Training gets longer as the race draws nearer

grant dunning columnEDITOR’S NOTE: This is the latest entry in Grant Dunning’s training diary as he prepares to run his first marathon -- the Orange County Marathon on Jan. 8 in Newport Beach.

Only one month before I run the Orange County Marathon with my daughter, Paige.

During Thanksgiving weekend, my family participated in the Dana Point Turkey Trot. I decided to run the 5K, pushing Paige, with my wife, Judy, running alongside.

At the start, we waited as the majority of runners passed the starting line. When we thought the crowd had subsided, we started the race ourselves.

Unfortunately, there were so many people and the course was so narrow, we were forced to walk the first mile.

I learned that it is impossible to push a large stroller through a sea of people. For the Orange County Marathon, we will need to wait until the very end when everyone has already left the starting line to avoid the same problem ... then again, walking the first mile might be good for me.

After we finished the 5K race, we watched my oldest daughter, Brooke, compete in the one-mile kids’ race. This was the first time she had ever run a full mile and she did very well.

The weather was perfect and the whole atmosphere was very energetic. Our whole family had a great experience participating in the Turkey Trot for the first time. We are definitely interested in making this an annual event.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving was my longest run to date -- 18 miles. A couple of my training buddies had completed the 18 miles on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, so I ran the 18 miles solo on Saturday.

To get a feel for the actual race, I decided to run on the actual Orange County Marathon course. I started from my home in Bonita Canyon, which is right about the two-mile mark on the course. I headed down Bonita Canyon Road to Culver Drive and then University Drive.

The course eventually puts you on a creek trail running through Irvine toward the old Marine Corps base in Tustin.

The surprising part of the run is actually getting on the 261 toll road before the 5 Freeway and running east to Portola Avenue. I know the road will be closed on the day of the race, but I figured I might as well give it a try.

I can tell you I got a lot of strange looks from cars passing me by. I felt like Forrest Gump running cross country. The toll road is a gradual incline the whole way, with the Portola off-ramp being even steeper.

Once on Portola, you start heading southwest back to the Irvine Spectrum. By the time I hit 18 miles, I was in the middle of nowhere on Irvine Boulevard. I called my wife on the cell phone and asked her to come pick up the guy lying on the sidewalk.

Even though I was extremely tired, my joints and muscles felt pretty good for completing 18 miles.

Since Thanksgiving weekend, the holiday party commitments have been lining up, which will make training that more difficult. In the next two weeks, we get up to 20 miles before we start to taper back down for the big day.

As I get close to completing this adventure, I remind myself about why I am doing this. The first reason is to give my daughter the opportunity to participate in a major event that she wouldn’t be able to do on her own. The second reason is to raise money and awareness for United Cerebral Palsy of Orange County, one of the participating charities that is helping children with disabilities throughout Orange County.

Although I am about as far a you can get from a typical marathon runner, I am convinced that you can do anything you put your mind to.

To learn more about Grant and Paige’s training, you can visit www.teamdunning.com. To learn more about United Cerebral Palsy and the Orange County Marathon, visit www.ucp-oc.org and www.ocmarathon.com.

20051207imqepincDOUGLAS ZIMMERMAN / DAILY PILOT(LA)Newport Beach resident Grant Dunning will be running in the OC Marathon with his daughter Paige.