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Posted in motivation, Odd Ball, other, tagged basketball, Boston, Celtics, running, superstition on June 9, 2010| 2 Comments »

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So as runners, we tend to find new and interesting ways to keep ourselves motivated. Whether it’s an attempt to beat our previous month’s mileage or outrun an online friend (you hear me @5KJunkie?), we use what we can to motivate ourselves. As young sports fans growing up, many of us believed in “the jinx”. When watching a game, if you were sitting in a certain spot when your team got hot, you didn’t move for fear of jinxing them. If you were holding a certain beverage, even if it was your girlfriend’s girlie drink, when your team came to life, you continued to hold that drink, despite your girlfriend’s protests, for fear of jinxing your team. If you were wearing a ratty old t-shirt when your team upset another, you were sure to wear it for the next game for fear of jinxing them.

Yes, the idea that you or I could have a profound effect on the outcome of a professional sporting event is completely ridiculous. We know that but we continue to act as if the outcome could depend solely on us.

I attempted to combine these two things (motivation and superstition) this week in an attempt to help my hometown Celtics get one step closer to their 18th NBA championship, however I made one fatal mistake, at least when it came to game 3. On Monday and Tuesday, with the series tied 1 – 1, I ran a total of 18 miles, thinking that the my running those miles would bring luck to the Celtics. What I failed to realize was that one cannot create the luck. My running the 18 miles had nothing to do with the lead up to the C’s win on Sunday. PLUS, for Tuesday’s game, instead of sitting on the couch where I was for game 2 (a win), I went to a buddy’s house to watch the game.

So now I’m re-jiggering. I went out this morning and ran 6.03 miles, the same distance I ran the day after Boston lost game 1. All I have to do now is follow it up tomorrow with a 9 miler (like I did the morning of game 2) and then make sure I am on MY couch tomorrow night for game 4, a definite must win for the Celtics.

Do you believe?

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Remember

Posted in other, tagged Memorial Day, Remember, run, running on May 31, 2010| 3 Comments »

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Run.

Run today because you can.

Run today because there are those who can’t.

Run today because there are those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to give you the freedom to do so.

Run to Remember.

***

Thank you to our brothers and sisters who put their lives on the line every day so that we may do what we do.

Thank you to the spouses of our soldiers, police officers and firemen who support them.

Thank you to those who have been taken from us too soon.

Thank you to those they have left behind.

Without you I could not run the way I do, and for that I am eternally grateful.

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Wings

Posted in other, tagged running, running poem on March 11, 2010| 6 Comments »

Floating in a sea of strangers past and present

No one notices as I wander by

A jolt, a sudden sound

All eyes upon me as I open my own

***

I shuffle off to rinse away the residue of night

Break my fast with bread

I slip into my wings

And through the door

***

The night is fighting the dawn

Vainly resisting the inevitable

As the sun’s rays brush my skin

My wings are energized

***

I lose a mile and then some

Lost in the symphony of daybreak

Alone but happy

Free but wanting to share

***

The limbs burn

But this is easy

The burdens of the day await

For now, I am free

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Band of Runners

Posted in motivation, other, tagged Band of Runners, runners, running, Thank you on March 8, 2010| 11 Comments »

Next week on HBO, the new series Band of Runners

Let me preface this by saying that I am a lover not a fighter. 10 years of kung-fu (3 spent as a youth instructor) under my belt and I still prefer to end confrontations with my words and not my fists. I’m not going down without taking one or two bodies with me, but let’s face it, I would never survive in a war zone. The soldiers I know, directly like Uncle Paul and Brandon, or through friends, like Jeremy, are the true warriors. They have the true Band of Brothers.

That said, the recent response to my Sanity post got me thinking. I had written it while slowly emerging from a place that had me down. The post itself was about using running to mentally pick oneself up by the bootstraps and get going. 4 days later, I still believe that all to be true – running is something of a miracle drug to me, but I am compelled to add something. This running community that I am a part of through Daily Mile and Twitter, has also had an immense impact on how well I feel going through the day. The words of encouragement and hope are energizing and uplifting. But it’s not just them. It’s all the runners out there that are pounding out the miles.

Whether I see you outside my window running by before dawn or from the car as I drive around town taking care of the groceries and dry cleaning, I see you, I am encouraged by you and I am thankful.

For those of my friends who are still unsure about these social networks, I would direct you to my friend Kathy over at RTR. Kathy put it in terms that explain without preaching. Simply put, Daily Mile is Facebook for runners, bikers, swimmers, and athletes, but I use all of those terms loosely. We are a group that range in skill from the very competitive to the “let’s just put down the pint and get my butt off the couch, shall we?”. We’re all just looking for a connection through our chosen athletic endeavor and a bit of encouragement.

My point…

Essentially, I want to thank you, my fellow runners, for your support in recent weeks…directly or indirectly, knowingly and unknowingly you have all lifted my spirits and helped my feet fly.

You are my Band of Runners, and to you I am grateful.

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Pre-race Jitters

Posted in other, tagged jitters, running, Super Sunday 10K on February 5, 2010| 9 Comments »

I haven’t run a lot of races. Since hanging up the cleats in high school, I’ve run 4 races (a 10K, 2 half marathons and one full), and those 4 have been in the last 12 months. The funny thing is that I haven’t had too many jitters going into these races. I knew I wasn’t an elite runner and quite honestly, aside from the marathon, I didn’t really know what I wanted to accomplish in the races.

But this Sunday I will be running the Super Sunday 10K for the second time. It is my first repeat race.

And I am nervous.

Why? It is a race I am familiar with. It is a race I know I can finish. I ran the race last year in a respectable 46:58. It was my first race as an adult, but I am more nervous about it this year than last.

Shouldn’t it be the other way around? In life, when we repeat things, aren’t they supposed to become easier? For the past few years as our elementary school’s PTO President I had to speak to groups of parents both large and small regularly. The first couple of times were nerve-wracking, although that might have something more to do with the fact that the chair I was sitting in before my first speech ripped a dollar size hole in the back of my pants – I had to back my way onto the stage, but that’s another story for another blog. It very quickly became easy, almost second nature speaking to them, no matter how controversial the topic might be.

So why am I nervous? It’s not like I’m not competing for a medal or a prize.

I am nervous because I am competing against myself. I set a standard last year that I hope to improve upon and that scares me a little. What if I don’t beat my time? What if I pull a hamstring and can’t finish? What would that say about all of the running I have done over the past 12 months?

A year ago I was happy just to finish, in part because 6 months earlier I would have laughed at the idea at finishing a 10K in under an hour. A year later, things have changed. I am more competitive – with myself.

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Ramps and Research – from diary of a mom

Posted in other on January 22, 2010| 1 Comment »

For the last week or so I’ve been watching my friends on Facebook put some variation of the following as their status:

MY wish for 2010 is that people will understand that children with disabilities do not have a disease; children with disabilities are not looking for a cure, but ACCEPTANCE……..93% of people won’t copy and paste this, WILL YOU be one of the 7% that does and make this your status for at least an hour! They do not want to be “fixed” they want to participate in the world to the best of THEIR ability!

As the parent of a special needs child I will admit that it bothered me a bit, but as I usually ignore these cut & paste statements, I let it go and didn’t think much more of it. The wife however had a different, deeper view, and after reading her latest post, I thought, “Wow! This [her post] can be applied across the board! To our every day lives in general. To a country that seems to have lost it’s ability to have a political conversation where we talk TO each other and not AT each other.” Think before you speak. Look before you leap. Please take a moment to click over and take a read. It’s not about running, but there are, believe it or not, other things: diary of a mom

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A Reminder

Posted in other, tagged Haiti, Moment, Reminder on January 14, 2010| 1 Comment »

So I had today’s post all set to go…in fact, it’s been ready for a few days…it needs a little editing here and there, but for the most part I was happy with what it had to say. But that post will have to wait until tomorrow, because today I would like to remind everybody who reads this to take a moment, if just for an extended beat or for several minutes – take a moment to hug your loved ones and tell them how much they mean to you.

The catastrophic events in Haiti have reminded me that my life, though sometimes mildly difficult and monotonous, is fragile and precious; that the world can be turned on it’s head, literally, in the blink of an eye. 3 million people have had the opportunity to say, “I love you” to a loved one taken away.

Find a moment today to honor their loss by doing what they cannot.

Mercy Corps

Oxfam America

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The Magic of Santa

Posted in other, tagged autism, Blog Moms, Christmas, love, Magic, Magical, military families, runner's high, running, santa, Santa Claus on December 23, 2009| 9 Comments »

As runners, we often find ourselves chasing that ultimate feeling in running: the runner’s high – when our feet barely touch the ground and we feel as if we are flying through our workout. I achieved that high this weekend, but it came from a completely unexpected source.

I first met Rhema and Hope here. I met them through the incredible network of blog moms that my wife is a part of. I then met them in real life when we had the wonderful opportunity to have the two of them and their parents over to our house. Their dad Brandon is a soldier stationed in Iraq doing what he does so that I have the privilege of being a stay at home dad. Their mom Jeneil and Jess (my wife) are part of an incredibly diverse group of strong, intelligent, caring women who were united by the common bond of autism, but now share so much more. You check out each and every one of these great women by linking to them through Jess’ blog roll.

I can only imagine what our military families go through during the holidays when a spouse is stationed overseas. With that in mind, we asked Jeneil if it would be okay for our family to bring a little Christmas early to their home.

Jeneil’s older daughter’s autism is very different than my daughter’s. I have never heard Rhema speak a word and I have never been sure that she noticed whether I was in the room or not.

That was until last weekend when our family went to their house with me dressed like this:

Little Hope was in shock that Santa had decided to stop by and make an appearance in her home.

After opening up a few presents and sitting on my, er Santa’s lap for a few minutes

she went off and made me, er Santa, a half a dozen beautiful drawings.

But the real magic happened on the way out. Rhema had been playing with her presents, giving little if any notice to Santa. But as I got up to leave, she came over to me, threw her arms around my shoulders, climbed up like a koala and wouldn’t let go. She looked me right in the eye as if to say, “you can’t go yet, Santa!”.

It. Was. Magical.

I thought that I was the one coming bearing gifts. I left with more than I had arrived with.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays!

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Pringles for the Brain

Posted in other, tagged 24, 30 Rock, Battlestar Galactica, BSG, Chuck, DVD, DVR, Flash Forward, Fringe, Heroes, Lie to Me, LOST, my favorite running blogs, Numb3rs, Pringles, Pringles for the brain, Prison Break, Recommend, Recommendation, Rome, run, The Mentalist, Tivo, treadmill, TV, V, Zone out on December 4, 2009| 6 Comments »

For my friend M

Continuing my treadmill theme, here is my Top Ten* list of shows I like to zone out to while running on the treadmill:

Prison Break (Fox – no longer on the air)

Chuck (NBC – returning in January)

24 (Fox – returning in January)

Numb3rs (CBS – Fridays at 10)

Rome (HBO – no longer on the air)

Fringe (Fox – Thursdays at 9)

Heroes (NBC – Mondays at 8 )

Lie To Me (Fox – Mondays at 9)

30 Rock (NBC – Thursdays at 9)

The Mentalist (CBS – Thursday at 10)

Last fall I would set the DVR to record my shows (4 of them aired on Mondays and 1 on Tuesday) and I was set for the week.

Some of you who know me may be asking, “Uh, dude? Where’s LOST and BSG? Aren’t you always going on and on about those two shows? How they are the best ever?” That is true. My two favorite shows of all time are LOST and the new Battlestar Galactica. But these two are far too involved to be put on the list – too much fumbling for the remote to rewind to hear a missed line or clue. I see Flash Forward joining this special list very shortly. When I’m on the treadmill I tend to want fun, easy, popcorn entertainment. My wife calls it Pringles for the brain (though she’s usually referring to books).

Sadly, some of these shows are no longer on the air (Prison Break and Rome) and only available on DVD, but if you haven’t seen them yet, they are totally worth it.

I would love to hear what you would recommend when stuck on the treadmill.

* In no particular order. The new V series may be joining the treadmill list, but with only 4 episode aired and the show not returning to the screen until February, I am withholding judgement either way. Since Rome and Prison Break are off the air, it would probably replace one of those.