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!