Buffalo Turkey Trot 8k

It started out well...The weather was great-- cool but dry and pleasant. I met my running group from Roswell Park Cancer Institute early this morning-- Did some LIVE shots for my TV station at the start line... waited... waited... and waited-- felt great-- pumped-- ready.

Then, Bang!

This is when things go down hill. I had planned to maintain a 6:50 pace throughout this race. In my past couple of weeks of marathon training doubles I have kept this pace many times for 4 milers, surely, this being 5-- I could hold it for one more... NOT!

I knew something wasn't right from the start. My breathing was off-- I felt as if I was pushing HARDER than EVER before-- I was confident I was holding a 6:20 pace... I looked down at my watch: 7:10 pace!!! What???? Mile 1: totally BEAT, 2, 3, 4-- just as bad.

I finished at 35:43-- Not at all what I was hoping.

What went wrong?

The wind-- was a bitch-- and hard on other runners too. There were hills- but nothing I haven't encountered before.

Should I also mention I drank some wine last night-- maybe more than I should have??? I hope that's the reason.. I thought the carbs would help-- but the alcohol apprently did not.. Oh well.

I had fun-- there were some great costumes-- and the race was filled to capacity with 12,000 runners.

These Old Shoes & Doubles

I said goodbye to an old friend.

Actually two old friends.

I didn't think it would affect me. I didn't think I would be a tad bit sad. But I am.

It was last week, I visited runnerswarehouse.com and was uber excited when I clicked 'Confirm" and purchased my new sneaks (Mizuno Inspire 5). I didn't think at all of my old pair-- that is until the new one arrived.

My old sneaks, also Mizunos, were well past expiration. I held onto them longer than I should have-- not for emotional reasons- but because I am cheap. I NOW suspect though that I might have been subliminally holding onto them for sentimental reasons.

This the is the pair I picked up in the infancy of my new running addiction.

They got me through some tough times.

They were there when it pained me to run 5 miles.

They were there when I ran my first sub 30:00 5k, then my sub 25:00 5k, sub 23:00-- so on and so forth.

They were there when I ran through snow, sleet, and rain.

They were there when I ran my first half..... etc., etc, etc,

Yes, they're just shoes, but they and I have been through a lot. Shared a lot...

SO... Here's to my shoes! I shall never forget you and cherish the memories. Thanks for being there!

Am I a lunatic??? Or Has anyone else had trouble parting ways with their sneakers?

DOUBLES

I remember back in High school when I played football. In the month of August we would pull "doubles" (some call them "Two a days"). I dreaded these terribly. We were up at 6am, running drills, hitting pads for three hours. Then back on the field to do it all over again in the hot afternoon sun. It was brutal. I hated August in high school.

Ironically I am performing "Doubles" again but this time I actually kind of like it. I am tired, hungry all the time-- even a bit cranky at times-- but I really like it.

I get up at 6AM-- run, hit gym for ab work.... I then break from work around 3PM and embark on round two.

I will put in more than 44 miles this week because of it and I feel stronger, faster than ever before.

As my old shoes could tell you-- keeping a 7:13 pace on a 4 miler was inconceivable months ago-- today, it's much easier!

Time FLIES! and Ugly Sweaters

Wow-- It has been a couple of weeks since my last post! Read on and you'll understand why.

The last few weeks have been nutz.

First: training!

Other than a brief lapse due to a brief sickness my training is going very well.
I am up to 17 miles-- and shooting for 18 this Saturday. The weather in this part of the country has been unseasonably warm so that has helped!

Next: Fundraising!

If you did not know, I am running the Disney Marathon for a cause- benefiting Roswell Park Cancer Institute here in Buffalo. It feels great to know I am working for something that is bigger than me and my own goals. It also makes training and getting ready that much tougher.

I'm not only begging, and probably annoying, friends and family to donate to my cause-- I am also holding a fundraiser.. An UGLY CHRISTMAS SWEATER fundraiser, check out the picture on my fliers:



That is NOT me by the way... My sweater-- will be much uglier!

Anyways-- I have been VERY busy setting up this darn thing. I had to get the place, plan the menu, send out invites, find a band-- not just a band-- but a band that will perform free of charge, find items to donate-- so far LOTS of gift certificates and items from the Buffalo Sabres and the Buffalo Bills! I had to decide cash bar or open bar-- it's open... Etc, etc, etc.

I am tired-- still motivated but tired. So, my apologies to all of you who have probably written some kick ass updates to your blogs-- I will catch up this week.

Oh yeah.. If you're in Buffalo -- or want to fly in-- My fundraiser is Saturday December 5Th. Fonatana's Ogden's Restaurant, 1834 William Street, Buffalo NY

Bring Your Ugly Christmas Sweater................

16.5!!!!

Saturday Morning.

9:55am.

It was cold (50), cloudy, and a bit windy.

I ran 16.5 anyway!

I began by waking up around 7:45am, filling the coffee cup, and downing a bowl of Rice Chex cereal. I gave my system time to catch up and--sorry to be gross-- but clean out.

At the start, I decided to push it harder than last weekend's LD. I averaged an 8:40 pace-- holding it for Miles 1-10. I once again brought no gel packs, and stupidly consumed no water along the way. It didn't matter.

After mile 10 I felt great--no--amazing. I stepped it up averaging 8:10-- even hitting a few strides of 7:30's. By mile 15 I was beat and slowed it down to the 10:00/11:00 mark.

I finished at 2hrs 31m!!!! I am proud of that. If I can hold the pace I had for miles 1-10 and not try and push it-- I might make my goal.

next weekend: 18 miles!

Detroit Paranoia

I am sure many of you have heard by now. Three runners, two of them quite young, dropped dead at the Detroit Marathon this past weekend. Anyone else having trouble getting this out of their heads?

As soon as I found out this morning-- I googled news articles about the story. I also went to RunnersWorld.com, and much to my dismay, there was only a brief mention of the deaths. An interview with their cardiologist/contributor Dr. Thompson filled in some of the blanks but I still have sooo many more questions.

At this point, the deaths, are a mystery-- even to the Medical Examiners. They've performed the autopsies and declared that more tests are needed to determine a cause. This is strange. If the deaths were merely "cardiac related" , which most seem to believe, the Coroner would have easily been able to rule that after a standard autopsy. What is a bit alarming is they need to wait for results of blood and toxicology tests to try and determine if there was something in their systems leading to death. The tests can take weeks. In the meantime all anyone can do is speculate and bloggers in Detroit are doing just that!

On Freep.com (Detroit's major newspaper and sponsor of Sunday's marathon)the comment section at the end of the article is full of all kinds of allegations. From the obvious suspected causes: heart problems and/or over exertion-- to the more outrageous: "Tainted water" at the refueling stations...

"Tainted water"???

At first I thought it was a ridiculous statement. A far fetched scenario created by someone's extreme paranoia. But then I thought about it. Why is it so hard to believe in present day that some sicko would compromise something all of us runners deem to be a safe "bet"-- water stations at races.. Who in the world would tamper with that???

Well....

Who in the world, would attach bombs to their body, walk on a bus, and press the red button detonating themselves-- and countless of innocent others?

Who in the world, would spend years training to become a pilot only to hijack a plane, fly it smack into a building, intending to murder thousands of people?

Who in the world would hide along a highway-- and for weeks continue to shoot and kill innocent people-- fueling up their cars-- sniper style?

Paranoia-- maybe. But, 'tis the day and age in which we live for it not to be a sick possibility.

I hope that's not the case.

Any answer, really, that comes out of these three tragedies will be unsettling to all of us runners. If all three are natural? What questions will you ask your doctor? Or should I ask before my marathon? If it is-- God help us-- something sparked by a terrorist or other attention seeking sicko-- I hope they catch the creep (I have much stronger terms) and punish him/her accordingly.

Most of all-- My thoughts and prayers are with the families of these three men and hope for their sake-- the answers, whatever they maybe, come quickly!

14.5 Miles and counting!

What a great weekend! I had my second "serious" LD training run for the marathon. I set out to go 13.5. I added a mile!

Saturday was a beautiful and somewhat chilly day here in Buffalo. To me, the cooler the better. I run stronger and faster in these unseasonably cold temps-- partly just to stay warm.

I mapped out a great course that took me around the city's waterfront, then around the Naval Park, into downtown, up to Delaware Park-- That's the park I have written about many times before-- an "Olmstead" designed park. It was a very cool course and with several hills, also very challenging.

I felt awesome-- one of those runs you wish you could have every time. The odd part--I made it 14.5 without any nutrition along the way. I forgot my GU packs-- I didn't even have water, still it went well.

I learned a valuable lesson. I started out slow-- If you've been reading my blog for the past few months you know this is HUGE for me. My first 7 miles I maintained only a 9:00 pace (approx)-- stepping it up the last half:

Mile 8: 8:46
Mile 9: 8:37
mile 10: 8:37
Mile 11: 8:30
Mile 12: 8:13
Mile 13: 7:57
Mile 14: 7:45!!!

I finally "get it"! I usually and when I say "usually" I mean ALWAYS break that cardinal rule-- and start out of the gate running strong-- only to lag behind the last leg of any run. The pace, if followed in January, definitely won't get me across the Disney finish line at my target time of sub 4 hours-- But remember, I felt fine afterwards. Next time I will know I can step it up a bit earlier. I took the advice. Advice Glenn (The Running Fat Guy) and Brian (A Runner's Blog) have been telling me since I started this darn blog-- Training is all about tweaking- taking it slow here-- pushing harder there-- working-- to get the pace you desire.

I like the new me! Lets just hope the old guy doesn't come back to haunt me!

Disney Training Runs

If the Disney Marathon in January is half as fun as my training runs-- I am going to have a blast!

I first met with my group a couple of weekends ago. There are about 30 people from the Buffalo area running for the same charity as me. The training groups are broken into 3 different groups with 3 different coaches. The northern suburbs, southern suburbs, and the city. I am with the city group-- Our first run was through a cemetery-- which sounds creepy but it's a GREAT run.


It's the Forest Lawn Cemetery-- not to be confused with the one in L.A. where Michael Jackson is buried-- although it has plenty of celebs there. We ran past Rick James' grave and President Grover Cleveland's resting place. This course is also very challenging-- full of hills. We ran a good 4 miles through the cemetery and then into Delaware Park:

The total run was 8.5 miles. I ran with the husband of our main coach-- He's a great runner with several marathons under his belt. He is also very fast and kept me going hard. We maintained a 7:50 pace-- not bad for a first training run.

The coaches asked what my marathon goal is-- I told them to finish under 4 hours. They feel it's very do-able. I am hoping they are correct.

I've been keeping with the training program they prescribed and at this point putting in 30 plus miles per week. I missed last weekend's group training because of a college reunion in the Poconos-- but back at it this Saturday.

Hope everyone is doing well!