Mind of A Middle Aged Marathoner

Still plugging away

2011-09-30T20:13:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted. I haven't run much at all since the marathon in July. I took all of August and most of September off from running. Only last week did I start integrating some short runs and walks into my cross training of stairmaster, cycling, spinning, yoga, aqua-jogging,

Here's what's new and noteworthy:

My wife is running her second half marathon in two weeks. Her training has been going strong. I'm predicting a PR for her. I think she'll come in around 2:10-2:15.

My son started his running group again. This is his fourth time through an 8-week program. He really enjoys it. He and I run will his first 5k together this Sunday. I've been telling him this is his first grown-up race and he has responded, "no it's not. you ran with me in the stroller when i was a baby." He's a stickler for details.

I bought a used bike on Craiglist last week-A 2009 Trek 2.1 in great condition. It took all of six minutes to seal the deal. I sold my mountain bike to get the money for it. I had some good years with my Specialized FSR, and I'll miss it, but I wanted to get something that I could ride from the house and put some serious miles on.

Lastly, I've been continuing to rehab my right heel from Plantar Fasciitis. I have been using ice treatment, graston technique through my chiropractor, and Yoga.

Recently, I had my plastic custom orthotic resurfaced. I'm using this in my work shoes only now and Superfeet soft orthotics in my running shoes. I recall my old running friend Jim had longtime issues before he dumped this orthotics altogether. I think the hard plastic over time can't be good.

So I continue to work towards getting healthy. If you've had PF, i'd love to hear what you have done to get through it.

Have a great weekend. Run strong!

San Francisco Marathon Race Report

2011-08-08T20:02:00.000-07:00

It was the best of marathons. It was the worst of marathons. Literally.

San Francisco runs a world class marathon. Everything from the expo, race course, spectators, volunteers, administration was top notch in my book. The race day weather was obscenely perfect for a summer marathon-60s and cloudy-I don't think the sun cracked at all that morning. The fog was a perfect blanket over the 34,000 or so runners in the marathon and half marathons.

Okay, so back to Wednesday. We got up super early, but despite that, we were almost late for our 6:02a flight out of Bradley Airport. We flew in to SFO and took BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) into the city.

We had some time to kill before our apartment was ready for us, so my wife suggested we go to Union Square and look at jewelry. It was her birthday the following day and I figured I knew where this was headed. Understand that my wife is neither extravagant nor high maintenance. She IS however, impossible to buy for, so at this point in the relationship, sometimes I just let her get what she wants and don't try to surprise her. It takes some of the fun out, but I know that way she ends up happy.

After about an hour of trying on bling, she finally chose a ring she liked. And that was that. She loved it. Her birthday week was just beginning.

The next day we rented bikes in North Beach and took a riding tour of Fisherman's Wharf and up to the Golden Gate Bridge. Then we rode up Lincoln boulevard so we could see the race course after the bridge. It was gnarly on Thursday. It was gnarly on Sunday.

We ended up at a vegetarian cafe in the mission called "Cafe Gratitude." It was stellar. Very homey, excellent food and service. When the waiter asked we wanted to see dessert menus, I said "of course we need to have dessert, it's her birthday." Five minutes later, the whole cafe was blaring, "They say it's your Birthday," by the Beatles, and the wait staff was seranading my mortified beet-faced better half. I have to say, that was kind of awesome. She doesn't like to be the center of attention, was briefly embarassed, but was a good sport about it.

Friday, we went to the expo. Picking up bibs, shirts, could not have been easier. It was very organized adn went super fast. We then went to check out the swag. I spent most of the afternoon at the KT booth, getting my heel taped for plantar fasciitis.

The highlight here for me was meeting Gordon and Megan at the expo. We had exchanged phone numbers before I left for California. Megan texted me that they were at the expo so they met me in line at the KT booth. It was so cool to meet these two people whose twitter and podcasts I had followed for I don't know how long. Megan had to leave to go take her son to camp so it was brief but I'm glad we had a chance for face time. I wish I had had the presence of mind to snap a photo.

My wife then met our friend Sara who was also running the first half. We had dinner with Sara and her family that night and said our goodbyes until the race.

Saturday was very chill. We just hung out a North Beach. We went to the farmer's market at the Ferry Building. We made dinner at home. Laid out our race day clothes. Very low key.

Sunday morning came and I was not stressed at all. My right arch was bothering slightly despite the tape, which while it felt great at the expo, had started to throb and burn by Sunday morning. I knew it wasn't going to be a PR day, but I didn't know how long i could hold out.

My plan going into the race was run the first half with my wife at a reasonable pace-high 10:00s. If I felt like crap, I could finish at the half marathon chute with my wife and DQ myself. Or I could continue on and see what I could do on my own.

The first five or six miles were awesome. Running the embarcadero, Fort Mason, Crissy Field, the Golden Gate Bridge were amazing. By mile 7, however, coming off the bridge, going up a hill, I felt my arches burn and my chest seared by my own heart beating inside. The longest run I had done this cycle was 14 miles. In June. I would have to dig deep just to get to 13.1. The last six weeks were spent on bikes and StairMaster, efforting to keep my legs, lungs and heart in running shape.

I pushed my wife away on mile 10 because she was coming to the sprint part of her race and I was knuckling down for a suffer fest. She looked strong as she race down the other side of Lincoln Boulevard. She finished in 2:20, and ran her second 6.6 faster than her first. She kicked ass. I would not find this out however, for a few hours.

Golden Gate Park is deceiving. it's probably about 2 miles long, but the marathon course has you in there for about 6. And that 6 is twisting and turning and going up and around Stow Lake and other crap. I wanted to quit here so bad. If I had seen someone I knew there, I would have begged them for a ride home. I was so bonked. My foot stopped hurting so much at around 11 miles because I gobbled a couple of Advil at 7. (I know, you're not supposed to. It's the only time I've done it, and I don't plan to do it again)

The Haight and Dog Patch went much better. I don't remember a ton from them other than it was straight and a net loss in eleveation. I appreciated that.

It was a great sight to see AT&T park looming in the distance at mile 25 and running right past the outfield as the end was in sight. I knew I was going to finish, even if I had to crawl. I was doing a pretty mean shuffle by then!

I labored across the finish line. 5 hours, 39 minutes. My worst marathon time ever.

I didn't feel it was a lost effort though. I was not measuring this on time. I know that I can finish a marathon, even painfully, WITH Plantar Fasciitis, on under prepared legs. And that really was my goal going in to the marathon. Back in February when I started training, I wanted at 4:20 or so marathon. Even 4:30, 5 minutes over my PR, would be good given the difficult nature of San Fran's course.
After I was visited by the Plantar Fasciitis fairy in the Spring though, I changed my goal going in to the race to "just finish."

And so I did. Marathon number 7 in the books. Not glamorous, but memorable. I cried at the end. I don't do that often. In life or in races. I was emotional at my first marathon, but that's about it. This one, I had a good old fashioned Oprah-style cry. One of the young lady volunteers by the photos was kind enough to pat me on the back as I broke down.

15 minutes later I was in the Sierra Nevada Beer garden having a cold one and it was one of the best beers I've ever tasted.

I WAS disappointed that I was so late in finishing and so completely fatigued that I could not meet Megan, Gordon, Barb and the Kings at the post-race brunch. I was so completely dead that I needed to just go home and shower and not move. I hope our paths will cross again.

What's next? Rehab for one. I will not run in August. At all. I want to get healthy again. I will cross train with bike, yoga, stairmaster, whatever I need to do, to get back to where I was a few years ago.

In the meantime, thanks San Francisco, for a painful, but memorable marathon.

Bay to Breakers Race Report-May 15, 2011

2011-05-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

I woke up at the ungodly hour of 330 on Friday morning, got showered, dressed and took my cab at 415 to Bradley airport in Windsor, CT. Security was a breeze at that time of day and made it in plenty of time for my 6a flight. I was a little disappointed I didn’t get patted down but TSA saved that for the six year old and grandma behind me.

I had lived and worked in San Francisco from 1990-2002, spending most of my 20s and early 30s in the city by the Bay. It had been a good four years since I had been back to visit so I was truly looking forward to getting back to seeing the City, running the race, scouting the marathon course, and seeing old friends.

The flight was uneventful and after the adventure of shuttling to Payless’s rental lot a few miles south of the airport, I began my drive up 101 to the City on a cool and windy Bay Area day. I was glad that I was prepared with warm clothing!

A wave of nostalgia hit me when I saw the “South San Francisco” letters on the brown grass hills of South City. I remembered seeing this sign 21 years ago, flying in, first as a visitor, then as a new resident. There was a drought and recession then. Everything was exceedingly dry and the air smelled like sweet dried grass.

My first stop was the Expo to pick up my number. This could have been a better location. There was only street parking and limited expensive lot parking. I was out of practice with the whole looking for parking thing but I refused to pay $7-20 for a 15 minute errand. I found a spot, found a friendly expo volunteer with change, and fought my way through the hordes to the number pick-up. The number pickup was very easy, as was the extremely austere and un-san Francisco like black and white t-shirt.

The expo itself was fairly pedestrian so I didn’t spend a lot of time there. It amazes me that people will stand in line to spin a wheel or play a plinko game to win a cheesy mug, spatula, hat, etc…You’re in San Francisco people! Get out and explore! Even the scantily clad “Zazzle” girls couldn’t entice me to spend more time than I needed at the expo, if only to learn what the hell “Zazzle” IS. I got my number, t-shirt and headed over to AT&T ball park.

The Giants were out of town which meant I could explore the team store without too much trouble. I HAD to get me some official Giants gear, especially after their WORLD SERIES win and all. I spent about 45 minutes in the store, agonizing over choices in t-shirts in jerseys. I wanted to get something retro that indicated their championship, but nothing seemed to fit right. I ended up going with a hat. It wasn’t as cool as a nice retro jersey but it got the job done. After a quick photo of the Willie Mays statue, a late lunch near the park, I went then drove to Portola Valley to find the house where I was staying.

Our friends Sara and Dave were out of town travelling to see family but they let me stay at their place while I was away. It was awesome. Travelling alone and staying alone was awesome because I could do as I pleased WHEN I pleased. It pretty much summed up most of my years in San Francisco!

I dropped my bags,bib and rental car off at the house and made my way to the BART station to get to the Mission, a gentrified predominantly Hispanic section of San Francisco, to meet my old friends. I “grew up” with these people in my 20s when I worked out on the west coast. We met up at Zeitgeist on 1515 Mission. I had never been there before, but apparently it had been a very diverse neighborhood dive bar turned homogeneous hipster attitude bar. I can speak to the “dive” part of that history. It still was very much a “dive.” There was construction equipment in the outdoor patio where young city professionals were filling their gullets with suds and cigarette smoke. At one point in time, many years ago, I was one of them.

It was so great to see my friends. Zeitgeist was the first of a few stops on the friendship tour that night. We attempted to go eat at B3, a wine speakeasy in the Mission but we were informed by the waiter shortly after giving our drink order that the cook had walked out minutes before and food would not be served that night. This came with an admission that the waiter himself had been recently rehired after quitting but he needed the money. Drama!!! We ended up going to Rosamunde, a sausage joint down the street near 24th street Bart station. We hit one more bar before calling it quits for the night-at 11pm. We’re old now.

Saturday I spent driving most of the San Francisco Marathon course, after which I returned the rental car to Payless and returned to San Francisco. I’ll save that post for next week. Let’s fast forward to Saturday night before the race.

First of all-I went to bed with a slight headache. I awoke at 1:00a with a POUNDING headache. I had packed NO Advil or pain reliever, and there was zero to be had in the house. It was debilitating . I tried to go back to sleep but I couldn’t. I googled 24 hour pharmacies and found an open Walgreen's. It was two and half miles away. I had no choice but to get out there and walk it. After I got two Advils

The Bay to Breakers is unlike any race you done or seen. It’s 55,000 of you and your closest friends, running 7.46 miles from the San Francisco Bay side of the city to the westernmost part of the city at the Pacific Ocean. It’s nuts. Half the people wear costumes, 5-10 % run it naked or in some clothing challenged fashion. And in years past, about 75% ran in drunk. OK, that may be exaggeration but a TON of people ran it drunk. Last year, several arrests were made for public drunkenness, public urination (neighbors along the route complained of racers coming into their backyards and peeing) and the race itself was in jeopardy. The lead sponsor-ING, pulled out. This year, with a heavy police presence and education, they were able to contain the revelers to about 18 arrests. I’m sure some peeing still went on, but I guess it went unreported. And runner numbers were down this year-I know in '93 it was about 90,000. Whatever. Still a shitload of people.

The clear blue sky as I exited the subway for the start of the race

I got to Coral D at 6:45a in plenty of time for the 7:30 start. I purchased my number in March, which was good enough to get me into this corral which was reserved for the 16:00 minute milers-runners AND walkers. Ugh. The start was incredibly thick with people. It was fun however, as I got to see a lot of costumed creativity. I also had forgotten that this race has a pre-race tradition that’s kind of fun. As runners wait in the corral, they throw flat tortillas up in the air by the hundreds, they fly like crazy flat bread gulls, soaring high in the sky, and then diving bombing into the crowd like it’s diving for fish in the water. Often times the tortilla will slap a runner on the head or shoulders like an errant missile, scaring the bejeezus out of them and those around them. It is a hilarious sight. I’ve been hit with them and tossed them. Maybe it’s the “guy” in me, but I find the whole thing pretty damned fun.

The first few miles were slow. In fact, the whole race was slower than I would have liked except for the last half mile, where I averaged a 8:50 minute mile. I let it go once I saw that I couldn’t bob and weave and be effective and fast in this race. It just wasn’t worth it. I race relaxed, which I was supposed to anyway, and stopped a few times to take pictures.

The Hayes Street hill was killer. It goes on for about .69 miles and hits about 2 miles in. It ascends the course like a big staircase, slanting skyward about 11.5% in grade, flattening out for cross streets, then continuing up and up again. I stopped about ¾ of the way up to take pictures.

This is Hayes Street hill looking down

And looking up.

After cresting the top, however, the initial descent is a fun downhill where if you had no people in front of you, you could make up some SERIOUS time. Despite dodging others, I was still able to pick up some speed for a little bit. It was fun.

There isn't a whole heck of a lot to say about the race. If I didn't live or have a reason to fly to San Francisco, I certainly wouldn't plan a trip around it. I knew what I was getting ahead of time. It's an event-mostly non-serious runners out for a good time. I was fine with that. I wanted to have a chill time because July is gonna be pre-race jitter time.

I took pictures along the way. I finished in 1:22:40. No blazing speed. The fastest pace I ever hit was 8:50 the last half mile, and that was because the lane was clear.

Candy land girls. Had to take a picture for my son.

Shark!

The 100th annual Bay to Breakers. I don't know if it will go another hundy, but it's had a good run.

These cow people (original eh?) had to pause for the ironic pic in front of the Buffalo

I love Buffaloes. I once had one charge at me (from behind a fence) in Kansas

The Great Highway at the end. Finally, someone running next to naked that has a body for it.

James, Me, Mike, Frederique and Alisyn from Daily Mile at Footstock.

Alisyn suggested the Daily Mile meet up. It's fun to meet DMers in real life.

This was the beer and wine garden. They were serving Michelob Ultra. I'll leave it at that.

This guy had bubbles flying out of his butt. I felt the need to document it, but not sure why.

See you in July San Fran!

Why do I Run?

2011-05-04T11:35:00.000-07:00

The daily mission on Daily Mile today was "What motivated you to start running?" It got me thinking.

When I started running in 2005, I trained for the Hartford Half marathon with Team in Training, I believe my primary motivation was selfish- to avoid old age, to live as long as I could and be as strong as I could -because my wife was pregnant with our only son that year.

I was motivated by the group dynamic, feeling like i was doing SOMEthing against Cancer, which was destroying my dad's body.

I also wanted to be a example to my child-to show that it's important to invest in your health.

My father died in 5 years ago yesterday. I kept running. It doesn't define me, but it's a part of me now.

An Open Letter to my Son

2011-01-07T21:30:00.000-08:00

My dearest Liam:

by the time you read this, you may not remember today. The last couple of days have been interesting and I just want to share with you how proud I am of your behavior and of you as a person.

Today you and I went to the doctor's to get your ear tube extracted from your left inner ear. It had come loose over time and had forced it's way out of the skin in your ear.

For the last two weeks we have been giving you drops in your ears to help remove crust and obstructions from around the tube. Yeah, gross I know. I looked at some of it. It was nasty, but I guess I've seen worse.

We got to the doctor's office and waited our turn to go in. You played with the toys in the waiting room. I knew this wasn't going to be easy based on how the drops had gone. I had NO idea HOW bad.

The doctor's first attempt to take out the tube didn't go so great. He looked at your ear first to see if all the gunk had cleared. The good news is your Eustachian tube was working well. Don't know what a Eustachia n tube is? Google it, or whatever it is you do now to find information. That's what we did. Or, come find me and ask.

The tube was still sticking out of the middle ear canal. He could see it just dangling there. He did a sonar check and the hole where the tube USED to be was closed. Don't ask me how the tube was still hanging out in there. I'll have to ask the doc on our next appointment.

So back to the first attempt. You flinched every time the doctor came near you. I don't blame you really. I was trying to hold your head and hands but you're pretty strong and it was dangerous to have you move. When he touched your ear, you screamed, seemingly in great pain. I let you sit up away from the doctor and held you while you cried. I tried to tell you it was going to be alright. You weren't having it.
We tried again. You were hysterical. We began telling you that once the tube came out the tube fairy would come tonight and leave you some money. Oh yes, bribes were used. I felt such pain for you.

This went on for about 10-15 minutes. We went into another room where you could lay prone on an examination table. Same result. The doctor said he couldn't do it and I was glad because in my next breath I was going to say "Stop this. Something is making him afraid or is painful and i'm not going to force him. "

The doctor advised we let it fall out on its own and keep a close eye on it.

You and I left the office, got our coats on, and you sidetracked off back into the doctor's play area, playing games and fooling around with toys.

"I don't want to school Daddy." you said to me.

I replied, "Well, if you're going to stay in the doctor's office all day, I'm going to have to ask the doctor to take another crack at your ear," thinking this would motivate you to get your gloves on and get out the door to school.

You surprised me when you said, "Okay, let's try again." You had just screamed bloody murder for 15 minutes and now you wanted to go back. Was it the promise of the tube fairy? I don't think so. I think you wanted to challenge yourself-and you did.

I asked the doctor to try again and he agreed. I honestly was expecting the same thing-more screaming. More head and neck twisting. You flinched a little, but you were able to stay still long enough for the doctor to grab the tube with his little pincer tube thingy. You were so excited to see the tube. I have to admit it was kind of interesting.

I was so proud of you for trying again. I don't know if you felt a lot of pain-it sure LOOKED like it, or it was fear, or pressure, or what, but you FACED that fear and did it. I was so proud of you. I was relieved we wouldn't have to worry about the tube possibly falling into the ear rather than out. I didn't want you to have to go to the hospital again. You have been too many times already.

You showed me something today. You are five years old and you reminded me that we don't always get things on the first try. It is very powerful to face our fears and challenges and keep trying even if we hit painful hurdles.

I love you buddy. I'm sorry you had to go through that today, but I was glad we were together.

Your loving Dad

3 Reasons to Enjoy an Outdoor Winter Workout | Active.com

2010-12-25T08:20:00.000-08:00

3 Reasons to Enjoy an Outdoor Winter Workout | Active.com

I promise myself I'm going to maintain my base outside this year. Merry Christmas!

2010-12-22T06:56:00.001-08:00

Test

Father's Day

2010-06-23T09:50:00.000-07:00

I could not have more proud of my son this past weekend as he completed his running group for the summer. All told, he ran 7.5 miles this summer and I'm sure there were some left off his tally sheet. The experience of the program was priceless for me as a dad and I was grateful for the chance to coach him and other kids too. It was a blast.

It's hard to describe the feeling, or do it justice, but when he was running around the track for his final lap on Sunday, his face was beet red from the heat and humidity. His arms swinging up and down like a pendulum, encircling his little body and he chugged toward the parents and coaches "cheer tunnel." His face was beaming and he was grinning ear to ear. He got his 3rd medal for running, a cupcake, and an awards certificate. I hope he continues to have fun with it. That's what it is important to me.

Vermont Cities Marathon post-Race Report

2010-06-02T14:27:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Burlington Saturday afternoon around 2pm following a long drive from CT. Considering it was about 4.5 hours with a 4 year old in tow, it really didn’t feel that long. I wish portable DVR players were around when I was a kid! It sure beats counting license plates from other states!

I checked us in. Immediately we had to change rooms because the first one was in a remote area of the hotel with tons of stairs that would present problems for my mother-in-law, who had driven in from Quebec. The room itself smelled like someone had smoked a cigarette in a bus station bathroom and tried to cover it up with Grandma’s perfume. Other than that, it was really nice.

Once the Sheraton got us into a more reasonable room, I went to the expo, picked my number, t-shirt while my wife, son and mother in-law left to go into town so my wife could get her 3rd haircut in as many weeks (don’t ask)

The number pickup was quick and painless, as was the t-shirt dispersal, which was separate this year.

After I picked my number I thought I’d get a quick run in and went back to the room to change. Then I got a text from Jen B on Daily Mile asking if the meet-up was still on at 4pm. I cancelled the run and went back to the expo and met up with Sandra, Dena, Brendan, Jen, JB, Kristen and Ernesto. I had not “met” Kristen or Enrnesto on DM before, but it was great to meet everyone in person.

Sunday came up quick, after a great dinner downtown; I was in bed by 9p and snoozing pretty good.

5a I was up and out of bed. My clothes were laid out the night before but I had misplaced 2 of my hammer gels so I had to leave the hotel with only 3 of them. The rest I would get on the course. I sent out a plea on twitter for extras but I knew the chances of getting hammers were pretty slim. I was correct but I don’t think it mattered a whole hell of a lot. I had a cup of coffee, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with blueberries in it.

The shuttle got me to the starting line by 6:55a. By 7:10 I had used the portapotties twice and had stopped sipping water. I went and said hi to my son’s running coach and some fleet feet people and took a group picture with them. I then met up with Dena and Sandra from Daily Mile, and then later briefly with Brendan, and met Alett, also from from DM.

At 7:30pm it was time to hit the bathroom one more time to be safe. I left the DMers and got in the line at the half shell. I swear the line did not move in 5 minutes. I bailed and went back to the Daily Miler group as I saw runners start migrating from the park to the starting line.

I really wanted to start with Dena and Sandra because I knew they were running similar paces so I was relieved they wanted to hit the bathroom as well. We got in line at the blue pillars of solace and inched our way closer and closer to the front-we were in the “race before the race.” At the gun, I found myself finishing Nature’s call. That was a first.

Fortunately, we were close to the start and within two minutes, I had crossed the staring mat and was on my way to my 3rd Vermont Cities Marathon.

The first few miles I was just trying to keep adrenaline in check and settle into a pace. The weather could hardly have been better. It was 61 and cloudy. It felt dry, but some say the humidity climbed later. It certainly wasn’t sticky or anything.

I was intent on maintaining a 9:55-10:00 pace and through the first six, I ran pretty steadily with Sandra and Dena at my shoulder or just behind or in front of them right at that pace. At mile 5 or 6 I recall feeling a tug and tightness in my calf but feeling overall good enough to keep pressing my pace to maintain. At mile 9, I kept checking back and wondering where they were but I figured they were holding themselves back and saving energy for the end. (a strategy I should have used) I could no longer see them in my rear view mirror by the 10 miler mark and continued to press on. By 13 miles, I was at 2:05 exactly on target for where I wanted to be. I had a hammer gel at 7 miles and 13.

Mile 13, I kicked it up slightly. I passed Oakledge Park and the 2nd relay point. I saw two runners attending to a fallen runner on the path. 9:46 and ran on. Mile 14 was mostly a straightaway headed toward the assault on battery. 10:02. Feeling good. I could hear the Taiko drummers and saw my wife in the crowd. As I hit the hill, a little nausea and fatigue hit me but I maintained a forward posture, bent forward at the ankles and kept my eyes focused forward. Caroline yelled encouragement from the side as she strode up the hill with me. “Looking good!” “Liam and Suzanne are at the top of the hill!” I got up nearly to the top before I needed to walk-just for 10 seconds and then continued on. I hit the 15 mile mark at the top of the hill in 10:02. Not bad.

I almost past my son and mother in-law in Battery Park without notice I was so focused. Just after passing Burlington College, I felt nauseous and felt like quitting. The thought of returning to my family in the park occurred to me. Then I thought to myself the only way I’m going to find them is if the medical personnel call my wife using the emergency number on my bib. I can’t just “quit.” Why would I just feel sick though? I had water or Gatorade at every stop. The only water stop I skipped was the very first one at 2 miles. I had hammer gels at 7, 14, 18 and 22. Each hour, I made sure I had a Hammer Anti-fatigue cap and Endurolytes. Still, I was a little queasy.

By mile 17, Sandra and Dena had caught back up with me. They passed me with ease. I thought momentarily of trying to hang with them, but I was strugg-el-ling. I acknowledged as much to them and I’m glad they ran on past. I didn’t want anyone to see me like this.

I can see from my splits I walked in miles 16, 19, 20-24. I recall seeing Jen B running the 2nd half replay somewhere in there and passing her, but I couldn’t tell you when. I was just surviving. During mile 18, I recall seeing a 4:30 pace group and hung with them for a bit. This helped because I had a 10:14 split. This gassed me however, and just as the group exited the neighborhoods, I had to stop and walk and the group left me in the dust. Once again, I was alone.

Miles 19 and 20 wind through more residential neighborhoods. I labored on past houses with water hoses, sprinklers and Dixie cups filled with water that tasted like failure. At 20.5, Relay point 4 taunted me with wild cheers of runners with fresh legs waiting for their partners to come pass the baton so they could rip off the final stage of their marathon. Hello sun. You picked a fine time to shine on me as the wall was hitting me in the face.

Somewhere in this stage, I found the 4:45 pace group. I would use them to pace me home. I even said to one of the leaders, “Do you think you can get me in by 4:45?” “Oh yeah,” was the answer. And she was right. I got felt my legs again at mile 23 and knew the end was near.

As I entered Waterfront Park where the marathon finishes, I could see the concrete path lined with people 4 and 5 deep. The crowd was still strong at this point and they made a great racket. I could hear them scream. I passed Doug M from Vermont right after I entered the park. I’m still not sure if he heard me as I called his name. Adrenaline got me back up to 11:07 and 11:19 for the miles 25 and 26. I knew I had only these two to go so I gave it everything I had. The pull in my right calf made me limp and affected my gait slightly but whatever. This is my last marathon for a while. The final .2 of the course has you curve back into the park and cross the finish line. As I turned the corner, I looked for my wife and son and within a few seconds, I could hear my wife and see my son. She was lowering him onto the course over the plastic barrier. As I got to him, I took his hand and ran slowly across the finish line. 4:47 and change, gun time. He was grinning from ear to ear and had been waiting patiently for 20 minutes at that spot to run in with me. He was so ecstatic and to see the look on his face, I would have ran 3 more miles and paid double the entry fee. It made my weekend.

Where does this one rank? Well, time-wise, this was my 3rd best marathon. 4:45:39. A ten minute improvement over my first marathon, but five minutes worse than my effort two years ago. As far as total experience however, this had to be one of the best if not the best, from training, to overall health, the expo, the social aspect, the weather, the family time, the race itself, the town, the crowd, the sidetrips, restaurants, etc…More important, I finished FEELING better than I did at Disney or Cape Cod. Those races, I finished defeated, miserable, unhappy with the course and the effort. Not so at all with this race.

I highly recommend this race to anyone. It’s not a cakewalk, nor is it an overly brutal course. It is a phenomenal experience.

Until next time VCM..

Tomorrow..the product that REALLY was a god-send for me during the marathon.

8 Weeks into Training for the Vermont Marathon

2010-04-04T22:43:00.000-07:00

Just a few comments about this week's training

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New Beginnings

2010-03-03T10:18:00.000-08:00

I haven't written in a while. Sorry about that. My bad. The phone rang, and I got into this long converation, then I started googling "Manatees.." and well, you know the rest. It's going to be challenging in these busy winter months but I'm sure gonna try.

I spent Monday thinking about what I want to get done with my life in 2010 and sat down to write a personal mission statement. Some of it is just that-personal, so I retain the right not to put that out there in cyberspace.

One of the promises I made to myself was that I would update more regularly on my blog. It's hard to keep up with everyone in my life but I enjoy reading other people's blog and the least I can do for others is to comment on their entries which touch me and create my own entries. If no one reads it, no matter. My words are mine and no one can take that from me.

I'm of the belief that you can be almost anything you WANT to be. At one point in my life, I WANTED to be a stand-up comic. For four years, I went to open mics, shows, went on the road, etc. performing in front of strangers and making them laugh. I have to say, at times, it was one of the most gratifying things I've ever done. I spent hours with other friends and comics, mostly in San Francisco coffee shops and clubs before the shows and discussed material and life. It was fun for a long time.

And then, it wasn't fun. The time spent in wasn't worth what I was getting back. I met my girlfriend, now wife and wanted to spend time with her rather than be at a club waiting for 5 minutes of stage time. I continued to perform sporadically, but sometime in 2003, I performed for the very last time and never looked back.

Seven years later, I have a son and every night that I don't have to work, I like to spend it with him and or my wife. That's my life now.

My life's journey is about contstant growth and being the best possible person I can be while I'm here. I strive to be happy, healthy and a positive role model for others (most importantly my son) In the end, I want others to find value in my contributions. I guess that's pretty much what most of us want.

My most important future contribution is to be the best possible dad I can be. I want him to know that he can take his life wherever his imagaination wants it to go, that dreams can grow from new dreams, and that's ok-as my dreams changed from that of being a stand-up to being a stand-up dad.

Some day I hope to qualify for the Boston Marathon. No small task. I'm not naturally athletic. I still haven't cracked 4 hours. Yet I dare to dream the Boston dream. It may take me YEARS, but Universe willing, I will get there. I will do it in steps. And if a new dream takes its place, so be it. It's all good.

I won't burden you with my entire personal mission, but I do want to share with you some areas I want to work on in 2010:

Eating healthy-I'm REALLY good about this during the day. At night, however, I'm Mr. Jekyll. I will eat out of boredom or anxiety when I get home from work and I realize it's not healthy. Can't do it. Gotta stop. Especially during training. I don't want to eliminate treats altogether because I think the straight denial of food/drink will create more want, but just finding BALANCE would be the goal.

I need to prioritize my time better. What's really important? What's urgent but not really important? What's frivoulous? I don't play Farmville, but my Facebook page is now cluttered with the results from "What 80s sit-com are You?" quiz that my old school chums (that I haven't seen in 30 years) have taken. Do I NEED to know this? No

Running-wise, I have a conservative calendar this year. I'm going to run a half-marathon in Danbury in April. In May, I will run my only FULL marathon of the year, Vermont. My goal there is to crack 4:20 or better. I have recently signed on with a coach, Josh aka @speedysquatch on twitter, who is keeping me on track.

In July, I'll run my 5th "Four on the Fourth." I really love this race and expect this to be my fastest ever. It'll be fun to see how I do against my previous four results.

Lastly, I want to keep in better in touch with my friends, both running and non-running. I hope to get to Los Angeles and or San Francisco this summer. It's been too long. I miss some folks. I need to re-connect. Hopefully, I can connect with some new friends too.

That's all. There's lots more to say, but I'll save it for later hmmmkay? In the meantime, I hope your lives and runs are going well and you're finding fun in whatever you're doing right now. Thanks for taking the time to read. Out.

If I could run somewhere else today...

2010-01-27T11:48:00.000-08:00

It would be here...If I had a jet plane and a healthy ankle!

Embarcadero/Fort Mason Run
Find more Runs in San Francisco, California

Thoughts on the Run

2010-01-23T14:22:00.001-08:00

My Five Marathons

2010-01-23T09:40:00.001-08:00

The other day I looked up what I had done result-wise in my previous marathons just to see how they stacked up against Disney.

I share with you what they are now and I'm making a mental and written record of it for myself too so I have it on the blog so I can remember better later on down the road.

May 2007 Keybank Vermont-4:55:50 233/257

Oct 2007 Hartford 4:26:18

May 2008 Vermont 4:40:11 191/246

Oct 2008 Cape Cod 5:22:48 129/141

May 2009 Iron Horse Half 2:00:33

Jan 2010 Disney 4:47:00

Notice that 2009 had a gap in marathons. I had a lot of injuries last year and an inconsistent spring. I had exactly two races all year long-The Iron Horse Half and the "Four on the Fourth" a four mile race in Chester, CT. That's it. The rest was all training.

Next Stop..Burlington, Vermont

2010-01-18T06:32:00.000-08:00

Last night I decided to sign up for the Keybank Vermont Marathon in May, my third Vermont Marathon. Since I began running in 2006, this will be my sixth overall marathon.

Why Vermont? It really is a beautiful course with great crowd support and awesome logistics.

It was my first marathon in 2007. I still remember crossing the line. Exhausted, happy, emotional.

The race itself finishes right on the shores of Lake Champlain and the final mile is lined with cheering people in the park as you curve around to the finish line.

It's a relatively flat course with one hill of note at the 15 mile mark. A fairly good incline that's about half a mile long, it too is lined with cheering spectators and you're helped along by the rhythmic percussion of Taiko drummers. It's pretty darn cool.

The weather is a crapshoot. I think the first time I did it, it rained. The last time I ran it in 2008, it got warm about 2 hours in-about 60-65 degrees, and I melted after hours of winter training-not used to the warm temps.

We'll give it a go again this year. The registration is set. I need to request off work and get the hotel room.

My team point two advisor John Ellis and I exchanged emails about what I need to do moving forward. My base training is what I need to work on most. Long, slow, consistent miles beginning in February. That's the ticket. I'll miss John's advice and guidance. I'm grateful to him and my teammates for their support in my training. I enjoyed following their journeys too. They're good peeps. Out.

Disney Marathon Race Report

2010-01-16T12:05:00.000-08:00

Walt Disney Marathon Race Report

I am still coming to terms with the marathon I ran last Sunday in Orlando Florida. In record cold temperatures and winds of 15-20 mph, I crossed the Finish Line with leaden legs and a very relieved frozen brain 4 hours 47 minutes after my start at 5:40a in the morning.

I fell far short of my goal of 4:20 or better, but I’m determined to improve my time and the experience I gained in training I will build on in 2010.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed. I was on pace through 20 miles to run within 4 minutes of my personal record of 4:26. At mile 21, however, I hit the wall and lumbered through the final miles.

Let's go back to the start of the trip:

My wife, son and I arrived in Orlando last Friday afternoon and I quickly got in touch with my friend and co-worker Jackie, also running the marathon with her boyfriend Vincent, a first time marathoner. I had run Cape Cod in 2008 at Jackie's suggestion and now Jackie was running Disney at mine.

Jackie, Vincent and I met up at their hotel bus stop and took the shuttle over to the Expo. While busy, it was not as packed or crazy as I expected it to be. Pickup of our number, goodie bag, and chip verification was easy. And, bonus, I found out later, I received TWO nice technical Disney race shirts in my bag! The rest of the goodies were fairly lame, but I would MUCH rather get a nice T and medal than any chotskies or samples in my bag. The bag also doubled as a baggage check bag too, so it came in handy.

After getting my goodie bag, I went to runner relations to see if I could improve my corral placement. I was assigned to "C." Jackie and Vince had been placed in " B." I only had to show a couple of race results and without much fanfare or hassle, I was given a bright pink sticker to put on my bib, "Corral B." This was for runners who expected to run in 4:30 or less, and based on my May and July race results, I qualified. The race staffer was great about it.

We checked out the merchandise and I picked up a couple of small things, a t-shirt for my son and one for me.

After the expo, I went directly to Magic Kingdom to meet up with my wife and son, who had already hit the parks for some character greetings and we had dinner at the Castle with the princesses. My son has a thing for them so we indulge him with it. The pictures are going to be great to show his date to the prom a few years from now.

I hit the sack early with the family that night-9pm and slept until 730p. I felt pretty smart doing that and with me working nights, it’s no small feat to go to bed early.

Saturday morning I laid out all my stuff for next day-shorts, tops, socks, hats, extra layers, bib, gels, etc. I took my time and laid it all out on a chair and shelf in the hotel bathroom. I have to do that before a race or else I'm a mess. It makes the morning go a lot easier. We did Dinner at the food court at the hotel-early at 5:30pm. I had been thinking we might want to go off property to avoid crowds. In talking to a friend at the expo, I decided against it. The trouble and time it would take to get to an Olive Garden would not be worth the time. I'm glad we made that call. We were back at the room by 730p and in bed by 8. 245am would come quickly.

At 245a, I woke up, hit the coffee maker and got dressed. I had an English muffin with peanut butter and a drink of water after the coffee. By 3:25, I was at the bus stop and five minutes later on the quiet shuttle to the staging area with Jackie and Vincent, who strolled up just as the bus arrived.

We got off the bus and walked about half a mile to the staging area, which reminded me of a frozen "Burning Man" festival from Black Rock, Nevada. Runners were wrapped in layers of clothing in the sub freezing winter-fleece, jackets, garbage bags, those throw away plastic getups they sell at the expo that look like haz-mat suits. House music blared through the crowd as the lines to the portal potties started to form.

Jackie, Vincent and I checked bags and milled about the parking lot, desperately seeking out areas of warmth.

At 430, I went to one of the baggage tents and was fortunate enough to meet up with some nice twitter runners, @maddyhubba, @marathonchris and @runningrealtor. The ladies were doing Goofy and had braved some BAAAD weather the day before. Sleet, rain, wind, cold. They waited an hour in that weather to get their checked bags after the race. Ugh. Not good.

@marathonchris had a couple of comments and tips that proved to be helpful, at least-to me. She reminded me of the out and back at 20. Not the best place to have one and I had forgotten about it from the maps. When I saw it come up later that morning, I was at least mentally prepared for it.

The other point she mentioned was to run on the grass on the high points of the overpass to lessen the camber of your run. I found this to be very helpful. It sucks to run on a steep incline.

With some final pit stops at the porta potties, the three of us made the half-mile walk from the staging area to the starting corrals.

At 5:40a, the sky was lit up by a flurry of fireworks, the first wave started and we were off in the frigid darkness. I was amazed at how many spectators there were that early to see us off. I was happy to know that Caroline and Liam were spending their morning sleeping in, warm in their beds. I wouldn't want them freezing their butts off just to see me start!

The first six miles were slow but steady. At about seven miles, I could feel a slight "burn" in my left ankle, the one I had rolled on New Year's Eve and I had some concern. However, it proved not to be much of a factor as the burn was manageable and never got any worse.

Jackie and Vincent, though stronger runners (Vincent had run his first half marathon in October at 1:51), wanted to start out conservatively slow and finish strong so they planned to stay with me for the first 10 miles and then see where we were. John Ellis, my marathon advisor from teampointtwo, had recommended doing the first 10 at 10:06/mile pace. Most of my early miles were slower than that, but I was saving myself for the late stages.

The run through epcot was all in the dark. It was surreal and cold. There were twists and turns through tight corridors so my goal was just mostly to navigate the crowd and be as steady as I could. Disney Characters and early rising employees shouted and waived to us.

At around mile 6, I got concerned that I felt a burn in the ankle I twisted on New Year’s Eve. However, this never got worse so I was relieved later on in the race when it didn’t materialize as an issue.

By the time we got to the Castle at Magic Kingdom, I was in a pretty good rhythm, averaging about a 10:15/minute mile After going through the Castle, I attempted to unlock the bezel of the Garmin so I could switch from virtual trainer to the training field where I could see the current lap rate. In doing so, I stopped the watch by accident and couldn’t find the field to resume training so I re-set the 405 and re-started the process at mile 12 and stayed with that until the finish.

Throughout the course, at all the water and PowerAde stops, the ground was slick with ice from the spillage. This slowed us down as bit as we bit threw the ice chips in our cups.

From miles 12-14, we increased our speed around 10:00 or just under. After Vince and I had a quick nature call at mile 17, I felt good for a couple of more miles, but little did I know “the wall” was coming.

At mile 20, Jackie let me know that she and Vince were going to speed up. I saw them get ahead of me by a couple of minutes at the out and back on the highway on the course. They waved to me and encouraged me to fight on. I was starting to labor, not with my breath, but with my legs. They began to move slowly. Jackie had given me some tips to fight through fatigue-to bounce on my heels, to pick up my knees. Run tall. They seemed to work for a minute, but the hard part was coming.

The last few miles are blurry in my memory. I had to stop and massage my calves at mile 23 in Hollywood studios and say to myself “Three more miles.” I breathed deep breaths and somehow managed to get going again.

By mile 24, I was completely fatigued out, running in quicksand. I wanted to finish. I wanted to quit. I just wanted to be done. This wasn’t fun anymore. DNF was not a possibility, so I had to continue on.

The crowds at Epcot helped some. The park was open by this time and Disney visitors were alternately cheering us and crossing our running path. What really kept me going was the Olympic music them. I remember that vividly and thinking that was really cool.

I saw the finish line after turning a corner at mile 26. I had no kick but I could make it. I knew I’d finish. I saw the clock in the distance. 4:45:00. I would cross minutes later at 4:50 and change. My net time was be 4:47:50.

As I rounded the corner towards the finish, I scanned the crowd for my wife and son. The crowd was dozens deep and if they were somewhere behind that chain link fence I would never connect with them. Seconds after I heard my name on the loudspeaker and after the beep of the chip crossing the finish line, I heard Caroline yelling to me from the stands, “Chris!” “Daddy!” Liam and Caroline were waving and shouting and I could hear them clear as day. That was the moment that made it worth it. That’s what took some of the pain in my legs and the pride in my heart as I saw 4:50 on the clock.

I was done. Never have I been so glad to be done. The wall had hit me again. It was disappointing, but I wouldn’t trade the experience. It was too much fun and satisfying along the way.

Here’s what was so great about training for and running my 5^th marathon:

· I met my teammates and advisor from teampointwo via twitter and social media.

· I raised over $700 for the CT Make A Wish Foundation. (Thank you for your support!)

· I started listening to podcasts and reading more blogs about running

· I ran with friendly people

· I met some twitter folk in person that I had corresponded with before

· I built up another layer of fitness that is my responsibility to keep, build upon, and maintain for future marathons.

· I ran a marathon in a destination that my family could enjoy DESPITE the miserable weather.

· My son told me he heard my name on the loudspeaker as I crossed the line and he said, “I heard when you won Daddy.”

This is It-The Moment of Truth

2010-01-07T14:42:00.000-08:00

I'm packed. Ready to go. 3 more days. It's expected to be 30 degrees at the start of the Disney Marathon on Sunday. Am I ready? I believe so. We shall see.

Merry Christmas to you and yours

2009-12-23T19:25:00.000-08:00

I hope Santa gets you everything you want!

Black Ice leads to Black Eye-4 weeks to Disney

2009-12-16T10:58:00.001-08:00

I got my Bib # last week. Very excited. Big Week this week. 50 miles. First time ever.

"Not so much here or there, but right... here."

2009-12-13T18:08:00.000-08:00

This was a new experience for me. Falling and being feared was not on my day-planner this morning. The run was going great for 11 or so mile until I hit a patch of black ice, my right foot and hips went out from under me and I landed on my forehead on the asphalt in the rain. It happened about half a mile from my house on the tail end of what was to be a 13 miler.

Funny thing was, an older woman in a mini-van had a front row seat for it. It must have been quite the picture. To her credit, she got out of the car and asked if I was alright. I didn't answer right away because, I wasn't sure. She asked me if I wanted her to call anyone, and I said, 'no, that's okay." Then I asked her how my face was because I had just landed on it and I could feel bits of gravel on it. She said, "fine." All the while, she was keeping a distance like I was a rabid animal. Poor lady. I think I scared her.

I thought about continuing because I got up, could feel a good bump on my head but wasn't dizzy or light headed, but the conditions under which my feet slipped, wet, slick, and patches of ice-basically a sucky new england day, still existed. I didn't see the wisdom in pursuing the last two miles.

When I got home, I had a huge knot on my forehead. I thought about the scene from the diner from "Tommy Boy" when Tommy asks Richard if his face looks okay and he says "no, it looks fine." Then the waitress sees Tommy's welts and says "what the hell happened to your face?" and Tommy knows Richard was lying to him.

happier times-an hour and 50 minutes prior

I'll save it for another day. I'm feeling good for Disney. (other than the egg on my melon)

Last 10 miles were run at 10:06 average pace

6 Weeks left until the Disney Marathon

2009-11-30T12:28:00.000-08:00

This weekend I had a good weekend run. I'm glad I got it in yesterday. Today is gray and crappy out.

My legs are starting to come back. I'm putting more miles on them. I have a few weeks to go before I peak in my training so here's what this week's plan looks like:

Monday 45 minutes of cross training-my marathon advisor John said I could swim but since I swim like a rock that wouldn't do me much good.

Tuesday: 12 miles. continuous at 10:15 pace and last 4 at 9:45

Wednesday: OFF

Thursday: 4 miles easy, plus some hill sprints

Friday: 6 miles

Saturday: 45 minutes bike or row

Sunday 18 miles. EASY. 11:20 pace for 3.5 hours EITHER run/walk ration or 7:3 run walk or continuous and slow down. Hmm...dunno which way I'll go. We'll have to feel it out.

Today I got a new pair of shoes. The model stays the same. I got my feet evaluated again after getting the new orthotics. The folks at Fleet Feet said I'm good to keep in a neutral shoe.

I love the new pair. Great color scheme for the New Balance 758s which before only had blue and white.

I also sent out another round of fundraising letters for CT Make-A-Wish. I'm hoping to make a holiday push.

Things to be Thankful for while Marathon Training

2009-11-23T21:03:00.000-08:00

I'm very thankful to be in a position to be running right now. With 7 weeks to go before the Disney Marathon, I'm running out of time to ramp up my miles.

M: 3 miles easy.

T: 8 miles. Warmup 3 miles easy. Stretch and run 5x 20 second striders. 30x 200 meters (on track) at 8:50/mile pace, which comes to 66 seconds. 2 minute walk recovery interval. 1 mile warmdown.

W: Off.

Th: 6 miles easy.

F: 5 miles easy.

S: 4 miles easy.

S: 15 miles easy. Use a 7:3 run walk ratio. (walk 3 minutes after every 7 minutes of running.)

Miles: 41.

Please consider making a Donation to the Make A Wish Foundation

2009-11-18T14:00:00.000-08:00

8 Weeks to Disney

2009-11-16T12:54:00.000-08:00

weeks. I've had some setbacks, but I seem to be back on the mend.

I'm looking forward to this week. The weather has been really mild for New England.

Love my new Zensah compression sleeves! They are super comfortable.

My wife has been running more and more and seeming to enjoy it. I'm very proud of her. ">

14 Weeks to Disney

2009-10-06T18:39:00.001-07:00

After a two week wait, I finally received my new custom orthotics.

Goddamn, these things are are expensive. Insurance doesn't even cover them. And why would they, right?

So I am 14 weeks to the marathon, and I'm now going to try and ramp up my running again.

Yesterday, I WALKED 3 hours or about 10 miles around the reservoir, 3 times.

Today was a rest day.

Tomorrow I do a 3 mile test run with a 2:1 run/walk ratio.

Thursday I will do an interval elliptical workout.

Friday biking

Saturday elliptical again

Sunday stretching.

This will be fun.

15 Weeks to Disney

2009-10-01T08:49:00.001-07:00

I have 15 weeks until I run the Walt Disney Marathon in Orlando, Florida. Shout outs to my wife-today is our Anniversary-My teammate Donna, who runs Portland Marathon this Sunday, my son Liam, who is running his first fun run this weekend as well. I await new orthotics which hopefully correct the recurring calf strain which has plagued me all summer. Best to all you runners and friends out there. Please let me know how YOUR running is going and I'll talk to you soon.

15 Weeks to Disney

2009-09-28T21:11:00.000-07:00

Anxiety is setting in as I await my new orthotics. What is prime running weather is being "wasted" as I turn to the elliptical, bike and other cross training to avoid re-straining my calf.

I have been calling my physical therapist since Friday to check on the delivery status of the new gear. As soon as I get it, I can figure out if I can try running on it again. I've had two relapses on the old orthotic so I dare not try to venture out again until my foot issue is corrected.

Here is the plan for this week as laid out by John Ellis, Team Point Two marathon advisor.

Monday 60 minutes cross training (I completed this on a recumbent bike on the gym WITHOUT the benefit of an ipod) I sweated like a pig. I also did a BOSU intervals class prior to that to strengthen and stretch the hammies, calves and quads.

Tuesday (Today) On the elliptical-20 minutes easy. 4x4 minutes hard, with 90 seconds very easy recovery in between. 20 minute warm down

Wednesday OFF

Thursday Elliptical 10 minutes easy, 45 minutes tempo, 10 minutes easy

Friday 60 minutes cross training-Mountain Biking if weather allows

Saturday 45-60 elliptical easy

Sunday-3 HOUR brisk walk. I was hoping to run a 2 mile fun run as a run/walk to get my sea legs back. As the week progresses and if I'm able to test my legs on new orthotics, maybe I can do this. A 3 hour walk will NOT happen on a Sunday only because I won't be able to get away from the family long enough to accomplish this. I can do it Monday though if that's what my plan will ultimately call for. I'm off from work that day.

The Fastest Man in the World

2009-09-28T18:20:00.000-07:00

I had the occasion to meet Usain Bolt today. It's a pretty cool thing to meet the Fastest Man in the World.

An email went out company-wide on Saturday seeking volunteers to "race" Usain Bolt at the OFFICE. Some co-workers thought it was a hoax, but many thought it was what it was-a visit from a storied and emerging legend in track and field who would make the rounds on shows at ESPN.

I replied without really thinking too much about it. I thought it would be some low key promo. I thought to myself. "Who wouldn't want to meet Usain and say they met the fastest man in the world?" Low key? Uhmm, not so much.

Hundreds lined the sidewalk to watch the 23 year old Jamaican take on 8 employees in the 100 meter dash. More than 200 employees replied to enter a random drawing to race "The Bolt." I was chosen from this pool to be one of 4 alternates. If one of the chosen ones didn't show, I could have potentially lined up toe to toe with someone so fast, he could give me a 5 second lead and would still beat me. It was not to be, but I still had fun watching.

The horn sounded at 11:40a and I could hear the crowd cheer and a blur of green and yellow came floating toward me at seeming sonic speed. His right arm was extended in exaltation, fingers spread like he was reaching out to the crowd, and the other arm gently tapping his chest as he smiled-toying with his fellow racers as they ran with all their might behind him. The throngs of staffers who came to see this elite performance roared their approval as he broke the red tape at the finish line.

As quickly as it had started, the race was over

Usain stopped to snap photos with some of the racers and I was able to get a pic by one of the work photographers. I handed my blackberry to a co-worker to snap a photo of me next to Bolt, but she was not successful in getting it to take a picture. I was able to have another co-worker snap this photo you see below in the half hour before the race.

All in all, it was a pretty cool day in the office.

Staying positive

2009-09-18T14:33:00.001-07:00

Following a careful buildup of mileage over the last two weeks, last night, I felt my right calf cramp up. Unlike past experiences in my strain, the pain continues even after the running stopped.

I acted fast.

I emailed my physical therapist and got fitted for new orthotics today. He thinks this will address 90% of the symptoms. I hope so. These things are expensive.

Icing is important as is stretching, which I did yesterday AND today.

I also had a phone interview with one of team point two teammates Donna. It was great to catch up with her and we talked about her upcoming Portland Marathon on October 4th and her experience with our virtual team.

The other thing I did was I finally bit the bullet and bought the garmin 405 with HR monitor. I won't be able to run this week and when I do go back to running, I want to make sure I'm working at the appropriate HR to keep my cardio up.

Busy day today. Hope you all have a great weekend. Watch some college football!

Reservoir Mt Bike

2009-09-17T18:37:00.001-07:00

I biked earlier this week before tweaking my calf again tonight. i'm going to talk to the physical therapist tomorrow about getting new orthotics.

I also got some great support and advice from Derv and plan to talk more in depth to John Ellis tomorrow.

I hope to get this calf thing straightened out. In the meantime, check out the West Hartford Reservoir. Sorry for the shakiness. There has to be a better way to mount the camera on a bike ride.

If you know of one, holla.

My friend Steve Mazan appeared on David Letterman last week

2009-09-08T09:12:00.001-07:00

I'm proud of you bud. I miss you. I hope we get to spend some time together soon.

Stretches

2009-09-04T11:02:00.001-07:00

A calf strain has kept me from running as much as would have liked, especially in August.

I'm not going to lie you. I don't LOVE stretching. I've made the effort and time however, in my rehab to get my body ready for running Disney in January.

These are just three of the stretches I do post run for the calf and piriformis. I stretch my hamstrings, quads, and IT band as well.

What are your favorite stretches?

2009-09-01T11:40:00.001-07:00

This was my first run in nearly TWO WEEKS due to my right calf injury.

It felt AWESOME to be out running around the neighborhood. The temps and humidity were terrific.

First-the calf was FINE. I did experience some tenderness in the outside underneath of left patella, but it abated as I ran on. This felt like a tight IT band which I stretched after the run.

I ran this one with a 4:1 walk ratio as prescribed by John Ellis. The rest of the week is:

tomorrow: 75 minutes X-training
Thursday: 4 easy miles
Friday: 45 minutes X-training
1 hour of Physical Therapy
Saturday: REST (from exercise)
Sunday: 5 easy miles

Light stretching followed and I'll go through my full battery of stretches tonight after a light warmup. Ice will follow.

Activity

Route:	--	Elev. Avg:	210 ft
Location:	Marion, CT,	Elev. Gain:	+0 ft
Date:	09/01/09	Up/Downhill:	[+232/-232]
Time:	12:44 PM	Difficulty:	2.1 / 5.0

Weather:	Sunny
	69 F temp; 41% humidity
	69 F heat index; winds NNE 5 mph

Performance

Distance:	3.61 miles	Goal:	12' 00 min/mi pace for 3 miles
Time:	0:40:17	Goal:	12' 00 min/mi pace for 3 miles
Speed:	5.4 mph	Attained:	114%
Pace:	11' 09 /mi
Calories:	482

Elevation (ft)

Pace (min/mile)

Splits

Mile	Pace (min/mile)		Speed (mph)		Elevation Gain
Mile	actual	+/- avg	actual	+/- avg	Elevation Gain
1	10' 56	-0' 13	5.5	+0.1	-7 ft
2	11' 29	+0' 20	5.2	-0.2	+6 ft
3	11' 07	-0' 02	5.4	+0.0	+4 ft
end	10' 54	-0' 15	5.5	+0.1	-3 ft
Versus average of 11' 09 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

20 Weeks to Disney

2009-08-24T19:46:00.001-07:00

It's been too long since an update so I wanted to leave you all one after tonight's workout at the gym. Sorry so low key-it's late and all are sleeping!

With 20 weeks to Disney, I am cautiously working my way back to healthy running. I talk about how my calf strain occurred and the opinions I've gotten from my physcial therapist regarding it's reoccurence. I hope to get back to running this week. It's been 8 days since I've run already.

I also talk about my reading of the Christopher McDougall's "Born to Run." It's a fascinating book with a potentially far reaching message about biomechanics, how runners evolved and the "evils of shoe companies."

I end with a thought about making choices in our lives and acknowledging that sometimes our choices are portrayed to others as excuses or stories. Something to the think about.

Last Night's workout

2009-08-05T07:39:00.000-07:00

It was hard to finish last night's workout but I got through it by thinking of it in three one-hour chunks. I had to fight negative thoughts about being up so late, knowing I'd have to be up this morning to take care of my son, take him to school, participate in a 10a conference call and then put in a day at the office. Thankfully, I should wrap up at 5:30pm today.

A couple of things about the workout-longest time EVER on an elliptical. It takes me roughly twice as long to complete the mileage on a Cybex arc trainer as compared to running. The plan called for 9 miles and I completed that.

That's enough of the negative crap. Here's some of the things which were positive and kept my mind busy while I "ellipted" all over myself last night:

The Red Sox and Rays kept me company for as long as they could until Evan Longoria smacked a 13th inning Home Run into left field at the Trop. He also hit a HR in the 8th to tie the score at two. That irked me a little but it was good theatre. Sox are now 1.5 games behind the Yankees in the Eastern Division and 4 games up on the Rangers in the race for the AL Wildcard spot.

I listened to LOTS of podcasts. RunDiggerRun showed me the Ladybird Johnson monument in Washington, D.C. and I got to hear about his first 16 miler.

I re-listened to the Runners Roundtable with Lyle McDonald about nutrition and proper fueling for runnings. Big takeaway and one that has been reinforced by other trainer friends of mine recently: "you can OUT EAT any training easily." So if you're thinking because you are running, you don't need to watch what you eat, you are mistaken. You have to pay MORE attention to your nutrition, if anything, to ensure proper recovery.

Podrunner-It was too fast, but mind numbing white noise.

The Today Show-note to self: If you find yourself in a room choosing between severing a limb with a rusty spoon, or listening to Meredith Viera, give serious consideration to the amputation. I always thought that job should have gone to Campbell Brown.

Team Point Two playlist-Big ups to Nicole for creating this list of songs that motivates me and my TP2 teammates.

Fuel on the run consisted of three 16 oz waters with Camelbak Elixir tablets, half a G2, and two Chocolate Hammer Gels. Felt right.

Rest day today. I'm ready for it.

Control-Alt-Delete

2009-08-04T14:10:00.000-07:00

Due to my lingering calf strain, I've made a decision to postpone my fall marathon to January 2010.

I discussed with my wife and John Ellis via email yesterday and it seemed to me to be the best decision I could make given the conditions I'm dealing with right now.

A poor spring base left me vulnerable to injury and the best thing I can do now is re-build that base through slow runs, cross training and possibly some PT. I will seek out medical advice this week.

My commitment to Team Point Two and to Make-A-Wish is NO less than it was two days ago. I'm still very much involved in both-in fact, this gives me a chance to get healthier and perform optimally, as well as potentially to raise more funds for the CT Chapter of Make-A-Wish.

To proceed, however, with the Marine Corp Marathon at this point, given the current state of my body, would be an exercise in suffering needlessly for a goal less than what we started out to do-improve on our previous marathons.

So, we're moving ahead. Marine Corps-we'll meet again. Mickey Mouse...I'm coming to your playhouse.

2009-08-02T14:49:00.001-07:00

Okay-here's the deal. The calf is not going away. I ran a slow 7 today and on mile 4 it began to tug and tighten. By mile 5, it had knotted up pretty good, enough for me to slow it down about 30-40 seconds slower.

If you haven't seen the video I posted previously, of the strain location, it's at the top left side (inside) of my right calf.

I recently switched to a neutral shoe post-injury thinking it might help this. I've had a couple of runs in them and I have to say it's not responding like I hoped. My New Balance 758s are super comfortable by the way-nice lacking system, lightweight and feel great.

I've let John Ellis, Team Point Two's Marathon advisor know what's going on and we're making some adjustments in my plan.

12 weeks to go to Marine Corps Marathon. 4:15 is NOT going to happen at this rate. I need to be healthy. Why isn't this calf feeling better? I have't done meaningful miles in two weeks!

More to come tomorrow.

Activity

Route:	--	Elev. Avg:	186 ft
Location:	Marion, CT	Elev. Gain:	-3 ft
Date:	08/02/09	Up/Downhill:	[+433/-436]
Time:	11:34 AM	Difficulty:	2.7 / 5.0

Performance

Distance:	7.20 miles	Goal:	11' 00 min/mi pace for 7 miles
Time:	1:19:28	Goal:	11' 00 min/mi pace for 7 miles
Speed:	5.4 mph	Attained:	101%
Pace:	11' 02 /mi
Calories:	969

Notes

calf issues. ouch. right calf. recurring. been a couple of weeks now.

Elevation (ft)

Pace (min/mile)

Splits

Mile	Pace (min/mile)		Speed (mph)		Elevation Gain
Mile	actual	+/- avg	actual	+/- avg	Elevation Gain
1	10' 15	-0' 47	5.8	+0.4	+13 ft
2	10' 05	-0' 57	6.0	+0.5	-40 ft
3	10' 42	-0' 20	5.6	+0.2	-13 ft
4	10' 52	-0' 10	5.5	+0.1	-23 ft
5	11' 19	+0' 17	5.3	-0.1	+7 ft
6	12' 10	+1' 08	4.9	-0.5	+75 ft
7	11' 39	+0' 37	5.2	-0.3	-17 ft
end	11' 40	+0' 38	5.1	-0.3	-7 ft
Versus average of 11' 02 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

The Doubt Monkey

2009-07-30T12:17:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I have a little doubt or anxiety about my training. I often think of it as my "doubt monkey. " It's a little monkey which darts into my mind and says, "your calf is not going to heal in team for your marathon" or "you're going too fast," or "you're too heavy."

Sometimes my primate protagonist will whisper to me, "12 weeks to go. Really? You can just FINISH that marathon. Do you really need to finish it in 4:15? Maybe you're too old for this."

If I allow it, the monkey can stay for days. Most days, the monkey comes for a quick visit and then gets scared and runs away-like a real monkey. He'll creep in on mile 15 on a 18 mile run and say, "you should just walk the rest. You deserve it."

I don't usually promote violence-but if you have a doubt monkey, I invite you to punch him (or her) in the face. Name him. Taunt him. Mock him. Today.

Marathon of Miracles-Supporting CT Make-A-Wish Foundation.

2009-07-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

I have wanted to give back and actively fundraise for my upcoming marathon for a few months now but have agonized needlessly over WHICH cause I should support.

On a June trip to Disney, my desire to make a difference in the lives of others became a little more in focus.

My family and I were visiting Disneyworld in Florida for a few days vacation in June. On our second day there, on the bus to the Magic Kingdom, we encountered the grandparents of a 2 year old little girl from South Carolina who was suffering from a rare eye cancer. The proud grandfather told my wife how their grand-daughter, though perhaps too young to enjoy the park, was being brought to experience the magic of Disney because if they waited, she might not be able to SEE it. Even worse still, if the cancer metastasized, she would not LIVE to see it. Truly, devastatingly sad. And yet, I could see how happy being at Disney made the grandparents, parents and child. It brought joy and hope to a challenging life.

In the weeks following our trip, I became aware of the Make-A-Wish foundation and how it helps children like this little girl. I implore you to help me help these children, between the ages of 2-18 and with terminal illnesses, receive their wishes.

As you know, I am training for the Marine Corps Marathon on October 25th. I am dedicating my training and race to this cause under the title: "Marathon of Miracles-Supporting CT-Make-A -Wish Foundation."

Please consider supporting me in this cause. It's not hard to do. It simply requires a check or a phone call. Unfortunately, the CT chapter is not set up for online donations, but they'll take a pledge right over the phone and the phone call is toll free.

Thank you for your consideration. I hope you'll donate and help make a difference in these children's lives-and make their wishes come true.

When calling or contacting Make-A-wish, please reference the Marathon of Miracles event or my name. Thank you!

Make-A-Wish Foundation®
of Connecticut, Inc.
126 Monroe Turnpike
Trumbull, CT 06611

(203) 261-9044 phone
(877) 203-WISH toll free
conn@ct.wish.org

Week #14 of training for the Marine Corps Marathon

2009-07-22T21:17:00.001-07:00

Week #12 Long run Bummer!

2009-07-12T11:00:00.001-07:00

This 13 mile run turned into a craptastic 9.5 miler. Click away!

Friday Cross Training on the Mountain Bike

2009-07-10T14:29:00.001-07:00

I forgot how much more crap you have to take with you to Mt. Bike. I hope to write more tomorrow. It was great to ride the West Hartford Reservoir though. I miss it.

Activity

Route:	--	Elev. Avg:	466 ft
Location:	West Hartford, CT,	Elev. Gain:	+95 ft
Date:	07/10/09	Up/Downhill:	[+718/-623]
Time:	03:46 PM	Difficulty:	3.5 / 5.0

Weather:	Fair
	76 F temp; 53% humidity
	78 F heat index; winds SSE 11 mph

Performance

Distance:	6.21 miles	Goal:	60:00:00 duration
Time:	0:49:34	Goal:	60:00:00 duration
Speed:	7.5 mph	Attained:	1%
Pace:	8' 00 /mi
Calories:	340

Notes

I forgot how much more crap you have to take with you to Mt. Bike. I hope to write more tomorrow. It was great to ride the West Hartford Reservoir though. I miss it.

Map

Elevation (ft)

Speed (mph)

Splits

Mile	Pace (min/mile)		Speed (mph)		Elevation Gain
Mile	actual	+/- avg	actual	+/- avg	Elevation Gain
1	8' 48	+0' 48	6.8	-0.7	+115 ft
2	6' 58	-1' 02	8.6	+1.1	+68 ft
3	9' 55	+1' 55	6.0	-1.5	+119 ft
4	9' 53	+1' 53	6.1	-1.4	-99 ft
5	5' 18	-2' 42	11.3	+3.8	-23 ft
6	7' 12	-0' 48	8.3	+0.8	-7 ft
end	6' 59	-1' 01	8.6	+1.1	-78 ft
Versus average of 7.5 mph

Posted from bimactive.com

2009-07-05T14:41:00.001-07:00

Thanks to Nik and Dan for getting me through this 12 mile training run. I listened to episode #12 of 4 Feet Running and I enjoyed listening to their bantering about running and Nik's San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon report.

I empathized with her hitting "the wall" at 20 miles because I feel like I've come across that as well in my spring marathons. I mean, really, how are you supposed to prepare for 68-75 degree heat when it's 45-58 in the months leading up to your race? SOME people do it, and I guess I'll have to look into that more.

I also want to give a shout out to Nicole from Team Point Two, who point together a playlist for team point two and I listened to some of them on the backside of my 12 today. I find music inspirational when I run. I try not to rely on it exclusively because I don't want to be dependent on it, but a great tune can really amp me up when I'm thinking of calling it quits.

Also, thanks to Nicole for polling everyone on available times to make the teampointtwo.com phone call that was recorded today. Finding a time when everyone was available was getting challenging, but asked the right questions and nailed it down.

I hope we get to do more in the future.

Activity

Route:	--	Elev. Avg:	226 ft
Location:	Marion, CT,	Elev. Gain:	+0 ft
Date:	07/05/09	Up/Downhill:	[+623/-623]
Time:	01:04 PM	Difficulty:	3.8 / 5.0

Weather:	Sunny
	75 F temp; 45% humidity
	76 F heat index; winds WNW 10 mph

Performance

Distance:	12.01 miles	Goal:	10' 55 min/mi pace for 12 miles
Time:	2:08:30	Goal:	10' 55 min/mi pace for 12 miles
Speed:	5.6 mph	Attained:	101%
Pace:	10' 42 /mi
Calories:	1609

Elevation (ft)

Pace (min/mile)

Splits

Mile	Pace (min/mile)		Speed (mph)		Elevation Gain
Mile	actual	+/- avg	actual	+/- avg	Elevation Gain
1	10' 41	-0' 01	5.6	+0.0	-13 ft
2	10' 45	+0' 03	5.6	-0.0	+23 ft
3	10' 47	+0' 05	5.6	-0.0	+10 ft
4	11' 12	+0' 30	5.3	-0.3	-16 ft
5	11' 10	+0' 28	5.4	-0.2	+23 ft
6	11' 01	+0' 19	5.4	-0.2	+10 ft
7	11' 40	+0' 58	5.1	-0.5	-14 ft
8	10' 04	-0' 38	6.0	+0.4	-20 ft
9	10' 02	-0' 40	6.0	+0.4	+19 ft
10	10' 32	-0' 10	5.7	+0.1	-17 ft
11	10' 29	-0' 13	5.7	+0.1	-23 ft
12	10' 52	+0' 10	5.5	-0.1	+16 ft
end	11' 40	+0' 58	5.1	-0.5	0 ft
Versus average of 10' 42 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Week #1 of Marathon Training in the Books

2009-07-05T10:48:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the bad audio. I may have to get a more powerful microphone. Chester Road race was fun yesterday. I'll post a race report this week. Time to go to work!

Week #1 of Training for Marine Corps Marathon

2009-06-28T14:32:00.001-07:00

Oddly enough, after a fair amount of sleep last night, I really didn't feel up to the task of 8 miles today. I just didn't feel like I had it in me.

Even as I write this, hours later, I am so very glad I did it, but feeling drained, lethargic and unable to focus.

There were many positives to come out of this run, however. One-just getting it done. I could have skipped this one and just slept today, but I forced myself to get out there and do it-albeit it slower than I generally run-this was a survival work out. To make my energy last, I purposely kept the speed and effort contained and consistent.

I used the run to listen to "Phidippidations," a popular running podcast by steverunner. He's been doing that for over four years and I was aware of it years ago, but podcasts are difficult to me to consume unless I am on a long run. Therefore, with today's 8 miler, the podcast was perfect to keep me company and inspire thought as I slogged my way through the 75 degree sunny temperatures. My sandisk sansa has reached the end of it's usefullness, so I think I'm going to be a "late adopter" and get myself an ipod tomorrow. I like the red nano you can only order through Apple.

I knew that my teampointtwo teammate Nicole had her half marathon today and that motivated me to show support by running too. I recall thinking during the run today how she must have done and I had guessed, based on her running experience, training distances and speed, and previous PR of 2:00:57 that she was cruising for a sub 2 hour PR. I had guessed around 1:57:30 or so. She got a huge improvement on her PR with a 1:56:50! Big ups Nicole, or @runningbebe (pronounced ba-bay) on twitter.

The other positive I took out of the run was I was able to sweat off three pounds off the scale. I weighed myself after replenishing my water supply with 24 oz of water and Recoverite. I also had a sip of chocolate soy milk and a peanut butter and no sugar jelly sandwich with banana. My weight post run was 176 with 23% BF. I still want to continue losing weight so that in about 8 weeks, I can be under 170. I know with correct portions and mindful eating, I can do that.

Week #2 will be much better I feel. I need to catch up on my rest and Hammer Nutrition supplements. Staying healthy is one of the most important things one needs to complete the marathon. I plan to be tip top for Marine Corps come October.

Thank you for taking the time to read. I welcome your feedback and comments. If you are new to the blog or the sport of running, welcome!

Hail from my run

2009-06-26T21:25:00.001-07:00

0626091744a.jpg, originally uploaded by CTIrishGuy.

Well, you don't see that every day.

I went out for a six mile run this afternoon around 4pm. The skies were starting to get dark, but nothing seemed imminent.

I had been waiting to leave for the run because the Cable guy, who had come to the house to install cable and and the internet cable moden took about 4 hours to hook up my service.

I was feeling pretty good on the run. The temperature to start was about 81 degrees but with a nice breeze. With the dark skies, i was more comfortable than I thought I would be.

On the run, I listened to Runners Round Table #4 from this past winter. It was with John Ellis and Matt "Dumprunner." They were discussing different marathon training methods and strength training. It was interesting.

I was rounding the corner with about 3/4 mile to go, when the sky OPENED UP. Now this was no normal summer thunderboomer. This was a flash flood waiting to happen.

The picture you see here is the size of the hail which began to pelt my frame mercilessly. At first it was a curiosity. "Oh, that's kind of cool, hail." Within seconds, it became, "damn, that's a LOT of hail."
In less than a minute, my brain was screaming, "Oh, my god, I am under attack by hail!" Seriously, it was hitting me in the face and arms likes dime sized rocks dropped from the Chrysler Building.

Soaked to the bone, I sloshed in my soggy 2140s to the eaves of a house and clung to its side like a hungry pup. It gave me enough respite to put my gps phone away in the armband and stuff it in my pocket in a lame attempt to keep it dry. Amazingly, my phone no worse for wear now, but it should appeared like it was going to need to be replaced when I was in the thick of the storm.

The storm continued and the wind, now gusting faster, swept sideways and smacked me in the face again. The house was no longer haven. It was a trap. i ran to the back of the house and positioned under another eave next to a propane tank. If anyone had seen me from inside, I must have looked like a water-logged burglar. The propane tank wasn't giving me much comfort, especially when I heard a loud "crack" and bolt of lightning lighting up the sky.

I figured I had to make a break for it. I had about half mile to go. I ran as fast I could through the flooded shoulder of the road. I got another 1/4 mile when a car drove by and asked me if I needed a ride. A guy had actually gotten in his car and followed me to ask me if I needed a ride! His wife had called to me in the rain, but I wasn't sure who or what the yell was intended for, so I ran on. I was grateful. I got in and the guy drove me to right to my door!

I have run in snow, rain, fog and night. This is my first run in hail. Cool.

Weird day for a Weird Week

2009-06-25T21:27:00.001-07:00

Sorry to see Farrah Fawcett pass. Rest in peace. Racing "Four on the Fourth" on July 4th which is fun.

Week #1 of 16-Marine Corps Marathon

2009-06-25T07:52:00.001-07:00

I am eating too much this week. I only had a couple of beers, but I've indulged in sweets WAY too much and it has resulted in an uptick in my weight this morning-178.5 and 23% BF.

I got my first ear infection since I was a kid.

2009-06-16T05:08:00.001-07:00

Ran near the house for a quick 4 miler for the first time in nearly a week. It was great.

My weight is stable at 175-176 but body fat needs to come down from 23-24%.

Activity

Route:	--	Elev. Avg:	191 ft
Location:	Marion, CT,	Elev. Gain:	-13 ft
Date:	06/15/09	Up/Downhill:	[+331/-344]
Time:	07:49 PM	Difficulty:	2.3 / 5.0

Weather:	Cloudy
	63 F temp; 80% humidity
	63 F heat index; winds ESE 5 mph

Performance

Distance:	4.15 miles	Goal:	9' 45 min/mi pace for 4 miles
Time:	0:39:57	Goal:	9' 45 min/mi pace for 4 miles
Speed:	6.2 mph	Attained:	103%
Pace:	9' 37 /mi
Calories:	556

Elevation (ft)

Pace (min/mile)

Splits

Mile	Pace (min/mile)		Speed (mph)		Elevation Gain
Mile	actual	+/- avg	actual	+/- avg	Elevation Gain
1	9' 37	+0' 00	6.2	-0.0	-10 ft
2	9' 25	-0' 12	6.4	+0.1	-33 ft
3	9' 32	-0' 05	6.3	+0.1	+30 ft
4	9' 40	+0' 03	6.2	-0.0	0 ft
end	10' 53	+1' 16	5.5	-0.7	0 ft
Versus average of 9' 37 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

The Iron Horse Half Marathon

2009-06-05T18:34:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been a few days and I've had time to reflect on Sunday's race. Let's cut to the quick: I finished by gun time at 2:00:33. On my watch, I had 2:00:07. My GPS had it at 2:00:10. My friend who also ran said her watch was much faster than gun time as well because they only measured the chip at the finish not the START.

I'm going with it.

The day started beautifully. It was about 62 to 65 degrees to start the race. My wife and son got up real early to drive the 35 minutes to the race. Parking was easy and we walked to the meadows where we waited in line for the port-o-lets and then proceeded to the staging area for the start.

A friendly runner had reached out to me in the weeks before the race who was making the drive down from Vermont and running the race at about the same pace. He suggested we meet up and run together. I warned him I don't like to chatter and he was totally cool with that. He just wanted to have a race partner. What a great thing he did! In all the races I have run, I have NEVER run the same pace and with another runner for that long. EVER. It was motivated on several levels to have someone side by side for most of the race!

We ran with each other through 10.5-11 miles before my stamina and fatigue slowed me down. That company, however, kept me motivated because it was if I did not want to let him down by going too slow or go too fast too soon and blow up the pace. I think that strategy is a good one for me and I will look to do that for MARINE CORPS in OCTOBER.

As I said, through 9-10 miles, I was putting up a good pace. I can recall saying to myself at 8 miles, "I feel great. I'm going to maintain at this pace until mile 10 and then I'll treat the last 3 miles like a 5k-pick it up and do an 8:30 or 8:40 mile. When I got to 10.5 or so, it was all I could do just to maintain my 9:00 pace. The wind picked up. The sun got just a little bit stronger, and the temp climbed up to 72 degrees. I felt a little dizzy climbing a small hill at 11.5. Still, I pressed on.

There was one last small hill at 12.9 and it felt like a mountain. I shorted my stride, deepened my breathing and chugged up with as much power as I could muster before the course flattened out to the finish line.

I could see the teal and yellow balloons down the stretch of Iron Horse Boulevard and could only guess that my 2 hour goal was close as mile markers were infrequent and often misleading along the course. I was close but I couldnt' tell HOW close. At that time, Doug was about 2 minutes ahead of me on the course. My friend Marni and her friend Joann, with whom I had cat and moused earlier in the day, would finish just behind Doug.

I dug down deep to leave all the power I had in my legs and lungs on the course. There were no pains other than fatigue. Sure, my quads and lungs burned, but I tried to block that out. I saw the clock at 1:58:00 and started to go as fast as I could. I wanted this to be over. I wanted to finish NOW. It would be over in a minute, I told myself. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a co-worker: "Looking good Chris," he shouted. I saw my wife and son cheering at the finish, but I couldn't take my eyes off the finish line and the clock. Eyes and head facing forward. Straight ahead. Legs and arms pumping. My face must have been a shade of red that tomatoes get jealous of.

I crossed at 2:00:33. A PR by 6 minutes.

I felt great within minutes of finishing. No nausea. No aches or pains. Even the next day, the soreness was minimal.

People who knew my goal asked me if I was disappointed. "You must have been kicking yourself for that 33 seconds." Naw, I'm not kicking myself. I just kicked that course's ass.

2009-05-31T19:23:00.001-07:00

Activity

Route:	--	Elev. Avg:	187 ft
Location:	Simsbury, CT,	Elev. Gain:	+0 ft
Date:	05/31/09	Up/Downhill:	[+793/-793]
Time:	10:12 AM	Difficulty:	3.5 / 5.0

Weather:	Partly Cloudy
	72 F temp; 45% humidity
	72 F heat index; winds SSE 12 mph

Performance

Distance:	13.22 miles	Goal:	9' 05 min/mi pace for 13.1 miles
Time:	2:00:10	Goal:	9' 05 min/mi pace for 13.1 miles
Speed:	6.6 mph	Attained:	100%
Pace:	9' 05 /mi
Calories:	1763

Map

Elevation (ft)

Pace (min/mile)

Splits

Mile	Pace (min/mile)		Speed (mph)		Elevation Gain
Mile	actual	+/- avg	actual	+/- avg	Elevation Gain
1	9' 02	-0' 03	6.6	+0.0	0 ft
2	8' 52	-0' 13	6.8	+0.2	+7 ft
3	8' 37	-0' 28	7.0	+0.3	+4 ft
4	8' 42	-0' 23	6.9	+0.3	+46 ft
5	8' 51	-0' 14	6.8	+0.2	-69 ft
6	9' 11	+0' 06	6.5	-0.1	+40 ft
7	9' 13	+0' 08	6.5	-0.1	0 ft
8	8' 52	-0' 13	6.8	+0.2	-37 ft
9	9' 16	+0' 11	6.5	-0.1	-3 ft
10	9' 25	+0' 20	6.4	-0.2	+3 ft
11	9' 22	+0' 17	6.4	-0.2	+33 ft
12	9' 26	+0' 21	6.4	-0.2	0 ft
13	9' 29	+0' 24	6.3	-0.3	-40 ft
end	7' 48	-1' 17	7.7	+1.1	+16 ft
Versus average of 9' 05 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Last Taper Run before the Half (easy)

2009-05-30T10:52:00.003-07:00

Activity

Route:	--	Elev. Avg:	210 ft
Location:	Marion, CT,	Elev. Gain:	+3 ft
Date:	05/30/09	Up/Downhill:	[+180/-177]
Time:	12:01 PM	Difficulty:	1.5 / 5.0

Weather:	Fair
	73 F temp; 52% humidity
	73 F heat index; winds W 6 mph

Performance

Distance:	2.50 miles	Goal:	10' 40 min/mi pace for 2.5 miles
Time:	0:25:19	Goal:	10' 40 min/mi pace for 2.5 miles
Speed:	5.9 mph	Attained:	103%
Pace:	10' 08 /mi
Calories:	331

Elevation (ft)

Pace (min/mile)

Splits

Mile	Pace (min/mile)		Speed (mph)		Elevation Gain
Mile	actual	+/- avg	actual	+/- avg	Elevation Gain
1	10' 02	-0' 06	6.0	+0.1	+10 ft
2	10' 13	+0' 05	5.9	-0.1	-23 ft
end	10' 11	+0' 03	5.9	-0.0	+16 ft
Versus average of 10' 08 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Making Memorial Day Memorable

2009-05-26T08:11:00.001-07:00

I intended to test the lungs out at the beach during a warm midday beach run but my legs and hips began to burn. Plus, I think my lungs weren't quite up to the task either.

Still, I felt more awake as I finished this run, and I'm reasoning that I'm saving my hardest effort for Sunday.

I am just a few days away from the Half Marathon. The weather forecast says 0% chance of precipitation and a high of 75, partly cloudy, low of 55. Wow. 55 would be outstanding! I'm looking forward to it.

I got a slight burn yesterday, as did my wife and son. We need to do better with sunscreen.

This run started out with an easy paced warmup in the gravel paths (Willard) at Hammonasset Beach in Clinton.

From there, I ran a couple of comfortably hard miles along the beach paths which parallel the shoreline beyond the beach. It was warm, but not too humid.

As I said previously, my hips and legs began to "burn" internally and I felt pushing my body would leave me tired for Sunday so I just kept it at 3 miles.

Both knees had slight discomfort to start. Right underneath the patella is tender on both knees but gets better as my body warms.

I'll continue to hydrate throughout the week.

My weight is good-about 175.5. Body Fat on the Tanita scales wavers anywhere between 21 and 25%.

I'd love to go into Sunday with a 174 body weight and lower it even more to 168 over the summer.

Hammonasset was great. The crowds were late in showing up and we enjoyed a quiet beach when we got there at 11:30a. By the time we left at 3:30pm, the lot was full and people were still piling in.

We boughts some plants on the way home and stopped off at Lenny and Joe's-great little roadside fastfood seafood place with ice cream and merry go round for little kids.

Memorial day was memorable and we were grateful to have it together.

Activity

Route:	--	Elev. Avg:	12 ft
Location:	Clinton, CT,	Elev. Gain:	+0 ft
Date:	05/25/09	Up/Downhill:	[+9/-9]
Time:	01:02 PM	Difficulty:	1.6 / 5.0

Weather:	Partly Cloudy
	72 F temp; 43% humidity
	72 F heat index; winds SW 4 mph

Performance

Distance:	3.16 miles	Goal:	9' 10 min/mi pace for 6 miles
Time:	0:30:35	Goal:	9' 10 min/mi pace for 6 miles
Speed:	6.2 mph	Attained:	74%
Pace:	9' 41 /mi
Calories:	429

Map

Elevation (ft)

Pace (min/mile)

Splits

Mile	Pace (min/mile)		Speed (mph)		Elevation Gain
Mile	actual	+/- avg	actual	+/- avg	Elevation Gain
1	10' 36	+0' 55	5.7	-0.5	-3 ft
2	8' 50	-0' 51	6.8	+0.6	+3 ft
3	9' 18	-0' 23	6.5	+0.3	0 ft
end	11' 21	+1' 40	5.3	-0.9	0 ft
Versus average of 9' 41 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

2009-05-24T08:12:00.001-07:00

Today is Sunday, a little less than a week before the half marathon and I'm feeling much better than I did just a few short days ago. The medication is doing it's thing. I'm not coughing or as nearly as tired as I was. I think I'm nearly over this thing.

I intended to go out and rip out 6 miles today, 4 at 9:10 pace, but my wife reminded me I had just been wiped out by bronchitis and sinusitis just a few days ago, so I opted to go for a few miles just to shake the run off. It's conservative, but I can always do a longer run tomorrow.

I had, as I have in weeks past, slight knee pain about a mile and a half in, but as the blood got flowing, the pain went away and I was fine.

The run was short and sweet and I'm glad I kept it that way. I'm a little tired right now, but I know I'll get a full night's rest tonight. Tomorrow, I can either rest or rip out another 3-6 miler. I'll let my body decide.

Either way, I'm glad I feel as I do. I'm ready. I believe I have the base fitness for my sub 2 hour half next week. Time will tell.

Activity

Route:	--	Elev. Avg:	209 ft
Location:	Marion, CT,	Elev. Gain:	+0 ft
Date:	05/24/09	Up/Downhill:	[+196/-196]
Time:	08:57 AM	Difficulty:	1.5 / 5.0

Weather:	Cloudy
	59 F temp; 89% humidity
	59 F heat index; winds S 6 mph

Performance

Distance:	2.63 miles	Goal:	10' 10 min/mi pace for 3 miles
Time:	0:28:25	Goal:	10' 10 min/mi pace for 3 miles
Speed:	5.5 mph	Attained:	91%
Pace:	10' 49 /mi
Calories:	360

Pace (min/mile)

Splits

Mile	Pace (min/mile)		Speed (mph)		Elevation Gain
Mile	actual	+/- avg	actual	+/- avg	Elevation Gain
1	10' 56	+0' 07	5.5	-0.1	+13 ft
2	10' 37	-0' 12	5.7	+0.1	+10 ft
end	10' 55	+0' 06	5.5	-0.1	-23 ft
Versus average of 10' 49 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Week 15 hits a snag

2009-05-22T07:25:00.001-07:00

I tried to post this YouTube quick capture vid yesterday, was uanble to from YouTube. YouTube, you get a FAIL.

Mystery Solved

2009-05-21T06:45:00.000-07:00

If you recall from my Vlog after my 5k on Sunday, I said I had a little problem with coughing at mile 2. That coughing persisted and developed rather quickly over the next two days to the point I went to the doctor's yesterday to check it out. The symptoms were getting consistently worse: Sore throat, cough, shortness of breath, runny nose, irritated eyes and extreme fatigue.

The doctor diaganosed it as bronchitis and sinusitus. He took chest X-Rays to rule out pnemonia. There was no evidence of it, but he said sometimes that it doesn't show itself on an X-ray.

He gave me an immeditate steroid shot of something which I can't remember. I also have the pleasure of taking 2 doses of CEFDINER 300mg (anti-biotic) per 10 for 10 days, PROMETHAZINE cough syrup with antihistamine, and PROAir Hfa inhaler 4 shots per day.

I wish I could say I felt immediately better after the meds, but this bacteria or virus (undetermined) is going to take a while. I'm glad I went to the doctor's though. This one was not going to pass on it's own and I believe it wouldn't have gone away on its own. It probably would have gotten worse.

10 days to go until Iron Horse Half Marathon. A very forced taper. I must take it easy or risk not being able to work OR run.

I am the worst sick person on the planet, but I get through it by reminding myself to be grateful-there are others who feel like this every day-because of age, disease, whatever, and it's CHRONIC. THIS will pass.

Avon Road Race 5k

2009-05-17T20:54:00.001-07:00

108th place 282 runners.
30/48 age division rank
86/160 place by gender
Net time 25:56
average mile 8:21

2009-05-15T19:44:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I did a 5 mile treadmill speed workout and one of my training days called for an 8 mile workout with 5 of the miles at half marathon pace.

With my Avon Road Race 5k the day after tomorrow and having completed a speed workout yesterday, I didn't feel it made sense to push.

My left knee was a little sore to start but by mile 2 was fine. When I run my race on Sunday, I will need to warm up that much if I want to have a fast time.

Activity

Route:	--	Elev. Avg:	208 ft
Location:	Marion, CT,	Elev. Gain:	-3 ft
Date:	05/15/09	Up/Downhill:	[+472/-475]
Time:	08:23 PM	Difficulty:	1.8 / 5.0

Weather:	Partly Cloudy
	72 F temp; 61% humidity
	72 F heat index; winds SSE 8 mph

Performance

Distance:	0.00 miles	Goal:	10' 25 min/mi pace for 8 miles
Time:	0:00:00	Goal:	10' 25 min/mi pace for 8 miles
Speed:	0.0 mph	Attained:	50%
Pace:	0' 00 /mi
Calories:	0

Elevation (ft)

Speed (mph)

Splits

Mile	Pace (min/mile)		Speed (mph)		Elevation Gain
Mile	actual	+/- avg	actual	+/- avg	Elevation Gain
1	12' 08	+0' 00	4.9	+0.0	+17 ft
2	10' 47	+0' 00	5.6	+0.0	-6 ft
3	10' 33	+0' 00	5.7	+0.0	-56 ft
4	11' 09	+0' 00	5.4	+0.0	+59 ft
5	10' 39	+0' 00	5.6	+0.0	-13 ft
6	11' 11	+0' 00	5.4	+0.0	+56 ft
end	11' 05	+0' 00	5.4	+0.0	-59 ft
Versus average of 0.0 mph

Posted from bimactive.com

2009-05-12T08:08:00.001-07:00

Splits from yesterday's long run.

Note to self-11 hours of sleep HELPS a run.

Following this 10.2 with a .37 recovery run after collecting my headphones I had left hidden on the side of the road.

Another note to self-if you want to run with music, you need to bring the correct headset adapter to use with the phone.

Activity

Route:	--	Elev. Avg:	219 ft
Location:	Marion, CT,	Elev. Gain:	+13 ft
Date:	05/11/09	Up/Downhill:	[+600/-587]
Time:	06:14 PM	Difficulty:	3.1 / 5.0

Weather:	Mostly Cloudy
	61 F temp; 39% humidity
	61 F heat index; winds S 9 mph

Performance

Distance:	10.20 miles	Goal:	9' 10 min/mi pace for 10 miles
Time:	1:34:21	Goal:	9' 10 min/mi pace for 10 miles
Speed:	6.5 mph	Attained:	101%
Pace:	9' 15 /mi
Calories:	1406

Elevation (ft)

Pace (min/mile)

Splits

Mile	Pace (min/mile)		Speed (mph)		Elevation Gain
Mile	actual	+/- avg	actual	+/- avg	Elevation Gain
1	10' 18	+1' 03	5.8	-0.7	+10 ft
2	8' 43	-0' 32	6.9	+0.4	+20 ft
3	8' 45	-0' 30	6.8	+0.4	+20 ft
4	9' 06	-0' 09	6.6	+0.1	-20 ft
5	9' 22	+0' 07	6.4	-0.1	+20 ft
6	8' 57	-0' 18	6.7	+0.2	-26 ft
7	9' 17	+0' 02	6.5	-0.0	-9 ft
8	9' 04	-0' 11	6.6	+0.1	+6 ft
9	9' 15	+0' 00	6.5	-0.0	-17 ft
10	9' 26	+0' 11	6.4	-0.1	0 ft
end	10' 31	+1' 16	5.7	-0.8	+10 ft
Versus average of 9' 15 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Marathon training Week 14

2009-05-11T10:26:00.001-07:00

Week 14 starting this week. Shout outs to runnrgrl, who had a tremendous Half Marathon with a time of 1:45.

Also, check out chrisbrogan.com and sarahstanleyinspired.com for great examples of how to create a powerful personal and business brand through social media.

Have a great week!

Week #13 begins

2009-05-04T20:15:00.000-07:00

Today's 14 miler put the cap on a sporadic week #12 in my half marathon training. I missed a span of 3 days in a row last week but still managed to get in 22 miles.

Last week was somewhat of a disaster in terms of my running life. I made choices and I'm comfortable with them-I prioritized work, family and personal life over the running last week and I think overall-since my knee is not feeling 100%, it wasn't the worst thing in the world to dial it back a bit. I had a six day gap in my running (thank you John Ellis) and as I went back and reviewed my week, I realized I had gotten a lot of things done that I couldn't have had I tried to squeeze in runs.

Last week, I took my son to the doctor twice-once for a sore throat and the other time to follow up on his ear tubes-they are clogged and must come out-and he has a sinus infection.

Additionally, I had a colonscopy on the 24th. The prep for this is draining. It started the day before. Could have I have run the day before the operation? Sure, if I didn't have a meeting at work-which I went in for despite the fact that my boss was nice enough to give me a "prep from home" pass. P.S. I passed with flying colors, mostly brown, then green, and pink.

The next day I was dehyrdated and useless. Rats.

This week, I'm feeling great so there's no stopping me.

I ran 14.66 miles today with my old friend Gene. The cloud cover was out and temps were fairly low, if a bit humid.

I truly miss having a training partner at times. That's what this run told me. Still, I'm grateful I have the ability to run on my own.

Here's what's on tap the rest of the week:

Tuesday-Quadroller-Trigger point therapy and stretching

Wednesday-4 mile tempo run at 8:40 pace with 1 mile warmup and 2 mile cool down. Runner Core exercises following the run

Thursday-Rest

Friday-5-7 miles before work, incorporating hill sprints

Saturday-Stretching and TP Therapy again

Sunday or Monday-Depending on family plans, I'm doing 9-11 miles, 7-9 of which will be 9:10 pace. (my planned half marathon pace)

Thanks for reading this far. Lots to do this week, but I'm on a mission to run this half marathon in less than 2 hours. It's GOING TO HAPPEN.

Wonder what this pain is all About?

2009-05-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

Despite my knees feeling like an 80 year old's, I forced myself to run a few easy miles to burn the calories and put the miles into my training this week.
I had a special papal dispensation to run on a Saturday from my wife, so I had to take advantage of it.

What I learned was is that the knee pain, at the front of both knees, seems to dissipate after about a mile. My first mile was awkward and slow, but as the blood flowed into my legs it got better and I could open up my hips more.

This does NOT feel like the bouts I've had with IT Band Syndrome where the knee pain was at the SIDE of the knee and the pain INCREASED at mile 2 or 3 and subsided when I stopped to walk.

If you've had this occur to you, I'd love to get your take in the comments section.

Thanks for reading. Next up: 13-14 miler on Monday with 8 of the miles at Planned Half Marathon Pace of 9:10.

Activity

Route:	--	Elev. Avg:	210 ft
Location:	Marion, CT,	Elev. Gain:	-13 ft
Date:	05/02/09	Up/Downhill:	[+193/-206]
Time:	10:29 AM	Difficulty:	1.5 / 5.0

Weather:	Cloudy
	58 F temp; 59% humidity
	58 F heat index; winds NW 8 mph

Performance

Distance:	3.07 miles	Goal:	10' 10 min/mi pace for 3 miles
Time:	0:32:40	Goal:	10' 10 min/mi pace for 3 miles
Speed:	5.6 mph	Attained:	99%
Pace:	10' 39 /mi
Calories:	422

Elevation (ft)

Pace (min/mile)

Splits

Mile	Pace (min/mile)		Speed (mph)		Elevation Gain
Mile	actual	+/- avg	actual	+/- avg	Elevation Gain
1	10' 54	+0' 15	5.5	-0.1	0 ft
2	10' 26	-0' 13	5.8	+0.1	+10 ft
3	10' 39	+0' 00	5.6	-0.0	-19 ft
end	10' 50	+0' 11	5.5	-0.1	-3 ft
Versus average of 10' 39 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

2009-05-01T11:40:00.003-07:00

Activity

Route:	--	Elev. Avg:	210 ft
Location:	Marion, CT,	Elev. Gain:	+0 ft
Date:	05/01/09	Up/Downhill:	[+246/-246]
Time:	02:15 PM	Difficulty:	2.1 / 5.0

Weather:	Cloudy
	65 F temp; 81% humidity
	65 F heat index; winds S 12 mph

Performance

Distance:	3.12 miles	Goal:	10' 10 min/mi pace for 3 miles
Time:	0:30:55	Goal:	10' 10 min/mi pace for 3 miles
Speed:	6.1 mph	Attained:	103%
Pace:	9' 55 /mi
Calories:	427

Notes

oh me loves the negatty splits. me not likey front of the knee pain.

Map

Elevation (ft)

Pace (min/mile)

Splits

Mile	Pace (min/mile)		Speed (mph)		Elevation Gain
Mile	actual	+/- avg	actual	+/- avg	Elevation Gain
1	10' 13	+0' 18	5.9	-0.2	0 ft
2	9' 45	-0' 10	6.2	+0.1	+6 ft
3	9' 40	-0' 15	6.2	+0.1	-20 ft
end	10' 17	+0' 22	5.8	-0.2	+13 ft
Versus average of 9' 55 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

Goodbye Winter, Hello Summer

2009-04-26T18:17:00.000-07:00

Record Temperatures were reached across the state of Connecticut today. 89 degrees in Hamden was the highest its been in 100 years.

When I got to the rail trail today at 7:30a, it was already 75 degrees. Incredibly, it stayed that way and got even hotter throughout the day.

I was glad to get this run in today because tomorrow I will get busy with errands and work despite having a day off because that's just the way Monday's are.

I have a lunch scheduled at noon and I have to drop my wife's car off at the shop and then my wife off at work.

This run started out slowly and stayed at an even pace throughout. I tried to listen to my body as much as possible. My knees were oddly hurting in the front. A twitter friend suggested that in her experience, knees hurting in the front indicated a need for new shoes. Problem is, these kicks are fairly new. Got 'em late Feb I think.

Anyway, it was the first real one in a week and I was glad for the change of scenery. I saw a few folks I hadn't seen in ages and they were all training for the Simsbury Iron Horse Half Marathon as I am.

I'll post the splits later, but overall, I was pleased just to get a run in this week. With work, a sick child, volunteer committee elections, and one-off projects, it was all I could do to keep my head above water. Bottom line, I got 11 miles in. That will be my longest run for the half training-I will taper off and continue to speed train, hill train and work on specific strength building, but that's my longest I plan to run until the full marathon training cycle begins.

Cabane à Sucre

2009-04-15T10:44:00.001-07:00

Before my 11-mile long run on Monday, I spent Easter with my in-laws in a small cabin north of the border in Sherbrooke, QC.

If you've never been, it's an interesting process and conditions need to be just right for a prosperous "crop."

The videos will get better as I learn to manipulate the Flip and iMovie.

Thanks for watching.

Keeping a Toddler Safe and Still: Also Known as "Cat Herding"

2009-04-06T09:48:00.001-07:00

If you're a parent, you've been there. You're walking with your toddler in the parking lot of Target, fumbling with your keys, their tiny hand in yours, when all of a sudden, your 3 year old's mind jumps to running toward the tiny dog or shiny toy on display outside.

My wife and I struggled with that this weekend and though my son is overall a well behaved child, he has a mind of his own and wants to push those boundaries each day as his sense of independence grows.

Sometimes, he will ride in the carriage provided, but he knows this will restrict his movements in the stores, eliminating his opportunities for games of "peekaboo" and "run from Daddy."

I've come to the conclusion that one must consistently remove the child from the pleasurable task of exploring the store with his parents if he/she misbehaves. Second chances and negotiation are recipes for disaster and repeat misbehavior. Yesterday, following an episode of hiding on top a stack of plywood at Lowes, I handed my wallet to my wife, carried my son out to the car like a sack of potatoes and explained to him we had to go home because he wasn't behaving. Had my wife not been there, I would have abandoned my shopping mission and gone home.

It's much too important to keep your child safe in my opinion, than to give in and let them rule these roost. Easy to say, not so easy to execute, but it's for their safety and your future sanity. (You may experience some temporary insanity during the discipline but remain calm, it's not forever.) Enjoy the ride.

Reference article:

Long Run gone Short

2009-04-04T10:17:00.000-07:00

What was intended to be an 11 mile long run with 9 miles Planned Half Marathon Pace fell short today on the treadmill at work.

I had a late night last night at work and short turnaround today. I like to do long runs on Sundays or Mondays, but with family commitments and "honey-dos" scheduled for Sunday and baseball Opening Day on Monday, I felt the need to get my miles in today.

I didn't eat breakfast and I still think that was the right call given that my body was tapping into last night's glycogen's stores. I had coffee and water (8 oz) this morning, along with a 5 hour energy supplement.

During the run, I hyrdated with 16 oz. water + Hammer Nutrition's Heed.

Following a 5 minute warmup walk, I ran an easy paced warmup mile at 10:10 and then launched into my planned half marathon pace of 9:13. I took walk breaks for :10-:30 every half mile and that seemed to help my energy.

For the first 45 minutes, I listened to Runners Round Table #21 and was grateful to have it. I was hearing people I've tweeted with and it was interesting to hear them talk and hear more about their training. In fact, it added a great dimension of information I didn't have before. I heard from people like John Ellis, Dumprunner, Justin "MangoRunner," Toni Harvey, Eddie Marathon. Then I moved on to another podcast and heard from Kelownagurl, Quadrathon, and Steve from the south whose blog is named after his daughter.

These podcasts were good company on the treadmill. I was inspired to run as much as I did by listening to them.

I also thought of running twuddy @seriouschick, who also ran 11 miles today. I knew she was out there today getting her miles done and I wanted to have a good report to brag about. Well, today, not so much. I think what did me in was lack of sleep and fatigue. I'm confident her long run went much better.

Tomorrow will be a rest day. I have lots to do at the house, so "rest" will be defined by putting up a new mailbox, raking and picking up sticks in the yard, and FINALLY, at long last, putting in all the support screws in the attic stairs I installed LAST FALL.

Until next week's folks-Week 9 of Half Marathon training wraps up with 16.5 miles, most miles faster than my usual 10 minute plod, so I'll take the lesser miles with more intenstity. I felt MUCH faster this week.

Most importantly-thoughts and prayers to a new followee, a runner from Texas whose wife is terminally ill. Rawdomer-you have a strong spirit I wish you and your family peace and strength. I'm not a religious man, I do believe you find strength in your God and in yourself.