Boston Week 13-Expecting the Unexpected

"Nothing feels quite as exhilarating as meeting a challenge."- Dr. Yosiya Niyo

This week and next are the two toughest weeks in my marathon training program.  This week I had to do a long run of 20 miles and a tempo run of 13 miles.

We had another snow storm this week and the side walks are icy.

It is a challenge to get in training around snow storms, work schedules and the challenges of my CMT.

I try to do my long runs on Friday or Saturday because I often don't sleep well after a long run.  It is terrible laying awake on Sunday night knowing I have to get up for work on Monday.

So Saturday I had the challenge of getting in a 20 mile run.  That means running for 3 hours and 50 minutes.  The weather report said 40F and maybe some rain. As I went out the door I could see the tell tale drops of rain on the drive way.  I am done with long runs on the treadmill, outside it was going to be.

I thought what if it's raining on race day. You better get some practice running in rain. So it was off to the post office to mail a few bills and then to my brother's house to drop off  a letter.

After about 1 1/2 hours I came home to change my wet clothes. While home, I got the dreaded knock on the door from my tenant.  "Could you look at something" Sandy asked. me. "Sure" I said because it's in the landlord job description.  Well she says,  I think there is a bat in the house and she pointed to our un-invited guest shown in the picture.  It was hard to even tell what it was at first.  Bats are not good to have in the house since most carry rabies.

After a little thought I came up with a plan and enlisted Sandy. First she took the picture, then I put down a quilt and gave her a rug. I knocked down our visitor, right onto the quilt and Sandy threw the rug on top.
I scooped up our visitor and took him outside.  Done, no man needed.  I may sound brave, but if this had been a snake, I would have packed, moved and sold the house.

So back out the door for the rest of my run. I needed something to distract me so I decided to run past the first place I lived in my neighborhood. Milwaukee is divided by neighborhoods. I live in Bayview. Bayview was once a mill town until annexed by the City of Milwaukee in 1894. It once had the largest steel rolling mill in the world.

Illinois Ave House

This was the duplex I lived in for two years. As you can see this house is on a hill and I got in some nice hill work.  Most of the streets in Bayview are named after states. This house is on Illinois Ave.

Hill Practice

It looks flat in the picture, but is really pretty steep. The downhill practice is important since the first 10 miles of Boston is down hill.

Since I was only 2 blocks from Lake Michigan I decided to head to take a picture of a place where I used to work.  To get there I cut through the grounds of St. Francis Seminary.

St Francis Seminary

St Francis Seminary Grounds

St. Francis Seminary was built in 1855. The driveway is really beautiful in the fall. The school educates priests and lay workers for the Catholic Church. Church offices are right next door. Cardinal Timothy Dolan would have had an office there when he was Archbishop of Milwaukee.  Cardinal Dolan now the Cardinal of New York has been mentioned as a candidate for Pope. The view from the top of this building is stunning.  I was up there on a tour one fall.

On to Stark Investments. I worked in this building when it was the headquarters of Harneshfeger Industries. I worked for two years as a Product Safety engineer. A really fun and interesting job that gave me good experience in the legal world. I got my first professional experience doing training here.

 This building is built on the shores of Lake Michigan. My cubicle was on the top floor on the Lake Michigan side. I got to see the lake everyday and the lake looked different and beautiful every day.   The inside was a palace with oriental rugs, antiques and hardwood floors in every conference room. This palace cost millions which may be one of the reasons the company when bankrupt. I was one of many losing their jobs.

Milwaukee Sky line

Bike Path South Shore Park

Lake Michigan from South Shore Park

One of the great things about living in Milwaukee is being on Lake Michigan. I love running the bike path along the lake.  Here are just a couple of the views I saw.  My final stop before I turned left away from the Lake was the South Shore pavilion. I did not carry water with me Saturday, so the Pavilion was great for a water stop and bathroom break.

South Shore Park Pavilion

South Shore Park Pavilion was built in 1933 with depression era relief labor paid for by Federal programs.
Well a few more laps around my neighborhood and I was done.

So despite rain, icy side walks and a bat I was able to finish my run.  Running 20 miles is a mental and physical challenge. I feel a huge sense of accomplishment to have another one  in the books. Just one more next week and I will start my taper for Boston.  If I adjust to the unexpected during my training runs, I will be ready for anything on race day.

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Chris Wodke

Founder & Manager Team CMT

www.run4cmt.com

Team CMT is a group of athletes and supporters working to raise awareness and to find a cure for CMT. We have 120 members in 25 states. If you wish to join us visit our web site.

CMT or Charcot-Marie-Tooth is the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathy. It affects over 155,000 Americans (as many as MS).  It is a disease of the nerves that control the muscles. It is slowly progressive, causing loss of normal function and or sensation in the lower legs/feet and arms/hands.

Symptoms include; muscle wasting in the lower legs and feet leading to foot drop, poor balance and gait problems Atrophy in the hands causes difficulty with manual dexterity.

Structural foot deformities such as high arches and hammer toes are common.

Poor tolerance for cool or cold temperatures and many people have chronically cold hands and feet.

Additional symptoms may include fatigue, sleep apnea, breathing difficulties and hearing loss.