by Dan | Sep 6, 2015 | Etc.
Tom Beaudry…my first marathon training partner…with me here following one of our Grandma’s Marathon races. We trained together for many years… many long runs. We did lots of talking, lots of listening, solving the worlds problems on those long runs…if the rest of the world would have just listened to us! We spent many a times getting ready for multiple marathons…Grandma’s in Duluth, MN; Twin Cities marathon in St. Paul/Minneapolis; Rock and Roll Marathon in Phoenix. All special memories…and they won’t be forgotten. Running has brought us to a lot of events that we have either participated in, or helped create, including our Hospital Hill run.
Next year we will be getting ready for the 20th Annual Hospital Hill Run!
Those marathons have taught us a lot about not only each other, but ourselves. Each one brought with it many challenges, and obstacles…but all worth it in the end. Here are some shots of us in one of the Twin Cities Marathon.
Some went better than others, but it is safe to say the Marathon was only the final point. The journey and adventure came by our training together for 4 months before each marathon. This was the important part. This is the bond any training partner has. It is the reason why we kept doing these. The day of the race may have been the ultimate goal, but the adventure was leading up to it. The times we would spend with our family at these events was also one of the may highlights of that one day.
Here Tom and I are with our wives, Sarah and Sue (Sue is taking the picture), my twin brother Don and his wife Michele, and my youngest brother Rich. Great times going out to eat and talk, and creating memories. This one was in Phoenix for the Rock and Roll Marathon.
Tom was a great training partner, but more important, a GREAT FRIEND! Earlier this year Tom had health issues and had to have a cardiac stent placed, and was out of running for awhile. He is back at it again, but not those long runs like we previously had. Those long runs don’t matter, as we still get to run together. That is what matters. I want my friend around to spend time with. We just make our conversations shorter! The hard part is we are runners…things like that are not supposed to happen to us! But, we are human, and those things unfortunately are, and we will have to deal with those things when they come up. I did a long run yesterday, and Sarah was going to go with me for part of it, and then ride her bike the rest of the way with me. She got called in as one of her OB patients was going into labor, and going to deliver. I did the 20 miler on my own. Tom was out by the Lake (Don’t know if you were out there to go fishing), but he pulled up beside me and asked me if I needed anything! I was at 16.5 miles of the 20…What I really wanted was my training partner to help get me through those last 3.5 miles! You fired me up though just seeing you, and I kept thinking of those past days while I worked my way in. You helped me even when you are not running beside me!
Thanks for all of the years of running training partner…Friend! Here is hoping to many more years of it as well!
Below is a recent photo of my main marathon training partners, Tom Beaudry, and Steve Hauck, at the Fargo event a few years ago. Next posting will be talking about Steve!
Keep moving everybody! Keep in mind those people important to you, and spend time with them!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2900
by Dan | Aug 30, 2015 | Etc.
Well, today finally came. We took Nick down to SF to get started at Augustana this morning. It has been a whirlwind…good and bad. Excited, anxious, worried…stressed. Hopefully, we have set the tone, and he is prepared for the next phase. He has decided for now not to run competitively, but he is going to run on his own. He understands the importance of using exercise as a means to help not only stay fit, but to relieve stress. We have enjoyed running with him, and watching him. As parents, we have worked hard to get him to this point. I have said many times that one of the reasons Sarah and I workout is so we can take care of our health, and be around for our kids. This was one of those moments! Now, we can sit back and worry about how he is doing there! All 3 kids away at college, and all different ones yet too. It may be time for a run myself!
We got him all loaded up and then moved in. Molly even came down from Brookings to help. He definitely appreciated his big sister being there to help ease his “jitters”. Thanks Molly! You were a big help today! Sarah did well holding back the tears. Here she is with Nick after we loaded him up, and then Nick getting the feel what it will be like studying! Hopefully this is the case!
Of course, we are not the only ones who are going to miss him. Here is Zeus last night…he knew something was going on as we were doing all of the packing. Even Nick was pretty bummed this AM saying goodbye to Zeus! At least he won’t be too far away!
Good luck at College Nick! And as always, continued good luck to my Molly and Megan in college as well!
Keep moving everybody! Remember those that care about you the most!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2893
by Dan | Aug 23, 2015 | Etc.
Everybody’s running begins somewhere. You have heard my beginning already, and now I will talk about the beginning of the marathon for me. I was in my 3rd year of residency, and 2 of my attending physicians, Dr. Brechtelsbauer (Dr. B) and Dr. Kemp, were interested in running a marathon, and talked to me about it. We decided on Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, Minnesota because Dr. B had some relatives there. It would be in the middle of June, 2 weeks prior to graduating from residency. I decided to give it a go. Usually the weather there was upper 70’s, and could be even a little cool. That was not the case on this day! It got to over 90 degrees, and very humid. I had never run a marathon before, but was still running regularly. Normally a goal for a lot of people doing the marathon, which is 26.2 miles, is to try and break 4 hours. I foolishly told Sarah that I would be done by 3 hours. I had no clue what I was getting into. The longest I had run was a 17 miler, again, not having any idea what it would take to do 26.2. Needless to say, at mile 19 of the marathon, everything started falling apart. I seriously began to wonder if I was even going to finish, especially in this heat. I was running the entire way with Dr. Kemp, and we had to walk through every water station beginning at mile 20, and they were every mile now. We did make it, and came in at 3:48. Now, this was even before chip timing, so everybody started at the same time, but when there are over 8000 people in the race, it takes several minutes to even get to the start line. I had trouble walking for a week afterwards! I realized what the hand rails on the stairwells were for after that! Doing a marathon is not to be taken lightly…you need to have some kind of an idea what you are getting into, but even with how many I have done now, once I get past 20 miles, it is a new adventure every single time. Those last 6 miles are an entirely different race. Some experts say the marathon is split into 2 sections, the first 20 miles, and the last 6 miles, which feels like another 20! After that was done, I felt like I could accomplish anything. It was the ultimate challenge, and I learned a lot from this. The marathon is a lot like life…you are cruising along just fine, no worries, then things get a little tougher, and you can still fight your way through. But then life really can throw a curve ball…just like that 20 mile mark, and you have to start figuring out what you are going to do on the fly. Sometimes you literally feel like you are just winging it, and hope that everything will turn out well. Sound familiar? I think it sounds all too familiar. Everyday, there can be “marathon like” challenges, and you need to keep going, push on, and work it all through to the end. Some of the conclusions may not be what we wanted, but many are, and you can hold your head up high and feel good that you accomplished another goal/solved another problem! The pictures below show me sitting under a tree after it was done. Of course, my medal for finishing, and my results. I have one of myself with Dr. B and Dr. Kemp posing afterwards, and then a few of me running along with Dr. Kemp. Next will be other upcoming marathons, and the people who helped me through…family, and all of my training partners. How can life be dull with all of this? Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2886
by Dan | Aug 16, 2015 | Etc.
Things change a lot over time, but my running really took off after high school. I started Cross Country at Augustana College my freshman year, just to see if I liked it enough to keep going. Well, I guess I did. I ran indoor and outdoor track that first year as well, and then continued with all of it the duration of my college days. This also continued when I went on to medical school. For both college and med school, the running was a great escape, and a great stress reliever. No matter how hectic things got, or how busy I was, there was always time to go for a run! This helped immensely to help clear my head and get ready to take on the next day, and project. You can only study for so long, and then you need a break, mentally, just to gear up and go at it again. This also carried over to residency. The hours could be grueling at times, but that run time was my time to unwind, and gear up for the next day. There were lots of road races going on then as well, and Sarah and I would join in for a lot of them. Some of the ones that stood out the most were the ones we would dress up in costumes for the Halloween run they would have every year. We had many costumes we had gone through! It was another way to make the running even more fun. The running is also how I started dating Sarah, as we started going out our second year of medical school. Sarah noticed me running by her house a lot (this was on purpose!), and she was a runner as well. This was a great way to strike up a conversation at that time. We eventually started running together, and one thing led to another, and we were destined to be together. Running brought us together…and has continued to help keep us together as well. Many fun days with this back then. Below are some of our costumes from different events/races we did back then. Also, some pictures of some of the material we had to know when we took our first set of Boards after our second year of medical school. The volume was incredible, and overwhelming, and the running helped keep my sanity. Also is one picture of my Augustana days competing. All great memories, and all kept the fire going to continue running. It has been fun looking back on all these. Keep moving everybody!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2879
by Dan | Aug 9, 2015 | Exercise, Motivation, Wellness/Health
I first started to run in middle school, going out for Cross Country in 7th. Needless to say, I never really liked it then, and quit. I would run on and off on my own, but very sporadic. I started to do a little more in high school, but still never went out for school sports. Then the Spring of my Junior year of high school I entered the Diet Pepsi 10k race in SF. At that point, this was the furthest I had run at one time. In that race was Dick Beardsley, and he won the race in 29:50. I remember seeing one runner out front and literally “flying” down the road. I was running with my mouth open just watching him go. Later that day when I went to work that afternoon, I saw this same guy running down 41st in SF…again, just “flying”. I later found out this was Dick Beardsley, and up and coming marathon runner. He later won Grandma’s Marathon in 1981, a few months after this race, setting the course record that still stands at 2:09:37. He later won again in 1982. He is even more famous for the “Duel in the Sun”, battling Alberto Salazar at the Boston Marathon in 1982, losing by 2 seconds! He ran a 2:08:53! Incredible time! Watching him run set the tone for me. That Diet Pepsi 10K race, and watching him, sparked an interest in me that continues to this day. This is when I first really started running. I went out for Cross Country then that Fall for my senior year, and then also ran track in the Spring of 1982. You can say I definitely had a late start. I then ran Cross Country and Track all 4 years at Augustana…all because of Dick Beardsley! He is without question my running hero! I have seen him twice over the years at different events…the first time in 2002 when I ran at the Twin Cities marathon. He autographed my race number, and a copy of his book: “Duel in the Sun”. Then again 2 years ago at the Fargo Marathon, where I got to have my picture taken with him, and two other very important people…my other training partners– Tom Beaudry and Steve Hauck. Incredible memories! But this is truly how I got started with running, and have kept going since. I am “in it for the long run”! Below are pictures of Dick Beardsley with Tom and Steve, and myself, and from my beginning days as a Washington Warrior as a senior in high school, followed by my autographed race number by Dick Beardsley. Each week I will follow with another in a series of my “In It For the Long Run”, as I chronicle my years of running…to finish up then where I am at today.
Keep moving everybody! Deep down, I bet there is someone out there that influences you, and may help motivate you! Keep them in mind as you continue on with your journey, and live life to the fullest!
Dr. Dan
Consecutive Exercise Day #: 2872
