July 2016 – Month in review

August 31, 2016ianesenior Leave a comment

July was a great month. I achieved things that a few years ago I never would have thought possible. Time for a quick recap.

July 2016 – Nike+ Summary

My running mileage looks low this month compared to my usual months of training. Indeed it was probably my lowest training month of running in a long time. I did however more than make up for that in total distance with swimming and running. My Garmin data below shows total monthly mileage of just under 308 miles made up of 9.8 miles of swimming, 190.6 miles of biking and 106.8 miles of running.

July 2016 – Garmin Connect Summary

The first couple of weeks of the month were tapering into the event, focusing mainly on swim and bike (I think I’ve got the running thing down). I had such an amazing experience competing in and completing my first half iron distance (70.3 miles) triathlon at the HITS Hudson Valley Triathlon. You can read the race recap here. I followed this up just two weeks later with the New Jersey State Triathlon to complete my first Olympic distance triathlon which you can read about here.

With all this talk about triathlons I was invited to be a guest to talk about my transition into the sport for an episode of the Team Shenanigans Podcast. A great bunch of folks who I got to know through the Mickey Milers running team. You can hear the episode here.

On 4th July my family all participated in the Washington Crossing Revolutionary Run in Washington Crossing Park, PA. My Wife and Father in law ran the 10K and my boys and I ran the 1 mile fun run. It was a hot morning but we had fun and after some refreshments (donuts) we had a nice fun family afternoon at the pool in our development following by a nice BBQ at home with the extended family. A good holiday weekend.

Happy 4th of July from The Running Crew

Mission Accomplished.

Later in the month I got to enjoy my Fathers Day present, Paul McCartney in concert at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Awesome!

Thank you Sir Paul

So yes, July was a good month. I also have some new hardware on my office desk. Well earned. Makes me smile every time I look at it.

Some new desk hardware

I know this recap is a little late (hey, it’s still not September) so thanks for hanging in there with me and thanks for reading.

June 2016 – Month in review

July 20, 2016ianesenior Leave a comment

Phew….what a month. Along with the training for my upcoming half iron distance triathlon I had a very quickly arranged work trip to the UK. Lots of hours of training and traveling. My training total was almost 396 miles (136 miles running, 252 miles cycling and 8 miles swimming) but you can add 6,980 for flying (but someone else was the pilot).

June 2016 – Nike + Summary

June 2016 – Garmin Connect Summary

The intensity of the double workouts stepped up and my weekly training hours got into the double-digit realm. Interestingly enough in all the training cycles I have done for marathons it has been mileage based but this training plan is time based. Not focusing on exact mileage requirements has been a lot of fun but I have definitely racked up distances without needing to specifically plan out routes. It was kind of liberating. At the height of my marathon training I’m probably putting in 7+ hours a week and running into the low 40s in terms of mileage. For this training plan I’ve been putting in 10 to 12+ hour weeks. It’s exhausting but hopefully making me ready for the big event.

The unexpected work trip to the UK was a nice surprise. My parents and sister still live in the UK so I extended my work trip with a couple of vacation days on each side of the trip. My only issue with this was having access to a pool so I could continue my training program and also the ability to cycle. I took my swim gear with me on the chance I could find access to a lap pool (not so easy in Central London) but didn’t take any bike gear as I figured I could just use a hotel bike (and I had no desire to cycle through the streets of London).

As it happened I didn’t get the chance to swim and I had one bike session in the hotel…but I did a heck of a lot of running. Since I didn’t run when I lived in London and I was just sightseeing on our last family trip with the boys I took the opportunity of travelling alone to explore.

I tried to map out a couple of runs in advance of the trip based upon the distances assigned on the training plan but pretty much ended up winging it and had a lot of fun doing so. I was based very close to Tower Bridge in London and got the opportunity every day to run along the Thames and across the bridges and when time allowed to explore some of the more famous sites when time allowed.

My first run after checking into my hotel in London

Morning run on my last day in London

Here are a few of the highlights from my trip.

Running along a very busy Oxford Street during a break in the rain

Running past the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben

The Houses of Parliament from across the Thames early in the morning

Early morning at Buckingham Palace

Picadilly Circus before all the tourists arrive

My daily view on my run

Finishing my time in London with a final run over Tower Bridge – Maybe one day I will be able to get back for the London Marathon

After my work was done in London I went up to visit my parents in Leeds (in the north of England). I tried to map out a route for a long run but it had been years since I have lived there and I ended up finding a route without any sidewalks so this involved a few miles running cross-country style along the side of the highway. I also didn’t consider how hilly it was. However the countryside was beautiful and I earned plenty of dessert calories.

Heading out of London on the train from Kings Cross (for all you Harry Potter fans)

Welcomed off the train by my Mother in a totally non-embarrassing way

Running around the areas where I grew up

I could have planned a better route…

Great to be outside of the city

I did take the opportunity to do some shopping for a few or my favorite items from the UK…mainly chocolate. I ended up having to take an extra suitcase home with gifts for the kids and chocolate for…well, mainly me.

Just a small stop for some UK treats (and this was before I finished going through the supermarket)

Okay, maybe more than a few treats – the smaller one has the chocolate and gifts

I arrived home on Father’s Day so I got to spend the morning with my Father in the UK and the afternoon and evening with my boys back in the USA. It was a little like Phil Collins at Live Aid (okay…stretching that one a bit). Either way it was a nice weekend and I was delighted with my Father’s Day gift which was tickets to see Paul McCartney in Philadelphia in July. Happy days.

My boys were wearing UK and England shirts for a full week after I got back

My wife had to travel to San Francisco the day after I got home so I wasn’t able to get back in the pool for a few days (all in all about 2 weeks with no swim training!!) and combined with the jet lag I was a little behind in my training but luckily the weather was great towards the end of the month so I was able to get back on plan with the triathlon coming up in the second weekend of July.

As I said, a very busy but rewarding and fun month.

Thank you for reading.

May 2016 – Month in review

June 29, 2016ianesenior Leave a comment

Okay, so I know this is late June as I write, but May is still technically last month so I’m squeezing in a late ‘Month in review’ (you’ll understand why below).

May 2016 – Nike+ Summary

At the beginning of the month my wife and I ran the 2016 New Jersey Marathon. You can see the distance recorded at the start of the monthly summary. What you see after that is a long gap of 9 days between runs and a total of just under 84 miles run in the month. I shall explain shortly. As you can see from my Garmin data below (where I record all activities swim/bike/run) I covered a total of 288 miles (8 miles swimming, 196 miles on the bike and 84 miles running) as my focus after the marathon was on training for my half iron distance triathlon in July.

May 2016 – Garmin Connect Summary

As I mentioned in the review of the 2016 New Jersey Marathon, it was a very wet and cold day. After the race I came down with a cold and a bad sinus infection which resulted in a nice expensive journey to the Minute Clinic early on a Sunday morning to get a prescription for some antibiotics. In addition to this, I had a pretty bad cough which led to some sore chest and back muscles. I took a few days of rest to help everything clear up. I thought I was doing okay so I got up on the morning of the 10th to do a bike workout and as I bent over to put on my bike cleats I threw my back out. Ouch….a long crawl back to bed where I was laid flat on my back for two days with a strained sacroiliac joint. That kind of put a damper on all the triathlon training I had planned.

I ended up missing almost two weeks of my training plan and was getting a little concerned as I haven’t gone beyond a sprint triathlon before. Multiple trips to the chiropractor over a series of a few days, lots of ice and heat treatment and I started to loosen up. My wife was the race director for an inaugural 5K for her company and we had been the first to sign up. I was a little concerned about running still so I took an easy 2 mile run the day before to see if all was okay. Thankfully it was. No sign of any recurrence. I was feeling good going into the race.

The morning of the 5K my wife left early to set up so I headed down with my Father-in-law and the boys. My Father-in-law and I were running the 5K and the boys were running in the 1 mile run which took place after the 5K had completed. We got to Cooper River Park early and my boys went straight to the post race refreshment table. I don’t even want to know how many donuts they ate while I was getting everyone’s bibs for the race. I was still a little concerned about my back but the park looked pretty flat so I thought I would see what kind of pace I could maintain as I don’t run many shorter distance races these days.

My favorite Race Director

Ready to run the Freedom Mortgage 5K and 1 mile Fun Run

I actually ended up running a very decent pace (although the race was actually more than a half mile longer than a 5K). I ended up 10th overall and placed 3rd in my age group with a sub 8 minute pace. Pretty happy considering that I was laid flat on my back a few days earlier.

Good enough for 3rd place in my age group.

Proud parent moment. The Heir and the Spare running the 1 Mile Fun Run

Looking good

Priceless. Crossing the finish line

Two very happy boys.

My eldest however didn’t realize how many laps made up the mile distance. It took him a few minutes to recover.

With the boys new-found excitement for running we decided to do what we could to encourage them to do some more. I signed both boys up for another 1 mile fun run on July 4th (the Washington Crossing Revolutionary Run which I ran last year) and I also signed them up for the new Disney Shorts Virtual 5K. We plan to train with them all summer and run the actual 5K when we are on vacation in Myrtle Beach in late August. I will give them their medals and they can wear them around the beach resort.

Mickey Shorts medal

We took the boys out to run along the Delaware Canal Towpath over the Memorial Day weekend which was a lot of fun. Hot, but fun. As we did when we ran with them in the stroller together, we started and finished outside of our favorite bakery so there was some incentive to their efforts.

Running south on the canal on our first outing.

Running north on the canal on our second outing.

Running back to the bakery on our second outing.

Now that I was feeling back to normal it was headfirst into the triathlon training. I’ve trained many times for marathons but this was a whole lot different and much more intense. I guess it’s the daily double workouts typically about an hour each which is the main difference. I am doing my second workouts sometimes after the boys are in bed and it is pretty late for someone like me who is usually an early bird when it comes to training.

The biking and running brick workouts on Saturday are typically more time than I spend exercising especially when I still have my long runs to do on Sundays. It is worth it to achieve my goals but it is exhausting. I’m sure it will all pay off as I have put in a lot of effort to try not to miss any scheduled workouts. I am feeling much better with my swim. I still have my concerns about the bike but I am at least feeling a little more comfortable in the saddle. You can see from the summary below how much time I am putting into this.

Training Peaks workout summary for the triathlon training.

And how early I am getting up to do these workouts (from my Fitbit sleep tracking).

With all this extra training, it does build confidence. I am feeling stronger in the pool and I’m actually enjoying and looking forward to my swim sessions. The bike, I’m still ‘eh’ for now but hopefully I’ll be more comfortable as my training progresses in June.

Thanks for taking the time to read. Apologies for the late write-up. As I said when I began, technically it is still last month so I’m getting in before the SAG wagon creeps up on me.

April 2016 – Month in review

May 13, 2016ianesenior Leave a comment

April 2016 – Nike+ Summary

My Nike summary shows a total of 122.7 miles. Added to that 35.39 miles on the bike and 0.98 miles in the pool (okay, that was just one swim) it was another active month. Actually this was supposed to be my taper to the 2016 New Jersey Marathon which you can actually see by looking at the declining long runs on this months chart.

The biggest takeaway from this month wasn’t the actual workouts but what happened to the weather. It seems like we had a very mild Winter and just skipped Spring. April is around the time I’m usually heading out the door to get my long runs in for my Spring marathons. The weather didn’t cooperate. My wife had run her last long run of 20 miles in cold and wet weather. I followed up with a long 20 mile run in rain and then snow(!). So much for Spring.

My last long run took place under less than perfect conditions.

Seriously…how was your run?

The weather finally broke (for about a week) and I was able to get out for the first time on my new bike. It was more of a test ride to see if I was comfortable. I think so, my hands were cold from the temperature for the most part but I survived and there were no falls. I’ve got to build a lot more time in the saddle before my half iron distance triathlon this July, but it’s a start.

Sunshine and cycling. A good combination.

I had signed up for the Rutgers UNITE Half Marathon which I ran for the first time last year. The weather on the day, thankfully, was phenomenal. Perfect. I couldn’t have asked for a better day. I managed to finally set a new PR at the Half Marathon distance after almost 3 years of getting close. I was very happy and would recommend the race if you are nearby. You can find my race review here and also my review on the Runner of a Certain Age podcast here.

I tried a new product this month, Honey Stinger Organic Waffles, which I used before the UNITE Half Marathon. I was loooking for something more than just a PowerBar before my races/long runs. Not as many calories as a PowerBar but more than my regular GU gel (and more tasty). These were recommended and worked out well. I took one of these waffles and a cup of coffee on my way to the race, felt good and then the PR. I cannot complain…I know it wasn’t just the waffle but it didn’t hurt.

Tasty. Have to hide them from my two boys.

As always, the registration for the Philadelphia Marathon opened up on April 1st. I was lucky again to be one of the first 500 registrants which provided a discounted registration. I coupled this with another discount code I received for completing a survey from them about the 2015 Philadelphia Marathon. Happy to be back to run one of my favorite races again this fall.

Back again for Philadelphia Marathon number 5 this Fall.

The New Jersey Marathon was set for May 1st so as usual before any big event I make sure that my body is ready for whatever I am going to put it through. I usually have a chiropractic adjustment the Friday before a race to make sure I am properly aligned and all the bits that are supposed to move are in fact moving. This month I also decided to add a deep tissue sports massage into the process. Ouch. Seriously, ouch. My wife asked why I didn’t say anything to the masseuse. I told her I was doing my best not to cry. Oh well, lesson learned. I did feel better…eventually.

On my way to a new Half Marathon PR at the Rutgers UNITE Half Marathon.

May brings us the New Jersey Marathon and then it’s ramp up time for my half ironman training. Plenty to look forward to.

Thank you for reading.

March 2016 – Month in review

April 12, 2016ianesenior Leave a comment

Nike+ Summary – March 2016

My total mileage for the month was 200 miles. Although my Nike+ summary says 150.5 there seems to be an error in the site 😦 as the total running actually adds up to 163. I managed to knock out 1.6 miles from the limited time I spent in the pool this month and I put down 36 miles on the bike (unfortunately indoors on the bike trainer only).

This was a big month for marathon training for the upcoming New Jersey Marathon on May 1st. Although I still have one long run left in April before the taper, March saw me crank out three long runs of 17, 18 and 20 miles. I’ve managed to wear down two pairs of shoes so I’m getting ready to break in the new shoes for the marathon soon, taking my last two pairs of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 15‘s out. Post marathon I’ll be looking to do some more runs in the Altra Provision 2.0s and looking to move up to the Brooks Adrenaline GTS 16’s. The Brooks has really been my ‘Go To Shoe’ (GTS) since I started running marathons back in 2011.

Breaking out the last pairs of Brooks Adrenaline GTS 15’s to break in for the marathon.

At the beginning of the month we found out the results of the New York City Marathon lottery. My wife was accepted but for me it’s another year with no entry. I actually had signed up for the Princeton Half Marathon on the same day prior to entering the lottery but now that my wife is running I will forego the race so I get a chance to travel, support and cheer for her on race day. I’m looking forward to going and I’m planning how I can crisscross the subway system to see her as many times as possible. I will probably look at the lottery again for another year.

Maybe next year.

With not getting into New York City this year I looked to a Fall race that my wife and I had discussed as a backup plan. We are now going to be heading to Albany, NY in October to run the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon. My wife will be running the half marathon that day as it fits nicely into her training plan for New York City. We have family up there so are planning to take the boys and making a weekend out of it.

With my calendar now all confirmed for the year (plus signing up again for the 2016 Philadelphia Marathon when registration opened up on April 1st) I was able to update my training plan for the year. You can follow the link to my insanity here.

This month I finally got fitted and took ownership of my new road bike for the upcoming HITS Hudson Valley Triathlon this July. The folks over at Guy’s Bicycles near me were really helpful in finding the right bike for me for the right needs and at the right price I could afford, a 2015 model Scott CR-1 30. They took time to explain the different options available and they fitted me for my specifications on the bike swapping out any components that needed to be adjusted to fit me just right. I’m looking forward to getting outdoors on this once the weather improves and I have enough early morning daylight hours to ride outside before work.

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The fitting process included adjusting the seat height, angle of the seat post/saddle and the reach over the frame. They did replace the saddle….

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See? I did leave with a saddle.

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Ready to roll. Yes, my license plate does say 007.

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Back home and ready to ride.

Mid month I had to take a trip down to McLean, VA to do some work out one of our offices. It was an opportunity to run outside again as it was a little warmer down there. The office is on a very large corporate campus near Tysons Corner, VA and my hotel was right next door. I planned out my routes and each and every day and still I got completely lost. It was only the sight of my office building (beautifully lit from the outside) that I was able to locate my hotel each day. Headlamp running does have its drawbacks, especially for the geographically challenged.

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This was my guiding light home every morning. Easy to spot and much more impressive when seen for real.

Also this month I ran the Philadelphia Phillies Charities 5K with my wife. She has run the event every year since it began and this was a first time run for me. It was a chilly morning but it was a fantastic run. We ran together and hit a pretty good pace. The swag from the race was impressive with each of us getting a shirt, a medal and two tickets each for a pre-season game, one of which we were able to swap for a later game in the season. We also got a chance to get onto the field to take a few pictures after the race. We earned our pretzel that day.

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Pre race. Trying to keep warm and wearing as much red clothing as I could manage. Go Phillies.

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Medal, schmedal. I got a pretzel!!

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Happy with our pace. We ran step for step together.

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And finished with a fun photo opp.

I got a package late in the month from my buddy, fellow Mickey Miler and host of The Marathon Show, Eddie McCoy. In addition to all his training, work, life and other activities he has managed to plan for and provide team shirts and jerseys for our running team the Mickey Milers. Looking forward to wearing my new long sleeve jersey (although hoping for warmer weather to so I don’t have to wear it too often).

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Hmmm….wonder what this is?

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Yup. They got that right. Mickey Milers purple and yellow.

Earlier in the month I was invited to participate in a recording of the ‘Let’s Run Disney’ podcast to discuss my ‘Goofy in a Day’ experience from last May. The podcast was released at the end of the month and you can get to the link from here. It was fun to talk about the experience and it was nice to be a part of the show.

Thanks for taking the time to read my month in review. I appreciate you stopping by each month. March was very busy but there is plenty to look forward to this year with the upcoming New Jersey Marathon coming sooner than later.

As a reminder, I will be participating in the HITS Hudson Valley Triathlon this July and raising funds for Autism Speaks through this event. If you would like to sponsor me you can get to the sponsorship page here. I appreciate your support.

February 2016 – Month in review

March 12, 2016ianesenior Leave a comment

February 2016 – Nike+ Summary

My Nike + Summary shows 127 miles for the month. There was still no cycling this month but I got 2 miles done in the pool.

I did, however, go to my local bike store (Guy’s Bicycles) to meet with the owner regarding a new road bike for my upcoming half iron distance triathlon this summer. I had briefly spoken to him during the annual Bucks County Triathlon Club get together at the start of the month and subsequently set up an appointment with him. I think I’ve chosen the best bike based upon his recommendations and what I can afford and will be waiting for the weather to get warmer to go out for a full test ride. The bike has been built and we are just waiting on the weather. Very exciting.

As per last month, month of the training was done indoors on the treadmill. I’ve certainly got more use out of my home treadmill this month than I have since we got it last May. I just have to get up extra early now so I can coordinate with my wife who typically uses it mostly during weekdays before work while I run outside. I’ll be happy to be outside again so I get to sleep in a little longer and we can both start at the same time.

During the month I finally ran in my first Bucks County Road Runners ‘Winter Series’ race. I have been a member of the running club since 2011 and never had the chance to run in a Winter Series event. My wife has done a few of these but I was always training for a Disney race and the distances and timing/logistics with family never worked out. Our friend is the Race Director this season and our boys happened to have a sleep over that weekend so both my wife and I were able to run together in the ‘Eenie-Meanie-Minie-Moe’ Half Marathon in Tyler State Park.

I have run many miles in that park and the course still took me somewhere I had never been. Somewhere new to include in the course rotations going forward. It was fun. They had a great number of runners and people could choose a series of different distances (based upon the number of loops run). We did the half marathon distance which was the most available on the day. It fit nicely into our New Jersey Marathon training. There was a great post race gathering which apparently happens every week during these races. There is a fire pit, coffee and hot chocolate and all the food you can think off. I took my share of the oatmeal raisin cookies and the (really good) hot chocolate with me as we had to head out to pick up the boys.

Running the ‘Eenie-Meanie-Minie-Moe’ Half Marathon

Also this month we entered the lottery for the TCS New York City Marathon. It is the 40th anniversary race this year and sure to be something special in addition to being one of the world majors and a bucket list race. My wife and I both tried for the lottery in 2014 and didn’t get in. This year we both entered again and committed that whoever gets in will run regardless of whether the other doesn’t (spoiler alert – the drawing took place on Tuesday March 8th. My wife got in, I didn’t).

At the end of the month I launched my fundraising page for Autism Speaks. I’ve run for Autism Speaks for the last few years at the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. This year I will be raising funds for them through participating in the HITS Hudson Valley Triathlon this July (the name changed from the Kingston, NY to Hudson Valley, NY this month with a slight course change). I am hoping to raise at least $1,000 this year. You can reach my fundraising page here and read about my fundraising here.

Thanks for reading. Looking forward to more outdoor than indoor running as we move headlong towards Spring.

January 2016 – Month in review

February 20, 2016ianesenior Leave a comment

January 2016 – Nike+ Summary

My Nike + Summary shows 121 miles. There was no cycling or swimming this month. Not sure why but probably because of travel, weather and general fatigue and no races I took it rather easy. Still, managed to knock out 121 miles.

We had just returned from our Florida trip when I had to fly out to Arizona. I think the drive time from Florida to Pennsylvania and the transcontinental flying finally caught up with me combined with the change in temperatures (winter finally arrived) sending me to my basement treadmill for my runs.

I think the major ‘funk factor’ in this was the fact that this was the first Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend I have missed since 2012. I had to live vicariously through all my friends and fellow Mickey Milers team mates Facebook and Twitter posts. I was itching to be there so bad this year but the logistics of home life, work travel and also costs just made it an impossibility this year. Sad, but there will be other times. I’m focusing on my first half ironman triathlon distance this year so really cutting back on racing and focusing on the training plan…boring…but hopefully fruitful come July 🙂

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Trying my best to not feel left out…with my 2015 Half Marathon shirt and my extremely overpriced 2013 Marathon coffee cup

With the weather forcing me indoors I actually have the opportunity to try transitioning to Altra Zero Drop shoes. I would have liked to try this previously but there is a 3-6 week adpating period where you wear the shoes progressively more and more each run but switch back to your regular shoes mid-run. Generally when I am running outdoors I am not looking to carry a spare pair of shoes everywhere with me. Indoors at least I can put the shoes next to the treadmill and easily switch mid-run. We shall see how this goes. I am trying to transition from my Brooks Adrenaline GTS shoe with a 12mm drop (from heel to toe) to the Altra Provision shoe with a 0mm drop. It will take time I’m sure and I will probably have a few strange aches and pains during transition. We shall see how this works out. So far I’ve managed to get up to 6 miles. A way to go if I’m going to be into these shoes before the New Jersey Marathon on May 1st. The key is to getting to the start line injury free. If it isn’t working out I’ll be running in the Adrenalines.

So, as I’m saying that I will be registering for less races, I did manage to sign up for 2 first time races for me this year. The first is the Philadelphia Phillies 5K race at Citizens Bank Park on March 26. I figure a 5K during the marathon training will be a good time to see how my speed is going. Not sure it will be a fast 5K given the nature of the race but I will see nearer the date. Also, I signed up for the Princeton Half Marathon in early November. My wife ran this race last year and I was really jealous of her ‘squirrel’ medal so it’s my turn this year! It’s in November after my triathlon season so I can get away with my previous comment about running less and concentrating on the triathlon 🙂

One day the squirrel will be mine…

Oh, I almost forgot, I registered again for the Rutgers UNITE Half Marathon. It fits nicely into my training plan and it was a nice race for me last year.

My wife and I registered for the lottery for the New York Marathon. We will find out if we get in together in early March. I figure if either one of us gets in we should run it regardless of whether the other does or doesn’t. It is such a big race and the lottery is just that…a lottery. Who knows if we will get selected. It’s a big race but it’s definitely a bucket list one. I figure it’s a one and done type of race because of the size of the field and the logisitics of the weekend just sound a bit too much for me. I’m sure it will be fun and I am hoping that we both get in. I’ll let you know 🙂

Both my wife and I are in training for the New Jersey Marathon on May 1st. The weather has driven us both to the treadmill unfortunately. Looking forward to getting out whenever we can but making sure to be sensible and safe. No point in running in the cold and icy conditions if we don’t really have to. Better to be safe inside. The conditions in May will not be replicated in January that’s for sure.

We had the first big snow of the year…and it was big. On top of my long run that day (11 miles on the treadmill) I was outside shoveling snow for over 4 hours. Quite a workout but I prefer swimming and biking as my cross training!!!

My youngest in the snow. Reminiscent of Hoth...

My youngest in the snow. Reminiscent of the planet Hoth…I think he is looking for his tauntaun.

I hit another personal milestone this month as I made it past the 8,000 mile mark since I started recording my workouts back in September 2010.

I’d been running about 5-6 weeks using a ‘Couch to 5K’ program before I started logging my activities so this is pretty much from the beginning. So now I’m onto the next milestone. In that time I’ve completed 19 half marathons and 14 full marathons and countless other events. I’m feeling pretty proud of how far I’ve come. I think this is also going to be a big year for me and January was a good start to 2016’s adventures.

December 2015 – Month and Year in review

January 23, 2016ianesenior Leave a comment

December is over and a new year has begun. Time to take a look back at the month, the year and look forward to what 2016 has in store.

December 2015 – Nike+ Summary

For the month of December I ran 128 miles, swam 1.3 miles and cycled 39 miles. This is nothing compared to the 1,150 each way journey I embarked on from my home to visit my parents in Florida. Interesting journey…just pleased (and relieved) that my 9 and 5 year old passengers were awesome the whole way down.

2015 – Nike+ Summary

All in all for the year I ran less but still racked up mileage by introducing swimming and biking as I started my triathlon career. A total of 1,964 miles for the year. 1,576 running, 366 cycling and 22 swimming. No wonder I am so tired.

Our ride to Florida. The kids were in the back, not on top (as tempting as it may seem).

See…they’re in the back. This is outside a Dunkin’ Donuts at 5am. #roadtrip

After two days of travel we were glad to reach our destination

Before I revisit the year I’ll take a quick look back for the month of December.

With such a mild December I was able to still run outside for the most part, even when I visited Atlanta, GA for business (although it was cooler there than I had expected). It was just a matter of avoiding the rain. More often than not I was outside. When I got to Florida, the weather was glorious. Very hot and humid so that slowed my pace a little but I was fortunate to have my parents look after our boys so that my wife and I could get out almost everyday for mid to long runs. It worked out great.

Nice to have a chance to run together

While we were down in Florida we signed up for a the local Bradenton Running Club’s Annual Manatee River 5 Mile Run. We even signed the boys up for the kids races. It was a hot day and not much shade but it was a good day to be out there. I also met up with my fellow Mickey Miler team-mate Robert.

Ready to run

Running family

Discussing race strategy

With a fellow Mickey Miler and a junior one

Reward for his 200 meter run

Making it look easy in the 400 meters

Beautiful location at the Emerson Point Nature Reserve in Palmetto, Florida

Beautiful location at the Emerson Point Nature Preserve in Palmetto, Florida

Being out-sprinted by my wife

Determination

A great end to a fun year. Lots of family time and a great chance to get out and run a lot. We did eat a lot of ice cream on vacation so the running was badly needed!!

2015 – Looking Back

It was a very busy year. My wife and I ran 3 marathons together and I ran 4 in total. This included us running for Autism Speaks while we ran the Goofy Challenge at Walt Disney World back in January. We ran the Pittsburgh Marathon together in May and the Marine Corps Marathon together in October. I ran the Philadelphia Marathon in November as well as a few half marathons during the year. Happy to be able to compete and even better for being able to run with my wife for most of these events.

In May I ran my first unofficial ‘ultra-marathon‘ (any run longer than 26.2 miles is considered an ‘ultra’) for the charity ‘Give Kids The World‘. I ran 39.3 miles in one day (the equivalent of the Goofy Challenge – a half marathon followed by a full marathon but all in one day). This charity is supported my my running team, the Mickey Milers and through this event I was able to raise $1,250 for this cause.

This was also the year I ventured into triathlons. I attempted (weather shortened) my first triathlon back at the New Jersey State Triathlon back in July. I was able to finally complete my goal of a sprint triathlon at Medford Lakes, NJ and then added a final sprint event before the end of my triathlon season in Hightstown, NJ so I could concentrate on my Fall marathon schedule.

It was a year of accomplishments for me and I’m grateful I was able to complete these events and remain relatively injury free.

2016 – Looking Forward

While my running schedule isn’t set for the full year, I am signed up for a couple of big events. First, my wife and I are signed up to run the New Jersey Marathon on May 1st. I’ve run this event twice before and this is still my marathon PR race. We also entered ourselves for the New York City Marathon in November. We will not find out about whether we get in until March so I’m looking at other races in the Fall just in case although I haven’t committed to any yet. Of course, I will be signing up for the Philadelphia Marathon as long as I am around that time of year.

The big event for me this year is that I will be participating in my very first Half Iron distance triathlon (70.3 miles) in Kingston NY in July. This is quite a step up from the sprint triathlons I did in 2015. I hope to be in good shape and ready when the time comes. Looking forward to it very much.

My other goal this year is to work on speed (and stay injury free). I’m looking for a fairly local goal race in the Fall (maybe before New York if we get in) to see if I can get to that 3:45 marathon time goal I seek. We shall see.

Thank you for sticking with me for the last few years as I have been writing this blog. I hope that I have lots of good stories to share in 2016 (and beyond).

Wishing you all success in all your endeavors this year. Happy New Year.

November 2015 – Month in review

December 30, 2015ianesenior 1 Comment

November 2015 – Nike+ Summary

November was a busy month. Running miles were 115, 18 miles on the bicycle and 1.3 miles in the pool. There were no business trips during the month but a few races and of course the 2015 Philadelphia Marathon. Running distance was less due to the taper and rest and recovery days around the marathon.

The month started off with a bang. I was coming off from the Marine Corps Marathon in late October followed up a week later by the Philadelphia Rock and Roll Half Marathon on Halloween. Because Pope Francis had visited Philadelphia in mid-September this race had been pushed back to Halloween which then collided with the Cooper Norcross Run the Bridge 10K run the day after. My father-in-law had signed up for both not realizing the proximity of the races so we looked to transfer his bib for the 10K over to me so as not to lose the race fee as he didn’t want to run back to back races.

The only slight downside of this was that the clocks changed back on November 1st and I ended up getting up early the day after a half marathon while everyone was still in bed taking advantage of that extra hour. The weather was cool and it was still a fun race. I carried over my Halloween weekend costume with my Ink N Burn Boba Fett shirt which I matched up with a recent addition from the Disney Store to complete the look. I met up with a fellow Mickey Miler (Matt) before the start of the race. I ran a respectable time considering it had just been a week since the Marine Corps Marathon and only a day since the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon.

With fellow Mickey Miler Matt before the race.

The race recap. Pace much faster than previous runs this year. Felt good.

Post race…getting a little ‘Bounty Hunter’ attitude on.

The reward for a little pace work.

This was ‘part’ of my so-called taper up to the Philadelphia Marathon. Not sure I was really resting my legs fully…as you can read in that race recap. But with the pace I hit I was feeling confident going into the race. Unfortunately the race didn’t go according to plan but still, crossing the marathon finish line is still a success. Marathon number 14 was complete.

Marathon number 14 complete.

There were a few days of rest before my wife, my father-in-law and I attended our local running club (Bucks County Road Runners) Thanksgiving 5 Miler. It was a little chilly but not as cold as it had been in previous years. We soon warmed up. Our pace helped warm us up to. Nice to have everyone back and running together. My father-in-law was nursing a sprained ankle so he volunteered this year so he was still with us at the race. It was a good start to our Thanksgiving weekend.

Waiting for the race to start.

Race recap - we ran side by side and held a good pace. Felt strong.

Race recap – my wife and I ran side by side (she’s fast) we held a good pace. Felt strong for just a few days post Philadelphia Marathon.

Together with my father-in-law who was volunteering on the day.

As soon as the race was over we grabbed a quick cup of coffee and headed home to partake in our usual Thanksgiving household tradition, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (on DVR…we planned ahead) and then Mickey Mouse waffles with the boys. Fun times.

Mickey Mouse waffles. A family Thanksgiving tradition in our house.

It was nice to have plenty of family time with all the business travel and races we have been doing over the last few months. While my wife headed to the mall on Black Friday I took the time to go see the new Pixar movie with the boys. It was a nice change of pace.

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. I apologize for being late with my month in review. I’m just squeaking this under the wire before the end of the year.

Thank you for reading.

October 2015 – Month in review

November 18, 2015ianesenior Leave a comment

October 2015 – Nike+ Summary

My Nike+ app shows that I ran 143 miles this month. You can see that there is a gap just before the marathon towards the end of the month. I took a few days off before the marathon as my wife was in California and I was looking after the boys and also to rest up my body before the race. I was tired. It’s been a busy year of running already and I was approaching my 3rd marathon of the year combined with a lot of business travel.

Not much cross training. I think I had one session in the pool early on in the month. I had been traveling to Atlanta early in the month and then to Scottsdale. As soon as I got back home my wife had to head to California. Tag team parenting as well as tapering for a marathon has never been so chaotic…but we survived.

Early in the month I had my final long run planned before the marathon. It was supposed to be the first weekend in October. We my niece’s 3rd birthday party early Saturday and my wife was running the Princeton Half Marathon on the Sunday additionally they had predicted Hurricane Joaquin to make an appearance along the east coast. I had little choice but to get up early in my hotel and armed with a Powerade and a bag of Swedish Fish, knock out a 20 miler on the hotel treadmill before breakfast.

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Prepared for the storm!

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Does that really say 2:06am?

This wasn’t my favorite run. I was trying to break in my new shoes for the upcoming marathon. I had bought the newer model of my usual shoe online. Same size. I’ve been in the same shoe for 4 previous models. This model apparently runs a half size smaller. Yup, one heck of a blister. First time ever with this brand. Luckily I was able to go back to the running store and get this remedied before race day.

Once all the training was done we headed to Virginia to run the Marine Corps Marathon. It’s such a great event, regardless of our own personal experience this year. I highly would recommend you look toward this if you have any interest.

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At the Iwo Jima Memorial after completing the 2015 Marine Corps Marathon

The week after the Marine Corps Marathon we ran the 2015 Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon. It was on Halloween so it was a great excuse to run a race in costume. Although it wasn’t a runDisney event we still managed to run in a Disney theme, Alice in Wonderland. Not much of a surprise there. It was a great day weather wise and a great return to finding our pace which did not seem to come with us on our journey to Washington DC!!

Our costume choice – Alice in Wonderland and the King of Hearts

At the end of the month the early registration opened up for the 2016 New Jersey State Triathlon. If you’ve been following my ‘adventures’ in triathlon you will know that this was to be have been my first event. As it happened it was cancelled mid race and I never got to finish. The organizers offered those who competed and were unable to finish discount towards entry for 2016 which would work in the pre-registration period. I decided to enter again but this time for the Olympic distance in 2016. Fingers crossed. Lots of training to do over the winter to keep my fitness up on the bike and in the pool.

November brings me to the end of my racing season. I have the Philadelphia Marathon coming up the week before Thanksgiving. A very special race for me. It was my first marathon back in 2011 and also the first marathon where I ran under 4 hours back in 2012. I ran again with my wife in 2013 but we missed last year due to being in Florida for Thanksgiving. Hopefully it will be another great race weekend this year. Looking forward to it.

Thank you for reading.

philly2goofy

…and all the miles in between

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July 2016 – Month in review

June 2016 – Month in review

May 2016 – Month in review

April 2016 – Month in review

March 2016 – Month in review

February 2016 – Month in review

January 2016 – Month in review

December 2015 – Month and Year in review

November 2015 – Month in review

October 2015 – Month in review

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