Bump in the road

My quest for 4000 miles and 40 marathons has come to an end. Over the past 4 months I have noticed a steady decline in performance and every day activities are now an issue. I am experiencing general fatigue in all aspects of daily life. No answers yet though a lot of people want to guess. Tests still need to be done but until then I will not run a marathon. Right now I barely can run 4 miles without feeling exhausted. For someone who loves to run, this is very depressing and fustrating. Especially watching friends run marathons as j sit on the sidelines waiting for answers. Hopefully in time I can return to my normal training regimen. Until then it's one day at a time. This is definitely a tough time but more importantly I need to take care of my health so that I can run for the rest of my life. Thanks to my RWOL friends who have been a tremendous help in supporting me and understanding the pain I'm going through. Hopefully 2012 will see the return of this marathon maniac!

115 days and its over!

saturday june 11th i ran my 32nd marathon: hatfield - mccoy marathon. in some ways it was a success and others a small failure. for those who dont know i have been unemployed over the past 115 days making it a real stressful time for me. i know that their are millions others out there still unemployed and my heart goes out to them. i am used to working. with the stress and fustration, my training was inconsistent and combined with the heat the quality wasnt always there. during that period i managed to run 10 marathons with varying degrees of success. good news came on friday as i headed down to kentucky, i recieved a job offer that i readily accepted. relief was an understatement. so saturday i simply ran for fun. it was a tough course, hot and humid, the 3 H's as i say. i was reminded that running is to be fun and enjoyable. if it isnt then why do it.. we all have stress from outside and unfortunately i let that stress affect my running. running is suppose to relieve my stress not add to it. so for the next 18 days i am going to simply run for fun. no speed, intervals or hill workouts, just easy runs for fun.i will let the legs dictate the pace and distance. if they feel good i will let them go but if not just enjoy being out there. my next marathon  is sept 17th. setting no goals, just going to run  the question is why do we run? i run for fun and the enjoyment. i also like to challenge my body

May 16th - #31 in the books

So may 15th I ran my 31st marathon, which tied me with my father. This was also my 10th marathon of the year! My expectations were hopefully a new PR or maybe sub 3. The weather was not an issue. Gun goes off and it's right to business. Hit first mile in 7:09 as planned then settled into my goal pace of 6:45/6:48. Hit first 5 in 34:16, ok so far. Next five miles in 34:04. Felt good and seemed to find a groove. The next five was 34:09, again pretty consistent
The next five is where the wheels slowly started to wobble. Split was 34:51. Fatigue seemed to be creeping in. Started to rethink goal and simply try to finish sub 3:05 giving me my 10 minutes for my Boston registration. The next 6.2 miles is where the wheels really began to come off. When I reached the 26 mile marker I realized I needed to kick to get under 3:10, so I sucked it up and gave all I had left. Crossed line in 3:09:45. A not so pretty sub 3:10. Ok so what went wrong? two things: the first was I switched my normal day off of Monday to Friday which meant by that Friday I had run 10 days in a row. I oppose any type of running streaks. No more than 6 days in a row, you need a day of rest. Why now I run 10 In a row was just a careless mistake. The second mistake was I did not carryout a proper taper. I finished the week with 83.11 miles(includes marathon). Should have run 30-35 miles less. I know better, just didn't listen. Moral of this is that I did not set myself up for success. Ran just a little to much therefore I was tired from the start. This marathon is NOT a failure. I learned a valuable lesson and therefore I won't repeat the same mistake. Live and learn. Still find great enjoyment in running 26.2 miles.

May 1st - #30

Gettysburg marathon was my 30th marathon overall, 9th of the year! Now though this was technically my slowest marathon to date (3:48), it was one of the most satisfying races. You see running is far more than just an arbitrary number, running is the bond between two runners. Today I had the pleasure of running with good friend Ricky. We had hoped go run 3:24 but by the halfway point it was evident that it just was not going to be our day. The course turned out to be hillier than expected and thus we had to adjust. The 2nd half was simply determination on my friends part to finish. Though I am sure he was disappointed, we had a great time running with each other. Once we finished, I turned around to head back out on the course to find our friend Billy who by that point I knew was also having a tough day. He had hoped for a PR of 3:35 but Ms. Marathon had other plans. I soon found him and ran him into the finish. The whole time trying to help keep his spirits up. This is only his second marathon, and though he did not run a PR, he gutted out a great race. Think positive, and use this to motivate you in the future. All marathoners know that we will gave our good and bad days, we sometimes learn more from our bad runs than we do our good runs. Being able to help two good friends today finish a tough marathon makes my 30th marathon very special. I am just glad that I have the ability to be able to help, I logged 31.25 miles today and didn't think twice. This is what friends do for one another. This is one reason why I have decided to start a new venture: personal running coach. I want to be able to pass my love and passion for running to other runners and play a role in helping them achieve their goals. Whether this venture succeeds or not I don't know, only time will tell but there is no harm in trying. Dreams never come true if you don't try! Now it is time to enjoy my SRD tomorrow then hammer out another solid week of training. Cleveland is 5/15 and another possible sub 3 attempt! Regardless running is ALWAYS fun. If it is not fun then ask yourself why even bother do it! Run strong my friends!

april 21st - disappointment!

patriots day, april 18, 2011 did not turn out as i had hoped. after months of training and pushing myself i felt ready for a top notch race. mentally i was ready and had what i thought was a solid race strategy. race day started out just fine. grabbed the first bus to athlete's village and staked out a nice place to relax. soon i was joined by 2 fellow RWOL friends, Nick and Karyn. it was a great pleasure to be able to chat with them since it helped me stay relaxed. 10am race started. 1st 5 miles went well. split was 34:19 and remained consistent. the next 10 miles i clicked off miles at an even pace. legs felt good and i seemed to be in a good rhthym. the next 5 miles i hit the newton hills and yet i still managed to hold court. hit 20 in 2:16:51 @6:50 pace. if i finished the last 10k in 6:55 pace i would have been under 3 hrs. at that moment i definitely felt that was a reasonable goal. legs still had some left and i was ready to go. then disaster struck, a sharp pain in my right chest just underneath my rib cage. i could not breathe. simply put i ran till i could not breathe then i was forced to walk till i could catch my breath. the last 6.2 miles was a slow death march. to keep me going i high fived the fans who offered there cheers and great support. the fans there were absolutely magnificent. as i approached the finish, my friend Nick came up to me and we finished together. 3:22:40. not what i had hoped but i did finish the greatest marathon.

some takeaways from this experience. breathing is important to running. my training was dead on. i know i have the endurance. i would not change my training regimen one bit. i was definitely ready. its time to look forward, not backwards. nothing to be gained by dwelling what has happened. focus on what lays ahead. gettysburg on 5/1 and cleveland 5/15. as a sticker on my car says: 26.2 miles- what could possibly go wrong.  alot can happen, you just have to move on. focus on the positive, not the negative. i live to run another day!

April 7th - 11 days!

11 days out from the holy Grail of all marathons! That old saying 'the hay is in the barn' is ringing through my head yet I can't help wonder if I have trained hard enough! I have logged 1172.62 miles so far since 1/1/11! I have run 7 marathons so far and logged 3 consecutive 100+ mile weeks! Each of those marathons had a specific goal and I did not alter my training at all. The last 3 marathons were all run during those 100 mile weeks. Everyone wants to know goal times and all. Yes, I would be lying if I said I did not have a goal time. But in my opinion to judge each marathon simply by time is not fair. Running is to be fun, if it is not fun then why do it? Yes I enjoy my 20+ mile runs, progressive runs and speed workouts! I enjoy the pain that is associated with the marathon. I love all aspects of marathon training! I thrive on challenging my body to the limits! Shirts and medals are nice to have but I do not need them to run a marathon! Do I want a sub 3? Yes it's been a goal of mine for the past 6 years. But it will not determine whether 4/18 is a success or failure! No matter what happens it is a success! Just being able to stand on the start line is a success! Running should NEVER be taken for granted, it's a gift! On 4/18 I will toe the line in Hopkinton and run 26.2 miles to Boyston Str and give it everything I have and whatever happens, happens! I will be satisfied.

March 27th - the completion of 6 marathons in 6 weeks!

Ocean drive marathon capped off my 6th marathon in 6 weeks! Coming into today I had low expectations, I had logged 80 miles the previous 5 days with runs of 26.2 and 22 miles on Tuesday and Thursday respectively. Throw in solid 15 and 12 milers my legs were just a tad tired as I planned. Plus I was on my 3rd consecutive week of 100+ miles. So I went out the 1st half relatively conservative and hit 1:40 for the half. Not feeling great I simply focused on maintaining pace. Yet somehow I fell into a groove at mile 15 on. Around
mile 22 I passed this guy but instead of putting distance between us, he stayed right on my shoulder. Without knowing we began to push the pace and all of a sudden my competitiveness took over. Then at mile 25 I surged and that was enough to put some distance between us. I pushed the pace to the finish crossing the line in 3:15! 2nd split: 1:35! The last 11 miles in 77:26/@7:02 pace. The last 6 miles in 41:46/@6:57 pace and the last 4 miles in 27:13/@6:48 pace! The splits of those last 4 miles were: 7:07/7:02/6:38/6:26. I finished the week with 107.40 miles. With 4 days remaining I have 404 for the month. I will set a new mileage record for most miles in a month. More importantly I am feeling stronger than I have ever felt. I running and having fun. In 22 days I will see how this all pays off. I am feeling confident and I know I will be toeing the line on April 18th in much better condition than I did in 2010. It's time to stay focused and not loose my edge. Still plenty of time to fine tune some things over the next several weeks. this is not the time to all of a sudden become complacent, keep pushing the envelope! Eye of the tiger!

March 21 - 4 weeks to Boston!

Last week I seemed to continue a strong march towards Boston. I followed my first 100 mile week with another 100 mile week: 104.74 to be exact. My runs were 21, 10, 24.12, 8, 11, 26.53. And as usual I raced this past weekend. On Saturday I raced an 8k. 31:39,6:17 pace in which I hit the closing mile in 5:47. Felt really good and could have gone faster but that wasn't my plan. On Sunday I ran the shamrock marathon pacing a friend to a new 3 minute PR of 3:35:30! That was so much fun being able to help a fellow runner. I really get the same and if not more satisfaction helping runners reach their goals as I do setting a PR of my own. Running is so more than just a time. This week will see another 100+ mile effort with again another marathon . I will be running the ocean drive marathon in new jersey! I am thinking that I will take the first half easy (1:41-1:43) then see what is left in the tank for the 2nd half. This is all part of my strategy for giving the endurance and strength to let it all out in Boston. Right now I feel that I am in better shape and thT my training is much better than last year for Boston, so that is encouraging. On a side note my one friend and I have decided to take on the challenge of back to back marathons: Richmond on 11/12 and outer banks on 11/13! Very excited to take on this challenge! 4 weeks to go to the holy Grail! Eye of the tiger!

March 13th - 100 mile week/4th marathon in 4 weeks!

This past week turned out to be the best week of training of the year. Seems it's all beginning to pay off. Monday was my usual SRD after Sunday's marathon. Tuesday I turned in a solid 22 miler. Wednesday was 18 miles. The next 3 days is where I really saw the benefits. My friend Zach and I turned in a solid 10 miler, hitting the 1st 5 miles in 40:48. The 2nd 5 we really dropped the pace running it in 34:53 with the last 3 miles in 6:58/6:34/6:11! Friday was suppose to be a recovery day but it turned into another solid 11 miler. Avg'd 7:40 overall with the last 2 miles in 6:57/6:50. Saturday I met my friend bob for an easy 9 miles. Again we cruised at a 7:40 pace overall with last 2 miles under 7:10. Very pleased with the last 3 days training. 70 miles heading into Sunday's lower Potomac marathon! I had decided to run with no garmin or watch. Run by feel. during this whole stretch of 6 marathons in 6 weeks the plan is no taper. I want to run tired giving my body little rest. All in preparation for Boston in 36 days! I hit the first half in 1:42 (there was a clock there) 7:47 pace, felt good and in control. The 2nd half I started to push the pace. Found a good rhythm and just clicked off the miles. Hit the 20 mile mark, begin to feel a little fatigue but stay strong. This is what I want, mentally I focused and pushed the pace. By now I had logged 90 miles with a 10k left in the marathon. All was working as I had planned. At mile 25 I really began to feel the affects of the week but I pressed on. I crossed the line in 3:18. I ran the 2nd half in 1:36! A pace of 7:19! I was tired but very happy, I had accomplished what I wanted to do. Once I got home I ran another 4 miles giving me 100.37 miles for the week. I even placed 2 d in my age group. I have 2 more marathons inthe next 2 weeks and I am Looking forward to putting the finishing touches to my Boston training. For me march is crucial go me for my success in Boston! Hopefully this will payoff. Based on the past 2 weeks I have every reason to believe it will. Now to rest up and gear up for week 3 and the shamrock marathon next Sunday! Eye of the tiger!

March 6th - marathon #25

Baltimore - Annapolis trail marathon was an overall success. This was going to be a good training marathon. There was no taper. Finished the week with 92.22 miles. Right on target. My plan was to hold 7:40-7:45 pace through 20 then push the last 10k. Through 20 I was @7:33 pace. Felt good but then at 21 felt a muscle spasm in left quad. Decided to pull back and not push it. Then at mile 22 had another sharp spasm that threw me off stride. Being a training run I didn't panic and just focused on finishing. At mile 24 I came upon another runner who was also struggling. I decided to slow down and run/walk with him and help him to the finish. The last 2 miles were slow but it was great to help and talk to the guy. Sometimes a time is not as rewarding as aiding another runner in need. In the big picture today was not a failure but a success. It was a good training run. 43 days is the goal. Tomorrow is a SRD and much needed if I might say. Tuesday I will resume getting the miles in. Next week at lower potomac I am thinking about running without the garmin and simply by feel. Again there will be no taper and another long training run. Good times! Looking forward to another solid week of training!

February 28th - redemption!

Marathon #24 turned out to be exacty what I needed in many ways. After a disappointing marathon in Myrtle beach and outside events, my mojo and confidence seemed to be rattled. Hyannis was crucial in turning the ship around. A friend wanted to run a 3:15 so we went out at that pace which felt relaxed. 1st half we were pretty much on pace and I seemed to be in a groove. It was a two loop course so we started out for the second time, this time we were alone for the most part. At 17.5 my friend fell off pace and as agreed prior to race I kept going. I was a little tired but pressed on. Splits for the last 10 miles were: 7:18/7:12/7:14/ 7:06/7:12/7:07/7:09/7:07/7:10/7:15. Overall I finished 27th out of 357 runners with a time of 3:13:35! I am very satisfied with this. The fact that I was able to stick and hit my pre-race time goal was very good. But what I am most thrilled about is I have seemed to find my groove after 2 weeks of trying circumstances. I have been reading the book 'the long run' about NYFD firefighter matt long who was run over a bus and nearly killed. Given a 5% chance to live, he survived and after a grueling 3 years came back and ran the new York city marathon ( he BQ'd 1 month prior to his accident) reading this on the plane put things in perspective: losing a job is serious and stressful but I was not close to death. Matt is living proof of how resilient the human spirit can be! I have nothing to complain about. Yes there is stress about not having a job but I will rebound and I am determined to turn this into a positive! No excuses! It's just an obstacle that I will overcome! Eye of the tiger!

February 25th - marathon #24

So I haven't been to happy with my runs over the past 10 days. There have Been some bright spots a 10 miler last Wednesday and a 15 miler this past Tuesday but the other runs have felt flat and uninspiring. I recovered fairly well from Myrtle beach and feel no residual effects. I am looking forward to Hyannis on Sunday. This time I am pacing a friend who's goal is to run 3:15 or better. Hopefully I can get him to that goal and not feel like I have exhausted my tank. Next week at B&A I have a faster time goal in mind. Also helping a friend to a PR hopefully. All of this is pointed to giving me some good training runs and some hard races to better prepare me for Boston. For some it seems like an awlful lot but this is exactly what makes me tick. It's the challenge and my body responds better with high mileage. That is the beauty of running, no training plan is right for everyone and there are no right or wrong training techniques. My biggest issue over the past 10 days has simply trying to deal with the outside world and not let it affect my training. It has been difficult but I do think slowly it's getting better. Looking forward to getting out on the course Sunday and just finding my stride and rolling! Need to find my mojo. As survivor sings in Rocky 3 - "it's the eye of the tiger"!

February 20th - rough waters

So the last two weeks culminated in a somewhat disappointing marathon in Myrtle beach. What i had hoped to be a run at my current PR turned out to be a slow march to the finish. Things started out good though legs seemed out of sync. Hit 5 miles in 34:29 then hit the next 5 in 34:28. 10 miles @ 68:57. I then found a groove and hit the next 5 in 34:06. Held court over next 3.5 miles then the wheels started to fall off. Mentally couldn't stay focused. Unfortunately the week started off horribly as I was unexpectedly fired from my job that I strongly feel was unwarranted. I have been distracted the whole week. My runs Wednesday thru Friday were lackluster at best. I really pride myself on being very mentally strong and focused yet this has rattled my cages. As for the future I really have no clue nor a plan. I have one week to get out of this because I head to Hyannis to pace a friend to a 3:15. Short term memory as one would say. Running is usually my therapy but even now I feel the stress is to much and seems to burden my runs. Maybe as the days go by it will become easier to cope. Boston is in 57 days!

February 6th! - 13 days till myrtle beach!

this was a good week overall. finished with 80.73 miles for the week. though the runs were up and down. biggest fustration is that all my running routes are ruined due to snow and ice. tuesday run was a solid run up in deleware. 11.02 miles. ran 1st 7 miles at a comfortable pace then for the last 4 miles i kicked the pace up! splits were: 7.34, 7.01, 6.28, 6.37. overall pace was 7.51. wednesday run was a nice recovery 10 miler. thursday i had a nice surprise another kick ass 13.18 mile run at night. took the 1st 6 miles out at 8.21 pace then found a groove and kicked last 7 miles at 7.27 pace. splits: 7.59, 8.00, 7.41, 7.38, 7.28, 7.02, 6.31.  followed that with a good 16 mile recovery run @8.21 pace. saturday was simply fustrating, only managed 4.18 miles due to tired of running in circles in neighborhood. sunday was a whole different story. met up with my friends dave and zach and we tore up loch raven damm for 26.2 mile training run. nice pace 3.49.10 @ 8.44 pace. best part was each 5 mile segment was faster than prior 5. today was an awesome reminder on how great it is to be a runner.
13 days out from MB and i am chomping at the bit to get out there and get a  sense of how my training is progressing. 71 days till boston.starting to think strategy and up my training. my juices are beginning to really flow as i get into the heart of my marathon schedule. stay focused and train smart. no excuses. HTFU! no risk, no reward. my reward will hopefully running down Boylston street headed towards a new marathon PR! this week my goal is to hit around 85 mpw.

January 24th - marathon withdrawel sets in

so i am 2 weeks removed from disney and 26 days out from myrtle beach. to big of a gap between marathons. yet i am getting some solid training in so that is one good thing. last week i finished with 94.15 miles on 6 days. very pleased with my week. started off with a strong 18 miler where i finished the last 4 miles at a very good pace. the trend continued the next day when i turned in another solid 15 miler. thrsday i made sure to take it easy and ran 12. friday was somewhat of a disaster as i tried the dreadmill again. did 10.18 outside and 3.43 on dreadmill. should have stayed outide. saturday morning i pumped out a solid 20 miler which involved some good hills,. each 5 mile segment got faster so that made me happy. sunday i did a double: a wake me up 5 miler in the morning and a fantastic 10.41 miler at night. even got the last 2 miles down to 7.49 and 7.05.  this week will be a push to reach 107 miles for the week. i have a chance to turn in another 400 mile month. hitting the 400 will be key to my mentality only that it strengthens my base and confidence in  my upcoming marathons. it was refreshing that miles 93 and 94 of last week felt so relaxed and that i wasnt really pushing hard. good feeling when 94 miles doesnt make you feel exhausted or wiped out.
beginning to formulate my strategy for the next 5 marathons and still cant come up with one. one might be run myrtle beach, balto/annapolis/virginia beach pretty hard and use hyannis and lower potomac as long training runs. i still intend to keep my mileage above 80mpw during this stretch. i want to continue to train my body to run when tired. but part of it will also be an on course decision as what happens. i will see how my legs feel in the first 6 miles and go from there. the main objective is to get to hopkinton on april 18th feeling ready to give my PR a run for its money and to do that i need to have some solid marathons during this 5 weekend stretch. though time will not be the sole deciding factor but how i feel 30 minutes afterwards. i want to feel like i could still run several miles afterwards. the idea is not to drain the tank during the 5. boston is where i will drain to tank and finish with nothing left but a new PR. oh and 7 days till i register for Chicago. january is off to a great start!

January 17th - post goofy and the road ahead.

so i am one week removed from the first marathon of 2011. for the most part it was a solid week: 78:85 miles on 6 days. little fustrated at the beginning of the week because instead of getting home on monday, i was delayed by weather and got home tuesday in time for work. I only got 6 miles in that day which is not my normal run. so be it. managed to get in 15 the next day outside. 18 the following day followed by 15, 11.16 and 13.17 miles to round out the week. today is my SRD which is normal for a monday. its time to look forward. february 19th is myrtle beach. a friend wants me to run it with him and help him hit 3.35. this is one of my thrills is being able to help others reach their goals. in the past i have helped pace 3 friends to 2 BQ's and a PR. this year i again have several marathons where i will be pacing friends. i do not believe you have to run a PR every time out to be satisfied. running is more than just time. i have been given a gift to run and to share that and use that gift to help others is just as exciting and satisfying as running a PR. the following week on 2/27 i will be heading up to hyannis for that marathon. the following week i will run the baltimore-annapolis trail marathon. on 3/13 i run the lower potomac river marathon, then i run the shamrock marathon on 3/20 along with the 8k the day before. so that is what lies ahead. so over the next 4 weeks i plan on training and building the base to prepare for this. i do have a plan and basically everything now is to point towards the Boston marathon. Boston marathon for me is the pinnacle event of the year. my goal is to put myself in the best position to run a new PR this year whatever that be. this week i hope to put in over 90 miles and if things cooperate maybe my first 100 mile week of the year. if you do not do the training then dont expect to run well. so though the weather might not be great, i still get out there and get it done. now is the time to stay focused on the goal and focus on getting the most out of each run each day. let's run!!

january 11th - goofy challenge recap!

goofy has been conquered! the whole experience was totally awesome! i simply do not know where to begin. ok i will begin with saturday. going into this i had set some loose goals. main one was to help get my friend mark to a new pr in the half marathon. as for the marathon it was see how i feel . i knew a pr in the marathon was not a realistic goal. saturday morning i rise at 2.30 to get ready for 5.30am start. meet mark in  lobby of all star sports and catch shuttle to staging area. after normal stuff like stretching and hitting the port a pots, we make our way to the corrals. mark checks a bag (i didnt) we have some great conversations while slowly walking to the start. finally make it to corral A and we patiently wait the start. as for the start all i can say is wow! the fireworks were amazing and really got you fired up. had to remind myself to stop watching and run. lol  the first mile we made our way through the crowd and hit the first mile in 7.22 . mikles 2-8 we cruised between 7.14-7.16 pace. so much fun running through the crowds in the parks. i had fun stirring up the crowds and high fiving the fans. miles 9-10 we slowed to 7.20, 7.20. i could tell by mark's breathing that he was getting tired but he was still going strong. the last 3 miles were challenging but to mark's credit (he is one tough dude) he pushed through and we finished in 1.37.04! a new pr by 3 minuites for him!!! he ran a great race and we had fun. mission accomplished. rest of day i spent visiting animal kingdom and hollywood studios. fun fun fun.
      Day 2: the marathon. again 2.30am wake up and same ritual. back in corral a and waited for the fireworks again which were awesome! this time the first 7 miles were interesting. legs couldnt find a comfortable stride but once i hit magic kingdom they seemed to wake up. for 8 to 20 miles i felt good and comnfortable. came through the half in 1.37.02 and thought a 3.15 was possible. again the course worked its way through the parks which was booming with excitement. music, disney characters and bands lined the course cheering us along! again i was high fiving the characters and fans. i was making sure to have fun. at mile 20 i could feel the fatigue from saturday beginning to settle in . with only a 10k left i hunkered down and held court. as i got closer i began to get excited knowing that i was going to actually complete the challenge. once i saw the golf ball i started to try and kick in. i crossed in 3:18:04 high fiving goofy!!! i was exhausted. a very friendly volunteer guided me to my mickey mouse medal and my goofy medal. the next 2 hrs i spent in the finishing are having grea conversations with fellow goofy runners and marathoners. congratulating everyone i saw. it was just awesome being around everyone.
     sunday i hobbled around magic kingdom and epcot wearing my goofy shirt and medal of course. my legs were not sore, just extremely exhausted as is to be expected. though a 3.18 marathon is 16 minutes off my pr, it ranks right there with that pr because of racing a 1/2 the day before. i wanted to run  both races in a combined time of under 5 hours and i finished in 4 hrs 55 minutes 8 seconds. i was 430th overall in the half and 260th overall in the marathon. this event lived up to all the hype and then some. next to boston this is my 2nd favorite event and this is now a yearly event for me. i love disney. they run a class act down their. everyone there was so helpful and friendly. all the workers congratulated me and thanked me for running. i highly recommend this event to anyone. i cant say anything negative, well yes i can....its over. march 15th registration opens up for 2012 and i will register the very first day!
        so 1st marathon of 2011 is in the books and i am very satisfied. off to a great start. next up is Myrtle beach in 38 days. time to build on disney and go after myrtle beach. also start thinking ahead to 3 months 7 days: BOSTON. i look forward to pounding out some great miles ove rthe next 4 weeks. but that will be for a future blog..........

january 6th / the goofy challenge

today at 3pm i will leave work, jump into my car and make the 15 hr drive to disneyworld! this weekend is stop #1: the goofy challenge! i have known about this for years and never thought i woul get the chance to run it. several friends from my running group have done it so i have heard their accounts. one thing about me is don't tell i cant do something because that just makes me want to do it. the crazier the better.yes i want to run back to back marathons, want to run pikes peak marathon, the 7.7 mile run up mt washington and would even consider running the 'quadzilla' (4 marathons/4 days) i love the challenge. the only bariers are the ones we set up ourselves. no one thought the 4 minute mile would be done but May 6, 1954 changed that. i could go citing evidence that alot of things were never thought possible and were accomplished! so this is a year in the making. i signed up for goofy last january and had to wait a whole year for this. i really cannot think of a better way to kick off the 2011 season. one thing you all should know, i will not divulge in time goals. i will not be stressed about an arbitrary number, running is much more than that. i will stick to my philosophy that i run hard and give it my best. yes, there will be marathons where i will be pacing people, others will be training marathons with a certain purpose and how i run it. Prefontaine stated one time: "some people run races to see who is the fastest, i run to see who has the most guts" i firmly believe that and that is my mantra the last 10 miles of a marathon. saturday i have the pleasure of pacing a friend in the half to hopefully his PR.  then sunday will be all out and see what is left in the tank. a good sign is that my legs have been lackluster the past 3 runs. anytime i have run a good race my legs have never felt good during that weeks run. prime example was boston 2010. the 4 runs prior to boston felt like crap yet i PR'd. cleveland was the same along with akron and kiawah. so i am not concerned. i know i have trained more thasn enough as i have reguarly done back to back long runs including back to back 20's. the key for me is to stick to my strength: go out conservative and turn it on the 2nd half. putting the hammer down in the latter stages of a race is my strong point and i attribute this to running my 80+ mile weeks along with 100+ weeks. my father told me this week that he is convinced that i am happiest when i am out running, he is absolutely right. when i am running i am at peace. so this weekend is going to be a blast. not only is it disneyworld but i get to race 39.3 miles and be in my element! 

january 3rd (part 2)

here is my current marathon schedule:

January 8/9th: goofy challenge,  February 19th: Myrtle Beach marathon,  February 27th: Hyannis marathon,

March 6th: Baltimore/Annapolis marathon,  March 13th: Lower Potomac marathon,  March 20th : Virginia Beach marathon

April 18th: Boston marathon, May 1st: Gettysburg north/south marathon,  May 15th: Cleveland marathon,

June 11th: Hatfield-Mccoy marathon,  July 10th: Missuola marathon,  August 13th: E.T. marathon, 

September 3rd: Pecatello marathon,  September 17th: Air Force marathon,  October 9th: Chicago marathon,

October 15th: Baltimore marathon,  October 30th: Marine Corps marathon,  November 12th: Richmond marathon,

November 20th: Philadelphia marathon,  December 4th: Las Vegas marathon.

so that is my schedule. i am looking forward to the challenge set forth. i do not run to lose weight. i do not run so i can eat whatever i want. why do i run? i run because i want to challenge my body and push the limits of the human body. for me running is a way of life. i run because i absolutely love it. its the passion that drives me to run these marathons. there is a feeling i get while running the marathons that is not matched anywhere else. and this weekend the journey starts in disney with the goofy challenge. let the fun begin!

january 3rd

so i am going to attemt to blog about my journey this year as i run 20 marathons and run 4000 miles. in 2010 i ran 4072.87 miles and ran 13 marathons. i Pr'd in Boston with a 3:02:37. 8 marathons were ran 3:13 or faster. i have run 21 marathons all together. hopefully those who read this will be inspired to run more or push themselves to reacg goals they never thought possible. i do not believe i am any different from anyone else, just want to share my love and passion for marathons to those who will listen/read. As Joan Benoit Samuelson said: " Running is 20% physical and 80% mental." very true. i will try to not only give narratives of each marathon but also on how training is going, the ups and downs. noone masters the marathon so it is always an ongoing learning experience. i hope those of you who read this enjoy it and maybe even get something out of it. share your own experiences and comment on mine.