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!