2016 Philadelphia Marathon Weekend – ‘Rocky Challenge’ recap

December 25, 2016ianesenior 6 Comments

If it’s November it must be time for the Philadelphia Marathon weekend. This was my first marathon back in 2011 and I’ve run it every year I have been at home ever since (missing only 2014). As has been my habit, I signed up for the race on April 1st the day registration opened.

This year had a number of changes to the race weekend that were not announced until the end of April, almost a month after registration had opened. For the last 20 years the race was organized and run by the City of Philadelphia. This year, the job of putting on the race was given to the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation. This is the same organization that puts on the annual ‘Broad Street Run’ (which is the nation’s largest 10 mile run). Additionally they announced that the Half Marathon (traditionally run the same time as the marathon) would be moved to the Saturday, the day before the marathon on a completely new course. I felt bad for all those people who had already signed up and made hotel arrangements. Judging by the feedback the race received on Facebook, this wasn’t a popular change although at the time this did not impact me.

One of the best parts about running the Philadelphia Marathon are the crowds. When the half and full races are run together (the half is the first part of the marathon course) everyone runs together and just splits at the 13 mile mark. Plenty of crowds are out on the first part of the course. It is quieter on the second half but that is expected based upon the numbers doing the full. With the change splitting the races I was concerned that the race would lose an element of the great crowd support for the marathon as there would be less spectators out on the course. Nevertheless I put it on my training plan as the Sunday race was all I was planning to run.

However, in mid-September they announced that with the demand from runners who wanted to run both days they created a new ‘Challenge’ race, the ‘Rocky Challenge’ race. Well…you know me…if there’s an extra medal I have to sign up for it. I can still see my wife rolling her eyes at me knowing full well she wasn’t going to be able to change my mind, and so with her permission (well, kind of) I signed up for the inaugural ‘Rocky Challenge’. I now would be running both the Half on the new course and the Full on the original course (with just a couple of alterations).

I have done challenge races before, the runDisney ‘Goofy Challenge’ in 2013 and 2015 and also the inaugural ‘Dopey Challenge’ in 2014, so I knew what I would be in for. I had just 6 weeks between the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon and the Philadelphia Marathon weekend so I adjusted my current plan (2 weeks recovery, 2 weeks training, 2 weeks taper) to make sure that my weekend runs were simulations for race weekend, i.e. my Saturday run would be at least half the distance of the Sunday run so I was doing the same distance ratio each weekend prior to the race.

One other adjustment I made following the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon in early October was changing my plan from run/walk to try running these races straight through. While the run/walk method has been my mainstay since I started running, I wasn’t happy that despite doing a run/walk for the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon, I still got fatigued by mile 15 and slowed significantly by mile 19. My plan was to start running straight for my training runs to find the exact distance where I started to fatigue running straight through vs run/walk. To my surprise I wasn’t finding a great difference. With that being the case I decided to keep running straight through with the plan to try this under race conditions. Training seemed to go well.

The Expo

Race weekend arrived. There had not been too much communication from the race director nor on social media with regards to dates announcing bib numbers, waivers, corrals or even the event guide. There had been no reveal of the medal (despite announcing that they were waiting to reveal…it never happened). The expo was down at the Philadelphia Convention Center as per prior years. Before I headed down that day I left a message on the Facebook page asking if there was an opportunity to donate used running shoes to a charity. Again, no response from the race director or his team. I noticed plenty of people asking questions prior to the expo and there was no response. I wasn’t optimistic going into the weekend.

Traffic on a Friday evening in Philadelphia is not good. It took me almost 2 hours for what is usually a 45 minute drive from home before I reached the Convention Center and parked and made my way to the expo hall for race packet pickup.

It was a rough ride getting to the expo but happy to have finally made it

As per prior years, the expo was set up in a similar manner. Once you entered there was a kids area to the left of the hall, bib and shirt pickup was at the back of the hall. Once you had your stuff you made your way through the official gear shop and then into the general expo.

Entering the expo

Pick up for the Half and the Full marathons (and Challenge)

Bib pick up was on the left, shirt pick up was on the right

Now maybe I have been spoiled by so many years as a runDisney challenge participant and maybe I am being unduly harsh as this was the first year of the challenge here in Philadelphia, but the volunteers were not too aware of the challenge option. It wasn’t too easy to find but at the end of the hall there was a table with challenge bib pick up. I picked up my bib and noticed it didn’t have a corral assigned to it. I had noticed online that for all race numbers there were corrals assigned but not for Challenge participants and when I received my bib the corral was left blank. I had to go over to the corral change table and they looked up my corral based on my expected finish time, took a corresponding colored marker and wrote on my corral placement!!

“GREEN”, so says the man with the green Sharpie

Having just looked at this picture again I am wondering why may name and age is accompanied by an ‘F’ and not an ‘M’???

I asked the volunteers if there was anything special I needed to do for the challenge, i.e. was there a special extra shirt or something I needed to pick up. They said no, I just got two gear bags(!) and a half marathon shirt and a full marathon shirt for which I had to get into two separate lines. So far there was nothing special to show this was a challenge. I hadn’t seen any medals, I hadn’t received a special shirt. Essentially I felt like I was just running two races with nothing additional to show for it.

I left the bib pick up area with my two bags, two shirts and hand marked bib and headed through the official merchandise area. There was plenty of varieties of merchandise and this was also split into men, women, half and full gear but no ‘Rocky’ or other challenge related merchandise. Again, I’ve been spoiled by runDisney but seriously I was thinking this challenge was just a way to sell spaces in both days and there was nothing being done to celebrate it or provide anything special for the runners. I was getting more disappointed as I progressed through this expo.

One good thing from the expo was that I saw my fellow Mickey Miler, Sam, who was there getting his bib and merchandise for Sunday’s marathon. That pretty much was the highlight from this expo.

I had seen a couple of things at the online shop prior to race day but they didn’t show the full range of sizes online. I tried to look for them at the expo but to be honest I was looking for something specific to the Challenge. I did go up and down the aisles and I did purchase a Philadelphia Marathon trucker hat but nothing else. I was really disappointed that they had no medals to see, nothing related to the Challenge of any sort and pretty much breezed through the rest of the expo and headed for home.

Plenty or Half and Full specific gear

Mostly generic ‘Philadelphia Marathon Weekend’ accessories

Some more varieties of merchandise but nothing Challenge specific

I made my way home to set up my gear for the next day and the plan was to get an early night (or as best you can with two boys under 10 in the house).

Gear was all ready and I was hopeful that the races would be more enjoyable

Day 1 – Philadelphia Half Marathon

Race day arrived and I was up at 4am for the first of my two days of races. The Half Marathon started at 7:30am but I was my usual nervous self and got up early. The weekend forecast was dramatically different for both days. Saturday was supposed to start cool but warm up, but Sunday was supposed to be cold and windy with temperatures 20 degrees cooler than the day before.

I made it downtown to my usual parking garage for race days (weekend rate $12 and only a couple of blocks away from the race staging area). As per the last few years (since the Boston Marathon bombing) there was a large security perimeter and security checkpoints around the various access points. I was early. It was a little chilly and I was dressed up in a jacket and light pants but I was still cold. I was more worried about the next day if I was this cold on the better weather day.

I was here so early the dinosaurs were not yet extinct

Security seemed fairly quick and simple, probably because I was so early. I heard that later runners had a much different experience. People who had water bottles on race belts were not allowed to bring them into the area. People with gels and other types of fuel were also not allowed to bring things into the area. This was crazy. Runners train with specific fluids and fuels but the security or volunteers at the checkpoint were not letting people bring in their own stuff. Needless to say that when I looked at Facebook later in the day people were not very happy. This actually prompted the race directors team to send out an email on Saturday night before the Marathon with entry guidelines for Sunday. This should have been sent before the Half but this didn’t say anything about race fuels and said only that hydration packs or belts are allowed subject to screening. This wasn’t running as smooth as I had experienced in prior years.

Security barriers were up around a large perimeter

All clean and unused. A perk of arriving so early. Tomorrow I wouldn’t be saying the same

As I was so early I walked around for a bit, through Eakins Oval where the athletes village and charity tents were set up and then I walked over to the stairs of the Philadelphia Art Museum to see the Rocky statue.

Eakins Oval and tent village

Philadelphia Museum of Art (and the Rocky stairs)

Me and the Italian Stallion

Yo Adrian!!!

As dawn broke I made my way over to bag check and got myself all set and ready for the start of the race. I had been there for a while and hoped to get a couple of sips of water before I started the race, however, the pre-race water tent was not yet open. People were lining up as they started to open up and unpack the tent. Again, just another of those things that got to me since the expo. I hoped at least that the race would be run smoothly.

‘Team Cookie’ ready to run

In the Green corral and waiting to go

The National Anthem was ‘played’ over the loudspeaker…yes, played. Not sung. Really? This is a pretty major race weekend. I was surprised. Soon enough the corral made its way to the start line and we were off.

Every year that I have run this race (and I believe every year it was run prior to that too) the half and full races have been run together so I was very familiar with the course that the half marathoners used to run. This year the race organizers announced that there was a new course. Okay, it’s always good to make a change and I would at least not be running the same route back to back.

The new course took us from the start down towards Independence Mall and wrapped us back around towards Logan Square. As is the case with Philadelphia, some people just walk out in front of you to cross the street because we are in their way. This was the case today. Luckily I was able to side step at the last moment or there would have been a pile on with a few runners.

From Logan Square we ran up Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard (West River Drive) and into Fairmount Park. Around mile 7 we had the first of what would be a series of uphills. Seriously…mile 7 through 11 were pretty much constant up and down hills. Not rolling…steep grades. The half marathon course in prior years was pretty flat. There was the hill up through Drexel University and the hill up to Memorial Hall but they were nothing compared to the hills we had to run up today. Wow.

I'm not kidding about those hills on the second half o the course

I wasn’t kidding about those hills on the second half of the course

As I wrote earlier, I was planning to run the whole way and not use my run/walk method. So far all was going well….until around mile 8 when I had to walk up the hill for about 60 seconds. It was getting quite warm at this point (ultimately the temperatures would be in the low 60s) and the hills just got to me. That was the only time I had to stop and walk.

I continued on and we left the park on the west side of the river and crossed over a bridge to the east side of the park and another hill. What was noticeable now was that we hadn’t really seen any spectators since around mile 4 when we headed out on West River Drive. Spectators were one of the things that made this race great in prior years. Running through the city on the old course the crowds were awesome. So loud and jammed in on both sides of the street. Here we had…well, there was a kids’ soccer game going on but those spectators were for the peewee game not the runners.

One thing I didn’t see, or maybe I just missed, was the energy gel station. There was supposed to be one around mile 8 or so. Nope, don’t recall it. Based upon what I read on Facebook after the race it wasn’t there. Considering that security had taken gels and other fuels off runners at the perimeter security checks that was not going to go over well.

Once past mile 11 the terrain started going downhill. The temperatures had warmed up and I was looking at a pretty decent time. I was hoping to run the whole way (pretty much mission accomplished so far) and my goal was to get close to 2 hours. I had to save my legs for the next day. However, I felt good so decided to run harder the last mile and see if I could get myself a good time.

As I rounded the end of Kelly Drive I was just under half a mile from the finish line. I pushed hard and crossed the finish line with a time of 1:54:57 (average pace 8:46). Wow. Very happy with that. I had some decent splits with my slowest mile being the one where I had to walk. I felt good. My legs felt fresh. Perhaps my weekend goal of getting a combined time of 6 hours was reachable. (2 hours for the half and 4 hours for the full was my goal). I wasn’t going for a PR but just a good performance. This was a great confidence booster going into tomorrow.

First finish line of the weekend

First medal of the weekend

Post race was set up differently than prior years. Probably because they had half the people per day as the races were split, the finish area was moved from the center of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to a field on the left of the parkway.

Food tent was set up on a field to the side of the finish line

Post race refreshments were plentiful. Everyone was handed water and there was plenty of food (pretzels!!!!) for runners. No bags though this year like last year so it was pretty awkward to carry this as well as keep your mylar wrap on. Some folks turned their blankets into sacks. Handy folks.

Plenty of food for runners

Mmmm…tasted so good

A great start to the weekend

So as happy as I was with the race performance, I wasn’t thrilled with the course. Judging by the comments on Facebook not many people were thrilled. Their comments were the same as I had said above. There wasn’t enough time in the city. Plenty of time in the park but those places were not accessible for spectators so most of the run was pretty quiet for the miles in the park. The mess at security where people couldn’t bring in water packs and gels compounded by the lack of gels on the course. The lack of water at the start line. Surprising as this organization manages a much larger race (Broad Street has about 40,000 runners).

I didn’t stick around as I wanted to get home and rest for tomorrow’s marathon. I headed back to my car, quickly (or as best I could) get out of the city and got home for a 20 minute ice bath and a hot shower. We had plans with friends that night so I took it easy and rested in the afternoon. I laid out my gear for the next day so I could get straight to bed when we got home.

While we were out and about that evening the weather changed. The temperature dropped about 20 degrees and the wind picked up. Uh oh. Tomorrow was going to be quite a different experience.

Day two outfit – Team Kirk

Day 2 – Philadelphia Marathon

4:00am rolled around (too quickly) and I got out of bed. I could hear the wind whipping around the house outside. This was going to be interesting. The temperatures were in the low 30s. Eek. I was hoping my outfit was going to be enough.

I made it downtown and back to the same parking garage as the day before and headed over to the starting area. Security was much the same as the day before. The race organizers had sent out an email the night before saying what was and what wasn’t allowed through security. I assume they had shared the same email to security personnel at the checkpoints into the race area.

It was cold. Windy and cold. I made my way over to where I would at least be away from the wind. So far I hadn’t been too impressed with the changes to the race but in one action the race organizers changed my mind. HEATED TENTS. Yes, they had opened up tents that were used for something else previously and connected up heat sources to them. I crowded into one of the tents with everyone else. It was tightly packed. I decided to stay in there as long as I could until I had to get in line to use the restroom and check my bags. I changed out of my warm gear and got my bib on. I waited until I thought was long enough before heading out.

Warm race tent. Awesome.

Bag all checked and ready to race

The lines for the restroom were not short and standing there in the cold wind was not the most fun I’ve had. Once I had done what I needed to do and checked my bag I put on my large trash liner. I was still shivering despite the layer.

Still cold…

I got into the corral and waited for go time. This morning the National Anthem was actually sung by a real person…not pre-taped.

In the corral. Almost GO time.

So this was it. I was going to run my first marathon without run/walk intervals. My legs felt good despite having run a half marathon the day before. My goal was to get close to 4 hours. I was going to go for it and see how long I was going to last just running.

Go time!

As I approached the start line I almost missed the timing mat. I couldn’t see it ahead of me. Luckily I started my GPS watch just in time. More on that later. With that, I headed out on the familiar marathon course with a big smile. I just felt relaxed.

The first few miles went well. I was glad that despite the weather and the wind, the crowds were out in full. The cheers of all the supporters as we headed through Old City and through Center City really helped keep up my spirits. I was keeping pace with most of the people around me. I had stalked out a few people who were similar pace. One person was wearing an ‘Ironman Finisher’ hat so I figured they knew how to pace themselves so I mainly tried to pace myself with them.

The first big test of the marathon is the hill that runs up from Drexel University to the Philadelphia Zoo around mile 7 to 8. No walk breaks yet but I had to make a quick pit stop at the top of the hill (I’m getting old) but luckily this didn’t lose me too much time. From there the next test and really the only big test on the first half of the course is the run up hill to Memorial Hall. This is traditionally where I end up walking a little, but not today. I made it up without stopping. I knew it was flat once we reached the top so I could catch my breath as needed.

Elevation profile for the marathon. The main hills are on the front half of the course.

This was also the change to the course that was new this year. Rather than quickly round ourselves past the entrance to the Please Touch Museum and back onto the West River Drive we stayed up in the park and ran towards the Mann Music Center and rounded the back of the Please Touch Museum.

As we passed the Mann Music Center I suddenly got a stomach cramp. Eek. No bathrooms in sight (I had passed them at the water station and didn’t think I needed another pit stop). My next couple of miles or so was a pretty anxious time. There was nowhere to ‘go’ and nowhere to ‘hide’ in an emergency. Double EEK!!

We were soon down the hill and out of the park. Priority number one now wasn’t pace…it was to find a bathroom…without a line…and clean!! During mile 12 I saw a mirage. Four port-a-potties with no lines. Mission accomplished…

All refreshed and feeling much better I set out to continue my run. As the course had been altered this year with the extra distance in the park, we reached the half marathon point while still running on the West River Drive rather than right in front of the Philadelphia Art Museum as in prior years. By the time we wrapped around the front of the Art Museum it was mile 14 and I arrived just as the leaders were making their way up the finish line.

Here are my splits for the first half of the race. Despite two pit stops at mile 9 and 12, I still hit the half marathon point sub 2 hours. I was hoping that now I felt better, maybe getting close to 4 hours would be achievable. Only one way to find out, keep going.

Also as we rounded the corner we were running headlong into the wind. The cold wind. And it was whipping up with sudden gusts every now and then.

The second half of the marathon course is an out and back from the Art Museum to Manyunk and then back to the finish line on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. With the added mileage the race had eliminated the small out and back at the Falls Bridge. I hated that in all the years I’ve run the race. Another way the race organizers endeared themselves to me today.

The out and back on any course can be tough mentally. I had a few friends running so to distract myself during the run I kept looking for them. I didn’t actually see any friends until I was into the last few miles but it certainly took my mind off the race for a while.

My favorite point in the race is the turnaround in Manyunk. I know I’m on the home stretch with just under 10K to go until the finish line.

Here are my splits to the turnaround point. Slower but the wheels hadn’t fallen off like they had at this point at the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon the month previously. I still had something left in my legs and so I buckled down for the last 5 miles of the race.

So having run to Manyunk into the wind and this being an out and back, you would think that I would be running with the wind at my back on the way to the finish line…not so much. Crazy. Well, at least the sun was out.

Looking at my watch I knew that if I kept my pace I would be coming in close, maybe a touch under 4 hours. Head down, keep on moving. You know what, I think I’m going to do it…

Next thing I know I’m approaching the Art Museum and the finish line would be right ahead…or so I thought. If you recall I had almost missed the timing mat at the start but now I realized that because of the wind they had taken down the Start/Finish line banner. So as I approached the finish line I couldn’t actually see it. A sort of panic arose as I had started my final kick to the finish line but I couldn’t see it and I didn’t know how long I could sustain this pace after almost 26.2 miles.

Finally I crossed the timing mat. I hit my watch and saw that I had finished under 4 hours. I couldn’t believe it. I had done it. In two days I ran sub 2 hours and sub 4 hours. I was elated.

My final splits

I did it

Post race area

The post race area was the same as the previous day. Keeping my mylar wrap on in the wind was quite a challenge. The wind was still very strong and it was cold. Coupled with the rapid cool down post race these were not ideal conditions. I grabbed some food and asked a volunteer if there was anywhere I should go for the ‘Rocky Challenge’. As per the expo the volunteers didn’t really know what I was talking about. I had read and re-read the original press release when I got back from the expo and they did mention that there would be an extra medal. Finally I found a volunteer who motioned to a tent…not a specific tent but in a general direction.

As with the Start/Finish line, all signage had been taken down so there was no way to tell which tent to look for. I saw someone else looking lost and I asked him if he was looking for the Challenge tent and he said he was so we both looked for it together. Finally we saw someone with a Challenge medal and they showed us which tent to go to. Because of the wind it was totally unmarked and was closed at all sides. We couldn’t find our way in. Luckily someone came out and we went inside. There were a couple of people checking details off a sheet and once they got my bib number they handed me my extra medal. All folded up. Not much fanfare and hidden from the main finish line area. I cannot imagine how many people missed this and didn’t pick up their extra medal.

Here it is. The ‘Rocky Challenge’ medal

Looks good added to the Full Marathon medal

I quickly got my bag from bag check so I could get some warm clothes back on. I had also brought my medal from the prior day’s Half Marathon (I had never thought to do that at any of the runDisney races) so I could take a picture with all three medals.

A good weekends work. A sub 2 hour Half Marathon and a sub 4 hour Full Marathon

Once the photo was taken I got dressed as quickly as I could and headed back to the parking lot. It was too cold to stick around. I just wanted to get somewhere warm. I actually felt pretty good despite running 39.3 miles. I decided on the way back to the car to stop somewhere for coffee as I was shaking from the cold and just needed something warm before I got myself back into the car for the drive home. I found a small coffee shop on the way back. It was pretty crowded and full of runners and spectators but I didn’t want anything fancy, just hot black coffee so there was no long wait.

I made it back to the car and put on my heated seats and drove home…wearing my medals of course.

Looking back, I wasn’t thrilled with the weekend. The race organizers could do nothing about the weather but I was disappointed with the lack of response from the organizers on social media to any questions asked, the expo wasn’t too special and the fact that the Challenge seemed to be an after thought didn’t leave me with a good feeling. I really didn’t enjoy the new Half Marathon course but I guess moving to Saturday they had to avoid shutting down the whole city for two days. I just wasn’t a big fan of the course.

What was good about the weekend was the new Full Marathon course. I loved the changes. I think the only thing that made the weekend memorable for me was the fact that I reached my race goals of running sub 2 hour and sub 4 hour races, especially following the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon disappointment in October. I was pretty much on a high for the next few days. Really proud that my run straight through attempt worked out.

I got home and was excited to show the medals to my boys. It was 5 years since my first marathon in Philadelphia. This was my 5th Philadelphia Marathon and my 17th Marathon overall.

Here I am from my 1st and 17th marathon. I guess (apart from a few more pounds I’m carrying this year) yellow is my color.

I enjoyed my dessert that night. I’d earned it.

Thanks for sticking with this one. It was a long write-up.

Yo Adrian….We Did It!!!!

October 2016 – Month in review

November 17, 2016ianesenior Leave a comment

October was a fun but busy month. It involved a number of days of business travel for both my wife and myself but also a marathon and continued training.

October 2016 – Nike+ Summary

My total mileage for the month was 132 miles. All running, as you can also see from the Garmin summary below, there was no swimming or biking this month. There were a number of rest days this month as I tapered towards and rested after the Mohawk Hudson River Marathon that I ran in the early part of the month.

October 2016 – Garmin Connect Summary

After the marathon I was into my back to back plan. There are six weeks between running the Mohawk Hudson race and the running the Rocky Challenge at this years Philadelphia Marathon weekend. The challenge is to run the half marathon on the Saturday and the full marathon on the Sunday. Although I have done this three times already at Disney (Goofy Challenge 2013, Dopey Challenge 2014 and Goofy Challenge 2015) this still takes a lot of effort and is not to be taken lightly.

I am using Hal Higdon’s multiple marathon plan which I have used successfully in the past. It is a 6 week program divided into 2 weeks of recovery, 2 weeks of training and 2 weeks of taper. I have been making sure that the days before the long run are at least half the miles I will be running for my long run in order to simulate race weekend fatigue on my body.

With all that mileage I am lucky that I have something to absorb the calories from another Halloween. I enjoy this holiday as I get to dress up with my kids and go trick or treating. I never had this growing up in the UK so I really go all in here in the US, decorating the house and for the last few years coordinating costumes with the boys. This year however, my eldest decided he wanted a scary costume and I was not allowed to coordinate with him. I was free to choose what I wanted.

I chose to be Captain Kirk as it was just after the 50th anniversary of Star Trek. I revealed my costume the week before Halloween to my kids, only for my wife to tell my youngest that Daddy was a ‘Wiggle’! What???? Thanks Honey 😦

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Ready to Boldly Go

This was not the look I was going for

Either way, I had the last laugh when it came to Halloween. I dressed up and went out with the boys. I wasn’t collecting candy (although I did hold the bag for my youngest…and saw to it that he wasn’t overstocked with Kit Kat’s) but I reached house who insisted I look at their license plate on their car and then gave me my own candy. Score!!!

Ready to beam up

Appropriately, I got candy from this house

I hope you had a good October. It was fun for me. I’m looking forward to November and returning to my local race, the Philadelphia Marathon and to cheering on my wife in the 2016 TCS New York City Marathon at the beginning of the month.

Thank you for reading.

2016 Philadelphia Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon – Race recap

October 28, 2016ianesenior 4 Comments

Here we go…

On September 18th my wife and I ran the Philadelphia Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon. This was my 6th time running this event and my wife’s 5th time. We just seem to keep going back. Actually, we received a promotional email to sign up for the 2017 BEFORE the race and guess what…we are running this event again in 2017.

Before I get into the race itself, this is one of those weekends which pretty much represents the craziness which is me, my family and marathon training. It all started very early on the Friday morning before the race weekend. As some of you may know by now I’m pretty regimented when it comes to following my training plans. The weekend of the 18th my plan called for a 20 mile run. Usually I could figure a way to switch a week but as my wife is currently training for the New York City Marathon and I was only a couple of weeks from the Mohawk Hudson Marathon I would be too close to the race to taper into the event. So, up at 2.00am on Friday morning, time to run 20 miles before heading into the office.

Your eyes do not deceive you. Wake up time says 2:01am…I must have hit snooze!!

It was early, it was a beautiful clear sky and a full moon. I had Tina Fey’s “Bossypants” (read by the author) on my iPhone and the 20 miles passed by easily. I ran while laughing which helped. I got my last long run of the training plan done and I could (after the half marathon) begin my marathon taper.

Done! Umpteen laps around Playwicki Farm

Okay, so here we are. I’ve run 20 miles. Great preparation for a half marathon. But we’re not done yet. Later that day my wife and I attended a friend’s wedding where we had a great evening dancing into the night (and not resting my legs). Going well so far with my race preparation!

Normally before the race we attend the expo. This was held at the Philadelphia Convention Center as in previous years. Unfortunately we had other commitments with a family friend’s daughter’s Bat Mitzvah in the morning and the party that evening. We wouldn’t have had to time go to the expo and get home in time for the evening event. Luckily one of my wife’s running friends who was also running was able to pick up our race packets and my wife went out that afternoon to meet up and collect them so we had time to get ready for the party that night.

Ready to party

The party was a lot of fun. It had a Disney theme and we were dancing all night. This was the first time my boys had been to a party like this and they had a blast. For the adults at the party there was a signature drink. a ‘Hakuna Martini’. I have to say it was nice and sweet. It would have been rude to say no. Luckily for me I was the designated driver so I had only one early in the evening and the rest of the night was just Diet Coke and water.

Certainly so

It was a fun but a late night. The party ended around midnight and we left before we all turned into pumpkins. The boys were both asleep in the car before we pulled out of the parking lot. Ha ha.

So, sleep…are rare commodity this weekend. Let’s see how we do tonight.

Should I worry?

I didn’t even make 3 hours. So, now I’m just a little tired (an understatement). I know I’ve done slept worse than this during the Disney Marathon weekend, but hey, that’s Disney and every second counts. Some of us may have had a couple of extra Hakuna Martinis the night before. This was going to be a fun race.

So Sunday arrived (early) and we set out to drive downtown to Philadelphia. Upon arrival into Center City I missed my turn and passed the usual parking garage I use for races. Luckily there was another lot across the street (where I used to park when I worked downtown) so the walk to the starting area was the same as in past years.

The race was back to its usual mid-September date. It had been pushed to October 31st last year due to the visit of Pope Francis to Philadelphia last September. The last few times we have run this race (with the exception of the October date) were warm and humid days in late summer. This year the temperatures this year were great. It was in the 60s and cool at the start. It did warm up later in the day but the start was very comfortable.

An early start. Still a little dark just after the sunrise.

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon is a really popular and crowded race. You get there early to avoid the crowds. Luckily we were up in an early corral (#8 of #20+) so we didn’t have too much time to sit around and wait. The race started at 7:30 and we set off at 7:39 according to my Garmin.

Waiting in our corral to go

Our view of the start line

All these people were stacked behind us. The Philadelphia Art Museum and the finish line were behind us

Within the first mile of the race we ran into my wife’s childhood baby sitter. We ran alongside here past the first mile marker as they chatted…I was just along for the ride. We ran on at a comfortable medium pace for the next couple of miles. Around mile 3 my wife’s friend (who had picked up our race packets) ran past us. She was gunning for a new personal record for the half marathon (she ran a 1:53 race) and it was a quick hello and goodbye.

Like last year, the race course had been slightly altered. Miles 1-3 were slightly modified to run along Market Street but included a turn around 22nd Street (behind my old office building). The course last year took us on a short out and back around mile 3 via Spring Garden Street. This year there was another out and back but it was a little further up the course but still around mile 3. This year took us up and back past the Eastern State Penitentiary.

This years course

Once the out and back was complete the course was the same it was typically in other years. It was up East River Drive/Kelly Drive, crossing the Schuylkill River at the Falls Bridge at mile 8 and then up West River Drive/Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

It had started to warm up but wasn’t sunny. In fact it was more humid than we expected and as a result my running gear which I have worn multiple times for multiple training runs and races actually started to bother me. Around mile 6 I had to pull over to the medical tent to get some Vaseline to help in certain places (shhh….) As I arrived at the tent I asked for what I needed and was told that the volunteers had to apply it. Wow. I wasn’t expecting that and informed them that I was a married man and my wife was only a few feet away…my wife saw what was going on and was cracking up. I was a little embarrassed. It wasn’t as bad as you might be thinking but certainly not what I was expecting. Modesty was maintained through the whole process…

I was also having a little discomfort with my shoe. Although they were not new shoes, my laces just seemed to be uncomfortable so I stopped a few times between mile 7 and 8 to adjust them. My wife hadn’t noticed I had dropped back but I soon caught up with her before the turn across the bridge. Once over the bridge there is a slight downhill before the long straight back into the finish line.

It was around mile 10 that my weekends activities started to affect me. For some reason I just started to lose a bit of my energy. I was taking my Hammer Gels at my usual intervals but my wife started to pull away from me. This was a combination of my 20 mile training run finally reaching my legs and also due to the fact that my wife’s intake of Hakuna Martinis probably started to wear off on her. Just before mile 12 she turned to me and said “I forgot you ran 20 miles on Friday, lets take it a little slower and make it to the finish together” I was relieved.

The camber of the road from mile 11 to 12 is fairly noticeable. First it tilts from left to right and then from right to left. It then starts a gradual uphill before the last quarter of a mile or so of the course which is a steep uphill to the Art Museum steps. If you are tired at this point you definitely feel the change in the road and the elevation. I’ve done this part of the course many times, the Rock n Roll races every year from 2011, my 4 Philadelphia Marathons and other races that take place along the river. Today I was just determined to get it done.

As we approached the finish line we picked up the pace (you have to make it look good in front of the crowd). Our last mile was 30 seconds fast than our previous mile despite the uphill terrain.

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As per usual we crossed the finish line hand in hand.

Our time was 2:07:24. Slower than in previous years. Given our current conditions it wasn’t terrible but we are both quicker than that having run a few races this year in the low 1:50s. Mind you, those races were not after 20 mile training runs, sleep deprivation or Hakuna Martinis. We still had fun.

As we crossed the finish line the temperatures were now into the 70s although thankfully the sun was still behind the clouds. It was warm. We received our medals and a bottle of water and made our way over to the post race refreshments. Before we left the finish line area we picked up some ice cooled towels. They were very welcome. They worked a treat at helping us cool down.

Receiving another Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon medal

The ice cooled towels were amazing

We grabbed some refreshments (yeah for chocolate milk) and made our way to pick up our gear bags that we had checked earlier before the race. As we were getting ready to head back to the car we received a text message from my wife’s sister who was with her daughter at soccer practice nearby. We would have to pass by to get back to our car so we stopped over to see them on our way to the parking lot.

Always happy to see family at the finish line.

As usual for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon we had a great time. I didn’t get the chance to meet up with any of my Mickey Milers team mates as we didn’t have time to hang around (we had a baby sitter on the clock) but it was nice to bump into some of my wife’s friends along the way. We will be back in 2017.

Next year we are actually venturing further afield with our Rock ‘n’ Roll races as we are set to run the Rock ‘n’ Roll DC Marathon in March. We probably might consider another Rock ‘n’ Roll event next year if the logistics work out for us. We shall see. They do put on a good race.

Our reward for another half marathon completed

Thank you for reading.

2016 HITS Hudson Valley, NY Triathlon – Race recap

July 28, 2016ianesenior 6 Comments

I am thrilled to be writing this race recap.

On July 9th I completed my first half iron distance triathlon at Williams Lake, NY up in the Hudson Valley put on by the HITS Triathlon Series. This is a 70.3 mile event made up of a 1.2 mile swim, a 56 mile bike ride and a 13.1 mile run.

Since I started running back in the late summer of 2010 I have achieved many things I didn’t think possible. Just getting off the couch and training for a 5K was a big accomplishment for me. Slowly I built up my running endurance and 15 months after my first run I finished my first marathon, the 2011 Philadelphia Marathon. Since then I have achieved some big milestones for myself. In May this year I completed my 15th marathon and I have completed a number of the runDisney Challenge races and even an ultra distance run.

However, I never even considered a triathlon. I don’t know what made me finally decide but in late 2014 I signed up for my first triathlon, the New Jersey State Triathlon for the Olympic distance in July 2015. My problem was that I hadn’t been swimming in years and I needed a lot of work. I ended up freaking out a few weeks before the race and stepping back my distance to the sprint triathlon as I was really nervous for the swim. I did conquer the swim in my first triathlon but unfortunately the race did not turn out as planned. It was cancelled due to a lightning storm mid race. I quickly rebounded by signing up for another sprint distance a couple of weeks later and finally completed a triathlon. I followed up that after some encouragement (peer pressure) by a number of work colleagues to sign up for another local sprint triathlon which I successfully completed. Okay, my triathlons were over. Done. Complete…Or so I thought.

Competing in the Medford Lakes Colony Sprint Triathlon last August.

Some of my friends were talking about doing longer distance triathlons and a few were actively talking about half iron and full iron distance races. Around the same time they announced a new 70.3 distance race down in Atlantic City, NJ and I was considering that, however, it was a little costly and the timing didn’t work out. I also lacked the ability to swim far enough at the time (or so I thought) and I only owned a hybrid bike which I knew wouldn’t get me through a longer distance race. Speaking to my friend Bob, he mentioned that he had signed up for a smaller sized 70.3 race up in the Hudson Valley. It was also held on a Saturday so it wouldn’t take up a full weekend away and it was a good value (about the same price of a runDisney half marathon). I looked into it and thought maybe…I just had to convince my Wife. Challenge accepted!

Somewhere somehow my Wife was informed (probably by my Sister-in-law) that triathlons involved swimming in shark infested waters. I had to convince her that there were no sharks. All my previous sprint tri’s were in ponds or man-made lakes but she was still convinced there would be sharks. I explained that (at the time I signed up) the swim was held in a bend in the Hudson River and that there were no news reports of sharks in Upstate New York (bears maybe but not sharks). She then asked if I had enough life insurance and whether it was fully paid up. Seeing as my Father-in-law is our insurance agent I said we were covered and paid up. Finally she said I could do it as she knows there was no talking me out of it. So, in early November last year I signed up for my first 70.3 race, the HITS Kingston, NY Triathlon.

Now that I was signed up I found a half iron distance training plan that seemed to fit into my schedule from Endurance Works, I joined LA Fitness so I could go swimming regularly (the plan called for at least 3 swims per week, I subscribed to a swim training plan (Tri Swim Coach) and purchased a road bike (with all my saved up gift cards and a some birthday money) from my local bike store (Guy’s Bicycles). The training plan fit in perfectly between the New Jersey Marathon and the actual race. I steadily built up my swim distance and endurance in the pool and got used to sitting on that bike saddle for a few hours. By the time the race approached I felt that I was ready, nervous…but ready.

One final thing I needed to take care of was a wetsuit. I hadn’t used a wetsuit for any of the sprint distance tri’s I had done last year but based upon the distance it was recommended that I take advantage of the extra buoyancy a suit would provide me and so not wanting to jump into a big expense straight away I decided to rent a wetsuit. I ended up renting from a company based in Florida called Tri Wetsuit Rentals. The owner, Mike, was very helpful in answering my questions about sizing and suggested a couple of suits and even said that in the (unlikely) event that I lose some weight before, all I had to do was call before the suit was shipped in late June and let him know.

I had my first minor freak out when the wetsuit shipped but got lost by the US Postal service for about a week. I could see from the tracking information that it was close but it had gone via multiple post offices including my local post office more than once before it was finally delivered exactly one week before I was due to leave for the race. Mike was very helpful throughout and we had a ‘Plan B’ to send a replacement but thankfully it wasn’t required. Unfortunately I missed my last opportunity to try out the suit in an open water swim with the Bucks County Tri Club as the suit arrived too late. I wouldn’t get a chance to try the suit in the water before race day. I did watch a few YouTube videos in advance of receiving the wetsuit (some more helpful than others) on how to get into and out of a wetsuit, none of which helped prepare me for the full body workout that was putting one on without any help!!! It was a struggle the first time but after a couple of attempts I found a method that worked best for me.

For someone who has been overweight most of their life, having Orca emblazzoned across your chest isn't exactly flattering.

For someone who has been overweight most of their life, having Orca emblazoned across your chest isn’t exactly flattering.

When my Wife saw this she had a field day with orca related jokes…

Thanks honey for all your support…

Race Weekend:

Race weekend finally arrived. I had been in touch with my friend Bob over the weeks leading up to the race and we had planned to meet at the staging area (Williams Lake) and get a quick open water swim and then grab lunch before the mandatory athletes’ meeting that afternoon.

Having taken a vacation day from work I packed up my car and headed (via a quick stop at my chiropractor for a last-minute alignment check) on my way to Kingston, NY.

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On my way. 70.3 or bust!

Thankfully it was a smooth and easy ride up. About 30 minutes out from my destination I pulled over at services to grab a drink and a snack before the last leg of the journey and happened to bump into Bob who was also on his way up to meet me. I followed him the rest of the way to the race area and we quickly set about getting ready for a swim. Bob gave me a couple of tips on putting on the wet suit and we headed down to the water. It was a hot and sunny day and the water temperature was really nice. It was time for my first wet suit swim…I let Bob go first.

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Arriving at the race site. This confirmed we were in the right place.

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The finish line just a day away.

Williams Lake. The buoys were being set up as we arrived.

Bob went first. We planned to swim out and back to the first buoy.

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Not nervous at all…

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Okay…ready…set…

I ventured out. Bob advised me to go a little slower than I would in the pool to keep my heart rate down as you can quickly overheat in a wetsuit. Once I started swimming it did feel a little weird and there were a couple of anxious moments early on but I followed his advice and I set out to the buoy, circled around it and came back. One thing that was very evident from my swim is that my sighting in the water needs a heck of a lot of improvement…that would be evident the following day as well. As you can see from the GPS map below, this was supposed to be a simple out and back, i.e. pretty much a straight line. Not quite.

Not the best sense of direction

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I did it. A little out of breath but I got it done.

Even though it was a short swim I felt comfortable in the wetsuit, the water temperature was warm but not too warm and the spring fed lake was clear (you could see your hands in front of your face!).

After we both completed the swim we stayed to talk to a few of the people setting up and looked around the staging area. This was a small race to be sure. There were 5 events going on the next day – full distance, half distance, Olympic distance, sprint distance and an open distance.

Hanging the suit up to dry

The packet pickup tent

Swim course map – Two loops around the lake

Bike route around the Ashokan Reservoir

The updated run course

A small merchandise tent who made custom shirts on request (more on that later)

When I had signed up for the race originally it was a two-day event. The swim was supposed to be in a bend in the Hudson River in Kingston, NY with the full and half distance being held on the Saturday and all other races being held on Sunday. Back in February it was announced that the location was moving to Williams Lake in Rosendale and that it would be a one day event with the races staged at 4 different times during the day (the full and half would start together).

After the swim we went to pick up our race packets. I have to say that the staff were all very friendly. The staff took time to ask if we were okay and were happy to chat and answer questions.

Bob and I headed into Rosendale and had lunch at a small cafe with lots of vegetarian options (perfect for me) and chatted over lunch. Bob showed me how to use my Garmin 910 in multisport mode which I hadn’t really tried before. We then headed back a few minutes before the Race Director started the athletes meeting.

Tom Struzzieri, the founder and CEO of HITS, was there to talk us through each leg of the event, the how to’s of the transition area and the weather outlook for the next day. He shared the plans for the aid stations and explained what would be provided even down to how many scoops of Heed would be in the pre-made water bottles on the bike rides (so that we had an idea how much nutrition to carry and could take in on the route).

The race director giving the pre-race athletes meeting

The weather overnight was forecast with a storm and lots of rain. As the race wasn’t too big most people decided not to check in their bikes the night before so we could keep all our equipment dry and bring it the next day.

After the meeting Bob and I took a walk through the transition areas and walked the start of the run course. As the course had changed from the original location I hadn’t seen the new map. The course was described as an initial run out, a loop through a cave (a bat cave…) and then a double out and back along the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail across the Rosendale Trestle Bridge.

Everyone was provided with their own individual transition box. It was spacious compared to other events I have taken part in and the stool they provided was a nice touch.

The exit from the swim to transition

The exit from transition to the bike course.

And back to transition. You can see from the debris on the side of the transition that this whole area is currently under development. This should make the site much more attractive and with added features in the coming years.

The view back into the transition at the start of the run

I hadn’t realized before now but as soon as we started walking the course we saw it was a proper trail, i.e. not paved…mud, rocks, sticks and roots…and a bat cave.

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Yes…that’s a trail.

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I will point out that this is ‘before’ the heavy rain that fell overnight.

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Yup, that’s a cave.

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They said there were bats in side.

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I just looked straight ahead to the exit and didn’t look deep into the cave. No need to cause a kerfuffle with the locals…

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I’m ready for the next day. I may have to change my outfit though.

Bob and I decided around 4pm to head back to our respective lodgings (I was about 15 minutes away in a hotel in Kingston and he was staying with family about 30 minutes south) and so we wished each other a relaxing evening and said we would see each other bright and early the next day.

By the way, you may notice from the above picture that I am wearing a ‘Team Up! Autism Speaks’ shirt. Since 2013 I have run a number of events for this charity and this was the first year I had missed running the Walt Disney World Marathon (or Challenge) with them. Over the last three years I have raised close to $13,000 for the cause. As this was to be a special event for me I decided to dedicate my race to continue to raise funds for them and I signed up through their Team Up! Your Way with the goal of raising $1,000. I’m pleased to say that in addition to completing my event (spoiler alert) I was able to meet my goal. As of the date of posting this recap I have raised a total of $1,092.

I headed to my hotel in Kingston and moved all my gear (not packing light) into my room on the second floor.

My two-wheeled roommate for the night.

I quickly looked through my race packet to make sure I had everything and decided to find somewhere local for an early dinner. As I was traveling on my own I asked the front desk at the hotel for places to eat and was recommended the Olympia Diner across the street. Well, I love a good diner so I was happy to head over and see what they had. Although the diner was just across the street there was a huge downpour and I ended up driving over. Glad I didn’t leave my bike outdoors overnight.

After a meal of gazpacho and spaghetti marinara, I followed my usual pre-race routine…a cookie (unfortunately not oatmeal raisin)…and headed back to the hotel and started getting ready for the next morning with a goal of getting some sleep.

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My pre-race ritual. Stick with what works, right?

I unpacked all my gear for transition and laid it all out for one final check. As you will notice from the pictures below I used flash cards in my shoes to remind me of the steps I would need to remember in transition if I was not thinking too clearly in real-time the next day.

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I think that’s everything.

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Cut me some slack…I’m 44 with two kids. Sometimes I cannot even remember their names.

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At least I didn’t have to tell myself which wrist to put it on.

With all my gear repacked I took a hot shower and put myself to bed around 8pm hoping to get as much sleep as I could.

Race Day:

My Fitbit shows that I got just under 7 hours of sleep, waking up just before my 4AM alarm (one of three that I had set just in case). I made myself a cup of coffee and tried to remain as relaxed as possible. I grabbed my pre-race Powerbar for breakfast and checked my emails, other messages and the weather before getting all my gear ready. As expected, my Wife sent me a message wishing me all the best in her own way.

Thanks again honey…

My training plan sent me this message to my inbox.

I headed out around 5:15AM to the race site. There had been plenty of rain overnight and you could the result of the storm as there was quite a bit of debris on the road. I was a little nervous about riding in the rain on my road bike tires. I already had concerns about the elevation of the course and making the cut off time (I hadn’t trained too much on hills). I had never ridden on wet roads before.

When I got to the race site the course had been impacted by the rain too. Although the temperature had cooled considerably the parts of the parking areas were under water. I arrived as cars and trucks were being towed out after getting stuck in the mud. I moved my car further away on some higher ground and started to unpack.

Cars being towed out.

The aftermath. I hadn’t considered what it would do to the running trail yet.

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I’m here, the bike was pumped up and so was I.

On Thursday night before I left I decided at the last-minute to grab a few kitchen trash bags to pack up any wet and dirty gear after the race. I’m glad I did as there was more rain scheduled for later in the day. I’m so glad I had them with me as when I got to transition it was very wet underfoot (and squishy) and so I used one of the bags as a waterproof barrier between the ground and my transition set up. With the extra bags I wrapped up my bike and running gear to protect them from the rain that was predicted. That was a good move.

My home base for the next few hours.

I ate my Honey Stinger waffle for a last-minute fuel top up and after a couple of bathroom breaks I got my swim gear ready and my wetsuit on and made my way through the transition to the edge of the lake.

Everyone getting ready in transition.

Ready to suit up. See you in a few hours.

As we got to the beach for the final race announcements before the start the race director asked that due to the road conditions that we are extra vigilant on the bikes and announced that they had people out on the course doing clean up where ever needed so that conditions would be as best as they could get them for us for the bike.

The race was scheduled to start at 7AM. The full and half distance athletes were due to go off at the same time. The full distance athletes would swim four times around the buoys and the half distance athletes twice. My plan was to stay steady and smooth and try to keep my heart rate down. As the race started I stayed at the back of the pack and waited until almost everyone was in the water. I didn’t plan on getting into a mess right out of the gate.

The temperature was great, a couple of degrees cooler than yesterday, and my plan was to keep a steady rhythm. My sighting wasn’t perfect…I did veer of course a couple of times but it got better as I started to get into a groove. I actually found myself passing a few people. I could feel the difference that a wetsuit provides. It was a definite help. My confidence was building as I rounded the first loop and I was able to maintain the same rhythm on my second loop. I still had a couple of sighting issues but if you look at my map below I didn’t do too bad. Ultimately my distance swam was 1.4 miles not 1.2. Not sure if it was my bad sighting or the GPS trying to grab a signal which led to the difference but I was pretty happy.

The official results had me at 54:32 for the swim. I was pleased with that. Anything under an hour for that distance was a win for me. I actually got out the water and wasn’t too out of breath. As I got out the water the race had ‘strippers’, volunteers to help you get out the wetsuit. On a side note I mentioned that in the car the next day when I was talking to my wife. She was quite taken aback…however, two little voices from the back of the car then asked “Daddy, what’s a stripper?” Oops. I explained in triathlon terms. Move along. Nothing to see here.

As I got out the water there was a little light rain. I’m glad I had my gear wrapped up. I was even more glad for the stool. I was a more tired from the swim than I thought I would be. I dried off my legs and my feet, covered them in talc and popped on my Injinji socks (not the best at helping me rush through transition). 8:02 in transition. Not good but I had a 56 mile ride ahead of me and I wanted to make sure I was ready (my longest ride previous to this was 52 miles on a bike trainer). I quickly ate an energy gel and grabbed my bike and headed out.

Once out of transition and on the bike I started slowly. I started out on the small chain ring so that I wasn’t beating up my legs early into the ride. I didn’t get out of the small chain ring for the first 8 miles.

The bike route

Bike elevation chart

The first big hill (big for me) was around mile 6. Thankfully I was able to get up the hill and knew that somewhere on the back of the course I would probably make up some time coming down the same hill. My cadence and speed were not very fast for the first hour. It was really a matter of me getting up the hills for the ride around the reservoir. My goal was to maintain an average speed over 14mph so that I would make the four hour cut off. After the first hour it wasn’t looking good…13mph. I settled into a rhythm on the bike and as the course flattened out in areas I was able to make up some time. There was light rain at the time and I had to stop a couple of times to wipe clear my glasses as they were getting wetter and wetter.

Around mile 20 the heavens opened. This was rain. The real stuff. Not the wet misty type that had been going on from the start. It was a slog for the next 20 or so miles as the rain continued. For someone who was nervous about riding in the rain and worried about the bike cut off this was not a good combination.

What I can commend the race organizers for is that despite the conditions out there, each turn on the course was clearly marked out or was manned by police or volunteers who stood out in the rain the whole time. For a race with such a small field it must have seemed a very arduous task and I fully appreciate all the volunteers that day.

There were two aid stations, one of which we passed twice, for a total of three stops. The first was around mile 12 just after we had climbed a big hill. I made a quick porta potty stop there (obviously I had been hydrating to this point) and grabbed some more fluids. The aid stations provided Hammer gels, Heed and water. The second stop was around mile 30 I think. When I got there the rain was heavy. The table was set up for a bottle exchange. I stopped and poured a bottle of Heed mix in with my existing bottle of Heed and moved on as there was no point in hanging around too long with the rain.

One thing that I will take away from the ride is that I am weakest on the bike. I have definitely become more comfortable in the seat but I did most of my riding either on the bike trainer or outside in an enclosed park loop with little elevation. It showed. I need to do more hill riding and get my cadence up. It’s all too easy to ride for three hours watching movies but I really need to know how to maintain a high cadence with my legs and how and when to push. I also need to learn how to properly fuel while riding. I kept to my plan on taking in an energy gel every 45 minutes but I had to pull over each time for fear of falling off the bike. I was able to maintain my drinking every 15-20 minutes just slowing down while I used a bottle.

The route along the reservoir itself was beautiful…well at least what I could make out through the rain and clouds was beautiful. There seemed to be a lot of ‘S bend’ curves as the road travelled around the reservoir and by this point we were sharing the road with cars. We had travelled down a major road (Route 213) earlier, however, there was a wide shoulder and although cars and trucks were zipping by, there was plenty of space for riding.

I played leapfrog along the bike course with a couple of other riders almost the whole way. I didn’t catch up with many people nor was I passed too often other than by participants in the full distance race on their much more expensive and faster tri bikes.

Finally, with about 15 miles to go the rain ceased and the skies cleared a little or maybe just the clouds got thinner. Either way the last 15 miles were more comfortable weather wise. My socks inside my shoes were soaked through by the rain and so I had to endure the sound of squelching for the last hour but I figured it was a small price to pay. My average speed was now over 14.5mph so I knew I would make it under the time limit and I still had a couple of large downhill rides.

The roads were still damp on the reverse trip down to the transition area but I flew down them (white knuckled). At one point I hit over 36mph. I’m not one for riding roller coasters…and this to me felt almost as freaky. I guess that’s another thing I have to get used to in training.

I finally made it back into transition with a time of 3:48:19 (official split was 3:48:58). Not great by any means but a) not last, and b) under the cut off. I now have a baseline for a 1.2 mile open water swim and a 56 mile bike ride (although my actual GPS distance was just over 55 miles).

On returning to transition after the rain I was glad to have kept my gear wrapped up in those trash liners and was extremely pleased that I had packed a second pair of socks. My feet were soaked through and I pretty much had to repeat almost the same transition that I had after the swim (minus the wetsuit). Dry off, talc on feet and the struggle back into the Injinji socks!!! Time in second transition was 6:01. Slow but typically it would just be changing shoes and swapping my helmet for a visor. I took the opportunity to take another energy gel before heading out on the run.

I’ve done many brick work outs in training (bike to run transition) but never after a 56 mile ride nor anything longer than a 30 minute run. This was going to be interesting.

As I headed out to start the run the ground was more soaked than before. As I ran up the hill to the first aid station I was told that the ‘bat cave’ was wet and to be careful. That was an understatement. I hadn’t even reached the cave yet and I was already having to be careful with my footing. The trail was soggy and puddle filled. In fact there were a couple of places early on where I had to walk for fear of slipping in the mud. I didn’t expect to run my normal pace for the half marathon (my PR is 1:51) but I also didn’t expect my first mile split to be 11.36min/mile.

When I had walked the course the previous day I wasn’t wearing sunglasses so when I got to the cave I could kind of see my way through with the little daylight that was streaming through the entrance and exit. I was also walking. Today I was running and wearing sunglasses. BIG difference. Once I hit the cave I could barely see. I decided to take the higher ground on the left of the cave on the assumption that it might be drier as the water would flow down to the lower side. What I didn’t know about or see was that there were rocks on that side. I tripped…twice. While I didn’t wipe out I was a little shaken and pretty much ended up walking through the cave rather than run (hence the slow 1st mile).

Once out the cave I was back in the daylight and it was then just the double out and back to run. The ground was still soaked, soft, slippy and puddled in many places. My nice clean shoes didn’t stay that way for very long. I stepped in a few places where I went down into muddy water to the tops of my shoes. I had been glad I had some dry socks on to start with but they were soon beginning to get damp from the ground below.

The run was a double out and back.

I passed the first aid station again (I would see it two more times) and the folks manning the table were very cheery and supportive. Each aid station stocked water, Heed, flat Coke, chips, orange slices, candy and cookies. At first I drank only water and Heed at each station (there were another two out on the course) but as it was getting hotter and I was beginning to feel more tired so I started to dunk a cup of cold water over my head at each station too.

I passed Bob on my way out the first time. He had a much stronger ride than me and was at least 30 minutes ahead of me. Just before the third aid station we ran across the Rosendale Trestle Bridge. If you are scared of heights you may want to rethink this race. The bridge was wide, sturdy and safe but quite a way up.

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Rosendale Trestle Bridge (picture from the HITS Facebook page)

An aerial shot of the bridge on a much sunnier day

It was a spectacular setting and the benefit of running mostly in the shade kept temperatures down. It wasn’t the sunniest of afternoons as there was still a lot of cloud cover but it did feel cooler in the shade.

The turnaround was about a mile past the bridge and at that point I was taking my time negotiating points on the trail that were like mud rivers. Nevertheless it was a keep moving forward mentality. By this stage I had been on the go for over 5 hours and counting.

On my way back to the first aid station (and turnaround for the second leg) I took another energy gel to give myself a boost. I needed something at that point. At the aid station one of the volunteers suggested I take in some flat Coke. I had heard that ultra runners used this as a quick sugar energy boost and as I had just taken a gel I decided to pass this time around but as I progressed on my second out and back I decided to try something new (yeah…during a race…smart!). Luckily I had no bad reaction to ingesting the flat Coke. I haven’t had any soda since quitting last August so this was a bit weird. I had sworn off soda and now I couldn’t get enough… I was still pouring water over my head at each aid station but I was now substituting the Coke for the Heed just to keep me going.

It was at this point that I started playing the math game. I had no goal time other than to finish somewhere between 7-7.5 hours and I knew that my bike leg would eat up a great deal of that time. I was now looking at my Garmin every few minutes to see how much distance and time was left. I had seen Bob on the second out and back as I was going out and he was coming back. I figured he would be done before I reached the turnaround for the second time.

As I rounded the turnaround for the last time I began to realize that I had just under 5 miles to go. I could do this. I was going to do this. Having once run 39.3 miles in 7 hours I knew I had the endurance, but that was straight running and now I was beginning to feel a soreness in my left quad and hamstring from the bike. Everything else felt good other than tired and achy shoulders. I just put one foot in front of the other, walked around the muddy parts and powered on until I saw the first aid station for the final time.

Once I hit the aid station it was just a small up and down hill to the finish line. This was not a fast half marathon for me by any means but I was going to be under 2:20 and that meant I would be under 7:20 total time. I just had to make it another half mile to the finish.

Rounding the corner to the finish I could see Bob standing by the finish line and he had his camera out taking photos of me coming in. I ran up and gave him a fist bump and turned towards the finish line where to my surprise my Wife’s Aunt had driven down with her family from Albany (about an hour north) to meet me at the finish line. What a wonderful gesture. Totally unexpected. I got so excited I jumped high in the air as I crossed the finish line. Having family and friends meet me at the finish really lifted my spirits and took away any tiredness I was feeling.

Bob took this photo of me running into the finish

Woohoo….70.3 DONE!!! (Thanks for the photo Francine)

Hey, I know you!

Let me stop my Garmin so I can give you a High Five

I arrived during the awards ceremony so, as had been my luck all through the event, I missed having a photo taken by the official photographer. Luckily, between Bob and his wife Francine and my family I was able to get some photos at the finish line. A volunteer handed me my medal and a bottle of water and I stopped to catch my breath and take some finish line photos with everyone.

Nice to have a family meet me at the finish (Thank you Nadine, Steve and Benjamin)

Bob and I. He looks a little more rested than me.

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Bob making sure I saved my multisport event file.

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YES!!!

My official finish time was 7 hours 15 minutes. Not great…but not last. I did my first half iron distance triathlon and finished smiling. That’s enough for me. Will I do another 70.3? Probably, but I’m going to enjoy this one for a long time.

I said goodbye to Bob who had been waiting to see me finish and went over to transition to pack up my gear. My family wanted to take me to lunch (a late lunch) before I had to drive home. There wasn’t much food left by the time I had finished. I was told they were going to order more food (pizza) within the hour for the final finishers and for the full distance finishers. I decided that I would be better off having a full meal to refuel.

So much for my fancy shoes…

…and fancy socks. Just a little muddy

In transition I used the changing tents to put on some dry clothes. Those trash bags came in handy as I threw all my wet gear and towels into them to carry to the car. Before I left transition I sat down and took it all in. I had just finished my first 70.3. It was a different feeling than finishing my first marathon. That was a runners high which lasted days. This was more a mix of joy and relief. I tried to explain to someone a couple of days later that sometimes when I run I can zone out and just get into a rhythm until I am near the finish line. With the triathlon it’s a matter of focus, concentration and technique. You cannot really zone out doing a triathlon. You’ll drown or crash!!! I’m pleased to say I did neither.

I quickly called my parents in the UK to let them know I was done. I’m 44 and I still call my mother to let her know I’m okay 🙂

Once I was dressed, the car packed and the bike racked we headed to Kingston where we had a late lunch/early dinner at an Irish pub. Those were the best fish and chips I’d had all day! I drank lots of water to rehydrate and a few cups of coffee to keep me awake before I said goodbye to the family and headed for my three-hour drive home…with a HUGE smile on my face.

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The guy on the left in 2010 has just finished a half iron distance traithlon in 2016

I really enjoyed the event. HITS put on a professional, supportive and friendly event. For anyone dipping their toes into longer distance triathlons I would recommend one of their events. Their communication was responsive in the weeks leading up to the event, the staff were friendly the whole weekend and it was just a relaxed informal atmosphere the whole weekend. They took care of the athletes and it was good value for money compared to some of the other big race organizations out there. Check out their events list.

Oh, by the time I got to the finish line the merchandise tent was being taken down. I wasn’t able to get a finisher shirt that I had spoken to the supplier about the day before. I was waiting until after so not to jinx myself. The owner gave me his card and told me to call him the following week and he would customize any shirts that I wanted and ship them to me. Pricing was very reasonable so I followed up and ordered a customized long sleeve and short sleeve ‘70.3 Finisher’ shirt. Nice.

That night I had a pretty good long deep sleep.

Something like this. Even my kids let me sleep in.

In my inbox the next day was this message from my training plan. I didn’t need telling twice 🙂

Thank you for sticking with me for this (longer than normal) race recap. At least this took you less than 7 hours to read.

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.

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.

2015 Philadelphia Marathon – Race recap

December 30, 2015ianesenior 2 Comments

The Sunday before Thanksgiving is usually the date for the Philadelphia Marathon. This is one of my favorite races at my favorite time of the year. It was my first marathon and I have run it every year since with the exception of last year when I was in Florida with my family over Thanksgiving week.

The Philadelphia Marathon was my very first marathon back in 2011, in 2012 it was the first marathon where I ran under 4 hours and in 2013 I ran the 20th anniversary marathon with my wife on a glorious late Fall day. It’s always been a good time.

This year my wife decided to opt out running this with me as she thinks her three marathons during the year were more than enough and it was very close to the Marine Corps Marathon which we was our big Fall race together.

Coming off the Marine Corps Marathon where I had struggled quite a bit going through I was able to get back into my running groove with a few good recovery runs and also two races, the Rock and Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon and the Cooper Norcross Run The Bridge 10K race (no race recap on that race but will cover in the month in review). I felt good going into marathon weekend and set my sight on a very ambitious race goal of 3:50 or better (my current PR is 3:54).

With a full weekend of family activities ahead I took a half day on the Friday before and headed down to the Expo (again held in the Philadelphia Convention Center) on the Friday evening. That’s good and bad. Good because the expo wasn’t jam-packed with people and as I was on my own I had an opportunity to spend some time looking around. Bad because heading into Philadelphia and trying to park near the Convention Center on a Friday evening isn’t the easiest thing you can do. Lesson learned.

Heading into Center City Philadelphia

The expo was set up as it had been in prior years. As you entered you went to the left where there was a children’s area (Comcast had set up a screening area with some kids programming which was nice) and just behind that was the stage for the speakers series (I didn’t attend any sessions this year). Past that there was a large area segregated into marathon, half marathon and Rothmans 8K bib pickup. As it wasn’t too busy at the time I attended I was in and out really quickly. I think there were more volunteers than participants at the time I was there.

I always get excited arriving at an expo. This being one of my favorite races was no different.

Expo hall was not crowded when I visited.

It was a decent sized Expo. Not too big, not too small.

Plenty of stalls to visit…and spend money at.

Bib pick up was simple and easy.

There seemed to be more volunteers than visitors at this hour.

That’s me.

One thing that was an improvement over the last time I ran the race and all the previous years (2011 through 2013) was the race merchandise. It was actually very well set up (still not the biggest area) but it was divided up into men, women, youth and general merchandise. What was more impressive was that there was just so much variety. Okay, a lot of it was brands I had not heard but there was so many different types of shirts, running gear, colors, styles. More so than I had seen at many other expos. Some were reasonably priced (and you know what race gear pricing can be).

Official Gear Store was pretty well stocked.

Plenty to chose from. Men’s selection.

Women’s selection.

Youth selection. Don’t see this much for kids at many expos.

Lots of styles for this race. More than usual. Many types of shirts and jackets.

I actually ended up buying a half zip top with the race year/logo and the list of streets from start to finish on the back. I thought that was pretty cool and unique. That, and my Marine Corps Marathon jacket have seldom been out of my rotation since.

I liked this. Thought it was pretty unique.

The sponsor of the race was GORE-TEX. They had a very large booth where you could enter for a prize of some running gear. I actually went to check out the shoes as they do make a Brooks Adrenaline GTX shoe which is my favored shoe. It’s definitely more of a trail shoe based upon the sole design and as I do most of my running on the road, the shoe seemed a bit more shoe than I need as a day to day training shoe. Still, nice to have an option.

GORE-TEX had a large presence in the center of the hall.

Having spent too much money (really, anyone surprised?) I headed back home knowing that I could rest easy the day before the race…like I ever allow myself to do that. We had a full weekend of activities. I was a little antsy when I got home so I set out my gear on the Friday evening and watched the hour by hour forecast for the next couple of days.

The day before the race I typically eat a decent breakfast after a short run and then have lunch as my main meal and have a light early meal (around 5pm). Well, not this year 😦 While I did get my run in and then a fairly reasonable and healthy lunch, I spent the afternoon on my feet going shopping for birthday party supplies. Then we had long-standing plans for dinner but that was a late 9pm event which is atypical for me anyway. I ended up nibbling bits and pieces through dinner…mainly the bread basket. Anyway, everyone had plenty of wine and I had plenty of water before heading home for the night. But not before changing up my outfit…again.

I ended up swapping the tank for a t-shirt but otherwise used the same get up.

This is the 4th time I have run this race. The first year the weather was perfect (low 50s). The second year it was really cold (low 30s). The third year was glorious sunshine (low 60s). The forecast for this race looked to be around high 30s but what was going to be different was strong gusting winds. I didn’t want to be over dressed when I was going to be sheltered from the wind so I still dressed fairly light.

I had learned my lesson about my shoe lace incident at the Marine Corps Marathon and had done my best to make sure my shoes would not inhibit me in any way. After all, this was the goal race for the year. I had my goal time and was really feeling confident that I would at least get close to my PR. Hmmm….

Race day morning.

I got up early, it was windy and cold out. I made myself a cup of coffee for the road and took myself down to the city. I knew that since Boston they have really ramped up the security at the race. This was just a days after the Paris attacks and the City had ramped up the security even further. They had trucks blocking the streets, barricades and checkpoints for runners.

Security had been ramped up.

Barricades surrounded the race perimeter.

Everyone was checked. Certain articles like opened bottles were not permitted inside.

I’d learned from the Marine Corps Marathon and made sure I was there early enough to make it through before the big crowds.

Bag check was quick and easy as usual. All set up in Eakins Oval.

Dressed up, feeling confident and ready to go.

Busy at the staging area.

As dawn was breaking I made my way over to the corral for the 7am start.

This is my stop.

Keeping warm in my trash bag. Not stylish but very practical.

While waiting in the corral we heard from the race organizers and Mayor Nutter. He has really dedicated himself to this race and this would be his last as Mayor of the City. He stays at the start line to see runners off and then stands at the finish line high fiving runners as they cross. It’s a long day for him but he seems to enjoy it.

This year, with the event being so close to the attacks on Paris he mentioned how the City stands with Paris and they actually had the French National Anthem sung at the start line.

There was a slight delay at the start as there was a car accident further up in the route that needed clearing. It set everything back about 10 minutes but we were soon ready to go. I took off my trash bag and handed it to a gentleman near the corral fence wearing a Boston Marathon shirt who I would get to see many times during the race. More on that later.

Soon it was go time for our corral and before I knew it we were off. It was a little congested for the first mile. I was using a new run/walk interval for the last couple of weeks based upon Jeff Galloway’s guidelines on his website. Run 3:00/Walk 0:30. This was kind of an experiment as this was the shortest run interval I’ve used for a long time.

Hey look…getting my high five from the Mayor at the start.

I settled into my pace. It was a little slower than planned. Running closer to 9:00 minutes per mile rather than my goal pace of 8:45/mile. I think I knew early on that this might not be what I was looking for, but at least I may get close to sub 4 hours.

In the meantime, I had been trying to maintain my pace near the gentleman in the Boston Marathon shirt. I figured that anyone who has qualified for Boston should be able to manage an even pace. As he was in my corral I kept him in my sight. I would drop back during a walk break but make up the distance to him during the run. So far it was working.

As we rounded South Street around mile 4, we then had to run up Chestnut Street from 6th Street to 34th Street. While there are crowds that line the sides of the street pretty much the whole way (which is great) it was a very tough run as it was directly into a headwind. It was cold and windy and I took quite a beating getting up to 34th Street which is where the largest hill on the course is located. After being beaten up by the wind for the last 3 miles it took a lot out of me to get up that hill. I was pretty much running 9:00 minute miles at this point. Hoping that somewhere on the downhills I would make it up. I still had Mr Boston Marathon shirt in my sights.

We passed the Philadelphia Zoo and up to Memorial Hall (the second and last big hill) and I felt a little back to my normal self again. As we rounded the traffic circle to head down to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive I caught up to the man in the Boston shirt and introduced myself. I mentioned I had been following his pace for the last 8 miles and he said he had noticed me running back and forth (I hope I didn’t come across as a stalker!) and introduced himself as Dave. We ran alongside each other for a while chatting until my walk break, caught up again and continued for about half a mile or so before he was ahead of me again.

Around the half way mark I was still maintaining my 9:00 minute pace so all wasn’t lost. It was after rounding the Philadelphia Museum of Art when all the half marathon runners disappear that the course really becomes less crowded. It’s a long run out and back from here on in. Running up Kelly Drive was into the wind again. While not as strong as it had been earlier in the day (probably because the buildings had more of a wind tunnel effect) it was still fairly noticeable.

Around mile 14 Dave joined me. He wasn’t having the greatest day either and he joined me in run/walking for about a mile or so. We chatted about his races and I found out he lives locally so it’s a close to home race for him too. He had run Boston twice and had a better PR than me…all the more reason to run with him 🙂

At mile 15 I stopped for water at the next water station, Dave was running with a water backpack and I dropped back a little from him. My pace had now dropped to 9:30 minutes per mile. Eek. Well, let’s just get in from here. There is a small out and back on the other side of the river from mile 17-18. I saw Dave on his way back as I was running down. I had a little work to catch back up to him. This is my least favorite part of the race. It’s just to get the distance in on the course. It’s quick. A downhill but a miserable uphill. Nothing great but heck, it’s between mile 17 and 18. Once back over the bridge we turn left and make the gradual climb up to Manayunk.

Manayunk is usually a nice place to get your second wind. Although it is situated at the part in the race where many people are close to hitting the wall (mile 20) it’s always heavily populated with spectators and supporters. I did notice this year that although there were plenty of people around it was less crowded than I ever remembered in past years. The weather may have had something to do with it (and maybe the Eagles game that afternoon). Still, at mile 20 when someone hands you an orange….aaah bliss.

My favorite part of this race is the turnaround at mile 20. I know it’s a 10K from here. It’s not all flat but I know I can make it. I had slowed to 10:00 minute mile pace from here. Not great but not a disaster. Still moving. That’s what counts.

As I excited Manayunk around mile 21 I caught up with Dave again. We ran together for a little but he admitted he was hurting quite a bit. I stayed with him but he told me to run my race and he would be okay. I told him I would see him at the finish line and wished him well.

From then on it was a slow steady run to the end. The headwind we ran into was now a crosswind. I wasn’t hurting but I wasn’t setting my race alight with any change in pace. I was just head down committed to my run/walk breaks. I know I wasn’t going to break 4 hours at this stage. There was no way I could make up the pace but my goal was to break 4:15 for the day. I felt confident I would finish as I’ve been in this position before and knew my body could get there. I did manage to drop my pack back to under 10:00 minutes per mile, actually dropping a 9:30 minute mile in there somewhere (must have been flat!!). With less than a mile to go I dug deep and found a kick (not a big one mind you) to get me down the last quarter-mile to the finish. I needed my high five from the Mayor!!!

I made it to the finish line under 4:10. That was good enough for me today. Wasn’t my greatest race. I had missed out on most of my race goals. It didn’t go according to plan, but anytime you can cross the finish line of a marathon is definitely a good day in my books.

Not my best. Not my worst.

I was relieved though that it was over. I wasn’t hurting, just tired. It was my 4th marathon of the year and (sitting here writing this many weeks later) I will admit that my legs have been tired since the Marine Corps Marathon.

This is the lady I chose to get my medal from. I was happy to see her.

I crossed the finish line. I look happy.

Philly does a really good job at the finish line. Although there are lines for the post race food, there is always plenty of water, mylar blankets and a lot of food. The best part is that they give you a bag to carry it in. Only the second race this year where that happened. It’s tough to be holding water and all your extra post race fuel. Nice touch Philly, nice touch.

Handy helper.

As I had promised, I waited for Dave at the finish line. It wasn’t too long before he made it across and I was glad to see he made it. I could see he wasn’t feeling too comfortable but he was still smiling.

Dave and I together at the finish line.

That’s what is great about running. I meet plenty of people out and about and it’s great when you get to share an experience with someone. A week after the race Dave had a significant health scare but thanks to his level of fitness he is back on his feet again and I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before he is outpacing me.

Now to the medal. Wow. What a great medal. I think it easily out does all my runDisney medals. Philadelphia did a great job replicating the Liberty Bell. It actually works as a bell to. It was so funny hearing all the ringing as I was walking back to my car. I’m sure thousands of little angels were getting their wings that day LOL.

It really rings.

Move over runDisney. I have a new favorite medal.

The Full and Half Marathon medals side by side.

Once home I quickly showered and as per usual, didn’t relax. It was only a couple of hours later that I was back out at Sesame Place with my kids. Hey, I have to keep moving.

Shouldn’t every marathon be followed up with a trip to a theme park?

Then onto one of my favorite places for an after race celebration.

The boys ate like they had run the full marathon.

I love this event. I can’t wait to run it again. I also know there is sub 3:50 in me somewhere.

Thanks for reading.

(Apologies to you all for my late posting of this entry. I typically like to get my race reports done within a week of the race. Sorry. Family, work, life.)

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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Philadelphia Marathon

October 2016 – Month in review

2016 Philadelphia Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon – Race recap

2016 HITS Hudson Valley, NY Triathlon – Race recap

April 2016 – Month in review

March 2016 – Month in review

December 2015 – Month and Year in review

November 2015 – Month in review

2015 Philadelphia Marathon – Race recap

October 2015 – Month in review

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