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2 Roads…Boston Marathon 2012 (Part I)

Posted in boston marathon, tagged boston marathon, boston marathon 2012, race report, running on April 15, 2012| 2 Comments »

4:30AM – I imagine that many are already up, awake after a sleepless night. They are stumbling about their homes or hotel rooms, checking, double checking, triple checking their gear for the day. I am asleep.

5:30AM – Somewhat bleary-eyed, but full of excitement, thousands head for the buses at the Boston Commons. As sleepy as they may be, their bodies are buzzing. I am asleep.

6:00AM – The buses for the first wave are now leaving, with buses for the second and third wave leaving at 6:30 and 7:00. My alarm finally goes off, only because Jess still has to work today and I need to go down to the kitchen to pack her a breakfast and lunch.

6:00AM – 8:00AM – They will sit on the bus, some sleeping, some chatting a mile a minute, some silently staring off into space, contemplating what lies ahead. I will make myself a simple breakfast, have some tea and wait for my kids to wake up. No school for them on Patriot’s Day.

8:00AM – 10:00AM – They wait. This is one of my favorite parts of the Boston Marathon. They will nervously wait in the athlete’s village. If they are running with a charity, they will all sit together, otherwise, they will find friends who they only see once or twice a year – friends who they know through the blogosphere or Facebook or dailymile or Twitter. It will be comforting because these are people that, despite not knowing each other, they know each other. Some will be relaxed, others will be nervous, most will be a combination of both. Despite the comfort of the village, all will want to get this race started. I’ll shower and lay my running gear out…maybe I’ll double check it, maybe I won’t.

10:00AM – The first wave is off. I say a little prayer for all of the runners as the temperatures look to climb into the high 80’s. I am not so worried about the elite runners and those that will be near the front of the first wave. Though they will not necessarily have banner days, they will be finishing just as the temperatures get brutal. It is the later runners like my charge Lynda, who I will be pacing from mile 16 to the finish line, and my dear friends Mike and Judith and Brian who are experienced marathoners, but starting in the third wave, that I am concerned about. They are the heroes of Monday who will be subjecting their bodies the tough, hot, extreme elements. Meanwhile, I will drop one of my kids off for a play date and bring the other with me to run some errands.

10:40AM – The third wave will be under way. For those all the way in the back (as I was in 2010 – I was literally the last person to start in 2010) it may take as much as 20 minutes to cross the starting line. Brooke and I will finish up our errands and go home to play a little – maybe a little painting, maybe some reading.

11:30AM – The elites are probably somewhere near Wellesley College at this point – almost half way home. If they’re smart, they’ll stop for a kiss in the scream tunnel. Depending on how long it took to get to the start, my friends in wave three are somewhere between 4 and 5 miles in. Hopefully they are taking their time, soaking in the crowd and not worried about their pace. The babysitter arrives and I begin to check my phone for alerts on my charge Lynda. She is hoping to run at 11:00 to 12:00 pace. I check to make sure I have my Charlie Card so I can get back home via the T after I run her to the finish. I check the interwebs for the T-stop I need to drive to.

12:15PM – The alerts have been coming in, not just of my friends from wave three, but of my other friends as well. Maddy, Steve, and many more. At this point, Lynda is anywhere between 5 and 8 mile. She probably won’t be at mile 16 until 1:40ish, but I don’t want to take any chances. I hop in the car and head to the local T-stop, dressed to run, shuffle, walk – whatever it takes to get Lynda to the finish line.

1:00PM – Arriving at mile 16, I will make my way through the crowd and cheer on the runners, looking for friends, keeping track of Lynda.

Our 2 roads are about to converge…

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The Road to Boston…

Posted in boston marathon, tagged boston marathon, jealousy, running, Sugarloaf Marathon, training on April 11, 2012| 7 Comments »

…goes through Sugarloaf – at least for me.

5 days until one of the greatest annual road races takes place. After traveling from all over the world, thousands will take the slow, what feels like forever bus ride from the Boston Commons to the town of Hopkinton, where they will wait – wait for their turn to run one of the greatest marathons on the planet.

I must admit, I have been more than a bit jealous as I’ve watched people post their bib numbers and complain about their tapers on Facebook, Twitter, dailymile and other social media. There is a part of me that feels like I belong right there with them, but I know that I do not. Under the modified registration process, I missed getting in by 33 seconds and I chose not to run for a charity – somehow, that doesn’t make the pangs of jealously hurt any less; especially since the new standards mean I will have to PR by 4 minutes and 20 seconds to re-qualify for next year.

The deceptive early downhill, the women of Wellesley College, the brutal hills of Newton, the deafening crowds in Boston – these are but a few of the highlights Monday’s marathoners will experience. What will I miss the most about Boston this year? I think it might be the waiting in the Athlete’s Village – seeing my friends Mike and Brian, who are running for the Liver Foundation; hanging out with the amazing Suman, Maddie, Steve S., and Andy O.; finding dailymile and Twitter friends along the way.

I will definitely miss you guys on Monday.

Have fun. Run strong.

If everything goes the way I hope it does at Sugarloaf, I will see you next April in Hopkinton.

Hopefully on May 2oth, I ‘ll be making this face –

BQing at Smuttynose October 2010

as I hit a sub-3:15, so I can get back to this place

somewhere on the Newton Hills - Boston 2010.

and share the journey with you once again.

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If You Don’t Know…

Posted in training, Uncategorized, tagged ask, ask a trainer, exercise, fitness machine, if you don't know, local gym, running, training on April 10, 2012| 6 Comments »

My new training program has called for a lot of cross-training and some timed runs that I find easier to do on a treadmill. Because of this, I have found myself going to the local gym way more than I have in the past. I have probably been to the gym more in the last month than I had in the previous 2 years combined. It’s really been an interesting time watching the wide spectrum of people who come in for their workouts, ranging from young to old; athletic to, well, not so athletic; the focused to the people who are just there to chat and people watch.

During this stretch I’ve included swimming, cycling, stair climbing, rowing and a variety of elliptical machines. When I try using a fitness machine of any kind for the first time, I always want to make sure that I am using proper form. Doing otherwise is a surefire way of either A) getting injured or B) failing to maximize the health benefits of a workout. I start slowly to make sure that I am “doing it right” and slowly pick up speed, constantly conscious of where my body parts are. Most of the time, those first workouts feel extremely light – I am unable to get my heart rate where I want it to be – and that is because, as soon as I feel my form is falling apart, I will dial it down until I get it right.

After two or three attempts on an apparatus, I usually have it down and am able to push to where I need to be and get the amount of sweat I’m looking for.

What has struck me as I go to the gym on a regular basis now is the complete mess that so many people seem unaware that they are:

On the rower I see people with their arms and legs completely out of sync and with their hands moving up and down as if going over a hill,ending up near their eyes.
On the stairmaster I see people bent over at the waist almost 90° with their hands turned out on the rails.
On the treadmill I see people holding on for dear life to the top of the display as their legs go flying out behind them.
On the elliptical I see people, and Lord knows how they do this, bent over with their elbows above their heads.

Every one of these people is working hard, but I know they are doing themselves a disservice. Now you may be thinking Luau, maybe they are at the end of their workouts and they’ve just run out of gas. You know, that would be fine (sorta!) but I’ve been watching these people for several weeks now and it is how do their workout for the WHOLE workout.

Honestly though, their bad form isn’t entirely their fault. There are several trainers that are walking around the gym at any given time. THEY should know better. THEY should take the opportunity to show these people the proper form. That being said, each individual should take the time to make sure they are doing something the right way before putting the pedal to the metal when exercising – this includes running outside too.

If you’re just starting this exercise thing, keep in mind, that if you don’t know how to properly use a machine or are not sure how to run with proper form, don’t be afraid to ask somebody. You’ll end up seeing positive result in the mirror, on the scale and in your head much more quickly. Swallow a little pride and ask. It can make all the difference in the world.

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Liver Lover 5K – Race Report

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged 5K, Furman FIRST, Liver Lover 5K, race menu, race report, running on April 6, 2012| 3 Comments »

Whenever I go to small, local races (all of 3 or 4 in total) I inevitably start looking around for who may be the winner. I size the other runners up – she looks fast! he’s definitely a speedster! – and as I do, I try to place myself among them. The Liver Lover 5K was no different. Upon arriving, I immediately started sizing up those who appeared to be fast runners. Over on a bench was a long, lean guy who looked like he could flat out run. Over by the check in table was a shorter women who looked all of 100 lbs. She pulled off her sweatshirt to reveal a Boston Running Club singlet. Crap! Another speedster! As I surveyed the crowd I tried to figure out who was faster than me. I had myself coming in somewhere around 5th. When my Race Menu teammate Lisa showed up, I knocked myself down another peg. 6th place.

As we walked over to the starting line, it became apparent to me that there was one kid who was not running the same race as the rest of us. Tall, skinny, a runner’s body and a college singlet on. Turned out he was 23 years old. My plan had been to go out with the leaders and see where I was after a mile. I was gonna have to let this kid go. After a touching rendition of the National Anthem, it was time to go.

Ready…

Six or seven us crouched at the starting line.

Set…

We put our hands on our GPS watches.

GO!!!

A multitude of beeps and we were off. Tall, Skinny Kid shot off the starting line and for whatever reason, I gave chase. After 25 yards, I looked down at my watch – 7:05 per mile pace – didn’t feel like we were running that slow, but I thought, okay, I can keep up with this guy!

At about 200 yards, my lungs really started to burn. Something wasn’t right. Tall, skinny guy was slowly pulling away, but I was still pretty close. At 300 yards I looked at my watch -5:30 pace AND he was pulling away even faster!

Uh oh! I thought. This is not good! I slowed down. I can’t run that fast for much long than a 1/2 mile and if I do, I’m throwing up at the end. Panic started to set in. Back pain from the day before suddenly started to hurt (though I’m pretty sure it was mental). A half mile in and I was filled with doubt and could now hear footsteps of people catching me from behind.

I had blown my race barely before it even got started.

The young woman I had spied earlier and a kid in a bright green shirt passed me like I was standing still. I wanted to follow, but I had to let them go – I would just have to make sure that I didn’t let them get too far ahead of me.

I hit the first mile in 6:33. Obviously much slower than the 5:30 I had gone out in, but worse, in my mind, 9 seconds slower than my planned 6:24 pace (I was attempting to finish in 20:00).

The young woman and the Green shirt kid were not too far ahead of me. As we made a right turn, they initially started to go too far to the right. For just a split second I thought of letting them go, but the true competitor in me wouldn’t have been able to live with that. I yelled at them that they were going the wrong way. They probably lost no more than a second or two off their time.

I continued to chase them as we went over a hill. Lately, for whatever reason, uphills have been where I’ve been closing the distance on people, and this race was no different. Very quickly I pulled within about 10 feet of the two of them. They were able to maintain their distance on the downhill.

But just before 1.5 miles, we made another turn and hit another hill. As we made the turn, Green Shirt Kid began to fade, but the Young Woman was pushing hard.

Now the race was on.

I caught up to her about 2/3 of the way of the hill. Through her heavy breathing she asked me if mile 1 felt long. I said it did and we continued to run in silence, listening to the pounding of our feet. At about 1.8 miles we were flying downhill again. I opened up a bit of a lead, but as soon as we flattened out, she caught and passed me again.

I had never been in a back and forth race, and quite frankly, I wasn’t sure if I had the mental determination to take it to the end.

As we passed mile 2 at 13:00, I started doing math again. I had 7:00 to cover 1.1 miles. I was gonna have to run a 6:36 mile the rest of the way – faster than 9 miles per hour. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do it. I thought about letting the Young Woman go – she seemed to be speeding up (or was I slowing down?) – but I knew, once again, that I had to leave it all on the course if I wanted to get a true reading of where my fitness level was. If I was opting to race a 5K instead of running my scheduled 18-miler, then dammit I was going to make it worthwhile.

1.1 miles – it was time to let it all hang out. I could bear the pain for 7 minutes.

At about 2.2 miles, I caught the Young Woman on a turn on to a bike path and passed her. I had the gas pressed to the floor. I was just hoping I wouldn’t run out of gas before the end of the race. As we came back out on to the road, I could hear her footsteps behind me. I kept thinking that any minute now she was gonna find her final gear and blow past me. We had a half mile to go and my whole body felt like it was on fire.

Her footsteps were getting closer – if I could just hold on.

With about 300 yards to go I could see the finish line. It was time to completely empty the tank.

Trying to create some distance between me and the Young Woman

I found a final gear, covering those last 300 yards in sub-5:45 per mile pace,

Increasing the gap with one final kick...

crossing the finish line in 19:40 and finishing in a personal best 2nd place.

Not one of my more flattering race pics...and why am I slowing down BEFORE the finish line?

It turns out the Tall Skinny Kid finished in 16:18 – like I said, he was running a completely different race. I must admit, I was pretty pleased with my finish. There were plenty of moments where I wanted to take my foot off of the gas, but I pushed through the pain and was able to finish better than I had expected. The 2nd place finish was fabulous (I even won a $30 gift certificate to a local running shop), but the best part is that I continued the validation of switching to the Furman FIRST program. After Quincy 2 weeks earlier, McMillan’s Running Calculator put me at a 3:15:07 marathon – huge progress from the Superbowl Sunday 5-Miler that had me at a 3:25 marathon. Last Sunday’s race, albeit it was a short one at 5K, puts me at a 3:11:43 marathon.

My continued improvement serves as a great confidence booster going into Sugarload come late-May. I am just going to have to make sure that I don’t make the same mistake I made last year at Boston, where instead of running a disciplined race at the pace I had trained for (3:15), I ended up going for sub-3:10.

Kudos to Jess Rossman for putting together a well run race. I will definitely be back next year to try and improve on my time. Hopefully Tall Skinny Guy doesn’t show up.

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24 Weeks – Boston 13.1 with Team Up with Autism Speaks

Posted in motivation, training, Uncategorized, tagged boston 13.1, Half-Marathon, running, Team Up! with Autism Speaks, walking on March 31, 2012| 4 Comments »

Tomorrow is April 1st. It is the first day of Autism Awareness Month.

On Monday, World Autism Awareness Day, hundreds of landmarks and millions of homes, including our own, will be lit up blue.

I hope you will consider lighting it up blue with the rest of us.

Tomorrow will also be exactly 24 weeks before the Boston 13.1 Half Marathon. I wrote about it a while back (I Want You) when Autism Speaks announced that it was teaming up with 13.1 to be the official charity of the Boston race. Many of you signed up and we already have over 10% of the slots designated for Team Up with Autism Speaks filled.

***

If you are sitting on the couch reading this, thinking, I could never do a half-marathon, I want you to stop to reconsider.

Even if you have never run.

Even if you rarely walk.

This is something you can do.

And by signing up with Team Up with Autism Speaks, you are not only taking on the challenge of completing a half marathon (a tremendous personal feat in and of itself), you are taking a pro-active role in making the world a better, more compassionate place for my Brooke and those like her.

As we get closer to the date of the race, I will make another push for the more hard-core runners to join my cause, but today, the day before Autism Awareness Month starts; today, the day my Brooke turns 9 years old (HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROOKE!!!); today, I want to talk to those of you who have been looking for a reason to get off the couch, out from behind the desk, out of the sedentary life-style; especially if you are are the parent of, sibling of, child of, relative of or person with autism – this is a way to get active AND make a difference not only for yourself but for others as well.

***

Some of you may know the story of how I got into running a little over 3 years ago. To be clear, I really disliked running, especially any distance over a couple of miles. Over the years I had tried running on, but it never lasted more than a couple of weeks. Three and a half years ago, Jess announced that she was going to run a half marathon…on the Cape…in the middle of February.

I thought she was nuts – she had never really run before. I wasn’t going to let her run a half-marathon in the bitter, winter wind of the Cape alone, so I told her I would run with her. As I began training, I remember thinking this really sucks. Long story short, a couple of weeks later something just clicked – I had found the joy in running.

Meanwhile, Jess never did manage to get her training going. I think a part of her problem was that she really had no guidance as to what to do. I had no idea what I was doing so I was no help either (I didn’t discover the online running community until mid-summer). She made an initial effort, but with no plan, the grand idea of running a half simply faded away.

***

Fast-Forward to about a month ago. When Jess heard that Boston 13.1 would be open to walkers who could maintain a 16:00 per mile pace, a dream was reborn.

This time however, she had a few things working in her favor:

she wasn’t going to be running a half, instead tackling the distance as a walker
she would be training during the warmer month, so she wouldn’t have to brave the bitter cold
she knew a somewhat experienced runner to help put together a program for her that would ease her into the distance.

And so she started her program 2 weeks ago. I put together a 26 week walking program that would slowly build up over 6 months to get her to the starting line with confidence and to the finish line without pain. I drew upon several established programs for walkers and runners including C25K (Couch to 5K) and a modified Hal Higdon program. The program can be used to walk or run a half-marathon.

***

I have further modified the program and compressed it to 24 weeks, meaning if you start tomorrow; if you get off the sofa and out of the house tomorrow, you could find yourself walking/jogging/running a half-marathon in September. As big of a feat as it may seem (and is), it’s not as hard as you may think!

So I would like to encourage you to join me and Jess on September 16th at Suffolk Downs for the Boston 13.1 Half Marathon as part of the Team Up with Autism Speaks Team. If you are an avid runner, you don’t need the motivation to get out there, but if you’ve been looking for a way to get active and make a difference, this is your chance.

Don’t think about it, because you’ll talk yourself out of it. Just do it. Click —>HERE<— to join the team and then click on the link below to get the 24 Week Walking Training Plan.

YOUR 24 Week Half Marathon Training Plan

You can do this!

AND if you are a Boston local, starting at the end of June, I will be organizing group runs/walks on the weekends leading up to the event along the scenic Boston Marathon course. It will be a run/walk at your own pace kind of a thing, but we will start and finish together. I hope you will join us.

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Setback

Posted in training, Uncategorized, tagged cold, flu, missed runs, running, set back, training on March 5, 2012| 7 Comments »

It was only a week, but I was on a roll. Speed-training, followed by swimming, followed by a tempo run, followed by rowing – I felt great! All that was left of my first week of training under the FIRST program was to get my fast-paced 14-miler in this past weekend.

So much for planning.

I started to feel a little off Friday night, a little tickle in my throat.

By Saturday I was full-blown sick – my head hurt, my nose was congested and runny, I was coughing like a pack-a-day smoker, and my lungs were completely waterlogged. I had to bail on a bowling date with my little one, sending Jess in my stead. I slept all day, hoping that I could lick this thing in 24 hours. With a little luck, I’d get my 14-miler in on Sunday morning and then it was off to my older one’s birthday party.

So much for luck.

I woke on Sunday feeling worse than I had on Saturday. Not only did I not get my run in, but I missed my baby’s party – it just didn’t seem fair to expose her friends to my illness, especially since I was still hacking away.

It’s only one run that I’ve missed so far, but honestly, I still feel like crap and I’ve got another round of speed work scheduled for tomorrow – 3 x 1200m at 10K pace minus 40-45 seconds. If I feel like this tomorrow, there is no shot that gets done.

What if this thing lingers?

What if I get better, but the fatigue doesn’t go away?

At what point do I cut my losses and choose to walk away from Sugarloaf and race another day?

This has been a strange winter to be sure here in the northeast. According to the news we’ve received 8 inches of snow this year. That’s down from over 80 inches last winter and an annual average of about 40 inches. Yet during this mildest of winters I have been sick more times than I have over the last 3 or 4 winters combined. It has not helped my running to say the least, but I think I may know why it has been happening…

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Changing Horses

Posted in boston marathon, motivation, training, tagged Advanced, boston marathon, changing horses, dance with the one that brought you, Furman FIRST, midstream, Pfitz, running, stay the course, Sugarloaf, training on March 1, 2012| 5 Comments »

Stay the course…

Don’t change horses midstream…

Dance with the one that brought you…

***

On October 3rd, 2010, I ran the fastest 26.2 miles of my life. My 3:19:19 at the Smuttynose Marathon qualified me for Boston 2011 and at least got me in the registration door for Boston 2012 (though ultimately I fell 33 seconds short of having my application accepted). To get there I followed Pfitzingers 12/55 (12 weeks, peaking at 55 miles per week) plan out of his book, Advanced Marathoning. Every subsequent marathon that I have run I have tried to follow one of Pfitzinger’s plans, be it the 12/55, the 12/70 or, most recently, the 18/55. When people have asked for advice on how they can improve their marathon times, I’ve directed them to the book. It really works.

But something happened to me last summer – call it burn out or fatigue, my body needed a break. I just wasn’t listening. I kept thinking that if I just continued to push myself, I’d break out of my funk. Marathon after marathon, I set out to follow the Pfitz plan.

But I would miss a workout.

And then another.

And another.

My next three marathons came in at 3:26, 3:43 and my one and only DNF. By the time training for New York City ’11 rolled around, I decided I was just going to run for fun. I just couldn’t bring myself to hitting every run set out in the Pfitz plan. 5 to 6 days a week of running is not easy, especially when you’re in full burnout mode.

***

After New York, my running became even more haphazard. I convinced myself I wanted to get back to Boston, so I searched for a fast, Spring marathon. I set my eyes on Sugarloaf.

A little over 6 weeks ago, I began the Pfitz 18/55 plan. I had to drag myself through the workouts from the very start.

Not good.

By sage buddy Mike suggested that I spend 6 weeks rebuilding my base and then follow the 12/55 plan. As wise as his advice was, I was happier with the concept that I wouldn’t be required to run 4 – 5 times a week than the idea of pushing off the start of my training.

My wheels were spinning.

Then, about a week and a half ago, Mike inadvertently passed along another golden nugget my way. He suggested that I take a look at the Furman FIRST program – essentially it is a Run Less, Run Faster program. The key to the program is that there are only 3 runs per week – a speed workout, a tempo run and a long run. Running is not allowed on any other day. Cross-training on two other days is recommended. Every run is based on one’s 1oK race pace. I was particularly intrigued by the concept that long run needed to be run at 55 – 75 seconds slower than 10K pace – read that again – that’s a good 30 – 75 seconds faster than every other program I’ve followed.

***

Now, I know one is not supposed to change horses midstream and should dance with the one that brought ya, but I have also come to realize that the Pfitz program just wasn’t doing it for me anymore – I had just been unwilling to accept that. I still believe in the Pfitz program and I still would recommend it to anybody who has the commitment and drive to run 5 days a week. I’ve just come to a place where I realize that my body needs the cross-training but it can’t take the constant pounding 7 days a week.

The turning point for me was this last Saturday when I struggled through my run but felt a spark at the end. That’s when I decided that I still had the desire to re-qualify for Boston. At the end of the run I went back and read over the FIRST program again. The more I read, the more excited I got.

I know I am jumping in late on the program – it is a 16 week program and there are now less than 12 week until Sugarloaf, but for the first time in a long time, I believe!

I believe!!!

On Tuesday I had my first speed workout – 10 x 400 meter intervals at 10K pace minus 55-60 seconds. I hit every interval at under 6:00 pace, the last one at better than 5:45 pace. Yesterday I put in 1000 yards in the pool. This morning I have a 5-mile tempo run at 10K + 15-20 seconds pace. The first real test will come this weekend when I put in my first long run of the program – 14 miles at just under 8:00 pace.

We’ll see how I feel after that run, but for right now, at this moment, I believe again…

…I have my plan…

…and I’m glad to be changing horses.

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Spark

Posted in boston marathon, motivation, tagged Boston, BQ, highs, lows, marathon training, motivation, running, spark, Sugarloaf, training on February 28, 2012| 9 Comments »

On Saturday afternoon, after getting the refrigerator working again and half fixing a half-broken washing machine, I finally got out for a run. The temperatures were in the low 40’s but the 20 to 40 mph winds were making it feel much, much colder. Over the course of 8 miles I felt like I was running into the wind almost the whole time, which was quite a feat considering I was running an out & back route.

My plan was that I really didn’t have one. A few weeks ago I decided that I was simply going to run miles when I could before beginning a 12-week program for Sugarloaf. This past Monday was the beginning of that program.

As I started my run, I thought of Sugarloaf and what it would take to re-qualify for Boston.

A sub-3:15 marathon – sub-7:25 per mile pace…for 26.2 miles. I haven’t run that pace consistently in so long…how the hell am I going to do this…

As I ran past 1 mile, I looked down at my watch – hmmm…7:34 – that’s not so bad – I kept moving at a pace that felt comfortable, focusing on my form, not really paying attention to pace. I looked at my watch as I passed mile 2 – 7:30.

I decided to have some fun and push the pace a little, just to see what I had in my legs.

Miles 3 and 4 went by in a snappy 7:18 and 7:29. Somewhere before reaching the turn around I started to tire. As good as it felt to be running sub-7:30’s, I didn’t feel particularly strong. I thought about the fact that at Sugarloaf, I would have to run faster than this for over 6 times the distance.

I began to reevaluate the very idea of attempting a BQ and a 5-minute PR in May. Was I crazy? Was I fooling myself? At this point I just wanted to jog it back home at a slow pace and mope.

For no apparent reason I decided to push the pace for 2 more miles. I wasn’t sure what I had in me, but I figured let’s just run this one out.

I looked at my watch at mile 5 – 7:16. My fastest mile of the day. Mile 6 came even faster at 7:06. At this point however, I felt spent. I was happy I was able to close strong, but a bit disheartened that I felt so tired.

2 miles from home, it was time to jog it in. I covered the next 1/2 mile at 8:30 pace – a comfortable pace for me. I started to relax and felt my breath coming back to me.

My mind drifted. I let my body just roll along. My watch beeped at the next 1/2 mile interval – 3:37.

3:37? That’s 7:14 pace!

I went with it – trying not to exert too much, just letting gravity and momentum do their job – next 1/2 mile? 3:32 (7:04 pace).

As I made the final turns for home I felt a burst of energy run through me and decided I needed to finish this run strong (despite the fact that the last 1/2 mile is uphill).

I covered the last 1/2 mile at 6:58 pace and felt great – spent, but great.

Suddenly Sugarloaf didn’t feel so daunting anymore. Suddenly I remembered that I just might have it in me to hit my BQ, despite the fact that I will need a nearly 5-minute PR. Suddenly, the spark was back.

Now all I needed was a plan…

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Priorities

Posted in motivation, other, tagged autism, boston autism walk 2012, Priorities, running, Vermont 50, walking on February 17, 2012| 2 Comments »

At this time last year I was nervously laughing at my friend Doug, who was trying to convince me to follow through on a promise to run the Vermont 50 with him. I had made that promise during a moment of idiocy, immediately regretting my words the moment they flew out of my mouth. There was simply no way he was going to convince me to run such a ridiculous distance.

However, as the date drew near, he turned the pressure up. In another moment of idiocy, I acquiesced, signing up for my first ultra-marathon. You can find the long story —>>>HERE<<<—, but the short story is after covering the 50 miles in a little over 11 hours, I immediately cursed Doug out, essentially saying I would never do something so stupid again…

…30 minutes later, I was thinking, “you know? if I actually trained for this thing, I think I could run this baby in a little over 9 hours.”

Yeah, I know…nutty.

So my plan this summer was to run long miles in anticipation of tackling the Vermont 50 again – this time, fully trained.

***

Sometimes, plans change. It turns out that the Boston Autism Speaks Walk is taking place on the same day as the Vermont 50. No matter I how fast I run, there’s no way I can be in two places at the same time. I weighed the decision for no more than a split second. The choice was and is clear – as bummed as I will be on September 30th, 2012 that I will not be running the Vermont 50, I will be walking proudly around the race track at Suffolk Downs, helping to make the world a better place for my baby and those like her.

In the end, it’s all about priorities, and what is more important to a parent than his or her children.

***

The Vermont 50 isn’t going anywhere (unless of course the Mayan Apocalypse occurs), but maybe my ultra-marathoning friends have a regional Fall 50-miler they could recommend? Maybe in October?

If you are not running the Boston 13.1 Marathon with Team Up! with Autism Speaks, please consider joining us on September 30th as a member of Team Umizoomi for the Walk (as soon as Jess gets the Team Page set up, I will post the link of the Run Luau Run Facebook Page).

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I Want You!

Posted in motivation, other, Uncategorized, tagged 13.1 Boston, Autism Speaks, autism speaks walk, Half-Marathon, marathon series, running, Team Up! with Autism Speaks on February 14, 2012| 35 Comments »

Last Saturday I had the honor of attending the Boston Autism Speaks Walk Awards Dinner. It was an evening filled with inspiration and hope. While there I spent some time talking with Erica Giunta, head of the Massachusetts chapter of Autism Speaks. She was excited to tell me that Autism Speaks and the 13.1 Marathon Series had teamed up to make Autism Speaks the official charity of 13.1 Boston. For the September 16th event, Autism Speaks has pledged to field 400 half-marathoners. Each of those runners will commit to raising at least $500, meaning that we will raise at least $200,000 for research, advocacy and awareness programs.

This is where you come in.

I am NOT asking you to donate.

I am NOT asking you for money.

I want YOU!

YOU!!!

I want you to come cover 13.1 miles with me, where we will start at historical Suffolk Down race track and “dash through East Boston, Revere, and Winthrop, take in a stunning view of Downtown, and smell the salt air of the great Atlantic Ocean! The Boston 13.1 Marathon is (also) WALKER FRIENDLY. The course will remain open for 3 hours and 30 minutes (16 minute/mile pace).”

We are all touched by autism – whether it is ourselves, a family member, a neighbor or friend. If you haven’t been touched by autism, chances are you will – and soon.

I was inspired in listening to Autism Speaks President Mark Roithmayr Saturday night speak of a generation of children who are growing up with the understanding that kids like my little Brooke are “just one of the guys,”; of high school basketball and football players who were coming up to him simply to ask, “what can we do for so-and-so”; of college kids who were packing auditoriums to hear him speak on a Thursday night (I don’t know about your experience, but my Thursday nights in college were generally spent in the fraternity basement).

There is a generation of kids who are growing up with awareness, knowledge, compassion.

“Just one of the guys.”

It made me realize that there were in fact, many girls at Brooke’s school that really do just look at her as one of the girls. Yes, they know she’s different, but they just don’t care. They like her and she likes them. In fact, this morning at drop off, a girl that was in her class LAST year came up to her to give her a pink teddy bear for Valentine’s Day. Brooke hasn’t had a play day with this girl since last summer, yet this young lady thinks enough of Brooke that she felt compelled to give her a Valentine’s Day present.

This kind of awareness, this kind of comfort would, in part, not be possible were it not for the awareness efforts of organizations like Autism Speaks. In turn, organizations like Autism Speaks would not be successful were it not for the incredible efforts of you. Yes, YOU.

***

Whether you are an experienced marathoner, an avid walker or just a getting off of the couch, I would like to invite you to join the Team Up! with Autism Speaks Team. They make fund raising easy.

2012 Team Up! with Autism Speaks benefits include, but are not limited to:

Race Entry (which means you don’t need to worry about the $65 – $100 entry fee)
Team Up! with Autism Speaks Runners Tank or Long Sleeve, and an Autism Speaks dri-fit hat
Pre-Race private team dinner for you and a guest, location TBA
Customized fundraising page
Team Up! Facebook Page
Virtual Coaching by a certified running Coach Chris Fales
Fundraising Tips and Opportunities
Dedicated Autism Speaks staff
Race Day Cheering Section at Mile TBA
Race Day Team Up! Tent for pre and post race usage
Team Handbook- In a PDF form and downloadable for reference at anytime.

I will add one more “benefit” if you are a Boston local. If you will be running your first half-marathon at 13.1 Boston, or just need some inspiration to get out there, I will organize weekly weekend long runs in the weeks leading up to the event. 7 months is a long ways away; plenty of time to get yourself ready for what is sure to be a fun-filled, inspiring day.

If you are an out-of-towner, what better excuse to get yourself up here for a visit? You’ll get to see New England in the early Fall, you’ll get a great run in, you’ll raise funds for a worthy cause, and best of all, you’ll get to have dinner with me the night before the race…okay, well, maybe that last one is not such a great excuse. Regardless, whether you decide to dine with me or not, I want you here.

You love to or want to run/walk.

You want to help.

On September 16th you can do both.

Join me by registering join the Team Up! with Autism Speaks Team —>>>HERE<<<—.

Experienced runner, novice runner, walker or couch potato – I. Want. You!