National Press Online @ Run to Remember's Website

2/01/12     Running up hills at full speed on Tuesday night took more out of me than I thought it would. I was tired all day Wednesday because of it, but didn’t mind very much because I knew that was the way my body was saying, “Great job running your ass off last night!”  Still, having to stand on my feet for five hours at my part time job (after already having worked a full day keeping middle school students in check) lowered my level of motivation drastically, and when 10:30pm rolled around I still hadn’t even gotten dressed to log my easy 6-mile run for the day.
     Then I logged on to http://www.runtoremember.org/ and saw my picture and story on their main page. I clicked on the ‘read more’ link to reread the story about my current training cycle for the New Jersey Marathon in May, and was instantly rejuvenated enough to throw on my shorts and sneakers and headed out the door by 11 in order to be finished running and asleep by midnight. I made sure to bookmark the webpage with my story in case I needed to use it as instant motivation again in the future. (Click on the Run to Rember web adress above to see me and my story featured on their main page, or click the photo below to read the story.)

January Goes Out Like a Lion

1/31/12     The last time Paul and I sprinted up Ferguson, Mountain, Ludlow and Dale streets off East Middle Turnpike; it was our first hills workout of 2012 on January 3. And it was FREEZING outside, in the single digits with strong winds making it seem even colder out. The last day in January found the weather to be the complete opposite. We were both wearing shorts and Paul was even running without any gloves. Temps close to 40 degrees that late at night, this time of the year are ridiculous.
     We were able to take the hills much faster and more consistently than the first time out and a series of hills that get steeper and steeper as the miles move on that I usually dread were enjoyable this time around. We only talked about how freezing it was the last time we did the five 200 meter hill repeats once, and instead lived in the moment of running a difficult workout in amazing and unseasonably warm weather. I already feel like the winter of 2011/2012 has spoiled us to the point that the next run in single digits will have me wearing three pairs of gloves.
     So, thank you January for the unbelievable running weather, and if you could please speak to February for us runners, make sure she’s as kind to us for the next 29 days.

Shoveling to Run

1/30/12     After four days of running in a row, including two hard workouts going at full speed, I thought it best to take my day off early in the week to be rested for the hills workout and track workout later in the week. The following cartoon made me laugh after shoveling the track at MHS two weeks ago...

2 Out of 3 Ain't Bad

1/29/12     I tried to wake up early Sunday morning for my long run of the week. Honestly. I really, really, really tried to get out of bed before 4am, but my body just wasn’t listening to either the alarm clock or my brain. So once again, I listened to my body and logged an extra couple hours of sleep. I already knew before going to bed the night before that if I wasn’t able to get out of bed to run with Matt before dawn, I could wait until after dark and have Paul to keep me company on the long run.
    It’s great to have that option, especially on a day that my training usually requires me to log anywhere between 13 and 22 miles. Running for hours is much more tedious, not to mention boring, when you have to go it alone. Unfortunately, this option I have only works in favor of the two who run together and not so much for the one left to his thoughts (and possibly some music) to keep him company for those long, long miles.
     Sorry Matt, if I were years younger and in Olympic-caliber condition then I would run twice every Sunday for both the mileage and the camaraderie. But more importantly, so that I wouldn’t be the only one of the three to have someone to run with regardless of whether I ran before sunrise or after sunset. We’ll just have to find another runner training for a May marathon to add to our group to make it equal for everyone.