Operation Jack Satellite 10K: Hometown Style

December 26, 2011, time for the annual Operation Jack Satellite 10K. For those of you who are not familiar with it...you should be! I am feeling super lazy tonight so I'm stealing right from the Operation Jack Marathon website.

"In 2010, more than 200 runners in 45 states and five countries participated in Operation Jack Satellite runs on December 26. To commemorate the 61 full marathons Sam Felsenfeld ran in 2010 as part of Operation Jack, participants ran 6.1 miles in their hometown. Due to initial demand, the Satellite Run option will be available again.

Participants will receive the Operation Jack Marathon t-shirt and medal. This year, the suggested distance is 10K, 6.2 miles. All proceeds will benefit the Operation Jack Autism Foundation, a 501(c)3 charity. The primary beneficiary of the Operation Jack Autism Foundation is Train 4 Autism, also a 501(c)3 charity"

Truth be told. I did not want to run this. Last year we had a killer crew running with Team Maine and it was AWESOME! I had promised (first mistake) that this year would be bigger and better. For whatever reason I was unable to pull together a group of runners this year. I know it wasn't for lack of interest. Several friends had family obligations with Christmas and all plus a few that just didn't have the funds to spare so close to Christmas. I know, I get it. I was feeling kinda bummed about not being able to pull anything together. However, I wasn't going to bail. Not on this run! Instead of rushing home from my family Christmas 2.5 hours north to run with my crew....or lack there of, I decided to do the run in my hometown and spend another day with my family.

Last week I blogged about how warm and snow free this winter has been and how excited I was about that. Well Santa brought a nice gift Christmas morning....SNOW!!! I woke up early and wanted to get my run done so I could be utterly lazy for the rest of the day. I bundled up and headed out. Get ready for a 6 mile tour of my hometown.

the top of my parents driveway. 

As I started running,  I started thinking. A lot. It was very quiet on the streets and the only cars that were on the roads were snowplows. I was looking in the windows of various houses as I ran by and saw families eating breakfast and playing with Christmas toys. It was pretty cool.

I didn't become a runner until after I moved away from home and so I haven't actually run around my hometown much. I started thinking about my childhood and growing up in this town. How nice it was to live in a small town where everyone knows everyone. I ran by houses and wondered if my friends grandma still lived there (I'm pretty sure she doesn't). I remembered the sleep overs I used to have there and we would sneak into the freezer and steel ice cream sandwiches.

I thought about the 2 buildings at the bottom of this hill. The one on the left used to be a frame shop owned by friends of my parents. They also sold fudge. This is where my love for chocolate mint fudge was born. I remember going into the store as a kid with my parents and sitting at the counter, swinging my legs and eating fudge. I'm not sure what is in the building now. The building on the right used to be a mom and pop video store. I remember going in with my mom and being so excited because she would let me "sign" for our movies. Now it's one of probably 6 Real Estate offices in our small town. (John, The Gagnes live directly to my left in this picture :) )

Then I ran past the Fish Net. Mmmmmmm....it's a take out joint with over priced burgers, fries and ice cream. Oh, and seafood but I don't like seafood so that doesn't count. It's only open in the summer and employs all kinds of high schoolers. I used to know everyone that worked there. I'm afraid I wouldn't know anyone there now. As a kid I used to invite friends over and then we would walk to the Fish Net for lunch. Ya know....what all the cool kids did.

New Cargoes...my first real job. A nice retail store in the center of town. I worked here during college. This place has also been a mom and pop pharmacy, Rite Aid, an empty building and now this. I would have stopped in but they were closed. Booo.

On my way to the back roads I ran through the hospital parking lot....where I was born almost 28 years ago to the date (January 5 in case you were wondering. Feel free to send presents).

Then I took a turn onto a road thats pretty quiet. Lots of summer people live on this road and so theres not a ton of traffic during the winter but a lot of real pretty, big, fancy houses. You really can't find a flat route to run in my town. This road is no exception...full of lots of hills. I was having a hard time with my footing and the snow was stuck to the bottom of my sneakers. I felt like I was skating half the time. Winter running, I've already had enough of you!!

Soooo pretty...at the top of this hill I looked to my left and there was this...

and this...

I'm so lucky to have grown up in such a beautiful town. Of course at the time I didn't realize it but moving away to "the city" I appreciate it when I come back to visit.

#onlyinmaine

I ran down this road for a while before turning around and heading home. As much as I didn't want to get out of my comfy, warm bed I was so grateful to be out there running and supporting a cause so close to me. I thought of Zach who was at home designing car washes with pipe cleaners, cable ties and straws that he got for christmas from Santa. Yes, at 14 he still believes in Santa. I thought of Jack who I've never met, who had no clue hundreds of people were out there running for him that day. As always, I was pleased I got out and went for my run but I was especially pleased about this one. Even though I was running alone, I really did feel like I was running with a large group. I knew there were lots of people running Satellite 10Ks all over the US and Afghanistan as well as the OJ Marathon & Half in California. The best part? We were all running for the same cause: Autism.

And seriously, for a 35 dollar donation where else can you get a kick ass shirt an even better medal AND a bib for the collection? Well done Sam. Next year I'll get my act and a team together.

Marathon Monday

i've spent the last two boston recaps talking about all the fun/crazy/silly things that happened over the course of the weekend. now that we are a week +1 day removed from the boston marathon you all know about the amazing world record finish, you know about the debate over the world record finish. i'm sure you heard about how the early women's leader kim smith had to drop out due to injury. this recap will talk about none of that (aside from what i just said!:) ). spectating any marathon at mile 26 (ive had my fair share of that in the past year) you see a lot. the good, the bad and the ugly. boston is no different. i spent a long time trying to figure out how i wanted to capture the awesomeness of this day and describe to those who weren't there, or who were running and only spent a brief time at mile 26, what it was like standing in front of TJ's on boylston that day. i'll do my best. 

so many emotions unfold at mile 26. excitement and fist pumps from knowing a PR is in the bag. disappointment, knowing that heartbreak hill really was a heartbreak and a 3:10 wasn't possible that day. feeling powerless because your legs just wouldn't carry you that final stretch to the finish. joy in knowing that you are moments away from completing the boston marathon, and a mixed bag of emotions knowing that boston is your 50th state and you are a member of an elite club.

i must preface this with the fact that i have never run a marathon. i don't know what it's like be on the other side of those barricades at mile 26. i don't know what its like to train for 18 weeks or go for those 20 mile training runs. with that said, i do know what its like to train hard, have a goal time and want nothing more then to cross the finish line with a smile on my face and feel good about my run. sometimes it happens and sometimes its just not my day.

the boston marathon is what everyone, or shall i say, most people work towards. there are some runners who have no desire to run boston but my guess is that there are a lot more that do. boston is that carrot in front of your nose on those 90 degree days when you don't wanna get out there and run. boston is a race that sold out in 8 hours to some 20,000 qualified runners (not counting charity). simply put, boston is a big deal.

what i was most impressed by was even though this was the boston marathon- there were runners out there who were sacrificing their own run, their boston, for a fellow runner. i wasn't able to get pictures of every runner who did this but i think this pictures below sum it up.

2 things i love about this. 1 a runner that wont quit and 2. a runner who stopped to help and sacrificed his boston time.

then there was this guy. being held up by an EMT on a bike long enough for him to regain strength and finish on his own.

these are just two examples of runners who had a rough day but gave it their all to finish. i won't forget the imagine of a women who's face was all banged up and bleeding. my guess is she may have fallen...and then gotten back up to complete her run. i loved the runners who put their name on their shirt or arms so that we could cheer for them as if they were our best friend. like the quote on the niketown photo says "never run alone again". none of these runners were running alone. they had thousands of people cheering them on from hopkinton to boylston. we didn't care if we knew them or not, they were one of us. a runner. a runner who needed any kind of support possible during that final stretch.

while boston is a big race and everyone wants to do well, it was so awesome to see so many runners having fun. the costumes, the smiles and the high fives. even though i was at mile 26 and i saw a lot of walls being hit and a lot of people having a rough day, i also saw some fantastic runners with outstanding attitudes.

take luau for example. i had been stalking him for a long time on twitter, don't worry, he knows and he's totally cool with it. he had a killer run at smuttynose and got his first BQ. he trained like crazy for boston. i would often swear at him when i saw on twitter that he had logged some crazy amount of miles before i even woke up. he was feeling ready, he was having an awesome run....until heartbreak hill. i'll let you read his recap here, because i want him to tell you his story. from mile 20 on he knew that his goal time was out of reach. after a few miles of feeling sorry he picked his chin up and decided to make the best out of the last 6.2 miles. danielle saw him run by and we all started screaming "luau! luau!" he was past us when he heard us screaming. he turned to looked and we jumped up and down and waved like 13 year-olds at a justin bieber concert. to our surprise  shock, he turned around, dodged several runners and ran over to us. we promptly said "what are you doing, keep going!?" to which he smiled and replied "my 3:10 is out the window, i'm having fun!". i gave him a big sweaty hug and he snapped this gem of a photo.

i remember looking at the cop who was looking at him like "whhhat is he doing!". i know this sounds like such a simple, little thing but we loved his whole attitude about boston not being his day. there are a few ways you can go about having a crappy run, lets face it, we alllll have them. you can feel sorry for yourself, be angry, or have fun! i urge you all to go stalk luau's blog. he has such an amazing attitude towards running and life. plus he raises money for autism, which obviously i love. granted he was disappointed about his run, but he didn't let it stop him from finishing the race and having fun while he was at it. he also won't let it slow him down.

ok brief pause for some more pictures before i continue.

joan benoit samuelson- representing maine!
(ms.v, this pic was for you!)

kara!
mark: "hey sarah, how long ago did you have your baby!?"
me: "shut it!"

a pickle in boston. really?

ok, back to mile 26.

and then there's sam. sam also had a killer training for boston coming off of 61 marathons a 2 ultras in 2010. again, ill let you read his 2011 boston recap here. i first met sam at boston in 2010. it was at the post race lunch in 2010 that i got the ass kicking i needed to a) run a marathon and b) make a difference while doing it. i followed sam and his crazy race schedule for the rest of 2010 and was eager to see him back in boston in 2011. boston is a course that sam runs well on and he has been chasing a sub 3 marathon since his 8th marathon. boston was his 92nd. sam is one of the most humble men i know. he doesn't gloat about his speed. he doesn't brag about 2010. he just goes out there and does it. however, ask him about train 4 autism or why he is running the san francisco marathon and he will tell you everything you need to know! it would have been easy for him to put a sign on his back last year and said "this is my X marathon this year" but that's not what he, and 2010 was about. if i were running a crazy number of marathons a year id be sure to tell everyone i came in contact with about it:-) not sam. i started off as a supporter of operation jack, i look up to sam and admire his work ethic and attitude. a roll model for all runners out there. an inspiration to me. i may have met sam because of operation jack, but im pleased and honored to call him a friend today. he is the reason i am running the mdi marathon in october for train 4 autism. 2010 wasn't about 61 marathons, it was about bringing awareness to train 4 autism and thats what he did. without sam, the maine chapter of train 4 autism wouldn't exist. he has even agreed to slog it out with me and pace me at mdi. he says if i can go 4:06:23 i can forever hold it over his head that i ran my first marathon faster then him (4:06:24). now thats a good friend, a sub 3 runner agreeing to run a 4+ hour marathon. i hope he knows what he's in for.

so sam was gunning for a sub 3 on april 18. he had his cheering squad standing in front of TJs waiting for him. i will never forget the moment when i spotted sam running down boylston knowing he had a sub 3 in the bag. i was jumping up and down on the fence, screaming, waving my hands, anything i could do to get his attention. he knew we were there and i know he was looking for us. i saw him put his hands out and shurg his shoulders as if to say "hello! where are you girls!?", right after that he saw us and gave us the biggest fist pump he could muster. there were a whole lot of teary eyed girls at this moment. 

danielle with the sign she made. 

so these are just some of the sights from boylston st, mile 26, boston 2011. these are the stories that you didn't read in the paper the next day, or on the live streaming of the race. these are the real heros of boston. the ones with an amazing attitude and determination like none other. these are the normal people. the ones who don't make a living off of running, but run because it means something to them. 

spike and redhead

OJ girls at TJs 

rockin boylston st

and this my friends is how you celebrate a sub 3.
"tonight, tonight there's a party on the rooftop top of the world!"

"never run alone again"

operation jack satellite run

i hope you all had a fantastic christmas!:-)

mine was awesome, thanks for asking. i went to my parents house, spent time with my family and T enjoyed his very first christmas. this christmas was a little different though. instead of spending the entire christmas weekend at my parents house, we drove back home christmas night. i had an important run in the morning. it wasn't a race. it wasn't timed. there weren't a lot of people running. it was 18 degrees out with a nasty wind chill. but it was for autism. ill do just about anything for that.

you see, back in april i met sam at the boston marathon. he ran 61 marathons in 2010 to raise awareness and money for an organization called train 4 autism. somehow in the last 8 months i have become chapter president of the maine train 4 autism, signed up for my first marathon and met some pretty sweet people, all because of sam.

on december 26, 2010 sam ran his 61st marathon of the year in california. if there was a way i could have been there, i would have. it just wasn't possible though. i wasn't the only one who wanted to be there to support sam so the idea was born to have satellite runs. it's quite simple. run 6.1 miles, where ever you are in the world anytime on december 26 in honor of sam and his accomplishment.

in the weeks leading up to the run danielle, sam and i had an interview with jake from run like health, and i had an interview with the portland press herald (you can see a copy of that story here). the press herald story ran on christmas eve and my inbox was flooded with people who had never heard about train 4 autism and were moved by the story or knew someone with autism that they wanted to support. i must say, it was pretty cool. even if they didn't come out and run with us, i know that i was able to get the word out to some more people.

ok, to the run. 16 of us met sunday morning. it was c-c-c-c-ooooooold! i ran the run with elizabeth and monica. normally i like running alone. i like being able to go my own speed and not worry about holding others back. these two lovely ladies ran my pace and we had a blast. the miles ticked by and we chatted about all kinds of things from elizabeths quest to run marathons in all 50 states in memory of her dad to monica's list of 5 stupid things to do at 50. we had fun taking pictures of random things along our run, singing ke$ha to the town of south portland and talking autism. cause that's why we were all there right? the entire time i thought of sam, his quest, his accomplishments and what he was about to do later in the day. i thought about my brother and how the money i am raising is going to help him, and every time i hit a hill that i didn't want to run i thought of the mdi marathon and how i want to own those hills.

elizabeth and i with a penguin on someone front yard. welcome to maine.

representing the other portland

danielle, melissa, elizabeth and i were the only ones running that day who have actually met sam. everyone else was just there because they dig what he is doing, they support the cause and want to help. that meant a lot to me. it meant more then christmas presents i got or the birthday presents ill be getting next week (you can still send yours though, its ok). it meant a lot because most of the runners drove 30+ minutes to get there on a very cold day. this wasn't something they had to do, it wasn't something they were doing for someone they know. i am just very grateful to those who came out and ran. so thank you to mark, christine, jim, dawn, elizabeth, misty, jen, sandra, monica, andy, brendan, eric, bj, melissa and of course my right hand women, danielle. there was also a group that ran in auburn and my mom and her friend spent 2 hours walking it!! 

i thought about running with the train 4 autism banner to help keep me warm:-)

danielle and i after the run

GO MAINE GO!

sam, this fist pump is for you! thank you!

Operation Jack Satellite Run

For those of you who have followed along with my blog you know about Sam and Operation Jack. In case you are a new reader Sam is running 61 marathons this year to raise money and awareness for an organization called Train 4 Autism. Sam has named this endeavor Operation Jack in honor of his son Jack who is autistic. 


I first met Sam in Boston this year when he was running the Boston Marathon and Danielle and I were there spectating (I will return every year to watch. We had a blast!). Sam was kind enough to meet up with us after the race for lunch. We chatted for a while and long story short we have now built a Train 4 Autism chapter in Maine. 


On December 26, 2010 Sam is running his 61st marathon of the year in California, the Operation Jack Marathon. Unfortunately I can't make it out there to run. I truly believe in everything Sam is doing and what he represents but logistically it's just not possible. The idea was born to create a satellite run for people who are unable to run the Operation Jack Marathon. The satellite run will be a 6.1 mile run (a play off of 61 marathons) where ever you are on December 26. The idea is to get all 50 states represented and as many countries as possible. Registration is 25.00 or you can create a fundraising page and if you raise 30.00 the registration fee is waived. Participants will receive an Operation Jack finishers medal and race tshirt. 


Here in Maine we have a good size group running in South Portland. If you are in the area and want to join us, just drop me a line and I'd be happy to get you all the info. The competitive side of me wants Maine to have the largest number of participants...let's make it happen! You can register here and become part of this amazing event. 


Tonight Danielle, Sam and I joined Jake's podcast Run Like Health to talk about Operation Jack, the Maine Chapter of Train 4 Autism and the satellite run. Stay tuned for a link to it soon.