Don't Forget You Can Still Donate to Dan Good!

Dan is currently out of pocket about $1,000 and he has 6 weeks to make it up. Your donations may allow him to buy Kart Dinner next week as he is a starving student doing his Masters in Kinesiology at Western.

Dans donation site is www.arthritis.ca/joints/ontario/dangood

Also I now have a Flickr site with my photos of Athens. Check out

www.flickr.com/photos/johnjohnston

A Huge Thank You to My Sponsors!!!

These are the folks who deserve a round of applause. Through their donations, one day, a cure will be found for this disease. It affects so many of us.

The inspiring stories that I heard in Greece brought me to tears. Stories of individuals, of husbands, wives and parents who were the heroes to many of the runners. To some of the runners who despite the pain and the tears managed to complete 10K or a marathon. These folks are just awesome.

To those who sponsored me, I will be writing to you individually but I wanted to make sure that you received mention here, in front of the world.

Corporate Sponsors

Human Resource Mgmt Solutions (John & Lori)
HR Impact (Fiorella and Sarah)
Sales Resource Group Inc. (David, Shawn, Amelia, Max, Tyler, Kyla, Matt, Tina)
HR Results Ltd. (Dave Binda)

Personal Donations

Daphne Overhill, Brenda Patten, Richard Rak, Carol Johnston, Jack Henderson, Moira Miller ,
Paul Jaggard, Jeff Good, Lynne Mealy, Bo Vujic, Richard Rousseau, Jodi Rainford, Mark Madott
Edith Barwell, Audrey Johnston, John Allen Doran, Susan Bourne, John Milborrow, Laura Henderson, Clifton Rhodes, Elizabeth Evans, Sandra Lim, Gwen Maxwell, Derek Cruickshank
Susan Skynner, Rejeanne Mottard, Deb Harcus, Ian Turnbull, Vanda Orsini, Ruth Long, David Bonk, Debbie Gracie-Smith , Ray Clews, David Hartwell, Oto Hroboticky, David Welch, Geoff Wybrew, Ernie Lynch, Ross McMaster, Don Armstrong, Gord Weber, Linda Campey
Steve Isaacs, Andy Martin, Gary Strevett, Brian Reidt, Willard Price, Ian Murray, Juanita Fiander, Jason Gibbons, Dermitt Duffy, Roger Neuman

It Takes a Village....

I did a bike class today and still had a bit of residual pain in my left knee.

I dropped into the Physical Edge Physiotherapy, on Friday, to leave them a picture for their "wall of fame" (in my case shame!) and it got me to thinking of the size and scope of my personal training team. So I would like to list and thank them here.

Birgitt Wilhelm - Physiotherapist - Physical Edge
Donna Wright - Physiotherapist - Physical Edge
Scott Harvey - Orthotics - Oakville Orthotics
Eleanor Hayward - Registered Massage Therapist - Oakville Shiatsu & Massage
Corey Henderson - Registered Massage Therapist - Oakville Shiatsu & Massage
John Hahn - Trainer - Arthritis Society Volunteer
Graham Westwood - Marathon Trainer
Dan Good - Personal Trainer and
the YMCA of Oakville trainers who provided advice and cross training

I also spent a lot of money at the Running Room and the Running Company in Oakville.

All of these folks helped to keep me in good enough shape that I could finish! Kudos!!!

JJ

I Went to Greece and All I Brought Home Was 4 T-Shirts and a Cold

No Running Today - I do have a cold (and I am wearing one of the t-Shirts!)

I bought the Marathon Photo Super Pak today. I have no idea if I would ever do this again but I wanted the first captured for eternity. Here's a shot I like.

Batman utility belt and all! I didn't really speak much about the race so I thought I would describe it here while it is still (painfully) fresh in my mind.

The Start

They picked us up from the hotel at 6:15 prompt. The walkers had already left the hotel at 5:15. I had hardly slept the night before. For me, this was unusual. Even Mark commented on it. Normally I sleep like someone hit me with a hammer. I kept thinking about finishing and all the people I would disappoint if I didn't. I thought about the people that I ran for Aunt Edith, Mom, Daphne Overhill, Elizabeth Evans, Marisa Connolly, Ross McMaster and others. I finally roused Dan and Mark at 4:45 and we went down for a surly breakfast with the hotel staff who had been called in early. (For those who plan to go to Greece, the Royal Olympic does not hold itself to Olympian standards)

We had pictures in the lobby. Here is Dan Good, Kari Barnard, Karleen Heer, Scott Carr and I getting ready to leave. Photo thanks to Donna Carr - Scott's Mom. The buses took us to the start just outside the city of Marathonas in a sports stadium that I suspect had something to do with the 2004 Olympics. They had a torch flame going and there were tons of people warming up on the track. I warmed and stretched (and went to the bathroom!). I was drinking water (probably a litre or more) before the race and wound up taking an unscheduled urinary disposal just like all of the Frenchman who nonchalantly stopped along the road for a public pee break.

We lined up in sections with the elite runners up front, the good runners in the middle and the "virgins" or unqualified in the back. We stood there waiting with the helicopters roaring overhead and a Greek Army band playing loudly.The announcer (four languages no less) was talking himself hoarse and THEN the gun went off! And we stood there! It takes a few minutes until we began to shuffle forward and the difference between my Gun Time and my Net Time represents this 3.5 minutes to get to the start. Photo credit Stratos Safioleas

As you start, you are trying to establish your pecking order like Alpha dogs and you spend most of your time looking over your shoulder seeing if you are going to get run over by some keener in the back. It is a little like playing the video game Frogger as you laterally shift back and forth trying not to get creamed by someone behind. This takes about 5 K to sort out. I came out doing about a 6:30 pace which was what I planned. Photo credit Stratos Safioleas

At the first water station they were cleaned out by the time I got there. Other runners were picking up discarded bottles that were half full and chugging that. I saw one couple go into a store to buy water, I guess. This early the water problem was not bad and I had 1 litre on my belt and a bladderfull inside. We ran a 5K detour (I guess to get the mileage right) into the middle of nowhere. I never did see the burial mound for the Battle of Marathon where the Athenians defeated the Persian Army. That would have been cool.

Some folks dressed up. There was a Athenian Foot Soldier and two people in togas. The French were all wearing beret's. It had a carnival atmosphere. People were all very focused but some had fun! Photo credit Stratos Safioleas


The Greek people came out of their houses to clap and cheer and the kids were all high fiving the runners that came near. Plenty of barking dogs but thankfully they were chained up or behind a fence. Many runners stopping to pee by this time. I joined them. I thought I would sweat it out but I was too late and needed to lighten up. This was much more convenient for the men. I saw a few women buddied up looking for a discreet place to go. There were portapotties along the route but I think the wait was a bit long.

At one point Jeff Galloway (a very well know US Marathon Coach) came up behind me and we chatted for a while but when his minute was up - I was left in the dust. But What a nice guy. No wonder he is so popular!

At about 12 K I paired up with Renata (Who complained about her earlier picture posted on the blog so here is a new one). Looks like she is trying to get some modelling work here! Photo credit Terrence Fowler

We began running together as we were both running ten minutes running and 1 minute off. Her watch had broken so I took over as the timekeeper and we both kept the same pace. Her third marathon, my first - so she was easy on me!

The chart below gives a profile of the course and a picture of how we managed the race. The green line is the course elevation. Pretty flat for the first 10 K and then uphill after that.

The red line is my heart rate. All in all not too bad and bizarrely it begins to come down a bit as we go uphill. I suppose I was going slower although the blue line doesn't show it.

OK - we did take a couple of extra walk breaks at the last 10 K but we EARNED them.

A couple of the small towns we ran through had the high school bands out playing on the sidewalk and the police had blocked the traffic so people were watching us pass and yelling "Bravo" like we had just sang an aria instead of peeing on their doorsteps. Again you can't say anything worng about the Greek people. They were so nice.

The last 5 K you forget about. It was a blur. We were moving through downtown Athens headed for the stadium. People were clapping and we saw lots of people from the JIM cheer team with Canadian Flags and they were jumping up and down for us. It was very moving.

I did get passed by a couple running with a stroller containing an infant - UPHILL!!!! AGAIN!!!! See this post. Also was passed by old geezers again AND a guy with two knee braces. BUT I DID NOT FINISH LAST!!!!! I met my goal.

We ran PAST the stadium for 250 yards and then reversed course and ran into the stadium. (I guess to make sure we did the full 42K). As usual in Greece, there was a dog sleeping in the most inconvenient place you could find - the ramp up the stairs into the stadium. (In Athens, the dogs live a good life, the sleep everywhere and the people just go around them.)

We passed a guy right at the finish - Renata has this thing about passing the guys! Me, I just wanted to get done!

The finish was emotional but I was posing for the cameras so I tried not to trip and fall or burst into tears like Paris Hilton going to jail and Renata and I crossed the line at the same time.

TOTALLY COOL!

I Did It! 5 Hours 20 Minutes and 27 Seconds

Weight: 214, Distance: 42K, Time: 5:20, Pace:7:27, Avg HR 170, Achievement: Priceless




WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!



I guess this just goes to show, that, if you put your mind to it you can do anything! The last time I really ran, it was to get to the bar. Now I have completed a marathon. Not just A marathon, but the 4th hardest marathon in the world apparently. They told us that you can knock at least 15 minutes off of your time for this marathon (as it is all mostly uphill) compared to others.


Here is the semi official race photo. I have ordered the package (a wise investment because I may never do this again) so I will have more photos and blog messages for a few weeks as I had a lot of thoughts that I wanted to communicate. I'll try to make them short as it gets old trying to read a long blog.

Besides the hairy armpits, you might want to notice the two spots on my arm where I managed to rub the skin off. The friction against the seam in the singlet rubbed right through my arm and bled. That is the one place that I didn't put lubricant (Body Glide not KY!).


I also thought I would be smart and put Band-aids over my nipples (read this post if you hadn't before). I didn't think about how much they would hurt coming off. I felt like screaming "Kelly Clarkson" as they pulled the hair from my chest like an insane Brazilian Waxer (What a great job description by the way).


Here's the unofficial official results page


Some quick general comments:

• My time was pretty consistent throughout the race. I slowed down a bit at the end but that is a bit natural I guess.


• Right below me is the time for Renata Duma. we crossed the finish line together. At about the 12K mark I came up on her. (the JIM people were not hard to miss in out lime green singlets). Her timing watch had just given up the ghost and we were keeping the same pace so we egged each other on and I can probably say that, although I would have finished the race, she was the person to keep me on track and encouraged me all the way through.


• The Greek people along the route had come out to cheer us on. Even though the beginning was rural/industrial and therefore not a lot of people around, the locals had come out and their kids were delighted to "high five" any runner who came near.


• The race was exceptionally well organized, water every 2.5K, gels, Poweraide, snacks etc. The Organizing Committee did a great job!


• We finished in the 1896 Panathinaiko Stadium (where the first modern Olympics were held) which was an incredible feeling


• The whole race was run in 10 minute increments. It helped me to get through to know that "I only have 10 minutes until I get a walk break!"


• The whole damn course was uphill! Starting at the 10K mark we climbed over 1000 m and descended the same amount in the last 10K



• The esprit de corps and team development among the JIM participants was probably the most intense I have ever seen (even with many corporate offsites and team building events). As Dan said " I came home with 60 new friends". He really did. The trials of a marathon form friendships and support groups very quickly. The experienced people take us newbies (or virgins as I like to call us) under their wings and really encourage/support you.

Lori picked me up at the airport but another surprise awaited. My whole damn family was there with signs and flags. It felt like the troops were being welcomed home after the war. My Mom and my Aunt Edith were there with my brother Dave, sister Cathy, son Grant and wife Lori. We had a tear jerker moment when I showed them this photo

Anyway more later.

Here is Renata and I crossing the finish line. She was wonderful and I owe her a lot

JJ

Things to Do When You Are In Athens

Incredibly busy day yesterday. We started early in the AM with a meeting at the Syndagma Metro station (which contains a terrific set of ancient archeological displays) with Athens Walking Tours.

Then we walked through a number of districts with the guide ending up on the Acropolis where we got the complete explanation of what we were looking at. It was a great tour because there were only 6 people vs the Arthritis Socienty tour which was 25 to a group!

We had lunch in the Plaka district and then explored the Ancient Agora, the Roman Marketplace and the Temple of Hephaistos. (Unfortunately I can't post pictures at this internet cafe).

We walked back through Monastiraki and window shopped and then saw the guards at the Parliament (the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier) having their "Walk Break". Like the guards at Buckingham Palace they cannot move and stand at rigid attention. They have the cutest little pompoms on their toes (Like a cheerleader for the army) and little short skirts. The guns and bayonets appear all too real. When they march it looks like toy soldiers because of the exaggerated goose step that they perform. All in all though - very cool.

We followed up with a walk through the National Gardens and then back to the hotel.

Dinner was a group affair in the Plaka with 10 of us having dinner and getting to know each other. We ate "family style" with everyone sharing. Mark and I followed up with an Ouzo to wash it down. (Think liquid black licorice).

Afterwards Mark went with me while I took some night photos of the Acropolis. He was beat between all the walking and his meds. So snoring was big on his agenda that night.

I got a cool e-mail from the organizing committee of the marathon (Stratos - the press person) who read my blog and sent me an e-mail.

"
Dear Lori:I hope I got the right e-mail address, and that I don't sound like some lunatic to you! :-)

I am working for the Athens Classic Marathon, doing International Media part of it. So I run into your husbands blog, http://johnsmarathon.blogspot.com/ and I spent a good one hour I think reading through it.(I hope to God all this makes sense to you ...)

So, I just want to wish him well. It's very moving to me that he decides to come to Athens to run the original Marathon.After he is done, he may want to get in touch with us in the Organizing Committee, and share his experience! Perhaps we can use it as a feature story in our web site for next year. Or simply learn from his experience.

Again, I wish John good luck, and I hope that he enjoys his experience in Athens.

Warmest regards,

Stratos

PS. For some strange reason I couldn't find his e-mail in his blog, but he posted yours!"

Stratos - Mine is john.johnston@globalhrms.com

Dan is still having a blast and making all knds of friends. (You will see when I can post pictures). The boy is a babe magnet!

Today, I skipped the idea of renting a car. We are going to the museum and then walking the town.

You can post questions and I will try to answer if you have any questions.

JJ in Greece

Foggy in Frankfurt

What a trip.

First off, Mark is on a different plane than we were. MArk, Dan and I were in the Business Lounge and when we left (somewhat well lubricated) we realized Marks plane was boarding. He made it all the way on his own and got here at 2PM.

Dan & I had to check our bags (Thank you surly Luftansa lady) for being overweight so er had to stay in Frankfurst with the rest of the group for our scheduled 5 hour layover which turned into 6.5. We didn't get in until 10PM. Poor Mark had been waiting in the lobby.

At fist they were notgoing to let us use a cot and were going to throw Mark to the curb but while we were out at dinner one magically appeared. Dan thinks that they should have thrown Mark out. Mark doesn't snore. It's more like a cross between a running chain saw, an outo crusher in a junkyard and a 1972 Pinto with a rusted muffler! Dan actually was sleeping at one point on the bathroom floor with the door closed and earplugs in. I, of course, was undisturbed.

Today we took a walking tour of the Acropolis and then afterwards had lunch and wandered the city. I have shot 150 photos but many are duplicates. I will prune them tonight.

We decided not to rent the car and will spend tomorrow touring the city and taking photos.

We are having an awesome time and Dan continues to pinch himself. He can't believe he is here.

Neither can I. But everyone is pumped about the run.