Chasing the Unicorn…or at least trying

May 19, 2014ianesenior 10 Comments

Coming off my recent PR earned (on the second attempt) at this year’s New Jersey Marathon I didn’t really have anything on my race schedule until the Baltimore Marathon in October and the Walt Disney World ‘Goofy Challenge’ next January. Both these races I will be running with my wife and so there are two goals: (1) In Baltimore it is to break 4:30 with Shari in her third marathon (we ran 4:45 together at the 2013 Philadelphia Marathon) and; (2) To successfully complete the Goofy Challenge still upright and smiling.

It was interesting for me that my reaction to achieving my PR at the New Jersey Marathon was a very brief high, but it soon faded. Why? I don’t know. I had prepared for this for over a year (longer if you count the training leading up to the 2013 Marathon). Personally I look back on the race and think I can do better. Yes, I did achieve my goal but it wasn’t pretty in the second half. I was nowhere near a negative split and I didn’t pace myself well in the second half. Am I being too hard on myself? Maybe, but perhaps it’s a reflection on my new focus and desire to do a bit better and achieve greater goals. This is what spurred me into registering for the ‘Chasing the Unicorn‘ Marathon taking place August 17 this year.

Why is it called ‘Chasing the Unicorn’? What is it all about? Why am I running it?

The logo of the Boston Marathon is the Unicorn. The primary objective of this particular race is for runners looking to earn a BQ (Boston qualifying standard) ahead of the registration deadline in September. In order to run the Boston Marathon, runners need to achieve a certain qualifying time goal in relation to their age group. For male runners in my age category (40-44) the qualifying standard is a marathon time of ‘3 hrs 15 min 00 sec’.

This race was first put on last year as a response to the increased demand to qualify for Boston in the wake of the 2013 bombings. Here is an article from Runner’s World Magazine that was published about the inaugural event in 2013.

As you may have read from my New Jersey race recap my marathon PR is 3 hrs 54 min 30 sec, not even close to the qualifying time unless I was in the 60-64 age category. So why is it that I have chosen to participate in this race and why was I allowed as I appear to be well outside the qualifying time?

I was already familiar with the ‘runBucks‘ series of races and the race director Pat McCloskey having participated in a few of his races in the past. My wife has won a couple of awards running in his events and is all too pleased to show me her awards (sore point in our household) 😉 I hadn’t considered running a race like this last year as I didn’t feel there was any way I would be reaching the BQ standards any time soon but two things made me reconsider. Firstly, I do some of my training runs on the canal and I have probably covered most if not all of this course during my long runs and secondly I think I can better my PR.

My wife with one of her awards (2nd place age group – Mother’s Day 10K)

I had struggled a little after the New Jersey Marathon back in 2013 and was a little demoralized having trained and not earned my PR but throughout the rest of 2013 I just set out to enjoy myself, run races with my wife and took my races with a relaxed attitude. I did attempt a PR in the Benjamin Franklin Bridge 10K which I did achieve but mostly it was about maintaining my fitness going into the inaugural Dopey Challenge back in January of this year. If you look at my recap of those four days down at Walt Disney World you will see how relaxed I was and how I found the marathon such an enjoyable experience (even after the previous three days of running) compared to my previous two years running that event.

I came back from Walt Disney World with a new confidence in my running and throughout all the training for New Jersey I felt comfortable and watched my speed become more consistent and a little quicker. In fact I ran three races in the four weeks leading up to the New Jersey Marathon at or close to my marathon goal pace. I felt confident going into the New Jersey Marathon and did in fact achieve my goal.

Okay, so not a BQ by any means but I do feel like I can do better. This prompted me to reach out to Pat directly and ask him if it was okay to register. I told him upfront that I wasn’t anywhere close to a BQ but I feel that this was the type of event that I could aim to improve my PR. It wasn’t going to be crowded (a very limited field) and I would be running solo so it seemed like a good opportunity to try. I also asked Pat if it was okay based upon the field size if it was okay to enter. I didn’t want to take away a BQ opportunity from a runner who was genuinely in a position to earn a qualifying time. Again, Pat reassured me that this would not be a problem just to keep my awareness up that I was going to be lapped…a lot (this is a double out and back loop of about 6.5 miles).

So here I am. Back at it in marathon training mode. In the past (marathons 2 through 8) I have used Hal Higdon’s Intermediate 1 training plan with Jeff Galloway’s run/walk method. This time I am ‘upping’ to Hal’s Intermediate 2 plan. It calls for a little increase in mileage (I get a third 20 mile training run) and with the summer here I can get up a little earlier and make time to do some speed workouts without fear of slipping on ice!! I know it will be warmer than I am used to training for a marathon but hopefully I will acclimatize enough over the summer to make this work. Here is my training plan for this event, the Baltimore Marathon and through the Goofy Challenge next January.

It’s going to be tough especially with the increased mileage but my goal is to be sub 3:50. Yup, I’ve put this down here in writing.

I’ll keep you posted 🙂

An unplanned rest…

May 9, 2014ianesenior 5 Comments

I’ve just taken the longest break from running since I started back in August of 2010. I usually run (train) 5 (sometimes 6) days a week. I have a full race calendar planned and I never like to finish a race without my next one scheduled. I’m the guy that when you ask what I am doing a few months from now I check my training calendar first.

This post is going to be a little long, a little graphic (descriptive not visual) but it does have a happy ending (thankfully).

My work medical insurance plan covers an annual physical. Since I started my journey to fitness I have been very steadily recording my activities, managing my weight and trying hard to maintain a healthy lifestyle. A little bit of family history also has led me to making sure I take the opportunity to schedule these annual physical exams which I do every year now around my birthday.

This year I made my usual plans, blood work just before my birthday and the exam a week later after my birthday. That way I can have year on year comparisons on my health. I should point out that I have (thankfully) a doctor who is alert and maybe a little conservative. Based upon some family history he has started some preventative screening of the prostate at 40 rather than 50 as is recommended.

So the day arrives of my physical exam. My resting heart rate thanks to all my changes in lifestyle is 42 beats per minute. All the blood work looks good, the Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test is low (0.5ng/ml). Finally we get to the ‘physical exam’. The doctor puts on his rubber glove, looks and me and says ‘Drop ’em”. Okay guys, it’s not as bad as you think. It is usually over in a few seconds. Well….usually it is. I wasn’t sure why it was taking so long. I almost asked if he’d lost his keys or something!!!

Now where did I leave those keys?

As I was getting myself back to normal states of dress he tells me that he feels some type of abnormality and wants me to see someone to get it checked out further. Okay, no problem. Better safe than sorry. He refers me to a local urology practice at the hospital and I make my appointment which is set for the following month. I left the physical exam a little concerned but I tried to not think too much about it. I couldn’t do much at that point as this was a preliminary exam and I hadn’t seen a specialist to confirm anything yet.

On the day of the appointment I head over to the hospital with all the paperwork complete and sit in the waiting room for what seemed a very long time. When it’s my turn I meet up with the nurse who goes through all my paperwork and preps me for the doctor. Finally I get to meet the doctor. That day I was wearing my Philadelphia Marathon shirt and he mentioned he had run the race one year too. Cool. I think I’m going to like this guy. Anyway, on with the exam.

So mentally I’m prepared for the exam knowing that it might be a little longer than usual. I assume the ‘position’ and wait for it to finish….but whoa!!! The picture below doesn’t quite capture my expression but I thought at some point he was going to hand me a banjo and ask me to sing the ‘Rainbow Connection’!!!

I had a slightly different expression at the time

Here is the scene playing out in my head as this is happening.

So the doctor also detects an abnormality, tells me he agrees with my family doctor’s concerns and decides he wants to send me for some further testing. He tells me that my options are an ultrasound, and MRI and ultimately a biopsy. I wasn’t really prepared to hear that final option but at this stage the doctor had the upper hand (ooooh…that’s a bad reference). Based upon my age he wants to do the test sooner than later and recommends I get the MRI which might provide more info. Okay, now I start to feel a little more concerned. I left the appointment with the doctor’s office telling me they will call with the details to make appointment for the MRI.

A few days pass and I follow-up with the doctor’s office about the appointment. Nothing yet. So I wait a few more days and still nothing. I’m eager to get this test done and behind me so I follow-up another time and this is when I find out that the insurance company had other ideas saying that at my age the MRI wasn’t necessary so after about a month of back and forth between the doctor and the insurance company the doctor says that we should just go straight to the biopsy and tells me my options.

The biopsy procedure requires the doctor to insert a needle into various places in the prostate 12 times and take a sample of tissue each of those times. The needle would be inserted ‘Jim Henson’ style. I had the option to do this in his office which will take about 10-20 minutes while I was awake or do this under anesthesia in the hospital. Guess which one I chose!

You’re going to do what to me???

With the New Jersey Marathon a couple of weeks away (April 27th) I asked him if we could wait until I had run the race and I would take his first available appointment the following week. He was fine with that, actually he recommended that, so the date was set for April 30th.

The week before the biopsy was scheduled I had to do some pre-admission testing. Simple blood work and checking medical history, height and weight. They also provided me with pre-admission instructions which generally include no food after midnight before the procedure (not a major issue) and no anti-inflammatories or other meds or supplements that could thin the blood for up to a week prior to the procedure. Hmmm…didn’t I say something about a marathon?

As I mentioned in my previous post (the New Jersey Marathon race recap) after the race because I was unable to take any anti-inflammatories I relied on an ice bath to reduce post run inflammation and a couple of days later (the day before the procedure) a took a brief 3 mile run to keep loose. I was able to keep loose but I was still just a little sore.

So the day of the procedure arrives. I spend the time waiting for my ride to the hospital pacing around the house. I hadn’t had my usual morning coffee and I was feeling antsy. I had to be at the hospital at 10:15am and I was dropped off a little early and was sent pretty much straight away into pre-op. I got myself my fancy ID band from the nurses and was provided with the always awesome backless gown. The last time I had one of these plastic wrist bands I was at Disney and got a few medals. Not this time.

So having got changed into my stylish surgical outfit I brought out the decoy…yes, I figured I could provide the doctor with a substitute so I didn’t have to have the needles. Neh…didn’t work.

Going with the theme of the ‘Jim Henson’ procedure

So I sat in my gown from about 10:30am until about 12:30pm with occasional visits from the nurses, the anesthetist, the surgical RN and the doctor. Funny that when they all came in to take my vitals they looked at the charts and said “Oh, you’re a runner” as they noticed the low heart rate. I was feeling proud each time they said it. The anesthetist told me essentially he was going to put me unconscious. I was okay with that. The doctor also came in and repeated what the procedure was going to be. He checked that all the pre-op checks were done and that I had my IV with fluids, the antibiotic ready in the IV to be administered during the procedure and that I was ready to go.

The surgical RN came in to get take me to the operating room and administered a pre-anaesthetic sedative (basically a ‘Valium’ injected into my IV line. Having got my buzz on I let the nurse take me in for the procedure. As I entered I was already a little woozy, I heard someone say the word ‘propofol’ (think Michael Jackson) and then nothing else. The next thing I know they are waking me in the recovery area.

I was told by the doctor that there would be no pain as the procedure was localized to the point and duration of the needles being inserted but there may be some bleeding in my ‘fluids’ for up to a week later. Fine. I think I can handle that and at least I knew what to expect. I was still lying down for the most part until they took me back to the post recovery area. The nurse there made sure I was able to sit up and offered me some food and drink and called my father in law to come and pick me up. All good.

When I felt okay I told them that I thought I was ready to go. They came and removed the IV from my arm and left me to get dressed. It was at this time that I stood up from the bed and asked where the bathroom was. I walked across the hall to do my stuff (I had been pumped full of fluids through my IV) as I felt the need to go. So, like a guy, I’m standing there and….nothing. What? I totally need to go but nothing happened. Eek. Next thing I know I’m seeing drops of blood but nothing else. I call the nurse who takes me back to my room and tells me she will call the doctor.

I’m just a teeny but worried now.

I tell her that the doctor said there may be a little bleeding and so I thought I would try again so she took my back to the bathroom. I’m hoping this was just a post op effect and I would get over it and be able to go home shortly, after all I was in the middle of being discharged at this stage. So I’m back in the bathroom standing there and praying to go. I dug deep and tried very hard to ‘Let It Go’!

Let Me Go…Let Me Go…

Nothing but a few more drops of blood.

I went back to the nurse and she told me to lie down and called the doctor again. The nurses station was right next to the room I was in and I heard for the first time ever a word used in the same sentence as my name. Something I hoped I’d never really have to hear. That word was ‘Catheter’ and the doctor had just suggested I have one!!!

The nurse looking after me asked a male nurse to set this up for me as she felt I would be more comfortable with a male nurse. At that point I wasn’t comfortable with any nurse doing it quite frankly. Not knowing what to expect but knowing where to expect it I was quite a bit more than just anxious. The male nurse came in with the kit and all the related paraphanalia. He said he does this all the time and hasn’t had any complaints. I didn’t find out until after he was done that he was an OR nurse and that, yes, he does this all the time but the patients are all asleep when he does it so that’s probably why he hasn’t had any complaints. I will say though that he moved so darned quick I didn’t even have chance to catch my breath and before you new it I was…well, um…connected!?!

This is probably what I looked like right about now.

Yup, that’s it exactly…

The discomfort however was overtaken by the relief that my overly inflated bladder was now under a lot less pressure. Then just like that my father in law walked in, took a look at me and looked confused as to why someone had called him to take me home. He saw the predicament I was in and decided to tell me he would wait outside for a little while. Good choice. I wasn’t going anywhere for right now. For the time being I was hooked up to a bag and producing some ‘fine wine’ by the bottle or something that pretty much resembled it 😦

Not a good vintage

The doctor eventually came back to see me. He checked my fluid lines and mentioned that in about 3% of cases there may be a chance of complications. Hey…what can I say, I’m special. He told me that he would give me a little time to get some fluids through me and that they would provide me with supplies and tell me how to use the catheter when I got home. WHAT???? I was going to need this when I got home? Ummm….I have two boys at home. I’m not going home all tubed up!!! My eldest son would very probably keep his distance, my youngest on the other hand… Let’s just say that when we recently visited the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton he saw the sign ‘DO NOT TOUCH THE ARTWORK’ as a challenge. He’d see the tube and…I shuddered to think 😦

I wouldn’t put it past the little guy to try!!

The doctor left and my father in law came back into the room to sit with me. It was around this time that I started shaking. I got really cold and could not stop shivering. The nurse came in and put an extra blanket on me but that didn’t seem to stop the shivering. Next thing she came and put some heated blankets around me, wrapping my head and shoulders and turned on the heat lamp above the bed. We were not sure if it was due to all the fluid and the ice water I was drinking. She took my temperature and it seemed I had spiked and my temperature was now over 100 degrees. She called the doctor back and we waited for him to come by. She provided me with a cup of coffee which I was shaking so much my father in law feared I would spill it. Not good.

Looking like E.T.

The doctor came back and checked me over again. He decided that the fever was a result of me being in that special 3% of complications and I had picked up some form of infection during the procedure. He wasn’t happy with the ‘wine’ I was still producing and subsequently had the nurse give me a new IV line and presribed more fluids and a dose of antibiotics. Additionally I had some blood cultures taken for the lab to check. My arm felt like a human pin cushion at this stage.

I was ready to tell them where the hidden rebel base was at this point in the afternoon

The doctor determined I should be admitted overnight for observation. Secretly I was more than relieved that I was going to not have to go home with the catheter that night, but for good measure, he put some ‘traction’ on the catheter and said he would check on my later. Guys, if you weren’t squeemish before, traction entails pulling the tube taught and taping it down so there is tension. My eyes are watering again just writing that last sentence.

So there I am. Not going home. I had planned this grand day of going home and watching DVD movies with my feet up. Now I am admitted into the hospital with a fever and my own personal water feature. When life gives you lemons…make red wine!!!

My wife had called my father in law while the doctor was in the room and so she had a chance to speak to him in case she didn’t see him later. Between my wife and father in law, arrangements were made to pick up the boys from school and stay with them at home so that my wife could visit.

I’d taken a couple of tylenol by the time my wife had arrived so the fever had broken but I didn’t feel particularly well when she came it. I was pleased to see her but wasn’t exactly comfortable with my tube in traction. Once she arrived my father in law bid me well and left for the night. We sat waiting until there was a room available. It was a looooong wait. I think the call to admit me was around 4pm. I didn’t move out of that room for almost 4 hours. Luckily my wife brought her own entertainment (in the form of arts and crafts for our son’s 4th birthday party) while I sat uncomfortable and bored. I hadn’t moved in hours and my wife pointed out that my feet were hanging off the end of the bed as I was too big.

My wife enjoyed a little down time to catch up on birthday party preparations

I’ve had better days

At long last a room opened up and by 9pm that night I was wheeled across a very bumpy route (traction or no traction the bumps didn’t help) and finally made it to my room. Finally I was in a bed where I could support my feet and I veeeeeery slooooowly moved across onto the bed so as not to jiggle my tubing.

Finally, a bed

My wife bid me good night and the nurses on the floor started the whole admittence procedures which pretty much involved taking my vitals every 30 minutes through 4am!! Not that I got much sleep that night. I was over tired, I was a little sore, I was too terrified too move with stuff hanging out of the sensitive bits and I was a little concerned about the biopsy results (yeah…rememeber that?) I was also pretty freaked out that there was still the possibility of me going home like this with my two boys (the Heir and the Spare) lying in wait to see me. Additionally I was being pumped full of fluids so much that I pretty much felt like Niagara Falls.

It certainly felt like this to me.

As the night progressed I listened to (and caught up on) podcasts that I had stored on my phone. The nurses came in every 30 minutes to check my vitals and to empty my ‘wine bag’. We had now moved from a deep claret to fruit punch (in volume).

Progress…but still a bit too red

This same cycle happened over the next few hours and I was pretty much awake most of it. At one point the lack of movement, the fact that my feet had been somewhat unsupported most of the day and probably the after effects of the marathon finally caught up with me and at around 2:30am I started cramping up in my legs really bad. I called the nurses who wrapped my legs in compression sleeves that alternatively inflated and squeezed my lower legs for while I was lying there. Nice. I wanted a pair of these at home for after my long runs.

The next thing I know it is around 6:45am and I open my eyes to see the doctor visiting and inspecting my ‘tube’ for signs of progress. Overnight I had flushed Lake Erie through my system and I was starting to look ‘pink lemonadish’. This was a good sign. My vitals had also stabilized although my pulse was still a little high. The doctor told me he would check back on me around noon. I confessed I was concerned about going home with the catheter around my sons and he said if all goes well I would have it removed before I left and they would keep me in under observation until that time arrived. Phew. I immediately felt a little more relieved (although I should not use the word ‘relieved’ considering everything else that was still going on).

Getting there

I settled in for a long morning which actually passed by pretty quick. The doctor’s assistant came over at noon to check on me and was very pleased with my progress that morning. She whipped out her iPhone to take a picture for the doctor (I know what your thinking but the picture was of the fluid…not the connector) and got a text message back that it was okay to ‘disconnect’ me. Woohoo!!!! I wasn’t jumping for joy physically but mentally I did a triple backflip with a double twist and stuck the landing.

Stuck the landing

They sent in a male (student) nurse to do the honors. He said he would uninflate the catheter and then a quick pull. If there was any tension when he pulled he would stop. I closed my eyes and he told me to take a deep breath. Before I knew it (actually I knew it) it was out. Phew. Finally I was able to sit up and move my body a little. Once they get me unhooked from the compression sleeves the nurse helped me sit up and get out of the bed finally. For someone who leads an active lifestyle not moving for more than 24 hours is tough. I got out of bed and sat in the chair just as they brought in lunch. I was still hooked up to the IV and receiving the antibiotics and fluids but was much more comfortable.

Finally up and out of bed. Totally bloated by fluids but I am pretty happy.

Finally out of bed. Totally bloated by fluids but happy.

The goal was to have me ‘go’ naturally until they knew I was able to go consistently. So in addition to the IV fluids I was drinking mass quantities of water. Around 3pm the doctor’s assistant came back and checked me over. I was pleased to show her my current state which was as good as it gets.

Voila

With that I was told I could get dressed and they were going to discharge me and send me home with a prescription of antibiotics and instructions to continue drinking for the next few days and return to visit with the doctor the following Friday.

I got home and immediately started drinking. I didn’t want to have to go back any time soon. All I can say is that I drank so much that night that I was up every hour and each time before I got back into bed I drank another bottle of water. When I weighed myself the next morning, figuring I’d hardly eaten in the last couple of days I had probably lost a pound or two, I was surprized to find I had gained 6lbs…all fluid!!

The next day I took it easy and logged into work from home. Drinking constantly. I must have been taking in more than 4 liters of fluid (that’s about 8 bottles of water…a little more than the average 8 glasses a day). Later that morning the doctor called and told me that he had been contacted by the ‘Infectious Diseases’ department….did he say ‘Infectious Diseases’? Apparently I had picked up another infection and so he prescribed another set of antibiotics for me. This set of meds came with a warning label that was pretty much a bio-hazard warning on the safety label. Eek!!

Are you sure I’m supposed to take these?

What made me laugh was that the instructions said to take with lots of water LOLOLOLOL!!!

That afternoon I went to pick up both my boys from school. As I was about to leave the parking lot the doctor called. We hadn’t expected any pathology reports until the following week but he wanted to call me as soon as he had received them. It was good news. All the tissue samples came back NEGATIVE. I was very very relieved. All this other stuff seemed unimportant at that moment. I thanked the doctor and immediately called my wife with the good news and them my parents and my in-laws. Everyone was, needless to say, relieved. The doctor did add that there may have been some contamination in one of my blood cultures but he would let me know more on Monday.

I went to bed early that night. I was pretty tired after the last couple of days. I did feel a little sore. Kind of like I had sat on a bike for too long. I didn’t think too much of it and fell asleep pretty easily.

The next day was opening day at Sesame Place where my wife works. I had to continue my streak of 12 opening days (my eldest son is 7…don’t judge me). I hadn’t planned on doing any rides but just to walk around with the boys. I took in a couple of shows but just didn’t feel right. Finally I reached out to the doctor to see if I could take anything for discomfort. He told me tylenol was fine, take a warm bath to relax my pelvic muscles and he would check in with me later. I had a slight recurrence of my ‘pink lemonde’ post warm bath (which is waaaaaaay better than an ice bath by the way) but returned back to my pure ‘Evian’ state with much fluid later.

Taking it a little easier on Sunday I decided that if I needed to see the doctor on Monday regarding the contaminated blood culture I would work from home so I was 10 minutes away should I need to have more blood work. Late morning on Monday the doctor called and told me that yes the blood was contaminated but it was some of my cells and that I could stop taking the second antibiotic (you know, the biohazard one). Phew 🙂

So this week I was really focused on my Fitbit….I had to earn my food calories somehow. It’s amazing what I used to take for granted running all the time. It takes a lot to reach 10,000 steps everyday. I barely made that number some days (which did involve a secret trip up and down from the basement a couple of times to make my goal). I’ve also been much more careful with my daily intake of food. When training I can get pretty ravenous. I had to exert quite a lot of self control this week. I’ve only been (slightly) under my daily calorie allowance twice during the week.

My other activity during the week is logging into my medical insurance account and waiting for the bills to hit. Somehow I have a feeling that there may be a little more pain to come 😦

My follow up appointment with the doctor was on Friday afternoon. I had been antsy all week without being able to run. I had tried my very hardest to rest but I couldn’t sit still. I ended up taking daily walks around the campus where I work to try and get in at least a mile or two just walking. I was hoping the doctor would clear me to run…I kind of anticipated this and actually went to the appointment in my running gear hoping that he would say yes and I would then drive to the nearby park and get some distance in even if it was just a slow 5K.

Dressed to run

The doctor laughed when he saw me in my running gear but said everything looked okay. I have to go back in 6 months for a check up and another PSA blood test but I’m good to go. So I set up my appointment and jumped in the car and drove straight to Core Creek Park and ran 4 miles!!! 🙂

Back at it and feeling great

It felt great to be back. I’m a lucky fellow for sure. I have to thank my family for being very patient with me the whole week and I think we are all relieved that 1) I’m okay and 2) I can get out there and run again and not be such a grump!!

🙂

Thanks for reading.

2014 New Jersey Marathon recap

May 5, 2014ianesenior 10 Comments

This post is a few days later than anticipated but I just completed marathon number 8, the 2014 Novo Nordisk New Jersey Marathon. This brought a little redemption from when I ran this race last year 🙂

2014 Novo Nordisk New Jersey Marathon

I decided to run this race again this year for a couple of reasons. First, I wanted to see the course over it’s mostly original restored course a year after Hurricane Sandy and second, to earn the PR I had set myself as a goal last year before the wheels fell off. So having re-registered in December I set about training for this event straight after completing the inaugural 2014 Walt Disney World ‘Dopey Challenge’. Actually I was already a couple of weeks into the training program when I got back from Florida and so with 16 weeks to go I set about training for New Jersey.

In case you hadn’t noticed, this was a pretty harsh winter and I did most of my training (including long runs) on the treadmill. Thankfully I was able to run outdoors by the time the 20 milers rolled around. Coming into this event I had run three good races all below my marathon goal pace (9:00/per mile) and was feeling confident although a little apprehensive based upon last year.

The race director does a great job of keeping everyone informed of events and starting out 10 weeks before the day there were weekly updates on the New Jersey Marathon blog which were very helpful as the day approached. In addition, the organizers were very active on Facebook updating everyone on the activities going on and introducing the marathon pace teams to everyone. Communication was top class.

I headed to the expo on the Friday evening before the race as my office is very close by and I didn’t have time to come back the following day (I live about 60 miles from the expo/start line area). The race expo and the race start and staging area is at Monmouth Park in Oceanport, NJ. The expo is held inside the pavillion.

Arriving at the expo

Entering the park

Arriving for packet pickup

Packet pickup was very simple. I was picking up bibs and shirts also for two friends running the Long Branch Half Marathon (which started and finished along the full marathon course). The volunteers were very helpful and there were tables for bib pickup for each race and t-shirt pickup for each race. Shirts were offered in male and female sizes which I see more of these days rather than the unisex shirts that other races offer.

Bib pickup was simple

Shirt pickup was divided into male/female tables and also by events

Shirt pickup was divided into male and female tables and also by events

There was also a small section of race specific merchandise. I didn’t buy any of the official merchandise this year but there was a broad range of wear and accessories and all the designs were nice too.

New Jersey Marathon Merchandise Area

The expo was small. There were a few vendors but they had a full speaker series scheduled during the expo on both Friday and Saturday. You don’t get that at many races. Also there was a chance to meet up with various members of the New Jersey Marathon pace teams. Each pace group had two runners assigned and they were there to answer questions. On my way out the door I passed the small ‘Skechers‘ table. They were beaming from ear to ear in the glow of Meb Keflezighi’s Boston Marathon win. I am sure they will be back next year with a larger table 🙂

Obligatory bib photo before leaving the expo

On Saturday I had planned a full family day so they got a chance to watch me carb load on pancakes although to be fair I bought lunch for them too!!! After a couple of stops and a birthday party I finally said my goodbyes (leaving them at a local carnival) and hopped in my car for the drive to my hotel near the start line. I set up all my gear for the next day and ‘attempted’ to get an early night….yeah, like you can sleep the night before a marathon.

‘Flat Ian’ ready for the big day

There was a fairly significant thunderstorm that evening so I’m glad I made it to my hotel just before the weather turned sour. It definitely cooled temperatures down. When I left the hotel the following morning my car had a layer of frost on the windshield. Great….I was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. Luckily the weather forecast for the day looked good (if a bit breezy).

I set out fairly early for the race as I recalled from last year that the entrance to Monmouth Park is via local access roads. With the Half Marathon setting off at 6:45am (the Full Marathon set off at 8am) I knew that some of the local roads would be shut down for a while so I wanted to get there and parked before the start of the Half. Plenty of other people had the same idea but the traffic wasn’t too bad and I got there around 6.15am. The parking was well organized and they had folks working the parking lots to make sure it was all filled in an orderly manner. My Disney experience showed here as I took a picture of my parking lot location…more of that later.

Remember where we parked the car

The nice thing about the location is that runners get access to the pavillion early prior to the race. That means you have indoor bathrooms, somewhere to keep warm and a place to sit before having to head out to bag check. I made myself comfortable and relaxed.

Race morning inside the pavilion. Bustling with Half and Full Marathoners.

Relaxing pre-race.

I didn’t get a chance to catch up with my friends Beth and her brother Larry prior to the Half but I had planned on meeting a couple of other folks prior to the race. While sitting around in the pavillion I also bumped into a former colleague of mine (Marc) and met up with John Thompson from the ‘The Runner of a Certain Age‘ blog and podcast. I had planned to meet up with my wife’s former colleague from her time in London, Chris, but he wasn’t hanging out in the paviilion. I later found out he was staying nearby with family and didn’t plan on arriving too early as he didn’t need to.

With John and Marc

Around 7:30 we bid each other good luck and headed towards the bag check. Being a point to point race we had to load our gear bags into a waiting truck if we wanted anything like a jacket or other items post race. I packed up my bag, put on my throw away shirt and headed for the corrals.

Ok…I’m ready

Just after entering the corral I bumped into Chris so I got the photo for my wife which I had been instructed to before the weekend and got ready for the start. I have said this before but I find it relaxing and takes away any nerves chatting with someone in the corral before the start of the race.

Meeting up with Chris.

As we were starting at a race track the start to the race was quite unique…a bugle call. This was followed by a short burst of Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born To Run’ (hey, this was the New Jersey Marathon after all) and off we went.

My goal for this year was the same as last year…you know, the one I blew last year 😦 I had been antsy ever since last year that I wanted to break 3:55 in a marathon and was training hard for this. Still it did give me a little nervousness going in knowing that I was trying to accomplish something I had not managed the year before. I did however feel more relaxed this year. I look back at how good and relaxed I felt running the Marathon on the last day of the Dopey Challenge this past January and how my recent 3 races had gone and felt I could do this.

The course at the start has quite a few turns as you go through the local towns then there is a long stretch out to Asbury Park where it gets all twisty again (seriously twisty) then the run back up the long straight and takes you to finish up on the boardwalk in Long Branch (see the map below).

2014 New Jersey Marathon Course Map

Last year I know I went out too fast. I ran almost a PR on the first half of the course and then my heart rate elevated and I couldn’t bring it down. By mile 15 last year I started losing a minute per mile and finished the second half of the race 20 minutes slower than the first half. Not great and was very disappointing. This year I had vowed to be different.

Well…I ran a very aggressive first 10K at 8:34/mile pace without really planning on running that fast and then forced myself to back off a little. Still, I made the half way point at almost my half marathon PR 1:53 at 8:39 pace. As we approached the half way point we started running alongside some of the half marathoners and we also passed the marathon relay point. The split for the half marathon and the marathon was around mile 11. This then took the full marathoners down throught the long straight towards Asbury Park. I was constantly checking my heart rate the whole time during my walk breaks (I was using a 4:00/0:45 interval ratio). I was managing to keep my heart rate stable and was feeling good.

Feeling good on the early stages of the race

The weather was beautiful and sunny on the day and the crowd support around the towns was good. Not so much along the out and back portion as it was run through a very wealthy neighborhood and not many folks came out to cheer but those that did were appreciated. Going down towards the turnaround I felt good and was enjoying the course and the scenery. This was the part of the course that was changed from the previous year and I found it more enjoyable to run (less interrupting turns and a little wider). Once we hit Asbury Park there were lots of corners to turn before we hit the turnaround point around mile 18.5. Once we rounded that it was back up from where we had come.

You didn’t really notice the wind when we run downwind which we had down through mile 18.5. Once you hit the turnaround you hit the wind. The last 8 miles were effectively run heading into what felt at the time like a wind tunnel. Whew!!! This made the run back up towards Longport just that bit harder. On the return leg in Asbury Park we were able to run a little on the newly reconstructed boardwalk. This was a part of the course that was closed to us last year. Nice to see that the rebuilding of the Shore is ongoing and glad we got to run through part of the restoration.

I started to slow a little as the combination of running into the wind and getting into the last few miles of the marathon began to take its toll. After mile 22 I just had to buckle down and stick to my run/walk intervals. I figured if I could focus on just completing the run section without stopping I would make it to the end and maybe…just maybe I might meet my goal time. Plus there was the view of the beach to my right as I was running. What could be too bad.

I look like am under arrest from the fashion police for my 80s retro tube socks look

I look like I am under arrest from the fashion police for my 80’s retro tube socks look

Having inadvertantly hit my lap button while checking my heart rate early in the race I hadn’t noticed that my mile splits were slightly off the mileage posts on the course (I figured that out by mile 22). But I still had decent splits considering the wind resistance. Here are my splits.

My mile splits

As I rounded the final corner for the last 2 miles on the boardwalk in Long Branch I looked at my Garmin and new I was sub 4 hours but wasn’t sure if I would be sub 3:55. So now it was time to focus. All the weeks of training had to pay off now. I buckled down and focused on the finish line….which was hidden around a bend and took forever to appear. Nevertheless, I skipped that final walk interval and picked up my pace and headed for the finish line.

And…

Made it

The clock shows sub 4 but as I started in Corral C that morning the truth was on my Garmin.

I like what I see

Yup. I did it. I broke 3:55. My actual official time was 3:54:30.

Official result posted

Very happy at the finish line

Then I got to receive an awesome medal. Spinners are always cool but this medal in addition to being a spinner also had the towns we ran through shown on the back. Pretty cool commemorative medal. I let my star shine today just like the medal said.

Pretty cool medal

At the finish line we received a bag from Panera Bread. I was quite excited as when we ran the San Francisco Half Marathon last June we received post run treats from Panera and they were yummy. This was a little disappointing. I know this is a much smaller race than San Francisco but in the bag was a breadstick (yeah…a breadstick) a banana and three pieces of salt water taffy. I have to admit I bought my own post race snacks. I have started doing that based upon my refuel needs. I bring along an Accel Recover bar and a Powerade. Just to have properly formulated fluids, carbs and protein.

Once I picked up my gear bag it was time to take the long walk back to the race buses which would take runners back to the parking at Monmouth Park. Just like last year, althought the walk was slow it was the best thing I needed at the time to keep me from stiffening up prior to my long car ride home. As I was taking the walk back I passed by the finish line festival. There was plenty for the kids to do and also some merchandise for sale.

The finish line festival

I chatted with a couple of folks on the bus journey back to the start line and everyone seemed tired but in good spirits and happy with the day. I remember last year it felt the bus ride took forever but with a full complement of passengers and someone to talk to it passed relatively quickly.

Now, remember above I mentioned the parking? Well, I was parked at row 87. I have learned (unfortunately through experience at Disney races) to take a picture of where I parked the car so I can find it again. The bus dropped us off at row 1. That’s not too close to row 87. Sheesh…that was the toughest part of the day. Not too many folks walking with me by then so it was a loooooong sloooow walk back to the car. I did a good amount of stretching before I got in for the hour plus long journey home and actually felt pretty comfortable that I did.

I made one stop before I reached home to get my special post race treat. I hadn’t yet been to our local Rita’s this year so guess where I headed 🙂

A nice ‘root beer’ gelati

A couple of days after the race (hence the delay in posting) I had to have some medical tests done which I had put off because of the marathon. As a consequence I was not allowed to take any anti-inflammatory meds for the next few days so it was time for a nice soak in an ice bath (brrrrrrr….) to help soothe out the tired muscles. Luckily no one was home so they couldn’t hear me talk like a sailor when I got in. However, it worked wonders and if you can ever do it post long run I recommend it. Just keep the kids out of earshot.

Waiting on the countdown to finish my ice bath

I had been in touch with John Thompson prior to the race and we had met up on the morning of the race. Subsequently he invited me onto the race recap episode of his podcast and we discussed our experiences together. I tend to talk alot (and write as much) so the episode was split into two parts. Here are parts one and two. Worth a listen. Also, here is the link to his blog and Facebook page. Thank you for the invite John.

So, I PR’d. I am very happy with my time and it felt great but looking back I’m not on the long lasting high I thought I would be. I was much more on a high finishing Goofy and Dopey and even when I completed the Disney Marathon in 2013 and Philadelphia Marathon in 2013 with my wife. PR’s are great but I think I get more out of the ‘fun’ of racing and the achievements than just times alone. Yes, I trainined hard and achieved my goal but in perspective I look back more fondly on the ‘experience’ than the time. I didn’t think that would always be the case. I’m kind of glad it is.

Anyway, would I recommend this race? Yes. Would I go and do it again? Maybe but only if I was running with my wife or a buddy. There are plenty of other races on my wish list and I have had two great experiences running here. I think it is one to consider at this time of the year and the race director and his team do a fantastic job of running this event. It’s a nice day at the beach.

Thank you for reading 🙂

2 new virtual races/challenges to raise funds for Autism Speaks

April 24, 2014ianesenior 7 Comments

In an earlier post I mentioned that I had signed up once again to run for ‘Team Up for Autism Speaks’ for the 2015 Walt Disney World ‘Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge’. This will be my third year in a row running for this team. This year my wife will also be running with the team and we will both be ‘Goofy’ together.

As part of my fundraising activities, and with the success of last year’s “Where’s Dopey 5k” my wife and I are planning two events this year to help raise funds for Autism Speaks and hopefully get closer to achieving our fundraising goals. We are pleased to share that these events which are now live and the details are below:

Race/Challenge 1:

‘Going Goofy 5K Run/Walk for Autism Awareness’

This is a themed 5K run or walk with a fun challenge. Everyone who enters by making a $25 donation to Autism Speaks receives a special themed medal. The $25 fee covers registration fee, medal and shipping (international registration fee is $30 and includes additional shipping costs). You can sign up using this link.

Here is the medal (design is based on original artwork last year by the wonderfully talented Ruby Dee).

Going Goofy 5K Medal

Now here’s the challenge. Taking a lead from my son’s ‘Flat Stanley’ school project, in addition to running or walking a 5K I am asking participants to take Goofy along with them (either a picture or a character doll) and take a picture and post it to my Facebook page. You can sign up early and do the run or walk anytime between now and July 31st. Just remember to send those pictures in by the end of the event.

Race/Challenge 2:

‘Secret Agent ‘005K’ Run/Walk for Autism Awareness’

This is another themed 5K run or walk with a fun challenge. Everyone who enters by making a $25 donation to Autism Speaks receives a special themed medal. The $25 fee covers registration fee, medal and shipping (international registration fee is $30 and includes additional shipping costs). You can sign up using this link.

Here is the medal.

005K Medal

Now here’s the challenge. Whether you go undercover or are wearing your best evening wear you must take a photo of you or your running friends in your best secret agent action pose and post it to my Facebook page. Again, you can sign up early and do the run or walk anytime between now and July 31st. Just remember to send those pictures in by the end of the event.

The most creative or impressive pictures for both events will be voted on for prizes.

I reached out to vendors whose products I regularly use who were willing to donate a product for the event. To date prizes include:

A signed copy of Hal Higdon’s recent book about the events of the Boston Marathon Bombing in April 2014.

Product from Tiger Tail, a rolling muscle massager (which I carry in my gear bag post marathon). It is an awesome product. Love it.

An ‘Autism Speak’s’ branded Sweaty Band. a great way to stay sporty and look good for a great cause. Stay sweaty!!

Some product from Lock Laces which is a brand I use on all my running shoes (my wife does too). I cannot say enough about this product.

A SPIbelt. You cannot carry everything. In races I dispense with a water belt and use this to carry my phone and gels.

Pacific Health Labs are providing some of their new Pina Colada ‘2nd Surge Energy Gels’. They sound yummy.

GU Energy are providing some sample packs (I hope that includes some of their Salted Caramel product).

I am hoping to add to this list as the event progresses. I will update this page as necessary if I receive any more vendor sponsors.

So, sign up, get out there and get creative. Most importantly have fun doing it 🙂

Thank you for supporting Autism Speaks. Your contribution is greatly appreciated.

If you would like to support us in this cause please follow the link to our personal fundraising pages – Shari’s Page, My Page.

2014 Bucks County Half Marathon – Race Recap

April 18, 2014ianesenior 4 Comments

Last weekend I ran the 2014 Bucks County Half Marathon. This was my very first half marathon back in April 2011 (my wife convinced me to sign up two weeks prior to the event that time). I also ran the event back in 2012 but it didn’t fit into my training program for last year’s New Jersey Marathon. This year, however, the plan called for 12 miles so this was a good fit.

It is held in Tyler State Park in Richboro, PA and is about 10 minutes for my house. I have trained in there for a number of my marathons. It is a great place to run. As I was driving to the event that morning I realized I became one of those people who paid to run somewhere I typically run for free. I guess that makes me a ‘real runner’ LOL.

The packet pickup was pretty simple. It was held at the Newtown Athletic Club. There wasn’t an expo but they did have some race merchandise (new this year). The club was local so I was able to run in/out quickly so as not to mess up our day. This was great because my last few races have had packet pickups which have not been very convenient. Did I tell you that I love local races?

The weather forecast for the event was much better than in the previous two weeks (see LOVE Run and Hot Chocolate Run recaps) so I was looking forward to actually staying warm and dry. I set up my gear the night before as always before a race and chose to wear my newest shoes which I plan to wear for the marathon to get a few miles/long runs on them before the big day. They are a little red don’t you think?

Race ready with my red shoes

Being a local race I didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn like usual. With a 10 minute drive and no parking issues that I knew of I planned to leave the house around 7am for an 8am start. No problem…or so I thought. It looks like everyone else had the same idea. Yup…panic sets in when you are stuck trying to get into the park and it is already 7:30. I took a couple of pictures outside the park as I and dozens of others were trying to get to the starting area.

So....I guess everyone is local and had the same idea

So….I guess everyone is local. This was the line outside trying to get into the park

This was the line inside the park waiting to park

I finally made it into the parking lot, stretched by my car and walked a couple of hundred yards to the starting area. First things first when you get to a race close to the start time…you hit the port-a-potties. Again, everyone had the same idea. Ugh! There were about a dozen port-a-potties for about 700 people. I stood in line as the clock ticked down to the start time. The line didn’t really move. Ugh! Well…I looked around and saw that a few people were making their way across an adjacent field. What happens in the woods, stays in the woods.

Nature literally calls…

The race was set to start at 8am (at least I thought it did). Actually, and thankfully, it started around 8:15am. I think there may have been a deliberate delay as when I was walking from the parking lot there were a few folks from the race crew running up and back with walkie-talkies. I figure they recognized the bottle neck of people trying to get into the park so pushed the start back.

Folks relaxing in the starting corral

There were no corrals like in bigger races. The faster runners placed themselves up near the front and everyone else kind of either stood with friends, near the back if they were walking or just stood where they were. I saw someone I knew (Jason) and headed back to wish him good luck. The National Anthem was sung and off we went.

Now the one thing about starting near the ‘Arts Center’ at Tyler is that by the center there is space to mill around (see the corral photo above) but within a couple of hundred yards from the start line the pathway significantly narrows. At best you can have 3 people run side by side comfortably. As you progress down that path (it’s a downhill) the sides off the path drop away so there is not much opportunity to pass other runners unless you like to live dangerously and don’t need both ankles to run on. Needless to say the first half mile pretty soon became a bottle neck. That is not the fault of the organizers but more a limit of the terrain in the park.

The race didn’t have waved corrals and the one corral we did have wasn’t stacked by pace like I have seen in other races. I have been to other races when everyone goes in one big wave but they have put out signs within the corral based upon pace so people could line up under 7:00/mile, 8:00/mile, 9:00/mile, etc which meant that people would start out with similar paced runners and that would somewhat alleviate bottle necks and people trying to pass in the first half mile or so. Just a thought.

It was actually too crowded that it was really unsafe for me to do my usual run/walk interval (currently using 4:00/0:45) because I feared it would be too dangerous for me to stop. Now I don’t necessarily have to take my walk intervals so I ended up skipping the first two intervals and ran the first mile with the other runners until there was enough space around me to make it safe to move over to the side for a walk break. The temperatures were already rising so I took water in early and pretty much skipped only a couple of water stations when they were close together.

The course for the race is a small loop of 3 miles and then two 5 mile loops. The 5 mile loop is my usual circuit so I knew what to expect and where the hills were. Interestingly the 3 mile loop was different from when I ran in 2011 and 2012. Where in previous times I had run an outer loop of the park down a steep hill back to the boat house area, this took a slightly less elevated route through the local elementary school parking lot and through a parking lot within the park and back along the creek which we had run on the way out on the 3 mile loop. It was nice as I was not looking forward to the larger hill that early in the race. Nice to run something a little different.

Heading downhill on the initial 3 mile loop

From here it was the usual (or should I say ‘my usual’) loop past the boat house and around the back of Bucks County Community College, past the farm and up the big hill towards the residential side of the park (I envy those houses every time I run past them). This loop repeats twice and with its long winding up hill direction it is usually my slowest part of the run. Today was no different. I seemed to be managing a decent pace considering and was able to keep my pace per mile below 9 minutes given the rising temperatures and the inclines. I was monitoring my heart rate as I have struggled in the past in this section and slowed myself down once I was close to 170bpm. This time I was doing fine and enjoying the run. You can see from my Garmin Activity the course and elevation.

This is one of the 'smaller' hills which we ran around miles 4.5 & 9.5

This is one of the ‘smaller’ hills which we ran around miles 4.5 and 9.5

Once you hit the part of the loop past the houses there is a nice downhill section where you can easily make up time until you round the corner to the starting/finish line area which we would run through on the first loop. The course was open to walkers. On the first loop we passed the walkers as we came back on ourselves before mile 3. We (or I) didn’t pass too many walkers until the second loop. I will commend them as a group as even in the narrow parts of the course no-one was blocking runners coming up behind them and they all seemed to be having a good time.

Personally this was a race that I wasn’t totally ‘racing’ but did have a time expectation not a time goal. I have been trying to focus on improving my speed going into the New Jersey Marathon at the end of April and I figure a good run in Tyler with all those hills is a good sign of my fitness/conditioning. The last two races I had run (LOVE Run Half Marathon and Hot Chocolate 15K) had been good performances for me averaging 8:34/mile for the half and 8:46 for the 15K so I was keen to keep my pace under 9:00/mile in Tyler which would lead to a sub 2-hour time. I wasn’t looking to push too hard or PR as I was supposed to be in ‘taper’ mode and this was scheduled to be a ‘long run’. The run itself felt comfortable. I never felt like I was pushing nor did I feel like I was running too easy and ultimately my finish time reflected this. I was very happy with my time. I was under 2 hours and beat my 2012 finish time. That made for two sub 2-hour half marathons in 15 days. I finished with an official time of 1:56:45 with an average pace of 8:54.

Happy at the finish line

The medal goes well with my very red shoes. I think I need a running outfit makeover.

A good day

The finisher medal was in the shape of Bucks County, PA and was nice. Very impressed that the actual medal ribbon had different scenes of Bucks County printed on it.

The ‘Bucks’ bling

I joked that the medal was in the shape of a map in case I got lost. That is not too far from the truth. The very first time I ran in Tyler park was a week before the event in 2011. I printed off the course map with a plan to run 10 miles (at that point my longest run to date). I learned quickly that there are many routes in Tyler and also being new to this park its best not to hold the map upside down when you run. I’m definitely better at that these days 😉

The finish line area was in the small parking lot to the side of the start line. There was water, soft pretzels, bananas and even pizza. There were some local vendors who were sponsoring the race so they had samples of their wares. There were smoothie samples (which I skipped) and there were bread/cake samples (which I didn’t skip…multiple times). The crowds were decent at the finish line for a local race. I only saw a few folks around the park cheering others on but seeing as this was a 5 mile loop it made most sense to stay near the start/finish line area as you would see your runner pass by as they began the second and final loop and it was great to hear the encouragement.

One thing I did notice was that there were spectators in the finish line area eating some of the pizza and other refreshments. I didn’t stay too long as I had a busy family day ahead. I heard from another member of my running team (Mickey Milers) the next day that for the walkers the post race refreshment area was packed up by the time that they finished. Only the timing mats were out to record their finish time. The race website said that the race was open to walkers so it seems a shame that they didn’t get to experience the same benefits that the runners did. I hope in future years that everyone is treated equally.

Overall it was a great day for a run and a nice (if not familiar) race. Would I return again? Perhaps depending on my schedule. The novelty of running a half marathon in Tyler Park where I do a lot of training doesn’t thrill me as much as it used to but the atmosphere was good. I would recommend this race to folks who don’t train here as it is a good challenge in nice scenery.

Up next I have to get through the taper, learn to manage with limited mileage and catch up on my sleep. I take away from this the confidence that I am maintaining my goal pace of sub 9:00/mile going into the New Jersey Marathon. Fingers crossed I run a sensible and comfortable race. This was a nice warm up for me.

Thanks for reading.

2015 Walt Disney World Marathon Pre-Registration is Now Open

April 16, 2014ianesenior 1 Comment

Why I runDisney

Today is the day that Annual Pass Holders and Disney Vacation Club Members who are also runners have been waiting for. Today is the day they can pre-register for the 2015 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend! If you’re not an Annual Pass Holder or Disney Vacation Club Member, fear not. Regular registration opens next Tuesday, April 22nd. If you are an Annual Pass Holder or Disney Vacation Club Member, you might want to read Matt’s, The Run Streak blog about how to register. If you do follow Matt’s advice on how to register, but find that the race is filled up, check out Patty from My No-Guild Life’s blog post today. So, even if you find that you are unable to take advantage of the pre-registration, there is still hope.

Are you on the fence about registering?

Last year, I was in that place. I had just finished my…

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Going “Goofy” (again…)

April 9, 2014ianesenior 4 Comments

Celebrating the 2013 Goofy Challenge with the Goof himself

I got a pleasant surprize in my email this morning from the National Director of ‘Team Up’ for Autism Speaks. They received their allotment of spaces for the 2015 Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend and opened up the site for early registration (general registration is on April 22nd). So I am pleased to announce that in January 2015 I will be running the Walt Disney World ‘Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge’ (2 days, 2 races, 39.3 miles) with ‘Team Up’ with Autism Speaks to raise funds and awareness for autism.

In January 2013 I ran the ‘Goofy Challenge’ and raised over $3,400. In 2014 I ran the inaugural ‘Dopey Challenge’ and raised over $3,800. My goal in 2015 is to match or better this total.

2015 is a special year for many reasons. This will be the 10th anniversary of the ‘Goofy’s Race and Half Challenge’ at Walt Disney World, this will be my ‘hat-trick’ year of running for Team Up for Autism Speaks, but the most special reason for me is that I will be running the ‘Goofy Challenge’ together with my wife Shari 🙂

Earlier this year when Shari returned from running the 2014 Walt Disney World Princess Half Marathon ‘Glass Slipper Challenge’ she expressed interest in joining me for the 2015 ‘Goofy Challenge’. This morning when the link came through for me to register she told me that we should both register with Team Up together. That felt awesome. I was fully prepared to sign her up as a general entry runner but now that we are together as a team and raising funds together for our team that is very special to me. We both have a close family connection to this cause as our niece in the UK is on the Autism Spectrum and although we are far away it is some way we can give to families with similar situations and needs.

The end of a very enjoyable 39.3 miles

If you would like to support us in this cause please follow the link to our personal fundraising pages – Shari’s Page, My Page.

Thank you in advance for your ongoing support of me and in following this blog. Lots of things to look forward to between now and January 2015.

Hot Chocolate Run 15K Race Recap

April 7, 2014ianesenior 5 Comments

Hot Chocolate Race Series

Yesterday I ran the Hot Chocolate Run 15K in Philadelphia together with my wife, family and friends. It was ‘Finger Lickin’ Good!’

This was the first time that the Hot Chocolate race series had come to Philadelphia. I remember encountering them for the first time during the expo at last years ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon’ where they won me over with the chocolate fondue. Did I mention there was chocolate involved? This race happened to achieve two fixes for my addictions…running and chocolate. Not always on that order but they mix well.

Whilst we didn’t attend packet pickup ourselves (shout out to our friend Zara) there was no actual expo for this race and bib and swag pickup was held in two local running stores. The swag itself was a color coordinate cinch sack (which we used for gear check), pink for ladies and blue for men and everyone received a blue or pink technical hoodie. The hoodies were gender specific so ladies had a specific cut to them which was nice. Zara made a goody bag of candy for everyone who she picked up race bibs for (I think it was at least 10 people). Thanks for the Ghiradelli ‘Z’ 🙂

My ‘Hot Chocolate’ Hoodie

When we first signed up for this race my wife commented that a hot chocolate race in April didn’t seem right as it was now Spring. Well, as we walked from the parking to the start line shivering yesterday she agreed it was a great idea. Compared to last weeks ‘LOVE Run’ Half Marathon in the cold and rain I was much happier with the conditions, even though it was colder it wasn’t raining.

We got up early, met my sister and law and her fiancé and we all traveled down to Philadelphia together. There was a 5K race about 45 minutes before the 15K started so we arrived early in case the streets around the starting area were blocked off from traffic.

I wasn’t sure how I planned to run the race as I actually ran my last long run for the upcoming New Jersey Marathon (20 miles) the previous day, but having taken an ice bath, stretched and slept in a pair of compression sleeves the night before I felt good (tired but good). Having had a good stretch in the parking lot we walked to the starting area just as the 5K corrals were being let go. We met up with our friends, checked the bags and tried to stay warm. Handy hint – keep your Mylar blankets from previous races, they come in useful on these cold morning starts.

Mylar and My Love

Also new today I was wearing a ‘Buff Band‘. I usually run in a hat or visor but decided after some recommendations from friends to try something new today. It was comfortable and kept my ears warm without getting me too warm which a beanie would have. The temperatures were predicted to be warmer around the time we were due to finish and having raced in a beanie before I know how warm I can get.

There were 7 of us all starting in the same corral and my wife and I planned to stick together as best we could during the race. Interestingly I had never ‘raced’ this distance so a PR was on the cards for the day 🙂

Trying to stay warm at the start line

Waiting in our corral for the start

There are so many options for race courses in a Philadelphia but most start and finish around Eakins Oval just opposite the Philadelphia Museum of Art (think ‘Rocky’ steps). This course headed out along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, ran a loop clockwise around the circle at Logan Square and then back up to the Art Museum, running to the left along an out and back on West River Drive to finish at the steps of the Art Museum. A nice, fairly flat (except for last 1/4 mile) run along the river on a nice spring morning.

Course map

My wife and I started out together and I planned on taking my usual run/walk intervals(4:00/0:50) with the plan on staying close by my wife so we can run side by side. Fine in theory…problem is that she is getting faster!!! I would end my walk break sprinting to catch up with her just to have a walk break hit as we settled in again. D’oh! Anyway, we were always in sight of each other so it wasn’t a problem. There were 4 water stops on the course (actually 2 but they covered both sides on the out and back part) and there was also a ‘Chocolate station’ according to the pre race map. In actually reality the chocolate station was a guy holding a large back of miniature chocolates. I passed on this but my wife grabbed a few. I’m a big fan of dark chocolate…my wife, not so much. Also, the chocolate station was placed at the end of the water station and I heard a few people complain that it is difficult to run and suck down chocolate without water #runnerproblems

At the turn around I decide to ditch the walk/run intervals and run back in with my wife as there were only 4 miles left and I was feeling okay. We were running a decent pace which was about 8:45-8:50 minute miles. The sun was shining and when we were not in the shade the temperatures were great for running. We saw our family and friends as we were on the back portion. I find it is always easier and a good distraction to look out for folks when you are running. It takes your mind of what you are actually doing LOL.

We walked through the water station around the 10K mark and with a 5K left to go we buckled down for the finish. Actually picking the pace up a little. My wife wanted some water as we entered the final couple of miles but the water station didn’t appear until almost mile 9 which was a bit late as there was only 0.3 miles left to go. The sun was out and we saw the finish line in sight and sprinted to the finish line together. We crossed the line in 1:22:36 at an overall 8:53 pace per mile. A good race and we were feeling fine.

Feeling fine at the finish line

Now came the best part of the race (although I may be biased). Once getting through the finished chute everyone was handed a bottle of water and then we could head over to the Hot Chocolate tent. Let’s be honest, there was only one reason I agreed to run this. Did I mention there was chocolate? 🙂

Folks enjoying their fondue…respecting the public art

What magic lies within this tent?

Attached to everyone’s bib was a voucher for a hot chocolate mug. We headed over to the tent where everyone was provided with a giant mug which contained a cup of hot chocolate in the middle and in compartments around that was chocolate fondue and to dip in there was a marshmallow, a Rice Krispie treat, some pretzels, some graham crackers and a banana (I assume for the health conscious LOL). Did I mention there was chocolate?

Yum!!!

Eat me…

Don’t tell our kids…we tell them running is healthy 🙂

Define ‘sugar rush’!

My wife and I found a place to sit and then, as my wife will tell you, ate the whole post race food 🙂 We joked that we never eat all the food they give us but this was an exception. I have to say it was very rewarding and we had a blast with this. Sugar highs made us both giggle and we were as messy as they come. Eating chocolate fondue is fun. I was so messy even my 3 year old would comment on the mess I was making. They provided a complimentary ‘moist towelette’ with the mug and it was woefully inadequate for me. I think I needed to be hosed down as I was wearing so much chocolate. I eventually ran out of things to dip into the fondue…that’s what fingers are for, right?

Once my wife and I managed to clean ourselves up (to be at least presentable) we walked around and took some pictures and checked out some of the merchandise while we waited for everyone. It was funny, on the drive down my wife commented that she cannot see this as a race she would want to repeat as the race gear seems to be generic without the year noted on the swag. After the post races goodies she changed her mind 🙂 That may have been the fondue talking. I myself might not do the 15K again but I would absolutely do the 5K run with my eldest who will be 8 next year, however I will put a packet of baby wipes in my gear bag if he gets anywhere near the fondue 😉

Mission accomplished

With ‘Marshall’

Did I mention there was chocolate?

I’d recommend this race as a fun race for folks. If you want to run a 5K this is definitely one to do with family and friends. For those looking to build up from a 10K but not ready for a half marathon this is an opportunity to run a unique distance on a nice course. Of course the post race treats are a great reward. Did I mention there was chocolate? 🙂

March 2014 – month in review

April 1, 2014ianesenior Leave a comment

March 2014 – Nike+ Summary

193 miles this month.

This was my biggest month of training by far since I started running back in 2010. I definitely had a few ‘moments’ this month feeling tired and sore but made a few adjustments to my training and finished the month strong.

Winter was still very much with us as we began the month so I was getting my training runs in on the treadmill at first. This included my longest treadmill run so far of 17 miles. Thankfully I discovered a wonderful (and at least for me) entertaining podcast which took my mind of the task at hand and got me through the run. This was followed up with a quick business trip to Fort Lauderdale, Florida where I took advantage of the warm weather and had a couple of outdoor runs wearing t-shirt and shorts. Needless to say I ran further than planned on those days…I got lost twice and had to use my iPhone Maps to get me back to the hotel. This was then followed by a return to winter….and an 18 mile training run on the treadmill. Ugh!!!

Around mid-March we were fortunate to have some better/warmer weather for a few days and I was able to keep my training on track and for a week I was able to run outdoors in the park where we live. It was great to be back (if a little wrapped up for the weather) and I had some good runs getting used to some proper hills again (there were no hills on my work trip to Fort Lauderdale).

Next up was a business trip to Atlanta, Georgia where I had a good few runs in Piedmont Park and also joined a weekly group run from Jeff Galloway’s Phiddipides store. That was really fun and the weather, although a little chilly earlier in the week, was glorious for my last run out there.

It was during that week that my nagging heel pain started to really bother me. I took a couple of days off but still had a 20 miler to run as part of the training for the upcoming New Jersey Marathon. Since I had to get some physical therapy back in 2011 when I started running I have run with an over the counter shoe insert which acts as an orthotic to support the arch in my foot. It is a really hard/stiff insert and I have been buying a new set for every new pair of running shoes that I bought. I decided to look for something with a more plush heel to see if that would help and I purchase a pair of Brooks Transcend (Brook’s new flagship stability shoe).

Brooks Transcend

While doing some research I looked into reviews for people using orthotics in these shoes. Looking at some of the message boards around I started thinking that the shoes are designed to provide support as needed, perhaps I didn’t need the orthotic in my running shoe as the shoe is design for stability and to provide pronation support. In my everyday shoes (not designed for running) I wear and orthotic with no problem but with the stability shoe was I doubling up on the support? I decided to take a couple of runs without them, although I still ran the 20 miler with the insert in just in case. I actually took out my iPod with me to get me through that run, something I had not done on an outdoor run in almost 3 years just to get me through any discomfort.

I took my first few runs (all 5 milers) wearing the standard insoles that came with the shoe and had no issues. The test would come on the longer distances. As the month closed I ran an 8 miler and raced in the inaugural Philadelphia LOVE RUN all without the orthotic and felt no discomfort. No heel pain during or after the run. I have subsequently returned to wearing my Brooks Adrenaline’s as I feel I don’t need the additional cushioning on the Transcend (and can save $50 on the cost of the shoes vs the Transcend). So I will attempt to continue running with the support designed into the shoe rather than adding an additional overriding support in the shoe. So far, so good.

Brooks Adrenaline GTS 14

I ended the month feeling good and set out to run the LOVE RUN half marathon at pace to see how my fitness was going into April and the marathon. Despite the appalling conditions (see here) I actually ran a sensible, comfortable race with a negative split and my feet felt comfortable without the orthotic. I actually ran my second fastest half marathon which also felt good and has given me some confidence going into a busy April.

As the month drew to a close the results of the lottery for the 2014 New York Marathon were announced and neither my wife and I were able to secure a place. We are looking at alternative marathons for this Fall as we will not be able to attend the Philadelphia Marathon this year. Currently we are looking at the Baltimore Marathon or the Atlantic City Marathon (both in October).

On tap for this month in addition to my last 20 mile long run before the marathon taper begins is:

April 6 – ‘Hot Chocolate’ 15K in Philadelphia

April 13 – Bucks County Half Marathon in Newtown, PA

April 27 – New Jersey Marathon in Oceanport, NJ

I look forward to improving weather and running outdoors more than indoors in the coming month. April also brings about registration for the 2015 Walt Disney World Marathon. In 2015 I will again be signing up to run with Team Up! with Autism Speaks but this time running the Goofy Challenge and not the Dopey Challenge. My wife also said she would be up for running the Goofy Challenge with me so that will be lots of fun.

In the meantime, I am still running with the ‘Mickey Milers‘ Running Team to raising money for the ‘Give Kids The World’ Village in Orlando, Florida so any support you can offer is greatly appreciated. Here is my personal link.

Mickey Milers Running Team

Thank you for reading.

Inaugural LOVE RUN Philadelphia Race Recap

March 31, 2014ianesenior 14 Comments

Yesterday I ~~swam~~ ran the inaugural LOVE RUN in Philadelphia.

When planning my schedule for 2014 post the ‘Dopey Challenge‘ I hadn’t wanted to race too much as I was focusing on the New Jersey Marathon at the end of April but I was ‘encouraged’ to sign up. To explain briefly, with myself, my Wife and Sister-in-law all running Disney events early this year my future Brother-in-law (Mike) felt he needed to get in on the racing action and signed up for this race. I was ‘encouraged’ to sign up so he didn’t have to run the race (or at least participate in the race) alone. My new role as race coordinator I guess. Anyway, this was the first LOVE RUN event so it was interesting to see how this race course and organization compared to other half marathons that are run here in the City of Brotherly Love. In the past I have run the Philadelphia Rock and Roll Half Marathon (in 2011, 2012 and 2013) and the Philadelphia Marathon (which also has a half marathon on the first part of the course in 2011, 2012 and 2013).

The course itself differed from these other two races which was a nice change (they didn’t release the course details until a couple of weeks before the race) so it would be enjoyable to run a different course. The race (like the others) started and finished along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and took a brief circuit around the city before venturing up into Fairmount Park and past the Please Touch Museum (Memorial Hall) before an out and back along West River Drive (Martin Luther King Drive) to the steps the Art Museum. Only one real hill to deal with (although it was a big one) and pretty flat until you hit the last quarter-mile to the finish which is all uphill too.

LOVE RUN Half Marathon Course

I was unable to attend the expo for this event so Mike picked up the bibs and race swag for me so I am unable to offer a review of that process. The race organizers (CGI Racing) offered vanity bibs on sign up so you could request a phrase or slogan instead of your name. I honestly don’t remember requesting this slogan but I was okay with it. In addition to the race shirt (a little black number 🙂 ) we received a mug with the race logo. Nice.

My race bib

As we approached race weekend the weather forecast wasn’t looking too promising. Indeed, our plans for that weekend (a pre-season Phillies game) were called off due to the weather. I had mixed feelings about what to wear for the race based upon the conditions predicted. I ended up choosing a short-sleeved t-shirt with arm sleeves in case it warmed up. I also packed a changed of clothes should I need to change (Ha! Should I?…more on that later).

Mike arrived early Sunday with my bib and we headed down to Philadelphia together. I decided to park in an indoor lot to stay warm as we were a little early. This was a good choice for us later.

I think the shirt was pretty appropriate given the conditions on the day

Early morning arrival. Mike and I stay warm in the car until its time to go to the start line.

At the bag check area. Already looking a little muddy behind us.

As we arrived at the starting area the weather was a little misty and had started to rain lightly. As we waited for our turn to the port-a-potties the ground was already damp due to the previous days rainfall and was already getting a little muddy and squishy (that’s a very scientific description). As we were getting ready to check our bags I pulled out a poncho I had packed and realized I had two. It was Mike’s lucky day!! Glad I saved these from our trip to Niagara Falls back in 2012 🙂

Poncho Buddies

The race announcer said there were around 10,000 runners in attendance and encouraged us to get to our corrals early. The corrals were not assigned numbers or letters but the bibs corresponded to predicted time so lower numbers were closer to the front and higher numbers to the rear. Mike and I headed to the corrals together which was quite an obstacle course. As the ground was wet most people stuck to the pathways which meant that we couldn’t just cross Eakins Oval to the corrals but had to maneuver around fencing put up by the organizers. At one point this involved climbing into the (dry) fountain and around a gate. A bit of a challenge when it was wet and slippy. Don’t get me wrong…I’m not blaming the organizers for the weather it’s just that I’ve never had to think about getting to a corral this much before. This couldn’t be helped but perhaps they might in future want to on the day look at the positioning of some of the barriers to see if they could be opened up a little more (without messing up any security in place).

As you can see from my start line photo it was very misty. You could not see the tops of the skyscrapers in the city. The rain also started to pick up a little once we got situated in the corrals (around 7:45am for an 8:00am start).

Misty morning in the corrals

Not my usual pre-race attire.

I hadn’t really raced a half marathon for time since last April’s April Fools Half Marathon when I PR’d on a flat course in dry conditions. I didn’t have a plan to try to PR but I wanted to see based upon my training if I could get close to that time. I had two goals going in (1) to perhaps PR…long shot but worth a try, and (2) run a sensible race but shoot for sub 2 hours…more realistic based upon how I felt. I was trying to be a little more serious for this race so I didn’t plan on taking any photos during the race. It wouldn’t have been a great idea anyway based upon conditions. I did however decide to run with music which was the first time in a race for me since the 2011 Philadelphia Rock and Roll Half Marathon. I wanted to relax a bit and enjoy the run. I do however have to work on my playlist…it’s very confusing running to a mix of Disney tunes mixed with rock but I digress…

As the race started the rain started to pick up. Within a half mile I could feel the rain kicking up behind me and my compression socks were already beginning to get damp. I had thrown off my poncho before we crossed the start line but some other runners were less considerate. Although I saw people the whole way through running with ponchos, the first mile or so had me dodging, leaping and hopping over discarded ponchos in the middle of the course where within the first mile it is always crowded. It was already wet and slippy without these added hazards. I hope no one slipped and fell and I hope that my fellow runners in future would be aware of this and at least discard trash bag ponchos at the side of the course. Okay…off my soapbox.

With the rain and wind picking up we threaded our way through the streets of Philadelphia towards and past Independence Hall and then turned back towards the Parkway at around mile 3. There were no water stations on the first few miles of the course (not that I saw any if there were). According to the course map I had run past two water stations but if I missed them I didn’t see any tell-tale signs of water stations (discarded cups by the side of the street). By mile 3.5 we were back on the Parkway running up towards the Art Museum. I could already feel my shoes were wet inside due to the conditions. Oh well, only 10 miles to go.

As we rounded the Art Museum to the left around mile 4 I moved over to the left (as I tend to stick to one side for my run/walk Galloway intervals) and completely missed the first water station. Ugh. I was moving at a decent pace and I actually was wishing for a water stop. I didn’t want to cross in front of anyone so I just ran on down the underpass towards the entrance to Fairmount Park. Keeping to the side for my run/walk intervals was a challenge as this was where the water was draining off to. I tried my best to avoid the puddles but this was harder and harder as the rain became more intense during the race. In fact the water started to encroach on the width of the course for all runners in some low-lying points of the course.

As we made our way up to Memorial Hall there is the largest incline on the course. Luckily my walk interval came at the right time. We were already close to mile 6 but this stage. I desperately needed something to drink by now and did carefully weave my way across the flow to grab two cups of water. I managed to soak myself pretty good with two cups but I was wet already so I didn’t notice too much 🙂

Rounding in front of Memorial Hall took us on a minor out and back towards the downhill leading to the real out and back on West River Drive. As I approached the water station at mile 7 it was congested and so I ran to the furthest table only to find I had grabbed orange Gatorade! Yuck!!!! I’m not sure if it is just me but in every other race I seem to have run it is electrolytes first and then water second. All the cups were the same nondescript design so it wasn’t obvious what was in them. Oh well, I guess it was better than no fluids at all.

What goes up must come down. After the big incline leading up to the park we then got to run down the decline down to the out and back along the river. The out and back was from just after mile 7 to just after mile 9 which then turned us back home to the finish line area. By the time I got to mile 9 I was just totally soaked through. The rain seemed to get heavier (even sideways at some points) as we progressed through the morning. I was wearing gloves to keep my hands warm but by this stage they were just like sponges and I was making fists to squeeze the water out. It was also getting colder and from about my waist to my knees I was getting a little numb. Oh the joy!

I was however running a definite negative split. I had run my first half of the race at an even paced 8:40(ish) pace and I was now running at an average pace of 8:36 from about mile 9 onwards. I knew that I would probably not make that PR today but I felt confident that I was going to have a good time and meet my second goal. Heading to the finish over the last 5K was quite an experience. I was running well and felt comfortable despite the rain. The rain however was making quite an impact on the road surface and if there was a puddle I seemed to find it. I saw plenty of folks who were still on the ‘out’ part of the course still wearing their rain ponchos and plastic bags. I’m not sure how much this would have helped at this point as it was getting heavier. I looked at their faces as I was running the other way and people didn’t seem to mind too much. I guess if you’re wet enough you cannot get any wetter 🙂

I made it to mile 13 and I rounded the corner to the finish line. Crossing the timing mat near the finish I heard my name being called by the announcer and with a grin from ear to ear I ran across the finish line and quickly glanced down at my watch.

This sums up the day (thankfully my Garmin is waterproof)

Here is my official result:

Official Result

I missed my PR by 41 seconds (Atlantic City Half Marathon 2013) but considering the conditions I was very pleased with my run. A negative split indicates that I did run sensibly for the half marathon and I feel good going into the marathon next month.

The race medal

Grateful for the mylar but still cold

I made it through the finish line area where thankfully they were handing out mylar blankets to all the finishers. I did not stay in the area to see whether they had enough for the later finishers but it was very welcome. A nice plus for this race is that everyone gets a free finish line photograph courtesy of the race and Chessie Photos.

At the finish line (courtesy of Chessie Photos)

From the finish line we went through a tented area to grab our post race food. Everyone was provided with a plastic bag with local Philly favorites (a soft pretzel, a Tastykake, a bag of chips, a Smucker’s Crustable PB&J and a banana) and beyond that there was an area serving hot chocolate. The ground was pretty saturated by this point and getting across to the hot chocolate station involved traversing what looked like a rainy outdoor concert area. The hot chocolate was nice and warm though.

The finish line area around Eakins Oval

The finish line area around Eakins Oval

I am so grateful my wife had talked me out of wearing my new shoes for this race. I am trying to break in a new pair before the marathon and had only run twice in them so far. These shoes were absolutely saturated and a little muddy (I trod carefully) and luckily after some TLC they are wearable again.

Muddy sponge like shoes

Finally got my gear bag. Water is still dripping from my face. Soaked, shivering but happy.

I waited around for Mike to finish. Unfortunately there were no places to take shelter so by the time we finally met up I was so cold I was visibly shaking. We had a hard time reaching each other at the finish line as our phones and fingers were so wet our iPhones became practically inoperable. I couldn’t answer calls because my fingers swipes had no effect on the phone. Hmm…technology is fabulous until it stops working on you.

With Mike and I finally reunited we headed for my car which I had fortunately parked in an indoor garage. I was unable to put my parking ticket in the machine as that was also soaked (ugh) and thankfully the cashier did not check my signature on the debit card slip I signed as I was shivering so much it looked like hieroglyphics and not my handwriting at all. Finally making it to the car we (very modestly) stripped down to put on dry clothes. I unfortunately still had to wear my soaked shoes and socks until I got home but my heated seats never felt so good.

After a (very long) hot shower I had feeling back in all my extremities and had the chance to relax a little. I got a chance to put on my race shirt and admire my new medal.

Nice and warm at last

My new bling

It was a nice first event. Nothing at all could be done about the weather so it was unfortunate from that respect. I did enjoy the course as it was different from others I have run in Philly. I think an improvement next year would definitely be in the areas of the water stations and perhaps maybe some shelter provided at the staging areas in case the weather is similar. CGI should be commended on this as an inaugural effort. Volunteers were plenty on the course and they were great to be standing out there in the rain for all those hours. You always have to thank the volunteers but this goes beyond your typical thanks. Well done. I will return I hope next year (with my wife running alongside me too) and hope for some more agreeable springlike weather for 2015.

Thank you for reading.

philly2goofy

…and all the miles in between

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Author: ianesenior

Chasing the Unicorn…or at least trying

An unplanned rest…

2014 New Jersey Marathon recap

2 new virtual races/challenges to raise funds for Autism Speaks

‘Going Goofy 5K Run/Walk for Autism Awareness’

‘Secret Agent ‘005K’ Run/Walk for Autism Awareness’

2014 Bucks County Half Marathon – Race Recap

2015 Walt Disney World Marathon Pre-Registration is Now Open

Going “Goofy” (again…)

Hot Chocolate Run 15K Race Recap

March 2014 – month in review

Inaugural LOVE RUN Philadelphia Race Recap

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‘Going Goofy 5K Run/Walk for Autism Awareness’

‘Secret Agent ‘005K’ Run/Walk for Autism Awareness’

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