Running On Empty

1/28/12     After my 5.5 mile zombie run Friday afternoon followed by 5 hours of on-my-feet-continuously work, I only needed minutes to take out my contacts and fall asleep midway through my collapsing down into bed. It was the only way that I’d be able to wake up at 4am and be ready for my early morning run when Matt parked his car outside my house around 4:30, in a mere seven hours. Sleep is a good thing, in fact I wish there were more than 24 hours in a day so I could log as many hours of sleep as I do miles of running. Nevertheless, the sleep I was able to get was enough to have me rested and ready to run just 12 hours after my run the day before.
     Running with someone else is always easier than running alone. Not only because of the added motivation to keep up and stay on pace, but also because my training partners never worry about mileage totals as much as they do about how their body feels (or in this case how my body feels) during a run. Even before we set out on our run, Matt said he’d be fine running anywhere between 7 and 10 miles. This window would allow me to judge how sore my feet were, as well as my energy level, during the run without having to worry about being able to tough it out and finish a preset distance.
     After a 2-mile warm-up, our pace would quicken to about an 8-minute-per-mile pace. That is around the pace Matt would like to run our May 6^th marathon at and on a normal day I would be able to go for awhile at that pace, but after a long week of running hard and little sleep, I told Matt about 4 miles into his marathon pace that I wasn’t sure how much longer I could hold the pace without slowing him down. At that point of the run he said he was happy with what we had already run and was fine with using the remaining distance to my house as a warm-down. If everyone in the world were as compassionate and understanding as runners, the world would be a much better place.

Afternoon Zombie Run

1/27/12     By the time Friday finally rolls around every week, I’m usually jumping for joy that I can get home by 3:30pm to start the weekend off right by spending time with the family. Unfortunately, T.G.I.F. wasn’t my phrase of the day since I needed to work my part-time job until 9:30pm and wouldn’t be able to see my sons smiling faces until early Saturday morning. To make things worse, I needed to squeeze in a 5 to 6 mile run between teaching and selling sporting goods in a cold January rain the day after a track workout that drained me of all the energy I had stored in my tank. 
     Add to that an unsettled stomach that prevented me from eating anything of sustenance during the day and what you end up with is a zombie-like runner whose 5.5 miler was like running through a thick, hazy fog while waving at oncoming traffic just to make sure they moved over enough to allow me the shoulder I needed (since much of South Windsor doesn’t have sidewalks for some reason). But hey, I got my run in and over with in time to allow my body 12 hours of rest before heading out early the next morning with my buddy Matt on his marathon-paced run.

3, Is a Magic Number

1/26/12     After logging two days worth of miles with Paul on Tuesday night, I decided it would be best to rest my legs and body the following night in order to be ready and raring to run the 4x1200 track workout on the schedule for Thursday night. It was a good decision on my part. My feet felt great during the intervals and I was successful at running negative splits for all 4 of the 1200s. I wanted to go through the 800 around 2:58/2:59, which I did each time, and then kick it in as much as I could for the last lap to finish around 4:23.
     It was more and more difficult to kick it into overdrive for the final 400 as we worked through the intervals, but I'm proud to say that each of them was as fast as I could have gone Thursday night. My splits ended up being: 4:23, 4:24, 4:24, and 4:22. Letting my training partners start a hundred or so meters in front of me each time worked great, and was added motivation for me to try and catch up to them between the 600 and 800 meter mark. I still can't believe we've been able to run ALL of our track workouts on an outdoor track in January...how crazy!
     Let's hope that the month of February is as kind.

Oh, Deer!

Oh deer, sorry to block your path.

1/24/12     A couple days worth of mild temperatures melted all the snow that was left on the ground and, as an added bonus, the temperatures remained above the freezing mark late into Tuesday night. One of my running rules that I live by is when the temperature remains above 30, I run in shorts. My legs warm up quickly, usually within a mile or two, and the only part of my body that still seems to get cold too quickly are my hands. There was no getting cold on this run.
     A run that was supposed to be 9 miles, with some hill-sprints mixed in for a workout, turned into 13 miles when Paul and I ran a couple of miles past the road we were supposed to turn on. With the mild temps, and having to make up some mileage I missed resting sore feet, I didn’t mind the extra running at all. In fact, when a couple of deer who were also out for a late-night run came within feet of us around mile 9, I was glad that we missed our turn originally because it gave us the chance to have an amazing wildlife encounter.
     Now I’ve seen many deer while running in the dark with my headlamp before. They’re hard to miss when you hear their hooves take off into a run and then see their eyes light up from the headlamps while they look at you, probably wondering why you’re running when nobody is chasing you. But every other time I’ve seen deer in Manchester, Bolton, Vernon or Glastonbury while running; they’ve been 50 to 60 feet away in the woods running along parallel with the roads. This time, they were headed straight at us. Attempting to cross the road we were running on, until they were 10 feet from us, saw our headlamps then quickly turned on a dime to retreat back into the woods.
     When my heart slowed down a bit and stopped racing, I thought to myself, “Man, I wish I had that type of turnover and speed in my legs.”

Patriots win motivates late-night run

1/22/12     What a difference a day can make. The feet felt much, much better than they did struggling through the snow and slush the night before, and the roads had enough time to melt from the daily traffic, providing us better footing for our run. It was still nice to be surrounded by the snowy landscapes and be able to enjoy them without having to continuously stare at ground to prevent slipping. With more mild temperatures moving across the state this week, I made sure to admire the snow while I had the chance.

Slip sliding away

1/21/12     Running alone on the snowy, icy roads sucks. I even waited until very late, 11:15pm, to go running in order to allow the plows a chance to clear more snow and my feet a longer period of recovery. That didn’t work out the way I wanted it to. The temperatures had dropped into the single digits, the road conditions were still terrible (icy, snowy, and slippery), and though my feet felt better than they did after Thursday night’s track workout, they were still as sore as they had been all day.
     I am proud of myself for getting in the six miles I did under those circumstances, I just wish that they hadn’t felt like I’d gone running twice the distance that was actually covered. Oh well, I knew it was going to snow a considerable amount sooner or later.

Day off cartoon...

1/20/12     Nursing a sore left foot in addition to the right foot that’s always a little sore after a hard workout. At least it’s a good chance to get some extra sleep and rest so I don’t look like the guy in the cartoon below.

Lunacy Loves Company

1/19/12     Despite an inch of fresh snow on the ground that had been accumulating for an hour or so, by 9pm I still hadn’t received a phone call from either of the two guys I meet up with every Thursday night at MHS for our weekly track workout. Figuring they were as crazy as I was, willing to run the scheduled 6x800 repeats in any passable conditions, I changed into my running gear before leaving work in order to be ready to run as soon as I parked at the track.
     Shortly after parking and removing my warm-up pants and jacket in the car, I looked through the windshield to see Matt pushing a shovel as he ran around the inside lane of the track. He was a human snowplow, removing enough snow for us to still get in our track work for the week. Seconds after seeing him shovel-jogging by and laughing to myself, my cell phone rang. I immediately knew it was Paul calling to confirm our insanity of following through with our weekly meeting at the track, so I answered the phone with, “Hey Paul, before you say anything, yes, both of us are here at the track and what’s even better is that I just looked up to see Matt shoveling the inside lane of the track for our 800s tonight.”
     “Alright, I’m dressed and leaving the house now, see you guys in about 10 minutes,” Paul replied as if he already knew before calling that we’d somehow find a way to get the run done. By the time I got out to the track to tell Matt that Paul was on his way, he had already shoveled the 400 meters of lane one, lane two, and was finishing up lane three. The narrow line of snow separating the three lanes that had been shoveled resembled miniature jersey barriers brilliantly illustrated our obsession to always try to log our runs on their scheduled days. Shoveling one lane would have been more than enough motivation to make it through all of the 6 repeats of 2 laps each, but seeing three neat, symmetrical and parallel lanes stretching 400 meters around the oval was enough motivation to inspire us on many snowy nights to come.
     Our extended warm-up mileage was mostly to tamp down lane one as much as possible before starting our first 800 but also to reassure our feet that they wouldn’t slip as long as we were cautious and stuck to our target paces. With some divine intervention and a bit of luck, the snow fell lighter and less frequently during the 800 meter repeats making the paths good enough for us to hit similar times that we did the previous week. Nobody slipped and fell, even when jumping over the mini snow barriers into lanes two and three to safely pass by during the intervals. And it wasn’t even that cold outside before, during, or after our workout. I was warm enough to stick around and wait as Paul finished up a few extra 800s so I could have him take some pictures to prove how crazy runners can be when they put their minds to it. I also wanted some great photos of what we had done to include in this entry. Thanks again Paul!!!

Rest is a good thing

1/18/12     My body felt more rested and relaxed early Wednesday morning upon waking from a solid seven hours of much-needed sleep. So much better than it had the night before when I kept dozing off while singing to my son and then resting on the couch. Not having to hit the snooze on my alarm, I quickly got dressed and set out on a morning run to cover the miles I had skipped last night. While I was running I thought of something that a coworker and fellow runner had said to me yesterday, “It’s okay to take an extra day off now and then when you’re feeling tired.”
     Since my body felt so much better running on that rest, I finally let myself agree with what she told me and decided to run over to the MHS track and make sure it was clean and safe for our workout the following night. I was happy to find the track in perfect shape, so I ran an extra mile or so to get in 6 miles for the morning. That way I wouldn’t have to force myself to run again later that night just to make up mileage. And it was a good thing I ran some laps on the track in the morning because after landing on my foot in an awkward position at work, I wouldn’t end up getting in another run later at night.
     The minor foot pain I was feeling bothered me less than it normally would because of an email I received earlier in the day containing the feature story about the marathon I’m training for in May; specifically the fundraising portion that will benefit Hebrew Health Care in West Hartford. If you’re interested in reading the story, you can click on the link that is posted below. You'll need to then scroll down to the bottom of the page that opens to read the story. Hold down the <shift> key while clicking on the link to open it in a new window.
http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=d74htedab&v=001bHw_LhcjpQrCrDBtS3ZhWaETBZ-ALyv8nmsnefbdH0XrV-kemWgJIMF2VwTi9VR_47jmrFbtMqUh8EArMJNnQhGwomYz1SUaXdRO4XCAqeBqYvT7ayGH5U3IxapkH8h9UJuAosJDePA%3D

Sleepy Time

1/17/12     Whenever I finish up my 3-year-old’s nighttime routine by singing him bedtime songs, I always ended up putting myself to sleep much sooner than him. If he doesn’t ask for the Harry Chapin songs Circle or Cat’s In The Cradle (which he calls Man in the Moon) Jonas will ask me to make up songs about “all the guys” doing something out of his normal, daily routines. This means taking the most popular Marvel and D.C. superheroes and singing about what it would be like if they were at his Auntie’s house or playing with his Grammy and her dog.
     Maybe it’s because of the added creativity and brain exertion that goes into these impromptu songs that they always seem to make me the most sleepy of all. I actually fell asleep momentarily while making up his final song about Green Lantern playing hide and seek with him and his cousin until I was tapped on the shoulder and opened my eyes to, “Daddy? You awake?”
     I quickly finished up the song, gave my goodnight kisses bedside as well as the “blow kisses” he insists upon for him and his stuffed animals from his doorway, then ambled down the stairs to stretch out on the couch for an hour before my evening run. Well, my drowsiness continued for the next 45 minutes and I didn’t come back to life as I usually do. Since I only had 6 miles on tap, I decided to listen to my very tired body and move my sleep session from the couch to my bed. I figured I could squeeze in 2 runs the next day when I would be more rested.

Fresh Footprints

1/16/12     There’s something magical and mystical about making the first footprints in freshly fallen snow that makes runners minds work even harder than on a normal, ordinary run. Questions bouncing around your head like: How much snow will accumulate? Will the roads be too slippery to get a good hills workout in tomorrow night? Will the outdoor track be clean enough and safe to run around by Thursday night? Is anyone worrying about my safety while I’m out running in this inclement weather? (And my personal favorite) Will anyone else be crazy enough to go running in the snow tonight and see our footprints as evidence that runners have a few screws loose when it comes to staying on schedule and getting in their runs?
     It had just started snowing when Paul and I began our easy 6-to-7 Monday miles from my house and by the time we were a couple miles in; there was already enough snow on the ground to leave visible footprints behind. The snow felt like needles pricking our faces as it was being whipped around by gusty winds, but the joy of leaving the first sets of footprints in the snow made the miserable conditions melt away. For added safety, I ran on the sidewalks most of the time while Paul hugged the shoulder of the streets. If anyone else was crazy enough to head out for a run tonight they would be able to see at least two others were just as batty and brave.

Frostbite 101

1/15/12     For about 14 miles through Manchester, Bolton and Glastonbury, only three cars passed us out on the roads. That's one of the benefits from running at 4:45 on Sunday morning when the mentally balanced and sane are still sound asleep in their warm beds. Not freezing their fingers off in the single-digit temps with the winds making it seem even colder. Once again, I used my training partners as motivation to rise before the sun, convincing Matt to be at my house by 4:45 so we could meet Paul out on the roads near the Glastonbury/Bolton line around 5:30-ish, 5 miles into our trek.

     By the time we met up with Paul, my right foot was bothering me a bit and my fingers felt in the early stages of frostbite, despite wearing two pairs of gloves. I pulled my fingers out of their individual homes and tucked them into my hands to form fists and they warmed up in minutes. But once they did, my mind was left to worry about the aches and pains coming from the top of my right foot. I was hoping it was just because of how tight I usually lace up my shoes, but just to be safe I told Matt and Paul that I’d cut back home on Autumn St. instead of running down to Main St. as planned so I could get home sooner in case I needed to cut my long run for the week short.
     After arriving back in my neighborhood around sunrise, my foot was feeling much better. Hoping it wasn’t just because the freezing cold had numbed it so much, I continued running loops around my block until my miles for the day were complete. Upon taking my gloves off back in the comfort of a warm house, I realized that balling them into fists hadn’t really warmed them up as much as I thought due to the bright pink color both of them had turned. I quickly filled up the sink with hot water and immersed my hands for a few minutes while their natural flesh-tone returned. Time to go out and get some warmer gloves.

God is running, not watching football

1/14/12     My alarm went off at 4am for the first time in a couple months, and if it weren’t for the fact that Matt would be at my house to run in about an hour, I would have turned it off and went back to sleep. Having training partners that are crazy enough to meet up that early in the morning for a run is motivation enough to get out of a warm bed and dressed to run in the windy teen temps. On tap was an 8-mile run consisting of a 2-mile warm-up, 5 miles at marathon pace, and ending with a mile warm-down. I still felt a bit sore and achy from last week’s eight-day-in-a-row running streak that culminated in late Thursday night track work. I was glad we were running at Matt’s marathon pace and not mine. Still, it took all I had just to keep on keepin’ on.

"Dear God, hope you get the letter & I pray
you can make it better down here..." XTC

     Not until the run was finally finished did I remember why I enjoyed running so much in the early morning hours. Sure, the absence of cars from the roads and lack of background noise is great and allows for a calm, peaceful serenity rarely found anywhere else at any other time. But most of all, being done with the day’s run that early meant unfettered time with the family during the day, and the ability to down a few brews while watching the Patriots dominate Tebow and the Broncos in divine fashion. (Get it, devine…Tebow…) It was great not having to watch that overrated fool bow gracefully on one knee, and hopefully by the end of the game he knew that god doesn’t care about, nor watch, football. Maybe he’s a distance runner, out checking on all his creations.

     Tebow can now add "Dear God" by XTC to his gameday iPod mix.

and on the 9th day, Scott rested...

1/13/12     Taking an early day off last week meant 8 days in a row before my next day of rest and a long week 2 in our training cycle. It gave me a time to find a great running cartoon that sums up how the wife of a distance runner must feel. I'm sure that I speak for all runners when I say, “Thanks for allowing me to be insane, I love you honey.”

Lights Out

1/12/12     There’s nothing like doing a track workout after working a 13-hour day at two different jobs, the last of which required me to be on my feet from 4:30 in the afternoon until 9:30 at night. I arrived at the MHS track around 9:40 to find the stadium lights that surprised us the week before by being partially turned on were again lighting the 400 meters of soft rubber we’d soon be racing around. I slid my car seat back as far as it could go and changed into my running gear in the cramped quarters as I waited for Matt and Paul to pull in the parking lot for our workout. I had just finished retying my running shoes nice and snug with the steering wheel pressing into my face as Matt pulled in the lot and parked next to me.

     “I was just going to text you that the lights are on again tonight,” Matt said as we both got out of our cars, “but you’re already here.” We decided to start our warm-up while waiting for Paul. My legs felt completely dead while we plodded around the track talking about how many weeks we thought the lights would be on for our Thursday evening track workouts and how Matt had officially registered for the May 6 marathon in New Jersey we’re training for. We had run about 2 miles when Paul joined us on the track and quickly prepared for our half-mile repeats.

     Our question about the stadium lights was answered from above 300 meters into our first interval when abruptly, all the lights simultaneously turned off, leaving us to finish up in the dark. During the 400 meter leisurely trot between intervals one and two, we briefly talked about how the darkness on the track makes us run faster. Runners always emphasize the positive no matter the circumstances, and in this case it may have worked to our benefit because legs that were sore and tired during the warm-up laps were still able to carry me through all 5 repeats in an average of 2:55 per half-mile.

     Paul decided to run a couple more half-mile repeats to get a longer workout in, but my legs were beat after running for eight days straight (I had taken an early day off on Wednesday instead of Friday the week prior and my next rest day would be the next) so Matt and I just extended our warm-down, enjoying the unseasonably warm winter weather a while longer as Paul finished up. After walking back to our cars and briefly stretching, we made some tentative plans about when and where we’d run together next. Training for a marathon is time-consuming and hard work, I’m very happy that I don’t have to go it alone.

Listening to music & your training partners

1/11/12     My last blog entry focused on some of the music I listen to while running. That entry also made it seem like I only listen to music while running by myself, and while that used to be the case, it isn’t anymore. Not since I stumbled upon a company called One Good Earbud that “…mixes both channels of sound from a stereo audio device into a single ear - enabling the wearer to maintain alertness in any environment.” This allows me to listen to my music while still be able to hold a conversation with my training partners and stay alert to the traffic and wildlife around me.

     The company was started by one of my friends from back when I was in high school, and the website is a must-see for any endurance athlete or fitness fanatic that wants to be aware of their surroundings and still rock out to their favorite tunes. Check out http://onegoodearbud.com/ to see their available products that will make your exercising both more safe and enjoyable. The sound quality is excellent for all types of music and the in-ear comfort is second to none. I was glad I didn’t wear my wireless headphones on Wednesday’s 10-miler, as the traffic along Manchester Road became quite heavy and I needed to hear the cars coming from behind me.
Rock on road runners!!!

A Running SoundTrack

1/10/12     When I first started running again in August of 2010 I didn’t have, nor really want, anyone to train with. It had been 16 years since I developed a bone spur during my sophomore cross-country season at UConn, an injury that ultimately forced me to hang up my running shoes. All those years off the roads and trails had made my legs much weaker than I’d have liked them to be and was confident that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with anyone other than myself. So for many months, countless hours, and hundreds of miles I chose to run alone. Well, not entirely alone. Some days I’d run with The Black Keys, Pink Floyd, or Weezer shouting motivation in my ear, while other days I’d have Kanye West, The Beastie Boys, and Jay-Z to keep me company. They wouldn’t push my pace, nor would I have to worry about slowing them down.  About six months later my legs were in much better shape, I had found multiple training partners to run with, and didn’t have to bring along a soundtrack on all of my runs anymore.
     Running with a training partner or in a group has many benefits but can also limit what you feel your body is capable of doing and the amount of effort you put forth on certain runs. So on days when I’m not running with anyone and having conversations that usually include running discourse and advice; I look forward to bringing along some of my musician friends for the run. It’s a good chance to take my mind off of the running and let it wander off to wherever the lyrics and tunes may take it. If I’m running a race or a training run requiring near maximum effort, I’ll usually create a playlist to go along with the workout and keep me motivated throughout the run. If it’s just a long, easy run then I’ll use my old iPod shuffle and enjoy being surprised at what songs come on along the way. Whenever one of my favorite artists releases a new album, that’s sure to be the music to accompany my next few solo runs.
     One of my favorite sources for free, live music has also become a favorite way to pass the time on the long runs I have to go alone. The Internet Archive was founded in San Franciso CA in 1996 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit to create an online archive of media, but didn't become tremendously popular until after 2001 when it made a collection of more than 50,000 live concerts available for free listening and download. The Live Music Archive (www.archive.org) has a huge pool of both national and local bands and musicians that allow their concerts to be posted for anyone to listen to or download for free. There are 8,468 live recordings of the Grateful Dead for those who like extended jam sessions and hundreds of shows by the bands they splintered into after Jerry Garcia passed; Phil Lesh and Friends, Bob Weir, Ratdog, Dark Star Orchestra, and Furthur to name a few. Also present are jam bands like; Little Feat, Derek trucks Band, moe., Robert Randolf [and the Family Band], North Mississippi Allstars, and Bella Fleck. Whatever your music tastes are, you'll find some great artists and maybe even some concerts you've attended by browsing the list of bands at the following: live music archive index.

     My personal favorites to listen online, and download to my iTunes and iPod, are; David Gray, Fastball, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Of A Revolution (o.a.r.), The Samples, Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven, Blues Traveler, Dispatch, Mike Doughty, Soul Coughing, Jack Johnson, G. Love, Dan Bern, Jason Mraz, and all-time favorite Ryan Adams. When you click on a band or solo musician in the index you then have the options to view their available concerts by popularity (via # of downloads) or (my favorite) by date and year. This makes it easy to find a concert that you've actually been to and would like to relive the experience a bit more sober. Some of the earliest Ryan Adams set-lists include songs from his alt country band Whiskeytown mixed in with early solo material that makes me wish the music being released today was even half as good as back in the day. 

     My tempo run on Tuesday night with Paul meant no music for me and instead some good conversation, well, for the 2-mile warm up we ran together before I turned the after burners on for my 20-minute tempo pace. I felt great during the tempo section and the hard running effort came easier than I thought it would, but with nobody to talk to or keep me company I got a little bored. So I started thinking about what live concert I would download to my iPod and listen to during my Wednesday night, mid-week, semi-long run. Earlier that day I visited the Ryan Adams page (433 live concerts) at the Live Music Archive, as I do at least once a week, to see if anything new had been added and was pleasantly surprised to see the first (and only) 2011 recent show freshly posted. The last time I had seen him perform live with his band, the Cardinals, was in New Haven at the Shubert on Feb. 20, 2009, five days before Jonas was born. That show is also available on the website, so I had a tough decision to make: listen to the show I was at, or listen to the new recording. I decided to put both in the same playlist and just run really, really slow.

Roller Coaster Run / When the Running Week Starts & Ends

1/9/12     Running the rural roads in Glastonbury off Marlborough Road and Diamond Lake Road late Monday night was like being a self-propelled roller coaster. Up and down, up and down, up and down, up and down for about an hour. It was a nice change of scenery from what I’ve been used to seeing when I run the same rotation of routes from my house. It also made the decision to do a tempo run instead of a hills workout the next evening a much easier one to make. Thankfully we ran easy enough to still be able to talk about running, our training for the week, and proper attire without getting too short of breath. I was able to tell Paul about my favorite running socks called WrightSocks and how the double layer of material rubbed against each other rather than having the friction between your feet and the shoe like normal socks. They’ve saved me from getting any more blisters or black & blue/bloody toenails since my good friend, and running buddy, Matt Yoder told me about them about a year ago.

      After talking with Paul when we finished running, I was able to finally make a difficult decision that I’d been mulling over since my training began in this New Year. I didn’t know whether I was going to total my weekly millage based on a Sunday through Saturday schedule like I had done while training for my first marathon, or change my running week from a Monday through Sunday schedule like a few of my training partners do. I had always totaled my weekly millage from Sunday through Saturday because it felt natural and because my first marathon happened to fall on a Saturday, so most of my longest runs would come on Saturday during that training. The argument for changing my schedule from Monday through Sunday stemmed from the fact my next marathon, on May 6, will be run on a Sunday and now all of my longest runs will fall on Sundays. Eventually, Paul said something like, “If it works for you, why change it?” And that translated into “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it,” in my own head. Thanks Paul, problem solved, decision made.

Shameless: Season1 Episode2

Fiona laces up her old track spikes to run the mile in the final scene (51:00 minutes in if you want to jump to that scene)

Shameless Motivation: Fiona runs the mile

1/8/12     As an athlete, one would think that watching the Broncos knock the Steelers out of the playoffs (of the two teams, the one I’d rather not have my Patriots play next weekend) would be more motivation for a late-night run than watching the season two premiere of Shameless on Showtime. Nope, not for me last night. Watching the Broncos beat Ben Worthlessberger’s brood of buffoons on the first play in overtime last night made me jump into the air cheering and clapping, but even more exciting were the final minutes of the Shameless premiere when Fiona walked out onto a cinder track to try and run a sub-5:35 mile.
      If you haven’t seen Shameless yet: 1) It has absolutely nothing to do with running, and 2) I highly recommend getting caught up by watching season one and then becoming a loyal viewer. Other than Dexter, a series from the same cable network, Shameless is hands-down the best hour of television every week and coincidentally airs the same day my training plan calls for the longest run of the week. While I wish I could use that for motivation every Sunday my schedule doesn’t allow for my run to happen until after dark, I know that running was only used metaphorically at the end of this episode and most likely won’t be a reoccurring theme.
     Still, to see Fiona (played by the very talented, 25-year-old Emmy Rossum) lace up her old adidas racing spikes and toe the starting line just to prove to herself she can still do it made my heart start racing in anticipation of my easy 8-miler later that night. Being a miler myself in high school and college made that part of the episode even more meaningful and inspirational for me while I lay sprawled out on the floor, feeling like a school boy again. Thanks Fiona.
      (To watch the season two premiere of Shameless for free you can follow the link posted below or see the entry above this one. Or if you just want to see the scene on the cinder track that ended the episode, fast forward to the 51:00 minute mark by dragging the timeline button at the bottom towards the end of the show. Enjoy!)
Shameless: Season 2, Episode 1

Full Moon Fever + Bat Out Of Hell =

1/7/12     Highlights from my 12-mile out and back on Rails to Trails included: a stunningly shining full moon, a family of 3 deer crossing my path around mile 4, and a faster 6-mile return run where I averaged close to 6min pace after coasting at an 8min pace along the first 6 miles out to my Tunnel Road turnaround point. Since I had already decided not to race a 5k on Sunday, I thought pushing the last half of my run would do me some good in making sure there weren't any pains left in my right foot. Luckily it felt fine both during the run as well as afterwards while I stretched.

     The family of deer scared the crap out of me even though I was only listening to music in my left ear with my stereo One Good Earbud, keeping my right alert to sounds of traffic and wildlife. Problem was, the deer crossed from left to right and totally caught me off guard. I didn't mind too much because the smallest in the group froze in his tracks, apparently as startled as me. The mother circled back to convince the youngster to quit staring into my headlamp and keep running. Then I kept running as well.

     The full moon lit the roads and trail up even beyond the reaches of my headlamp. I love being able to see my surroundings at night and never miss the chance to run under a full moon. A group of party animals in Vernon were hooting and hollering around a large backyard campfire about 150 yards off the trail that prompted me to hit repeatedly hit my lips with my hand making the stereotypical 'woo-woo-woo-woo' Indian attack calls common in old westerns. That shut the group up mighty quick.

recovery running with heavy legs

1/6/12     Maybe because I put my recovery run off until 11:00 at night, maybe because I was running all by my lonesome, or maybe because I overdressed for the 35 degree January night, whatever the case may be the 8 miles of ground covered were the most difficult in week one's training. My iPod shuffle didn't keep me nearly as motivated as it did on the track the night before, but the track "My Racing Thoughts" by Jack's Mannequin made me think long and hard about racing a 5K this Sunday in East Hartford before work just to get my under-30-minutes seed card for the 2012 Manchester Road Race out of the way early. I'm pretty sure the song's lyrics have nothing to do with road racing, but that's how my brain interprets them.

See what you think...

     So......while I'm pretty confident I could run around 17:45 right now for a 5K, the best decision I could make this early on in my training is to skip the 5K on Sunday, log a couple of long runs this weekend instead, and earn my under-30 seed card in a few months when I run my 1/2 marathon warm up race in a 1:25 or better. Can't believe I'm actually mature enough to make a decision like that on my own. Maybe there is still hope for me.

back on track

1/5/12     Being back on the track at MHS, especially an outdoor track in January, for the first interval workout of 2012 was great for many reasons:

1. I got an extra-long warm up in by running to the track at my old high school before the workout.

2. The stadium lights (that are usually only on for football games) lit up the track for the duration of our workout for the first time ever.

3. I was able to run with 2 other guys who started 15 to 20 seconds ahead of me, giving me people to chase. (A big thanks go out to Matt S. and Paul J.)

4. The original 8x400 workout that we had agreed upon turned into a 10x400 night with only a 200 for rest between 400s.

5. It was much warmer out than it had been earlier in the week. (30s instead of teens)

6. The songs that surfaced during the track work on my iPod shuffle (circa 2003, the first one ever made) were kick-ass enough to convince my legs to add on the 2 extra 400s.

     I was also happy to get such a great track workout in because of the bad news phone call that came through on my cell phone just minutes before lacing up my Brooks Ravenna 2s and heading out the door. My good friend and training partner Darrin Rees, who helped pace me the first 20 miles in my first marathon last October and pull me to a BQ time, called to tell me that his plantar faciatis had gotten worse and now was causing other leg and lower back pain, had to take at least a month off of running for his body to heal and most likely won't be able to run with me in the New Jersey Marathon on May 6th. To say I was bummed would be an understatement. So I ran for both of us last night, pushing my body to its limits like I knew he would have done. And as I stated above in reason #6, the tunes playing during the 400s helped me kick it up a notch as well. Most notably, the three Metallica tracks that played back-to-back-to-back during the last three 400s made me proud I was able to push myself like I did and still feel good after finishing up. I wore my Metallica shirt before the ING Hartford Marathon as I warmed up with Darrin (pictured below) and felt he was at the track with me last night in spirit as I 'rode the lightning' to the finish line.

Thanks again Darrin, get better soon my friend.

week 1 day off cartoon

1/4/12     Taking an early day off during week 1 training to be as fresh as possible for our 8x400 track workout on Thursday night. Found a great cartoon that made me wish it was possible to take all the running I'm doing and convert it into a reuasbale energy source for my house. Especially after seeing how much money we now owe the oil company...

warming up the hills

1/3/12     With temperatures in the teens tonight (single digits with the wind chill) it didn't take long to warm the body up as Paul and I sprinted up Ferguson, Mountain, Ludlow and Dale streets off East Middle Turnpike for our first hills workout of 2012. When I first walked out the door into the cold night around 9pm, my face froze almost instantly. I was really hoping the stronger winds would hold off until much later on on the evening, and was ultimately glad that they did.

     After running all 4 streets, with the incline increasing as we moved eastbound, we decided to end the run on Ferguson as it was also the first hill we had run tonight. Since 5 has always been my lucky number, and I also wanted to save something in the tank for Thursday's track workout, I decided to call it a night after our 5th hill repeat. It really felt great to be able to run all the hills that strong so early in this training cycle.

let the training begin...

1/2/12     Today, January 2nd, 2012, is the 1st official training day of the 18-week Hal Higdon program that I will be following to prepare myself, in mind and body, for marathon #2 in New Jersey on the first Sunday in May. It's the same program that helped me earn a 3:08 finish on October 15th at the ING Hartford Marathon, qualifying me for the Boston Marathon in 2013. I'm hoping that the training comes a bit easier and more fluid the second time around.

     Tonight's run was a marvelous 8-mile loop through Glastonbury and Bolton on Birch Mountain Road, Volpi Road (ran past the house my uncle Mickey and cousins Than and Justin lived in while I tried to grow up and spent lots of time getting into trouble at, ahhhh the memories) down the roller coaster known as Carter Street and then back up Birch Mountain to my friend Paul's house where we started.

     It was great running with two other runners tonight as I often find strength in numbers when it comes to training runs. And although the downhills seemed to be a bit too swift, I'm sure it's mainly due to the fact that Paul is a few inches taller than me and Matt S. (we're both around 5'10") and both his stride and gait carry him a bit farther with each step than ours do. I was glad when Matt asked Paul about Canadian politics to get him talking, hoping it would slow us down a little since tomorrow's workout will be hill repeats. The stars were out in full force, the hills felt easy and the legs felt fresh after the run. A big shout-out goes to Paul and Matt for making this first run on the road to New Jersey.

     (In case anyone who reads this is wondering, if anyone is reading this, the picture in the background is one that I took on a run in the summer from the top of Case Mountain at sunset. It always reminds me that being a runner sometimes makes it possible to get to places most others can't. One of the many reasons why runners kick ass.)