ~ Just another day in the fight against TNBC
| Today was fairly quite at work in that I spent the morning answering email, and trying to resolve a couple of issues. I looked forward to going for a run around noon, and around 1PM I started getting ready to hit the road. As I was leaving Christina was a bit distraught after comparing her blood count levels with those from previous test.They were in range, just lower than previous tests for a couple of markers. It is something we will have to keep an eye on. I know that there wasn't anything I could say or do in order to make the numbers look any better, but I thought I would give her a massage after my quick little run. This run was 3 miles with a 1 mile warm up and cool down, running at 7:05/mi to 7:25/mi. I decided to run the path down past Avery Park, to the waterfront, and back. It was pretty cold, and Iwas just wearing shorts and a long sleeved shirt so I ran on the fast side of the range average about 7:04/mi for the three miles. It felt good besides the cold. After my run, I gave Christina a nice long massage on the massage table I gave to her on Mother's day a few years ago. She was very appreciative :-) See you next time. | |
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
6M Steady Run ~ First day back to work after the holiday break, looking forward to a nice steady run on a flat route
| Today was one of those days in which you really need to get away from the office. I spent most of the moring and early afternoon tryingto get back into the swing of things at work, while trying to wade through the mountain of email in my inbox! Around 2:30PM I was finally able to get out to do my 6 mile run, but I didn't decide on exactly where I was going to run, just that I need to get it done before I started getting dark. This time of year that is around 5PM. So I just started running from sunset park thinking I would just make a loop around the OSU area. I hit SW Reservoir Ave around the 2 mile mark. None of my previous routes used this road, so no time better than the present right? There went my goal of having an easy, flat run! If you click on the "View Details" in the Garmin Connect link below you can see the elevation profile, which is steadily uphill until about 3.5 miles. After all the 400's yesterday my quads where not liking the hills that much. I had to call on my inner strength to push me through to the turn around point. These are the times I test myself, and the times that I am apprectivite to have the ability to be physically active while many others do not. On the downhill, I just put on the cruise control and relaxed for the rest of the run. All in all it was a good run. | |
Christina's Blog
January 3rd, 2012 ~ 12 x 400m Intervals ~ Fast
Where these any easier in high school?
Visit Christina's Blog
| Christina took two of the boys up to Portland to visit some friends and family today. I am always amazed by Christina's generosity! When her friends are having a hard time, she does what she can to help them through it. Sometimes that mean picking up the phone, other times it means making a trip to sit down my visit. I thought about this during my workout, and I am so proud to have a wife that is so compassionate. My workout was really pretty easy, just cruised around the track a dozen times. | |
Running Against Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) - A Husband’s Journey
January 1st 2012 ~ First Run of the New Year !!!
15 Miles ~ Loop starting near Country Club Road to Corvallis
High, Crescent Valley High, Up Walnut, and back to Country Club Road
Visit Christina's Blog
July 2011, my wife Christina was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). This was devastating news for our family. When Christina first told me her diagnosis, I was literally in shock. The feeling was very similar to witnessing a traumatic event like a car accident followed by being punched in the stomach. Christina and I have a great marriage, and we have overcome a great deal of challenges throughout the years, but this is was a huge hurdle to overcome. After recovering from the initial blow (if this is ever really possible to recover 100% as it seems that the emotions involved in dealing with this disease always seem to ride just below the surface), we started battling against TNBC.
Christina does a wonderful job on her blog http://christinasrealtalk.blogspot.com detailing everything from the initially diagnose, research articles, featured guest articles, and various other topics. Please visit her blog to get more details of her journey, through her eyes. She is a very good writer, and her posts will move you.
Running Against Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) – A Husband’s Journey is about my journey, as a husband of a wife with a TNBC diagnosis. Why did I start this blog? Let me give you a brief overview of my running experiences over the years. When I was in middle school in the late 70s, I realized I was not going to be the next Tony Dorsett, Julius Erving, or Reggie Jackson. I did not quite have the hand–eye coordination, natural athletic ability to good in football, basketball, or baseball. I did however, learned that I could run long distances easily and I did not have to do anything with a ball! I ran road races until I could join the track team in 7th grade. I continued to “try” to play football and basketball in 7th and 8th grade, and then ran track and cross-country all four years in high school. In 1985, by the end of my senior year, I became burned out on running, vowing, “never to run again!”
In 2005, twenty years later and about 75 pounds heavier, I decided it was time to get into shape. The best way I knew how to do that was to run and lift weights; I started running with some former high school friends. I fell in love with running all over again. Running enables me to let go of all the stress of the day, burn some calories, and catch a runners high – activating endorphins while mentally and physically pushing myself. I registered for the 2006 Portland Marathon to keep me motivated, and it worked. I dropped about 40 pounds and my long run was up to 20 miles. Unfortunately, during a 30k race I pulled my hamstring and could not compete in the Portland Marathon.
While I was healing and shortly after my friends raced in the Portland Marathon, I met Christina around Thanksgiving in 2003. There were many things going on during this time both personally and professionally, therefore my running took a backseat. I learned one of the many benefits of being married is eating well! The pounds came back on, and in 2007, I hit an all-time high of 269 pounds! OMG! We had just moved to Houston Texas, which is one of the hottest and most humid places I have been to in all of my life! I decided to stay indoors for my workouts initially hitting the weights and the elliptical machine to shred a few pounds. Eventually I had to start pounding the pavement [running] again to break the 250 mark.
In order to stay motivated I decided to start participating in road races again, back to my running roots. I started with 5k and 10k races. I used a Timex watch with heart rate monitor for the first year or so in Texas; running close to home or on the treadmill in the gym. Eventually I got bored with those routes, and not knowing Houston very well, I decided to get a Garmin Forerunner GPS watch (310XT). Now I had the ability to map out running routes – preventing me from getting lost, again! I love the watch as it keeps tracks of my routes, time/pace, heart rate, weight (with additional scale), and I can share my workouts on Facebook! I also started using running workouts from www.runnersworld.uk. This technology customizes the settings according to my race goal this data can be imported into Garmin’s Training Center and then into my watch, how cool is that? Enough with the history lesson, what is going on today?
When Christina was diagnosed with TNBC, I had been running for a couple of years, and just completed another half marathon. I was in pretty good shape, weighing in at 220 lbs. Needless to say, my running activities stopped completely for a couple of weeks following her diagnosis. I just could not be away from Christina at that time, I needed to be there for her in any way she needed. I often consulted with my friend Jana about work issues, but during this time, I leaned on her [Jana] for emotional support… to be a sounding board for me. Beyond this, I knew I needed to burn off some stress, but felt some guilt for doing something for “myself”. She encouraged me to get back to running because it would put me in a better place to be able to be there for my wife Christina. I also talked to a couple of other friends that have wives with breast cancer, and I received the similar words of encouragement. With Christina’s blessing, I started my running routine again.
Today my running routine is the same in that I am stilling scheduling road races, and training 5 – 6 days a week. I am very thankful to have running in my life at this point as it gives me the space to reduce my worry, stress, and be there for Christina. I am learning even more about my own inner strength. During my runs when I think I cannot go any farther or push any more, I think of Christina or our friend Angela, or Lisa, or anyone else battling cancer and I say to myself, “Compared to that fight, this is a piece of cake”, then I go farther, push harder, and finish strong!
15 Miles ~ Loop starting near Country Club Road to Corvallis
High, Crescent Valley High, Up Walnut, and back to Country Club Road
| Today was the my first run of 2012. We had a great Christmas and New Year holiday with family and friends. During this run there were a few challenging hills, check out the Garmin player link and you can see for yourself! Christina is my encouragement as I move up the hill, and as I finish I always know that she will be proud of me :-) | |
Visit Christina's Blog
July 2011, my wife Christina was diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC). This was devastating news for our family. When Christina first told me her diagnosis, I was literally in shock. The feeling was very similar to witnessing a traumatic event like a car accident followed by being punched in the stomach. Christina and I have a great marriage, and we have overcome a great deal of challenges throughout the years, but this is was a huge hurdle to overcome. After recovering from the initial blow (if this is ever really possible to recover 100% as it seems that the emotions involved in dealing with this disease always seem to ride just below the surface), we started battling against TNBC.
Christina does a wonderful job on her blog http://christinasrealtalk.blogspot.com detailing everything from the initially diagnose, research articles, featured guest articles, and various other topics. Please visit her blog to get more details of her journey, through her eyes. She is a very good writer, and her posts will move you.
Running Against Triple Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC) – A Husband’s Journey is about my journey, as a husband of a wife with a TNBC diagnosis. Why did I start this blog? Let me give you a brief overview of my running experiences over the years. When I was in middle school in the late 70s, I realized I was not going to be the next Tony Dorsett, Julius Erving, or Reggie Jackson. I did not quite have the hand–eye coordination, natural athletic ability to good in football, basketball, or baseball. I did however, learned that I could run long distances easily and I did not have to do anything with a ball! I ran road races until I could join the track team in 7th grade. I continued to “try” to play football and basketball in 7th and 8th grade, and then ran track and cross-country all four years in high school. In 1985, by the end of my senior year, I became burned out on running, vowing, “never to run again!”
In 2005, twenty years later and about 75 pounds heavier, I decided it was time to get into shape. The best way I knew how to do that was to run and lift weights; I started running with some former high school friends. I fell in love with running all over again. Running enables me to let go of all the stress of the day, burn some calories, and catch a runners high – activating endorphins while mentally and physically pushing myself. I registered for the 2006 Portland Marathon to keep me motivated, and it worked. I dropped about 40 pounds and my long run was up to 20 miles. Unfortunately, during a 30k race I pulled my hamstring and could not compete in the Portland Marathon.
While I was healing and shortly after my friends raced in the Portland Marathon, I met Christina around Thanksgiving in 2003. There were many things going on during this time both personally and professionally, therefore my running took a backseat. I learned one of the many benefits of being married is eating well! The pounds came back on, and in 2007, I hit an all-time high of 269 pounds! OMG! We had just moved to Houston Texas, which is one of the hottest and most humid places I have been to in all of my life! I decided to stay indoors for my workouts initially hitting the weights and the elliptical machine to shred a few pounds. Eventually I had to start pounding the pavement [running] again to break the 250 mark.
In order to stay motivated I decided to start participating in road races again, back to my running roots. I started with 5k and 10k races. I used a Timex watch with heart rate monitor for the first year or so in Texas; running close to home or on the treadmill in the gym. Eventually I got bored with those routes, and not knowing Houston very well, I decided to get a Garmin Forerunner GPS watch (310XT). Now I had the ability to map out running routes – preventing me from getting lost, again! I love the watch as it keeps tracks of my routes, time/pace, heart rate, weight (with additional scale), and I can share my workouts on Facebook! I also started using running workouts from www.runnersworld.uk. This technology customizes the settings according to my race goal this data can be imported into Garmin’s Training Center and then into my watch, how cool is that? Enough with the history lesson, what is going on today?
When Christina was diagnosed with TNBC, I had been running for a couple of years, and just completed another half marathon. I was in pretty good shape, weighing in at 220 lbs. Needless to say, my running activities stopped completely for a couple of weeks following her diagnosis. I just could not be away from Christina at that time, I needed to be there for her in any way she needed. I often consulted with my friend Jana about work issues, but during this time, I leaned on her [Jana] for emotional support… to be a sounding board for me. Beyond this, I knew I needed to burn off some stress, but felt some guilt for doing something for “myself”. She encouraged me to get back to running because it would put me in a better place to be able to be there for my wife Christina. I also talked to a couple of other friends that have wives with breast cancer, and I received the similar words of encouragement. With Christina’s blessing, I started my running routine again.
Today my running routine is the same in that I am stilling scheduling road races, and training 5 – 6 days a week. I am very thankful to have running in my life at this point as it gives me the space to reduce my worry, stress, and be there for Christina. I am learning even more about my own inner strength. During my runs when I think I cannot go any farther or push any more, I think of Christina or our friend Angela, or Lisa, or anyone else battling cancer and I say to myself, “Compared to that fight, this is a piece of cake”, then I go farther, push harder, and finish strong!
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