Darn, darn, darn...

This past Sunday, I particapated in the second race of the 2008 Panera Bread Bucks 5k series, the New Hope-Solebury 'Spirit Run' 5k. Not having run in the past week and a half, I wasn't sure how I was going to do. It was a beautiful day for a race--cool temperatures with cloud cover. If you ask 10 people what to wear that day, you would have gotten 10 different answers.

The race also featured a team event. There is always last minute scrambling involved in this as you don't know exactly who is going to be showing up that day. But, with one minute to spare before entries were due, Team Blue Dawgs was formed and was an official entry.

When the race started, I had a lot more energy that I imagined. (I also started my watch a little late as I didn't know exactly where the start line was). The first mile is mostly downhill from New Hope-Solebury High School down into the town of New Hope. My first mile was around 7:30/mile pace.

The second mile goes through the town of New Hope and starts to climb up to a beautiful country lane that is part Mechanic Street/part Stoney Hill Road. It is not a terrible climb to get to Mechanic Street but will slow you down. At the two mile mark, the timekeeper called out 15:45.

Now, my PR for a 5k is 24:43. In the back of my mind, I calculated I needed to do the next 1.1 miles in a little less in 9 minutes in order to PR! Not a course PR! A 5k PR! The fastest I ever ran this course was 25:18. And, I knew what was coming up. And, it's not pretty (well, it actually is pretty if you are walking, biking, jogging. If you are racing, it's not pretty). For the most part, there are a series of hills you need to climb for that last mile. And, mentally, I knew these hills can whip me.

After climbing the 'big' hill on Old York Road, you start the last 1/4 mile again going uphill on Route 179 and then around a corner, back into the NHS High School parking lot for the last 100 yards. Going up Old York Road always, always makes me feel I am about to lose my breakfast. At that point, you just want to finish. But, as I rounded the corner for the final 100 yards, I noticed that I could finish under 25:00. So, I made a mad dash and finished officially at 24:56. My watch said 24:48 but, as I stated, I was late starting it, so I estimated I did 24:53, just 10 seconds off my PR. (So, so close)

(BTW, you can watch parts of the race on the Bucks 5k Series Homepage on B5k-TV (http://www.bucks5kseries.com/). The Blue Dawgs finished second in the team event and I won a dinner at a Mexican restaurant in the raffle at the end of the race)

In truth, I didn't expect to do well. But, I broke my course PR by 20 seconds. And, I was about 10 seconds off my 5k PR. Thinking back on it now, I know I could have made up the 10 seconds some place. The questions I have are--can I reasonably expect to ever set another 5k PR? At what age do I have to be before I can expect that I would never be able to break that record? In some ways, I was lucky to start my long distance career so late. Talking to different people who have been at this longer than I have, their PRs were in their youth (teens, twenties, thirties).

But, yes, I think physically I can break a 5k PR. But, mentally? After that two mile mark, I have to admit, I didn't have the confidence to be able to stay on the pace I needed. I have to get over the fact that I think I am going to explode holding a pace for a PR. And, I truly believe, if I can get over that mental hurdle (and, I understand, this is NOT an easy hurdle to get over as I have been trying to overcome it the past 5 years), I will break my PR. Should I wear my Garmin for the race? Does this help me set the pace or hurt me by my mind falsely telling me to slow down even if my body is not giving any warning signs to do so?

I need a flat, 5k course in cool weather in the next few years before its too late.

(Note: Good luck to SteveRunner at the Boston Marathon. Steve, I know your ankle is hurting so be careful. Some advise: either rest the ankle for the next, oh, three months and I'm sure it will be much better before Falmouth. Or, keep running on it, averaging 50 miles or so for, again, the next three months and it will all be fused together with your leg and foot before Falmouth. Just wasted energy anyway keeping your ankle nimble.
I will be running the Penn Relays Distance Classic 20k this Sunday with the 10 mile Broad Street Run two weeks after that.
Happy Anniversary to ME! It's been one year since I started this blog. I didn't realize I would look forward doing it so much each week. Thank you all for your kind words along the way.

RIP-Joe F. You were truly one of a kind.)

Plan C

Very short post this week as my personal and professional schedule has been filled with unexpected stuff that has come up in the past week.

As I wanted to exact my revenge on the Ocean City, MD half-marathon course this weekend, I will not be able to do that for various reasons. Last year, I ran the half-marathon course in a blinding snowstorm (no, really, my eyes were hurting for days afterwards). This is a great course as it is a point-to-point from Ocean City, MD to Asseteague Island with great views beginning and at the end. The race itself was ok. There were certain things I liked and certain things I didn't like. But, if I didn't like it overall, I wouldn't have thought to drive there 3 hours to run in the race. Maybe next year.

So, Plan C. As I have not found a suitable marathon nor half-marathon, I have decided that I am looking into partipicating in the Penn Relays 20k Distance Classic to be held on April 20, 2008. http://www.pennathletics.com//pdf4/110676.pdf

If you don't know about the Penn Relays, it is one of the truly great track and field events in the country. As a grade schooler, I was able to participate as a alternate in the sprint medley representing my school. Ever since then, I try to get down to the Relays as a spectator when I can. The 20k kicks off the Penn Relays and is open to all. The race starts and ends at Franklin Field, home of the Relays, University of Pennsylvania outdoor sports and once home of the Philadelphia Eagles. This gives me the chance to be able to participate in the Penn Relays once again. Let the games begin.

And now, the rest of the story...

First of all, I am very grateful for the overwhelming response I received from everyone on last week's blog. The comments I received on the blog and the people who I know who asked me about it, truthfully, surprised me. Thank you for asking about it and encouraging me. No truer comment was from Kelly (yes, the Blue Dawg Kelly) telling me that 'hey, I'm a marathoner. Don't let negative thoughts enter your head as you are about to finish. Think positive.' (Sorry, Kel, I'm paraphrasing here). But, she was right. So, I called the BAA.

I asked for my friend from last time but he was not available. I explained my situation, again, to 'Linda' this time (not her real name) and she said, all the numbers have been assigned to people. I'm afraid it won't be possible. But, I will look into it.' So, I thought, well, that's it. Time for Plan B. Except I had no Plan B.

A few days go by, I'm on a conference call when the area code (508) appears on my phone. Thinking it was Steve or someone I know from New England, I let it go into voice mail. Except it was the BAA and they wanted me to call back. Really? Could it be? So, I called and they were very nice about it. And, again, they are looking into it.

It has been another week since that call. And, it looks like this time, I will not be receiving my invitation for this year. Even if I did, I will be hard-pressed to make the necessary travel arrangements in my budgeted amount.

But, that's ok. I have no regrets. I did what I did knowing there were no guarantees of entry. I would do it again. I found out, in some ways, training for a spring marathon was easier than a fall one. Now, I was VERY lucky as the Philadelphia area avoided the snow with only 6.3 inches of accumulation the entire winter. And, it was harder to get started for my long runs because of the cold. But, once out, I found I had more energy in the cold than I did training in the hotter weather for the fall marathons.

And, in reality, there is sort of a Plan B. If the weather is nice and personal reasons work out, I might go down to Ocean City, Maryland to participate in their half-marathon on April 12. But, I won't know until April 10 if I can go down. Since its a point-to-point race, would it count as a marathon if i ran back to my car? :-)

(Notes: Thank you for participating in my poll of 'what is your favorite thing to listen to while running?' Not surprisingly, Kelly whining about the hills was the overwhelming choice with 50% of the votes. Least you think there was a hometown advantage to this voting, it wouldn't surprise me that Eric, author of the Running For My Life blog (http://ruralrunnere.blogspot.com/) from Missouri, Jodi, Confessions of a Runner podcaster (http://www.confessionsofarunner.com/) from Mississippi, Mom on the Run blog author and member of the Blue Dawgs Midwest (not sure if she wants me to reveal her name so I won't) (http://momrun.blogspot.com/) from Indiana, or even Nigel, Running from the Reaper podcaster (http://runningfromthereaper.blogspot.com/) from Staffordshire, UK, on a quiet Wednesday night and the wind blowing the right way, heard a faint 'I hate these hills!' from the distance. Chances are SteveRunner (http://www.steverunner.com/) didn't hear anything because he's just old and hard of hearing to begin with. :-) Thanks Kelly for being a good sport about this. Music came in second with 25% of the vote, followed by Podcasts with 16% and Nature at 8%.

Last Sunday, on a chilly morning, I ran the Central Bucks YMCA 5k race with a time of 25:02 (by my calculations). (And, I forgot my mini-camera. Darn!) It started off the Bucks County 5k series (http://www.bucks5kseries.com/) that goes from March to June. I did 7:30/8:01/8:12 splits. Considering it was my first 5k in awhile and the start of the last mile is going up a hill, I was pleased with my efforts. In fact, I think this was my best time for this course.)

Again, I can't thank you enough for your kind comments and your support. But, as a Phillies fan there is one phrase I know all to well---Wait until next year!

The Waiting is the hardest part

I really was hoping I didn't have to write this blog entry. In fact, I am sure I will get little sympathy from my plight. But, I am this close in getting into the Boston marathon this year.

First of all, yes, I didn't qualify for the race. I admire the people who can and do qualify. I think of the runner in the movie 'Spirit of the Marathon' who missed qualifying by a few minutes. He spent a lot of time and energy in training in order to put himself in that position. I wish I had the heart, dedication and talent to be able to do that.

But, the Boston Athletic Assocation reserves the right to invite others to run the race. Mostly this is done through charities but it is also done through sponsors of the event. And, this is how I was hoping to get my invitation.

You see, I am a friend of a friend of a friend who knows someone at the BAA. And, I asked my friend if he could get me an invite. Through e-mails, he has been trying for me. In the meantime, I have been training as if I would be participating.

Last week, I found out that the entries for the Boston marathon were closed. I sent my friend an e-mail saying, 'thanks for trying. I understand its closed. Maybe next year.' He sent an e-mail back, 'wait a minute. They should have your name.' He instructed me to give the BAA a call and ask them if they have my name.

So, last Thursday, I called. I told them I understand they might have a bib number for me. The answer back to me, 'so you want a bib number?' To which I replied, 'yes, I would like to run the race.' The voice on the phone replied, 'but I thought you wanted a bib number?' Puzzled, I replied, 'yes, a bib number so I can enter the race.' The voice said, 'so you want to run the race?' In truth, I still don't know what the difference is, but I said, 'yes, I would like to run the race with an official bib number.'

I mentioned the friend of the friend of the friend who got the e-mail stating my interest in the race. The voice took my phone number down and said, 'Let me get back to you.' Well, that was last Thursday. And, still no call back.

I am not an aggressive person by nature. It took a lot on my part to make the call in the first place. And, part of me is saying, 'just leave it and wait until next year.' But, my fear is there is a number waiting for me but it is lost in the shuffle some place. And, if I don't take it, and I ask next year then what if they went to a lot of trouble to get me the number this year and I didn't pick it up, how willing would they be to get me another number?

There is less than a month to go before the Boston marathon. I have already put in my 18 mile run this past weekend (3:19 with 2 stops at the car for a quick drink). SteveRunner asked me what's my Plan B? I don't have one. I don't know of any local marathons in the area except the New Jersey marathon but that's scheduled the same day as the Broad Street Run. I have toyed with the idea of the Cleveland marathon but I'm not sure if I want to put out the money to get there.

I feel like the geeky kid wanting to be invited to the cool party. I keep waiting by the phone.

(SteveRunner touches on the same subject on his Intervals 135B podcast. http://www.steverunner.com/ He talks about his invitation to the Boston marathon and makes some great points about this process. As stated above, I ran/walk 18 miles this past weekend and, surprisingly, felt great. I'm not sore at all. I forgot my gels so only ran with Gatorade as my fuel. And, had a consistent 11:01/mile pace throughout the run. I think running with new shoes definitely helped (I usually keep the same shoes throughout the summer and use them for the fall marathon), but low temps and humidity were a major 'good-feel' factor. Also, new question on the side that you are free to answer.)

Spring Training 2008

(Spring training pictures. First row: Brighthouse Field in Clearwater, FL, spring training home of the Philadelphia Phillies. The second picture is Chase Utley taking a pitch inside. Second row: Pictures of Progressive Energy Park at Al Lang Field in St. Petersburg, FL, spring training home of the Tampa Rays. First picture is Dontrelle Willis of the Tigers on the mound. Second picture is of the park. And, third picture is the Detroit Tigers taking batting practice)

This entry to my blog is little about running. It is fufilling a boyhood dream. I've always wanted to go to at least one Phillies' spring training game. And, on Saturday, March 15 I did. Against the Twins. They lost 11-2 but it didn't matter. But, you have to know the whole story of what happened last year that makes this game so special.

You see, I was scheduled to see the Phillies-Yankees game last year. Had the hotel, the tickets to the game, the rental car and the flight down. We were scheduled to fly out of Newark, NJ on Friday at 11a. I woke up early that day, checked the flight on line and it was cancelled. A major ice/snow storm was predicted for the day. But, it wasn't snowing yet? How could they cancel?

I drove up to Newark (about 1 1/2 hour drive) to change my flight. When I got there, there was at least a 2 hour wait to get the ticket changed. As I was waiting at the back of the line, someone told us to go with him to a different counter. In truth, we had no idea who this guy was but he was speaking my language (and lots of other people's) and we had blind faith in him and followed.

He took us to another Continental Airline counter where we waited in a shorter line. The woman behind the counter changed my ticket and told me I had an 8 o'clock the next day. When I got out of the airport, it did begin to ice/snow and driving was an adventure on the way home.

As this ice/snow storm hit, we had scheduled family to take care of our pets. But, as the day wore on, the storm was getting worse. Yes, we had tickets to go out the next day, but, how is my family going to get to us? We didn't want to leave the pets without knowing that someone was going to be in the house.

Most airlines will let you check in on-line 24 hours in advance. So, when I got home, I decided to check in. But, it wouldn't let me. So, I waited assuming they just changed my ticket and it may not have gone through the system. An hour later, it still wouldn't let me. Then I read my new ticket. It was for 8 o'clock PM! We were suppose to come back on Monday. We were going to be there for less than 48 hours.

As Friday turned into Saturday and the storm was heading out, it was apparent there was too much ice/snow to get to Newark safely that day. So, I called Continental and they gave me a credit for my tickets. I followed the status of that 8pm flight. Before I went to bed, it was scheduled to take off on Sunday at 12:15am, arriving in Tampa at 3:00am. When I woke up to check it again, the flight was ultimately cancelled. So, I would have been sitting on the tarmac for 3 hours, have the flight cancelled, and drove home past midnight on icy roads. Sometimes the things that don't happen are the best things.

As for this past weekend, we had a good time. Friday was raining but the rest of the weekend was beautiful. Temps in the 80s. It beats the 40 degrees in Philadelphia at the time. A tip though. Make sure you have an idea of restaurants in the area before you go. We thought about it when we were hungry and wasted hours trying to figure it all out. Actually, Friday night we wound up at Disney World for dinner (about 2 hour drive) just because I was more familar with that area than Tampa/Clearwater.

And, yes, there was a little running involved as my wife and I went out Monday morning in the Harbor Oaks section of Clearwater next to the water. We didn't know where we were going when we started but ended up in a beautiful section of town. All in all, a great weekend. I couldn't have dreamed it better.

(Note: Still no word on Boston and my hopes are beginning to dim for this year. I'll give it one more shot and if not, then, try again next year. Might be better anyway as I will turn 50 (I still can't fathom that) and what a great way to celebrate. )

March comes in like a worm-eating fernbird

Short blog this week as work has cut into my free time (again) and I have a short week anyway as I am going down to Phillies spring training for a long weekend.

With the heavy rains we had on Saturday and the heavy winds on Sunday, it reminded me of the old John Belushi bit on 'Saturday Night Live' when he talked about 'how in the United States, March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. But, in other countries, like Norway, March comes in like a polar bear and goes out like a walrus.' Click on the link below for the whole bit. In my generation, this was funny stuff. Those younger than me, I'm sure will question what was so funny about it.

http://whatsit2you.blogspot.com/2008/02/march-comes-in-like-lion-but-goes-out.html

Anyway, the pictures from my house will show that, this year, March definitely came in like a lion.

I was suppose to run 18 miles this weekend but, because of the weather, it was reduced to 10 miles on the Delaware River on Monday. It was not an especially good run for me as it felt like I was running in sand because the ground was so soft from all the rain. I still haven't heard about getting into Boston this year. I'm afraid I'm running out of time on this one but I will continue training as if I was entered. Next week, I should have pictures of me at Phillies spring training.

Breaking Up is Hard to Do!

Meet the new boss,

same as the old boss

--The Who

(my old running shoes on the left, new ones on the right)

I genuinely feel bad when I have to throw food away. Not because of the money that I spent on it (ok, that's one reason). But, because this food item grew up, got old, and never properly served its purpose in its life! Think about it. The slightly black bananas that you have on your kitchen counter that no one wants to eat anymore. So, you toss it. In reality, there was no reason for that banana to exist in the first place. How sad is that!

You read that and you say to yourself: 'Wow! That guy is weird!' So, imagine what I must be like with a pair of shoes that have been around my house for the past year.

Look, I admit, I have attachments for inanimate objects. And, I have an attachment for my running shoes. I have seen good times with these shoes. I don't want to think of the bad times I've had with them. These shoes set a PR with me at Broad Street, Philadelphia Distance Run (half-marathon) and the Philadelphia marathon. These shoes did not have the chance to experience as many 5ks as I want it to.

These shoes have gone out with me in the blazing hot sun of last summer. They've been my training partner, going out with me on these chilly morning winters. They've been through the mud and the blood and the beer.

But, they are starting to feel their age. I'm starting to feel some discomfort in my knees and feet on some of my distance runs. Oh sure, I said it must be me, it can't be the shoes. But, I was in denial. Deep down, I knew this relationship was falling apart and it was only a matter of time.

It is also an end of an era and the replacements are the last of its kind. It is the last Brooks Adrenaline GTS5s available. Brooks is up to GTS8. Two years ago, I bought a few pairs of GTS5s because they were the most comfortable pair of running shoes I've ever found. But, now, I'm on my last pair.

I won't be going cold turkey with my shoes. That would be too cruel. It will be a gradual breakup (or really a gradual break-in). And, it might see an occasional 5k in its life. But, its glory days are done. It won't see Broad Street anymore. At least, not in race conditions. It has run its last long competitive race in its life.

So, good-bye old friend, you have served me well. You are off to the retirement part of your life where you will be helping me in the garden, cutting the lawn, slipping you on when I have to take the dogs out before bed, etc. You've had a good run!