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Two weeks to go to the New Jersey Marathon…dealing with the unexpected

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Just a week ago in Boston we were reminded that there are things beyond our control. As runners we follow a plan, we train, we practice our race day efforts (pacing, hydration, fueling strategy, clothing) but for all our planning and rehearsing both physical and mental we have to understand there are things we cannot control.

A colleague once said to me during a difficult project that you can only worry about the things you can control, you cannot worry yourself about the things you can’t.

I am now two weeks out from the New Jersey Marathon. I have trained hard for this. Again using Hal Higdon’s Intermediate 1 plan, early cold winter mornings (remind me not to sign up for too many Spring marathons unless I move to Florida) and I am now enjoying(?) the taper down to race day. I may be over-carbing a little too much but I have two weeks to work on that.

New Jersey Marathon 2013

New Jersey Marathon 2013

When I signed up for this I thought it would be great to show support to the folks in New Jersey following the devastation that occurred as a result of Hurricane Sandy. Although I live just outside of Philadelphia I work very close to the Jersey Shore in Holmdel, NJ. Indeed we were impacted by the storm and the surrounding areas were hit hard. We as a Company stood up to challenges it faced and have very much embraced the ‘Restore the Shore’ initiatives. Take a look at this article which captures how the Company I work for faced the impact of the storm for our community.

Before I headed down to Walt Disney World for the 2013 Goofy Challenge I floated the idea with my Company that we should get a team of runners together for either the New Jersey Half or Full Marathon to represent our Company and it’s ‘Restore the Shore’ initiative. I am pleased to say that we will be sending a few folks along (me included) as well as sending some race volunteers.

New Jersey Marathon 2013

New Jersey Marathon 2013

I sent my original email before the tragedy at Sandy Hook in Connecticut last December. It was this tragedy that the Boston Athletic Association was honoring last week with a special mile marker at mile 26 to remember each of the victims of that terrible event. Little did anyone know that we would again be witnessing another tragedy on the day of the Marathon. Indeed many of the runners were not able to reach the 26 mile marker on that day.

Over the last week we have seen an outpouring of support from runners all over America and the World in support of Boston. The City of Boston has set up the ‘One Fund Boston’ site where people can contribute to support the victims of the tragedy. You can visit the site here.

One Fund Boston

One Fund Boston

A sign seen at the 2013 London Marathon - April 21, 2013

A sign seen at the 2013 London Marathon – April 21, 2013

Last week the New Jersey Marathon Race Director asked that we run to support Boston by wearing the yellow and blue colors of the Boston Athletic Association. Many vendors have produced such gear with net proceeds from the sale of items being contributed to the One Fund Boston organization. Indeed the official partner of the Boston Marathon, Adidas, is selling a race shirt with all proceeds going to this fund.

Boston Commemorative Shirt by Adidas

Boston Commemorative Shirt by Adidas

So, with two weeks to go I have many more reasons to run. I started out with thoughts of supporting the victims of Hurricane Sandy, now we run to finish for those in Boston and to complete the honor of commemorating the 26 victims from Sandy Hook whose mile marker was to be seen by all the finishers.

With all those things to run for it puts all my negative thoughts, moans and groans about achy this and that, and all the whining about early mornings and cold starts into perspective.

With my new race day gear (I’m planning on wearing whichever commemorative shirt arrives in time and also a pair of red Zensah compression sleeves to represent the ‘Red Sox’ – don’t worry I’m still a Phillies fan) I am running not just for myself on May 5th but for all these other reasons.

I’ll leave the Disney runs for all my charity fundraising but I hope the rest of my year and future years are to run for health and enjoyment and for all the positive things in life.

(If you want to follow me during the New Jersey Marathon my Bib number is #2492)

Road ID giveaway

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The folks at Road ID liked my product review and were kind enough to offer an ecard valued at $35 for a giveaway to people who follow me on this blog or on Facebook.

Road ID Sportband

So without further ado here is the info to enter for the giveaway:

Click on this link to my Facebook page, choose the ‘Giveaway’ tab and enter by following the steps available.  Each option counts as one entry to the drawing.   The steps are as follows:

  1. Like Philly2Goofy on Facebook (required)
  2. Leave the words “ENTER ME” in the comments down below (on this post only)
  3. Follow Road ID on Twitter (@roadid)
  4. Tweet about the giveaway

One winner will be chosen at random from entries received.

And there you have it.  Couldn’t be simpler.

The giveaway runs from April 2nd, 2013 at 12:00 EST – April 10, 2013 at 12:00am EST.

Thank you and good luck.

One More Mile – ‘Comfort and joy’

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I’m very particular in the type of running gear I wear. If I find something I like I tend to stick with it. I find something that fits me well, is comfortable in a range of temperatures and is durable and then I buy it in a range of colors so I can ‘mix and match’ according to my mood (or whatever is not in the laundry basket).

The vast majority of my gear consists of Nike Miler t-shirts and Nike 7″ Essential shorts and practically all my socks are Drymax medium thickness from Roadrunner Sports (I said I was particular). For long sleeve shirts I tend to stick with the Roadrunner Sports branded shirts as the sleeve length is just about right for my longish arms (I’m not Mr. Tickle but I do wear a ‘Long’ jacket).

However, I do have another brand of shirt that I like and it also allows me to show my fun side from time to time and this is the Wick-lite Diamond Knit fabric shirts from One More Mile. Many of you who have been to race expo’s will probably be familiar with One More Mile. They do a great job flying back and forth across the country appearing at all the big race expo’s out there. I first came across them when I visited the Broad Street Run expo in 2011 (my first big race) and I found the slogans on their shirts very humorous. I think on that day I walked away with a couple of gifts (probably Diva or Princess related) for my wife Shari who was new to running at that time. Shari has done well with their gear as I tend to be very generous at race expo’s.

I bought my first shirt from them in early 2012. I had just signed up for the 2013 Goofy Challenge with TeamUp for Autism Speaks and saw that they had TeamUp slogan shirts. I bought one on line and wore it for the first time at the 2012 Sesame Place Classic. It was a fairly warm day and was a 5K so it was my ‘experiment’ run to see how it felt. It was very comfortable, soft to the touch and wicked moisture away from the skin well. In fact I wore it many times over the summer. Shari has a couple of shirts from them in long sleeve that she runs in and she finds them comfortable although they are different fabrics (they have various tech fabric shirts and a style for ladies called ‘burnout’ which is kind of vintage looking finish).

Sesame Place Classic 2012

Sesame Place Classic 2012

I follow them on Facebook and as it was getting closer to Goofy they showed a Goofy custom shirt with the slogan ‘39.3 Challenge Accepted’. I just had to have that. I decided to go to their customizing site and place a special order. I got the TeamUp logo from the charity and put on my ‘philly2goofy’ address and dedicated it to my niece Sadie. It was a long sleeve Wick-lite Diamond Knit shirt and was very comfortable. Needless to say I wore it during the runDisney expo and at the TeamUp team dinner the night before the Goofy Challenge began.

Custom T - front

Custom T – front

Custom T - back

Custom T – back

I have to tell you now about their amazing customer service. When I was ordering my custom shirt on line I had a glitch on my connection. I wasn’t sure if my design/order was processed. It took a couple of phone calls to and from them and voila, the shirt was a go. They were very responsive and helped make sure I got what I wanted.

My second experience was at the runDisney expo. I saw a special Goofy related design which at the time was a special made for the weekend (see below) By the time I got to the expo they did not have one left in my size. The gentleman managing the booth gave me a number to call and told me that because it was a special for the race I could ask for one to be made and offered to waive the shipping so I would get the same price had it been available at the expo. I was taking turns to look around the expo with my wife so when it was my turn to sit with our boys I called and ordered my shirt with the custom design.

Goofy Shirt

Goofy Shirt

A week or so after returning from Disney my shirt arrived but unfortunately the shirt was printed in reverse with the punchline on the front. I know…I could always run backwards but I’m not sure how far I would manage before bumping into something. So I called customer service and they said no problem, although it was a custom shirt they would send me another together with a return envelope for the original shirt. Great. A week went by and nothing. Then another couple of days and nothing. I called back and they said they had sent it and asked me to wait another couple of days. When it still didn’t arrive I called them back and they apologized and had another shirt made and sent out to me as soon as they could. In the meantime, their customer service team kept in touch with me a couple of times to follow up to see if I had received anything yet. Finally I came home one day and there was not one but two packages. Yep….one had taken the long way to Pennsylvania. I got my shirt(s)….yeah!!! I made sure to return the original and the spare the next day. As I said earlier, great customer service.

I wore my new Goofy shirt proudly in the gym as I ran a 16 miler on the treadmill the next weekend. I would like to say that everyone thought my shirt was hilarious but seriously you don’t see many people at the gym at 4:30 a.m. on a Sunday (their loss).

I would absolutely recommend their website if you cannot get to see them at an expo. Their custom shirt service is great too if you want to go that route. They often have deals promoted on Facebook and run competitions from time to time for new slogans for their shirts. Check the site out, some of the sayings will have you laughing out loud.

I would also recommend the Wick-lite Diamond Knit fabric if you are looking for something that is comfortable to wear while running. It is nice and lightweight and works well in keeping you dry. Make sure you get a funny slogan…people need to have something to read during a marathon as you pass them!!!

Road ID – essential items for runners, cyclists and more

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Road ID is the type of product you need but never hope to use. It could in all reality be a life saver. Road ID (www.roadid.com) sells a number of safety products for runners and cyclists that provide a form of personal ID in the event that you are ever incapacitated or unable to help yourself for whatever reason.

I have a few of their products; a ‘Wrist ID Sport’ which I wear for running and cycling, a ‘Wrist ID Slim’ which I wear at all other times (I drive over 100 miles every day round trip from home to work) and a ‘Supernova’ high visibility light. They also sell a ‘Shoe ID’ which attaches to your running shoe and you never have to remember to do anything with that until you swap your shoes out.

Sport ID

Sport ID

Slim ID

Slim ID

Shoe ID

Shoe ID

With the IDs there are two types – ‘Original’ and ‘Active’. The ‘Original’ ID is just that. You list your name and any information and phone numbers you think would be helpful. I purchased the ‘Original’ for my father to attach to his golf shoe. He lists his name and birth year (so first responders can tell his age), shows that he has a heart condition and lists his home number, my mother’s cell number and my cell number for when he is in the US.

I purchased the ‘Active ID’ for both myself and my wife (she has the Shoe ID). This lists my name, birth year, the fact that I wear contact lenses and has a call center number 1-8XX and web address for first responders to connect. On the back there is a serial and pin number. The first responder can call this call center number and this is where the ‘Active’ part comes into play. With the ‘Active’ ID you set up your personal information on a secure site which allows you to document significantly more information that one or two lines on the ID. This has a list of emergency contact numbers, my medical insurance information, my family doctor/dentist/ophthalmologist contact information and lists, my medical history and any current medications. The good part of this is the Emergency Responders are now familiar with this type of product and will look for it. There is an annual fee for this service and in my opinion it is worth the cost when you take into account what you pay for race entry fees and other running gear.

The products are designed for areas of the body (wrist, ankle) where typically an EMT will look for a pulse so they should be easily noticed.

The other product I use is the ‘Supernova’ light. It is a really bright light that I attach to the back of my hat when running in the early hours when it is dark. It is so lightweight you will never notice it. They make accessories to go along with the light such as wrist bands and bike attachments. Its pretty inexpensive and worth the cost.

Supernova light

Supernova light

RoadID often sponsors races and the bibs typically include a $1 coupon that you can use to order products. If you look around you will probably see discount coupons around the internet or in mailings.

It is something I hope I never have to rely on but it does give peace of mind knowing that I have a ‘backup’ system out there.

If you visit the site don’t forget to check out the apparel section. I purchased a couple of running hats and a visor. They are made by Headsweats which is a great brand too. I find them to be perfectly comfortable and perform as designed in keeping me cool and dry during my training and races. They have the RoadID logo on them and plenty of reflective material so I use these on my early morning runs. As they are essentially promotional items they are discounted over the regular non branded Headsweats gear and are a great value.

Visor

Visor

Race hat (my go to hat)

Race hat (my go to hat)

You can purchase directly from their site using this link.