A new post?

Been forever since I posted something, so why not!
I had knee surgery in Jan, for a tear in my minicus and it's been a long road back.
I have kick started my quasi marathon training in hopes to do both the Marine Corp & Philadelphia Marathons this fall. If I still have pain/ issues, I will bail. I won't risk long term pain just to run a marathon.
I have a bunch of 1/2's on the schedule starting with the Wild 1/2 in a week.  I can't resist a race in Wildwood during the summer!
I am also registered for the Philly RnR in Sept. and Trenton has a 1/2 in Nov.
Well enough for now.. We'll see where this leads me.

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

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!

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!

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 !

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.

1. 3:18
2. 3:19
3. 3:24
4. 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 !

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 !!

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!

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!!

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

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

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

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

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

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 # !!

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 !!

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 !

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 !!

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

Asbury Park Relay Marathon recap

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.

1. 9:57
2. 9:59
3. 9:49
4. 9:39
5. 9:16
6. 9:33
7. 9:25
8. 11:40 (bathroom break)
9. 9:45
10. 9:44
11. 9:50
12. 9:44
13. 10:30
14. 10:02
15. 9:35
16. 10:27
17. 10:04
18. 9:46
19. 9:17
20. 9:35
21. 8:35
22. 8:19
23. 8:22
24. 8:30
25. 8:23
26. 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

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

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.