2012 - A Quick Look Back

A year ago around this time, I was debating if I should sign up to do my first marathon. I doubted myself. I didn't think that I could do it. I didn't think that I was good enough. But in the first week of the new year, I filled out the online entry form, closed my eyes, and hit the "check out" button and made it official! Then the training began.

On June 3rd I completed my goal of finishing my first marathon!! It was a tough one but I had done it! I became a marathoner!!
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Also this year, I became active in volunteering at a lot of races for the running club. Volunteering has help me appreciate the time and hard work that goes to putting on a running event. I have done it all from passing out place numbers at the finish line, to helping at water stops, to timing races, and even working the Boston Marathon expo (not sure what happened to that post). Volunteering has been fun and I will continue to do it again this year. I've said it many times before, you haven't volunteered at a race, I strongly encourage it!
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I met 2 bloggers in real life this year. Michelle from Running with Attitude at a 10 mile race in Foxboro, Ma. And also Bill from Impossible in Nothing at the Suftown Half. After following their blogs for a while, meeting them was like meeting celebrities :). Hope to run with you guys again!
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In October, I completed my second marathon.

It was a fun filled weekend with the family that finished off with me doing the marathon. One of the most memorable weekends of 2012!
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I still have 5 miles scheduled for Monday morning, but as of right now, I have ranked up 1,142 miles on these two tired legs of mine. That's like going from Boston, Ma to Atlanta, Ga. I have run more days than I didn't this year. I don't think I'll ever top a year like this in miles.
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The "cherry on top" moment of the year for me, as most of you know, was getting an entry for the 2013 Boston Marathon.

This will make 3 marathons for me in less than a year. For someone who had never run a marathon previous to this year, this is just nuts! If it wasn't for the fact that it's Boston, I probably wouldn't do it. But a opportunity like this might only come once in my lifetime. I gotta take it!!
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Looking forward to 2013.

I have no other planned races for 2013 like some of you. I just want to concentrate on finishing Boston. I might throw in a half marathon as part of the training, but that's about it. I plan a well deserved break after this is over.

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I want to get more involved with the running club this year. Definitely will continue to volunteer, but they also have monthly meetings to discuss club related topics and they also have positions you can hold in the club. I would like to learn more about being a race director or a volunteer coordinator or even be in charge of timing\scoring for races.

I did timing for a handful of races this year and I really enjoyed it.

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My biggest goal for 2013 is to stay healthy, learn more and become a better, smarter runner. I love running and I want it always to be part of my life. I love the running community and love meeting people with the same passion. Through my Facebook page and though Twitter, I have connected with many runners out there. Though I do not have hundreds of followers as someone like Detroit Runner or Running /w Spatulas, I do have more than I could have ever imagined and it seems to grow daily. I love connecting and the support that comes from social media.
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I wish you all a New Year filled with success, love, health, joy and lots of running!!!

Merry Christmas!!

I hope Santa brings you all what you want this year!!!

You Got Mail....

.... the best mail ever!!

Congrats from the Club President.

The rules...

I'm nervous about filling this out.... don't want to mess it up!!

The course map.

You read that right.... $300 entry fee! Yikes!! 

Now accepting donations.....

Once in a lifetime experience.... well worth every penny!!! 

I'm hoping to have filled and sent out by the first week of the new year.

I still can't believe it....

Vacation Week Tidbits

Ahhh.... feels good to be on vacation. I didn't go anywhere special. Just lounged around doing almost nothing. I needed this break!

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This week is officially week #1 of my Boston Marathon Training. Starting off a bit slow. As some of you guys know, I've been having some knee issues. So I don't want to push it. My first run was Sunday after a two week break. The Month of November I probably only ran 3 times. Though my knee is still a bit achy, it's not as bad as it was. Been a lot of icing, compression and massaging. Sunday's "long run" - 8+miles will be a good test for it.

I'm doing Boston even it means crawling across the finish line!!!! LOL

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Also this weekend, on Saturday, I will be running a 5K put on by the running club that will benefit our local food pantry. Entry to this race will be a donation of 5 can goods. I made a request on my personal Facebook to my friends and family to help out by donating at least one can to me that I can bring to the race. So far the response has been great. Hopefully I can get a couple more tomorrow before Saturday's race. We all donate, but I'll do the running.... doesn't get easier than that!

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Got tons of new followers on my Facebook Page recently. Like 20 overnight at one point. Thank you all for the follow, the Likes and the shares. I am overwhelmed by the support! I promise to keep things interesting, motivating and positive!!

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Now back to the vacation...
I haven't shaved in two weeks and have been rotating two pairs of jeans all vacation. This is life!!


Have a great week everyone!!!

My Next Journey

I've been in a Mac OSX training class all week in Cambridge, Ma. Lots of new stuff to take in, but I'm on my way in becoming certified. Just a little something to add to my resume!
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On Wednesday morning (as most of you already read) I wake up to the news that I have been given a time waived number to run the 2013 Boston Marathon, thanks in part to my volunteering time with the running club.

I've been so busy all week with the training that I haven't had time to fully grasp this. It wasn't 'til this weekend when I got home that it really hit me. I'll be running the Boston Marathon come April!! What an awesome early Christmas present this is. It will also be an early birthday present since my birthday is on April 16th, the day after the marathon. Unreal.....

So as long as god permits and I stay injury free, I will do this! I have never run a marathon before in my life until last year in June. Now here I am scheduled to run my third one in less than a year. How crazy is that??

I will follow the same 18 week training schedule I used in my last two marathons. But as in my last one, I plan to run extra miles when it comes to my long runs. Mentally and physically, it helped me out. It starts this week.

So without any further ado.... follow me in my next journey....

.....Let's do this!!!

Boston Bound!!!

click to enlarge

Now I'm nervous. 

This and That.....

Haven't had time to blog lately. Life (work more specifically), has taken up a lot of my time lately. I work in IT so I'm on a computer just about all day. So when I get home, the last thing I want to do is sit at a computer. Fortunately for me, this upcoming week, I'll be in a training class. Which means, I will not be at work. Then the week after I will be on vacation. Two weeks away from work.

Yeah boy!!!!

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So in the past 3 weeks I have only run twice. I did a two miler (a slow two miler) on Tuesday with a coworker during lunch. Then on Friday, I went for a 2 mile walk\run after work. My knee is still not at 100% but it's starting to feel a lot better. I don't want to push it, but at the same time I'm having a hard time sitting still. So, in the meantime, I have started doing some "Insanity" workouts. I can't do a lot of the jumping around routines because of my knee, but I can do most of them. I must say, I really enjoy these workouts. They are fast paced and almost nonstop. They are tough, but I can just about move along with the videos. Shaun T ain't got nothing on me!! Ok, yeah he does..... but I can handle the fast paced workouts.

I'm just hoping to stick with them.

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Thank you all for the comments on my attempts to Vlog. It was a last minute thing and I'm glad it got the response it did. I might do another one here and there. It was fun. It would be cool to see you guys do the same. I would like to see\hear what you guys sound like too. Jeff, some video reviews of the products you sample would be awesome!!! Jim and Michael, if you guys Vlogged, I think the response would be overwhelming!!!! Would love to see your pre-race dance on video.... LOL!!

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I have quite a number of new Facebook and Twitter followers. Thank you all for the follow. I'll try to keep things interesting for ya!! If you have a Facebook page or a Twitter account, please let me know. I'll gladly follow back.

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Hoping to keep up with blog in the next two weeks. Have a great week everyone!!

My First Attempt at Vlogging

I have way too much time on my hands....

This video was recorded while out on a walk today. It was not planned. I had no clue what I was going to say. I just went with the flow. I debated if I should post it the blog or not. But what the hell. Here it goes:

It's the first time I played with Windows Movie Maker too. I played for a while with the settings and the music. I was pretty cool.

.....again, I have way too much time on my hands. I need to start running.... soon!!

I miss running.....

I haven't run since Sunday.... And I miss it. I know, I know,  it's only been 6 days. But for me this is my longest stretch not running. The reason? I haven't really mentioned it on my blog only because I felt that if I didn't talk about it, it wouldn't be real. Or it would just go away.

My left knee has pretty much always bothered me from day one of running. I had it looked at once, 2yrs ago, but I was just told that it was normal wear and tear, and some rest would do it some good. Which I did.... Kind of. I didn't stop running, I just ran less.

Fast forward to the present....After the marathon, that was what I had planned, to run less.
But nooo.... I just kept pushing it. After this past Sunday's 8 miler, the pain in my knee was just unbearable. It didn't hurt anything out of the ordinary while running. I have become used to running through that pain. But after the run, while stretching, that was when I felt it!!

There was no way I could ignore it. It was time to face it.


So now the plan is to just rest..... not sure for how long. Maybe a week, maybe two weeks, maybe more.... I'll have to feel it out.


It's killing me. But I know it needs to be done.


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On another note... This is my first time blogging from the train ride to NYC on my Nexus 7 tablet. The tablet works really well with the Blogger site since its Google based. I purchased the tablet since I am going to doing a lot my traveling for work. So far, I am impressed with it.

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Not sure when I'll post again, so I want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Send some good vibes my way so that I can get back out on the streets soon.

Cheers!

The Plan

These past two weeks, after the Cape Cod Marathon, I have been giving a lot of thought as to what to do next. First and foremost, taking it easy is number one. My body has taken a beaten the past couple months and a well deserved rest will be welcomed. But after this, I need a plan.

I think what I'm going to do, is to continue running as if I were in marathon training. But not as strict. I want to run 15 to 20 miles during the week and on the weekends do long runs of 8 to 15 miles. If I miss runs here and there, no biggie. I just want to keep up with this routine so that when I run my next marathon (because I will run another) , I'll be ready for it.

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Now I have been told (by other runners) that we runners aren't that bright. As much as I don't want to agree with that saying, sometimes I do. In my case anyways, I'm not that bright..... . A week after the marathon, I run a 5k and come in 3rd overall. Probably not the best idea..... I ran 15 miles this past week and then ran another 5k this past Saturday. I ran a charity run to support victims of  hurricane Sandy. Then this morning I ran a good 8 miles.

So much for resting.....

But I need the rest. I know this.... This week, I will be doing some traveling for work and I don't plan on bringing my running gear. I will be in NYC and as much as I love to run in the city, I will leave my stuff behind. I'm just going to enjoy my time there. When not working of course..... Which will suck, but for me, it will be easy to do as appose to being local.


So..... that is my plan. Short term anyways. Long term, is still a work in progress.


I hope everyone has a great week. Keep on running!!!

- Jose

Best Race Picture Ever!!!

My daughter and I holding hands as I reached the finish line at the Cape Cod Marathon!

Love it!!!

Great first run.....

First of all,... thanks to everyone who commented on my last post. Comments were very much welcomed and appreciated. ....
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Moving along...
I woke up Saturday morning with the mindset that I was going to run that morning. I don't know maybe 3 or 4 miles, something like that. As I was drinking my coffee and checking out my Facebook, I saw that two of my friends were running a 5k only minutes from my house. Eh, I figured I would go check it out support the runners and maybe get my run in for the day.

When I got there, my mind was already telling me "to run the race".... so the heck with it, I signed up and met with my friends on their warm up run. I figured what the heck? At least it will get me back out there and out of my funk. The plan was to just take it easy as it was my first run after the marathon. But I knew most of the people running. It was the usual bunch of local runners and in my mind I knew that I had a good chance in placing in this race.

We lined up, the horn went off and before you know it I had a good strong hold of third place. There was no way I was letting that go! It was a hard zig zaggy, hilly race, but sure enough, I got 3rd place!!

Fortunately it was a small race so I had somewhat of a chance. There were no athletes from the local colleges to steal my glory. There were no prizes, no medals. Just a congrats and thank you for donation and we were on our way.

I was kinda upset about the no medal thing, but what ever, I wasn't even planing on racing, so I can't complain. The best part for me was just hanging out with the local runners, meeting new people and trading war stories.

My friend Chuck, Anita and me after the race...

 It was a great first run back!

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By the way, if you do not follow me on Facebook, you are missing out. Ok, not really missing out.... but there is a lot more up to date posting, pictures and comments for And so it Burns. Like my page and join the fun!!

Post Marathon Depression

I've thought long and hard about posting this, but I've always tried to keep this blog real. Real for you, but most importantly, real for me. This blog has always been about my thoughts, my feelings, and my experiences with running. I have had many highs in these past few years, and I have shared them freely with you. But with these highs, also comes the lows.

Post marathon depression. I only recall reading one post about this from one of the blogs I follow. I don't recall which one it was. But, yeah, it real..... I got it. I feel it. I've been down in the dumps the last few days and I can't snap out of it. Looking back, I've been here before. I just didn't realize it.

What I am to do? Do I need to continue to have goals to continue to feel content? Do I need to run a marathon every 6 months or so to feel happy? What I missing here?

I've only been running 3-4 years. I still consider myself new to all this. Especially to marathons. One thing I do know, is that I really love marathon training. I love everything about it. I love knowing that the weekends will bring a long run. I love knowing that I have a goal to shoot for. I love the build up to it. But the marathon is over.

I have read of some of you right back at it. Putting in the miles already. Not me. I'm resting these achy bones of mine. 4 days of no running. Probably the longest stretch in over a year. I probably wont run until the weekend. Maybe a full 5-6 days of rest. I just feel like I need it. But I would be lying if I said it wasn't driving me crazy!

I'm just rambling on at this point. I just feel like I needed to get this out.

I will not be sharing this post on my Facebook page like I would normally do. I don't think my non-running family and friends would understand what I'm talking about. They already think I'm crazy as it is.

I welcome any feedback on this topic. Have others experienced these same feelings?

Cape Cod Marathon

Marathon #2 is in the books. 

It was hard to get a solo shot with so many people around... I have about 8 of these and this was the best one.

I'm having a tough time starting this recap. I have so much on my mind. I wanted to take a couple of days to think about what to write, but being that this is my only day off from work, I probably wouldn't get around to it until the weekend. So here goes the mess that's on my mind:

This is the first time that a weekend getaway revolved around a race. Took off to the Cape on Thursday night with my brother-in-law and the wives met us on Friday night. Spent the day Saturday bike riding with the family and just relaxing at night.

The day started at 4:30 for me on Sunday morning. Actually, it was tough getting any kind of sleep. I was not in my own comfy bed and I kept getting up to check the time like every half hour. By 5:30 we (brother-in-law and myself) were out the door headed towards Falmouth. Packet pick up was from 6 to 7:30, so we needed to get there early, plus we got prime parking not to far from race start.

Race start was at 8:30.... at 8:25 I'm trying to calm my nerves. I felt my heart pounding against my chest as I'm lined up at the start. America the Beautiful was sung, a canon went off and so were we! At mile 2 my brother-in-law, on his bike, met up with me. He was with me on and off through out the whole race.

At mile about mile 4, a friend of mine Jenn caught up with me. I was wicked surprised to see her! I knew she was running the race, but I didn't think we would meet up on the course. We ran and chatted for about 5 miles until she decided to back off a bit and slow down. It made those couple of miles fly by!

The next couple of miles where a blur. I was just chugging along at a 8:45 pace The scenery was great. My brother-in-law kept riding back and forth, we'd chat for a bit. It really helped pass the time.
I felt good all the way through until I hit mile 22. I started to feel cramps on my calves and thighs. It was weird, It honestly felt like hands where squeezing them and I would yell every time the grip got tighter. They came and went until the end of the race. My brother-in-law kept trying to motivate me, but at that point I just wanted to say "Shut the F up!!"... it wasn't helping. I didn't though....  but a lady running near me did... LOL. Made me giggle for a sec.

At mile 24.5 I had enough. The urge to stop running and start walking won. A runner going by said "It's Ok. Walk a little, run a little. You got this!!" That made me feel better. The walking lasted for about 30 seconds. Picked it up again and walked some more at about 25.5. Picked it up again. I can see the mile 26 marker up ahead. I saw my sister-in-law right next to it cheering me on. She ran with me 'til we took the corner towards the finish line.

There was my wife, my daughter and my nephew up ahead snapping pictures.

Yay... almost done!!

Heel Striker!!!

 As I got closer the kids ran out and started to run with me. I grabbed my daughter's hand and made my way to the finish line. It was hard to hold back the tears. I did it. .... I did it!!!

Unofficial time - 3:54.... still waiting on them to post official results. If good, this will be a 2 min PR!!

I'm pretty happy with my pace over all. 

This is the first time I had this much support from my family. As those of you that follow now, I usually run my races alone. Which honestly I'm OK with. But this being one of the bigger races I've done, I'm glad they were all there. That made this race that much more special!!!

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Believe it or not, I had to go to work for a bit after the marathon. Long story short, I needed to get something done because I was out on Monday.  It sucked. But dinner and a 120min IPA (aged for almost 2yrs!!) made it all worth it!!

Soo tasty!!

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Congrats also to my friend Jenn that came in at 4hrs 04mins. This a huge PR for her!!!

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Thank you all for reading. Have a great week!!!

**** UPDATE**** PR confirmed!!
Official time posted:

382  1015 Jose Rivera 38 M   144/288   M1439 Webster MA  3:54:50 

So here I am.....

The night before my second marathon. What am I doing here? How did I get here? This has been a weird journey. A journey that I could have never imagined just a couple years ago. My second marathon in less than a year.

I'm beat up. Physically and mentally. I'm looking forward to getting this done. I don't have a goal time finish...... well.... actually I do. I want to finish strong. Stronger than my last.. 3:56. Even if by a minute. If I come in at 3:55 I will be happy. Anything less than that will just fill me with joy.

I have been at the Cape since Thursday. The waiting around is doing me in. I ran and easy mile and a half this morning and I could have easily done 15. I just felt good all the way through.

It's do or die time. 4 months of training, I am ready as  I could be.


Let's do this.....

Patiently Waiting.....

I can't wait for marathon day. I'm nervous about it, but excited at the same time.... after reading all the recent marathon recaps from other fellow bloggers (here, here, here, here, here and soon here), I'm ready to do this!!

When I singed up for the Cape Cod marathon, I didn't give too much thought about the logistics of this race. I figured I would maybe book a room for the night somewhere local or even a couple miles away. When checking into it, I found out that most places were requiring a two night stay for that weekend. The places that didn't were already booked. Grr.. I wasn't on planning on spending $400+ for hotel stay. Then I thought worst case scenario I would wake up at 4-5 in the morning to drive 2+ hrs to then run 26.2 miles to then hop back in my car and drive 2+ hrs back home. hmm... that sounds great..... NOT!

I mentioned this dilemma to my brother in law a couple of weeks ago over a few beers. He mentioned to me that he knew someone that has a vacation house down at the cape and was going to ask if we could use it for that weekend..... SCORE!!!! A week later he called me and said that we got the house from Thursday to Sunday and the best part, at no charge! Woot!! 

This is going to be an awesome weekend! A week and a half away. I'm patiently waiting! ......... I can't wait!

What I learned today.....

I was contacted by Joe O'Connor, one of the CMS's race directors, to see if I was interested in helping out at a local race. The race was only 15mins from my house, so of course I said yes. All I had to basically do was keep track of the time of the runners as they came across the finish line.

Real easy to do since we had timers to do so :)

Joe is a 27 time marathon runner. He has run Boston multiple times. And has run a marathon in about 11 different states. Joe, to me, is a god. I admire him like a football fan would admire Tom Brady or a baseball fan would admire Derek Jeter. To me, Joe is one of the best. Just a day before, he was a pacer for runners for the half at Hartford. Amazing!!!

What I learned today:

- Pacers at these big races (like Hartford) run for free. Joe told me that he has run Hartford multiple times but has never paid because he has always been a pacer. He knows some key people at ING that has given him this opportunity.... I want a part of this!!!

- I never realized that the running club was "hired" by local races to keep track of time, or oversee the race results of a race. And the demand was so overwhelming that they actually turned down jobs....wow!.

- Again.... it's a lot of work.

- Race directors, such as Joe, are most likely to receive a time waved voucher for the Boston Marathon. Now, he didn't tell me this, but, I know for a fact that race directors get more points towards a time waved voucher for Boston. CMS gets roughly 20 or so time waived vouchers for Boston in return for their part in volunteering at their races. The more you volunteer, or the bigger part of volunteering you do, the more points you get towards the time waived voucher. I need to get busier!!

- I think what I learned the most today was, that no matter how far a long you are in your running career, no matter how many races you finish, no matter how many medals you get, you have to give back to the sport that gave you what you have earned. There is no greater feeling to me, than watching someone running their first race and seeing the look of satisfaction a they cross that finish line. We all know how that feels. We have all been there.

I was humbled by today's race. I talked to the people that helped put the race together. I saw what it takes. They had a vision, a goal to raise funds for their cause. I'm glad that we were there to help them out to reach their goal. I'm glad we could give back.

I know, I have said this many times before. But if you could give back by volunteering at races, I strongly urge that you do. The satisfaction you get, outweighs any medal you can ever get. Trust me.

Next Saturday, I get to do it again. Joe asked me to help him out at another local race. Since I am experiencing "The Naggles" .... what else am I going to do?

I will be there!!

Paranoia

All week I have felt run down and tired and I haven't been able to snap out of it. Monday I left work early, went home and slept all afternoon. Tuesday, I wanted to call out, but we were having quarterly sales meetings at work, so sales people from around the country were coming in and I had appointments with a few of them. So I had to suck it up!

Worked a late day, went right to bed when I got home. Same thing on Wednesday.....

My long run on Saturday really did a number on me. My left knee has been achy and my right ankle has not been feeling right. I didn't run Sunday, Monday or Tuesday. Wednesday, as tired as I felt, I figured I would go out and test out my legs. A coworker joined me on the run, which was great because he runs a slower pace. It was exactly what  I needed.

After a 4.5 run, my knee felt good, but my ankle was still achy. Not as bad as Sunday, but I can feel still feel it. Luckily for me I have freezer full of ice packs in the fridge at work. I walked around with it the rest of the afternoon.

no one at work questions me any more...

With my marathon being just about 2 weeks away, this is were paranoia starts kicking in. I start  worrying about every single ache and pain I get! 

Am I the only one?? 

I just need to get past 2 "long runs" (12 miler & an 8 miler) before the big day. I have pushed my training past whats been on paper all along, but these last 2 weeks I have to stick the plan. Hopefully get the aches, pains and tiredness out of the way now so I don't have to deal with them come race day.

As for now.... I need a nap.

Weekend Review

Saturday was long run day. 20 miles was on schedule. It was my typical Webster, Dudley, Oxford back to Webster run. As planned, I added an extra mile right from the start so I can try to make for at least a 21 miler. At about mile 12 somewhere in Oxford, I saw a another runner up ahead of me. When I caught up to this runner I realized it was an old friend of mine, Chuck. I've known Chuck for over 20 yrs and he just so happen to be running the same route I was. Chuck is a well rounded triathlete, but at 48, his training for his first marathon ever, the Amica Marathon, in Newport, RI. Just 2 weeks away.

I can't even begin to explain how good it felt to run into him at this part of my long run. Mentally I was beat. I have run this route 5 times already this training schedule. I was getting bored of it. We ran together for the next 7 miles before he split to head back home to end his 18 mile run. Our conversations during this run went from when we first met to him explaining his training plan for his last triathlon. As I am interested in doing my first Tri soon, I was sucked in to this whole conversation. He even gave me a contact for a lady out of Westborough, that gives swimming lessons. I was supper excited.

As soon as we split, I just had a little over 2 miles to go to finish off a 21+ miler. Those last 2 miles were nothing. I finished at 21.5 at 3hrs and  18mins:

I say it was nothing because I finished strong, but I was hurting the rest of the day. My left knee and right ankle were sore after this run. There was a lot of icying going on that afternoon.

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Sunday I volunteered at the B.A.A.Half. The day started at 4am with breakfast and a trip out to Worcester to meet up with running club at 5 so we can car pool into Boston to be there for 6. We were stationed at water stop #3 at mile 6.

I can't even begin to explain how much work goes into setting up a water stop. Setting up tables, getting all the cups ready, filling them with water, trying to figure out how much to set up. The Gatorade comes in concentrated gallons that must be mixed with 5 gallons of water. So you mix it then you start setting up and filling cups. It's a lot of work.

I think the worst part is waiting for the runners to start coming through. The wait made me nervous.

Allan Kiprono from Kenya (surprise!!!) wins the half.

The elite come through first, but water is the last thing these guys want. They are hardcore as you know, all the want is more pavement!! They didn't even look our way....

But by the time the "normal" runners came through, it looked more like Dawn of the Dead, but instead of looking for brains, it was water they were craving.... 

Wahtah..... (Zombies with a Boston accent... LOL)... no joke.

It was crazy.... It was kinda scary to times too. I might even have nightmares about it tonight. 

As soon as the rush came on through, 7000 runners later, it was practically over kinda quick. All that was left was a massive clean up of empty cup that stretch out for about a quarter of a mile past our water station. And even then, that went kinda quick thanks to the amount of volunteers we had.

All I have to say is that if you have NEVER volunteered at a race. Please do so. It will change your whole perspective of any race you will ever do. Trust me. ... again, Trust me! You will never look at another volunteer the same.

It made for a long day, a long weekend actually. But the people that I met this weekend, the laughs that I had, the experience that came along with it, I would never trade. It was a really good weekend.

The CMS Crew

Oh yeah... and we got a really cool volunteer shirt:

Have a great week everyone!!!!

This Weekend

Yes. Already thinking about the weekend. 

Saturday is long run day. 20 miles schedule, but I'm going to try to pull 21+. I feel like I need it. The plan is to do the same route I did two weeks ago when the 19 miles became 20, but I'm going to add an extra mile in the beginning so I am already I mile ahead by the time I get to the end. A little bit of mind games with myself, but  it's been working so far.

After the long run, the family and I plan to go apple picking.

I'm 38 years old and I've never gone apple picking. It's one of those "Fall" things. Hey, give me credit, I'm trying. I can't wait!

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Sunday I will be volunteering at the B.A.A Half Marathon. I will be doing this with the running club. We are going to be working one of the water stops. This will be the first time I'll be working the water stop at this race, but the second time doing it with the club. I can't wait, this is going to be fun. I dont get to hang out much with club members. Honestly I think I've been a lousy member. I have not gone to any of the club only races or events, and they races sponsor, I usually end up running them and instead of helping out. They probably sponsored 30\40 races this year and I have only volunteered 5 times..... I suck. I'm hoping I can change that going forward.

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After this weekend, I'll be looking forward to taper time. No, not really....


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C'mon Friday!!!!

I don't like Fall

Yep, I said it. I DON"T like Fall. I've never liked Fall and now that I run, I like it even less.

I hate that in between weather. Where it's too cold for shorts & t-shirt, but if you wear long pants and long sleeves, you just want to rip them off half way through your run. But if you wear shorts, especially at races, you're cold prior to the start then you are freezing afterwards when you're drenched in sweat and you are starting to cool off.

Blah.... It was a cold and drizzly out this weekend and it hit me that summer is really over. I love summer. Give me hot and humid days everyday. I can't get enough of them. Call me crazy, but I enjoy running in the heat. Sneakers & shorts that's all I need.

But time to face reality.

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I ran a 5k this morning. I got there an hour prior to race start and I couldn't shake off the chills. I had to do a couple "warm up" runs just to shake it off. It was a good turn out. Definitely a lot more people this year than there was last year. Came in 6th place over all with a time of 21:27. I didn't hang out after the race. I said my hellos to a couple of familiar faces, but then I was out. I just wanted to go home and throw on some sweats pants on and watch some football.

Football..... now that's about the only thing I like about fall. :)


Have a great week everyone!