PR’s are Temporary,
Tattoos are Forever…

Making every PR count on your permanent record

Words by Ryan Jaskiewicz

My heart beats fast and my lungs sear. My legs and my vision blur as I race down the final hill towards a huge PR. Nine years earlier, when my running journey began, this achievement would not have seemed possible, but now? Now, unbelievably, it’s actually happening.

IN HIGH SCHOOL, I was, at best, a mediocre runner. If I had potential, I had too many other things on my mind to fulfil it. I gave up running after high school. In college, staying in shape was important, but it was more about looking good than feeling good. Running a marathon had a place on my list of things I wanted to do ‘one day’, but it was far from an immediate concern.

Fast forward a few years to the winter of 2006 and I had just started my own company and found myself in a pretty motivated place in life. I wanted to start ticking major goals off of my list and I saw an ad for the Chicago Marathon. I decided I was going to drop the $125 on the race and since I was poor at the time, there was no way I could back out. I remember the heat of that 2007 Chicago Marathon, the infamous one where they ran out of water and closed the course. I finished in a time of 3:47:34, about 10 minutes ahead of the course closing… thank god. I remember the joy of that day, family and friends all surrounding a celebratory pizza and pitcher of beer. The accomplishment was incredible, but I had a feeling there was something more.

I did not run another marathon until the 2009 Chicago Marathon. It was time to up the stakes: I wanted a Boston Qualifier. This was to be a chance at my first PR. I signed up for a more difficult training plan of 40–50 miles a week and worked hard. The morning of the race was the complete antithesis of my first race. The air was cool with a crispness to it that felt fast. I ran that race with everything I had at the time and shaved a cool 33 minutes off of my PR, good for a BQ.

That was where it all happened, where I went from a casual runner to something more serious. All of a sudden, running became an integral part of my life, rather than just a thing I did. I ate, slept and dreamt running. I couldn’t see it then, but running was going to become a new limb to my body. It was to become a marker of designation on my life. I decided to mark this occasion with something that would last forever.

The idea for the PR tattoo came on a whim. “You know what would be great tattoo…” I said to my then soon-to-be wife. It just so happened that somebody close to me in life was a tattoo artist that could make it happen quickly before I had a chance to get cold feet. So I went in and had him put ink to skin, first my 2007 marathon time, along with a line through it, then the 3:04:07 from Boston. The pain of putting something forever like that on my body, made me excited to keep chipping away at it. Never did I think it would run down the whole side of my trunk.

I  ended up getting the tattoos because I wanted something to remind myself of the hard work I put in on a day to day basis. I also wanted to be able to show my kids and grandkids someday that I was “fast” once. I see some humor in the fact that there is an outside chance I will have some great times on a dad bod.

For the most part, I have worked hard to chip away year after year. Most races I have done have resulted in a PR, save for a couple of marathons where I didn’t hit my goal due to mother nature or just not having it that day. Those days that I missed my times are pretty tough — my mind doesn’t let me come to terms with that easily. Thankfully, most of my PR’s have been decently sized, even as it’s become harder to do so.

This has come with its own sacrifice. Over time, I hired a coach, Luke Humphrey, from the Hanson’s Coaching Services. My mileage has increased from that 40-50 miles a week to 90 miles a week at peak training. That may not seem like a lot to serious runners, but with a family and a company to run, it becomes harder and harder to take my body to the next level. Everything was pulling my time and energy in other directions and still running more and more miles managed to find its fit in my life. This is really what I am most proud of, that I have been able to accommodate my running to my family rather than the other way around. I love that they don’t feel slighted. That’s not to say that knowing I need to get a run in every day doesn’t annoy them — it does — but I think overall they know that they come first. It’s also fun to see my daughters start to understand what I am doing and become fans of it themselves.

Back to race day: I came down the road towards the capitol building with a rush of endorphins launching me to a finish of 2:32:47 at the 2015 Twin Cities Marathon, good for a 21st overall finish. It was the first time I really felt legitimate, that the sky was the limit. Today I continue the PR journey, working towards a 2:28 finish in the Milwaukee Marathon this fall.

After the Twin Cities race, having accomplished such a jump in speed, I could see a dream start to formulate in my brain. I decided to commit towards an Olympic Trials Qualifier in the next four years. I can hear my running group snicker as they read that. This is probably an audacious goal for a runner of my caliber, but I think with the right commitment and support, I have a snowball’s chance at running in the Olympic Trials. A lot can happen between now and then, but a lot has happened in the last four years too, so why not?

Running has helped me in so many ways: it has been the friend when I needed it; it has been the mindful moment I needed on a crazy day; it has been the rhythm that made the rest of my day flow; it has been the sounding board for new business ideas; it has been time for me and my daughters to spend together. More than anything, it gives me a purpose that is solely my own and that brings me joy like I can’t explain.

Five Rules For Fast:

1: Run all the miles
2: Find the time. If something is important enough to you, you’ll find time for it
3: Pre-hab is everything at my age. (icebaths for days…)
4: To run faster, you have to RUN faster. There’s no secret sauce
5: Eat more

At this point I’m running out of skin and the jokes on lunch runs with my guys are where to continue… As you can imagine, they get pretty colorful. It’s funny, but now I’m on this journey, running out of skin stands out as the ultimate sign of success.