June 2015 – Month in review

July 16, 2015ianesenior Leave a comment

A little late but here goes my recap for my June 2015 activities. My Nike+ activity shows just under 70 miles run for the month. I may have to start moving away from sharing the monthly data from this platform going forward as it just shows running and none of the swimming and cycling I am currently doing in the run up to the New Jersey State Triathlon in July (my first triathlon). So here are my real stats (courtesy of Garmin/Map My Fitness).

June – Map My Fitness Summary

As you can see from the calendar there was quite a bit of swimming and cycling in the first half of the month. for a total of 127 miles (I don’t swim THAT far yet).

The reason the numbers look a little lower (other than focusing on the swim more) is that my family and I took a trip to the UK mid month and with a general focus on visiting my family and sightseeing with the boys we only managed to sneak in a few short runs during the trip.

Playing tourists at the Tower of London

At the Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens

We took the boys to Parliament Hill in London to show them where we got engaged.

One of the highlights of the running on this trip was to take my wife on a tour of where I grew up and to visit (run by) old houses where I or my relatives lived as well as past the schools and friends houses around my old neighborhood. Good times.

The house I grew up in. They put up gates…to keep me out?

Wonderful running in the countryside near my old home.

My old school (new campus built since I left).

I also had the chance to catch up with many old friends during the visit and on one occasion a friend of mine (Michael) who had just completed the London Marathon invited us to run with him. This was great as I never would have ventured out on the route he took us. I haven’t lived in the UK for almost 14 years and not lived near where I grew up for almost 20 years so the guided tour was just what we needed. We were very fortunate that the weather was great while we were there (although I did pack a few long sleeve running shirts…just in case).

Catching up with friends while running

Not that we were limited to these occasional runs while over there, as a family we walked and walked and walked all over London. Both my 8 and 5-year-old boys kept up and didn’t complain once, even when my Fitbit told us we had walked 10 miles one of the days. A great visit back and I certainly ate more chocolate than I ever had in such a short time. Well, we had to do the Chocolate Tour of York when we were there.

Good times were had by all in attendance

We got back from what was a great trip on July 1st. I hadn’t been near a pool in 2 weeks and it showed on my first day back (although that may have been a combination of British chocolate and jet lag). Only a few weeks from the big day so lots of work still to do.

Thanks for reading.

May 2015 – Month in review

June 9, 2015ianesenior Leave a comment

May – Nike+ Summary

142 miles during May. As you look at my monthly stats you will notice that there were a lot of rest days but that’s not the whole story. It’s been a busy month.

At the beginning of May my wife and I ran the 2015 Pittsburgh Marathon. We had been looking forward to this race weekend for a long time (we had signed up last September) and we included a family trip as part of our race weekend. It was a lot of fun. The race was great and we had a good time showing the boys around my wife’s alma mater (University of Pittsburgh).

2015 Pittsburgh Marathon

After some recovery from the race and the trip I rested up a little more than normal as I undertook my first (unofficial) ultra-marathon where I ran ‘Goofy in a Day’ for the charity organization ‘Give Kids The World’. This was effectively the two days we ran at Disney rolled into one day and was the distance of the half marathon and the full marathon combined. It was a great experience and I was fortunate to have a couple of folks separately run about 12 miles with me. This definitely helped get over some of the tougher miles. My fellow Mickey Miler team-mate Tammy drove up and ran 9 miles with me which took me over the 20 mile mark and marathon distance and then a I co-opted a colleague who was running to join me and pace me for a few miles when I was into the 30s.

Goofy In A Day

I was astonished at my actual time/pace for the day. I’m not sure I would rush to undertake such a challenge again too soon but ultimately I raised $1,500 for ‘Give Kids The World’ and brought my fundraising through running total to $13,000 over the last few years for both Autism Speaks and Give Kids The World. I’m quite proud of that fact.

I am a brand ambassador INKnBURN apparel and on May 4th this year they offered a secret product that you had to sign up for sight unseen. The hint was that it was May 4th (when people celebrate Star Wars day) so I threw caution to the wind and purchased this mystery item and waited for my package to arrive. When it did it was “O.M.G!!!!!! I’m hyper(space) ventilating”. It was a full sleeve Boba Fett t-shirt!!! Although my wife thinks I said I was bald and fat…and she calls me a Trekkie. I still love her though. I also love my INKnBURN. So proud to be an ambassador.

My INKnBURN Boba Fett shirt

Now, getting back to that 142 mile image up at the top, since I started this blog I have always used the Nike+ image to start each monthly review. With the Pittsburgh Marathon over and the Goofy in a Day done I am now able to concentrate on my summer goal of completing my first triathlon (New Jersey State Triathlon). Some of my running days are now being replaced or supplemented with biking and swimming. Swimming is where I need to most work so I am trying to concentrate on that skill set the most for the time being. In regards to biking, I typically only get out during the summer months and then only at weekends. Well, we managed to rectify this situation this month by setting up a gym at home.

Both my wife and I have long commutes to and from our places of work and with the activities for the kids it is getting harder and harder to get to the gym before or after work. As both of us are training for the Marine Corps Marathon this October we are both needing to get our miles in at the same time. Typically I go out in the dark with a headlamp before dawn but I didn’t want my wife to be outside at those hours so we finally purchased a treadmill for the home (a NordicTrack Commercial 1750) so she can run inside when I run outside in the early morning hours. We also now have the flexibility to jump on the treadmill when the boys are in bed or when one of us is travelling for business and the other has to stay home with the boys.

A trip to the Home Depot was required to set up the base for each machine

The end result – our private workout space

So as I cleared out my office to make way for the new machine (we figure after 17 marathons combined it is more than a fad) I decided to also set up a bike trainer so I could get some bicycle time in during the week. So far so good. Together this has allowed me to do a couple of brick workouts (bike to treadmill) in preparation for the triathlon in July. I’m also getting to the gym early enough to get around 30 minutes of swimming in a few times a week. I’m getting there…slowly, but still I can see some improvement. So now I cannot use the Nike app alone to recap the month. I use Garmin Connect to give me the ability to record all activities so its not just 142 miles this month but 171 miles. Again, pleased with this although I’m finding muscle groups I never thought I had. I am sure my body will get used to it. I hope so!!!

Garmin Connect – May 2015

Garmin Connect – May 2015 detail

This Memorial Weekend we celebrated our 12^th wedding anniversary. We had a great family weekend together with the boys at Sesame Place and we also took them to Philadelphia for a day at the Franklin Institute and tosee the Lion King before I had to jet off again to Arizona for business.

Celebrating at Sesame Place

Enjoying the Lion King touring production in Philadelphia

While in Arizona I took advantage of the unseasonably cool (for Arizona) temperatures and enjoyed some time exploring the area through running from my resort. It was a busy week with many hours sitting on planes and in airports but looking back it was a good trip that yielded some good work.

Taking in some of the sites

Exploring new areas to run

So May was a pretty busy month by both running, racing, home and business activities but was rewarding all around.

Thank you for reading.

2015 Pittsburgh Marathon – Race recap

June 3, 2015ianesenior 8 Comments

On May 3rd my wife and I ran the 2015 Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon. This was my 12th full marathon and my wife’s 5th. I guess we are hooked at this point.

I had wanted to run this marathon for a couple of years. Each of the last two years clashed with either the New Jersey Marathon or the Broad Street Run. Both my wife and decided to forgo these options and we signed up last September for Pittsburgh when the race registration opened up. Between September last year and May this year we both ran the Baltimore Marathon and the Walt Disney World Marathon (and Goofy Challenge). I don’t think either of us had taken a break in training since last summer.

We decided to make this a family trip with our two boys as we had wanted to take them to Pittsburgh to show them where my wife had gone to college. She is an alum of Pittsburgh University and my wife and I hadn’t been in Pittsburgh toghether since 2003 and not yet with the boys. Originally we had planned to head out on the Friday afternoon and stay through Sunday but after the hotel debacle at the Baltimore Marathon last year we changed our reservation to arrive on the Saturday and stay through the Monday. At least we would have a place to shower post race! It was also going to be just the four of us on this trip so we had to find someone to look after the boys while we were running. I am thankful for the magic of Facebook and my wife’s connections.

I had been struggling with a back issue since March and so the day before the trip I booked an appointment with my chiropractor to ‘straighten me out’. I always get a realignment before a race but I somehow cannot seem to shift this current issue. So with the adjustment made I took it easy that day and tried to get a good nights sleep. I woke up on Saturday morning and I could barely stand. Not a good start to the weekend. Ahead of me was a 5 hour drive…

We started our day like a usual school day and were out the door around 7:30am. It was a beautiful day and there was little to no traffic for the journey. I was, to say the least, very uncomfortable. I couldn’t sit without pain. Everyone was asleep in the car and I was tossing around the idea of whether or not I would even start the next day. We pulled in at a rest stop after 3 hours to refuel and take a snack break with the boys. I did the best I could to move around and loosen up. Still no good. Oh well…only another 2 hours left to drive 😦

Finally we made it to Pittsburgh and we headed straight to the Expo at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in the city. We parked as close as we could and headed in. I was still not feeling great. My plan was to find someone offering free massage at the Expo! Worth a try.

We have arrived at the Expo

Ready for the Expo

Once inside we headed up to the Health and Fitness Expo

Up these cool stairs to the Expo

The Expo itself was a decent size, there were three concurrent races going on after all (the full, the half and the marathon relay). There were lots of vendors and the room was pretty tight to maneuver. The bib and shirt pickup was on the right of the hall and the packet and race gear bag was on the opposite side…therefore you had to navigate through the Expo to get both. Clever!!!

We are here – Game On Pittsburgh

Bib pickup

Shirt pickup. Green for the gents and pink for the ladies

I ran ahead and got our gear bags while my wife stayed with the boys who were making cheer signs for us.

The little half of the cheer squad

The big half of the cheer squad

We then headed to look around the hall. We took turns down each aisle so the boys were being supervised. It was a big and crowded hall and although there was a small children’s area it only kept the boys occupied for so long. Finally when it was my turn to look I found someone demoing a TENS muscle stimulation machine. I sat right down and had the vendor attach the patches all over my back and cranked that sucker up. I made it about 10 minutes before I finally felt okay to move on. It did help a little.

We took the chance to explore the Expo. We saw the actual medal for the first time. Big and heavy. Hey, the slogan is ‘Runner of Steel’ for a reason you know. We also were able to find ourselves on the wall of entrants to the race. Cool.

Here it is. Tomorrow’s reward

Wall of entrants

Hey, I know these people

Bridge photo op!!!

Official merchandise section

This was actually one of the first Expos where both my wife and I walked out empty handed. We were looking for a cool Pittsburgh Marathon souvenir but by the time we got to the Expo on Saturday afternoon there was no merchandise left save for a few baseball caps and some cotton tees. Disappointing to say the least. No mugs, cups, or anything similar. 😦 At least I was able to move again.

We headed from the Expo to our hotel. We had booked at the Doubletree in Bigelow Square which was less than a mile from the starting area…and happened to also be less than a mile from the Expo. Wish I had known that before I threw the car in the expensive parking lot!!! A cool touch when arriving at the hotel was that if you told them you were checking in for the Marathon they provided you with a specially themed roomed key.

The hotel room keys were branded with the Marathon logo for guests

We set ourselves up in the room. I went to lay down for a rest after the long drive and the boys played in the room (we had a suite) while my wife went out for a walk around the area to scope things out. When she got back we got ready to meet up with an old college friend of hers for dinner. We took a trip out of the city and into the suburbs and met up with them at Bucca di Beppo in Robinson Town Center. It was a nice dinner and the friends had two children the same ages as ours so it was a really pleasant and relaxing evening.

As we headed out of the restaurant my wife spotted an Eat ‘n’ Park restaurant. I had been talking with the boys about these special cookies that they are famous for. I did what was probably an illegal u-turn, pulled into the parking lot and told the boys to wait in the car with their Mommy. I’d be back in a few minutes 🙂

Part of the Pittsburgh experience and not to be missed (by us anyway)

A few minutes later I stepped back in the car with a box of cookies and we took the best family photo ever!!

Raising our kids right. Cookies before bedtime.

Thus, I continued my usual tradition of a cookie the night before a marathon. The boys were tired enough even the sugar cookies didn’t keep them up too long after.

With the race the next day I set out my gear and set about rolling out my muscles with my Tiger Tail stick massager. My wife worked deep on my back and I finally felt like I was able to move enough without too much discomfort. With that I hit the pillow and waited for the morning alarm call.

Ready for the big day

We woke up around 4am as we had told the babysitter that the roads would be closing and they she should get there early. The good news was that I felt so much better than the day before. Not pain free but totally not to the point that I was bothered by anything. I was going to make it after all (to the start line at least). Both my wife and I were up and dressed by the time the babysitter arrived. She was early…and on a bike. Genius!!! Had we known she was going to cycle in we would have told her a much later time.

Rather than sit in the room with the babysitter we decided to head down to the lobby around 5:15am where the hotel had set up pre-race refreshments for the runners staying in the hotel.

One of us was more awake than the other

Pre-race food. Can you tell what was missing?

Yes, they even had a security guard at the table

We watched as a steady stream of runners came down to pick up some food. Each and every one who came down asked for coffee. Yup, that was what was missing. Unbelievable. It was 5am and the hotel did not provide any coffee even as more and more people were requesting it. They didn’t think to send someone over to the kitchen. They told folks that there was a Starbucks up the street. I’m not sure about you but I don’t know many Starbucks that open up at 5am on a Sunday morning. Oh well, the 7-11 was also nearby. But that opens up at…you guessed it…7am!!!! So with no coffee, people grabbed food and headed back to their rooms or milled around the lobby.

Around 6:15am we decided to make our way over to the starting corrals. They were laid out in specific streets. Corrals were between blocks with an empty street between for foot traffic before the start and when the corrals moved up. We checked our bags and hit the portapotties one last time. It was a chilly in the air and we used old mylar blankets from a previous race until it was time to start.

Keeping toasty in our mylar

Corrals were set up within city blocks

Approaching the start line. Almost showtime.

Okay….SHOWTIME!!!

And we were off

Enjoying the sights and sounds of the City

Pittsburgh Marathon course map

It didn’t take us too long to get warmed up as we started the race. The water stations were frequent and plentiful. The best part of this course was that it took you pretty much around the City and it’s surrounding neighborhoods. The course kind of reminded me of how we got to see a lot of Baltimore when we ran the marathon there last October. We were passing through neighborhood after neighborhood but the neat thing about this course was that we were crossing back and forth over the river. The first half of the course crossed 5 bridges.

Bridge #1 – 16th Street Bridge

All the bridges had the same color scheme through the City. Very cool.

Bridge #2 – Rachel Carson Bridge

…and of course, the ‘jump shot’

I’m assuming we are crossing this one next!

We then headed over to our third bridge, the Andy Warhol Bridge.

Bridge #3 – Andy Warhol Bridge

I was getting used to this view.

By mile 7 were were approaching our 4th bridge. As we were still running along the river we hadn’t experience much elevation save for the up and over the bridges. I knew that there were hills to come. We took it fairly easy, comfortable but making a good pace (averaging around a 10 min/mile pace). Running along the river were approached the ‘Duquesne Incline’ which gave us a bit of a hint as to how much hillier the second half of the course would be.

At the ‘Duquesne Incline’

Go Pitt!

At mile 11 we hit the 5th and final bridge. This was by far the biggest bridge we had crossed so far and it was also at this point that the half and full marathons split off into their respective directions.

Bridge #5 – Birmingham Bridge

As we got across the bridge we were directed to the right which would lead us up an almost mile long incline up to Oakland and the University of Pittsburgh campus. We took it slowly up the hill and as we went steadily we were able to make it up to the top without having to stop beyond our normal Galloway run/walk breaks. My wife was getting excited to be running back to her old campus and seeing it from a new perspective.

I think using the shuttle may be considered cheating in a marathon

Oooh…Primanti’s…they make very good sandwiches (with the french fries inside the sandwich)

She was so happy to be back on Campus

So of course there had to be another jump shot

As we ran through the campus we made sure to stop and take some pictures and also make note of places to take the boys back later and show them.

With the Pittsburgh Panther

Outside the Cathedral of Learning

We stopped outside the Cathedral of Learning. It is such an impressive building. We were lucky enough on our last visit to get a tour of the special nationality classrooms inside. Worth a visit for sure.

Once through Oakland we passed through lots of residential neighborhoods. There were many people who came out on the streets to cheer the runners on. The day was getting hotter and hotter as the hours progressed. Volunteers were handing out orange slices and many of the water stations were handing out wet cloths to keep runners cool. We were hydrating at every water station. Typically I rotate between a sports drink and water between each station but for this race as the temperature was rising I was taking both at each station.

Crowds came out to cheer on runners

Always look for fun signs. This was a good one.

As we approached mile 17 to 18, my wife started to feel uncomfortable with her knee. We took a few extra seconds each walk break but I could see she wasn’t comfortable. She had a similar issue at the Baltimore Marathon but that was much later in the race and when we ran the Walt Disney World Marathon earlier this year she had a great run with no pain. By mile 19 we had to head over to the medical tent where my wife was able to apply some icy/hot cream to the area (she usually carries a small tube but forgot this time) and she also took a couple of Tylenol. The medic marked her bib accordingly that she had taken something and made her take another drink before moving on.

We took it slow and steady. The goal now was just to finish. We were slowing down so not looking to get her a PR. We just had to finish. The good news that from mile 19 onwards it was pretty much all downhill towards the finish line. We did quite a bit of walking. We abandoned our usual run/walk schedule until she felt comfortable enough to continue and then just took the approach that we would run until a certain landmark, walk for a bit until we hit another landmark and then run again. That seemed to work and as we approached mile 25 I could see the determination on her face to finish. My back had begun to twinge when we stopped at the medical tent and I felt like I had stiffened up a little while we stayed there but once I started moving again I was able to deal with it.

Finally…and yes I do mean finally…we hit mile 25. I think that many of the problems we were experiencing may have been due to the heat. Despite drinking two cups at each water station by the time I hit mile 25 my shirt was bone dry. It was hot out there. Not humid, hot.

Finally we rounded the corner and saw the finish line. We ran the last half mile hand in hand and as we did so we ran past an announcer who was just ahead of the finish line. She called out our names over the loudspeaker as we crossed over. The sense of relief was great. I was feeling ok but my wife seemed more than pleased that it was over for now. Our time was 4:50. Even with all the stops and walking more than usual we were only a few minutes shy of my wife’s PR. At the end it wasn’t so bad after all.

We made it!

Pleased to be done and despite the discomfort, totally happy with the race.

Yeah…Marathon #5 in the books

…and Marathon #12 for me.

After taking in some water and some food (thank you Panera Bread) we made our way over to the finishers village.

Don’t forget the cookies…

And that’s why we run!!!

Runners of Steel

Marathon #5, yes 5!

Pleased with our day

We had a great time. We really enjoyed the course. The crowds were great and the support was all over the course. I would totally recommend this as a destination race if you are not from Pennsylvania. It was a well run event and although it was a hot day the volunteers were prepared to look after everyone on the course.

After making our way back to the hotel to relieve the babysitter (she says the kids were actually well behaved). We quickly showered and within the hour we were out and about for an afternoon of activities.

A quick shower and change, Looking happy and feeling much better.

First stop, Station Square.

We took the boys to Station Square where we saw a fun little fountain show. It was hot and the boys loved getting just a little wet. From there we crossed over the street to the Duquesne Incline which we had run past earlier in the day.

The Duquesne Incline

View from the bottom looking up

Asher was a little uncertain

Asher was a little uncertain…maybe because his older brother told him it was a thrill ride and that you would go up really slowly and then drop down the hill at speed. Think Walt Disney World’s ‘Tower of Terror’. Not very nice but his reaction was priceless.

View from the observation deck at the top.

We ran this town

My favorite running buddy

Time to follow directions

It was earned and it was good

After we went back down the incline (Asher wanted to ride it all day now) we headed over to the University Campus as we had dinner plans with another of my wife’s friends. We got there early and had time to look around the campus.

The future students outside the Cathedral of Learning

Apparently he’s a big fan of Gene Kelly. Who knew?

We had a great meal with friends at a restaurant on campus which my wife had remembered. It had been a long day but we still managed to head over to another old favorite place of hers for ice cream. Yum.

I think I did enough for my ice cream.

Now that the race was over and we were both feeling a little better we could take advantage of being on vacation for the next day.

We caught up a little on sleep

The next day we headed down to the campus again to pick up some University of Pittsburgh gear seeing as we hadn’t been able to get any souvenirs at the Expo before the race. We also visited around the campus and saw all the places my wife had lived when she studied there. She was really excited to show the boys around and also to investigate the newer areas of campus which hadn’t been around when she was there. It was a really enjoyable day and the boys seemed to be taking it all in and having fun.

Outside the basketball arena – the little guy is in there somewhere

After a long day in the sunshine we left Pittsburgh around 3pm to make the long drive home. Everyone agreed it had been a great trip and my wife and I agreed that it was worth it for the race itself. It was great to say that we are both ‘Runners of Steel’

🙂

January 2015 – Month in review

February 19, 2015ianesenior 1 Comment

January 2015 – Nike+ Summary

A little late in posting but getting this done before the following month is over so technically I am still okay, right?

My training shows I ran just over 150 miles for January. This included running 39.3 miles as part of the 2015 Goofy Challenge. You can read my recaps for the Expo, Half and Full by clicking on the links. It was a fun weekend and one that my wife and I had been training for and that we also made time for a family trip which made the experience much more enjoyable.

I certainly made the most of this as there were a couple of milestones for me. It was my third year running for Team Up with Autism Speaks and it brought my fund raising total over $11,000 for this cause. Also, this might be our last runDisney race for a while. Logisitics wise it is hard with both boys in school to take the time to do this. Also, I think I need to give my generous donors a small break from fundraising. Finally, I’m hoping to find a way to do one of the Disneyland races and that will take a while to build up some funds as I want to take the whole family to the West Coast.

Mind you, I say that now and you know I’ll be trying to find a way to get back there sooner. I just love the runDisney races plus it’s great to be a Mickey Miler. I’m already trying to figure out a way to participate somehow in the upcoming ‘Small World Challenge‘ to help raise funds for the ‘Give Kids The World‘ Village. I’ll keep you updated when my plans are final 🙂

With the temperatures being what they are here I’ve had very little opportunity to run outside and so I’ve been taking some time to catch up on my podcast backlog while running many miles on the treadmill. Not that I mind too much as it gives me the chance to wear my INKnBURN shirts during the winter months. Hey, I like to look good when I run (it distracts from the facial expressions that I probably make). Here’s my new shirt from their new 2015 catalogue.

Men's Long Sleeve 'Run or Die' striped shirt

Men’s Long Sleeve ‘Run or Die’ striped tech shirt

So, after completing the Goofy Challenge my wife and I are straight into our Pittsburgh Marathon training. I’m also looking for some potential other long races (yes, let’s say marathon distances) in addition to waiting for the Marine Corps Marathon lottery to open in March. We shall see. It’s been a good start to the year.

Philly2Goofy – An origin story…

January 8, 2015ianesenior Leave a comment

I’m heading down to run the 2015 Walt Disney World marathon. This will be my 4th Walt Disney World Marathon weekend.

For the last 3 years I have run for Team Up with Autism Speaks. I had signed up on my own in April 2012 for the 2013 Goofy Challenge and was looking to perhaps run for a charitable cause when my niece was diagnosed on the autism spectrum. I decided then to sign up and run for an autism charity and put my miles to good use. Over the last three years I have raised over $11,000 for this cause and hope that in some way all this running has changed or helped other people in ways that running has changed my life for the better. Although I cannot be with my family in the UK as an extra pair of hands I hope that the work I have done to raise funds has benefited other family such as mine.

I have had the great pleasure of running with my wife in her first marathon (Disney 2013) and look forward to her joining me running her first Goofy Challenge this weekend as a Team Up team member. Notice that I said her first!!! Along the way I have made many friends in the running and runDisney community (a big shout out to all my fellow Mickey Milers) and I also started this blog to document these races (although it includes more than just Disney races now).

January 11, 2013 - relaxing before the night before the Goofy Challenge

January 11, 2013 – the night before my 1st Goofy Challenge

So as I head down for another year I will proudly wear my ‘Team Sadie’ shirt and hope to have 39.3 miles of fun with a few thousand of my fellow Goofy (and Dopey) friends. I’ll look forward to writing my 2015 race reports after this weekend but for now I will look back and share the first race recap(s) from the 2013 Goofy Challenge.

Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3.

You can also still make a donation at the following this link.

Thank you and I’ll be in look forward to sharing our weekend with you soon.

2014 – Looking back and forward

January 1, 2015ianesenior Leave a comment

2014 was quite a year. The highlights included running 4 Full Marathons (including a new PR), 4 Half Marathons and running over 2,000 miles (unplanned). I completed my 10th Full Marathon in Baltimore this year (running with my Wife) and raised over $4,000 for charity (Autism Speaks).

December 2014 – Nike+ Summary

This month I ran a total of 211 miles. That is the most mileage I have ever run in one single month. It was a combination of getting my training done for the upcoming 2015 Walt Disney World Goofy Challenge, business travel (where I had a little more time to run but I ate a lot more) and the realization mid December that I was actually close to 2,000 annual miles. With all that said I added a couple of extra miles here and there and a couple of extra runs over the course of the month and finished December with 211 miles and bringing my 2014 total mileage to 2,005 miles. Not sure I will be repeating this pattern too many times but it’s quite an achievement for me.

2014 – Nike+ summary by month

There were many highlights of the year for me, starting back in January with running the inaugural Walt Disney World ‘Dopey Challenge‘. Four races in four days for a total of 48.6 miles. It was so much fun. Not sure I would rush to do it again though based upon the cost and logistics involved it ended up being a solo trip for me, however, I did make many friends that weekend and met up with lots of familiar faces too. I also attended the Mickey Miles Podcast breakfast after the 5K and was there for the launch of the Mickey Milers running team. The team raises funds for the Give Kids The World charity village in Orlando Florida. We are all over the country (and international too) but we interact regularly and meet up at races and I’ve even met up with members on business trips and on vacation. We are very identifiable by our yellow and purple team shirts and hats. It’s a great group and a great cause.

Running the 2014 Dopey Challenge at Walt Disney World

Mickey Milers Running Team

Post-race with the Mickey Milers (Janee, Brittany and Joe)

My other endeavors for charity are again for Autism Speaks and as of December 31, 2014 my wife and I raised over $4,000 and will be running the 2015 Walt Disney World ‘Goofy Challenge‘ in just a few days. My goal is to make my miles mean something for more than just my fitness and raising funds for charity is a way that I can do so.

In terms of racing I achieved a PR at the New Jersey Marathon at the end of April a year after my meltdown at the same race. It was a pretty tough winter here in the north east and I did much of my training indoors at the gym. I learned to cope for multiple hours on a treadmill but it was great when spring finally arrived. Conditions on the day of the marathon were tough and windy but I achieved what I set out to do (even though it was just by a few seconds). I was happy. A few days after the marathon I had a small medical scare but thankfully all turned out for the best.

New Jersey Marathon – New PR and a pretty cool medal

My wife and I took part in a few races together this year, the Hot Chocolate 15K in Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Rock and Roll Half Marathon in August and the Baltimore Marathon in October. Great fun at each race and she also achieved a PR at Baltimore. Great race, great weekend.

Philadelphia Hot Chocolate 15K

With my Wife and Father-in-law at the Rock and Roll Half

2014 Baltimore Marathon (my 10th Marathon)

I was also selected as an INKnBURN ambassador during the year and had lots of fun wearing some colorful and artistic outfits at races. I have lots of options now to run in. I have the INB shirts, my Mickey Milers team shirt and my Autism Speaks team gear for the Disney races. I think I don’t need to buy any gear for a while (this is not a New Year’s resolution so don’t hold me to that).

Another PR this year was achieved at the Bucks County Duathlon. I was unable to participate in 2013 due to a family wedding but this year I came back and beat my previous PR by 5 minutes. I had a bit of a struggle at the ‘Chasing the Unicorn’ Marathon in August but the highlight of that day was running across the finish line with my family. That made anything else unimportant and I was happier than my performance really reflected as a result.

A good day for a PR

My best ever finish.

So what does 2015 have in store to improve upon 2014? I’m not sure yet but plenty of things already lined up to look forward to.

In a few days my wife and I will be running the 2015 Goofy Challenge down at Walt Disney World. It is the 10th anniversary of that particular event and the medal looks quite cool. Most of all I’m looking forward to having my family with me at Walt Disney World this year and having a mini vacation with them. My wife and I are also signed up for the Pittsburgh Marathon in May and we are again doing a little family road trip with the boys. It should be a lot of fun. I’m also signed up for my very first ‘triathlon‘…we shall see 🙂

2015 10th Anniversary Goofy Challenge medal

Thanks for sticking with me for another year. I appreciate all your ‘likes’ and kind comments and look forward to seeing you at events and hearing on your success too. Wishing you all a very happy and prosperous 2015.

With my wife enjoying the Baltimore Marathon. Good times.

November 2014 – Month in review

December 12, 2014ianesenior Leave a comment

Better late than never…

November 2014 – Nike+ Summary

173 miles in November. I’ve been travelling a lot for work recently so I’m a little behind on my blog.

November was a mix of ramping up my traning again for the upcoming Goofy Challenge and also the chance to get out and run longer while on vacation. I will admit I’m tired. I cannot wait to start the taper to the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend as my excitement coupled with my adrenaline makes that the most incredible weekend of running.

This November I didn’t have any races when in the last few years I have run the Philadelphia Marathon and our local Thanksgiving 5 miler. Due to a family wedding, our schedule changed and my wife and I found ourselves unavailable for the Philadelphia Marathon this year (that is why we signed up to the the Baltimore Marathon in October). Also as a consequence of this change we were in Florida over Thanksgiving and missed our local Bucks County Road Runners 5 miler.

Start of the wedding weekend festivities. We scrub up nicely. No running gear.

My with my two future running buddies.

We didn’t let that stop us getting some good long training runs in during the month. We were visiting my folks down in Sarasota (they were in for vacation) and they were happy to look after the boys while Shari and I went out for our runs each day (thank goodness for iPads). Shari and I rarely get to run together except for the odd occassion and on race days. We only had one day on the vacation where we had to take turns to run. On Thanksgiving we ran an ‘unofficial’ half marathon (as there was a lot of eating planned later in the day). Also during our time down there I met up with Rob from the Mickey Milers who came and joined us for an 8 mile run. Rob and I celebrated our run with unlimited pancakes and coffee (for $5) at the Anna Maria Island Cafe. Nice 🙂

Long run on Longboat Key

Meeting up with fellow Mickey Miler, Rob.

Our own Thanksgiving Half Marathon. Earned some good desserts.

I’m still churning out the miles and doing simulated Goofy back to back runs. With all the travel for work it’s pretty busy but I am racking up the airmiles to go along with my running miles. I’m looking forward to some family time and as said before the taper as we approach the holidays and also the Walt Disney World Marathon weekend.

One more month to go!!!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and seasons greetings to all.

September 2014 – Month in review

October 2, 2014ianesenior 2 Comments

September 2014 – Nike+ Summary

147 miles for this month.

As the month ends my Wife and I are less than three weeks away from the Baltimore Marathon. Most of this month was taken up with the peak of our marathon training. We got quite a number of long runs in over the weekends and various other available times. The end is in sight and the race will be the reward.

This month we ran the Philadelphia Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon for another year. Although it wasn’t our best performance together it was by no means terrible. We put our performance down to fatigue from the marathon training and the surprising heat and humidity on the day which seemed to have impacted a few other folks too. It was a fun day though and also an opportunity for my Father-in-law to join us in an event as he ran his longest distance in many years on that day. That weekend also provided me the opportunity to meet up with some of my Mickey Milers team mates who came in for the race. It was a great weekend all around.

With my Wife and Father-in-law

Post-race with the Mickey Milers (Janee, Brittany and Joe)

The last weekend of the month was the time for my last 20 mile run of this current marathon training plan. The fact that I was attending my future Brother-in-law’s bachelor weekend notwithstanding, I got up early after about 3 hours sleep and headed out the door for what was planned to be 20 miles. It was strange walking through a casino in Atlantic City, NJ in my running gear knowing that most of the folks on the floor still had not gone to bed from the night before. I started out on the Boardwalk and went up and back a couple of times and ultimately ran through 4 towns (Atlantic City, Ventnor, Margate and Longport….and back) and certainly earned my breakfast buffet at the casino. I ran a couple of miles longer than planned (22 vs 20) but the weather was fantastic and the terrain was flat and so I felt I could do a little more. I timed my run perfectly, arriving back in the room as everyone was still getting ready, hopped in the shower and was down for breakfast within 30 minutes…I almost ate all the calories back that I had just burned. Needless to say I had little else to eat for the rest of the weekend.

Wlaking through Harrahs Casino in Atlantic City, NJ at 4:30am not quite fully awake yet

Atlantic Ocean sunrise – Mile 7

Lucy the Elephant in Margate, NJ – Mile 9

At the end of the road in Longport, NJ – Mile 11

Atlantic City Boardwalk – Mile 19

Happy to be done – Mile 22

As the month ended we started thinking about next year’s running events. I had wanted to run the Pittsburgh Marathon for the last two years and it clashed with the New Jersey Marathon in 2013 and the Broad Street Run in 2014. Entry for the 2015 race (held May 3^rd) opened up on September 30^th and so I coaxed my wife into the idea of visiting her old university town for perhaps the Half Marathon and she actually agreed to sign up with me for the Full. So there you have it, next May we are running the 2015 Pittsburgh Marathon together 🙂

There is a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks/months. In addition to the Baltimore Marathon on October 18^th we have a family wedding in November as well as family vacation with my folks who are coming in from England for the wedding. This means that I will be down in Florida for Thanksgiving and will need to hunt down a new Turkey Trot this year. Then shortly after in January we have the Goofy Challenge where we are running for Autism Speaks.

Our fundraising is now kicking into high gear. I recently achieved my fundraising target so now I am working hard to help fundraise for my Wife. The good news is that the charity is allowing us to pool our fundraising together so whatever extra funds I am able to raise over and above my initial target will count towards my Wife’s goal. If you would like to help, please use this link to reach my fundraising page. Thank you.

Also, don’t forget that October (I extended the date by a month) is the last month to sign up and run for one of the virtual races to help raise funds for Autism Awareness and this counts towards my fundraising goals for the year. There are still some great prizes out there to be won as well as some awesome looking medals (although I am slightly biased). Click HERE for the link to the ‘Going Goofy’ 5k and HERE for the ‘Secret Agent 005K’ event.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to next month’s recap as well as a review of the upcoming Baltimore Marathon.

August 2014 – Month in review

September 5, 2014ianesenior Leave a comment

August 2014 – Nike+ Summary

I ran 144 miles this month, although that is not the full story.

August was the month I ran the ‘Chasing The Unicorn’ Marathon that I had been training for all summer. It didn’t quite go according to plan but overall I had a great experience and came out feeling good. I couldn’t ask for more than that. I learned a lot about digging deep that day.

Happy to be with my family at the finish. The best cure for a bad race.

I also celebrated my 4 year ‘runiversary‘ and had time along with the marathon I ran to reflect on how far I have come and the great times I have experienced through running. I guess it’s like a 4 year runner’s high at this point. I am still motivating myself everyday and looking forward to planning my 2015 calendar.

Most of this month was taken up with tapering for the marathon, getting the boys ready for back to school and then taking a few days with them to have a last few vacation days. We took trips to the Philadelphia Zoo, to the New Jersey Aquarium and seemed to play lots of mini golf. The boys had a blast. They wore me out more than the marathon. That is a good thing.

Finally, I ran the Bucks County Duathlon over Labor Day weekend, setting a new PR in the process. I was very happy with my running performance that day considering all the training I have been putting in. Some days I feel pretty tired but it seems to be paying off.

A good day for a PR as I headed home.

Looking ahead I have the Baltimore Marathon (or should I say ‘we’ as I am running this with my wife Shari) coming up in mid-October. There will definitely be some long runs coming up in September. We also have the Rock and Roll Half Marathon in Philadelphia and are on the hunt for a race in the Sarasota, Florida area for Thanksgiving this year. I am looking forward to running my next two races with my wife. All this training and hard work is fine but I do enjoy running with company from time to time, and she is the best company I have 🙂

‘Chasing the Unicorn’ Marathon race recap

August 26, 2014ianesenior 8 Comments

Last Sunday I completed the ‘Chasing the Unicorn‘ Marathon along the Delaware Canal at Washington Crossing in PA. The good is that I completed the race, the bad, well let’s just get it out of the way, I missed my goal…by a lot. However, I’m not going to dwell too much on what turned out to be a great weekend anyway. In summary, it was one of my worst races but one of my best finishes. I’ll explain below.

I had signed up for this race based upon the fact that I PR’d earlier this year at the New Jersey Marathon and this included running the last 9 miles into what felt like a wind tunnel. I felt that I could do better. This race was created in 2013 by the Race Director of runBucks (Pat McCloskey) as a late summer chance for folks trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon in 2014. The unicorn is the symbol of the Boston Athletic Assocation.

Boston Athletic Assocation

You can read about my reasons for signing up in my previous post (‘Chasing The Unicorn…or at least trying‘). So with sights set on improving my PR I followed Hal Higdon’s Intermediate 2 plan. This was a bit of a step up from the Intermediate 1 plan that I typically use and had higher mileage and an extra 20 mile run in the program. Luckily it was a pretty mild summer in comparison to recent years so all those extra early morning miles were actually quite enjoyable.

Anyway, back to the weekend itself.

On the Saturday evening before the marathon runBucks hosted the Washington Crossing 15K which started at finished in the same place as the marathon on Sunday. My wife had run this race last year and she had registered for it again this year. My wife and I run a lot of races, some together and some separately. Mostly we run separately as one of us is always staying with the boys as these races are typically early mornings. This race started at 5pm on Saturday which meant that we could all attend the race as a family and my wife would have her own (very loud) cheering section.

So after a breakfast of Mickey Mouse waffles (the best way of carb loading) and a full day at Sesame Place with the family we headed to Washington Crossing to cheer my wife on as a family.

Sharing our signs with our favorite runner

Asher’s sign

Micah’s sign

My sign

Ready to go

After the race had begun and everyone was off on their way the race director opened up the bib pick up for the marathon the next day so I headed over and grabbed my bib and race shirt. Then we sat around and waited for the first runners to come back in before taking our place along the finish line chute to cheer on Shari.

Waiting for Mommy and watching the other runners

Here she comes…

Sprinting to the finish

…there she goes

My wife beat her time from last year, running a nice pace and pushing hard at the end.

Finish time. Good pace.

Of course she was then mobbed by the boys who had been without her for over and hour and were probably tired of me and the waiting around!!!

Her best cheerleaders

Sharing her bling

There was a pavilion at the park where the race director had set up a pasta dinner buffet for post-race and also as a pre-race dinner for tomorrow so we headed over to eat. You would think my boys had were prepping for an ultra-marathon the next day…but they do have good appetites for sure. We even had to make a dessert stop on the way home (although I may have partaken in that too).

Once home we got the kids to bed and now it was my turn to prepare for the marathon the next morning. Based upon the forecast and my wife’s feedback from her race I began to wonder if I should carry water for the race. It was August and I have never run a marathon at this time of the year. The course itself being a double out and back on a narrow footpath meant that water stations were somewhat limited and my wife told me that crossing the two way traffic for water stops might be tricky. With that said, better to carry water and not use it than to run and need water. I decided to race wearing my Nathan Speed 2 hydration belt.

I set out my gear the night before as usual. I planned to wear my new Buddha shirt that I received from my recent INKnBURN grab bag. The grab bag is a selection of shirts that are either no longer made, one off samples or some of their current selection. You don’t know what you are going to get until the package arrives. I was very happy with my selection and opted for a nice bright color. Who says running gear has to be boring. It wasn’t as if I was going to win this race but perhaps I could make the ‘best dressed’ list 😉

‘Flat Ian’ the night before

It’s strange and nice to have a race local and be longer than a 5K. I got up around my usual time when I go out for a long run in the morning and got ready, grabbed my Powerbar and headed out to Washington Crossing. I had stated that I was shooting for a goal time of 3:50 or better. I wasn’t going to qualify for Boston but I knew this was perhaps a stretch goal having only just run 3:54 a few months earlier, but I had trained hard and felt good going into the race.

When I arrived I saw all these elite looking runners and was feeling a little intimidated at first. The night before they had announced that about 30% of the field planned to run 3:25 or better. Eek!!! What was I doing here??? But as I made my way from the parking lot to the starting area I saw other runners who were ’50 State’ runners and ‘Marathon Maniacs’ that looked like they were there for the ‘taking part’ and not just for the ‘BQ’. I also saw a few other runners wearing hydration belts and packs so I felt comfortable with my decision.

Ready to get started. Wearing my INKnBURN Buddha shirt.

It was a cool morning and as we got into the corrals it actually started to rain lightly which was a little unexpected given the forecast. There were about 300 entrants into the race. They had a small early group start around 6:15am and this consisted of some walkers as well as those that may not meet the planned cut off time. The full race was to start at 7:15am. Each wave included about 50 runners. The waves would set off 30 seconds apart so being in wave 3 was just 90 seconds behind the leaders (at the start line).

The course itself was a double out-and-back loop along the Delaware Canal Towpath from Washington Crossing, PA to the turnaround point in New Hope, PA. The path itself is a soft easy trail of mostly crushed stone. It is narrow in places, almost single file, but mostly you could have two-way traffic so we got to see the leaders 2 to 3 times depending upon your pace. The elevation is minimal and for the most part the course is in the shade.

Here is the ‘Map My Run’ version of the course from the runBUCKS website.

Waiting in the corral for my wave.

Okay, to the race itself, and also the reason it has taken me over a week to actually post the write up to my blog.

With all the confidence in the world I knew in the back of my mind going in that this was a stretch goal for me. I had reduced my PR already this year by over 4 and a half minutes and I was looking to do the same. I don’t have a coach so I follow a plan and to all intents and purposes I am the one who manages my day to day training. With that in mind all I can say is that I learn a lot from experience. This was going to be one of those learning experiences but I didn’t know that when I started out…

As we started out I quickly went to the front of my wave so I could get ahead of folks early on and make sure that I could maintain my run/walk Galloway intervals (4:00/0:45) without interfering with a big pack of runners. I knew that the canal was narrow and this may be a difficult task (in fact I did have to walk through some messy places to get out the way of folks during the walking intervals) but I seemed to be maintaining my pace with the same folks for the first few miles. I used the same intervals that led to my PR back in late April.

During the first 6-7 miles it rained steadily. This was actually quite cooling and not heavy like the rain I had to run in during The Love Run earlier this year (although it was about 20 degrees warmer which helped). As you can see from my initial splits below I was on pace (actually a little faster) for the first 8 or so miles. To hit 3:50 according to my pace band I should be pacing at 8:47 per mile. I was feeling confident although I noticed that my heart rate was elevated in the normal range but not returning back as normal during the walk breaks. I tend to reach 160-170 bpm’s during the run and it usually hits 120-130 bpm’s at the end of the 45 second walk. This time I was still around 150 bpm’s after the end of each walk break. At this point I hadn’t taken any caffeine or a caffeine infused gels so I wasn’t sure why.

The first part of the race. So far so good.

It wasn’t until around miles 9 to 10 when I started to feel a bit uncomfortable. I developed a pain in my side, not so much a stitch but an ache. It was a little strange but I couldn’t get rid of it even with a walk break and some water. Thankfully I had my water belt on as the water stations were a little sparse due to the course constraints around the turn around. By mile 11 I had an ache in my stomach which seemed to be more of a hunger pain than anything but I hadn’t done anything different in preparing for this marathon than in any of the other marathons I had run.

I reached the half way point at 1:55 so I was still only a minute or two back from my goal time but I knew I was slowing. The 13.1 mile turnaround was being managed by Tammy, a fellow ‘Mickey Miler’ who I had met with at the race the day before and was volunteering today. It helped to see a smiling face to cheer me at the halfway point. I was hurting at this point. I knew that my goal was probably not going to be met and pretty much made peace with that. It was a stretch goal after all but I figured if I could maintain a decent pace for the second half I might still PR for the day.

The hard part about an out and back, especially a double out and back, is that you know exactly how far you are in to the race and how far you have left to go. I wasn’t tempted to quit at the halfway point even though I could have. That was never on the cards for me. I knew whatever happened I still had to finish whether I made my goal, PR or was struggling.

I struggled for pretty much the second half of the race. It wasn’t a case of the wheels on the bus go round and round…they fell off. Here are my splits for the remainder of the race. You can see the decline in pace. It is quite a drop from 8:30s to 11:30s.

My second set of splits – the wheels are coming loose 😦

My third set of splits – the wheels are completely off!!!

I will be honest with you here. I never considered quitting, that’s just not what I want to do or set as an example to my boys. I did consider walking it in. I felt dreadful, empty inside, not in pain but not great. I just made sure I kept shuffling on. It wasn’t my best performance by any means. I set myself little goals in a hope to get to the finish. My heart rate was still high so I started to adjust my intervals to 3:45/1:00 and ultimately I ended up running 2:00/1:00 just to make sure I could keep going as the day got longer and the temperatures got warmer. My goals moved a little but I tried to make them attainable, for example, maintain the pace and break 4 hours. Once that goal was missed I set myself a goal of getting home in less than 4:10 and so on.

It was a little demoralizing but as I struggled in I noticed that no one was passing me. The faster runners had long finished (the winner ran 2:38) but I was still out there going forward. I knew I would eventually finish and as I had spoken with my wife the night before I expected to see my family at the finish line. I had told them that I hoped to be crossing the line around 11am (that would have been a 3:45 goal). My wife and kids were very patient as I missed that time by 30 minutes.

Finally, with about less than 2 miles to go I pushed as best I could. I could see the finish area across the park and buckled down to finish. As I was heading towards the finish line I saw that it was blocked by an ambulance. I younger runner had gone down less than half a mile before the finish line. My wife later told me that she was very worried it was me as she had expected me earlier and there was no news at the finish line other than a male runner had gone down. The EMS crew waved me around the ambulance and then I saw the finish line…and my family.

As I ran towards the finish line I heard my kids yelling out for me and jumping up and down with excitement. They had no clue as to how I was feeling at that point and there was not reason that they needed to know. As I ran up towards them they just beamed their big smiles at me. There was no one else coming in to finish at that time so I went over to the boys and told them to run in with me. I may have been feeling low over the last few miles but their being there for me totally lifted my spirits. We crossed the line as a family and I’ve never been happier to have finished a marathon. Goal or no goal, this finish is the best so far.

My best ever finish.

You cannot be that feeling. I may not have made my goal, I may not have PR’d, heck this was my slowest marathon (I ran 4:15), but at that moment it felt like my best. I totally got over any disappointment as this is a memory I will cherish. Having my boys run alongside me was absolutely awesome.

I made it through the finish line and got my medal and we headed over to grab the gear they had left when they joined me to run to the finish. I was beat. I think it shows.

I was cooked. This is what a tough marathon feels like. Better to have experienced it and come out feeling positive.

So, I have two young boys who hadn’t seen me since the night before. I had no time to feel sorry for myself. They were all over me like a bee is to honey. They needed my attention more than I needed theirs so this was a very quick healing for any blues I may have been feeling at the time. No point in setting a bad example of being a misery in front of the kids. Get up, brush yourself down and know there are things more important than just PR’s. There will certainly be other races and many where my kids are not able to see me at the finish line. I aimed to savor my time with them. It really cheered me up. As you can see from the photo below I don’t look too disappointed. After all, I had still finished another marathon. That’s still something of an achievement.

Kids didn’t even mind sweaty hugs. They were excited to see me after all.

We headed over to the pavilion where there was food for the runners (and apparently for my offspring who again ate like they had run an ultra-marathon). The race director had catered well for runners both the night before and after the race today. In fact, I’ve never eaten French toast sticks as post race food before but they weren’t too bad. A little carbs with a little sugar. I was happy.

Post race food was provided. We ate well.

After a little food and some time to relax we started to head back to our cars so we could get home. After all it was still early enough in the day to have a full afternoon of activities with the family. By the time we headed out I had really forgotten how bad I had felt during the race and was pretty much over the fact that I had missed my goal. It was as simple as that. Over and done. Move on.

Happy to be with my family at the finish. The best cure for a bad race.

Still smiling. I still finished a marathon.

Okay…so not my best time.

At the end of this all I can look back knowing that yes, this was a stretch goal, but I still finished another full marathon. I am not disappointed. In fact I may remember this as one of my favorites just because I got to share it with my family. I remember back in January when I finished the Dopey Challenge. As happy as I was to finish that event I remember feeling a little sad at the finish line area as I had no one to share it with at that very moment. The support makes all the difference between highs and lows.

Hard to be sad with support like this.

I’m not sure I would rush back for this event again (unless I feel like redemption). This is not a negative on the race at all. I had a goal in mind and I didn’t meet it. I used this race for a specific purpose and as I train here a lot (for free) I’m not sure I would return unless I felt like it was the right opportunity. This race is designed as a BQ race specifically so it doesn’t have all the fancy bells and whistles of other big races. The race director did an outstanding job both days. I may return for the 15K next year as that will be fun to race.

The rest of the this year and into next I am running races with my wife. I’m not looking to PR in any of these but looking to have fun and enjoy the experiences together. I didn’t know what to say about my experience in this blog post (again, that is why it took me over a week), but now a week out from the race and reading what I have written above it really does have a silver lining. I may never catch that Unicorn but for me that is not the most important thing. I came late to running and every marathon finish line is a victory, fast or slow.

Thank you for reading.

philly2goofy

…and all the miles in between

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June 2015 – Month in review

May 2015 – Month in review

2015 Pittsburgh Marathon – Race recap

January 2015 – Month in review

Philly2Goofy – An origin story…

2014 – Looking back and forward

November 2014 – Month in review

September 2014 – Month in review

August 2014 – Month in review

‘Chasing the Unicorn’ Marathon race recap

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