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!

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

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

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."

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!

Saturday's running....

Friday's flight from Houston was delayed four hours, which meant I got home at 2 am Saturday. Although the team was running 11 miles in the city on Saturday, meeting at 7 am, I decided to sleep in. At 7:55 I woke up, and got my son Xavier organized, and off we went to his Cross Country race. He runs with the St. Joseph's team, and he ran a 3/4 mile race at Tibbets Brook Park. Xavier is so far a bit of a reluctant runner, but he is progressing, and loves being part of the team. He came in 9th place in his race, bringing in 2 points for the team...atta boy Xavier!
When we returned home I put on my running shorts and grabbed my ipod and headed for an 11 mile training run. I ran north along White Plains Rd, just past Scarsdale High School, then retraced my steps home. The first 5.5 miles were run in 45 minutes, and the return trip took 44 minutes, averaging 8:05 per mile. I felt pretty good on that run, didn't push too hard, but ran at a nice tempo.

In the afternoon, as I was raking leaves, my daughter Natalie donned her Nike's and her ipod and went for a 2.5 mile run. She reported that she ran one mile at an 8:20 pace, which is great for her! She complained she felt a bit slow and felt out of shape.

Her comments have changed. Natalie also ran with the St. Joseph's Track Team, but now is a high school freshman. I am glad to see she is now evaluating her own performance, feeling the condition of her body, and knowing with continued running she can be in better shape.

Maybe some day my kids will want to run longer training runs and races with me.

I can only hope so.

Cheers!

Peers

Taper time

This week begins the process of reducing the length of the weekly long run. Tomorrow we'll run 11 miles as a group. The course will be mostly the end of the NY marathon.

I ran on the treadmill twice this week, about 6 miles each time. I am still tired from last weekends long run, and from my trip to Houston. It is now 3:10 pm at the Bush airport in Houston, and my flight home has been delayed 1 hour....so far. So I may not arrive in NYC until after 10 or 11 pm tonight. Guess I'll try to get some sleep on the plane.
TGIF
Peers

Running with ordinary heros

Air Force Memorial

Saturday was to be the final long training run with Team for kids, a 23 miler in New York City. However our family was invited to join my in-laws at their Air Force Bombing group reunion in Washington DC and to attend the dedication of the Air Force Memorial. So Friday evening I took the train with my daughter and we arrived in Arlington, Va around 11 PM.

My chance to complete a long run meant getting up and going early. At 6 am I was stretched, hydrated, and out the door with a bottle of gatoraide in hand with the idea of running for 3 hours at an easy pace. Over the Key Bridge, with mist rising from the river, due to temperature around 45 degrees, I entered historic Georgetown. I planned to run three loops around various monuments.

It was very dark when I came upon the first monument, the Viet Nam memorial. It is lit up at night so the etched names stand out. This was a powerful experience.

Next up the path was the reflecting pool in front of the Lincoln Memorial, leading up to the Washington Monument. It was still cold and dark, but I felt fine since I was moving along. At this hour, about 6:45 am, there were few others out and about.

Next up ahead was the long grassy "mall" which has dirt paths and leads your directly up to the Capital Building. Once around the "pond" in front and it is time to turn back toward the Lincoln Memorial.

I did this loop three times, until the sun was up and plenty of people were sightseeing and playing in the open spaces.

I returned to the Holiday Inn at 9 am, stretched, showered, ate a big breakfast, and boarded a bus to attend the dedication of the Air Force Memorial.

I sat with my wife's dad, George who was the navigator, and two from his 380th bomb squadron, the pilot, the turret gunner, and their wives. We were part of a crowd of about 40,000 mostly retired Air Force personnel who wanted to be part of this ceremony.

I am in awe of this group, the sacrifices they made for their country, their families and for us, their future. Not a single person I met could be spotted in a crowd as a hero, but each one surely was. Through their efforts, dedication, and sacrifice of their group, many who ultimately died for our cause, the Nazi's were beaten, the Japanese defeated, the Russians held at bay, communism was found to be unsuitable to sustain economic growth, South Korean's freed and so much more.

There are many current problems in this world, but I am proud of my Father-in-law's generation, who served our country faithfully, and came back to become good parents, citizens and role models.

A sincere thank you to all who serve this country and keep us strong!

Westchester Half Marathon

Sunday October 8th.

After watching the Yankees get dismantled by the Tigers, and my alma mater Michigan State get blown out by their arch rival Michigan the previous day, I had some steam to blow off in a race! Our coach said we should run this race at as fast a pace as we can hold steady for 13.1 miles. In other words, RACE !

Temperature when I awoke at 5 ayem was 46 degrees, so I ate a banana, had a cup of coffee and some gatorade and headed for the race. By 6:30 I was given my race number, #69, and a scoring chip, then I had a 2 hour wait until the start. Luckily I drove and brought a book, so I sat in my car, drank some more coffee and relaxed. At 8:15 I headed out to the start, about 100 yards from my car. I found my running mates, Jeff and Oscar, and off we went on a beautiful sunny morning. I was hoping to run at about a 7:45 minute per mile pace for the entire race, but found we were running at about 7:30 per mile after one and two miles. I felt good, so decided to just go with the flow. From that point on I just ran a steady pace, passing runners on the way, never looking at my watch for the time, just running according to how I felt, and I felt pretty good !

This course was run on the Bronx River Parkway, a two lane road, and rather flat. At the halfway point we turned around and headed back north up the other side of the Parkway. At this point I could see and cheer for my teammates as they passed by. There is great camaraderie among our group! By 10 miles, I started counting down to the finish as the pace was starting to wear me out. I could hear footsteps of other runners just behind me and decided I would not be passed from this point on, so I picked up the pace with 1 mile to go. When I reached the 13 mile marker and had about 100 yards to go I found a group of Team for Kids runners who finished ahead of me, cheering me on to the finish. They provided just the boost I needed to kick to the finish line. I finished in 1:37:26 or a 7:24 pace per mile.

This is the first time we have been allowed to really race as a group. Before this we have been using the races as training runs at a set pace. It felt pretty good, and was a good mental boost to know I can run hard for half a marathon. This race increased my confidence level for the big race on Nov. 5 th.



26 days to go.......

Stay healthy!

Peers

Recent runnings

Now that I have showed you how to map out a running course, where are we in the current training?

We have 2 more weeks of intense training, followed by a tapering process, leading us up to Nov 5th and the marathon. Last Sunday I ran 13 miles on my own at a pace of 8:11 per mile. Relatively flat course, finishing with one mile on the local track to check my speed. The last mile was at an 8 minute per mile pace. Not too difficult.

Monday was a 45 minute recovery run, followed by a speed workout of one hour on Tuesday. For this I ran about a half mile to the local High School track, and ran one mile repeats (5 of them) at about a 7:10 per mile pace. Each mile was followed by a quarter mile cool down. This workout ended up being about an 8 mile run, and was quite challenging.

Sunday October 8th we will run as a group in the Westchester half marathon. We are supposed to run this at a steady pace thruout the 13.1 miles. It is a pace that is as fast as we can maintain for this distance. I think I'll run between 7:30 and 7:45 per mile.

Our final long run before the marathon is the following weekend, October 15th, a 23 miler. I am planning to be in Washington, DC that weekend, so will have to find the right time and place to fit that into our family plans.

My body has been adjusting to the longer runs and increased intensity of the workouts, so I must be starting to get into shape. I read a story about Running Buddhist Monks, which makes my training schedule look like childs play. Here is the story.

"Buddhist monk finishes running ritual"

by Kenji Hall (AP, September 20, 2005)

Tokyo, Japan - A Buddhist priest dubbed the “marathon monk” has completed an ancient running ritual in the remote Japanese mountains that took seven years and covered a distance equivalent to a trip round the globe.

The 44-year-old monk, Genshin Fujinami, returned Thursday from his 24,800-mile spiritual journey in the Hiei mountains, a range of five peaks that rise above the ancient capital of Kyoto.

Dressed in his handmade sandals and robe, with a straw raincoat draped over his head, Fujinami was greeted at the end of his journey by a crowd of worshippers, who knelt to receive his blessings.

“I entrusted everything to God. I am satisfied,” Fujinami was quoted as saying.

Since 1885, only 46 other so-called “marathon monks” of the Tendai sect have survived the ritual, which dates to the 8th century and is believed to be a path to enlightenment, according to temple officials. The last monk to complete it returned in 1994.

A rigorous regimen dictates that in each of the journey’s first three years, the pilgrim must rise at midnight for 100 consecutive days to pray, run along an 18-mile trail around Mount Hiei — stopping 250 times to pray along the way. He can carry only candles, a prayer book and a sack of vegetarian food.

In the next two years, he has to extend his runs to 200 days.

His most difficult trial, however, comes during the fifth year when he must sit and chant mantras for nine days without food, water or sleep, in a trial called “doiri,” or “entering the temple.”

In the sixth year, he walks 37.5 miles every day for 100 days. And in the seventh, he goes 52.5 miles for 100 days and then 18 miles for another 100 days, before returning to the temple.

Once the New York Marathon goal has been accomplished, I hope to set a new one, but I don't think I'll go for the Monk's "simple" life.

How to map your distance runs

There are several ways to figure out far you have run, or plan to run. Some runners use their car's odometer, others use GPS devices which also have pace calculators for runners, others may count city blocks.

Here is a way to map your route in advance and check the distance. Go to web site gmaps-pedometer . There you can zero in on your city down to street level and lay out your course. At the left corner on the bottom of the site is Usage Instructions .
This will guide you on how to set up and measure your course. It is very easy to use and also has an elevation chart, so you can see if it is a flat course or has lots of hills. Then you can save the route and email to friends or post on your blog if you want to.

I charted our 20 mile course. If you want to see last weeks 20 miler, click HERE.

Enjoy!

Peers

20 miles of complete challenge

The four Horsemen of running, was the cause. Heat (80 degrees), humidity (80%), headwind, and hills (big and small, and lots of them).

Sunday's run started at 8:30 am, starting at 165th street and Riverside Drive. We met, reviewed the course, and the six of us in the 8:30 pace group headed toward New Jersey for our longest training run to date, 20 miles. We were told to slow down a bit, maybe 15 to 30 seconds per mile, for the first 17 miles, and then speed up for the final 3 miles, going at "race pace" or about 8 minutes per mile.

The start was fun, over the George Washington Bridge, to New Jersey, and into Palisades Park. The first water stop was down a long steep hill, to the base of the Hudson River at mile 3 1/2. So far, so good. It was getting back up that hill when we realized we were in for a challenging day. We followed the park road for 6.5 miles north, going uphill and downhill while we chatted away. All water stops were viewed as an oasis, and we stopped momentarily to drink gatorade and water and move on. Our pace was about 8:40 per mile, and we were down to a group of 5 as one slowed considerably on the hills.

At the 10 mile mark we spent an extra few minutes refueling. I was dripping with sweat from head to toe, not from the pace, but from the heat, hills, and humidity.

As we headed back, my energy level drained. We began to pass slower groups of runners and found quite a few taking walking breaks. One of the faster running groups passed us, and then we passed one of them, as he was taking a walking break.

When we got to the 16.5-mile mark, we again descended the steep hill to the base of the Hudson River, reloaded, and started running back up. I walked and jogged for the next mile or so as I started to feel dizzy, and one of my teammates stayed with me. When we sighted the GW Bridge, we picked up our pace and ran about 8 minute miles back to the starting point.

Summary
It was a tough day to run, and a very difficult course. Nevertheless, in the end, we completed it in about 2:52 for about 8:40 per mile. I found many runners today talking about how difficult it was for them as well. It should make the marathon course seem that much easier, as there are only a few hills and small ones at that.

Coach Adam has written a good essay on conquering the four forces, titled "Heat, humidity, headwind, and hills: Find out how to deal with the Four Horsemen of running.

Happy trails!

Peers

Memories from last weekend

Here is a recap of last weekend's activities.

Friday night, a family movie, which I highly recommend, "Saint Ralph". Set in the 50's it's about a boy growing up in Hamilton, Ontario attending a Catholic school, and as a form of punishment, being ordered to join to the cross country team. As his Mom is in a coma, he is in search of a miracle, and decides running and winning the Boston marathon, would provide what he needs. Very inspirational! My daughter got up and ran 4 miles Saturday after watching the movie with us.

Saturday, was a Team for Kids group run, scheduled for 11 miles. I wasn't planning to run this, but our pace group's turn to bring the post run refreshments, and Bev volunteered to pick up some goodies at Costco, so my plan was to drop them off and vamoose, since I had already signed up for a 13.1 mile race on Sunday. However, I thought, hey, this will be an easy 11 mile run. Take it slow and go for it! So I did. Unfortunately, we missed a turn and ran more like 13 miles, at a pace faster than what I had planned. I was surprised at how tired I was from this run. Oh well....

Sunday I entered the Yonkers half marathon. This is a beautiful race, as it is off the radar screen for most runners and only several hundred runners participate. It was a sunny day, a hilly course and my legs had not recovered from Saturday's run. Walking around near the starting line I was very happy to see several tables set up with physical therapist's stretching runners and giving massages. I hopped on an open table and my legs were thoroughly stretched for me. Wow, that was great!!! At the start I noticed another runner wearing the green color of Team for Kids and I settled into a comfortable pace with him for the first 9 miles. He decided to run 26.2 miles Sunday, the full marathon. To top that off, he wanted to pick up the pace for 5 minutes of every 20, which was what we had done on Saturday. He was aiming to run a 3 hour, 30 minute marathon, but at 10 miles our time was about 82 minutes, so we were behind his schedule. I used a few of my zen words, power, strength, relax...from miles 9 thru 11, then I picked up the pace to finish in 1:48, or about 8:18 per mile.

Then I found the massage tables and hopped on for a massage which really seemed to aid in my recovery this week. Thank you Jeanine for the stretching and the massage! I never found out how my teammate finished, as I had to rush home, shower and go the the Yankee's game.

So far this week, I am taking it easy. My legs are still in recovery mode. This weekend we have a group 20 mile run. I think I'd better rest up a bit for that one.

Happy Trails!

Zen me home

Seven weeks from Sunday is the New York marathon!

We will have been training for 9 weeks this Sunday so we are now at the midpoint in training. My legs recovered from the 18 miler last Sunday after about 2 days, which is faster than normal, so it seems the conditioning level is up.

One of the Zen thoughts that stuck with me from the Zen of Golf is worth sharing, I think, and since it is my blog, I will. The story goes that Arnold Palmer could arrive before a big golf tournament and by listening to other golfer's talk about the course, the weather and their game, he knew which golfers he had to beat. Someone would say, "there is too much wind"....Arnold would scratch him off his list, another might say "my swing is slightly off"...he was gone, still another might comment on how difficult the course was ....another non-competitor. The moral of this story is that you need to be ready to compete under whatever circumstances you find yourself in. Once you start complaining about the conditions, the course or yourself, you are setting up your excuses for a poor game, or poor race.

The author stated there are three simple rules:

1. Never complain,
2. About anything,
3. Even to yourself !

I think this lesson is a good one for running any race.

Conditions are never perfect. Too hot, too cold, rainy, humid, too windy, too sunny...you get the idea. Your body is never in perfect shape, from minor pains to bigger ones, our bodies are always talking back to us. And the courses are all easy to complain about. Too many hills, spectators (or none), water stops, starting time, etc.

As the training moves forward day by day, it parallels the second half of the marathon. You just have to accept the condition you find yourself in, and keep putting one foot in front of the other and repeat until finished.

Happy Trails!

New shoes, gu's and an 18 miler

Meeting with the podiatrist last week, Dr. Dan Geller in New York City was a good thing. He said I need to stretch more to avoid the Achilles pain I'm having on my left ankle, and he gave me three new shoe suggestions that have a firm upper foot, which will help me avoid the toe pains I have been experiencing. He also fitted me for new orthotics, saying most orthotics are good for about 5 years before replacement is needed. Mine lasted 15 years!

Thursday I went to the local running shop of choice, Westchester Roadrunners and tried on several pairs, ran a few yards on the local streets, and settled on the Asics Gel Nimbus model.

Running shoes have come a long way in the past 20 years. There are shoes designed for flat feet, high arches, pronators, heavy runners, and all types. These shoes are designed for high arches, with a lot of cushioning. If you want to check for shoe recommendations for your feet, try Roadrunner sports. They have reasonable prices and their site should provide some ideas. Then go to you local store and try them on, and run in them if possible prior to taking them home. I also picked up four packets of Gu, which is a thick liquid energy boosting substance that some runners use during long races. I figured I might as well try it out.

Today we met at 72nd street in New York City and ran north up a path along the Hudson River. Our group began about 9 am under sunny skies and temperature about 65 degrees. A beautiful day to run! We went thru Harlem, thru a park, then over the George Washington Bridge to New Jersey. We then turned around and followed the river back to our starting point and logged 18 miles today. I consumed 3 packets of Gu during the run and I liked the results. They are not earth shattering, but it seemed to bolster my energy level a bit when I was tiring. My persistent toe pain and Achilles pains were reduced to a minimum, which was great. The 18 miles were challenging, especially the hills leading up to the bridge entrance, but the run was completed without feeling completely spent.

My only problem was discovered about 6 miles into the run when a blister formed and by the end of the run I had a bit of blood showing thru my shoe. A "rookie mistake" was made by wearing the new shoes without breaking them in on several shorter runs.

In the end I added something else new today, a new blister. Hey, it beats a sore Achilles and sore toes! It was a successful 2.5 hours of running this morning with several friends. In two weeks we'll go a little farther, 20 miles.

Enjoy your week!

When is not enough, too much?

Beware, running is highly addictive.

Once you begin and find a rhythm in your run, it becomes habit forming. Once you run one mile, you'll strive for two. Enter your first race, and you'll look forward to the next, hoping to feel better during the run and improve your time. How do you do that? You train harder. This can be some combination of running more miles, cross training with weights, biking, swimming and running at a faster pace. Once you get some positive feedback by bettering your time, you might try a longer race. Here you'll find more experienced runners who have already been thru what you are experiencing. Naturally you are competitive, so what to do? You train harder!

This, my friends is where we get into trouble. We find ourselves overly tired, our body starts to fight back with aches and pains in places we are not used to, and we lose some of the fun of running. When training for a marathon, there is the feeling that you can never train too much, that the race is so long and difficult, you always need to ratchet up the intensity level from one week to the next, to get stronger. Like most things in life, you need to find the right balance in training. Not too much, not too little.... just right! This requires patience, forced days off for rest, and a keen sense of listening to your body. When your body aches too much, back off for a day or two.

When I was starting out, my theory was anything worth doing was worth doing to excess. Use this theory in training and you are sure to burn out! My current theory is, rest is as important as running.

So Saturday is a well deserved day of rest, and Sunday is a group 18 miler.

Stay tuned!

Power outage then back to work

Friday night and Saturday we had the remnants of hurricane Ernesto blow thru the New York area. Knowing it was on it's way, I decided to run my Saturday 10 miler on Friday afternoon on a treadmill. Aside from some minor foot pain, this went well.

Saturday then became a day of rest, so I headed to "Blondies" in NYC to watch the Michigan State Spartans beat the University of Idaho, 27-17. Back at home, we found Ernesto stole our power!

Labor day weekend was like camping out at home. No electricity, but we did have hot water, gas stove, and a barbeque. So it turned out to be a nice quiet weekend of playing cards and yardwork.

This was a good ending to the summer and to the week of recovery we had last week. This week it's back to pounding the pavement, and at the coach's request, at a faster pace. Yesterday was a 5 1/2 mile run, an easy pace halfway, and a faster pace back. It felt pretty good. This morning was an 8 miler consisting of a half mile warm up, followed by 6 X one mile runs at a faster pace, with a quarter mile cool-down at an easy pace before the next mile. This was a bit challenging, but all body parts arrived home in workable condition, so so far so good.

I have been trying to figure out why my feet have been hurting. Could it be I need new shoes? Could my 1991 orthotics need to be replaced? Do I need to tinker with my running form? Tomorrow I have an appointment with a Podiatrist, and I'll bring my shoes and orthotics and my complaints for his input.

As for running form, here is a good article which briefly describes proper form.
Proper running form

I hope you are running well!

Peers

Faith, Hope & Charity

This week is a recovery week. Fewer miles, fewer hills, and a moderate pace. This is welcomed with open arms as I have developed some pains which may need a few days of rest to repair. While I'm recovering it gives me a chance to reflect on a recent homily at St. Joseph's on faith, hope and charity.

When I googled faith, hope and charity, here is one of the responses,

The three great virtues that the New Testament calls for in Christians. Charity is often called love. According to the Apostle Paul, “Now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

In any long run or race I seem to experience faith and hope. I have faith before I start a run, that I will complete it, and will do so in a better mental state than I began. I hope during the run that all body parts cooperate and finish the mission without any undue pains or complaints. Runners as a whole are an optimistic bunch, seeing obstacles (hills, bad weather, injuries) as things to be overcome, which will ultimately make you stronger.

What about Charity you ask? Well today I want to thank all of you who have supported my Team for Kids run with you financial support. There are many charities out there and people asking for your money, all the time. I want to express my sincere gratitude to you, for choosing to support this charity. It is my conviction that running does help promote positive thinking and healthy living, and I have faith that your donations will help inspire some young runners to become greater (students, citizens, adults, runners, parents) than they ever dreamed they could be. I hope the Team for Kids program grows ever stronger in the coming years as well, serving kids throughout the country.

So here is a special thanks to: Martha, Jeff, Dayna, Ken, Ron, Anton, Hubert, Doug, Manus, Lisa, Thomas, Brad, Alex, Peter, Carol, Donna, Allyson, Kenneth, Stephen, Douglas and Mom!

Thank you for sharing your love!

Positively,

Peers

Sweet 16

Today's inaugural NYC half marathon was limited to the first 10,000 runners who signed up. When I went to pick up my race packet Saturday, I found I was not listed as a participant. Oh Oh! After some checking and waiting and discussing how I had signed up thru Team for Kids, I was given a number. Today I proudly wore entry number 12,805. Hey I may have gotten the last number...okay, kinda cool.

I arrived in Central Park at 5:30 am, and was pretty surprised to see thousands of runners already there. It was still pitch black! Our Team for Kids group met in Central Park at 6 am, stretched and then in our separate pace groups, ran 3miles, ending at the starting line of the race. This is where my number came in handy, because at this point, just about all of the 12,804 runners were ahead of me.

Once the race started it took our 8:30 pace group about 8 minutes to get to the official starting line and we slowly moved forward. The first 3 or 4 miles were spent mostly dodging other runners and trying to move ahead of them. No real pace can be set in this situation, you just do the best you can. The course was one loop around Central Park, then south on 8th Avenue. We finally found open running space as we exited Central Park, and just then the skies opened up and the rain poured down.

We were suddenly soaking wet, shoes a bit heavier and now dodging large puddles as well as other runners. Before we knew it we were in Times Square, and our pictures were being broadcast on the large NASDAQ screen overhead. At 42nd Street we turned right and headed to the west side highway. At this point we had run about 8 miles. I found myself tiring a bit and tried some of the Zen words and some Gatorade, and onward we went. Before we knew it we were on the Westside highway, a straight flat road 4 miles to the finish. Now it was just a mental game, counting down to the end, 40 blocks to go, 3 miles to go, 2 miles to go. One of our group members said, he was going to push the pace to the finish. We all increased our speed the final two miles and finished in 1 hour 47 minutes, for an average pace of 8:10 per mile.

Our target today was to run 15 minutes at 8:30 per mile, then run 5 minutes at 8:00 per mile. This was not going to happen based on the number of people, so we thought we'd try to run 2 miles at pace, the one mile faster, then repeat until finished. We were told not to worry about racing this event, that this was a training run, learning how to run in big groups and how to pace in a longer race. I think we met our goals today. At the end, I was tired, but not completely spent. Could I have tacked on another 10 miles today to complete a marathon? Well, maybe, but not comfortably. Good thing there are 8 weeks left to get prepared!

Here is a video from today's race from the NYRRC.

If you think you'd like to try a half marathon, try to get into NYC next year. It was a nice course and lots of fun.

Happy trails....

TGIF !

Was this a long week or am I just getting old (or both?).

My feet and right achilles hurt this week, but I plugged ahead each morning. Thursday was the hardest day. I ran three loops of a hilly course for a 9 mile morning. Friday is recovery, only 2 miles to get the kinks out and Saturday is a day off.

Sunday is a 16 mile day. Here is the plan. Wake up about 4:30 ayem, eat a banana and drink some gatorade and drive to Central Park in New York. Search for street parking and joining the Team for Kids group about 5:45. Run 3 miles with the group at 6 am, then line up for the NY half marathon and run 13 miles, around Central Park, then south thru the city to Battery Park City. The race begins at 7 am, so I should be finished by about 8:40. Then I need to find my way back to Central Park via subway, find my car and head for home to "start the day". I should be able to make 10:45 mass! Ahh the things we do for fun!

I had a few comments on my postings this week. My friend "Carla" questioned how we ran 1 mile underwater during the Detroit Marathon. We actually did it without getting wet or holding our breath...we went thru the "Windsor Tunnel", which goes under the Detroit river.

My pal Mike Beauregard shared the coaches Zen comments with one of his marathoning friends, who said her only Zen words during a marathon are....
"... gee I hope I don't die. :)"For inspiration this weekend, just remember, we are doing it to raise money for the kids running programs. Here is part of my team..... Cheers!