Tales of a 19 miler...

19 Miles done!
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Saturday night I went to bed around 10:30..... at around 11 I realized that I hadn't seen my ipod all day... I got out of bed and went looking for it. I had no clue where it was.....I even texted my oldest daughter, who I knew was still awake in her room:

Even she knew the severity of the situation.....

So after 30mins of searching for it, I gave up and went back to bed. 

The plan was to be up by 5:15 and out the door by 6am..... The alarm clock ran at 5:15 but I couldn't get myself out of bed 'til almost 6. It was cold and the bed felt soo comfortable. By the time I got dressed and was ready it was almost 7. I had to use the quick mix on Pandora on my iPhone for music since my iPod was no where to be seen. Pandora is OK, except for the fact that the free version only allows you to forward or skip only 3 times. And you can't rewind a song. So I'm stuck listening to whatever comes on.

The temperature was a chilly 34 degrees when I walked out the door this morning. I was wearing shorts, but I had a long sleeve shirt, winter hat and gloves on. It was sunny, which made it warm in the sun, but it was chilly in the shade.

So off I went.... The first 7 miles were really uneventful. At mile 4 the gloves came off. They were mostly up hill so I was just concentrating on just keeping moving. Miles 7 - 9 were deep back roads of Dudley & Oxford. There was a lot of shade so the gloves came back on. At about mile 9 1/2 it was steep down hill for about a mile that my legs welcomed happily! My legs felt beat. I remember mumbling to myself at about mile 11 about how tired I felt. I wanted to stop and walk for a while. But I kept on pushing.

At about mile 13 I was on auto pilot. My body was moving on it's own. It knew where it had to go and was just going....

You ever have one of those moments where you were running and were like "WTF"??... Me neither. Until today. I was a mile away from home when I realized something was wrong. I looked down at my Garmin and I was only at mile 16!!! How could this be!? I know I followed the route I mapped out perfectly. I used Mapmyrun.com to map it out. Looking at it after I realized that I had double clicked somewhere and clicked on a 2 mile stretch twice. This was honestly a hard blow. I was tired and hurting by this point and the thought of needing to run 3 more miles killed me. My mind was like "whatever.... just do it". So I did. I ran up and down side streets before reaching my house just trying to make up the mileage. You never realize how short these stupid streets are until you are trying to make this up! Streets that I always thought were about a mile long were only really about a half mile. Felt like I was running around aimlessly.

Finally....... 19 miles done.

This was a tough run. Mentally one of the hardest I have ever done. Those last 3 miles almost did me in. I didn't realize until I looked at this, that I actually ran this a bit faster than my 17 miler. That makes it feel great!

I walked the last 1/8 of a mile back to the house which is what I normally do. Then I do stretches at my back door. I was hurting. My legs started to cramp up. No amount of stretching would alleviate the pain that my legs felt. I layed on the driveway for about 20 mins before I walked (wobbled) in the house. My wife knew I wasn't right. She could see it on my face. I layed down on the living room floor with my legs up as that was the only way I could keep them from cramping. My loving wife and daughter massaged my calves which helped tremendously.

I hurt, but I felt good. 

After a warm shower I started to feel normal. I was still walking funny, but at least my legs weren't cramping up. 19 miles - 7.2 more to go. Soo close. I almost feel like if I had to do the whole thing today, I think I could have done it. It probably wouldn't have been pretty, but I think it would have been doable. 

I have a 20 miler in two weeks. That one will be interesting. I'll have to make sure I map this one out right. I really dont want another repeat of today.

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That's it for me today. I'm going to bed. I need it. 

Thank you for reading! Have a great week!

Friday night ramblings

Another good week of training. Training call for 5-5-5 this week. I pulled out roughly 5-6.5-4.5. Not bad. This weekend's long run calls for 19 miles. I'm excited about it but nervous at the same time. I have never run that far before. I have a new route mapped out that should hopefully keep me busy looking around at the new scenery and not on the mileage.
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I was reading Trent's blog over at Running from Mediocrity and he just ran his first 20 miler of his training. I like how he mentioned that he felt a post long run buzz the next day after his long run. I felt the same way about my 17 miler this weekend. I honestly felt like I accomplished something great. I'm hoping to feel the same after my long run this weekend as well. What a great feeling that is. Trent is doing his first marathon a week after I do my first marathon. It's been interesting to read about his training. I can really relate to what he is going through right now. Please follow him and wish him well on his training!
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I wish you you all good runs this weekend! Please send me some positive vibes as I conquer my first ever 19 miles!

Yawn..........

Longest run to date: 17+ awesome miles today.

Killed it today!

It's raining today and I'm glad. Gives me an excuse to lounge around and be lazy :) . I was good all day until I sat on the couch with my laptop. Now I'm just fighting back yawns and the couch is starting to feel real comfy....

yep.... that's how I feel right now.

I can't snap out it. Coffee is not helping either. Are you guys the same after a long run? What helps keep you going after long runs?

This runner's ramblings

Besides my Boston Marathon post on Monday, I haven't really blogged a lot. Though I have been reading and commenting on the blogs I follow. Work last week was way to busy so no time to blog. This week I'm on vacation and the weather has been perfect, so I've been out and about with my girls as they too are on vacation.

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I wanted to blog about my Boston Marathon volunteering I did at the expo last Saturday, but I never got around to it. All I can say is that it was an awesome experience and I will do it again in a heartbeat. Met soo many people from all over the world. It was great to hear their stories of how they got there to run in the "superbowl of all marathons" as one guy from Spain called it. I worked crowd control in the Adidas merchandise booth. Which basically meant I watched people waiting in line at the registers. As they stood there in line I would ask them where they came from. I heard Chile, Germany, France, China, Canada, etc..and some countries I've never heard of. It made for a very interesting day.

Plus I got my jacket: 

Light weight and perfect for running. But it's way to nice to run in.

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In other news.... My knee has been better as of late. In a two week span I probably only ran 4 times and all short runs and slow paced and walks were welcomed if I felt the slightest discomfort. Last Friday, I got a little brave and went for a 8 mile trail run during lunch with a coworker. It wasn't bad, but I made sure I iced my knee immediately. I put in another 5 on Sunday that felt really good and then Tuesday I hit the road again for a 14 Miler. My knee ached a bit after this run, but again, icing helped a lot. Wednesday was a rest day. Today I ran 7 miles with a club member and I plan another 5 tomorrow. I'm planning my next long run (17 miles) on Sunday. I'm hoping to stay pain free for the rest of my training. I'll take it easy if I need to, but I really need to get in my long runs. My marathon is a little over a month away! Yikes!

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Boston Marathon 2012 - Spectator's point of view

First and foremost, congrats to all who ran the Boston Marathon. It was a hot one out there today!!

Like years past, I started my Patriots Day early... I was up by 6am and out the door by 7 on my way to Boston... well actually, Newton. I found a nice parking spot near the course at around the 17 1/2 mile mark. This is basically where the first of the hills of HeartBreak Hill start. I had my bike with me so I rode up HeartBreak towards Boston College (Mile 21) just to get the feel of the hills. It was early but there were tons of people already set up on the sidewalks claiming their spots. People that lived along the course were setting up their grills and tables and getting ready for a great time! I claimed a nice shady spot around mile 18. That sun was brutal today!

I lost track of time, but at about 10:30 or so the first wheelchair participant came by.

About 30mins after the leading women came flying by

Then not to long after, the men

The crowds started rolling in after that:

I moved on up to the top of HeartBreak Hill for a while:

The look of people's faces when they read this sign was priceless. Some cheered for joy, others high-fived the crowds, and others burst to tears. It was emotional watching them.

Just conquered Heartbreak Hill!

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There was one scary moment where a runner collapsed due to the heat. Me and another guy had to carry him into the shade. Other people came over with water and bags of ice. We placed bags of ice on the back of his neck, arm pits, even in his pants to cool him off. I held his head slightly up and to the side as I poured water on his lips. He was dehydrated and was having a difficult time breathing. His name was Andrew. His name was on his shirt and on his ID tag along with contact info. Mid 30's maybe. His number was 5870. A few times I had to yell out his name to keep him alert. We stayed with his until the paramedics came. He was alert but still having trouble breathing. As they took him away, the crowed clapped and cheered for him. 

I couldn't stop thinking about him all day ..... Great job Andrew. 

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It was a great day to watch the Marathon. Like previous years, I enjoy every single minute of it and dream of one day running it myself. I know I will never qualify. Maybe I'll just run it for charity. Or if the stars align perfectly for me and I score enough volunteer points through my running club, just maybe I could earn myself a time waved entry. I can dream can't I?

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I have placed more pictures HERE if anyone is interested.

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And I'll leave you with this 1min video I took of the runners:

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Again,... great job to those that ran today!

Another day, Another post....

So I ran\walked 5 miles yesterday. No Garmin. Just me and the road. No real pain after the run, but still achy. Really frustrating....

Not a happy guy lately :(

Thanks for the comments on my last post. To answer some of your question:

Yes.  I am icing it. .... Have one of those 50 beers nice and cold for me!

Doesn't hurt while running, though I can feel it. I'm using a knee brace that helps with compression. I have never tried the KT tape and would not have a clue how to apply it. Any advice?

Good job on your long run this weekend BTW!

I go stir crazy when I can't run. I don't know what to do with myself. Its a good thing the weather has been nice. I've been keeping busy outside and going for walks. I would go nuts if it were cold & rainy! It doesn't hurt when I walk either, but I can definitely feel it as well.  I'm even icing after walks. I'm debating a short run\walk tomorrow morning. I'll have to feel it out.

Bill, I am not 100% sure where I will be on the course. Years past, I have been at HeartBreak Hill & Boston College area which I really like. But people I'll be with were talking about going closer to the finish line. I'll know better by end of week. I know with all the people running it will be hard to spot you out, but I'll keep my eyes open.

Have a great weekend every one!! Go out there and get some good runs in for me!

My Aching Knee!!

Ever since Saturday's long run, my left knee has been achy. I took Sunday & Monday off from running to give some rest. Ran on Tuesday and even though I had a good run, my knee ached like a bastard afterwards. Grrr!!! I don't need this right now!

No not really...... just upset.

 No running today obviously. I planned a 17 miler this weekend. I honestly doubt that will happen. I'm going to rest it two more days..... maybe even three. If anything I'll give it a test run on Saturday, but nothing crazy. Maybe a mile or two. Right now I'm wearing my knee brace for compression. It feels good when wearing.

Might have to do some traveling back to NYC next week. Not being able to run while there is going to drive me crazy! Hopefully, I'll get to sneak at least one in. Then next weekend was suppose to be my 18 miler, but Saturday I'm volunteering for the Boston Marathon. Sunday I'm back in Boston to go watch my Red Sox play against the Rays. Then of course, on Monday I'll be somewhere along the marathon route to watch 20,000+ runners do what they do best. It's gonna be awesome!!!

I have that whole week off so hopefully my knee will be playing nice and I'll be able to get a long run in during the week. If it's one thing I have learned from reading your blogs is to listen to my body. I'll be taking it one day at a time for now.


Have some good runs in for me this week!