Friday, May 11, 2012

Running with Max

Settled into a daily running routine with Max.  He's a great running partner.  Greets me with enthusiasm every day for short runs and longer ones. 

He also knows how to relax after runs.  I have to go to work most days when we are done, but not Max.  He has his breakfast and then get a chance to relax.

I wish he'd at least take his shoes off in the house!

Friday, September 10, 2010

Freshman's first XC race

This is the face of a freshman runner about 200 yards from completing his first High School cross country race. Until today, he's just been running with the pack in practice with no clue of what being in a race is really like.

Today he learned about the butterflies that come before the race.

He learned that maybe he can run faster than he thought. He realized that although his body and his mind wanted to stop several times during the race, he can overcome those feelings, one step at a time.

This is my son, who up until now has been a rather reluctant runner.

He learned that he now has more in common with all of the other runners than he did before the race.

Hopefully he'll continue to run and learn, and most of all, enjoy it!

Thursday, August 05, 2010

Catching up


Last post was from New York. Many miles ago.

Since then I have cheered for and run with my daughter as she progressed thru high school cross country and track. What a great experience to watch her learn to enjoy running and make many new friends along the way.

I also gained a new daily running partner, Max.

He's now a 2 year old Weimaraner, weighing in at about 85 pounds. A tireless runner, who loves to meet new dogs along the way and chase rabbits.

As my daughter heads for college, my son is entering High School and announced last week he also wants to run cross country and track. What a pleasant surprise! Today he joined Max and me for a 2 1/2 mile morning run.

I hope he will join us each day for the next week until he joins the team for daily practices.

Max and I are ready!


Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Next year you are invited to run!


There is a great sense of accomplishment and relief when the marathon has been completed. A lot of my running team mates are already planning their next marathon, some of them within a few weeks.

For me, I need a few weeks to rest and recuperate.

I did enjoy the entire experience and am strongly considering running NY again next year as a member of Team for Kids.

Now for the fun part...I want YOU to join our team. Why not???? You have a year to train, will have an excellent support group and coaches.

This is an excellent way to see New York City and to be part of one of the most exciting athletic events held each year as a participant!

Think about it.....seriously!

I hope to see you there next year!

Cheers!

Peers

Monday, November 06, 2006

8:30 pace all the way!

Done, Completed, Finished!

Finish time 3:41:02


If you want more info about my pace, click the link above for the official results and type in HENES and my number 9399.

It was a beautiful sunny New York day, around 50 degrees.

I ran with my 8:30 pace group for the first 16 miles, when we seemed to separate a bit. My friend Oscar and I ran together up 1st Avenue, then he picked up the pace and I remained steady at about 8:30 per mile. The final 6 miles were the most challenging, but there were so many spectators along the course, cheering us on, that it provided a constant boost.

Beverly, Natalie & Xavier and "Uncle Greg" used the subway system to move around the course and I was able to see them three times. They were in Brooklyn around mile 11, 1st Avenue at mile 18 and in Central Park at mile 24. I was really happy to see them on the course.

Today's NY Times has a great Marathon section, with a multimedia show. If you get a chance check it out. (Just click on the green words above). There is also the story of Lance Armstrong's experience, who said this is the most challenging athletic event he has ever entered, and he has never been so sore before in his life.

Trust me, I am really sore today too....but it is a good soreness, since the race was successful!

Thank you to every body who supported this effort with good wishes, financial support to Team for Kids, and cheering along the way. It has been a fantastic journey. I really enjoyed running with Team for Kids and made a lot of new friends. If you decide you want to run the NY marathon, I highly suggest joining this group. They will help train you, and you will help kids get involved in a fantastic sport.

Our team will have raised about $2.5 million dollars from this year's marathon.

My supporters helped raise $3,150!

Thank you again to all!


Cheers!

Peers

Friday, November 03, 2006

Team for Kids in the news today-Journal News

Team for Kids gives runners reason to run

Alan Maude met running coach Adam Krajchir through a mutual friend. Maude considered himself only a recreational runner; Krajchir was the coach of a group called Team for Kids.

Maude, a Scarsdale resident, joined for two reasons.

"The attraction to the club was it's a vehicle to raise money for a worthwhile cause and you can obtain guaranteed access into the marathon," Maude said.

The majority of people who want to run in the New York City Marathon are put into a lottery. Thousands are turned away each year. Team for Kids is a national adult running club and a Manhattan-based charitable organization geared toward preventing childhood obesity by raising money for the New York Road Runners Foundation, which is the youth services division of the NYRR. The club received 1,000 guaranteed entries into this year's New York City Marathon.

"I think many people that I've talked to, who signed up for Team for Kids, the only reason they signed up is because they didn't make the lottery," said Maude, who is also a first-year member. "But once they get in, they find out it's so much more than that. There's a lot of great spirit involved."

To gain access to a guaranteed entry, members have to raise $2,500. Maude, the 45 year-old vice president of Folksamerica, a reinsurance company, donated most of the money himself. He also solicited money from friends, some of whom agreed to pay per mile.

"I'm not even thinking about not finishing," he said.

But what makes Team for Kids unique is that the program provides collegiate- and elite-style talent while still raising $2.25 million toward youth running programs for the NYRR Foundation. The program serves approximately 1,500 kids a weeks in about 110 schools, mostly in New York, Tampa, Fla., and San Francisco, according to Krajchir, the head coach and program director.

"The program directly deals with youth obesity," said Krajchir, who also lives in Scarsdale. "We are addressing an epidemic here. The strength of the cause is undeniable."

With such a large group participating, nearly 1 out of every 35 runners in the marathon Sunday will be wearing a green Team For Kids shirt. Former Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller is a member, as is Dave Edwards, the Queens representative for the Five Boroughs Challenge.

"This is a significant charity," Maude said. "I didn't realize how big it was until I got into it."

There are 3,000 charity runners in this year's marathon who hope to raise an estimated $10 million. Fred's Team, a group named for legendary former marathon director Fred LeBow, will have 1,000 runners. They hope to raise $3.5 million for Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Cyclist Lance Armstrong has a target of $600,000 for his foundation.

"Running on a charity team like Team For Kids is very much like playing for a college team at a major university," said Mary Wittenberg, the CEO and president of NYRR. "You suddenly have a home in a smaller group."

That's part of what attracted Greenburgh's Annette Wills, who is turning 42 tomorrow.

"The marathon is my birthday gift to myself," she said.

When Wills first ran the NYC Marathon in 2004, she got in through the lottery. But she needed somewhere to train. A bulk e-mail caught her attention.

"When I ran it for the first time in 2004, I told (executive director Cliff Sperber) that the quality of training is just superb. You have to experience for yourself to understand. ... It's kind of like going to a good restaurant where you're so satisfied with the service that you go back again. That's how I feel with Team For Kids."

Wills, who has two children, is in her third year with Team For Kids. She's raised money by hosting jewelry parties and friends' donations, but this year the real estate investor made a donation on behalf of her company.

"When I signed up for Team for Kids, I was just an individual that wanted to give back,'' she said. "When I did that, I did not know at the time the quality of training that I would receive."

Wills' best marathon time is 4 hours, 55 minutes. She hopes to run 4:30 Sunday.

"When you're out there nothing matters," she said. "It doesn't matter where you live, how much you make, what you have. It's very encouraging to see your teammates out there. You're doing it for the kids."

Friday, October 27, 2006

Bib # 9399

My registration card has arrived!

I am number 9399, out of about 40,000 runners. I have been training for this since early July and I am physically and mentally ready. Mentally sound? that's another question....

So now the question is how to run this race?

This is where the answer to mentally sound may be found.....

Should I stick to the training group plan, run the first 16 miles at 8:30 per mile, the next 4 at 8:15 and then "race" the final 6.2 at whatever faster pace I have left in the tank?
This is the training plan. This plan (I believe) will bring me safely to the finish line without too much excessive pain and suffering at around 3 hours and 40 minutes if all goes well.

This is the simpler, gentler approach compared to my previous marathons. I'm about 80% sold on this plan. Enjoy the running group, enjoy the scenery, have fun. This is plan A for the "easy runner". The coaches plan, the team plan, the sane plan.

Sounds pretty good...at least to my kinder, gentler self.

The other alternative is to push the envelope, try to run 8 minute miles for the first 20 miles, and hope to hold on with that pace for the final 6.2 mile. If I feel okay at the end, maybe I can pick it up a bit for the final 2 miles. This is the old competitor in me saying..."push it, go faster, see what you still have in the tank, no guts, no glory". This is my scary self, willing to take on bigger challenges than necessary to see how I can do. This is the guy who wants to see if he can outrun the aging process. If I can run the race according to this plan, I should complete the race with a time of about 3 hours and 30 minutes.

This is plan B for the "no pain, no gain" runner. With this plan I am sure to have trouble walking for 1 to 2 weeks afterwards due to sore feet and legs. I also run the risk of running out of gas well before the finish line and "bonking" or slowing down to a snails pace just to finish.

I don't know what I'm going to do.

It will depend on how I feel the day of the race, what the weather is like and how the first few miles go.

Stay tuned to find out!

Cheers

Peers

P.S.
Now that I have proof read this post I'm 85% sure I'm going with plan A!