Running to Stand Still

Been a long time since I blogged, but not ran!

2011-02-17T06:28:00.002-05:00

Yes, I have been very laxed in updating my blog, but I have been putting the miles in.
Last fall I did do both the NY & Philadelphia Marathons!
I had a blast doing both. Two marathons in two weeks was tough!
I had my brushes with fame in NY. I ran with Survivor winner Ethan Zohn for a few blocks in Brooklyn, and ran up on, and got some tv time passing Chilean miner Edison Pena.
My goal for NY, was to enjoy the marathon, and not race it, and I did just that. I finished in 4:14:10, and beat P.Diddy's time, so I was pleased.
For Philly, the goal was 3:40, but that was before I got into NY. My goal for the day was see how I felt, and shoot for 3:45-3:50.
I started out strong, and held a 3:45 pace for the majority of the marathon. I was in cruise control, knocking off 8:33-8:36 miles like nobody's business. When I hit the turn around point at mile 20, I was in control and on my way to the 3:45!
As I got back on Kelly Dr, around 23, the legs died. NY caught up to me, and I struggled the rest of the way. I finished in 3:55:54. While I was disappointed with that time, I know, if I had not done NY 2 weeks earlier, I would have killed that race. While it was my slowest of the 3 Philadelphia Marathons I have run, it was my most consistant race, one that left me with much confidence that I can get to a 340 or better.

There's a quick recap of my fall marathons.
So far in 2011, I am running outside, never on a treadmill, avg about 25-28 miles/week, getting ready for the spring race season!

Vacation + Running = AWESOME!

2010-08-24T16:56:00.004-04:00

We are downashore thru Sunday, so that means plenty of Beach, Beer, and of course RUNNING!
I went out and ran 14 miles on Sunday, from our place in Wildwood to Cape May and back!
While the temps were very nice (low 70's @ 6:00pm), the humidity was a KILLER (95%)!
I felt pretty good, and when I reviewed my times, I avg. 9:20's for the 14, so I was pleased with those figures. I did have 2 nice bridges to cross, so the hill work was welcomed.
Monday was a quick 3 mile recovery run, and today, Tuesday was 7, and I pushed the pace, and avg around 8min/miles, and felt pretty darn good!
So it's off to have a Landshark, and get ready for a night on the Wildwood boards!

2 weeks and 2 races!

2010-08-15T17:38:00.003-04:00

The past 2 Saturday's, on my way to our Wildwood place, to do the "flip"; renter's in, renter's out, I found races to run!
The 1st was a 5 miler in Cape May, Coombs Douglass 5 miler. My goal was to beat my pr of 39:03, and I thought I would have a good shot at it, based on the weather and my marathon training. I did track work the Thursday before, and was hoping it would help, rather than drain me.
I started out as usual, FAST, for me with around a 7min mile. I slowed it down to 7:30ish and was cruising, until my right heel started to get numb. At the turn around at 2.5, it was bothering my so much, I stopped to loosen my laces. That did the trick, but the stop cost me about a min in time.. an eternity in a 5 mile race.
Funny thing, when I crossed the finish, I had equaled my PR.
This past Saturday, I ran a 5k in Ocean City, Guts & Glory 5k. I did this race last year, and for a 5k, it has big race amenities! They get approx 1200 runners/walkers for this event.
I ran with some friends I made at the 5miler the week before, and wanted to do this around 22mins. My training plan had me running 6 miles, so I ran 3 before the race.
When the horn sounded, I was off with a 7:06 & 7:08 first 2 miles, and with a mile + left, I could feel the tank emptying. I did 4x 300meter hill repeats on Thursday, and they were tough! Mile 3 was 7:24, and I finished at 22:26, 89Th out of about 1200.
The amazing thing about running the past 2 races down the shore, is how competitive the 50+ age groups are. Those guys are HARDCORE! One of the friends I made was 54, and ran 6:30 min/miles in both races! I can only hope to get that fast in 10yrs!
I did get out today, and ran 13.5, my longest run since the Long Branch 1/2 back in May, and felt really good, surprisingly. I ran 8:45's, and it was nice to not run in the heat & humidity!
Week 5 of marathon training has intervals on the schedule. Hard to believe I'm 5 weeks into my 18 week plan.. time is flying by!
Also, I registered for the ING PDR Rock & Roll Philly 1/2, or whatever name they are calling it, and I will get my sub 1:40 that day!

Track Work.. UGH !

2010-08-06T06:23:00.003-04:00

Last nite, for the 1st time in ages, I did track work.
My schedule called for 4 x 800's, with 2-3min recovery.
I got to our local HS track, and started with a mile warm up. It was disgustingly hot & humid at 5:30pm here, but good news and bad news.. there was a breeze! Good news.. breeze felt good... bad news.. breeze made it tough running!
I started with an easy mile warm up, making sure I was warmed up enough, I didn't want to pull a hammy!
The 800's went by really quickly. I wanted to do them around 3:40, like Yasso's. They were tough, especially the 2nd lap of them.

3:18
3:19
3:24
3:30

After the last 800, I did a mile cool down, and was wiped out! I was really surprised at how hard they were, but I was glad I did them.
I am running a 5 miler on Sat, in Cape May, so hopefully the speed work will help. My schedule says to run 6 @ MP, but I'm going to shoot for a PR. Weather should be good, and Cape May is flat, so we'll see !

2 Weeks down, 14/16 to go !

2010-08-01T09:24:00.004-04:00

The first 2 weeks of my fall marathon training are in the books! It has been 2 hot & humid weeks here in NJ! I was lucky enough to be in Wildwood last week, but even still, it was hot & humid the first few days. It's amazing, when you get out to run at 6:00am, and it's 85deg F and 99% humidity!
I still am not sure how I am going to run NYC. I really want the 3:40 in Philly, so I am thinking my plan for NYC, might be to run it leisurely, and try and leave something in the tank for Philly 2 weeks later. Only problem with that is I don't know if I could handle P Diddy or Oprah having a better finishing time than me!

One last thing, thanks for those who have donated to help me raise the $2500.00. I need to run NYC! It is very humbling to have running friends willing to help me achieve my goal.

NYC MARATHON 2010 !!

2010-07-23T21:38:00.003-04:00

Guess who's going to NYC to run a little race on the 1st Sunday in Nov ??

The good people at ANRF have asked, and I have stepped up to the plate, and will run the NYC MARATHON for their charity.
I need to raise $2500.00 for the foundation, and while I am not one to ask for money, I would be honored if anyone who reads this blog, or has a family member, friend, or child who has arthritis, would help me reach my goal !
The best thing about ANRF, is that 91cents out of every dollar goes toward research. I don't know of another charity that gives back that much!

Here's the link to donate if you would like.

http://www.active.com/donate/nycmarathon4cure/billscannon

Now I really have to buckle down and run! I am 2 weeks behind, training for NY, and have no idea about a goal time yet, and I have Philly 2 weeks later!

Back in the Saddle again!

2010-07-19T21:27:00.005-04:00

Today starts my 18 week journey to my 3rd PhiladelphiaMarathon !

The past 2 years, I have done a Liberman plan, and while it has been effective, I think it is time to change things up a bit.
My goal is a fall 2011 attempt at a BQ time. This year I would need to run a 3:20 marathon, and that's just not going to happen. Next year, I move up to the 45-49 age group, and would need a 3:30. So, the plan this year is to knock 10mins off my time, and hit a 3:40, so next fall I would only be 10mins away. I think it's asking too much to drop 20mins at once.

SO with a 2011 BQ my goal, I have done some research, and have chosen Uncle Hal, and his AdvancedI plan! He spells out everyday a plan/goal to accomplish, and I like the added hills & speed work. I think that will be a huge benefit come Nov. The past 2 years, I have logged miles, and not much else.

The only thing that might throw a monkey wrench into my 3:40 or bust plan, is this little race held in NYC on the 1st Sunday in Nov. I still have a shot at running it, with a charity. I have tried to raise awareness & money for ANRF, and was asked to go to NYC with them to the opening of NASDAQ.

While I was there, one of the board members was asking me to run the marathon for the foundation. While I am all for running it, $2500.00 is a lot of money to raise. I'll know more in the next week or so, if I am in or not. If I do run it, that will be 2 marathons in less than 16 days, and would make me MarathonManiac eligible!

So day one is in the books, and 18 more weeks to go!

2010 EASTERN CONFERENCE CHAMPS!!

2010-05-25T06:46:00.002-04:00

HOCKEY IN JUNE !!! Doesn't get any better!!

I'm still around.... and RUNNING !!

2010-04-27T20:14:00.003-04:00

While I have not updated lately.. well, actually it's been months... I am still running.
Here's a quick capsule of what I have been up to ...
Chilly Cheeks trail race.... A trail race in Jan... wearing shorts... it was anything but Chilly !
Ugly Mudder trail race... A trail race in Feb... wearing shorts... it was chilly, oh and did I mention that if you got out of the one lane of trail, you fell into snow knee deep!! I bought a pair of YaksTrax the day before, smartest move ever! They are a must for ice & snow!
Ran a local 5k in March.. again weather played a major role.. at about the 1.5 mile mark, it started to hail, and eventually pour on us!
Ocean Drive 10 miler! perfect weather, winds were challenging as usual, running at the shore in March, but set a 10 mile pr 1:18:xx !
Ran the 1st of 2 1/2 marathons.. Rutgers Unite 13.1. Started out with a hall of fame blogger, TED, with plans of running a sub 1:40, but Ted was too strong, and after trying to keep up with his 7:20 pace, I faded to a 1:45:xx. I have #2 this weekend at the Long Branch 1/2 !
I have one more 1/2 to go, my buddy Shoreturtle talked me into teaming up with him, to run the Superhero 1/2 marathon, as a relay team ! This should be fun. While we are on the same team, I have no doubt that we will be trying to outdo the other one's time for the 6.55 mile legs.

On the marathon front, I entered the lottery for NYC, and did not get picked. No biggie, it just adds fuel to the dislike of NY, from this Philly fan! So, I did the next best thing.. I signed up for another go at the PHILADELPHIA MARATHON ! They say the 3rd time's a charm. I'll let you know come Nov. if that's true.
Here's my marathon goal... I'll be 44 in July, and I want to drop my time to a 3:40. I am going with a new plan, Higdon Advanced I, in hopes of doing this. Next year, at 45, the BQ time is a 3:30, so the plan is to find a flat fast BQ marathon in the early fall, and do it !

So there you have it... I am still running, avg, a little over 100 miles/month.
I will try and finish my 2009 2nd half review and get that posted, and try to keep my blog on the active list!

2009, The Year in Review.. the 1st 6 months

2009-12-29T10:49:00.003-05:00

Hard to believe another year has gone by. I had a great year of running, met and ran with some awesome new friends, and set a few PR's along the way. With the good, there was some bad, but all in all, a good, mostly injury free year.

Here's a quick bullet point review for the 1st half:

1/1/09 Hamilton Hangover 5 miler.. 1st race since the ankle issues.. PR'd broke 40 min mark, and finished in 39:02.
1/25/09 Chilly Cheeks Trail race.. Wow, what a crazy event.. Traveled to Reading,Pa with the HATR's, and never walked so much in a race before.. It was an extremely challenging race.. hills, or mountains, bushwhacking, with running mixed in.
2/1/09 Took a road trip with Shoreturtle, to meet up with Joy & Progman, to run part of the NJ Marathon course.
2/22/09 Ugly Mudder Trail Race.. Who would have thought that a race could be harder than the Chilly Cheeks, but this was. More hills, and I overheated myself. It was flurring at the start, and I wore too much, and it caught up to me a little over 1/2 way thru.
3/8/09 Another road trip with Shoreturtle, this time to Seaside Heights, to run with JoyRun and the world famous Ted ! It was a great run.. 16 miles of fun! And what better way to finish a 16miler, than pizza on the boardwalk.
3/21/09 Ran part of the Ocean Drive course, to prepare myself for the race the following week.. The toll bridge was out, heading back into Wildwood, and I had to scheme my way across.
3/29/09 Ocean Drive 10 Miler... I invited Shoreturtle to spend the nite at our place in Wildwood. My sister in law came down to run the race with us. It was her 1st 10 miler, and she did great! We met up with JoyRun on the bus, and had dealt with a little misty ran at the start, but the winds cooperated, and it was another PR! 1:20:23. In the span of 3 years, I had knocked off about 20+ mins from the 1st time I ran this.
I didn't have any races in April, but I continued my long runs on Sunday's, getting ready for the Long Branch 1/2 in May.
5/3/09 Long Branch 1/2 Marathon... Another gloomy day for a run! It was spitting at the start, and by the time I finished, it was raining hard! It was an awesome race for me! I didn't know what to expect, and I ran a great race. Crowd support was awesome, and while I hit a little rough patch in the gut around mile 5-6, I hung in there. I ran with the 3:30 pace group, and actually left them with a mile or so to go! Another PR at 1:43:20 !
The month of May started the 5k race season, and I had a few I planned to do.
5/16/09 Great Cape May FootRace 5k.. This was the 1st time I had run this in probably 10 yrs, and they changed the course a bit. One thing they didn't change was the free beer at the finish! This was one of those runs, where I went out way too fast, and payed for it in the end. My 1st mile was a 6:39, and mile 3 was 7:39... pretty bad! I did place in my age group, so all in all, a good day of running! 22:18
5/24/09 Turtle Trot 5k... I had a bad few days of running leading up to this race,and had no idea what to expect. I met JoyRun and her family at the race, and all I wanted to do was run a nice even paced race.... Mission accomplished! Not only did I run even splits, but it was my 5k PR! I broke the 22min barrier, and finished in 21:54.
5/31/09 Fabulous Feet 5k... This was a nice small local 5k, about 100 runners, and I met up with Jess, who was running this race with her son in the stroller. I wanted to build off the last 5k, and keep the even miles. I did that, and if not for the nice up hill around the 2.5 mile mark, might have even pr'd! I did get a 2nd in my age group, and finished under 22 again! 21:59
June was more of the same.. logging miles, and enjoying the warmer weather to run in. It had been a rainy spring.
6/21/09 Run for Dad 5k.... This is the one race we as a family look forward to all year. They have a "100 yard dash" for the kids to race in, and my boys love doing it. As luck would have it, it was a rainy miserable day! The 5k itself wasn't bad. I of course was back to my old ways and went out way too fast. No PR, and I finished in 22:02!
There ya have it.. the 1st half of 2009 !

The week after Philly & the last 5k of the year.. Gobble Wobble 5k

2009-11-29T19:24:00.003-05:00

The week that was, was pretty easy on the recovery end. After running Philly on Sunday, I was a bit sore on Monday, and the worst of it was Tuesday. I felt like getting out for a few miles on Wednesday, but decided to wait until our trail run on Thursday.

I am still a bit ticked at my ever changing finish time. Currently it is at 3:50:16. My garmin had me at 3:49:59, and I still find it hard to believe that I lost 10 mins in the last 6+ miles, but I guess I did. I am already planning what marathons to run in 2010. I did enter the lottery for NYC, so we'll see what happens.

Thursday, being Thanksgiving, our TrailGroup met at 6:45am for our 2nd annual Turkey trail run. Bill Y, asked if we could bring a food donation that he will drop off at Trenton Soup Kitchen on behalf of our group. We did not disappoint, as we overflowed the container he brought. We ran to the dam and back, and when we got to the dam, I had mentioned that it was my 1yr anniversary, running with the group, so I got to run an extra hill at the dam. It was a nice 6.5 mile run, to shake the cobwebs out.

Saturday, I ran the last 5k of the year, the Gobble Wobble 5k, in Wildwood. It was a small local 5k, with less than 100 runners.

It started at a local church, ran onto the boardwalk, down to the Crest, and back. It was a very windy day, with winds out of the WNW at 25mph! It wasn't that bad on the boardwalk, but when you got off, with about 3/10 of a mile to go, it was hard in your face! I had one runner pass me as we went down the ramp off the boardwalk. I was taking that easy, since I didn't want to hurt the left hamstring.

I finished in 22:08, and know if the wind wasn't that strong, I could have had a new PR. I did finish 6th overall, and 1st in my 40-49 age group.

I think I'll try and get out and run a few times this week, but I will take it easy to get my hammy back to 100%, for the new year!

2009 Philadelphia Marathon Race Report

2009-11-24T06:45:00.023-05:00

The wife and I got into Philly around 4 on Sat, and had just enough time to unpack and get ready for dinner with Paul & his wife. It was a nice dinner, as the 2 of us drove the wives crazy with talk of running and what marathons we have an interest in for 2010! We both decided to meet at 6:30am in the hotel lobby for the 2 block walk to the start. It was nice to have a hotel 2 blocks from the start/finish.. that meant no bathroom lines, and no gear drop off !

I had mapped out a route where our wives could see us 2-3 times during the race.

When I was at the expo on Friday, I was lucky enough to have the 3:40 pacer at the Clif booth. He assured me that they were going to run consistent miles. The other lucky break I got, was at the KT-Tape booth. They were taping runners up for free. When I explained of my hamstring issue, they taped it up. The tape will stay on for up to 5 days, and you can get it wet in the shower! (If you have issues that could use this, I would recommend it. I think it helped hold me together!).

When we got to the start, I headed over to the 3:40 group and Denise recognized me right away. It was nice to meet her. Seems we ran with the 3:50 group last year, and only realized it afterwards. She had her game face on, and I could tell she was going to have a great race. Turns out she did, with a BQ ! Myself.. not that confident, as I didn't know what to expect out of the left leg.

As we waited to get going, I got Mayor Nutter to acknowledge my FLYERS hat, when we were waiting for our wave to start. I will say he is a very approachable mayor and was high fiving anyone who had their hand up.

With the wave start, we were off and flying. We caught some of the 1/2 marathoners around mile 1, and it was tight running. When we were on Delaware Ave, a girl right in front of me ran right out of her shoe, almost causing a massive pileup!

My garmin had us at an 8:15 pace for the 1st few miles, and I was worried about the quick start.

I started the race in a long sleeve shirt, and hat. I had my wife waiting around mile 6 with a short sleeve tee, and my visor. It was a lot hotter than I expected. Last year it was 22 deg F at the start and this year it was around 44... big difference!

As we headed up Chestnut towards Drexel Univ and towards the zoo, I was shocked to see the 7:50's for a few miles. Again.. way too fast for my liking, and I was getting nervous as to when this would catch up with me. I happen to get next to our pacer around mile 8, and asked him if a few of these miles were too quick, and he said that we have a minute or so in the bank... not what I wanted to hear. I wanted nice even paced miles! The few times we were around our pace, where a couple of hills in the Fairmont Park section, other than that we were flying.

When we hit miles 12-15, and they were in the 7:50-8:08 range, I backed off the group.

I settled down to my pace around 8:35's, and was feeling ok, until mile 18-19, when the hammy had enough. It cramped and locked up on me right before we had an uphill (exit ramp) on the way into Manyunk. I had to stop, as I could move the leg. I said "F'ing hamstring", and a runner passing me encouraged me to stretch it out and I'll be fine. I did stretch it, and was able to continue on. At the time I had to stop, I had almost 2 mins in the bank, on the 3:40! I had picked up both a 3:40 & 3:45 pace band from Clif at the expo, and was keeping an eye on the times.

I was feeling the leg the rest of the way, and I am sure it was the fast miles that took it's toll.

When I was in Manyunk, I saw that the 3:40 group was only about a 1/4 mile or so in front of me. I knew a 3:40 was gone and tried for the 3:45. It was tough going, and I kept an eye on my pace, and felt it in the legs big time. I reminded me a lot of the last 10k from Philly last year. Long hard miles...

I walked thru a couple of the water stops to make sure I drank and stretch out the hammys. I had slowed to 9 min miles, and hung in there. I still had "time in the bank" for the 3:45. I figured I had about 5 mins around mile 22, leaving Manyunk.

When I hit the finish, my garmin had me at 3:49:59. I knew I had lost time in the last 10k, but I couldn't believe I had lost 10 minutes?!

Over the next couple of days, I had times posted on the website of 3:50:20, 3:44:59, back to 3:50:20, and finally 3:44:55. I know it's not a BQ time.. I'd need a 3:20 for that, it's very frustrating to put in the time and effort and not be sure of the result.
For the past few weeks, I can't even count on my garmin. It has died during runs, and as soon as I was done, the low battery was beeping, that after I had kept it charged overnight.

In talking with Progman, he even said he saw a posted time for me once at 3:43:xx, and put it in perspective.. we pay entry fees for the race to time us, and I should go with what has been official posted for me, which is a chip time of 3:44:55. It's a PR of about 10 mins.

This kind of confusion has damped the thrill of the race, as I don't want credit for a time I didn't run.

That said.. I am already looking towards 2010, and what marathons I might be interested in.
I think I will try my luck at the NYC lottery.

Here are some pics from the race.

Paul & I at the start.

About 20,000 of my closest friends!

Mayor Nutter acknowledging my hat & Bart Yasso.

And were off !

Independence Hall in the distance.

The Ben Franklin Bridge, as we head towards Delware Ave.The world famous TLA on South St.

Corner of Broad & Chestnut Streets.

Crowd shot on Chestnut St.

Some of the frat boys from Drexel Univ, hanging out.

Bunch of nuts in costumes in Fairmont Park.

Here's your race leader passing me as I'm around mile 15 or so.

Beer stop in Manyunk ! FYI.. it's Yuengling beer.

Heading out of Manyunk.

Post race with my wife!
Progman & I post race at the hotel, with our hard earned bling !
UPDATE 11/22/09
********* My time has changed again, on the website**********
It is now listed as 3:50:16, I have never heard of a time changing as much as mine has this week!
Hopefully they get it right, it's very frustrating.

I got my Philly BIB # !!

2009-11-12T19:57:00.003-05:00

With the Philly marathon down to just days away, I got the email I have been waiting for! I got my bib & corral starting gate. #3682 in the Green Corral !!

This past week, I had my last long run of 15 miles, but the day before, I had a scary moment during our trail run. It was Indian Sprints the entire 6 mile run, and at one point we had to kick it up a hill we call "death hill", because of it's length. Last one up had 20 push ups to do. Our quasi leader Nate was along side of me, and I was on his right shoulder starting out, and I knew he would bite at a challenge up the hill, so I pushed it. All was going good, until I felt a twinge where my butt & left leg meet. NOT GOOD ! I finished the rest of the run, and was hoping it was nothing. All day it didn't feel right, and when I got up to run my last 15 Sunday morning, it still wasn't right. I wanted the last long run, to do at my goal pace of 8:20's, and struggled to do 9-9:20's. I didn't have that "explosion" I am used to going up and down hills. I actually thought of bagging the run, only 2 miles into it. I gutted it out, and took the next 2 days off.
I got out Wed, and ran 7 strong miles, in my goal pace of 8:20. While it doesn't feel 100%, I think being in taper time, will help it heal.
Best of luck to all who are running the marathons in Richmond & Atlantic City this Sunday ! Hopefully the weather will work out, and the nor'easter will be done!

19 days to Philly !!

2009-11-02T19:17:00.003-05:00

Hard to believe that I am in the home stretch, towards marathon #3. Philly is only 19 days away !
I had a great week of running. Did my 6-8-6 mid week runs, and hit was spot on with the pace I wanted to run them in.
Saturday, I met up with the trail group, and Nate killed us with a 6 mile run, filled with mountain climbers, sprints, oh and 125 push ups, mixed in.
Sunday, I met up with Shoreturtle, who was running his last 10 miler before his marathon this coming Sunday, in Harrisburg, Pa. He wanted to run at his MP of 8:20's, and we were right on target. We had a couple of quick miles, but he kept us in check. It's awesome to run with someone at that pace, and carry on a conversation, like it was nothing. It proved to me that the hard work I have put in the past 3 months should pay off in 19 days!
FYI... I did some checking, and I ran 167 miles for October, and 517.5 so far in my training for Philly!
Homestretch.. here I come!

Last 2 runs in Wildwood !

2009-10-25T21:08:00.004-04:00

The wife & I headed to Wildwood for a little weekend away,sans kids. While back home was getting rain, we lucked out, and only had rain overnight.
I was able to run on the boardwalk Saturday morning. Nice 4 miles at 8:00min pace. While I didn't get the rain, the wind was kicking. One thing about running the boards this time of year, it was pretty empty. Hard to believe only a few short weeks ago, it was full of activity.
We had a great Saturday, walking around Cape May, and a nice dinner in Wildwood. We had a few raindrops Saturday afternoon, but really nothing that bad.
It was nice not to have to set the alarm for 5:00am, to go for a run. I ran when I got up Sunday, a nice 10 miler on part of the Ocean Drive course. It's almost exactly 5 miles to Cape May,from our place, so out and back it was. I did the 1o miler at my MP goal of 8:30. A few of the middle miles where tough with the wind kicking! I managed to finish the last 2 miles at 7:53 & 7:56.. another nice confidence building run.
I plan on running my remaining long Sunday runs at my marathon goal pace.
Hard to believe Philly is less than a month away !
We are scheduled to close the place around Thanksgiving, and I found a local 5k on the schedule that Saturday, so I will try and run that. Maybe there is one more run in Wildwood this year.

BACK TO BACK CHAMPIONS !!

2009-10-22T19:09:00.003-04:00

CONGRATS to the Back to Back NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPION
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES !!

Asbury Park Relay Marathon recap

2009-10-19T20:55:00.008-04:00

This past Sunday was the 1st AsburyParkRelayMarathon. You could run this race 2 ways, as a relay team, with up to 8 members, or as a team of one, which is how I ran it.

It was also an 8 lap marathon, the 1st lap was 2.75 miles, and the remaining 7 were 3.35miles.

The weather called for highs around 40, 20mph+ winds and rain, in other words, a Nor'easter!

When I arrived in AP, it was raining, not that hard, and I met up with Progman2000 & his wife at the host hotel. I also met up with a hardcore NJ shorerunner, Steve, who has a website dedicated to all of the races held at the Jersey shore, http://www.njshorerun.com/.
Going into this marathon, I had a 22-23 mile run in my plan, and when you see a marathon that falls perfect into your plans, AND only costs $30.00, I ask you, how can you pass it up?

I had no goal for time, and wanted to run the 1st 20 miles at a easy pace, and kick it up to my marathon goal pace for the final 10k. I told Progman that I was going to tether myself to him, so I won't pull my rabbit BS, and take off.

When the race started, the rain was down to a misty drizzle, but the winds where kicking! It was a U shaped course, with the finish / transition area actually inside the Asbury Park Convention Center. That was really cool. The winds on the boardwalk were brutal, but when you entered the convention center, the crowd was loud and it really pumped you up. Way cool!

We really lucked out with the rain, and by the 2nd lap, the rain had ended, and we just had the wind to deal with.

I stuck to my plan, and around mile 18, I started to pick up my pace, and work my way to my Philly marathon goal pace of 8:30's. When I hit mile 20, I said to myself "FU Last 6, you won't break me!". I repeated that to myself a few times over the last 2 laps, and did exactly what I planned. Everything went according to plan, easy 18-20, and MP last 6.2. When the garmin clicked off mile 26, and I looked at the time, I was really excited! 8:09... fastest mile of the day, was Mile 26 ! The garmin had me at 4:12:46, 26:59 miles.

I am a sore, but not near as bad as I was after Philly last year. I will try and run 2-4 on Tuesday, and 6 on Thursday.

Progman & I before the marathon.
Progman & I after the marathon, with our bling. Doesn't even look like we just ran for 4+ hours!

Here I am passing the WonderBar, during the later part of the race.

FYI.. Here are the mile spilts.

9:57
9:59
9:49
9:39
9:16
9:33
9:25
11:40 (bathroom break)
9:45
9:44
9:50
9:44
10:30
10:02
9:35
10:27
10:04
9:46
9:17
9:35
8:35
8:19
8:22
8:30
8:23
8:09 .59 4:48

Overall this averaged out to 9:30 miles.

Here's hoping my goal of a 3:40 Philly marathon is reachable!

3 days until Marathon #2, Asbury Park Relay Marathon

2009-10-15T21:33:00.002-04:00

Hard to believe that I am 3 days away from running my 2nd marathon. I found the AsburyParkRelayMarathon earlier this year, and how could I pass up a $30.00 marathon? I am doing this strictly for training. My goal is to run the 1st 20 miles easy, and try to pick up to my marathon goal pace, for the last 10k. I know, easier said than done. It's going to be a mentally tough run. This marathon has 8 laps, the first is a 2.75 mile loop, followed by 7 x 3.35 mile loops. On top of the 8 laps, the weather is not looking good right now, for the race. We have 2 nor'easters hitting us, and the 2nd is coming in Sat nite, into Sunday morning, highs in the low 50's. Hopefully it clears by 10:00am on Sunday.
My running has got back on track after my 21 mile meltdown. I ran a strong 14 miles on Sunday. I averaged 9:09 for the run. The only problem I encountered was my Garmin wasn't fully charged, and died at the 9.64 mile mark. I felt like I kept the pace for the remaining 4+ miles. It was a nice confidence builder.
My weeks runs, 6-8-6, Tues _ Thurs, were also great. I had a nice speed run on Tuesday, 7:58 min avg. Wed, was 8:05 avg, with a 7:35 last mile! I took it easy in the rain today, and ran my 6 miler in a 8:31 avg. One thing I will say was that I didn't have crazy laps, they were all consistent.
Hopefully I didn't run too hard this week, and have it catch up to me on Sunday.
I feel pretty healthy and fresh, so we'll see how it goes. It's the last "long run" before Philly.

Fun run on the Boards & 21 miler back home

2009-10-05T20:21:00.003-04:00

It was a quick recovery week, as the countdown to Philly is less than 8 weeks away.
My oldest son & I went to Wildwood for the weekend, to check out the Monster Truck races on the beach. We got up Saturday morning, and after breakfast, headed out to the boardwalk. He was on his bike, and I was running alongside him. We did the whole boards... 4 miles. I was proud of him, he was pushing the pace. We did the 4 miles in 35:16, for a 8:48 avg. He pushed me the last mile, and we did that in 8:24. He had the hammer down!
We got home early Sunday morning, so he could make his noon soccer game. Around 3:00pm, I got out for my 21 mile run. It was pretty warm out when I started, my guess is the low 70's.
I had seen that my running buds Shoreturtle & Progman2000 met up and ran 20 in the early morning. They kicked butt, avg. 9:30's with mile 20 at 8:00min. Pretty impressive. The one thing between Turtle & I is this silly competitiveness we have. After seeing their time, I felt the foolish need to best their time. I started out running 8:45's for the 1st 12 miles. I slowed a bit for the next 5 miles, avg. around 9:30's, but the damage had been done. My legs were toast. I hung on for the remainder, actually hit 10:53 for a mile, and finished the 21 miler in 3:18:27, a 9:27 avg.
I need to be smarter about my long runs. Maybe I'll learn someday.

Running early Mornings, Nights, in Dallas & in MUD!

2009-09-28T20:56:00.011-04:00

I know, every time I start out, I say the same thing.. been busy... blah, blah, blah. Well, it is the truth. I have kept up with my training, even if it means getting up at 5:00am, and running before I go to work.

I missed the Philadelphia Distance Run, because my job had me in Dallas, for a conference. I did pack my running gear, and I was able to do an early Saturday morning 5.6 mile run there. Where the conference was, it was close to Dealy Plaza, so I made sure the route I planned had me running there.

It was pretty cool to see it for the part it played in the history of our country.

Back home, I have run the usual routes, but since I had missed the PDR, I decided to run part of the 2nd half of the Philly Marathon route. I did see that they have started to advertise for the Marathon, on their tour buses!

All this leads me to the run I had the most fun doing this year so far! I did the McGuireAFB 10k Mud Run. Picture part running, part basic training/survivor obstacle course. There were about 20 of us from the trail group, that made the trek to McGuire, and did the race.

There were some hard parts to this event. It started with about a 3/4 mile run, when at about the 1/2mile mark, a ladder fire truck hosed you down. If that didn't soak you, going into the mud pit obstacle around the bend got ya! At one point I was waist deep in a creek, for a few hundred yards, and when you got out, the legs were so cold, it was tough to get them warmed up and going again. What they called "hurdles", where more like a steeplechase. It was a crazy 1/4 mile of hopping barricades every 100 yards. It was insane but fun. A lot of groups dressed up for this race, guy dressed as Elvis, one dressed as a chicken, just craziness! This race was a nice distraction in the middle of my marathon training. Last year it was in Nov, and I am glad they moved it up a few months. A few of the trail group that did it last year, said the improvements to the course this year, made it more difficult, but it was a lot warmer. I couldn't imagine wading waist deep in water, in Nov !

Here are a few pics of the fun!

The last shot is a few of us after we attempted to clean off the mud from the race.

If you live close to McGuire AFB, keep an eye out for this event next year... it's a must run! Be prepared to get wet and dirty... there's no way you don't stay clean and dry!

I have a nice recovery week on tap, and a 20 miler next Sunday. Hard to believe September is coming to a close, and Philly is only 54 days away! I need to start thinking about the Asbury Park Marathon, that I am running on Oct. 18th. I know it's just for training only, but it's still a marathon!

Another week is in the books!

2009-09-13T19:12:00.003-04:00

Another week is in the books! Time is flying by 'round these parts.
This past week was a nice recovery week, and it came at a great time. As much as everyone likes to ramp up the mileage, we need to give ourselves time to heal from the pounding of the pavement.

I had only 2 x 5 milers this past week, on Tuesday and Thursday. I got up early to do the runs, since we are swamped with activities at nite.

Tuesday and Thursday where just about identical. I did Tuesday in 42:35, and Thursday in 42:21. While Thursday was a bit faster, it was more of struggle. Funny how that happens.

Saturday, I got out with the trail runs group, and we met again at Mercer County Park. No bushwacking this week, as we got our run in, in between rain drops. It was a nice 7 miler, and we had another newcomer. We have had a new runner join us the last 2 weeks. That's good stuff!

Sunday was back to the long runs! I had a 20 miler on tap, and enlisted a running bud to join me in the fun. ProgMan was up for the fun. He met me and was in for 12 of my 20 miles.

We met at Mercer County Park, and did the same loop that I did with Shoreturtle 2 weeks ago. Funny.. I only had to do 18 that day, Turtle had 20, and I did all 20 with him. I asked him if he wanted to meet us,and he had a 5k to go PR in!

When Prog & I started out, we were killing it the 1st 7 miles!

Look at these splits:

1. 9:18

2. 9:14

3. 9:03

4. 9:04

5. 9:03

6. 9:14

7. 9:12

We were on a heck of a roll, and the miles flew by. We slowed down a bit the rest of the way, but still very nice splits. We did hit our cars at mile 10, to change shirts and grab some fluids.

8. 9:20

9. 9:25

10. 9:14

11. 9:32

12. 9:06

A little past mile 12, Progman turned around and headed back. It was great of him to come out and run with me. It really helps on the long runs, to have a partner in crime.

When he left, it was tough to push thru the last 8 miles. I made a couple of mistakes. First, I didn't bring any salt with me, but luckily Progman had some salt pills. My second mistake was not running the 1st 10 mile loop with water. I know better than that. It was more humid out that I had realized. My other mistake was that I should have grabbed my Ipod before we started on the 2nd leg.

The legs were dying on the last 3 miles, similar to the previous 20 miler. I know there is some work to be done, to feel stronger the last miles of these training runs, and hopefully it'll come.

13. 9:13

14. 9:31

15. 9:47

16. 9:31

17. 9:48

18. 10:02

19. 10:03

20. 9:40

SOLD OUT !!

2009-09-10T17:56:00.002-04:00

A check of the Philadelphia marathon website showed that the Full marathon is SOLD OUT !
Amazing.. I don't think it sold out last year until sometime in October!

Only 75 days until Philly !

2009-09-07T10:04:00.005-04:00

Hard to believe that the Philly Marathon is only 75 days away. I am 1/3 of the way thru my 18 week training program! Time is flying by. Their website has only 500 spots left for the marathon, it seems to be filling up quite nicely.

The past week, I felt really good after the 20miler on Sunday. I have added salt to the beginning and middle of my long runs, and it seems to have helped with how the hammys have felt. I also added, along with my HammerRecoverite ,a protein bar after my long runs.

Tuesday, I went out for a nice tempo run. I had 1 hour to get in my 6 miler, since I was running while my oldest son was in his karate class. My goal was 8 minute miles, but wasn't sure if I had it in me after the 20 miler. I ended up right on! I did the 6 miles in 47:38, a 7:55 avg.

I did have a turtle sighting! Shoreturtle and his wife passed me, on their way to Princeton. They caught me committing the #1 rule of running on the streets. I was running with the traffic, instead of against it.

I had 8 on the schedule for Wednesday, but a combination of my car in the shop, 2 boys having karate, I didn't have the time to run. And yes, I have been beating myself up over it. I know missing a day in early Sept. won't have an effect in the big picture of training, but it's not something I want to become a habit.

I made it a point of getting up early and getting my 6 miles in on Thursday. I did the 6.12 miles in 51:41, for an 8:26 avg. It was nice, on this run to have my fastest mile as my last, at 8:09.

Saturday, I was out with the TrailRuns group. We did the entire loop around Mercer County Lake, which included some bushwhacking! Luckily, no ticks this time! The loop was 7.23 miles long, and the last 1/2 mile or so, Nate kicked it up a few notches, when we got on a nice clear trail.

Sunday, I slept in a bit, since I had to do 6, nice to have a recovery week! I made this a 2 part run. I felt really good, so I went out for the 6 at a marathon pace. I did the 6 in 50:20, 8:22 pace. I did mile 6 as my fastest at 8:07. From the 6 mile point, I reset my Garmin, and did another 4 miles in my training pace. I know I only had to run 6, but I felt good, and missing the 8 on Wed, it had me wanting to make up some of those miles. I ran the 4 miles in 35:17, a 8:48 avg.

I have (2)5 milers to run Tuesday & Thursday, and plan to do just them. I have felt a bit of discomfort in the right ankle recently, so this is a good time to let it rest a bit.

Enjoy the week, it'll be another hectic week around these parts, with the boys back in school, karate lessons, soccer practice, and fall ball starting!

Back from vacation.... and been a running fool !

2009-08-30T21:02:00.004-04:00

I am back from our week plus vacation at our place in Wildwood, but fear not, I have been a running fool!
Let's see.. I ran last weekend a 4 miler on Saturday, and that brings us to Sunday.
Good ole Hurricane Bill was passing Wildwood, and I was hoping not to get caught in his wrath. I was out the door around 5:20am, to run my 16 miler, a longer version of the 14 I ran the week before, out and back to Cape May. When I started out, it was just a fine mist, still humid, and temps around 68deg. I was better prepared this week, for the heat & humidity. I picked up a few salt packets at the McDonald's on the boards the nite before, and took one before I started.
I was rain free, except for the mist, the first 3 miles, and then it started, and it got harder and harder. I stopped at a WaWa, to refill my handheld with ice around mile 6, and got back at it, and I was now in a full blown downpour! I hit the 8 mile mark around where the start of the Ocean Drive Marathon was back in March. I took cover under one of the local store's entrance, hoping to wait out the rain. I took the other salt packet, rung out my tank, and with the skies showing no sign of letting up, off I went.
On the way out of Cape May, I hit the WaWa to get more ice, and could see in the distance the sun! As I ran on the Ocean Drive, getting closer to the fisheries, I was rain free!
I did the 16 miler in 2:28:59, a 9:18 avg. No bonking this time!
My mid week runs of 6-8-6 where uneventful, just nice running at the shore. I ran my 6 miler at an avg of 8:06, 8 miler at 8:50, and last 6 at 8:30.
Saturday, we were back and I was out with the trail group.. running in the rain again... we did a nice 4 mile run in the hills of Clayton Park. I took it easy because I had 18 scheduled for today, Sunday.
Well I spoke to my bud Shoreturtle Saturday night, to see what he had on his schedule, and he had a 20 miler, so I offered to meet him and run the 20, what's an extra 2 miles? We met up at Mercer County Park at 5:30am, and he mapped out a 2 x 10 mile loops. We both decided to try and stay around a 9:15 pace. When we get together, we seem to enjoy pushing each other in a friendly competitive way. We started out running on the bike path, into the total darkness of the woods. Turtle was on it, bringing not only his headlamp, but a mini-mag lite, so we wouldn't soak our feet in the puddles from Saturday's rain.
The 1st loop seemed to fly by, and when we got back to the lot, we did a quick stop to change into a dry shirt, and refill our fluids. I also took a salt packet, and Gu.
We kept a pretty steady pace throughout the run. It was the longest run I have done since Philly last fall. I could feel it in the legs the last 2 miles, and was glad when it was over. It was nice to have a partner for the long runs. We did the 20 in 3:03:40, for an avg of 9:10!
Looking back at last year, I ran my 1st 20 miler in 3:26:48, a 10:20 avg. I was pretty amazed at the difference in time. While it doesn't seem it, I guess I am in better shape this year, than last.

One last thing.. I ran 167.89 miles for the month of August, which puts me at 835.41 for the year,

Dog days of summer are here!

2009-08-18T19:44:00.003-04:00

The past week was my 1st recovery week, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

The 3H's have hit NJ.. Hazy, Hot & Humid !

Here is the week in review:

Sunday... 6 miles in the 3H's 8:57 avg.

Monday... off

Tuesday, I had 4 on the schedule, but I misread it, and ran 6, out and back to Mercer County Park... did it in an 8:22 avg. Nice tempo run.

Wednesday ... off

Thursday, I ran part of the 2nd half of the Philly Marathon course. Not long, just a 4 miler, in a downpour. It started raining as soon as I got to running. I think running in the ran makes me run faster... 7:39 avg.

Friday... off

Saturday, was trail running with the group. I only had to run 4, but we ended up running 6.4 miles. I think the trails, with the hills will help come Nov.

That leads us up to a new week of training.

Sunday, I was downashore, so I ran a loop from Wildwood to Cape May. It was 70deg with high humidity when I left the house at 6:15am! It was a long hard 14 miles!

I started out conservative, and ran miles 2-10 in a nice training pace range of 9:03 - 9:44.

I had stopped in a WaWa, on my way out of Cape May, to refill my handheld with ice. I got some free samples with my latest order from Hammer Nutrition. I use their Recoverite, after my hard runs, and I really feel it helps.
The free sample I used was called Sustained Energy. It says it's designed for workouts over 2 hours. I thought I would give it a try,since I had my run figured to be over 2 hours. It had a chalky taste, and the real negative of this product was it foamed up, so it made it hard to drink while I was running.

Mile 11, I could feel the heat taking it toll, and I slowed to a 9:57, and knew I was in trouble.

I had the drawbridge to cross in mile 12, and I started to mix in run/walks, something I haven't done pretty much ever. 10:57 for mile 12, and it was downhill quickly.

I continued the walk/running, and stopped at a rescue squad, to refill by handheld again! I was DYING!

Mile 13.... 11:26 ... one mile of hell left !!

I struggled to keep the legs moving.. walking a block, running a block. Calves where cramping a bit , and I completed 14 in 11:12 ! DONE !! 14 miles 2:18:08

From now on, I am out the door by 5:30am, on these long runs.

The next 2 long Sunday runs are 16 & 18 milers. No way would I have made it to 16 this past Sunday! One good thing, looks like once we get thru this week, the humidity and temps will dip a bit to a more manageable level!

I have added a 1/4- 1/2 mile cool down to the end of my runs. I figure it can't hurt, right?

Guts & Glory 5k Ocean City, NJ 8/8/09

2009-08-10T06:52:00.010-04:00

One of the perks in having a place downashore, is that, as a runner, you can check the race calender down there. There were 2 races on Saturday, close to Wildwood, a 10 miler in Sea Isle City (see Joy's ) that was an early nite race, or an early morning 5k, in Ocean City. Since I couldn't hang around until 5:30, to run the 10 miler, I chose the 5k in Ocean City. That worked best into my schedule, as I usually get down to Wildwood early on Sat. mornings, one, to beat the traffic, and two, to run! I had 4 miles in the schedule, so a 5k fit perfectly.

The Guts & Glory 5k, was the biggest 5k I have ever ran in. It had 1375 runners/walkers registered. It ran along the ocean, on the streets of Ocean City, and finished with a lap on the Ocean City High School's track.

There were so many entrants, that this was a chip timed 5k. One of the local TV stations, NBC10, from Philly was there, broadcasting live during their morning newscast. I snapped a picture of an interview in progress.

When they lined us up on the street, one mistake I made, was a started a bit too far back in the pack. Since I figured this was a chip timed race, I thought starting back a ways, would allow for less congestion when you hung a sharp right into an alley way about 100 yards after the start. Well, as I found out too late, they only used the chips to help organize the finishing order.
It was like the start to the Philly marathon, with a bit of walking involved that 1st couple of 1/10Th's of a mile. You had a quick right, right, left, and then onto a straight road, where you could settle in to your pace.

I had a tough week of running, so I wasn't shooting for any particular time. I had the 6-8-6 on Tues - Thurs., keeping all my training runs in the 8:40-9:00min/mile pace. One crazy thing I did do, was meet up with Hurley and a few of the HATR's, early Wed, and do a cross fit circuit at the local high school track. That was tough, but I have made it a point to attempt to add core training this time around.

So after getting past a lot of foot traffic, I was able to settle into a comfortable pace. I was amazed at when I passed the 2-1/2 mile mark, and there were still people walking/jogging towards mile 1. There were a lot of people!
I also made it a point to not look at the garmin every mile, and just do the run, but when I hit the track, I did look at the finish line timer, and realized that there would be no PR today. It was around 20:50's, and I knew I wasn't going to run the last 440, in a minute. I finished with a respectable 22:12, good for 10Th in my old age group, and 82Nd outta 1196 finishers.

If I would have not got caught up in the first 2/10's congestion.... maybe it would have been a PR?

1 week down, 17 to go !

2009-08-03T20:52:00.003-04:00

I would like to 1st thank Mother Nature, for taking most of the summer off, giving us here in NJ, a longer spring! It figures that as soon as it's time for me to ramp up my running, good ole' MN brings back the heat & humidity.
I got out and ran a wet 6 miles on Wednesday, and 7 on Thursday. Before I went on my wet run on Wednesday, I hit up the local RoadRunner sports store, for a new pair of running shoes. My Black Kayano's have about had it. I have heard nothing but good things about Road Runner, and their foot analysis that they do, so I wanted to make sure what I was wearing was the best shoe for me. The gal that helped me, was awesome, and after trying on a few different pairs, I settled on more of the same, another pair of the Asics Gel Kayano 15's. With my VIP membership, and an additional 10%, I got them for $116.00, they were reg. $139.00, so I got a great deal on them.
I chose to hold off running in them, until Thursday, no sense making the 1st run, a run in the rain!
I also purchased a new insole for them and they felt good. I can tell it will take a few weeks to get them broken in.
Saturday, I got out with the TrailRuns group. There were about 8 of us, and it was nice to have Shoreturtle back. He hadn't run with the group in 8 weeks. He was coming off a Achilles injury. While I only had 4 miles on the schedule, it was a long run of 7 miles with the group.
Sunday, I got out bright an early, at 5:45am. and got my 12 miler in before the rains came. And boy did they. I just missed a massive downpour by about 10 mins! I felt pretty good on the 12 miler, and averaged around 9 min miles. I started out slow, and built up as I went along. The legs were a bit heavy at the start, probably from the long trail run on Saturday.
Week 1 is in the books, with only 17 more to come!

Sandblast beach run & the start of Training!

2009-07-28T20:46:00.005-04:00

I had a minor scare this past Monday, when I bent down to pick something up, and had my right knee lock up on me. This happens from time to time, but I always get right up. This time it had me in pain, and limp bad enough to scare me to see my doctor. After a check of it, he prescribed rest and Naproxen, and by Thursday I was pain free and able to run, so I ran 6 miles.
I was hoping for a full week of running, since I had a 4 mile "beach race" on Saturday. Oh well, at least it was a minor injury, and I am relatively healthy headed into the 18 week marathon training.

Now the run part, what better way to celebrate your 43rd B-day, than with a race! In Wildwood, Saturday there was a race I have been wanting to do for years, and everything worked out that I was able to do it. The SandBlast beach run, has a 2 or 4 mile race, on the beach, from 15th street in North Wildwood, to the Crest and back.

As my luck would have it, it was a windy night! I asked one of the beach patrol how strong they were, and 15 mph sustained. So that meant the 1st two miles where into the wind! I had never done a race on the beach, so I was looking forward to the challenge.

My only goal, without training for this, and with pretty much no running the week before, I wanted to keep it around 8 min. miles. I met and was talking with a fellow runner at the start, who also was doing his 1st beach race, and was hoping to be around the 7:30 avg. I wanted to stick with him, but lost him in the crowd at the start. I did try a lot of drafting off the runners in front of me, but with the lost week of running, my legs felt like they weighted a ton.

I knocked off the 1st mile in 7:36. It felt like a struggle, so I wasn't sure what I would have left for the rest of the race.

The wind was a killer, it felt a lot stronger than the 15mph I was told. I could feel that I backed off and ran the 2nd mile at 8:06, which would be my slowest mile of the race.
As usual in the shorter races that I run, I always seem to get passed by the 10 yr old girl, or the person with the stroller. I had a man fly past with a stroller, on the beach, in the 3rd mile. It was nice to have the wind at your back for the final 2 miles, which I think was helping stroller guy. Mile 3 was a 7:42 mile, and I had found a group of 3 runners to stick with for the last mile. The legs were toast, but I kept pushing, and was lucky enough to stay with the group until about the last 1/10, when they kicked it in. I did the 4th mile in a nice wind aided 7:03, for a finish of 30:29, by my garmin. No age group award on this day, there were a lot of good runners in this race.

It was a fun race, and hopefully I'll be able to run this again, with the proper training before hand.

Now not even 12hours later, I was up and out the door to start my Marathon training. It was tough to get up at 6:00am, and run 10 miles! I did an out and back to Cape May. Not one of my best runs, but I averaged 9:30 miles, best was mile 3, a 9:14 mile and slowest, mile 6, a 9:44.

What was nice about the run was the last 2 miles were at 9:19.

Our last day of our mini-vacation, was today, Tuesday, and I got out and did an out and back to North Wildwood, with a finish on the boardwalk. I had a 6 miler planned, but somehow I messed up my course, and added a mile, not that I mined. I did the 7 miler right in my time range at 9:02. and had my best mile as my last. Hopefully that's a good sign of things to come.

Back in the swing of training

2009-07-19T21:19:00.004-04:00

I know in my last post, I moaned of motivation, and I am still struggling with it, but I know what I have to do, and I will do it.

I had a nice week mileage wise, to get back into the training mode. I checked my stats from last year at this time, and I had just finished up with a weekly total of 28.1 miles. This year, I was at 26.9, and that was without my Thursday run, so I feel much more confident after finding 2008's results.

Last week was super busy with my son's baseball, and I was still able to get my running in. I was even fortunate enough to get my trail run in with the group on Saturday, before his game. They hooked me up with a nice run, and even shortened it a bit, to get me out of there with enough time to shower before leaving for the game.

Now before today's last game, I got up early and did a nice 10 mile out and back run.
As I was checking my past history last nite, I was shocked to find out that my longest run, since running the Long Branch 1/2 marathon, on May 3rd, was a 9-1/2 miler back in May! I knew I had slacked, but no run of 10+ miles since the 1st weekend in May... that's shocking.

Well, today, I wanted to stay in the 8:45-9:15 range, that's where I want to be at for my long runs. I stayed in that range, and even managed to run my last mile, as my best. It was a struggle during the mid miles. When I got into the 5-8 mile range, I could feel the heaviness in my legs. The lungs felt good, but not the legs! I'm sure it'll be a bit before that goes away.

One new thing I added to my run, was a Nathan Quick draw Elite handheld

I got that last week, and this was the 1st time I had a chance to use it. I had only run with a water bottle, so having something like this felt weird. One thing I learned was I need to make sure my fluids are cold. My water got warm after a few miles.

This Saturday, I found a cool run that I am looking forward to running. I missed out on it the last few years, but the stars have aligned for me to run it this year.

www.sandblastbeachrun.net

It's a 2 or 4 mile run, on the beach in Wildwood! I have pre registered for the 4 miler, and am looking forward to my 1st beach race!

Nice thing about being downashore next weekend, is I get to do my Sunday 12 mile run at the beach. I'm planning on a running an out and back to Cape May.

10 miles 1:28:39

8:38
9:00
8:52
8:53
9:04
9:05
9:03
8:53
8:45
8:19

Inching closer to Marathon Training.

2009-07-15T20:51:00.003-04:00

Hard to believe that is already the middle of July, and in a few short weeks, I'll start training for my 2nd Philadelphia Marathon.
Last year, everything was new and exciting. I found a plan, stuck to it, and finished!I was motivated with the thought of failure, not being able to finish.
This year, I am struggling to get motivated to train. I don't know if I still have a "marathon hangover", but I hope, come July 26th, I can flick the switch and get going.
It amazes me to think of the people and teams that can win a championship, and come back and do it again, the next year.
I haven't gone on a "long run" in quite some time.
I had the thrill of running in Wildwood, on the boards, Saturday morning. I normally just run 4 miles, out and back on the boards, but I ran into the Crest, and added 2 miles to my run, making it a 6 miler. My weekday runs are in the 4-6 mile range. Somehow I will need to be in the 6-8 range, for my training.
I have made an effort to start to bump up the mileage. I ran a 7 miler on Tuesday, and ran 6 Wednesday. For the 7 miler, I averaged 8:16's, and for the 6, it was 8:37's.
For my marathon training, I want to be in the 8:45-9:15 range.
I can also feel the shoes starting to go. Hard to believe, I feel like I just got them, but I have had them for 4 months, and looking at my mileage, they have roughly 350 miles on them.
I have 40 miles in the book for July so far, and 606 for the year.
I try and get out for another run on Thursday, and hit the trails on Saturday.

Track Work, a tennis ball, 8 golf balls, 2 ticks and sore hammys!

2009-07-05T21:01:00.005-04:00

Most people over the 4th of July weekend, over indulge in fireworks, BBQ, beer, and picnics.

I choose those and added my son's all star baseball games, and running!

Let's start with Friday. My running buds over at TrailRuns decided to do something different and meet early at the track. I knew we were in for it, when they said "track". We did a mile warm up, and got into the meat of the work out.

I'll give you the condensed version.

4 laps, w/ 110 sprints, 15 push-ups, back on the track for a 50yrd dash, up and down the bleachers, and finish with a variety of squats, lunges, etc.

Let's just say it was a killer! I realized that I am the most out of shape, in shape person I know!

When I got up Saturday, to meet the trail group to run in Mercer County Park, I could barely walk. My hamstrings were killing me, and the right hammy is still tight today!

Now I figured that since we killed ourselves on Friday, the trail run would be a nice easy run.
Well, the pace was fine, but the trails, well, if you could call them trails were a killer!

At the start, I found a tennis ball, close to the courts, and since I knew it was a loop we were running, I couldn't leave it there and pick it up later, so I took it.

The first 3+ miles were the usual course, in and out of the trails, whirl bird, no big deal. As we entered the woods and headed towards the dam, that's were the trails became severely overgrown,and we became "bushwhackers"! Now we have had a ton of rain here in June, so on the overgrown trails, some were a mud mess, and you had to be real careful of your footing.

As we navigated the mud, swamps, brush, you name and we ran thru it, we finally hit the dam. Now there were 2 routes we could take, the nice clear trails that we have run hundreds of times, and get back easily to our start, or take the overgrown mud mess trails? You guessed it, we took the route less traveled.

The 2nd half was worse than the 1st. We ran close to the county golf course, and I found 8 golf balls along the way, so I had to run with 3 in each hand, and 2 in my pocket. Which leads to the next mess. I felt something on the side of my face, which turned out to be a tick. Well, that freaked me out, so I started checking myself, and found another one on my leg. Now I was really freaked, and since I was running with a visor, and not a hat, I was sure I was going to find more in my hair. Luckily when I got home, I showered and my wife gave me the once over, and I was found to be tick free!

Our round the lake bushwhacker trail run debacle turned out to be 8.4 miles. I was glad for the length of the run, but those trails were a disaster. It was tough, we had a few close calls, on rolled ankles, and falls, but we managed to survive!

I was hoping to get out and do a long run this morning, before my son's game, but when the right hammy still felt tight, I thought it best to take the day off, and rest. I'll get back out there either Monday or Tuesday. The weather for these parts looks great, so no rain excuses this week!

One bummer that got dropped on my this past week, was I have to go to Dallas for work in Sept. AND don't you know it's the weekend of the ING Philadelphia Distance Run, so looks like I am out for that one. If you are close to Philly, and want to run a 1/2 marathon, by all means this is the race for you! Trust me, it's done right... bands every mile, and pretty flat. It'll give you a glimpse into what the Philly Marathon course is like.
I will be packing the running clothes when I hit Dallas, and will make sure to get my runs in before our seminars!

PHILADELHIA MARATHON 2009

2009-06-30T06:57:00.003-04:00

It's official, I have registered for the Philadelphia Marathon. I know I have said I am going to run it again this year, but now I am registered!

I am looking forward to getting my time down, and I am even looking forward to the training.

While everything was new and exciting last year, I have a better idea of what to expect (especially after 21-22 miles)!

I am going to follow the same basic plan as last year, with a few modifications. I'll post my plan up here in July.

One thing I am going to do, is continue to hit the hills. I truly believe that running on the trails, with the Trailgroup has really helped me conquer running up and down hill. I was never good at them, dreaded a course with them, and know I look to them as a point during a race where I could pick off a runner or 2.

So there you have it, look out Philly, only 144 days, and I'm coming to kick some asphalt again!
(hopefully it is asphalt, and not ice like last year!)

4 consecutive days of running

2009-06-23T21:27:00.004-04:00

For the 1st time in quite awhile, I have run 4 days in a row.

While they haven't been long mileage runs, it is nice to get out and just run.

Saturday was a trail/bike path warm up for the Run for Dad 5k.

Sunday was the Run for Dad 5k.

Monday, 4.2 miles on the boards in Wildwood! More on that in a bit..

Tuesday, and out and back down 5.2 mile run.

I had to head down to Wildwood Sunday nite, to get our place ready for the wife and kids, since we had renters in last week. SO, what do you do when you get up on Monday? Go for a run on the boardwalk! Nothing better than running at the shore. There were a few runners out and about, which is a nice site. I took it pretty easy, running the 4.2 miles in 36:13, a 8:37 avg.

Today's run, I felt good when I started, but faded in the end. I think it was the lack of fluids. I didn't drink any water in the afternoon, and it was warm out, my guess is high 70's and you could feel the humidity building, around 5:30pm, when I went for my run. With the weather warming, I need to remember to hydrate myself during the day. Again, what I need to do, is start slower, and negative split my runs. I am too much of a rabbit. Luckily, when I ran the Philly Marathon, and Long Branch 1/2, I was smart enough to start out slow! Hopefully I can make that the norm for all of my runs.

5.2 miles 44:21 (8:32avg)

8:12
8:06
8:30
8:45
8:54

The last .20 was 1:51

I checked my stats out for the year and here's where I am at:

86 runs for the year

548.93 total miles

80:21:46 hh:mm:ss

75,292 calories burned

Total for June: 65.47miles

Gotta love the info from the Garmin!

Here's a few more interesting stats. My totals since I got my Garmin at the end of last July:

1,185.34 miles

176:12:25 hh:mm:ss

160,438 calories burned

That's pretty cool !

Looks like I won't hit 100 for the month, but that will change shortly, as my fall marathon training will start in at the end of July.

I think I'll take Wednesday off, and get back out there on Thursday.

Run For Dad 5K

2009-06-21T13:18:00.008-04:00

Today was the 7Th annual Run For Dad 5k, in Mercer County Park. The weather here in NJ has been more like Seattle, which is getting quite old. Enough of the rain already! I woke to slight rain and nice comfortable temps in the high 60's.

The boys enjoy doing the kid's run, and it was questionable whether to bring them, since it was a messy morning. Honestly, if my oldest didn't look forward to this race, and if I didn't pre-register them, I probably would have gone alone.

The race started at 9:00am, and we got to the park about 8:30ish, and got all of the swag. I headed off to the start, and did get in the longer warm up I have been trying to do before the 5k races. I did manage to run to the start, so I did maybe a 1/4 mile.
A bunch of the gang from the Trailruns group where here, since I guess you could call this a "home race". I met them at the start, and wished them all good luck, and moved a bit closer to the front. This is a nice size 5k, there were 482 finishers!

When the gun went off, I tried to find a group of runners, my equal, so I wouldn't go out too fast.

I happened upon Bill Y., from the group, and figured if I stayed behind him, I know I would not be pushing it. WRONG! I clicked off the 1st mile in 6:44. Yikes! I have done it again. I wanted to be around the 7 min pace, and in the excitement of the start, I went out to fast again! When will I ever learn! I did a much better job of that the last 2 5k's I ran.

Well, as the 2nd mile fell into the record books, I knew a PR was out of the question, as I did that in 7:16, almost a 1/2 minute slower than the 1st mile, so I knew what to expect for mile 3. Just past the 2nd mile, my wife and the boys were there, trying to stay dry under a tree. She got a couple of pictures of Bill Y & myself. I was hurting, and I did my best motivational speaking to Bill to keep us afloat for the last mile.

I look like the hunchback of Notre Dame. Note to self.. stand up straight!

Mile 3, and the last .10 seemed like an eternity. The garmin had me at 7:19 for the 3rd mile. As I saw the finish line, I did my best to kick it in, as the seconds ticked by. I thought I had a shot at a sub 22, but crossed at 22:03. Bill was right behind me at 22:13.

On a positive note, I dropped 2 mins off of last year's time, and I double knotted my shoes, so I had no flat tire issues this year!

My son did the kid's run, and the weather really put a cramp into the turnout. It was just him and another girl, in their age group. He did great, he told me he let her take the lead, and passed her close to the finish. What a gentleman! Here's a great shot of his back after the race.

It was a mud mess in the grass, perfect for kids!

All in all, I enjoyed the race, I think I prefer the longer distance races, because I just can't get the pace right in these 5K's. I know of maybe 2 more this summer I want to run, so I still have a chance to get it right!

Here's the group, post race.

Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there!

Guess who's back!

2009-06-16T20:39:00.005-04:00

Here's Blogging!
It's been a busy time round these parts. Lots of baseball, karate, and parties lately. We might have a 7yr old all-star, so baseball might be front and center until the end of July! We'll know if he made it Wednesday. For 7yr old all-stars, you have 2 practices a week, and games Sat & Sun, every weekend thru July! That'll keep ya jumpin! Couple that with the Saturday trips to Wildwood with the summer rental season, and it's going to be a busy time.

OK, as far as the running goes, I have managed to run about 4 times a week.
I got away from the Sunday long runs, with all the local 5k's I had been doing in place of them. I did get out the past 2 Sunday's and do runs of 13.6 & 9.5 . Both were tough runs, with the temps creeping up around here, and the fact I haven't run that long in over a month. Not great confidence boosters, but I was glad I did them. FYI... wait an hour or so after dinner to run 9.5 miles, not a few minutes!

I did get out with the TrailRuns group the past 3 Saturday's. We did a hard ladder repeats on the hills in Clayton Park the 1st week, and muddy trails in Mercer & Clayton the last 2 weeks.

My weekday runs have only been between 4-6 miles in length. That is partially by design. I want to stay fresh and injury free, leading up to my marathon training at the end of July.

We have the annual Run For Dad 5k this Sunday, which I am looking forward to. It's a great time, because it gets my boys involved in running. For $10.00ea, they get a Run for Dad tee, a bib#, and a finisher's ribbon. They absolutely love it,and they look like us crazy runners. They have been training on the front lawn for the last week or so. They set up a "track" and race each other. It's fun to watch them race,and of course sometimes they get the wife & I out there to race them. One thing I can promise is that I will warm-up a bit before the race, and make sure my shoe laces are double knotted, so I don't have to run the last 1+ with a flat tire like last year.

While I haven't had as much time to post lately, I can promise you I am not going anywhere. We have had a few great bloggers retire recently, but I enjoy blogging, and I feel it helps me with my running. It keeps me honest in my training.

I'll try and get out and run Wednesday & Thursday, weather permitting. Sounds like more rain for our area is on the way. Saturday, I believe the trail group will run in Mercer County Park, since a lot of us are doing the 5k there on Sunday.

***UPDATE***

We do have a 7yr old all-star, so 6 more weeks of BASEBALL !!

I'm still standing ... and running!

2009-06-10T07:21:00.003-04:00

It's been crazy busy round these parts lately, and I haven't had the chance to sit down and write about my runs.
Trust me, I have been running.... long, short & trails.

I'll try and sit down tonite, and catch everyone up on my adventures.

Trail runs & the Fabulous Feat 5k

2009-05-31T21:02:00.007-04:00

As May comes to an end, it also ends my goal of running at least a 100 miles a month for the year. With the rains we had here in NJ, and the start of the 5k season, I ended May at 78.21 miles. Not bad, but I need to get back to my long runs on Sunday mornings.

I ran with the Trailrunsgroup this past Saturday morning. We met at Clayton Park, and while it wasn't a long trail run, Bill Y. came up with the idea of doing "ladders" on the long hill.

These were hard, and it something I wouldn't do on my own, so I was glad to do them. I want to make sure I continue to do this type of workout into my marathon training later this summer. I have never been good at hills, both up and downhill, and I can tell I am getting better, since I started running the trails.

It was nice to be back with them, since I missed the past 2 weeks, being downashore.

Sunday, there was a nice little local 5k in Veteran's Park, the FabulousFeat5k.

I ran into Jess who was there with her son, ready to run. Gotta give her credit to run a 5k with a stroller. I also ran into an old family friend who runs all the local 5k's. He's a good guy, who's still running at 64! Hopefully I'll be able to run at that age.
It was perfect weather for the run. There was a little over 100 runners, so it was a nice crowd. I was worried about being a rabbit at the start with the smaller crowd. I kept that in mind when the race started. I didn't get caught up at the start, and settled into my own pace. I tried to keep the same pace from last Sunday's 5k. I did that for the most part.
It was nice to run a "home race", as I run many miles in Veteran's Park. The hard part of the 5k's there, is the long uphill around the 2.5 mile mark! I knew when I hit the 2 mile mark, I had a chance at a PR, but that uphill would tell the tale. I attacked it the best I could, and felt pretty afterwards, and when I saw the clock, I knew it would be close. I didn't have much left for the last .10, but I managed to cross at 21:59, .03 off of last weeks PR. I was glad to break the 22 min barrier again.

I did get 2nd in my age group which was cool.

Here are some pictures from the run, Jesswith her son in the stroller & the Deacon at the finish line, and Deacon & I getting our 2nd place age group medals.

21:59 (7:05 avg.)

1. 6:58

2. 7:07

3. 7:09

.10 :45

Running downashore & The Turtle Trot 5k !

2009-05-25T19:43:00.010-04:00

What a fun time we had downashore these past 5 days! Time really flew by, but I did manage to run twice & fit in a 5k race.. more on the race in a bit.

I got up early to run on Friday & Saturday. Both days I got out a little later than I normally do, around 7:30am. I try to get out before 7:00am, but I wasn't planning any long runs. The weather both days was nice and comfortable, highs in the 60's, with an ocean breeze. I did a run out to North Wildwood, and back, running the boardwalk the last 2 miles. It was a 7 mile run, and I didn't feel that great during the run. I did the 7 miles in 1:00:44, for an 8:40 avg.

Saturday, I also did "feel" the run. I ran better than I did on Friday, but just didn't have that light on your feet feeling, or wind. I ran on the boards again, for the last 2 miles of the 6 I ran. It was a packed boardwalk, compared to Friday. It had summertime written all over it. I did the 6 miles in 49:37, for an 8:15 avg. I know the pace looks great, but I sure didn't feel great.

That leads me up to the TURTLE TROT 5k, that I ran on Sunday in Stone Harbor.

It was a nice morning for a race, slight breeze, and comfortable temps. I met up with the Joyrun family. They made the trek south to do the race. She brought along JoyHub & JoyNephew.

I found this race while surfing around for any local runs while I was in Wildwood. There were aprox 450 runners/walkers in this event. There was a local Tri, on Saturday, so a bunch of them were entered into the 5k.
With the added competition, and the way my recent runs had felt, I had no thoughts of a PR or placing in my age group. I went into the race, with the thought if I could hold on to 8min miles, and try to finish around 24:00, I would consider it a success. I even mentioned to Joy & her family, how the last few runs stunk.

I walked to the start with the JoyFam, and wished them luck, and told them I was going to move a little closer to the start/finish line. As I was getting the Garmin & Ipod ready, I kept repeating to myself to relax & don't go out like a rabbit. It did work, instead of a 6:39 mile, like I did at the Footrace, I ran the 1st mile in 7:04. It was at that point, I felt pretty good, and said "self.. relax and do it again". I was running alongside a few runners that seemed to have a nice pace, and I hung with them. As I hit the 2 mile mark, I heard the beep of the Garmin, looked down and saw I ran Mile 2 in 7:06. Now I am thinking, have I gone out too hard, am I going to implode. I just kept the pace, locked into my own little world, occasionally looking at the passing street signs. The finish was at 95Th Street, and started to count them down, a block at a time from about 115Th. I battled and kept thinking..21 and change... you can do this! I heard the beep of the Garmin at mile 3, but I didn't check the time, since I could see the clock at the finish, and it was 21:30. I had the last .10 mile to run, and did it! I finished in 21:56 ! A new PR! I had ran mile 3 in 7:08. Unbelievable... as bad as I felt the past 2 days of heavy legs and no wind, were wiped away with this run! It just goes to show you, ya just never know with this sport.
I was able to get a bottle of water, and see Joy Nephew finish in the 24's, and Joy in the 26's. Both PR's! And I can't forget JoyHub. I got my camera from the car, and just got back to see him finish around 31mins.
It was a great time. It was cool to run again with Joy & her family, who were headed out for breakfast afterwards.

I did check the finish board before I left, and I finished 50th out of about 450, and they had my time at 21:56

Garmin time:
1. 7:04

2. 7:06

3. 7:08

.10 :35

Great Cape May Footrace 5k

2009-05-17T19:32:00.006-04:00

The Great Cape May Footrace was held this past Saturday, May 16. The last time I ran this, back in 2006, the course started in the same place, outside the Beach Theatre, and ended in the middle of Cape May, in a nice commons's area. The course is totally different now, it and out and back along the beach. I liked the old course, as you didn't have to worry about the wind, which you do, running along the ocean. The wind was a tail wind for the 1st mile+, and of course, in your face the last 1+.

I was excited for this race, since it was my 1st 5k since last December. I had an idea for a finishing time, sub 22, and knew if I was around that time, I would have a chance for an age group top 3 finish.

I made it a point, when I got to the race, to do some light running, loosen up the legs a bit, and I actually stretched too. The weather was perfect, highs around 60deg. Only drawback was a wind, I'm guessing it was around 15mph sustained out of the south west.

It was a nice crowd, about 200 runners combined for the 5k & 10k. For a race that size, it was chip timed. Everyone started with the gun, and crossed the pad at the finish.

I started near the front, and took off at the start. I was flying, and I had a feeling I was going out way too fast. I was being the typical rabbit runner I am. Thank god for the pace crews in the marathon, otherwise I would blow up early!

I hit the 1st mile in 6:39! Wow.. I knew I went out fast, but didn't expect to be that quick. It is a wind aided 1st mile, but still I was 20 seconds faster than I wanted to be. At about the 1-1/2 mark, the 5k runners stayed straight, and the 10k runners hung a left. A little past that mark, we hit the turnaround point, and headed back to the start/finish line. I was counting 5k runners, and I counted around 10 in front of me, and had an idea if I held my spot, I might have a chance at a top 3 age group. One bad thing about this new course, you had to run through the 10k runners making the turn, when we were headed back. It was a little chaotic. They need to do something about that. It was at that point I started to feel the result of going out too fast. I hit the 2nd mile mark at 7:07. I had slowed down by almost a 1/2 minute! That's not good in a 5k!

I was just in survival mode at that point, and wanted to hang onto my place, and not let anyone pass me. Funny thing, I was listening to "live" music on my Ipod, so the crowd sounds had me thinking someone was right up on me. Maybe it helped motivate me to hang on.

I did the 3rd mile in 7:40! Ouch... I had lost a shot at a PR, and did the last .1o in .53 secs.

I was thinking about Ted's post here the other day, when he predicted my time of 22:12. He was close, I saw the 22:12 tick away, chuckled to myself, and crossed in 22:19.

If this was last year, I would have been thrilled with my time, but I know better today, than how I ran this race. I need to slow the "F" down at the start, and not get caught up in the excitement.

One good thing about this race, is not only can you get water, a bagel, orange slices or a banana, but you can get a beer!

Yes! 9:30 in the morning, and I had the 1st beer of the day!

All in all, it was a good time. I will learn from this, and try and run at a steady pace. If the mile splits were in reverse order, it would have been the best race, but I strive to make the last mile my best.

I did get the finish I wanted! 7th overall, and 2nd in my age group! Funny thing, the 1st overall women finisher, ran with a baby stroller! My hats off to her. She finished 3rd overall, and to do that pushing a stroller.. that's awesome.

22:19

1. 6:39

2. 7:07

3. 7:40

.10 :53

5 in the park

2009-05-14T21:09:00.002-04:00

I got to run 5 miles in Veteran's Park in between the rain today. It's my last run before my 11st 5k of the season on Saturday.
I did the Hangover 5 mile course. Not many people in the park, with the threatening weather today. It's been on and off raining, and at times down pouring on us. Temps were in the mid 60's with a gusty wind.
I felt good running today, but as usual, no warm up, which you will see reflected in my 1st mile time. Rest assured, I will warm up before the race!
5 miles 40:39 (8:07avg.)

1. 8:41
2. 8:15
3. 8:09
4. 8:02
5. 7:29

Tuesday's Runs

2009-05-13T07:01:00.003-04:00

With a 5k race looming on Saturday, I wanted to get out and run a mock 5k, to get the feel of running fast back. I went to Mercer County Park, and did 2 x 5k on an out and back route.
I used the first one as the mock race, and the 2nd was at a comfortable pace.
The park was a buzz with action, as it was perfect weather, slight breeze, warm & plenty of sun.
One thing I need to start to do, before the shorter races, is warm up. I never do anything, no stretching, or running. I just go to the start, and go at the gun. It seems to take me about a 1/2 mile to get the legs moving. That doesn't leave you much time, in a 5k race, so I don't need to waste time.
I did the 1st 5k in 22:50
1. 7:41
2. 7:14
3. 7:10
.1 :44

I know I left a little something on the table, so hopefully I can improve on that 1st mile.

The 2nd 5k, I stuck around 9min miles, and finished it in 27:41.
It funny, after running the longer races & training runs,I have done so far this year, the 5k goes by in a blink of an eye... and I like it!

Back on the trails

2009-05-11T06:50:00.003-04:00

This past Saturday, it was nice to get back out on the trails with the Trailgroup. We ran in Clayton Park. I have not run with the group in a few weeks, and it was amazing to see how green the trails have become. It seemed like just yesterday, they were bare and freezing.

Nate had his mojo flowing, as he worked us on the hills. It was a nice change of pace, getting onto the trails, and off the road.
I have busy Saturday's for the next few weeks, so I might not be back with the group until late June, so I made the most of this run, and did my best to work the uphills & downhills.

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day!

5.8 miles 59:29

Nice run after work.

2009-05-07T07:31:00.003-04:00

I got out after work Wednesday, for the 1st time since the 1/2 on Sunday. It's been a rainy mess around here for the last week, and it was nice to get a dry run in.
I was surprised that I wasn't as sore as I usually am after a hard race. I did a nice out and back 6 mile run.
I didn't see any runners out, when I ran, but sure seemed like everyone was mowing their lawns.
A week from this Saturday, I have my 1st 5k race on the schedule, and hopefully I can hit the track once before the race.
I ran a nice pace, probably a little quicker than I should have, but I felt good.

6 miles 49:19 (8:12 avg.)

8:17
8:12
8:10
8:15
8:17
8:03

Long Branch 1/2 Marathon

2009-05-03T15:54:00.008-04:00

What a day.

It started bright and early at 4:30, when I got up to make the 1hour drive down to Long Branch.

It wasn't raining when I started, and I was hoping to get the 1/2 in before the rain came.
When I finally got to the start/finish area, it took a whopping 1-1/2 hours! The police had traffic a mess, and the shuttle buses where mixed in with the us regular Joe's. I heard people talking that some had to wait at Monmouth Park for over a 1/2 hour for a bus. That's terrible, considering they have at least 3 major horse races a year, and should have a handle on the traffic. It was so bad, it delayed the start for over a 1/2 hour.
I did run into the blog crew before the race. BommaMomma & her husband, good ole Shoreturtle, Progman, JoyRun & her husband, and the world famous Ted & his wife. ST & Ted where not running, they were here to cheer on the runners. BM's husband was running the 1/2 & Ted's wife was running the full.

Everything at the start & at the baggage check, was awesome. Everything seemed to have a nice flow. I can't blame the people running the event for the delayed start. They announced that they were waiting on the police to start the race.

I started out a little behind the 3:30 pace group. I got as close as I could. It was pretty tight, with both the 1/2 & full marathoners. When we finally started a little after 8:00am, I was ready to go. I had to fight my way the first few miles to finally catch up to the pace group. The crowd support was awesome. Some house had the music cranking, there were a couple of bands playing in the 1st 3-4 miles. I'm sure that helped the full marathoners, when they came back around.
I wasn't sure how I was going to feel, since I bonked last Sunday. The more I thought about the pace I wanted to run, I really wasn't sure I could keep up a 8:00min/mile pace, for 13.1 miles!
Our 3:30 pace leader was awesome. I believe his name was Mike, and he was great. He had the group at 15secs. under goal, for the 1st half, leaving some wiggle room, for the 2nd half.
He was very encouraging to runners we came up on, making sure they were good, and telling trying to get them to hang with him. He was also very knowledgeable, talking to a 1st time 1/2'fer about what to wear. The runner was maybe 15-16, and was wearing all cotton, and Pacer Mike told him he would knock off probably 2 minutes to his time, wearing the proper clothing.
I was feeling really strong, and left the group just past the 1o mile mark.
I didn't want to start to kick that early, but I was feeling good, and went ahead by a little bit.
By the time I hit mile 13, I went for it, and crossed the finish at a PR of 1:43:20, according to my Garmin. I did the last mile in 7:22, fastest mile of the day. I guess trying to finish strong in my training runs paid off!
13.26 miles 1:43:20 (7:47 pace)

7:57
7:33
7:53
7:51
8:03
7:49
7:54
7:53
7:46
7:52
7:44
7:47
7:22

.22 1:51

I'll update the official results, when they post them!
Congrats to all who ran today, in the wet weather!

***UPDATE***

The official chip time is 1:43:18

40/284 M 40-44

381/4702

NJ MARATHON & BROAD ST. RUN This SUNDAY!

2009-05-02T08:19:00.003-04:00

Best of luck to all the runners out here that are racing this Sunday.
Two of the most popular races take place around these parts,
the NJMARATHON & the BroadStreetRun in Philly.
I know a few doing the NJ Marathon, so best of luck to
BommaMomma
Progman2000
Joyrun

Denise I believe is running Broad St.

and anyone & everyone who is running Sunday!

I'll be running the Long Branch 1/2 marathon, alongside the NJ Marathoners. It might be a bit wet, but looks like the temps will be perfect for the races.

A pair of 6's before the 1/2 !

2009-04-30T20:30:00.002-04:00

I got out on Tuesday & Thursday, and ran 6 miles on both days. I have the LongBranch1/2 on Sunday. I was looking forward to getting a run in on Tuesday, after how tough the Sunday run was with the heat. I ran around 7:00pm, and it was still really warm for this time of the year here, in NJ. It was in the low 70's, with not much of a breeze, when I ran.
I picked a new course, some different roads I don't normally run on, just to mix things up a bit.
I also enjoyed running that late at nite. I haven't run that late since last summer, and it felt good.

6miles 49:27

8:25
8:08
8:24
8:18
8:18
7:47

Thursday, the weather had changed dramatically, going from highs in the 90's, on Tuesday, to temps in the high 50's, with a steady wind. It was a decent run, but the good ole Garmin lied on the 1st mile again. When I looked at my watch, it was at least about 3/10 of a mile off. I had an idea where the 1st mile should be, and as I passed it, I waited for the beep, and it never came. I took it easy, since I do have the 1/2 marathon on Sunday. I am looking forward to going to the expo Friday, to get my packet, and see what deals they have.

6.21 miles 56:38 (should be approx 6.5 miles)

10:41
8:59
8:58
8:48
8:45
8:35
1:49

What Happened to Spring??

2009-04-26T20:46:00.004-04:00

I know for the past few weeks, myself and others here in the NJ, PA area have bitched about the cold, the wind, when will it warm up, etc.. well SUMMER arrived this weekend! Highs Saturday topped off around 90deg, and it was the same Sunday.
I planned to run 14 miles, my last long run before the 1/2 marathon, part of the NJ Marathon next Sunday. I had the smarts to go out the nite before, and hide a frozen water bottle, at what would be around mile 9-10. While I knew it was going to be warm in the morning, when I checked the weather, it called for highs around 64deg. when I planned to run.
Well, when I got out to run around 7:00am, it was already in the low 70's. I should have grabbed a water to start with, but I figured I would be OK, since I had a bottle out on the route.
I wanted to make this a nice comfortable slow run, logging in the miles. I did log the miles, but it was more of a struggle than comfortable. The heat really took it's toll, since I haven't run in this heat in probably 6 months or more.
I was pumped to get to my water stop, and get my water, around mile 9. I ran through Mercer County Park, and there was a March of Dimes walk getting started. The park was full of activity, bikers, walkers, runners, crews out practicing on the lake, soccer games. It is one busy park!
Anyway, I was glad when this run was over. I felt like crap when it was done, but was glad I pushed thru the pain, and finished. Sure was a blow to the confidence I was building heading into the 1/2.
14 miles (2:08:11) 9:09 avg.

8:48
8:40
8:48
8:52
9:03
9:13
9:06
9:02
9:02
9:33
9:25
9:30
9:32

9:30

Sunday... Runday.... Funday !!

2009-04-19T19:06:00.014-04:00

It's been busy around here, but fun.

I got out and ran on Thursday after work. I ran at Veteran's Park, and did 6 miles in a little over 50mins. Legs were a bit tired after Wednesday's 8 miler.

The weather for Saturday, was highs in the mid 70's, so I was looking forward to a warm trail run with the group. It wasn't as warm as I had hoped, around the high 40's at 7:00am, but still nice. We came across a college/high school regatta, at Mercer County Park, and since we had enough runners to have our own crew, I felt the need to "call out" the other schools as they prepared. We ran 6.4 miles in 1:01:20, and it felt really good to be back out on the trails with the group.

On Sunday, we were taking my oldest to the Phillies game, it's Phanatic's Birthday, so I got up early to do my long run. I was out of the house around 6:30am, and it was in the mid 50's. Really nice running weather, and get this, there was hardly a breeze! What a difference from last Sunday. I was trying to make this a nice LSD run, and did accomplish it for the most part.

When I got to Mercer County Park, the Regatta was about half the size it was on Saturday morning. I guess it was just the finalists.

I was a group of one, so I left the competitors alone this morning. I figured, if I messed with them, they might just come after me with these...

It was a good run, and I felt wipe out after finishing the 15 miles. I did find the energy to make the last mile my best. I hope that pays off at the 1/2 on May 3rd.

The day ended great.. a bottom of the 9th game winning homer by Ibanez, and the FLYERS are back in the series with a nice 6-3 win!

Oh... and here's a couple of nice pics from the Phils game today.. enjoy!

That is a birthday cake made entirely out of Taskycakes!

The Great Harry Kalas memorial on the left/centerfield wall.

15 miles 2:11:05 (8:44 avg.)

8:45
8:57
8:52
8:55
8:57
8:47
8:46
8:38
8:40
8:35
8:40
8:46
8:30
8:44
8:23

Running after the rain

2009-04-15T21:14:00.004-04:00

Well, 2 days of rain finally ended around 4:00pm today. I waited the rain out, and got out and ran around 4:30pm. It was cool, low 40's, overcast and damp. Best thing about the weather... no WIND!
I planned to run 8 miles, an out and back to Mercer County Park. As I was approaching a point where I know I should be around the 1 mile mark, the garmin had me at .53 miles. I guess maybe the weather effected it. When it did finally click off Mile 1, it was at 12:44. It worked fine the rest of the run.
For as bad a run as I had on Easter Sunday, this was just the opposite. The legs felt good, maybe the extra day of rest helped. It was nice to run without the wind. It seemed like forever that the wind has been blowing. There wasn't much going on at the park, the only people out, where the high school crew, practicing on the lake.
I pushed it the last mile , to keep with my plans to try and finish my runs with my fastest mile. The Garmin had me at 1:10:25, for 8.15miles, but you can add a 1/2 mile onto that. When I downloaded my run, I could see where it started, and where I actually did start.
The next few days has the sun coming out, and temps topping off around the mid 70's on Saturday! Sounds like maybe Spring has finally been sprung.

12.44 ( more like 1.5miles)
8:12
8:19
8:07
7:59
8:11
8:04
7:42

.15 1:02

10 miles on a blustry Easter Sunday.

2009-04-12T20:20:00.004-04:00

Well, this wasn't exactly the greatest running weather this past weekend.
Saturday, I got up before 6:00am, to meet Bill Y at Clayton Park, to hit the trails. I was hoping to get the run in before the rain came, but that was not to be. As soon as I got to the park, the skies opened, and we got dumped on. When Bill arrived, we made the executive decision to go to breakfast instead of getting soaked.
Onto Easter Sunday!
Well, when you have two young children, who are at that age who just love Santa & the Easter Bunny, you had to figure they wouldn't be sleeping in. They were up just after 6:00am!
SO after an early morning of Easter candy, and other assorted gifts, I finally pushed myself out to run around 11:00am. The wind was brutal, gusting out of the NW at 25+mph. And being April, it could be 70 or 40, and of course it was 40deg! I decided to stay away from Mercer County Park, and the winds off the lake, and stay on the roads. I don't think it mattered much.
I wasn't feeling all that great during the run. I wanted to get in around 14, but when I hit the 9 mile mark, and I knew I could end the run at 10, around my home, I did just that.
It was a struggle to get 10 in, but I am glad I did. I want to up the long run mileage, with the 1/2 marathon only a few weeks away, on May 3rd.
I plan this week is to do the 6-8-6, Tuesday - Thursday. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. I am about sick of the wind! It just drains you both mentally & physically.
10 miles 1:29:16

8:38
8:25
8:42
8:50
9:00
8:55
9:05
9:08
9:23
9:09

6 Miles after a busy Day

2009-04-08T20:59:00.002-04:00

Man it was a busy day, but I managed to find the time to get out and run 6 miles.
It was in the high 40's and breezy here, typical April in NJ. One day summer like, next winter like.
I can break this run down into 1/3rd's.
The first 1/3rd was just trying to find a rhythm. I didn't feel like running, and it was hard to get started. One I got past the mental & psychical part, I started to enjoy myself.
I picked up the pace in the 2nd 1/3rd. I did get the fun of running into the wind. Oh is that getting old! I can't wait to get in some runs in later in the day, in nice calm weather.
The last 1/3rd, I did my best to pick up the pace, and finish strong. When I started my run, I figured this would be one of the runs you just struggle to get through. I was off on that thought.
The last mile, I went for it, and ended the run with a 7:24 mile. I wanted to finish under 8:00, and accomplished that.
I did forget to mention that I went over 100 miles for the 2nd straight month. I finished March at 101.29, and counting today's run I'm at 314.36.

6 Miles 49:24 (8:13avg.)

8:31
8:30
8:19
8:26
8:11
7:24

A busy weekend....

2009-04-06T21:16:00.001-04:00

Man what a busy weekend!
Beside just finding time to get my weekend runs in, it was Opening Day for my son's baseball season, oh and the WORLD F'n CHAMPS opening nite, on Sunday.
Let's start on Saturday. I got up early and met up with the HamiltonTrail group. There were only 4 of us to hit the trails in Clayton. I needed to be home early to shower and get my son to his Opening Day ceremonies. It was very windy, gusts 25-30mph, but the temps were in the 50's, so it wasn't cold. We did some nice hills, and it was nice to get back to the trails. I had missed the last 2 weeks, and I was glad to be back. 6.17 miles (58:10).
FYI.... We made it to Opening Day without a problem, but it was disappointing that his game for later in the day was cancelled because of all the rain we got on Friday.
Last week, I signed up for 2 races!
1. LongBranch 1/2 Marathon
This is part of the NJ Marathon on May 3rd. I picked this over the Broad Street Run, since I know a bunch of bloggers running the full. I have the best of both worlds, running the 1/2. I get to run a 1/2 at the shore, and help cheer on the marathoners. I know how I will feel stopping at the 1/2. I will probably be wishing I was doing the full, but common sense dictates I am not in "marathon" shape.
2. AsburyParkRelayMarathon How can you pass up a $35.00 marathon? I plan on running the Philly again, so I started looking at my training plan, and decided to enter this, and use it as a training run. I have a 22-23 miler scheduled for that Sunday, Oct. 18th, and my blogger bud Progman talked me into it.

So, with the Long Branch 1/2 only a month away, time to get into a routine. I headed out Sunday morning on a 14 mile training run. The winds had died down, but where still kicking a bit out of the west at about 15-20 mph. For the most part, it was a cross wind, for the 1st 8 miles of the run. It was enjoyable until I hit Mercer County Park, and the lake. Man, running into the wind can wipe you out. The legs took a beating the last 6 miles. I checked the Garmin around 13.2, and was roughly 1:53. My goal for the 1/2 will be somewhere around 1:50:00, or a 8:24 min/mile avg.
Anyway, I fought through the winds, and finished the 14 miles in 2:00:37. My goal is to always finish my last mile as my best, but the winds didn't let that happen.
The rest of the day, to complete the busy weekend, was my son's 1st baseball game of the season, home, shower and off to see the World Champs home opener. As has been the case for the better part of the last 10 home openers I have been to, dating back to the days of Veteran's Stadium, they lost!
14 miles 2:00:37 (8:36 avg.)

8:27
8:15
8:23
8:25
8:31
8:29
8:39
8:33
8:31
8:51
8:56
9:08
8:36
8:44

OCEAN DRIVE 10 MILER

2009-03-30T16:25:00.011-04:00

Sunday was the 10th Ocean Drive 10 miler, part of the Ocean Drive Marathon.

The weather was doom and gloom for the past week. They called for rain, with a chance of thunderstorms, high for the day topping out around 67, in the low 50's for the start,but the good part was winds out of the south. That means no 10 miles of headwinds!

The weather report was almost spot on. The storms came through Saturday nite, and it was fogging, with a mist at the start.

I had Shoreturtle spend the nite at our place in Wildwood, so he wouldn't have to travel the 1:45mins from home, before the race. My sister in law came in from Boston, to do the race. She had done a few smaller races, 1-2 milers, and 5k's, in the past, but this was her 1st 10 miler, and she trained this winter for the run. I was nervous/excited for her.

I took her and my oldest son out for a ride Saturday, to show her the course, so she would know what to expect.

We got up early Sunday, and headed to the finish, where we got on the bus to Cape May, and met up with JoyRun .

We hung inside at the Congress Hall Hotel, to keep warm before the race. It was nice to hang there, and talk running with the gang, and watch the other runners, both 10 milers and marathoners prepare for the race.

We waited inside until about the last possible minute.

It was cold at the start, and I made a last minute decision to keep the pullover on.. not a good choice!

As the race started, we took off, and as usual for me, as much as I tried to start slow, I went out too fast. I had a right side stitch for the first few miles. I did the 1st mile in 7:50 & mile 2 in 7:32.
I wanted to stick around an 8min pace. I need to work on a slower start to the longer races.

Shoreturtle caught me and flew by around the 3-1/2 mile mark. We both asked how the other was doing, and off he went. I had him in my sight for the next few miles, but lost him when we reached Wildwood Crest.

I realized at about the 2 mile mark, that I should have listened to my gut, and ran without the pullover. It was warming up quickly, and I didn't want to "overheat" like I had done at the Ugly Mudder.

I had a talked to my wife as to where she would be with the boys. If the weather was bad, she was going to be at the hotel at our corner, under cover. If they weren't there, they would be at the finish line. As I hit the 8 mile mark, I took off my jacket, and was going to hand it off to her, but since they weren't there, I hid it under a dumpster at the hotel. I knew it would be safe there.

Man I felt so much better after ditching the jacket. I had a bounce back in my step. The only negative was that the calf that was acting up this past week, was starting again.

I pushed through it, and wanted to finish strong. When we made the turn off Atlantic Ave, onto Pine Ave, and headed towards the boardwalk, our old pal the wind was kicking! It was like year's past, running into the wind. Luckily it was only for 2 short shore blocks.
As I got onto the boards, I started to kick the best I could. As I got closer to the finish, I saw my wife, boys and her father waiting there, cheering us on. I saw that my son had made signs to cheer us on, and that was an awesome sight.

I finished the 10th mile in 7:51, not my fastest mile of the race, but a nice finish.

I met up with Charlie, and congratulated him on his race, and headed up to watch for Joy & Ami to finish.

My sister in law gave my wife a heart attack. As we were waiting and cheering on the runners, her phone rings, and it was Ami. Crazy sis-in-law called to tell her she was hitting the boardwalk.

That was too funny.

We spotted Ami, and I glanced back at the clock, and saw she could beat her goal of 1:40.

With us cheering her on, she pushed it to the finish, and crossed the line at 1:38:42 ! She did awesome. She had said she left a little in the tank, and I couldn't have been prouder of her. She did her work this winter, and it paid off.

She is talking about trying a 1/2 marathon this fall.

It was a great day and race. I knocked over 10mins off my time from last year. I think the wind had something to do with that.

1:20:27 (8:00min avg.)

76th overall

13/62 age div.

7:50
7:31
7:57
7:51
8:15
8:18
8:12
8:10
8:06
7:51

Mid Week Runs.

2009-03-26T07:02:00.003-04:00

I got out and ran on Tuesday & Wednesday.
Tuesday, I did a nice 6 mile. It was a windy day, with some big gusts. I did a relaxed pace, and picked it up the final 2 miles. I did the 6 miles in 50:17 (8:22 avg.)

8:36
8:43
8:40
8:41
7:58
7:33

Wednesday, I did an 8 mile out and back to Mercer County Park. It was warmer, and not as windy, no big gusts.

I ran the 1st 4 miles at race pace, and took it easier on the final 4 miles. One thing that I did feel, is a pain in my right calf. Felt like a knot back there. Hopefully it goes away in the next few days. I don't want to be nicked up for the 10 mile race on Sunday.

I did the 8 miler in 1:05:55 (8:14avg.)

8:05
7:56
8:02
7:50
8:20
8:27
8:41
8:31

Ocean Drive 10 Miler preview.. with PIctures!

2009-03-21T17:35:00.018-04:00

The wife and I sans kids & dogs, headed down to Wildwood, to open the house for the season.
With the Ocean Drive 10 miler next weekend, I planned to run most of the course, to get reacquainted with the winds!

I had her drop me off at the starting area, and I was going to run back to our house, which the course passes right by.

As we were headed to Cape May, the toll bridge on the course, the last hill, was closed for street repairs, due to reopen on the 27th. We spun around and headed back into Wildwood, hit the Garden State Parkway, and headed into Cape May. I told my wife that I would cross the bridge, she was a little nervous about leaving me, wondering how I would get back. I told her if I'm not back in an 1:20mins, you know I couldn't cross the bridge, and I would figure out a root back.

So, with the wife gone, I started out on the course.

As I passed by their convention hall, I noticed their billboard.

As I passed the 1st mile mark, still running along their beach, I passed the road where I was to turn left. My mistake added about 3/4 mile on to my run.

Heading out of Cape May, you encounter the 1st of 2 bridges. This is a nice looong hill. It's around the 3 mile mark. Once you get to the top, it's a gradual downhill, and you bear off to the right, onto the Ocean Drive, and head towards Wildwood.

The next few miles are mostly a back bay marshy area, nice and flat.

As I got closer to the closed toll bridge, I came upon a warning sign.

Even though I knew it was closed to pedestrians, the big sign did not say that, and I was going to use that to cross.

Just past the sign, there was a smaller flat bridge to cross. The wind picked up a bit here, with the open area.As I got closer to the bridge, and seeing the closure, I was a bit nervous if they wouldn't let me cross. I would have had to turn around, and run aprox 3 miles back, and about 4 miles on the GSP, just to get back close to Wildwood... not good!

As I ran up the bridge, I told the 1st worker I saw, that I had been dropped off in Cape May, and had no idea the bridge was closed to pedestrians, and had no other way to get to Wildwood. He gave me a look, and told me to be careful crossing, and that I could not cross it later. I thanked the man, told him I would not be back, and kept going.As I got through the construction area, I snapped a picture, and kept on running! As you can see, there wasn't much room to cross.

I was now free and clear to finish my run, with only the winds to slow me down.
The winds weren't bad today. I can only hope the conditions will be like this next Sunday for the actual race.

I stayed on the new route in Wildwood Crest, and I think this will be a plus with the winds. Usually we run the bike path in the Crest, until we hit the boardwalk in Wildwood. This year, we run on Atlantic Ave, a block off the beach, and I think the hotels will help blocking the wind for us.

As I got closer to our street, I saw the hotel on our corner, Ala Moana. It should have been around the 8.2 mile mark, but with my 1st mile error, it was closer to 8.9 miles.
I turned the corner to the left,and headed for home! I hit the 9 mile mark just past our house.
It was a nice run. I was glad to be back downashore running.

I did the 9 miles in 1:12:51 (8:05 avg.)

Maybe I can hold up this pace for the 10 miler next Sunday.

8.22
8.02
7:58
8:12
8:04
7:54
8:09
8:07
7:56

Now who would put stickers on the back of a wrong way sign?

8 miles on Hump Day.

2009-03-19T06:53:00.002-04:00

Man it seems like this has been a long week.
With the weather more spring like, highs in the mid 60's with a steady 15mph wind, I headed out after work to get my 8 mile run in.
The wind was kinda a cross breeze for the 1st half, and more in my face on the 2nd half of the 8 miler.
I did a loop from home, through Mercer County Park, and back home. While I didn't see as many runners out as I did on Tuesday, the few I saw didn't wave. Oh well, I'll continue to do what I do, and hopefully a nice gesture will rub off on the runners I pass.
I felt a bit tired in the legs, from pushing it on the 6 miler the day before. I tried to slow my pace down. I kind of did that.
What I have tried to do, and succeeded so far, is to run more upright, not hunched over. I think it has helped in my stride, and breathing. The other thing I have worked on, is to finish the last mile strong. It's a nice confidence builder, when you last mile is your fastest.
Hopefully the weather holds out today, they are calling for rain, and I'd like to get out and run another 6 miler.
8 miles 1:08:03 (8:30avg.)

Mile / Time
1 8:15
2 8:27
3 8:30
4 8:49
5 8:47
6 8:39
7 8:31
8 8:00

Another 6 mile run

2009-03-17T20:33:00.003-04:00

Today was another 6 miler. I ran an out and back to Mercer County Park. It was a little overcast, but the temps were in the high 50's, so it was short sleeve weather.
Being St. Patrick's day, I kept my eye out for a pot of gold. I didn't find it, but I did find $2.00! That was the most I have found while running. I didn't know it was two singles, until I got home, and checked. I saw green, picked it up, and put them in my pocket.
I felt great during the run, and wanted to run the 6miles at an 8:00 min pace.
Mission accomplished!
There was quite a few runners out in the park, and I have a problem with all but one of them. Would it kill you, when a fellow runner waves, to wave, or at least acknowledge that I made an effort to be polite. The only one who gets a pass, was the guy pushing a baby in a running stroller, while holding his dog's leash. That guy had his hands full.
I plan on running 8 miles Wednesday, and another 6 on Thursday, all leading up to running part of the Ocean Drive course on Saturday.
6 miles 47:06
Mile /Time
1 7:25
2 8:00
3 8:03
4 7:55
5 7:58
6 7:42

Weekend Runs

2009-03-15T19:29:00.004-04:00

I had 2 x 6 miles runs this weekend.
Saturday, I got out with the trailruns group, to Clayton Park, and ran the hills & trails.
Clayton has some nice hills to it, and with me not being the greatest running up hills, this is a good workout, to build strength & confidence on them.
This was my last weekend run with the group for the 2 weeks.
On Sunday, I got out and did a 6 mile out and back with the new Kayano 15's!
You can only get the Kayano 15's in black at Foot Locker. They are an exclusive color to Foot Locker. They go for $140.00, but if you sign up for their free VIP card, you get a $10.00 coupon you can use it on them. I normally don't buy my running shoes at the mall, but I love the black look. I did my research, and they are identical to the white ones, you can buy everywhere.
I was pumped to get out and do a nice run in them.
It was awesome. There is nothing better than running in new shoes. They felt great, nice cushioning and stability. Asics got it right with the slight improvements over the 14's. Just the staggered lacing made a difference in how they felt.
I did the 6 miles in 48:18 (8:02 avg.), with a last mile at 7:24! I'm telling ya... it's the shoes!
Mile/ Time
1 8:06
2 8:17
3 8:09
4 8:18
5 8:00
6 7:24

Another great weekend of running, and now it's time to get ready for the Ocean Drive 10 miler, that is 2 weeks away.

New Kicks !

2009-03-12T20:09:00.002-04:00

Well, I went out and got a new pair of running shoes today! I've been looking forward to this day for the last few weeks. I could tell I was in desperate need of new shoes.

I replaced my Asics Gel Kayano 14's, with the new 15's!

I went with the all black model... it's exclusive to Foot Locker. I did my homework on them, and they are identical to the white models. I wanted to make sure of that, since I don't normally buy my shoes at a Foot Locker.

I had a lot on my plate today, so like any kid with a new toy, you just can't wait to get home and play with it. I got out and ran a quick 2.3 miles.

Man it was a sweet run!

Nothing beats the 1st few runs in new shoes. You can feel in the heel, the more gel they added.

Now I am dying to break them in a bit, and run the Ocean Drive 10 miler in them.

If you need a stability shoe, I love the Kayano's. They are the only shoe I have run in, in the last 5 yrs.

2.3 miles 17:36 (7:39avg.)

Mile

1 7:59

2 7:29

.3 2:07

A tale of 2 x 5k.

2009-03-11T20:57:00.002-04:00

I might be doing a St. Paddy's Day 5k on Saturday, so for today's run, I did a mock 5k race, and took the 2nd 5k, to recover.
It was in the high 40's, overcast with some sprinkles mixed in, and winds out of the west.
After the 16 mile run on Sunday, I took an extra day off. I felt good on Monday, not that sore, but decided not to run until Wednesday.
I felt good during the 1st 5k, and wanted to negative split each mile. The 1st mile I started out conservative, and improved each mile.
My splits were 8:00, 7:36 & 7:18, with the last .10 at .43sec., a 7:37 mile avg.
That came out to a 23:38 5k. I was happy with that, considering I do no speed workouts.
If I do run the 5k race, I would like to see if I could get under 22mins.
The run back, the 2nd 5k, I actually took it easy, and ran it in 27:18.

I think this was my last run in the Asics Gel Kayano 14's. I am way over on the mileage, and I can feel it in the legs. I am going to try and pick up the new 15's Thursday!

Bill & Ted's Excellent 16 mile Adventure!

2009-03-08T20:51:00.006-04:00

Today, I traveled to Seaside Heights, NJ, with Shoreturtle to do a training run with Ted & Joyrun . Finally we were to meet the legendary Ted!

We paired off, and I ran the 16 miles with Ted, and a Shoreturtle ran with Joyrun.
It started out a bit cold, so as usual, I overdressed, ohh.. and I forgot to grab my water.

It got warm real quick, and as we left Seaside, and headed into Island Beach State Park, we ditched the jackets behind some brush.at the entrance to the park.
As Ted and I where at about mile 6, a red fox was in the road, staring at us, as we running towards it. A car came up from behind us, and scared it in to the woods. We got close to it, as it was lying in the woods, I got my camera out, and it took off before I could snap a picture. It was really cool looking. We turned around at about the 8 mile mark, but before we did, we followed a boardwalk, to a little dock that overlooked the bay.

As we headed back towards Seaside, we passed Joy & Turtle. As you can see, someone thought that seeing us, meant you could stop!

When we got back to our jacket drop off, I hit the men's room, and got some much needed water. I needed that, since I forgot my water back at the car.

There was some great scenery, and as we got back on the boardwalk, it's was awesome to be running next to the beach again.

It was a great run. I felt like I was an anchor on Ted. The man is a machine! He set a nice pace. We averaged 9:13 min miles. Let me tell ya, it was a tough keeping that pace, considering I haven't run miles like that since Philly, and running 7 miles on the trails Saturday didn't help!

It was great to run with Ted, and I look forward to running with him again.

It looks like Joyrun is well on her way to have a great NJ Marathon experience, both her and Turtle did awesome.

Fyi.. I owe Turtle & Joyrun writing credits for the title.

16 miles 2:27:33

Mile/Time
1 9:45
2 9:11
3 9:15
4 9:10
5 9:09
6 9:06
7 9:11
8 9:26
9 8:50
10 8:55
11 8:57
12 9:07
13 9:15
14 9:18
15 9:18
16 9:29

Running in Philly!

2009-03-05T17:12:00.007-05:00

Today, when I packed my running gear, I had the thought of running somewhere different.

On a Thursday, I normally don't go into the city of Philadelphia, but I had to, so where better to run, than Kelly Drive, and relive some of the magic of the Marathon course.

It was a nice day to run, with the sun out, temps in the high 40's, and a slight breeze.

There was a nice mix of walkers, bikers & runners out.

I wanted to stay close to the 5 mile range, I didn't want to overdue it, like last week. I started out around the Art Museum, and ran one of the few hills that were part of the Marathon course. As I was running it, I remembered this part of the course, and I could hear our pace group leader pushing us up and down the hill. Man, he was good, Pacer Dan! He kept us at such an even pace, I really owe him, he made my marathon experience awesome.

Anyway, I headed out Kelly Drive, and turned around, when the Garmin hit 3 miles. I felt good, and thought about going further, but came to my senses, and headed back towards the Art Museum. When I got around Boathouse Row, I got to thinking about how the crowd grew, the cheering intensified, and it pushed me to the finish. When I made the right turn, and saw the finish, it was an awesome site. I first saw my sister in law, and a littler closer to the finish I saw my wife & brother in law. Thinking about that today, running, made it seem as if it just happened.
It was a great run, and I really enjoyed myself.

5.7 miles 46:39 (8:11 mile avg.).

FYI...
The last 2 days, I listened to the new U2 album.. I'll give it a thumbs up. If you are a fan of U2, I'd say go out and buy No Line on the Horizon, it's a solid album... do we still call them albums?

5 miles in Veteran's Park

2009-03-05T06:53:00.002-05:00

I got out Wednesday after work, and got a nice 5 mile run in at Veteran's Park. The park was pretty quiet. There were a few runners from the local High School out, and I saw one other, a few walkers, and a couple of dogs playing at the dog park.
Some of the bike paths were still packed with snow. Those spots where a little hairy, I sure didn't want to wipe out.
I felt a lot better than I had my last few times out. The cough is gone,which is a good thing, and I guess the extra days of rest helped.
It's funny, when you get into a routine, and you take an extra day off, you can really feel it, that 1st run back.
I did the 5 miles in 43:00, a (8:35 min mile avg.).
The weather rumor around NJ is 60's over the weekend! Sounds good to me!

Feburary is in the books!

2009-03-03T06:55:00.002-05:00

Well, as March comes in like a Lion, here in NJ, Feb. is done, and I am happy to see it go!
It started out great, got some nice long runs in, ran w/ the NJ Marathon group, did my own thing, and ran with the trail runs group, and completed another insane trail race in Reading,Pa.
As the month ended, I have not been feeling all that great, so I am glad to get Feb. outta here, and bring on March. I got out Saturday, and did what should have been a great 8 mile trail run. It was the perfect morning to run, and it sucked that I wasn't feeling my best to enjoy it.
The run did put me over 100 miles for the month, the 1st time I have run that much in a month since November. I did 106.98 for the month.
Anyway, we got about 6" of snow here Sunday/Monday, so with the roads & paths iced over, I might just take this time to fully recuperate, and get back to running later in the week.
I have the Ocean Drive 10 miler at the end of the month, so I'll have plenty of time to get prepared for it.

8 Mile Thursday!

2009-02-26T21:42:00.002-05:00

I got out for a run after work today, and did 8 miles. It was about the same weather wise, temps in the low 50's, and overcast, with not much wind. That's 2 days in a row, in shorts! Just think, daylight savings time is only a little over a week away!
I probably should have not run as long, since my lungs were killing me afterwards.
I can't friggin stand coughing, and it seems like that is all I do. I figured I'd run the cough out of my system. I guess it doesn't work that way. I had that burning feeling in the lungs afterwards, and it took a little while for it to go away. Guess I should know better than to push it when I'm not 100%.
I did a longer loop, similar to Wednesday's Mercer County Park loop. For as nice as the weather was, I only passed one other runner. I kept a nice even pace, and like yesterday, I wanted to end with negative splits.
For as crappy as I felt the past few days, I think the worst is behind me.
I'll take off Friday, and if I feel better, I will hit the trails Saturday morning with the group.

8 miles (1:10:18 8:47avg.)

Mile /Time
1 8:42
2 8:48
3 8:49
4 8:51
5 9:05
6 8:57
7 8:49
8 8:14

5 Mile Loop

2009-02-25T18:03:00.004-05:00

I've felt like crap the last few days, and got to thinking today, that I would run the crappyness out of my system. One thing I hate, is that crappy winter sickness that seems to get us all at one point or another. I've been od'ing on vitamin C & Tylenol, and have taken zinc the past 2 days. At this point, all I have left is the 30yr smoker cough & the Flem is brings up. Soo... out the door today to run!
It was warm enough to run in shorts, my best guess is maybe it was close to 50deg, with a slight breeze, when I ran later this afternoon. I wanted to run 5 miles, so I did a loop from home to Mercer County Park, and back. I felt pretty good, considering how bad I felt during the Ugly Mudder. I think the hill at the race helped today. Running a pretty flat course seemed really easy after those hills!
Please check out the HamiltonAreaTrailRuns group blog, for some more detail about the Mudder, and some great pictures.
Anyway back to the run, it was nice to run in some decent weather, and I can't wait for spring to get here! It was a relatively uneventful run. No craziness going on anywhere, but that was ok by me.
I ran the 5 miles in 41:21, and negative split the last 2 miles.
If I fell good tomorrow, I might just get out there again, and try and add a mile or 2.

41:21 (8:15 avg.)

Mile/Time
1 8:26
2 8:28
3 8:31
4 8:09
5 7:43

UGLY MUDDER TRAIL RACE!

2009-02-22T19:23:00.010-05:00

Another trail race is in the books, the UGLY MUDDER is history!

It started out really good, as the man himself, Bart Yasso was on hand to sign copies of his book, and was the starter of the race.

The weather was a bit of an issue, as it was cold and we had snow showers during the race. It was warmer than the Chilly Cheeks race, but still cool.

There was 10 of us that made the drive up from Hamilton, to Reading, Pa for the event, and it really is an event.

Here is Ron Horn, the man behind the Pretzel City races, at the start giving us a pep talk. He is quite the character, let me tell ya!

I wore a different shirt & hat than I had in the previous trail race here, and I made a bad choice.
After about the 1st mile, I felt sick, as if I was overheated. I wore a tech shirt, and I really shouldn't have worn my jacket with it. With it snowing, I wore a hat that covered my entire head, unlike the usual run for the holiday 5k hat, that barely hits the ears.

This race ran a totally different course than the Chilly Cheeks. It was flatter and faster. It still had some major hills, and they kicked your ass, let me tell ya!

This was the 1st race I had run, where I actually felt like I was going to throw up! Not a good feeling to have in the 2nd mile of a 7.25 race. I held it together, but man I don't think I have ever been passed by more runners than I was today. I think the hardest part of today's run, for me was trying to get going after one of the hill climbs. I just didn't have anything in the tank.

I had my camera with me, but the way I felt, there was no way I had the energy to bring it out.

Overall with not feeling the greatest, it was an enjoyable event.

The Garmin had it at 6.39 miles, but they say it was a 7.25 mile race, so who do you believe?

I finished in 1:10:34, which wasn't bad considering how I felt.

Well, I think that is the last of the trail races for awhile, so it's back to what I enjoy best, road races!

14 on a Sunday Morning

2009-02-15T19:55:00.009-05:00

After Saturday's trail run, and not feeling that great, I wanted to get out and go for a nice long run. I picked one of the courses I ran while training for the Philadelphia Marathon.

It was a nice long 14 mile loop. I can break this run down into 2 half's.

The first 7, I felt pretty good. Legs were moving and I was making up for yesterday. The temp was in the 40's with a slight breeze, really nice running weather.

I ran past a red tailed Hawk, put I couldn't get a good shot of him.

I did get a nice shot of some Canadian Geese on a golf course.

These geese are taking over around here. It's hard to run in any local park, with running through geese poop.
The first seven miles seemed to go by pretty quickly, and brought back good memories of last summer/fall and training for Philly.

The 2nd 7, well, that's when the legs started to ache, and my bad planning of no water hurt me. I did pack a GU, and took that around the 7th mile.
As I hit Mercer County Park, I was hoping the bathrooms would be open, but they were closed.

As I ran into the woods, I got a nice shot of a pair of geese enjoy a swim.

The wind was a lot stronger at the park, especially coming off the lake. I think that had something to do with the legs.

As I left the park, and started on the last 2 miles, I wanted to make sure I picked up the pace for the last mile. It was hard, as this was the longest run I have done since Nov. I did check the Garmin, and I was at 1:55 at the 13.1, 1/2 marathon mark. I was really happy with that.
I picked up the pace the best I could for the last mile, and finished at 2:02:42.

Oh, and I got home just in time to watch the FLYERS put a beating on the Rangers. I will say, most of the beating was self inflicted. The Rangers are in a free fall.

14 miles (2:02:42 8:45 avg.)

Mile / Time

1 8:34
2 8:35
3 8:46
4 8:43
5 8:48
6 8:34
7 8:39
8 8:46
9 8:43
10 8:49
11 8:57
12 8:57
13 9:08
14 8:37

Clayton Park minus the ICE !

2009-02-14T11:08:00.004-05:00

Clayton Park is sure much more fun to run at minus the ICE we had to deal with a few weeks ago.
Today's trail run was tough, Nate really pushed it up the hills, getting us prepared for the Ugly Mudder next weekend. We ran 5-1/4 miles, but it sure seemed longer, but hey the Garmin doesn't lie.
As you can see from the picture, we had a big group out today. Most of us running the UM, were here.

Clayton has some nice hills that will help replicate somewhat the trails in Reading.It was a tough run, and I was glad when it was over.

One guy, said it was a piece of cake, and he sure looks relaxed.... Shoreturtle

5.25 miles 50:01 (9:31 avg.)

8 miles in Shorts & a Tee!!

2009-02-11T19:37:00.003-05:00

3 in a row!!
That's 3 consecutive runs in shorts! While Cal Ripken's record will stand, this sure feels good.

I got to run in Mercer County Park, Wednesday after work, in shorts and a t-shirt! The weather geeks claimed it could hit 70 here today, but I knew better. It was low 60's, and that was fine by me. The wind was an issue, as it was gusty, but I'm not complaining.
The park was buzzing with activity, walkers, bikers, runners, strollers, dog walking, it had that spring time feel.
I wanted to get in 8 miles today. My goal is to put a week in similar to my marathon training I did. I am kicking around an idea, and just want to see how I feel. More on that another day....

Anyway I felt good, the wind was a nuisance in the mid miles, but hey, 60's in Feb., let it be known, I am not complaining! If anything, it's good training for the Ocean Drive 10 miler.
8 miles (1:08:30 8:33avg)

Mile / Time
1 8:22
2 8:10
3 8:21
4 8:49
5 8:39
6 8:51
7 8:47
8 8:27

A Quick 6 in the park!

2009-02-10T19:34:00.004-05:00

It was another nice weather day to run! It was in the low 50's, and I was able to run in shorts & a long sleeve tech shirt. That's 2 in a row, in shorts! I know I'll be paying for this break soon, it's just a matter of time.
Anyway, I went to Veteran's Park after work, and ran 6 miles. There were a bunch of walkers out, and a few runners. I felt pretty good, and enjoyed the mild temps. I ran the basic Hangover course, and modified it a bit, to add the extra mile. I felt like I could have gone further, but 6 was plenty. I pushed it the last mile, and wanted to run that under 8 mins. Mission accomplished. I did the last mile in 7:41.
Looks like tomorrow, Wednesday, the temps could hit 60, so while it has been an off day of running, I might just have to pack the gear and hit the parks! How can you pass up weather like that in Feb?

Sorry, no pics today, there just wasn't anything interesting to photograph.
One last thing.. I signed up for the UglyMudder trail race. Yea, I'm a glutton for punishment!

6 miles 50:05 (8:20 avg.)

Mile / Time
1 8:31
2 8:23
3 8:52
4 8:23
5 8:10
6 7:41

New Blogger...

2009-02-09T19:29:00.004-05:00

Hey, if ya get the chance, check out the new blogger...

www.havebabywillrun.blogspot.com

She has started a blog, and has run the trails with us, and is training for the NJ Marathon.

It was cool that Shoreturtle mentioned my blog when I started this, and others found me, and I thought I would pay it forward.

A weekend of temperature extremes!

2009-02-08T20:47:00.006-05:00

What a difference between the 2 days.

Let's start with Saturday. I got out at 7:00am, and met up with the trailruns group. The temp was 11.5 deg F, when I left the house. Another frigid trail run! I just keep thinking that running in these temps will payoff come Spring.

It was a good run, and Nate, our "leader", pushed us on a few hills. I didn't feel all that good on this run, and didn't have anything for the last 1/4-1/2 mile kick.

I was glad I got out and did the run. I'm still undecided if I am going to do the UglyMudder trail race.

The Garmin had the run at 7.11 miles, but I missed about a 1/2 mile as it tried to find the satellites.

7.11 miles (1:10.02)

Now Sunday was the total opposite of Saturday!

I went for a run around 11:00am. I wanted to run about 10 miles, so I headed towards Mercer County Park. It was awesome out! The thermometer read 61deg F, when I left. Yup you read that correctly, 61 ! What a difference from the frigid Sat. run! I was actually able to run in shorts!

I felt a lot better running today, than Saturday. Maybe it was the weather. For the 1st 1/2, I didn't realize I had the wind at my back. When I hit the park, man it was windy. The gusts where really strong around the lake. The paths that were ice covered only 24 hours earlier, where bone dry. These conditions will resemble the OceanDrive 10 miler. Very gusty for the 2nd half. The winds did slow me down.

When I got home, my oldest son took a picture of my unusual running attire. I had my long sleeve pullover off the arms. It was warm!

10 miles 1:26:18 (8:37 avg)

Mile / Time

1 8:06
2 8:12
3 8:05
4 8:06
5 8:38
6 8:49
7 8:45
8 9:25
9 9:04
10 9:01

5 miles in frigid Veteran's Park.

2009-02-06T06:48:00.005-05:00

Our crazy roller coaster East Coast winter was back to the frigid side.

I ran 5 miles in Veteran's Park, Thursday, with temps in the low 20's and the wind whipping around. I was always one that enjoyed the cold, but I hate the damn winds. When you run into the wind, it just seems to zap you of all your energy.

I can't wait for Spring! I did see one other runner, and told him come spring we'll be reaping the benefits of running this winter.

5 miles (41:54 / 8:22 avg.)

Funny thing, my pal Shoreturtle had the same idea, and ran in Veteran's Park. I must have just missed him.

On tap this weekend, will be another trail run with the group on Saturday, and I might get out on my own for a long run on Sunday.

4 miles in the Snow.

2009-02-04T06:59:00.002-05:00

On Tuesday, I got out and ran 4 miles after work in the snow. It had been snowing here all day. Nothing was sticking to the roads, since we just had a few days of temps in the 50's deg F.

I ran out and back to the beginning of Mercer County Park. The bike/walking path was covered in a few inches of snow.

It was cool to run in the snow. It reminded me of my old winter track days.

Funny, after getting about 4" of snow, and now a couple of days of frigid temps, they are calling for highs in the 50's this weekend! Ahh good ole NJ winters.

4 miles (34:25)

A weekend of running on the Trails of Clayton Park & the shore of Long Branch

2009-02-01T20:44:00.009-05:00

It was a busy weekend of running. I did 2 group runs.

It started early Saturday morning, when I ran the iced over trails of Clayton Park, with the Hamilton Area Trail Runners. We only did 5 miles, but they were a handful.

It was 18 deg, when I left to meet the group at 6:30am, and with the wind, it didn't warm up any. The trails where an icy mess! We had a group of 8, with two new runners to the group. I hope they didn't get scared off.

Hopefully next weekend, the trails will be in better shape. It was my 1st time running at Clayton, and looks like a great place to trail run, if there isn't an ice issue.

5.01 miles 58:00 mins

On Sunday, Shoreturtle & I headed down to Long Branch, to meet up with Progman2000 & Joyrun , to run part of the NJ Marathon course. Prog had 14 miles to run, and nothing beats running at the shore. The 1st Sunday of every month, the Jersey Shore Road Runners Club meet and do a training run, in preparation for the NJ Marathon in May.

It was a nice balmy day, compared to yesterday's icy trail run. It felt like it was in the 30's, with a slight ocean breeze.
The JSRRC had set up a few water stops along the course, and we ran into LarrytheLighthouse at one of the stops.Larry had on what appeared to be a pair of gold 70's era disco shorts on.

It was a pretty scenic course, and always fun to run at the shore.

I can tell you that this course was similar to Philly's marathon course, as it was very flat. We ran a few slight hills, but nothing that bad.

It was nice to meet fellow blogger Joy, who hung in there with us, and looks to be well on her way to have a great NJ Marathon experience. It was good company and nice to settle in to a relaxed pace, and log some miles, after the past few weeks of helter skelter trail running.

My apologies to Joy, for not getting her in this picture. Progman looks to have his head in the clouds.

This was my longest run since the marathon in Nov, and I felt tired but good after it was done.

13.80 miles 2:14:03 (9:43 avg)

Mile / Time

1 9:13

2 9:47

3 10:00

4 10:20

5 9:59

6 10:17

7 9:58

8 10:07

9 9:59

10 9:35

11 9:08

12 9:46

13 8:56

.80 6:52

A quick 6 in the park.

2009-01-27T20:33:00.002-05:00

I got out of work and headed over to Veteran's Park, to get 6 miles in.
I didn't feel as sore as I thought I would, after the Chilly Cheeks race. I was expecting to be sore all over, but I really wasn't.
The weather was not bad, overcast, little wind, and temps in the low 30's.
There weren't many people out in the park. I saw one other runner, who must have thought it was summer, as he was in shorts, a tech t-shirt, and visor. Crazy..
Anyway, I just wanted to get out, and put in some miles.
Nice thing is I think the ankle injury is behind me. I survived that insane trail race, pain free, and really haven't felt anything in the ankle for a few weeks, so hopefully the tendinitis is gone.
It was nice to get out and run a relaxed pace.
The rest of the week looks like a park run on Thursday, trails with the group on Sat, and meeting up with Ted & Progman, and running part of the NJ Marathon course with those guys.
I think Shoreturtle is joining us also.
6 mile 51:38 (8:36 avg.)

Mile / Time
1 8:41
2 8:26
3 8:46
4 8:35
5 8:30
6 8:35

Chilly Cheeks 7.2 Mile Trail Race Reading,Pa.

2009-01-25T18:23:00.011-05:00

What an experience!

Fourteen of us trail running weekend warriors drove 1-1/2 hours to run the Chilly Cheeks 7.2 mile Trail Race.

Now while I have run 7 miles+ numerous times, I have NEVER, and I mean NEVER ran a harder 7.2 mile course in my life! This course was insane!

First, let me tell ya, this race director has had a few too many German Ginger Ales in his life! He has some wit and it was evident from the pre-race emails, to his pre-race speech, and his markings all over this course.

When the race started, it started much like any other race. After about a 1/4 mile, you realized, this wasn't your normal race. Check out the picture below, and you'll see what I mean!

We hung a right, and climbed up a hill, that there wasn't any clear cut trail! I was thinking"Oh brother, what have I got myself into??!!".

There were times in this race, that you had to walk. The incline and foot traffic was soo much, you had no choice but to walk. Again, this was a first, hundreds of "runners" walking, because you had too! Most of this course, was next to impossible to pass other runners. It seemed as soon as you got your legs & wind back, and started to get into a running flow, a nasty hill forced you to almost a stop, and you were walking again. This sure wasn't a course you would set a PR at, that's for sure.

Around the 4-1/2 mile mark, in the middle of nowhere, there was the 2nd and final water stop, and it wasn't just water... you had cups of Yuenling beer available! I passed on the beer, but did grab a water, and a picture.

There were times that I wanted to rip the camera out and take some pictures, but you needed you hands to grab onto trees, branches, rocks, whatever would help you climb up an icy, snow covered trail. I think they were trails!

Well, when we passed a big orange #6 spray painted on the snow, it was a welcome site. I knew it wouldn't be long, but I tell ya, it felt like forever, kinda like the last few miles of the Philly Marathon. OH did I mention there were more hills to climb?

Check out this picture of the last hill.

I hope that picture does this hill justice. It was steep, and you had a crowd cheering you on, from above. I swear it sounded more like they were laughing at us, bunch of loons running, or more like climbing!

When I got to the top of this hill, I was wiped out. I thought it was the end, but quickly realized I had about another 100 yards to go, to the finish.

It was a great experience. I will probably do one again, but I found it hard to get a rhythm going. Congrats to all who ran and finished!

Here is my time, according to the garmin. Again, this really wasn't about a time, it was more about the experience, and finishing.

1:20:20 (11:55 min/mile)

Best I could figure, I finished around 160th out of about 400+ runners.
***REVISED***
** The results were up on the Pretzel City website, and they had 495 people register, 470 start, and 462 finish. I was 161st.**

www.pretzelcitysports.com/trailracesresults.html

7 mile run after work at MCP

2009-01-22T20:28:00.004-05:00

I got my new orthodics on Monday, and tried them out yesterday. I only ran 2 miles in them. They just didn't feel right. They felt as if I was running in high heels, and it bothered the ankle & I felt a bit of shin splints.
Guess I will be talking to Dr. Foote, and getting them tweaked.

My 7 mile run was back to the old inserts. Better safe than sorry. I ran an out and back in Mercer County Park. It was downright balmy out, compared to the last week or so. The temps had to be in the mid 30's.
I had wanted to get a 10 miler in this week, in preparation for the Chilly Cheeks 7.2 mile trail run this Sunday. Well, I guess a long run of 7 will do.
I did a google search for the Chilly Cheeks run in Reading,Pa. and as much fun as it sounds, it's going to be tough. It seems to be rather hilly!
The shins were bothering me a bit, guess it was a byproduct of yesterday's run. I felt good, but can tell the drop off in the wind & legs at about 3 miles in. While I am faster, I need to gain back the endurance I have lost.

7 miles 56:48 (8:06 avg.)

Mile / Time

1 7:55
2 7:54
3 8:08
4 8:18
5 8:15
6 8:18
7 7:54

What a difference a day makes!

2009-01-18T17:27:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was about as cold as it gets in these parts.

Today it was downright balmy, when I got out for my 8 mile run around 1:30pm. It was 28deg, with little wind. I wore 3 less layers of clothes.

I ran an out and back to Mercer County Park. No trails on this run. I'll have enough of them next Sunday in the Chilly Cheeks run. I just want to get a few runs between now and then over the 7.2 miles that the Chilly Cheeks run is.

I will say, for an overcast 28deg day, there was quite a few people out in the park, walking, walking dogs, biking and running.

I felt pretty good, I can tell how much endurance I have lost since the marathon. I do feel that considering the weeks of not running, I am in better shape at this point of '09 as compared to where I was at this point in '08.

I'll take Monday off, and run on Tuesday & Thursday. I'm thinking of trying to squeeze a 10mile run in on Tuesday, and taper a bit on Thursday & run a few easy miles on Saturday.

FYI.. my male beagle, Austin was glad I was home and enjoyed my stinky running clothes!

8.11 miles 1:06:05

Mile / Time

1 8:07
2 7:56
3 8:22
4 8:18
5 8:08
6 8:08
7 8:09
8 8:10
.11 :42

A FRIGGIN' FREEZIN' 6.2 MILES on the TRAILS!

2009-01-17T15:28:00.011-05:00

The Devil made me run today! As you can see by my indoor thermometer, it was 66.6 inside my kitchen, and a warm -1.3 outside at 6:30am this morning!

When we hit the trails this morning, I can honestly say it wasn't fun... at first.

My fingers & toes where instantly numb! The toes felt as if I hit them, they would just break off.

This had to be the coldest run I have ever done. The local weather numb nuts say this is the coldest it's been in 5 years.

While it was damn cold, it was a beautiful sunrise over the lake.

We ran to the dam and back. When we got to the dam, it was filled with Canadian Geese, and I swear , with the racket they were making, it sounded as though they were laughing at the 8 of us, out there in the frigid tundra of Mercer County Park.

The garmin had us at 6.2 miles & 1 hour for the run, but I must have hit the button, and missed at least a 1/2 mile of trails. We ran this a bit faster then usual. I guess Nate wanted this over quickly.

I don't know what is harder, running in the humid summer's here in NJ, or this bone chilling weather.

5 Frigid miles in Veteran's Park.

2009-01-15T19:44:00.007-05:00

It was a cold 20deg, when I went for a run in Veteran's Park today. There was a wind, which made it feel even worse. I ran a modified Hangover 5 mile course.
The forecast for Friday is even colder, so I wanted to get this run in today.
I have started a routine, running Saturday on the trails, Sunday, and Tuesday & Thursday during the week. I don't have any set mileage amounts for the runs, I am just going how I feel.
As our buddy Beachy says, I'm just logging base miles.

I don't know if you can tell in this picture, but the 2 people are walking 2 basset hounds. Having 2 beagles, they are cool looking dogs.

This is one of the cool paths in the park. They built a boardwalk, in the woods, in an area that was "swampy". While it's not the Wildwood boardwalk, it's still fun to run on. I was having a race with a little sparrow, who was flying under the boardwalk. FYI... it was a tie.

Here are a bunch of Canadian Geese, enjoying the cold water of the lake. It was about 1/2 froze. I remember skating on the lake a bunch as a kid. Hopefully the cold weather will continue and it will be good for skating.
Anyway I ran the freezing 5 miles in 40: 00.

mile/time
1 7:56
2 7:52
3 7:52
4 8:11
5 8:00

Tagged !

2009-01-14T18:13:00.005-05:00

My NY buddy Beachrunner tagged me, so here we go...

Four favorite memories from 2008:
1. Philadelphia Marathon! Just awesome!
2. this could be #1a.. Say it with me.. WORLD F*CKING CHAMPIONS!!
3. Philadelphia Distance Run
4. Week vacation in Wildwood with the family

4 favorite movies watched in 2008

I didn't see one movie in the theaters, so I'll pass on this one.

4 of my favorite foods in 2008

1. boardwalk pizza
2. porterhouse steaks on the grill
3. cold chicken my wife makes for the beach
4. my homemade fettuccine Alfredo

4 places i loved in 2008
1. Wildwood
2. Philadelphia (sporting events)
3. Washington DC/ Virginia
4. Boston

4 events i loved in 2008
1. Phillies Parade
2. Philadelphia Marathon
3. Fireworks after Phils game in July
4. watching my oldest son play baseball/street hockey/ soccer

4 things i liked in 2008
1. starting this blog
2. marathon training
3. going to the beach w/ the family
4. Watching the Flyers & Phils playoff runs!

4 things i am looking forward to in 2009
1. running another marathon or 2
2. summer in Wildwood
3. coaching my oldest in baseball
4. opening day / nite for the Phillies

4 people I tag
1. Shoreturtle
2. Progman2000
3. Ted
4. Marcy

Game on Boys & gal!

5-1/2 miles of trails

2009-01-13T16:24:00.008-05:00

I went for a trail run by myself today. It's not quite as much fun, as it is with a group.

I ran a lot of the same trails we do on Saturday's.

There was a little action on parts of the trails. My goal was to run out to the dam, but I got a bit side tracked. I came up on what I think is a new "whirly twirly" trail. This trail even had a biker on it. I let him pass, thinking he was going to be flying along the trail, which by the way, was maybe a foot wide! I was wrong.

It was tough for him to turn, so I hung back a bit.

When I got out of the whirly twirly, I ran up on some deer.

You can see the white of his tail. There was about 4-5 of them, that I saw. They took off as soon as they saw me. Bunch of chickens.

Anyway, I felt good, no ankle pain, so maybe the worst is behind me. I have my fingers crossed on that one.

I did a quick 4 mile run on Sunday, and had no pain, and that was after the ankle roll on Saturday.

5-1/2 miles 54:21 (9:52 avg.)

11 miles on the trails, in the flurries.

2009-01-10T14:18:00.006-05:00

I went for a run today with the Hamilton Area Trail Runs group.

There were 6 of us out in the woods of Mercer County Park.

Shoreturtle was the 1st there, and he went for a quick warm up run, and had 3 foxes run by him, barking and chasing each other. Pretty cool.

There was a good omen for the run, when I checked the temp outside, my digital thermometer read 26.2. I know.. I should have got a pic of it.

We ran 6.4 miles on the trails, and Progman(Paul) joined us today. I made him a deal, that if he ran with us, I would run the balance of the 11 miles he had to do.

I almost got out of it, I rolled the right ankle about 2 miles in. Yes, the "bad" ankle. Luckily, after a few minutes, it felt good. It was tight when I started,kinda felt like a rubber band was tightly around it. When I rolled it, it loosened up, and was fine.

We ran out to the dam and back.

We did an Indian run right before we hit the dam. The last person in the single file line, had to run to the front, ect.. It was a nice little speed workout, right before we ran up and down the hill at the dam.

I committed a Shoreturtle mortal sin today. I didn't have my camera charged, and the battery died. I was able to take a quick group shot, before it died.

We ran 6.4 with the group, and the rest of the 11 miles, Charlie & I ran with Paul (Prog), helping him get the mileage in.

11 miles 1:45:29 (9:35 avg.)

1 10:33
2 9:46
3 10:06
4 8:57
5 9:25
6 9:46
7 9:32
8 9:32
9 9:35
10 8:55
11 9:13

Where did I run 4.2 miles today?

2009-01-08T21:05:00.004-05:00

I went for a 4.2 mile run today, and guess where I ran?

I ran 4.2 miles, for my wife, who's birthday it is today. Yup she shares a Birthday with the King of Rock, Elvis Presley.. and the queen of rock, David Bowie.

FYI.. she's not 4.2 yrs old.. I won't say anymore.

Well back to where did I run...

I ran into a head/cross wind, that was whipping off a body of water.

The ankle gave me no problems.

I ran an out and back.

I averaged 8:20 min miles, and kept a steady pace.

I have run this course before, on longer runs.

I ran this in 35:04

Other than the clues I have given everyone, I took one picture, to help figure out where I ran.

When I saw this statue, I thought it appropriate, since it's of a mother & her children.

Well... the winner gets a pat on the back, and an attaboy!

Good luck!

Dr. Foote & the 2nd Opinion

2009-01-05T15:19:00.003-05:00

I went and saw Dr. Foote, and got the 2nd opinion on my ankle.

I swear that is his real name, Dr. Foote.

Anyway, the visit went good, and since I am pain free, I can run, but was told to take it easy. If the pain flares up (it's a burning feeling), I might need to get an MRI,to see if there are any tears in the tendon.

So..

I'm BAAAACK !!!!!!!!

2008 Year in Review

2009-01-02T16:34:00.003-05:00

Well, I guess it's time for me to do my year in review.
While I didn't keep track of my mileage for the first 3 months of 2008, I know I put in mileage, because I was training for the Ocean Drive Marathon/10 miler. I do remember a few bitterly cold runs, in preparation for the 10 miler.
The year started out good, with a PR at the Hangover 5 miler, and I followed that up with a PR at the OD 10 miler. Hey, when your times aren't that good to start, it's easy to PR.
I ran a new local 5k, put on by a High School senior, in April, and it was a well organized event. Again another PR, at 24:05. I would spend the next few 5k's trying to break the 24 min barrier.
I would have done it at the Run for Dad, but I had the shoelace issue.
Backing up a bit, it was after the OC Drive run, that I gave serious thought to running a marathon. The determination of the marathoners that day, was awesome. To run 26.2 miles is one thing. To run it in a 20mph headwind is sick!
In June, I started to bump up my weekly mileage. On a warm Sunday, I ran to Veteran's Park, entered and ran a 5k, and ran home. It was quite an accomplishment.
I met some great runners, who have made me a better runner. I am indebted to them for making my first 1/2 marathon & marathon a success.
I finally broke that 24 min 5k I wanted, in July at the RWJ 5k stride for strokes.
I started my marathon training at the end of July, and pretty much went injury free the entire time. There was the one fall I had in Cape May.
I ran the Philadelphia Distance Run in Sept. It was my first 1/2 marathon, and it was awesome. I can't wait to run it again this year.
Fast forward to November 23, 2008. This was a day I'll never forget. My first marathon. It was incredible. I enjoyed every moment of it, even the painful last 2 miles. I had a great time, and it was made more special by being able to share the experience with my wife, her sis & husband.
Following the marathon, I ran my last local 5k of the year, and set another PR, of 22:02, and placed in my age group (another first).
Also through running, I started to run on Saturday's with a group of runners, on the trails of Mercer County Park. They are a dedicated bunch, and I love running with them.
Looking back, man is going to be tough to top the success I had in 2008, but I'm off to a great start, if the ankle holds up!

Here are the stats:

1125 miles (that does not include Jan - March)
PR's
5k 22:02
10 miler 1:30:42
1/2 marathon 1:53:13
Marathon 3:54:32

SHOUT OUT !!

2009-01-02T11:47:00.002-05:00

We have a new member of our running blogging community!
The group that I trail run with has started a blog, to get the word out about their running and upcoming races.
Check out their site, and if you are in the area, meet up with them for a run!

www.hamiltonareatrailruns.blogspot.com

Hamilton Hangover 5 miler 2009

2009-01-01T15:02:00.007-05:00

Well, I was pre-registered, so what was I going to do, just pick up my shirt, and not run it?

I had my Dr. tried to scare the hell out of me, and it worked... to a degree.

I haven't run in almost 2 weeks, and was following his instructions to the "T", until today!

I ran the Hangover 5 miler.

It was a cold windy day, high around 25, with 15mph winds. It was nice and sunny, and would have been a perfect day, if not for the wind.

I met up with a few of the Trail run group. It was nice to be in a group, and talk running.

When the gun went off, I took off. Man I felt good! I had my new orthodics in my shoes, and I warmed up the ankle with my bio-freeze, and put the compression sock on. No pain!

I weaved in and out of other runners for the first 1/2 mile, before it settled down in to a mostly single file race. I hit the 1 mile mark at 7:34. My 1st thought was that was too fast. So what do I do? I did the 2nd mile in 7:24! Oh boy.. I am going to pay dearly for this fast start, or was I??

I was! Around the 1/2 way mark, I could feel it in the legs, not having run in almost 2 weeks.

I hit the 3rd mile at the 7:39 mark, and oh boy I did I feel the legs dying. My wind was even starting to struggle, which I haven't really had that problem. I was thinking back to the Marathon, and those last 2 miles, which were hell, thinking, I was about to revisit them.

The 4th & 5th miles had hills, which I wasn't looking forward to. The 4th, had along windy hill, which, when you got to the top of, you had to go downhill, heading out by the lake, and right back up a hill. Oh boy what a killer! I did mile 4 in 8:11. It was around the 4 mile mark, when you had to go back down and up the hill, that you just did about a 1/2 mile ago. I had my buddy Bill Y. pass me at this point. I was just holding on. When I got to the top, my legs & wind were gone.

I pushed and plowed along, and when I saw the finish line, I saw I that I had a chance to break the 39 min. mark. I just missed it, finishing in 39:02. The last mile was in 8:13.

While I was pleased to PR, knowing I had knocked off 2 mins from last year, I was left to wonder what I would have run, had I been healthy the last 2 weeks.

I was glad to have run it. I escaped it injury free, and I am going to get a 2nd opinion on my ankle.

Hope everyone has a great happy, healthy & prosperous 2009 !

Here are members of Trail Run group, that I run with.

39:02 (7:49 min/mile avg.)

Mile Time

1 7:34

2 7:24

3 7:39

4 8:11

5 8:13

Only 22 days to go... maybe?!!

2008-12-29T18:38:00.003-05:00

Well, it's only 22 days until my next Doctor's appointment. It can't get here soon enough.
The weather was a record high here Sunday, 67deg, and I couldn't run.
I bought an orthodic insert & New Balance 926's that my Dr. "prescribed", and have been pain free since I started wearing them.
I must say, the 926's are an ugly shoe. I bought them in black, since the white's were even uglier.
I haven't run in over a week, and when I checked the scale, I had put on almost 9 lbs., thanks to not running & the non stop picking at the holiday food & cookies.

Posterior Tibial Tendonitis

2008-12-23T13:50:00.004-05:00

Well, I went to my Orthopaedic Doctor today, to find out what the pain in the ankle was.
While I do have a touch of arthritus, it is not the cause of the discomfort. I have Posterior Tibial Tendonitis.

The following is from about.com:
What is posterior tibial tendonitis?
Posterior tibial tendinitis is an uncommon problem of the foot. When this tendon is inflamed in posterior tibial tendinitis or if the posterior tibial tendon ruptures, it can cause serious problems. Most commonly, patients with posterior tibial tendinitis complain of pain in the inside of the foot and ankle, and occasionally have problems associated with an unstable gait.

Here is a better overview of this:
http://www.eorthopod.com/public/patient_education/6489/posterior_tibial_tendon_problems.html

So whatever that is, bottom line is.... rest, anti-inflammatory meds, and orthodics for my shoes for support... or else! My Doctor said I have caught the early stages, which is a good thing, and I'm about the 5th marathoner he has seen this year, with this issue.
With the proper rest, I should be fine, but if I where to continue to run, I have the risk of it rupturing, and that would be the end of my running.
Sooo rest it is, I am not thrilled about that, and the early Spring Marathon is OUT..
(fyi... I was planning on the National Marathon in DC).
So there is my early Christmas present, courtesy of my marathon training... overuse of some wacky thing called the posterior tibial tendon.

Anyway.. that's the deal in a nutshell.

10 miler before the Arctic Blast !

2008-12-22T18:21:00.005-05:00

I got in a 10 mile run on Sunday, before the Arctic blast hit us here in NJ. The temp was about 35deg with a slight breeze, when I started around 3:30pm yesterday. Luckily, the winds didn't pick up, until I was done.
I ran a loop similar to one of my marathon training runs. It was my longest run since the marathon. I felt really good during the run. Funny thing, I just said to my wife, hey I'm going out for a 10 miler, and hit the pavement. It was pretty cool to be in good enough shape to just go run 10. No way was I doing something like that a year ago. Man what a difference a year makes. I kept a pretty steady pace, in the low to mid 8's the entire run. I feel if I could train, with how I have improved & felt after running Philly, and if the ankle could handle it, a 3:40 -3:45 time wouldn't be out of the question.
I'm headed to the orthopedic Dr tomorrow to get the real deal on the ankle. Hopefully a little PT and I'll be ok. I sure don't want to be on the shelf. That appointment will make my decision on running a early 2009 marathon.

Another funny thing, when I was out running, a certain Turtle was out for a run, and dropped off Dean's 50/50 book I had lent him, at my place. I heard my male beagle was giving him the business. Guess he doesn't care too much for turtles.http://shoreturtle.com/blog

10 miles 1:23:14 (8:19 min/mile avg.)
Mile / Time

1 8:08
2 8:03
3 8:11
4 8:14
5 8:26
6 8:16
7 8:22
8 8:37
9 8:28
10 8:20

A cold trail Run!

2008-12-20T15:51:00.005-05:00

Man it was cold this morning, and it's still cold out right now (4:00pm). It was 24deg at 7:00am, and it's up to 25 now.

There were about 8 of us this morning, hitting the icy/muddy trails in Mercer County Park. Doing my best Shoreturtle impression, I took a few pics...

The last pic was a group shot, as we just got finished running up the hill on the right side of the picture, and took a bit of a break, as we waited for everyone to catch up.

As we ran along the lake, on the way back, man the wind was coming off the lake, and the wind chill had to be in the low teens. It was a fun run, and I was glad to get out and run early. We ran 7.75 miles in 1:17:22. No land speed records, just a good time running the trails.

We talked about running on Christmas Eve morning, and hopefully we will. My wife's sister & her husband are due in on Tuesday, and I will drag her out of bed to run with us.

7 for my son's 7th

2008-12-18T20:16:00.006-05:00

Earlier this week, my oldest son asked me to run seven miles on his seventh birthday.

I told him it would be no problem for me to run for him, the only way I wouldn't run, was if my Dr. said I couldn't. I finally broke down, and went to see him on Tuesday. I had to get an x-ray of the ankle, and was waiting on the results. I got the results today. Well, the good news was there is no stress fracture or bone chip in the ankle., and they don't think it's muscular. They think I have some arthritis in there, from when I fractured it about 18 yrs ago. Funny, I run the marathon for arthritis, and low and behold, I have a form of it.

I will be making an appointment with an orthopedic Dr. to have it looked into further, but the best news is I can run, and I can manage the pain with a compression sock on the ankle, and some Tylenol.

So, after we picked him up from school, he opened his presents, and I was off on my 7 mile run.

It was about 40deg out at 4:00pm, when I went for my run. You could feel the weather getting colder, as we have a storm headed our way, Friday.

I felt really good, for not running since Sunday. I didn't have much discomfort in the ankle. Since I needed to run 7 miles, I did an out and back to Mercer County Park. There wasn't many people out in the park. I passed 1 person running, and another walking their dog, and that was it. I did come across a bunch of deer. I ran at a nice comfortable pace, an enjoyed it.
As I was running, I was thinking of how quick 7 years went by, and what I was doing, 7 years ago, when he was born. At the time I was running today, he was just born. Man time flies.

I hope next year, when he turns 8, I will be running an 8 mile run for him!

Ya think he'll run 43 miles for me next year? Maybe I can get him to run for 43 seconds.

And if my youngest wants me to do the same for him, I'll have a nice easy 4 miler next June!

56:37 7.01 miles (8:04 min/mile avg.)

Mile / Time

1 7:45
2 8:07
3 8:08
4 7:55
5 8:19
6 8:07
7 8:10
.01 :02

A quick 4.75 mile run on a Sunday Afternoon

2008-12-14T18:23:00.002-05:00

I wasn't planning on running today, but I was loafing around the house, the 1:00pm football games stunk, so I went for a quick 4.75 mile run.
I just ran a nice comfortable pace. The past week, the ankle had been feeling much better, and it didn't bother me after yesterday's trail run, but it was "manageable uncomfortable", if that makes any sense. I got the wrap back on it, and we'll see.
Other than the minor ankle pain, my wind and legs felt pretty good. Nice thing about running at 3:00pm today, was the weather. It was bright and sunny, no wind, and had warmed up to a toasty 48deg.

4.75 miles 38:58 (8:13 mile/avg.)

Mile Time
1 8:12
2 8:16
3 8:15
4 8:10
.75 6:02

Trail Running on a Saturday Morning

2008-12-13T10:08:00.004-05:00

I got up bright and early and headed out to Mercer County Park, to meet Bill Y., and the group I ran with on Thanksgiving Morning, to do some trail running.
Funny thing, last nite we took the boys to see a Christmas Light Show at ShadyBrook Farms, in Newtown,Pa. After we drove through the light show, we went inside, where they had a walk thru display, and of course, Santa. We ran into one of the girl's my son goes to 1st grade with. The funny part is I ran with her father on Thanksgiving, and we talked and knew each other from somewhere, but didn't put it all together until we saw each other last nite, and realized it was from the kids. Small world...
Now back to the trail run.
It was a cold morning, with temps around 28deg. The course had some real muddy parts, with all the rain we got on Wednesday & Thursday. We even ran into a flooded part, around the 4th mile. It made it all the more interesting. I had wet toes for most of the run. You really have to be aware of everything around you, when you run the trails, it's real easy to roll an ankle.
It's fun, and cool to run with a group. I bet there where about 10 of us out on the trails. We ran for about an hour, and it's a slower pace than I am used to, but it's fun to do, and it looks like we'll be running these trails in MCP for the next few Saturday's. If you are in the area, the more the merrier. We meet at 6:45am at the park entrance off Robbinsville Edinburgh Rd.

55:46 5.27 miles
Mile / Time
1 10:06
2 10:40
3 11:08
4 11:40
5 10:06
.27 2:05

2 Weekday runs

2008-12-11T21:16:00.002-05:00

I got out twice this week to run. It's nice to run without a schedule, but I have been starting to look at running a second marathon in early 2009. I have one on my radar, in late winter/early spring. More on that, when I decide what I am going to do.
Well, I got out Tuesday and ran. I wanted to run the Hamilton Hangover 5 miler course, but I couldn't get to the park, to run in the daylight.. damn winter! I was close to Mercer County Park, so I ran the Run for Dad 5k course. I ran it casual. I wanted to get some miles in, and see how the ankle felt. Something is up with my right ankle, and hopefully it's just a strain, and not a stress fracture. I need to get it checked, but just don't want any bad news to interfere with my running. Anyway, I did the 5k loop in 23:29.
Wednesday it was like an early spring day, with temps in the low 60's (it was in the high 20's on Monday), and on and rain. I got out in a mist, and it picked up later in the run. I ran a little over a 9min mile pace. I had planned to run a 5 mile loop, and somehow during my run, I must have hit the off button on the Garmin, and I didn't realize it was off, until I had a little over a mile left on my run. The garmin had me running 2.77 miles in 25:46, and I know I am missing at least a mile and a half. If that would have happened a few months ago, I would have been pissed, but with nothing on the line, ahh who cares!
The weather this week here in NJ has been crazy! It started out with the temps barely hitting 30 on Monday, to a high around 65 on Wed, with rain Wednesday & Thursday, and heavy at times on Thursday nite.
Winter will return this weekend. I think I am meeting the group from Thanksgiving, Saturday morning to go trail running.

CHRISTMAS INFLATABLES !

2008-12-08T15:54:00.009-05:00

Having 2 boys at time of year is pretty fun!

Here are our inflatables that have been up since Black Friday!

The boys love these things. We even drive around the neighborhood looking at other people's displays.

Yes, we have 5 of these, 3 in the front yard, 1 on our deck, and 1 in our garden.

Oh and we have 3 little 4 foot ones inside our house that the boys display all over the place.

Run for the Holiday 5k

2008-12-06T20:16:00.008-05:00

Today was the Run for the Holiday 5k, in Burlington,NJ.

I met Shoreturtle & Bill Y, at the Dunkin Donuts, and carpooled to the run. It was a cold start to the day, in the 20's, and it felt it.

I was excited to do the run, with Bill & Charlie. They are both really good runners, and seem to bring the best out in me. The last time we ran a 5k together, back in July, I PR'd, and with how I felt recently, I expected to today.

Being a holiday run, there were a few recognizable faces in the crowd.

I think we all know who the gentleman in the red suit is. I should have asked him for a healthy 2009 running season. I felt bad when I passed him around the 1 mile mark. I hope he doesn't give me coal for Christmas! You can see the world famous Larry the Lighthouse. The man has been spotted in a few books recently. He was in Dean's 50 in 50, for the NJ Marathon run. I gotta give him credit. I don't know how he runs in that get up!

Well, since it is the Holiday season, we had to partake in the festive mood.

Here we are, Shorturtle, myself & Bill Y., just before the start. Yes, I own just about every kind of FLYERS hat!

The course had a few gradual hills, in the first 2 miles, but overall it was a nice quick course, mostly on the streets around Green Acres Park. We started on the right side, because I noticed that was were WPVI 6 ABC cameraman was set up.

The first mile was a quick one at 7:06. I felt pretty good, except for passing Santa. The 2nd mile had the larger of gradual hills, and I caught a few runners who went out too quick. I did the 2nd mile in 7:14. I was still feeling pretty good, and picked up the pace for the 3rd mile. I passed a few more runners, and ran mile 3 in 6:53! Yea, I can't believe I had a mile that started with a 6!

When I saw the finish line, I tried to kick that last little bit, as the clock slowly ticked, it was still reading in the 21 mins. I crossed the finish in a PR of 22.02. I was a bit disappointed to not break the 21 min mark, but considering I started the year running a 24:05, I am pleased that I dropped 2 minutes off my time.

Here I am crossing the finish line. (photo courtesy of Shoreturtle)

Charlie finished a strong 21:12, and set a PR. He also placed 6th overall, and 3rd in his age group.

Here he is getting his age group medal & ski cap.

Bill Y. finished in 22:25, 12th overall, and 4th in his age group.

I finished in 22:02, set a PR, 10th overall and 3rd in my age group. It was the first time I got a top 3 medal. Charlie & I also got a Run for the Holiday 5k ski cap.

And yes, there were more than 3 runners in my age group!

22:02 (7:05 min/mile avg.)

Mile 1 7:06

Mile 2 7:14

Mile 3 6:53

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