tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6347470216552724652024-03-13T19:32:20.562-04:00I thought they said rumScott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.comBlogger883125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-87200443089025146472018-06-05T15:45:00.000-04:002018-12-16T15:46:05.971-05:00Romeo and Juliet: Show Recap<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The show is long over, but it was easily one of my best experiences I've ever had in the theater, and so I wanted to write a little about the experience for posterity.<br />
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The Ritz Theater is a semi-professional theater, meaning the caliber of actors attracted to auditions is much higher than in any theater I've previously worked. Almost every actor in the show has had extensive training in the theater and counts acting as his or her primary profession. Overall, this was the most professional production I've been a part of in my life. We had a director, of course, with dozens of shows under his belt over the years. But we also had a text coach. A stage manager. Two trained and certified fight choreographers. <br />
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Honestly, I felt lucky just to have been cast at all.<br />
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Like I said in my last post, I had a very small part (I was only on stage for about twenty minutes of the two hour show), but my part required me to learn some pretty intricate and intense fight choreography. It was incredibly intimidating, but I'd like to think I rose to the occasion and made the fights look as authentic as possible.<br />
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But with such intense stage combat comes the chance for injury. In one our shows, I managed to dislocate Romeo's thumb in a freak accident. Ever the professional, he finished the show, but we had to modify our fight over the next few nights while his thumb healed. He waited until after the show was over to get surgery.<br />
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Despite taking precautions like warming up before each show, I didn't come away unscathed myself, either. I was fine the entire run of the show, then on the morning after our final performance, I felt pain in my shoulder. By the end of the day I could barely raise my arm above shoulder height. My friend Erik, who is a PA, told me I most likely had tendonitis. I wore a sling for several days and didn't fully recover for many weeks.<br />
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I love Shakespeare and have appeared in a few of his shows over the years, but this was definitely the best one. To perform such a classic piece of theater in such a historic building with such a talented cast was truly a dream come true.<br />
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I even brought Neale to the theater a few times and let him climb Juliet's balcony. He had a blast exploring the theater and its backstage environs.<br />
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If you're in the South Jersey/Philadelphia area and are an actor or just an avid theater-goer, I can't recommend the <a href="http://www.ritztheatreco.org/">Ritz Theater</a> enough. Staffed with wonderful, talented people who offer quality theater experiences, you really can't go wrong.</div>
Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-86365185975756102482018-01-27T14:58:00.002-05:002018-01-27T14:58:44.346-05:00Romeo and Juliet and Tybalt<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
First post of 2018. Let's go...<br />
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Pleased to announce I've been cast in my next show: in March I'll be playing the small but pivotal role of Tybalt in "Romeo and Juliet" with the Ritz Theater Company, housed in an old 1920's vaudeville movie house. It's a gorgeous old theater that has seating for 336 people and is currently on the National Register of Historic Places. Considering my last show was in a circle of 20 metal folding chairs in a Philly loft apartment turned church, you could say I'm pretty excited to be a part of this one.<br />
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I auditioned all the way back in September at an open call, unified audition for the Ritz's first four shows of the season. The call back was in December, and I was cast a few days later, though I wasn't able to say anything online until this month when we met for our first rehearsal.<br />
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While I only have 37 lines, I get to engage in a few pretty epic sword fights, and this may end up being the most physically demanding role I've ever played. For this reason, I'm attempting to get back into shape. I've started running more, and being more conscious of what I eat, and I'm even doing Dry January for the first time of my life (though I'm no stranger to giving up booze for months at a time, usually in the service of marathon training).<br />
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Normally when I put this much effort into getting into shape, it's for an upcoming goal race, so it's interesting to be exercising with an entirely different goal in mind this time. We had our first fight rehearsal last weekend, conducted by two trained and certified fight choreographers. We started with the basics of sword fighting for the stage, and soon will move into specific choreography. I'm beyond excited to take the same energy and passion I normally put into a marathon training cycle and apply it to this show. <br />
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We open March 8th, so if you live in the Philadelphia or South Jersey area, come check it out!<br />
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Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-51136363328110147832017-12-29T13:31:00.000-05:002017-12-29T13:31:12.097-05:002017: Year in Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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In preparation for writing this post, I spent some time reading past years' recaps. Unfortunately this one won't be as cheery as those other posts. 2017 was easily one of the most difficult years I've ever endured, so let me begin this recap by explaining why.<br />
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On February 6th of this year, my wife Stevie told me she wanted to end our marriage. For the record, I did not cheat on her, or abuse her, or lose all of our money gambling, or anything like that. She simply fell out of love with me, and there was nothing I could say or do to dissuade her from her decision.<br />
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It was pain like I've never experienced before, even worse than when my mom passed away unexpectedly 11 years ago. I won't go into too much more detail other than to say I'm still not over it. I've spent the past year in a stupor of heartbreak, anger, depression and shame, with no end in sight. This, coupled with the endless legal wrangling and the general logistics of a divorce, has left me utterly exhausted from the struggle of it all.<br />
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I rarely get this personal and downtrodden on my blog, and am only doing so now as a gentle reminder:<br />
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I'll try to stay positive and mention some of the good things to have happened in 2017.<br />
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I did a surprising amount of traveling, for one. In February my son Neale and I flew to Minnesota to spend a long weekend with my sister and her kids. It was a surprisingly warm few days, so we were able to spend a lot of time outside, and Neale got a lot of quality time with his cousins whom he doesn't get to see as often.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neale with his cousin Matteo in a park near St. Paul, MN</td></tr>
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In April I boarded a train headed north to Boston for my second and most likely last Boston Marathon. I went by myself but still had an amazing weekend nerding out over running with running celebrities and fellow runners. I met U.S. Olympians Jared Ward and Shalane Flanagan, I quaffed pints at the Cheers Bar, and of course participated in one of the greatest traditions in sports history on Patriots Day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moments after finishing the 2017 Boston Marathon</td></tr>
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In June, just a few days after school got out, I led a trip to Germany for the third time. This was my biggest group yet - 14 students and one other chaperone. We spent time in Berlin and Munich on an itinerary I built myself. I do believe everyone involved had a good time, and may have even learned a few things along the way.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With some of my students outside of the 1936 Olympic Stadium in Berlin</td></tr>
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In July, Neale and I flew west to Minnesota where we stayed with my sister again, then my sister, my sister's 4 kids, my sister's German au pair, Neale and I all piled into a rented, 29 foot RV and headed to Utah. I love a good road trip, and I love the great outdoors, so seeing so much of this country at the ground level in addition to all of the national parks we visited, well, I was in my element. I'm not sure how much of this trip Neale will remember, if any of it, but I do hope I have planted the seeds of wanderlust deep in his soul.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Goblin Valley State Park in Utah</td></tr>
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In August, one of my best friends from high school moved from New York City to San Antonio, Texas, and I helped him drive the U-Haul there. We drove through Hurricane Harvey in Eastern Texas and had to detour around Houston, but made it safely to San Antonio a few days after leaving, and had a few days in San Antonio to tour the city and drink and eat plenty of Tex Mex and Margaritas.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Paul outside of the Alamo in San Antonio, TX</td></tr>
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These two road trips brought me through five new states to bring my total up to 48 on my quest to hit all 50. The only states I have left now are Hawaii and North Dakota.<br />
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On Halloween, another good friend from high school got married in Las Vegas, so I flew out there where she got married at the Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel. Everyone dressed in Halloween costumes for the ceremony and reception, and it was definitely the most unique wedding I've ever been to.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJVbZUSlfAqaiMli-0sOCMEfmEizNIpTRLUUne4QIaA02FcdCCc3Dx29S3Qwkj2RMyIIwKenULT_co03gjgezuEn9JH0OQQRjJmnPDV3xmwGvbRl-D2PvaqJZlIDdsf1U8jhtZzG-CGy4/s1600/23031144_10155006517598365_5935720809545842455_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJVbZUSlfAqaiMli-0sOCMEfmEizNIpTRLUUne4QIaA02FcdCCc3Dx29S3Qwkj2RMyIIwKenULT_co03gjgezuEn9JH0OQQRjJmnPDV3xmwGvbRl-D2PvaqJZlIDdsf1U8jhtZzG-CGy4/s640/23031144_10155006517598365_5935720809545842455_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Amy on her wedding day</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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This is, of course, still a running blog, so let's talk a little about the running I did this year. The streak continues on; I hit my 4th streakiversary in November, and am still going to this day, but I didn't do many races this year. I only managed six:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li>Haddonfield Adrenaline 5k</li>
<li>Love Run Half Marathon</li>
<li>Boston Marathon</li>
<li>Broad Street Run</li>
<li>Cooper Norcross Run the Bridge 10k</li>
<li>Haddon Township Turkey Trot 5k</li>
</ol>
<br />
<br />
The only one that was new to me was the Love Run, which I thoroughly enjoyed and may sign up for again this spring.<br />
<br />
I only ran one PR, which was 1:07:46 at the 10 mile Broad Street Run in May. I had a great time doing that race and may sign up again this spring as well.<br />
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So there you have it, dear reader. My 2017 in a nutshell. I'll leave you with the following video, an enchanting version of "Learning to Fly" from the late, great Tom Petty. After the year I've had, this song has become a bit of a mantra for me. Here's to a great 2018, and let us all continue learning to fly.<br />
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<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4p_f7Df2-oM" width="560"></iframe></div>
Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-58290358879100138152017-12-23T15:33:00.001-05:002017-12-23T15:33:12.113-05:00Who's Up 2017 Holiday Party <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
My dad specifically requested I write about the party the other night, so here goes:<br />
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My running group - Who's Up? - meets every Wednesday night at the Haddonfield Running Company. We run 6.6 miles together, then drink beer in the store afterwards, courtesy of a different club member every week (big thanks to the employees of the HRC for letting us do this). Every December, we adjourn to a local bar for a holiday get together. I thought it might be fun to change things up and have a house party this year instead, and since I recently moved into a place .7 miles from the store, I offered up my house for the venue.<br />
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I also offered to be "up" and provided all of the beer; I went with mostly Christmas beers and naturally wrote out a menu for everyone.<br />
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I live right next door to my dad and step mom now, so my dad stopped by. My dad is an avid runner and has run seven marathons in his day, and loves beer and talking shop with other runners, so he was in his element.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcPLcvC01ub3Tf4nhaF261i3JbQx0aPLchvNLiatmEebzU2jvxCPZW9vjgldatZmP4LrDyzDLakQtkPMFy1ffK6Ui5K9OKSyAklyAa9zVR5fp2siOhFMEWePOEeRgwHGVhj6LCQS9Vyk8/s1600/25498228_10155130092138365_4420328070903514569_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="720" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcPLcvC01ub3Tf4nhaF261i3JbQx0aPLchvNLiatmEebzU2jvxCPZW9vjgldatZmP4LrDyzDLakQtkPMFy1ffK6Ui5K9OKSyAklyAa9zVR5fp2siOhFMEWePOEeRgwHGVhj6LCQS9Vyk8/s640/25498228_10155130092138365_4420328070903514569_n.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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In addition to the beer, we had pizza from down the street, and a whole table of food that people brought. I also got to use my fire place for the first time. Between the Christmas tree, the fire, the candles, and the Christmas music playing, it was pretty damn cozy, if I do say so myself.<br />
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Two guys brought bottles of bourbon, and pretty soon we were breaking into that. Because chasing an 11% beer with three fingers of whiskey is always a good idea...<br />
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All together we had about 30 or 40 people in my house. Before too many people left it finally occured to us to get a picture.<br />
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By 11:30 the last people had left, and I was finally in bed by midnight. At 6am the next day, I was up getting ready for work.<br />
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This was one of the best nights I've had in a long time, and hopefully this will become a new Who's Up tradition.</div>
Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-10480364455433505742017-12-12T14:41:00.000-05:002017-12-23T14:44:09.425-05:00Emi's Road to Recovery<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When you belong to a running group, it's not always about the running. More often than not, it's about the people in that group; how we bond and support each other in running as well as life.<br />
<br />
Last summer, one of our own was involved in a life-altering accident, injuring her spinal cord and vertebra, and has been in a wheelchair ever since. Before her accident, she was an incredibly talented runner, having run cross country and track in college, and a 3:11 debut marathon shortly after graduating. Just last April, she ran the Boston Marathon with me.<br />
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Since her accident, she spent time in the hospital and later at a rehab facility in Philadelphia, and is currently undergoing intensive outpatient physical therapy to regain mobility of her legs. Her medical bills have become substantial, and we wanted to help offset those costs in any way we could. A few in our group took the reigns, booking a venue, contacting local businesses to donate prizes for raffles, and selling tickets, and together we all raised over $7,500 for her.<br />
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This past Sunday afternoon, we all gathered at the Taproom in Haddon Township, NJ for an incredible night of friendship and fellowship, and one our club won't soon forget.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0YoPp9-T47hmte8hZkA4H5HrYqkAj37TGu4w4z1aBVELjRTH2t8R_J5O9p6vaSrPrX_Z98pJX_n20_TFVuHkfnGRDtxoE8LwHrD6HI2Kjza0ZooejFiwZhtOFj5Iwa68zCoMU9iPap00/s1600/24991056_10155935551254289_3020733356717699527_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="958" data-original-width="960" height="636" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0YoPp9-T47hmte8hZkA4H5HrYqkAj37TGu4w4z1aBVELjRTH2t8R_J5O9p6vaSrPrX_Z98pJX_n20_TFVuHkfnGRDtxoE8LwHrD6HI2Kjza0ZooejFiwZhtOFj5Iwa68zCoMU9iPap00/s640/24991056_10155935551254289_3020733356717699527_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emi with the organizers of the event.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8oV8Udl4w8CKdTsQ4PfUVnSjlUUDJqzHwCfgxMz-2e8D-vjKiguKK9_G0C7SSSBRDx_QHVXVz7XsQz67QbahQY2z8sud00DKgdMQjEN5hcJSaK9YUILpH6AStE2yWzMj77BDte3t0Juw/s1600/24899808_10155103500803365_8922984747188975744_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8oV8Udl4w8CKdTsQ4PfUVnSjlUUDJqzHwCfgxMz-2e8D-vjKiguKK9_G0C7SSSBRDx_QHVXVz7XsQz67QbahQY2z8sud00DKgdMQjEN5hcJSaK9YUILpH6AStE2yWzMj77BDte3t0Juw/s640/24899808_10155103500803365_8922984747188975744_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DJ Ron hard at work.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ne4QuPKRWJ-o1DW3gginKmXzVnbuWQW3dAPQNBu7yjOuK4QGBex6xL_RdYfc0bq7brCakKrm6QqZEnWKDBziVJgtVf-zH5teEX3tYBD0k3N3sr_BhzRlAzcFaYOVKaHw8tHKDr_jdrc/s1600/24909971_10155103501513365_5914251720780046119_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ne4QuPKRWJ-o1DW3gginKmXzVnbuWQW3dAPQNBu7yjOuK4QGBex6xL_RdYfc0bq7brCakKrm6QqZEnWKDBziVJgtVf-zH5teEX3tYBD0k3N3sr_BhzRlAzcFaYOVKaHw8tHKDr_jdrc/s640/24909971_10155103501513365_5914251720780046119_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging on the wall above the bar at the Taproom.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8p0nOceDSlMxDCxNYvd0PXg-mq0_QS_VqwdSMjEF1zvlrOOVjsxa98Z5q_W4VKWp5h1ipFpsAUbvQRqbiGfptQOFS3bUNVmROqQ8TNKBiNsGyxNXdxXPY52xR4Axw1Om7AzqEKVjUqVI/s1600/24909997_10155103501193365_2888422771081223059_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8p0nOceDSlMxDCxNYvd0PXg-mq0_QS_VqwdSMjEF1zvlrOOVjsxa98Z5q_W4VKWp5h1ipFpsAUbvQRqbiGfptQOFS3bUNVmROqQ8TNKBiNsGyxNXdxXPY52xR4Axw1Om7AzqEKVjUqVI/s640/24909997_10155103501193365_2888422771081223059_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">29 gift baskets for the raffle, all donated from various businesses.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUbmiiXsR0KLVtXCTr18p7pbOd2CTph50i7qAsPiMIPRxMBm-A3k2mk4qApxHJrWRgvAKAkpH3gygYPlk8wXPv7I1d3E0SV8kv03lUKm4b0a7DjA6AaM-Onpf2SlpgVwForGrLASBEulY/s1600/24993427_10155103502348365_7008471541857385709_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUbmiiXsR0KLVtXCTr18p7pbOd2CTph50i7qAsPiMIPRxMBm-A3k2mk4qApxHJrWRgvAKAkpH3gygYPlk8wXPv7I1d3E0SV8kv03lUKm4b0a7DjA6AaM-Onpf2SlpgVwForGrLASBEulY/s640/24993427_10155103502348365_7008471541857385709_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grace uses her elementary P.E. teacher skills to call out the winners.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBzTS19AX6tS5XuG5HZ8KnbvBKW8xrntBjd0WTjlaczYlFm71SD5oxxTCrGkR20xvR2oz6dPmzIiPRsM8WUoyZpR6LevwkUbasNr_fUqUYrZa-NH7P-6HcVsrtagxRcABul4U6n4l4h5M/s1600/24910126_10155103501358365_7503666901385823506_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="754" data-original-width="960" height="502" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBzTS19AX6tS5XuG5HZ8KnbvBKW8xrntBjd0WTjlaczYlFm71SD5oxxTCrGkR20xvR2oz6dPmzIiPRsM8WUoyZpR6LevwkUbasNr_fUqUYrZa-NH7P-6HcVsrtagxRcABul4U6n4l4h5M/s640/24910126_10155103501358365_7503666901385823506_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just a few of the many Who's Up members to attend the fundraiser.</td></tr>
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Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-79721889162048439682017-11-29T17:41:00.001-05:002017-11-29T17:41:33.895-05:002017 Haddon Township Turkey Trot 5k: Race Report<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Another year, and another Haddon Township Turkey Trot in the books. I love this race because it's in the town where I teach, so I get to race a lot of my students. A lot of people from Who's Up run it too, so there are always a lot of familiar and friendly faces. The race course is almost pancake flat, and the post-race donuts and breakfast sandwiches are included in the race fee. What's not to love?<br />
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Some race reports from previous years:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://ithoughttheysaidrum.blogspot.com/2012/11/2012-haddon-twp-turkey-trot.html">2012</a><br />
<a href="http://ithoughttheysaidrum.blogspot.com/2013/12/2013-haddon-twp-turkey-trot-race-report.html">2013</a><br />
<a href="http://ithoughttheysaidrum.blogspot.com/2014/11/2014-haddon-twp-turkey-trot.html">2014</a><br />
<a href="http://ithoughttheysaidrum.blogspot.com/2015/11/2015-haddon-township-turkey-trot-race.html">2015</a><br />
<a href="http://ithoughttheysaidrum.blogspot.com/2016/11/2016-haddon-township-turkey-trot-race.html">2016</a><br />
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This was technically my second race since Broad Street last May, but I was sick during my last race and didn't run very hard. So it had been awhile since I'd really pushed myself in a race.<br />
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I seriously didn't know if I would break twenty minutes, which is usually my benchmark time for the 5k. I know I say that a lot, and I always manage to come in under, but all the signs pointed to me straying north of this benchmark in this race: not having raced in so long, not having trained at all for the 5k distance, and probably having gained some weight since last spring when I was in decent shape for Boston.<br />
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I got to the Pour House at 7:30am, early enough to snag a good parking spot. Met my dad shortly afterwards and then hung out for the next hour and a half talking to my dad, saying hi to students and friends, and doing a brief warm up run.<br />
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At 9am, a thousand South Jersey runners walked two blocks down the street from the Pour House to the starting line. At the start, we charged back down Haddon Avenue, made a left onto Cuthbert, and another quick left onto Park. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9vMYhTVU8tNnoLUn4kMPAA-g99LsU0WrMiYysgEwdSMF3bLd0KFxbPJ8XsLLtIFCxk7xlF2wbrH-_moB4kkhNwSktyha15q3VV5RIaYIyDoJkUPYyhCoegayxsJCi9B8WS7G5D3uO17M/s1600/24129536_10214525198428397_264161942161417115_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9vMYhTVU8tNnoLUn4kMPAA-g99LsU0WrMiYysgEwdSMF3bLd0KFxbPJ8XsLLtIFCxk7xlF2wbrH-_moB4kkhNwSktyha15q3VV5RIaYIyDoJkUPYyhCoegayxsJCi9B8WS7G5D3uO17M/s640/24129536_10214525198428397_264161942161417115_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The start.<br />Photo by Patrick Rodio</td></tr>
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At mile two, I caught up with one of my students. I joked that if he couldn't beat me, then he was in trouble. He hung with me for awhile, and we both began to reel in another one of my students.<br />
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When we made the final left turn back onto Haddon Avenue, the first student of mine had fallen behind, and I was now running with the second student. I ran neck and neck with him to the finish, but he outkicked me in the last hundred yards and beat me by two seconds. It was a thrilling finish.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGX8_Cr9YCwCK-_Up8VUrWeb6YphlMorsQb98l6HdevARfzuHhyphenhypheni_WZxmmC6YN0IpSijRhwupKYkG5qQWz8uwfMoH_RaUk87CRN0w_XAqxxVq5wc7phOIe50ppQLQZlH64oW1q-F3Fu2o/s1600/23916003_10214525184028037_1359227895287681415_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGX8_Cr9YCwCK-_Up8VUrWeb6YphlMorsQb98l6HdevARfzuHhyphenhypheni_WZxmmC6YN0IpSijRhwupKYkG5qQWz8uwfMoH_RaUk87CRN0w_XAqxxVq5wc7phOIe50ppQLQZlH64oW1q-F3Fu2o/s640/23916003_10214525184028037_1359227895287681415_n.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to catch up to my student (in red) in the homestretch.<br />Photo by Patrick Rodio</td></tr>
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<br />
So it looks like there was enough muscle memory in my legs, as I finished the race with a chip time of 19:31.<br />
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Given this race's size, I've never placed in my age group, let alone won, but that's exactly what happened this time. I even got a plaque for my efforts:<br />
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I also posed with my dad under the Pour House sign, which has become a tradition for us.<br />
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Then I posed with friends from Who's Up:<br />
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Mental note: finish chewing before posing for a picture in the future.<br />
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Another year down and new memories added.</div>
Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-38133842853635436662017-11-09T11:24:00.001-05:002017-11-09T11:24:23.358-05:002017 Run the Bridge 10k: Race Report<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I haven't done a race since Broad Street last May. I had grand plans to sign up for all of my usual fall races this year, but one by one they came and went without me ever having pulled the trigger. It would seem I have lost my running mojo.<br />
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I finally signed up for a race I did for the first time last year: The Cooper Norcross Run the Bridge 10k in Camden, NJ. I ran it last year in just over 41 minutes, which still stands as my 10k PR. It was a thrilling race that ended in a photo finish with a fellow runner from Who's Up on a perfect fall day, so I have good memories from this race and was keen to relive them.<br />
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Unfortunately I was just getting over being sick and I wasn't able to run to my potential. I considered dropping out completely, but I couldn't bear the thought of a DNS, or wasting the $50 entry fee, so I managed to pull myself out of bed on Sunday morning and head over to Camden. I told myself to just start the race and if I needed to I could always stop at the halfway point which is very close to the finish area. But then I couldn't bear the thought of a DNF either, so I finished the whole thing.<br />
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Philly running friend Willa and I got to the starting line on the NJ side of the Ben Franklin Bridge just as the race was about to begin.<br />
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We placed ourselves into the sea of people as best as possible because there weren't any signs for paces or corrals (or at least that we could see). At 8:30 the race began. I set off at about a 9 minute pace, and Willa quickly pushed ahead of me.<br />
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I never run with a phone, but since I knew I would be running slowly, I decided to bring it with me so I could take pictures on the bridge. <br />
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The first half of the race is an out and back on the bridge, the only time foot traffic is allowed on the main area of the bridge (except when the Pope is in town). When I got back to the Camden side and crossed the halfway mark, I was still going pretty slowly but decided I felt good enough to finish the race, so I continued to slowly plod through the streets of Camden.<br />
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Around mile 4, I saw this guy:<br />
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At mile 5, employees from the Haddonfield Running Company were manning the water stop, so I got a selfie with Shawn:<br />
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And finally, after 52 minutes of running, I entered the outfield of the stadium, and shortly thereafter crossed the finish line.<br />
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I was just happy that I finished after all and I didn't start a major coughing fit en route, though my deepest apologies go to my fellow runners who had to witness my snot rockets, both their frequency and the sheer volume of snot expelled. <br />
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The winner finished in 31 minutes. Everyone from Who's Up finished well ahead of me as well. Willa finished in 47:17.<br />
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There was a beer garden at home plate pouring Yards Brawler and Pale Ale, and I got myself a Brawler and hung out for a bit with Willa and Erik.<br />
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I love this race and hope to continue to do it for years to come. I was feeling lousy both from being sick and from the prospect of getting out of bed so early on a Sunday morning, but it's true that you never regret a run once it's over.<br />
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It was definitely a novelty to stop so often during a race to take pictures and not worry about a time or pushing myself hard at all. I can see why people like to do it, but for me, the true appeal of signing up for and running a race will always be pushing myself as hard as I can. I really missed that this time around.<br />
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My next race will be later this month - the Haddon Township Turkey Trot, which I do every year. After that, who knows? Hopefully 2018 will bring a renewed vigor to my running.</div>
Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-68056617225022184712017-08-24T10:32:00.000-04:002018-01-07T10:33:47.236-05:00Summer 2017 Road Rules: Toddler Edition<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
When my sister first proposed an RV trip out west with all of our kids, I was a bit skeptical. Neither of us had ever set foot in an RV. Could either of us even drive one? Would my son, at just shy of three years old, be too young for it? Would it be at all enjoyable with five kids all under the age of eight?<br />
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Luckily we threw caution to the wind and decided to go for it. Thankfully, after handling the logistics of a ten day trip to Germany for 16 people just a few weeks earlier, I didn't have to do any of the planning for this trip as my sister took care of all the details. All I had to do was show up and help drive/wrangle the kids on occasion.<br />
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Quick stats:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>29 foot, class C Ford RV (no special license required to operate)</li>
<li>Two weeks</li>
<li>Five kids (Neale and his four cousins)</li>
<li>Three adults (me, my sister, my sister's German au pair Nina)</li>
<li>Leaving from and returning to St. Paul, Minnesota</li>
<li>States: Minnesota → Iowa → Missouri → Nebraska → Kansas → Colorado → Utah → Wyoming → South Dakota → Minnesota</li>
<li>National Parks: Great Sand Dunes, Arches, Canyonland, Bryce, Zion, Capitol Reef, Badlands</li>
</ul>
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On July 17th, Neale and I flew west to Minnesota where my sister picked us up at the airport. We spent a few days at her place in St. Paul, then we all boarded the RV in the afternoon and started driving south to Iowa. We parked and slept in the parking lot of a random Walmart somewhere in Iowa that night, then headed out the next day for Kansas.<br />
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My sister and I quickly became adept at driving such a large vehicle. All we had to do was allow for extra room when making turns, and extra time when stopping or accelerating, and we were fine. Though my sister never did take a liking to driving through the mountain passes with steep cliffs, which she let me handle.<br />
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After spending the night in Iowa, we drove through the northwestern corner of Missouri (my first time in the Show Me State), where we briefly got lost amidst the cornfields, then into the southeastern portion of Nebraska, then finally to our destination of the day: Kansas (my first time in the Sunflower State).<br />
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We spent an hour at the Buffalo Bill Cultural Center in Oakley, Kansas where the kids finally got to run free for a bit:<br />
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We then parked at our "RV campground" on the edge of a farmer's property in the middle of nowhere in Kansas. The campground consisted of a small grassy lot with a few water and electrical hookups spaced throughout, a locked metal box to deposit money on the honor system, and that was it. <br />
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I went running that night under the stars and almost got attacked by a dog who came barreling out of a nearby front yard, all teeth and hackles and a ferocious bark. The owner stuck her head out of her front door and yelled at me not to run. A steely calm came over me as I faced the dog, backing away slowly, ready to fight if needed, but once I retreated enough, the dog went back to his yard. I was pleased to note I could keep my calm under pressure and not lose my shit, both figuratively and literally.<br />
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The next day we were all packed up and ready to trundle onward through the heartland when we ran into RV trouble. The back "bedroom" of the RV, which slides out at night to create more space, would not retract. We spent hours in the blazing Kansas sun trying to figure out what to do. We eventually got ahold of a nearby RV technician who could not fix the problem either, so we eventually just used brute strength to push the part of the RV back into place, where it stayed the rest of the trip.<br />
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Onward across Kansas and into Eastern Colorado, which is just more Kansas.<br />
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In Eastern Colorado we met a man on the side of the highway who had survived brain cancer and was walking across the country just because he could.<br />
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In Southern Colorado we stopped at Bent's Old Fort which used to be on the border of Mexico. I bought a book there - <i>Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West </i>by Hampton Sides - and spent the rest of the trip engrossed in the bloody history of this region of America.<br />
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We soon hit our first national park of the trip - Great Sand Dunes National Park - where we spent time playing in the sand dunes before retiring to an RV campground outside of the park.<br />
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The next few days were a whirlwhind of national parks in Southern Utah. We hit the big five in the Beehive State: Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon, Zion, and Capitol Reef. At each one, we lathered the kids in sunblock, loaded the backpacks with snacks, and set off on short hikes near the visitor center or anywhere we could park a 29 foot RV (including one trailhead that was so crowded I had to parallel park the RV - clearly the defining accomplishment of my life).<br />
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Neale handled the trails about as well as I would expect from an almost-three-year-old. He walked intermittently but mostly wanted to be carried. I was pleased and proud to see that he seemed to take a liking to rock climbing. Like father, like son.<br />
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From a young age I've always loved climbing anything and everything - trees, buildings, cliffs, etc. - and was in heaven with the rough red sandstone of southern Utah and its numerous natural hand holds. There were many times when I scared the wits out of myself when I realized I had climbed higher than I intended and realized I wasn't sure how to get down. No caffein for me, thanks, my adrenaline has already spiked enough.<br />
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I was enamored of the landscape of southern Utah. I'd been there before, with my mother when I was 17, but I'd forgotten how simply breathtaking the landscape is. The best view from the RV was in the driver's seat, so I found myself volunteering to drive as much as possible just so I could take it all in (and maybe also to get away from the chaos in the back for a bit).<br />
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Life inside the RV was difficult at times. We were on the road for long stretches, and keeping five young children occupied was challenging. Too often, when they became bored of the limited supply of books/coloring materials/toys they had brought, they resorted to annoying each other for fun. Screams of "he's touching me!" or "she stole my Legos!" or variations thereof clanged around in the small space and tested all of our patience. There were a lot of tears and breakdowns on this trip.<br />
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As we settled into a driving routine, so we settled into a campground routine. My sister took care of the laundry, while I took care of monitoring our fresh/gray/black water tanks and draining/filling as needed. Nina helped with wrangling the kids and food meal prep/clean up.<br />
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I think all but three meals during the entire trip were prepared in the RV. We did a lot of grocery shopping, and on the few occasions when we went to a restaurant, we usually got pizza.<br />
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After hitting the national parks of southern Utah, we slowly started making our way north through the state, then veered east for the first time of the trip into Wyoming. We barreled across the state until entering South Dakota, where we stopped at our final national park: Badlands National Park.<br />
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After spending the night there, we continued on to the Corn Palace of Mitchell, South Dakota. Surprisingly, this was my third time in the Mt. Rushmore State, and my third time visiting the Corn Palace. My first time was in 1997 on a service trip to an Indian Reservation, my second time was in 2007 during a cross country road trip, and now my third time in 2017. I figure I'll head back for a fourth time in 2027.<br />
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And finally, two weeks after setting out from Minnesota, we crossed the border back into the North Star State, and shortly thereafter arrived back in St. Paul. Neale and I stayed on for another two days, then flew back to the east coast.<br />
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Huge thanks go out to my sister for coming up with the idea for this trip and then planning every last detail. I have no doubt this is something we'll be talking about for years to come. Though it was tiring and stressful at times, it was a wonderful trip, and one I won't soon forget. Neale had such a good time playing with his cousins, and loved playing with Kiera especially.<br />
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At each national park I bought a poster, and I plan to frame those posters and eventually hang them in Neale's room. I also hope to make a Shutterfly book for Neale with all of the pictures of the trip. I don't know how much of this trip he will remember, if any at all, but I do hope I have succeeded in planting the seeds of wanderlust deep in his soul.<br />
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Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-63185869910359632552017-07-15T11:00:00.000-04:002017-07-15T11:14:32.390-04:00Summer 2017 Update<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
There were so many things I had planned to blog about in their own separate entries over the past few months that I just never got around to, so let's put up a few pictures and move on. Here are a few life updates in chronological order:<br />
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In May I had my year-end evaluation with my principal. This is based on Student Growth Objectives (a series of graded assessments given to two of my six classes), a Reflective Practice Portfolio (digital documents uploaded to seven different categories with accompanying written reflections) and two formal in-class observations. This year I scored a 3.65 out of 4, my highest score yet, placing me firmly in the highly effective range. I was pretty proud of this given all of the problems I've faced in my personal life this year.<br />
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At the end of May it was my turn to bring the beer for Who's Up?, and I once again went with the South Jersey beer theme like I did two years ago. It's amazing how many new breweries have opened in that short time. Pictured above:<br />
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<li>Lower Forge from Medford</li>
<li>Forgotten Boardwalk from Cherry Hill</li>
<li>Devils Creek from Collingswood</li>
<li>Eclipse from Merchantville</li>
<li>Double Nickel from Pennsauken</li>
<li>Tonewood from Oaklyn</li>
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The variety and quality went over very well with the beer nerds I run with. South Jersey really has an amazing variety of breweries and it truly is an incredible time to be a beer enthusiast.</div>
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Global Running Day, as always, was on the first Wednesday of June, and as always, Dave Welsh of the Haddonfield Running Company outdid himself. He put on a mini expo right on the sidewalk outside of his store, and raffled off 12 pairs of running shoes (runners were eligible for the pair they wore to the run). Because I wore my Nikes to the run, I put a ticket in the Nike box and won myself a free pair. I can't tell you how many times I've entered a raffle for a free pair of shoes over the years, and this is the first time I've ever won. I was ecstatic.</div>
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Just a few days after school ended, I left for Germany with 14 students and one other chaperone. As usual, we spent ten days in both Berlin and Munich, staying in hostels while visiting museums, churches, parks and plenty of beer gardens and beer halls. Unlike many high school language teachers that plan trips abroad, I don't travel with a tour company, but instead plan the entire thing myself. Planning the trip this year was like having a part time job, and the trip itself was no less exhausting. But I'm proud to say we hit every single thing on the itinerary I built with no major snafus of any kind. I'm pretty sure my kids had a blast while learning a little about German history, culture and language along the way, and for that I would do the trip again in a heartbeat.</div>
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While in Berlin, I got to meet up with Christina, an old high school friend whom I haven't seen in ten years. She now lives in Berlin with her husband and dachshund, and we spent a night at a beer garden catching up. Also my t-shirt says "it's lit" which was a present that day from my students, because teenagers are hilarious.</div>
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While in Munich I got to meet Henrik, who first started reading and commenting on this blog many years ago. We spent a few hours drinking beer in downtown Munich while talking in German about running, politics, and life in general. It's the first time I've ever met a blog reader in person, and he was an absolute pleasure to spend time with. Henrik, if you're ever in Philly, let me know!</div>
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Just one day after returning from Germany, I joined some friends for the annual July beer mile. Because this year's beer mile fell on Canada Day, I decided to go with Molson Canadian beer. Last year I drank luke warm Budweiser because I had read it was easier to chug, which ended up being a terrible decision because it was so disgusting and was so hard to stomach, and I ended up finishing DFL in well over twenty minutes. Ice cold Canadian beer was the perfect choice this year, and I finished just 22 seconds off my PR in 11:07.</div>
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Last week I took advantage of free passes for teachers and weekdays off in the summer and took my son to the Adventure Aquarium in Camden. We had the place almost to ourselves for the first twenty minutes until the day camps took over, and it resulted in one of my new favorite pictures of Neale, trying to give a two ton hippopotamus a kiss on the nose.</div>
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Erik told me that the website Athlinks now lists your friends on the site as your "rivals," and lists any races together as wins and losses. The one "loss" I have against him is the 2007 Distance Run which I ran in 1:49.</div>
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And there you have some updates from the last few months. I hope to write more regularly in the future, but who knows if that will happen. Until the next time, run hard, friends.</div>
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Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-82849433411241163292017-05-12T15:36:00.000-04:002017-05-20T15:37:28.805-04:002017 Broad Street Run Race Report<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I last ran the Broad Street Run back in 2007. It was insanely crowded the entire ten miles and I found it nearly impossible to get a decent pace going. I swore off the race and usually referred to it as a "shit show" every May when the race rolled around again.<br />
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Over the last few years, though, I'd been considering giving it another shot, and I finally pulled the trigger this year. And I'm so glad I did. It was an amazing experience.<br />
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Let's go back to the beginning.<br />
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I woke up at 5am on Sunday, and by 5:30 I was on the road. Drove into South Philly and parked at the stadiums in-between the Wells Fargo Center and Citizens Bank Ballpark. Walked to the nearby subway and was on the train by 6. It was packed with runners - standing room only. 15 or 20 minutes later we arrived in North Philly. <br />
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I checked my bag at gear check and then had a good hour and a half until go time. I walked around, used the porta potties which still had no lines at this point, ran into Emi and hung out with her for a bit, sat around for a bit people watching, found the secret elite enclave and did a warm up run with them, then got into my corral.<br />
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For the uninformed, the Broad Street Run, named for its course down Broad Street in Philadelphia, is now in its 38th year. With 40,000 participants, it is the largest 10 mile race in the United States, and the 6th largest of any race distance. When I ran it in 2007, there were only about 17,000 runners, and even then it was obscenely crowded at the start. Races back then had yet to figure out the wave/corral system, so race starts were always a free-for-all. People placed themselves wherever they wanted and were all sent off at the same time.<br />
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Like most big races, Broad Street now seeds runners based on expected finish time (though they have volunteers checking bibs, it is still very easy to sneak into any corral you want), and they send runners off in waves, waiting a few minutes in between each one. Because of these new measures, the course was a lot roomier this time and never felt crowded.<br />
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Having just run Boston three weeks earlier, it felt nice to know I only had ten miles ahead of me as opposed to an entire marathon. I had no plans to go hard, but you know me. Once I was out there, I just wanted to run as hard as I could. I stopped around mile 3 to use a porta potty, which cost me about 30 seconds. But I was still surprised that I ended up running negative splits. At the 3 mile mark, my average pace was 7:01. At the 5 mile mark my average pace fell to 6:55, at the 7 mile mark it fell to 6:52, and I finished the race in 1:07:46 for an average pace of 6:46, good for 869th place.<br />
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The course had a lot of great spectating sections, and the aid stations were perfectly placed and expertly manned. I remember thinking in the last few miles how much room I had, and how uncomfortable I was due to how hard I was running. My previous 10 mile PR was 1:09 from last fall, but I wasn't wearing a watch this time and wasn't sure what the difference between my gun time and chip time was. The upshot is that I wasn't sure if I was headed for a PR or not, but I decided to keep my foot on the gas anyway, so to speak, and obviously it ended up paying off.<br />
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After finishing, I caught up with a few friends from Who's Up, including Emi, but once again failed to get a picture with her as we immediately lost her after getting our gear from the buses. Again, I swear she exists. So here's me with Kim:<br />
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After enjoying the finish line festival for about 30 minutes, I made the short walk back to my car, then the short drive back to NJ.<br />
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I already have a feeling that I'll be back next year for more.</div>
Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-21162686141290697602017-05-03T15:28:00.000-04:002017-05-20T15:28:56.465-04:00Joseph Fund 5k: Volunteering<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm almost ashamed to say that in all of my years of racing, I've never once volunteered at a race. I've spectated and cheered on runners, both strangers and friends, but I've never signed up to officially volunteer.<br />
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So when a fellow runner from Who's Up? e-mailed the group about an upcoming race he was putting on at the Cooper River, I jumped at the chance. He and Dave Welsh, owner of the Haddonfield Running Company, had spent the last few months working with a group of students at a middle school in Camden to train for a 5k. Once or twice a week they came to the school to do running drills with the students and coach them through the process of training for a specific race. The idea was to promote a healthy lifestyle and community through running and goal setting. Race day (Sunday April 23rd) was to be a celebration of their training and all the hard work they put in.<br />
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A lot of people from Who's Up? came out to run the race alongside the students from Camden, but because race day was only 6 days after Boston, I decided to volunteer instead of running. I also dragged my son, Neale, along with me.<br />
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Long story short, I wasn't able to drive to the Cooper River, so I had to walk nearly three miles with a thirty pound toddler in tow at 6:30 in the morning to make it there in time. When we got there, I was put on T-shirt duty. I set out race shirts on the table, then organized the large box of tech shirts for the Camden students. Race shirts were not included with registration for this race, so I then handled donations from people who wanted one.<br />
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For the rest of the time I stood behind the table directing people to the starting line or answering any questions I could. After the race I helped fill water for finishers. Neale helped hand out T-shirts and tried to fill cups with water, but was mostly interested in running around and petting the many dogs that showed up.<br />
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It was an amazing day for a race, and between the students, participants in the 5k and participants in the 1 mile fun run, there were about 200 runners out there. There was a definite sense of pomp and circumstance for the students to celebrate their hard work.<br />
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It was great to see this inaugural event go so well, and I hope it becomes a fixture in both Camden and our own running community.<br />
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Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-52472663469741610202017-05-01T15:19:00.000-04:002017-05-20T15:20:06.652-04:00The meaning of Boston<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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At the risk of overdoing it on the Boston posts, I wanted to write just one last post to sum up my thoughts on race weekend. <br />
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A quick recap: I've qualified for Boston three times. I qualified and registered for the 2012 race but didn't get to go because the new registration rules shut me out. I finally got to run Boston for the first time in 2015. The 2017 Boston Marathon was my second, and as I've said many times, my last for a very long time. I'm happy to go out on such a high note.<br />
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This was easily one of the best weekends of my life, and after the shitstorm of the last few months, it couldn't have come at a better time. Boston came at a time when I needed it most to remind me that yes, life can be good. That there are things in life worth working towards. That there are things in life worth celebrating. To put it mildly, I'm so glad I did not drop out of Boston like I considered over the winter.<br />
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I went to Boston completely by myself. I could have spent all weekend feeling sorry for myself that not a single friend or family member was there to support me (my dad had a pacemaker put in 6 days before the race, so we'll give him a pass), but instead I went in with a positive attitude and tried to make the most of it. I ended up meeting and talking to so many different runners and had the time of my life. The fact that the race itself was hot and at times miserable and I ran my slowest time in years is immaterial. The weekend as a whole was just that good. I used to not understand the kind of person who returns year after year to Disneyworld or Disneyland. But I get it now. The Boston Marathon race weekend is magical to runners in the same way that Disney is to others. One easily feels sucked in and a part of something larger than himself, and that sense of belonging is a powerful emotion. If anyone thinks sports can't transcend mere athletics into something more beautiful, I dare them to experience the Boston Marathon and continue to believe this.<br />
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Boston is one of the most hyped <strike>races</strike> <strike>sporting events</strike> events on the planet, but I believe it truly lives up to it. There is an excitement in the air, a sense of pride from the locals, a feeling of community in a city of millions when everyone has the same thing on the mind. It is incredible, and incredibly hard to describe in words. <br />
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I read somewhere about the process of becoming a volunteer to hand out water on the course. Volunteers have to attend meetings and watch tutorial videos on the proper way to hold the cups. Each table has its own team leader that coordinates with higher ups in the race. They put in a full day's work between setting up, distributing water, and cleaning up. And it is an honor to do so. Nothing less than perfection is acceptable when it comes to Boston.<br />
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I've often thought about which is better: the journey to Boston (a.k.a. the training cycle that allowed me to qualify at Philly in 2015), or Boston itself? But I realize now it's like comparing apples and oranges. Both experiences were incredible in their own way.<br />
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As incredible as this weekend was, I know that happiness is best when shared. While I am content to go out on top and leave Boston behind for awhile, one of my greatest goals in life is to someday run this race with my son, Neale. This depends greatly on his own interest in the sport of running, not to mention ability, but I can think of nothing greater than to share the finish line with him someday.<br />
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For now, I'll leave you with this: if you are just starting out in running, and you're wondering if Boston might be a worthwhile goal, I will shout at you a resounding "yes." If you are wondering if you can make it, if you are wondering if you are physically capable, if you have the heart and the resolve; yes, you do. Keep at it. There are so many people who believe in you. And I can guarantee you: it is worth it.<br />
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I'll close by quoting myself from my 2015 race recap:<br />
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"Now, I have had the privilege of experiencing many great things in my life, and I can honestly say those four blocks on Boylston rank among the best of my life's memories. When I grow old and my muscles weaken and my joints creak, and my days of marathoning have long since ended, I will still hearken back to the deafening roar of Boylston Street and remember what it was like to touch greatness."<br />
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Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-70036923139104860942017-04-28T14:23:00.000-04:002017-05-07T14:26:27.378-04:00Boston Marathon Day 5: Tuesday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I woke up around 7am and went for one last brief run along the Charles. As luck would have it, gone was the previous day's heat, replaced by perfect marathon weather. It was a perfect chilly spring morning.<br />
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I returned to the Airbnb, showered, then went for a walk along Newbury Street where I had breakfast at a small sandwich place that sold breakfast sandwiches. Then back to my Airbnb to pack up my things, then back out onto the streets of Boston. There were still runners everywhere, most wearing this year's blue Adidas jacket and walking funny. I once again did not buy the official jacket, but did my share of limping and grimacing while walking around.<br />
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While walking down Dartmouth Street, I saw none other than Galen Rupp, the previous day's second place finisher, and Alberto Salazar, his coach and former Boston and NYC Marathon champ, walk right past me. I was so gobsmacked at seeing them walk by me so causally, and perhaps still thinking about my last chance encounter with a celebrity runner, that I didn't say anything. No botched selfies this time. Instead I just smiled at my good fortune and continued down the street.<br />
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I was supposed to hitch a ride with Emi from Who's Up? (the one who went down at mile 25 in the marathon from dehydration) back to New Jersey. She and her sister and her sister's boyfriend wanted to walk around and check out some of Boston since they only arrived Sunday afternoon, but I had work to do, so I set up shop at the library on Boylston Street to work for a few hours. At least I had a nice view of Boylston and the finish line to keep me company.<br />
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At about 3 o'clock, I went back out onto the street, took one last selfie by the finish line, then walked a few blocks to meet Emi.<br />
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I failed to get a picture of myself with Larry, and the same goes for Emi. I swear I really do have running friends.<br />
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We barreled through New England to get home, stopping only once for gas and restrooms and miraculously avoiding any traffic around New York City. I arrived home a little after 9pm and went straight to sleep, thus ending one of the greatest weekends of my entire life.</div>
Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-65391731660159673272017-04-26T13:34:00.000-04:002017-05-06T13:35:26.026-04:00Boston Marathon Day 4: Monday Post Race<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Click here to catch up on the rest of my time in Boston:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://ithoughttheysaidrum.blogspot.com/2017/04/boston-marathon-day-1-friday.html">Day 1: Friday</a><br />
<a href="http://ithoughttheysaidrum.blogspot.com/2017/04/boston-marathon-day-2-saturday.html">Day 2: Saturday</a><br />
<a href="http://ithoughttheysaidrum.blogspot.com/2017/04/boston-marathon-day-3-sunday.html">Day 3: Sunday</a><br />
<a href="http://ithoughttheysaidrum.blogspot.com/2017/04/2017-boston-marathon-race-report.html">Day 4: Race Report</a><br />
<br />
I got back to my Airbnb sometime around 2:30 to see my phone had blown up with messages from friends, family and students, which was nice. I took some time to take a selfie and post to social media, respond to a few messages, then I finally took a shower and lazed about more. I had planned to take a nap before heading out for the night, but I was too restless.<br />
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I also got a few messages from people back home concerned about a woman from my running group. She was in the white corral and had passed me at mile 19 looking fantastic, but then never registered a finishing time. I had just gotten dressed and was on my way out the door to check for her at the med tents when I got another text saying she had been found. She had indeed gone down just before the finish and ended up in a med tent for nearly two hours. It was just that kind of day.<br />
<br />
Around 4:45 I left to meet up with Larry, also from my running group. Larry had been scheduled to stay at the Ritz Carlton but they overbooked their rooms and ended up putting him up in another hotel, but as a result they were incredibly apologetic all weekend, comping his dinner that night and his hotel room for next year's marathon.<br />
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We first hung out for an hour in the Ritz's penthouse clubhouse drinking champagne and eating the many hors d'oeuvres set out. The Ritz gave every guest a framed congratulatory note with blue and yellow balloons attached.<br />
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In my amazement to be experiencing how the other half lives for a night, I never actually got a picture of myself with Larry. Or any of the food. Or the three people we spent an hour talking to. I'm really a bad blogger.<br />
<br />
At six o'clock Larry and I had to head downstairs for dinner at the hotel's restaurant where Larry was meeting clients. He was able to expense the meal on account of this, which became moot when the Ritz comped the whole meal due to bungling his room. They also sent out the head chef to shake our hands and be one more person to apologize to Larry. The life of a high roller, eh?<br />
<br />
And so I found myself in a fancy hotel restaurant drinking beer and eating a $30 cheeseburger (the best one I've ever eaten, for the record, though any post marathon burger is bound to be amazing), and Larry chiding me for not ordering the $50 steak, talking financial mumbo jumbo with strangers, nodding sagely at words like "fiduciary" and finally chiming in when talk veered towards running again. At the end of the meal Larry was presented with a specially prepared cake in honor of his 100th marathon and his upcoming birthday.<br />
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I swear Larry really does exist and this isn't some elaborate ruse.<br />
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Around 8 o'clock, after dinner and Larry's clients had left, and after drinking beer and champagne for three hours, I figured it was a good time to head back to my Airbnb and finally get some sleep. So I said good night to Larry and headed out.<br />
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On my way back, though, I passed the Cheers bar. The last time I had been inside was when I was six years old on a trip to Boston with my family. I figured I should at least go inside and take a look. Maybe get a picture.<br />
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You know where this is heading.<br />
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Once inside, I thought, "well I'm here, may as well order a beer." So I got another Sam Adams 26.2 and settled in near the bar.<br />
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Not two minutes into my beer, though, when in comes Melissa and her mother, two of the three people Larry and I had hung out with in the penthouse at the Ritz a few hours earlier. We were super excited to see each other.<br />
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Welp... three hours later I was still there, laughing and sharing beers and stories with random runners as they came and went, including a guy who I'm pretty sure went by Ninja Tom. I shared my blog address with Melissa, so if you're reading this, great to meet you and congrats on your BQ for next year!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxUS1pMDvTvuTMqfjcSG0Y0CdPZXjYO9FTShCbNRCtGxjF-VcSQnWBhHxxEZ4C77wNFKe1dxlF4_CZOxNymf5AMTPKsjeEncCTNg0TQTyzGZxYsyxy1vjChbXCdakmsfQXgAYft1aBn6A/s1600/IMG_1392.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxUS1pMDvTvuTMqfjcSG0Y0CdPZXjYO9FTShCbNRCtGxjF-VcSQnWBhHxxEZ4C77wNFKe1dxlF4_CZOxNymf5AMTPKsjeEncCTNg0TQTyzGZxYsyxy1vjChbXCdakmsfQXgAYft1aBn6A/s640/IMG_1392.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melissa, ?, Me, Ninja Tom</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I have no idea who the guy in the above picture is, but he really wanted a picture with me.<br />
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Around midnight my new crew was still going strong and offered to buy my next round, but I finally decided to call it quits and get some sleep. Lots of hugs and back slaps ensued, and I left the bar.<br />
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Happier than I'd been in a long, long time, I stumbled home on a picture perfect Boston evening.<br />
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Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-2937825447381334262017-04-24T11:04:00.000-04:002017-05-06T13:31:31.942-04:002017 Boston Marathon: Race Report<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Quick stats:<br />
<br />
14th marathon<br />
2nd Boston<br />
Qualifying time: 3:01:06 (current PR)<br />
Half split:1:47:54<br />
Final time: 3:50:55<br />
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And here's the long version:<br />
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I woke up at about 5am and showered (which I normally do before a half or full marathon so I can wake up and loosen up a little). Warm weather was predicted for the race, so I decided to go with my Who's Up? singlet.<br />
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I had already set out all of my clothes, as well as my bag for athletes' village, so it didn't take me long to get ready. Around 5:40am I left the apartment and walked the few blocks to Boston Common to get on the bus. I was in wave 1 corral 5, and the bus loading time for wave 1 was from 6 - 6:40. I wanted to get there right at 6 to avoid waiting in line.<br />
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When I arrived at the Common, there were already hundreds of runners streaming in from every direction. There was a security checkpoint to check my bag and my bib, and no wait at all to get into one of the dozens of yellow school buses. The ride took about 45 minutes out to Hopkinton.<br />
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What a difference two years make. Two years ago it was a miserable, cold, wet New England spring morning. Thousands of runners were trying to avoid the rain and wet grass by piling under the two large circus tents they had set up. I didn't bring enough throwaway clothes and spent two hours shivering sitting on a plastic bag.<br />
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This year the weather was gorgeous (already about 60 degrees at 7am and sunny), so there was plenty of room to spread out in the village. The BAA lays out a lot of amenities, including Gatorade, bagels, bananas, coffee and tea, apples, and Clif energy blocks. I made myself a tea and wandered around for a bit to take it all in. I saw a line forming to get pictures in front of the "It all starts here" sign, which I missed last time, so I jumped in line for that before it got too crazy.<br />
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I talked to a lot of runners, one of which, from Texas, was glad to hear I shared his goal of simply finishing, rather than coming anywhere close to my qualifying time. I also talked to a woman while in line for the porta potties who was from Vancouver and qualified in her first ever marathon. I was jealous.<br />
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I went to the medical tent where they had sunblock, and I slathered it all over me. At about 9:15, the announcer started calling those in wave one to head out to the starting line, which was almost a mile away. The whole thing was incredibly organized, with volunteers at every step of the way to make sure we were all where we needed to be. On the way out to the starting line, people were outside of their houses already cheering us on and offering people last minute things such as vaseline on sticks and more sunblock.<br />
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I visited the porta potty one last time, then headed to my corral just in time for a fighter jet flyover and the national anthem.<br />
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Here I was in a corral with people who had run a qualifying marathon back in 2015 or 2016 somewhere in the vicinity of 3 hours. I wondered which of them were still in 3 hour shape and which, like me, were just here for the spectacle. As soon as the gun went off I moved over to the right side of the course to hopefully stay out of people's way.<br />
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It was a little disheartening to see how many people were passing me in the first few miles of the race, but I knew that my less than stellar training cycle, along with the expected temperatures in the 70's, necessitated a slower pace. I ran my first mile in 8:27, which I considered a sustainable pace for the full marathon. Spoiler alert: it wasn't.<br />
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The first half of the race, particularly the first 10k, was absolutely brilliant. I high fived as many kids as possible. I jumped and air fived a kid sitting on his dad's shoulders ("I'd like to see you do that on Boylston," said a passing runner). I sang along to the music. I smiled from ear to ear and fist pumped the air. I've rarely been happier in my life than I was right there on the streets of Hopkinton, Ashland, Framingham, Natick and Wellesley.<br />
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I almost collided with a teenage girl trying to cross the street around the 10k mark, and I heard a volunteer chewing her out behind me as I ran on.<br />
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At mile 12 we headed into the Wellesley College Scream Tunnel. I had seen something on Twitter a few weeks ago soliciting ideas for signs. All you had to do was fill out a Google form and the girls of Wellesley would make it for you. I asked them to make a sign for me in German, figuring my students might get a kick out of it, and they e-mailed me a picture of it a few days later. I looked for the specific sign as I passed, but didn't see it. Oh, and for those keeping score at home, I ended up kissing 4 women this year.<br />
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The halfway point is just past the Scream Tunnel on the main street of Wellesley, and was probably my favorite part of the whole race. I wanted to stop to hug and kiss every last spectator and scream "ISN'T THIS FUCKING INCREDIBLE!?!?!" I was absolutely as high as a kite and never ever wanted to let go of that feeling.<br />
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But what comes up must come down. It was a warm day (now in the seventies). Not the warmest in Boston history, but up there. There was no cloud cover and only the occasional breeze from behind. I was taking water and Gatorade at every single aid station but still could not slake my thirst. I stopped sweating. I had trouble stomaching my last Gu, fearing it might come right back up. The upshot is that in the second half, the race became pure drudgery.<br />
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I walked up the first Newton Hill. Jogged the second. Walked the third. I started to wonder if I might run slower than four hours for the first time in ten years. At mile 20, my quads seized up in debilitating cramps. I could barely walk, let alone run another 6.2 miles. A National Guard member came over to check on me and he suggested using my elbows to dig into my quads, which I did. I had to stop and do this every ten minutes or so for the rest of the race.<br />
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People had been passing me for the entire race, but just past the halfway point was when the white corral caught up with me. For reference, I had started in the first corral (red), and the white corral started a half hour later.<br />
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While running, a lot of spectators misread my singlet. "YEAH! WHAT'S UP MAN?!" I just chuckled and kept running. I walked a lot down Beacon Street and spectators were able to get a better look due to my slower pace. "WHO'S UP? <i>YOU'RE</i> UP MAN!!!!!!!!" I appreciated their exuberance, even if I wanted them to stop yelling at me and leave me alone in my misery.<br />
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Any time I tell myself before a race that I only care about finishing, I always end up setting some sort of loose time goal for myself anyway. I probably would have been disappointed to finish in slower than four hours, so I spent the last few miles of the race doing late race mental math and hoping I could make it. I didn't want to have to hustle down Boylston like last time. I really wanted to be able to take in those last few blocks.<br />
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With less than a mile to go, while going under the Bowker Overpass, one of the few places on the course with no spectators, a man running next to me yelled "I FUCKING LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!!" To say this was an emotional moment would be an understatement.<br />
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Right on Hereford.<br />
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Left on Boylston.<br />
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And there opened up in front of me one of the grandest moments in sports. Four blocks of screaming, joyful humanity, pushing the runners around me towards our nirvana. I tried to turn around and run backwards for a step to take it all in, but the change in gait sent me down with a calf cramp like I had been shot. A police officer came over on a bike to check on me. I grimaced, dug my elbows into all areas of my legs, then hobbled on.<br />
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I crossed the finish line in a daze, and slowly moved my way forward to collect my medal and other things. Not sure why they were giving out mylar blankets, but I took one anyway. A bottle of water. A banana. A bag of food. Some sort of chocolate protein drink. I had to stop to sit on the curb a few times to collect myself. Volunteers kept asking me if I was ok but I really wasn't sure. After twenty minutes in the finishers' area, I finally felt ok to leave. Because my Airbnb was so close to the finish line, I hadn't checked a gear bag, so I just walked back to my place to shower and relax for a little bit.<br />
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And so ends my 2nd Boston, my 14th marathon, and one tough race. But we're not done here yet, folks. Stay tuned for my next post when I get into the post race celebration. Spoiler alert: there was a fair bit of alcohol involved.</div>
Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-14613281244673540902017-04-21T14:16:00.000-04:002017-04-23T14:24:40.695-04:00Boston Marathon Day 3: Sunday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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On Sunday morning I again woke up around 7am and went for a quick run along the Charles River. Sunday's temperature was to be much warmer than the day before; it would ultimately reach into the 80's.<br />
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Another trip to Starbucks for a chai, then on to the finish line on Boylston Street. At 8:30am, there were already hundreds of runners milling about, taking pictures. And a dog.<br />
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I then walked the few blocks to the expo at 9am, right when it opened, so I wouldn't have to wait in crazy long security lines. I was one of the first people into the expo that morning and practically had the place to myself. I didn't buy anything, but did pick up my free poster. I also enjoyed talking to some of the vendors. Sam Adams was there giving away free beer, but not until noon. <br />
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After the expo, I headed back to the Runner's World pop up store yet again to see Shalane Flanagan speak. She's a four time Olympian, (most recently competing in the marathon at last summer's Rio Games), and for the past few years she's been trying to win Boston. She's one of my favorite elite runners due to her badass attitude; her fearlessness and her take-no-prisoners approach to competition. Unfortunately she had to drop out of this year's race due to an injury, but was hired as one of the commentators.<br />
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Runner's World editor David Willey interviewed her for close to an hour about her career, her injury, the recent doping scandals in the elite running world, her new cookbook, and future plans. It was a great conversation. Afterwards they let audience members ask her questions, and I got to ask about the doping. My question went something like this: cheating at the elite level, in the form of doping, and at the amateur level, in the form of course cutting and using bib mules, seems to be more prevalent than ever. At the elite level, do you think the deterrents currently in place are enough to thwart cheating, or do you think the rewards for cheating will always outweigh the risks? She responded that not just the runners should be held accountable, but their entire entourage, because there is no way the coaches aren't in on it as well. She also said repercussions right now are a mere slap on the wrist, and need to be more severe.<br />
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After Shalane's talk, I wanted to get her autograph and a picture, but I wasted too much time getting in line and they closed the line by the time I got to it. So I went to a nearby bar to have a lobster roll and fries for lunch. #whatbostonqualifierseat<br />
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Imagine my surprise, then, when I came out of the bar an hour later and Shalane walked right by me on the street. Before I knew what I was doing, I had turned around to call her name excitedly and catch up with her. I blurted out, "I'm the guy that asked you a question after your talk, I'm sorry - the line was so long - do you mind if I get a selfie with you?" It was only then that I noticed she was on her phone and seemed to be in a hurry. She seemed a little annoyed (I don't blame her), but graciously posed for a selfie with me. An hour later, while scrolling through photos on my phone, I noticed the selfie with Shalane was not there. In my bumbling state I managed to botch it and not take a photo at all. So that happened. I met Shalane Flanagan on the streets of Boston and have absolutely no proof. #foreverawkward<br />
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I went back to the Runner's World pop up store to see Dave McGillivray, director of the Boston Marathon give a presentation about his life in running. It was by far the most entertaining talk of the weekend.<br />
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For lack of a better idea, I then just wandered around Boston for a little bit. I had wanted to tour the Sam Adams Brewery, but they were closed Sunday due to Easter. I thought about doing a Duck Tour, but every tour for the rest of the day was sold out. Normally I would have just continued wandering around the city, maybe taken in a museum of some kind, but it was 85 degrees and sunny and I had a marathon to run the next day, so I headed back to my Airbnb to get off my feet and out of the heat and sun for awhile.<br />
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After several episodes of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," it was time to head over to City Hall for the official pre-race dinner. I left my Airbnb around 5pm and had a nice stroll along Boston Common, past the Cheers bar and into downtown. I didn't go to this when I did Boston two years ago, so I had no idea what to expect. I figured I would encounter another long line since my ticket was for 7pm when the event started at 4, as long lines seemed to be the one theme of the weekend. But I had no idea the line would be nearly a mile long, wrapping all the way around City Hall. I considered bailing and just finding a nearby restaurant, but decided to get in line anyway just to see how fast it moved. 25 minutes later, I was entering the food line. Not bad, BAA, not bad at all.<br />
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Food was red and white pasta, cold macaroni salad, regular salad, Italian sausage and meatballs. Drinks were various types of water, juices, and the ubiquitous Sam Adams beer, which I did not drink. Normally before a marathon I try to go for a few weeks, even up to 2 months without drinking any alcohol. For this year's Boston I managed to not drink any beer all day Sunday. Paragon of self-restraint, this one.<br />
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After dinner I strolled back through Boston Common to my Airbnb for another early night.<br />
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I laid out my clothes for the morning and made sure my bag was packed for Athletes' Village, then turned in around 9pm.<br />
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All told, Sunday was pretty laid back, but just what I needed considering it was the day before a marathon. </div>
Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-65327036526094197402017-04-20T22:18:00.000-04:002017-04-20T22:18:24.901-04:00Boston Marathon Day 2: Saturday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I woke up on Saturday around 7am, and went for a quick run along the Charles River. It was a picture-perfect, sunny, chilly spring morning in Boston. Perfect running weather.<div>
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After running, I showered and got dressed, loaded up a few things in a backpack, then headed out into the city. First stop: Starbucks for a chai. I then walked the 2.5 miles across the Charles River to Cambridge to visit an old friend, which ended up being a lovely walk. The Boston skyline loomed over my right shoulder, runners packed both sides of the bridge, the sun blazed brightly over everything... Just a stunning morning all around.</div>
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Martina and I met 21 years ago when I took part in a summer exchange in her hometown of Oberstdorf, Germany, and we've managed to stay in contact over the years thanks to Facebook. If you read about my experience at the <a href="http://ithoughttheysaidrum.blogspot.com/2015/04/2015-boston-marathon-part-i.html">2015 Boston Marathon</a>, you may recall that she graciously let me stay with her for a night that weekend. Since I was staying at an Airbnb this time, we settled on breakfast Saturday morning.</div>
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Her husband and son joined us in the backyard as we caught up, in German, over a breakfast of tea, fruit and croissants, after which we hung out on one of the side streets as her son tore around on his bike with some of the neighborhood kids. Norman Rockwell, eat your heart out.</div>
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At 11 o'clock, I had to say my goodbyes and make my way back to the city.</div>
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Back across the Charles River, back to Boylston Street where I planned to go into the expo, but the security lines to get in were roughly 3 miles long, so I bagged that idea. Just as I was figuring out what to do instead of the expo, I looked to my right and happened to see Scott Jurek standing there (famed ultra marathoner and all around swell guy <a href="http://ithoughttheysaidrum.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-mighty-scott-jurek.html">whom I wrote about a few years ago</a>). He was meeting fans and signing autographs, so I jumped in line and got to spend a minute or so talking to him. Super tall and super nice.</div>
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I then headed back to the Runner's World pop up store because I had signed up for a session called Yoga for Runners at 12:30. I'm not normally into yoga (I'm about as flexible as Republicans on immigration), but I felt like trying to step outside of my comfort zone, so I showed up and went with the flow. I was one of two guys in the room, and I had to modify a few poses due to the aforementioned inflexibility, but overall I found I really enjoyed it. It helped that it was led by a woman who had run Boston herself, and a lot of the session was geared towards preparing for the big race, both mentally and physically. Everyone in the room was preparing to either run or spectate the race, so we all had a common bond.</div>
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Directly after yoga, the room was taken over by a meetup from an online crew called #WeRunSocial, which is basically a group of selfie/social media obsessed runners. I got to talking to Dani who invited me to stay and have a beer with everyone. Bart Yasso also showed up, and they were giving away Boston themed Compression socks.</div>
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After hanging out with the #WeRunSocial crew, I came out into the main room to see the director of the Boston Marathon himself, Dave McGillivray, up on stage with Bart Yasso and others. I attended Dave's talk the following day, perhaps one of my favorite talks out of all the events I attended.</div>
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I had some time to kill before the Red Sox game, so after leaving the Runner's World pop up store, I popped into a bar on Boylston to try the <a href="https://www.samueladams.com/~/link.aspx?_id=2FF01F293F054B37B5D084679091E24E&_z=z">Sam Adams 26.2 beer</a> that they brew every year in limited batches just for the marathon. It's a gose style ale that "contains light cereal notes from malted and unmalted wheat with a touch of peppery spice. Soft wheat and citrus character are contrasted with hints of salt and coriander and it finishes clean with soft fruit and crisp citrus notes." Luckily for you I can confirm that it is indeed delicious.</div>
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I slowly made my way to Fenway Park (just a mile from the finish area), had a burrito at Qdoba for dinner, then went to the park to see the Red Sox play the Tampa Bay Rays.</div>
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I'm a casual baseball fan, having played it growing up and gone to my share of Phillies games over the years. I've always wanted to go to a game at Fenway, one of the most historic parks in baseball, so it was great to be able to finally do so. The Sox ended up winning the game 2-1.</div>
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After the game I walked back to my Airbnb. I had wanted to go to the premiere of "Boston: An American Running Story" (first feature-length documentary about the Boston Marathon), but I hadn't gotten tickets in time, so I just called it an early night again. Watched a few episodes of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and was in bed by 10pm.</div>
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Stay tuned for Day 3: Shalane Flanagan, the expo, and the pre-race dinner.</div>
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Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-68224297676802338242017-04-19T17:40:00.001-04:002017-04-19T17:40:50.555-04:00Boston Marathon Day 1: Friday<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm back from my trip to Boston, and I can already say it was, without a doubt, one of the best weekends of my life. It was so incredible, so amazing, so uplifting, so rejuvenating, and so many other positive adjectives that don't begin to do it justice. I want to remember every moment of this weekend for as long as I live, so bear with me while I break it down into separate posts by day. Let's go back to the beginning and start with day 1: Friday April 14, 2017.<br />
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My school was already on spring break so I was able to come up to Beantown on Friday this year. My dad picked me up at 7am and we drove into Philly together where he dropped me off at 30th Street Station for my 8:30am train. I was there super early but I was so excited for the trip that I didn't mind waiting.<br />
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The train had wifi so I was able to get some work done on the ride up (a teacher's work is never done; in this case I had thousands of grades to enter for the third marking period). I spent the five and a half hour ride alternately working on grades and watching the scenery roll by outside my window. I really love taking trains.<br />
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I arrived around 1:30 in the heart of the city and walked with all of my gear straight to Boylston Street and immediately found the finish line.<br />
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I then went to the expo, still with all of my stuff, and picked up my bib. There was no pint glass this year but I did score a sweet bottle opener in addition to the traditional tech shirt. Also took a picture of one of the most famous turns in sports:<br />
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I wanted to explore the expo but I had places to be, so I kept moving, walking three blocks from Boylston to Beacon Street where my Airbnb was. That's right, I managed to find a place just three blocks from the finish area. This made all the difference in how amazing the weekend was. I was within walking distance from everything and never once set foot on the T because I just didn't need to.<br />
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My Airbnb was tiny, but it was clean and quiet and the bed was comfortable, so I really couldn't have asked for more.<br />
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I dumped my stuff and immediately headed back out again, this time to Post 390, a restaurant on Stuart Street. Earlier in the week I had seen something on Twitter about an event with Jared Ward (U.S. Marathoner and 6th place finisher in the Olympic Marathon last summer), and I entered my name, knowing it was a lottery and so I wasn't guaranteed to be selected. But the very next day I got an e-mail confirming my name was on the list.<br />
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The event was on the second floor in a private section of the restaurant with its own bar, and only about thirty people made the cut for this event. The first hour, from 4 - 5, was a cocktail hour where waiters and waitresses circulated with trays of wine and hors d'oeuvres, and a table off to the side held still more food. They handed out copies of his senior thesis to everyone, and I sat at one of the tables stuffing my face with red wine and crab cakes while trying to make sense of what I was reading.<br />
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Math was involved. Lots and lots of math.<br />
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As I tell my students, there's a reason I didn't become a math teacher.<br />
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At five o'clock we were all invited into the next room where a stage was set up. We first watched an intro video (super amusing to watch Jared Ward standing there watching Jared Ward).<br />
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Then a very energetic woman from Saucony interviewed Jared, and finally Jared gave what I can only assume was a very simplified presentation of his thesis on marathon pacing strategy.<br />
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In addition to being an incredible marathoner, Jared Ward is also an excellent public speaker. He managed to make complex statistical analysis fun and engaging to an audience of runners, not fellow statisticians. Bravo to him.<br />
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As soon as he finished his talk, I legged it down Boylston Street to a Runner's World event. For the first time at the Boston Marathon, Runner's World rented their own space on Boylston and turned it into a pop up store to host their own series of free events throughout race weekend. I was headed to the shake out run with Bart Yasso, the Mayor of Running, and Ali Nolan and Hannah McGoldrick, the ladies behind the web series Super Secret Mystery Meeting.<br />
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A group of us headed out for 3 miles along the Charles River, then returned to the pop up shop for pictures, beer, and the largest slice of pizza I've ever seen in my life.<br />
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Around 8pm I finally walked the few blocks back to my Airbnb. If this were any other weekend, I probably would have found my way to a bar somewhere and tried to connect with other runners, but because I had a marathon to run in two days, and because I'd already had plenty of beer and wine that night, I decided to make it an early night. I ended up passing out by about 9pm anyway, so I guess I needed the sleep.<br />
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Stay tuned to read about day 2: Yoga, Red Sox and German friends!</div>
Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-61981301585541797232017-04-12T15:18:00.002-04:002017-04-12T15:23:50.990-04:00April Coffee Date<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Pull up a chair and grab your favorite caffeinated beverage, dear reader. It's been awhile, so let's catch up. Here, in no particular order, are some life updates:<br />
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<li>We'll start with the heavy stuff. One reason for my lack of writing over the last several months is I've been enduring a personal life tragedy. Sorry to be so horribly vague, but I really don't care to get into it other than saying I've been in a fair bit of emotional pain lately.</li>
<li>Life marches on, though. Parenting a toddler and working a full time job as a high school teacher don't just stop so I can take time to reflect and process appropriately. I've been dealing as best I can, which is to say, not great.</li>
<li>I'm still running Boston next week, but the aforementioned personal tragedy really took a lot of wind out of my sails this past winter. So many of my runs have been hampered by the existential question of "what's the point?" I seriously considered dropping out of Boston, but I knew that come race weekend, I would probably regret it. So I slogged through training as best I could, but with a lot less heart than I would have liked. I'm in good physical shape now, but not great. I'll survive Boston, but it may not be pretty.</li>
<li>I got tickets to an afternoon Red Sox game this Saturday, and I'm going to try to work in a Sam Adams Brewery tour, and meet up with people from Who's Up? who are also running. Overall I am definitely looking forward to this weekend. I'm sure I'll put up several more posts over the next week telling all about it.</li>
<li>Because the Boston Marathon always falls on a Monday, most people have to take a day off of work. I'm taking two to allow for travel back to New Jersey, but because the race also falls directly after our spring break (all four days of it), and the administration doesn't like teachers taking days off directly before or after a break, they are docking my pay for one of those days.</li>
<li>Speaking of school, I'm busy planning another trip to Germany with my students. Last time we went was April 2015, and this year we'll be going in June. I'm taking 14 students and they're all very excited, but this will probably be the last time I plan everything myself. It's just too much work on top of all my other responsibilities.</li>
<li>I'm writing a book. It's a young adult novel set in a dystopian future where kids battle each other to the death. Just kidding. All I'll say is the main character is an 8th grader, so it's aimed at middle schoolers and the problems they face. Who knows what will come of it, but for now it's a fun hobby, and it's nice to give long-form fiction a shot. Look for the book to hit shelves around 2032.</li>
<li>That's the long and the short of it on my end. How have you been?</li>
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Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-92106279466157147052017-03-30T15:43:00.000-04:002017-04-09T09:14:33.294-04:002017 Love Run Half Marathon: Race Report<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I'm a creature of habit. Once I find races that I like, I tend to do them year after year. Haddonfield Adrenaline 5k. Wissahickon Trail Classic. Philly Marathon. Rock 'n' Roll Philly Half Marathon. These races and I go back years.<br />
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A few years ago, a new Half Marathon debuted in Philly called the Love Run, and I've been wanting to try it ever since. Because I was planning to drop down in distance for my long run that day anyway, and because I'm not doing the ODDyssey Half Marathon this year, and in an effort to try something brand new, I signed up.<br />
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It ended up being a great decision. It was a very well-run and fun event, and I could definitely see myself doing it again in the future.<br />
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Like a lot of Philly races, this one started at the art museum, so I took the train across the bridge into Philly on Sunday morning, then walked out to the museum with several hundred other people. I'm part of a large running group on Facebook called Run856, and they had a tent set up where people could drop their bags, so I didn't have to worry about official gear check.<br />
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The weather was supposed to be cold and rainy for the morning of the race; luckily we only had to worry about the cold as the rain held off. I ran in just a long sleeve shirt and wool hat which worked out perfectly.<br />
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I started in the first corral and set off at what I guessed was about a 7:30 pace (I didn't wear a watch for this race). The first few miles wound through Center City before returning to the art museum and bearing left onto Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. I was feeling pretty good throughout, even during the climb up to the Strawberry Mansion Bridge and short detour around the other side of the Schuylkill River. As I fell into the homestretch in the last few miles along the river, I started picking up the pace. I finished the last tenth of a mile in a dead sprint, which made for a nice picture:<br />
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Side note: I love it when races offer free professional pictures. <br />
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My time wasn't too bad either. I've been running long this winter in preparation for Boston, of course, but haven't approached anywhere near the intensity that I would like. Going into this race, I told myself I would be happy with anything under 1:40, so the fact that I beat that and managed to finish the last few miles with a solid kick is a win in my book.<br />
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I had a full set of clothes to change into, thankfully, considering how cold it was. I hung out waiting for others to finish, and then got talked into redeeming my free beer in the beer garden. Because you're not living until you're drinking beer (Yards, natch) at 9:30am outside in 45 degree weather after running 13.1 miles.<br />
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I then went to a nearby bar to get out of the cold and meet a guy from Who's Up? for another drink, followed by walking back to the train to return to New Jersey.<br />
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If you're looking for a good half marathon in the Philly area, I definitely recommend this one. There was a great turnout for such a new race, the course was beginner friendly with just one challenging hill in the back half, the participant perks are solid, and there were no major snafus of any kind. Race management was solid all around. <br />
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Dare I say it? I just might <i>love </i>this race.</div>
Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-75749885431643787802017-03-26T14:54:00.000-04:002017-04-08T14:55:50.866-04:002017 Haddonfield Adrenaline 5k: Race Report<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Ran the 12th annual Haddonfield Adrenaline 5k last weekend. I love this race for so many reasons (flat and fast course, competitive field, great after party...) and try to do it every year. It's usually the first race of the year for me and a great time to shake off the winter cobwebs and assess where I'm at in terms of racing fitness.<br />
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The race happened to fall the day after St. Patty's Day this year, so rather than go out and drink my face off Friday night, I abstained from alcohol completely and went to bed around 10pm. Because Stevie works on Saturday mornings, my dad met me at Haddonfield Memorial High School, the site for the start and finish of the race, so he could watch Neale while I ran.</div>
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Close to 9am we all gathered on Kings Highway, and I caught up with some people from Who's Up? towards the front of the pack of hundreds of runners.</div>
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The race was unremarkable, to be honest. I ran hard, but without any specific preparation for the 5k distance this winter, I finished in roughly the same time I do every year.</div>
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The winner finished in 14:42, by the way. Like I said, it's a competitive race.</div>
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The after party was held at the gym of a nearby church with wine and kegs of Yards Pale Ale and Yards Brawler.</div>
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I love these guys.</div>
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Another great year in the books, and already looking forward to next year...</div>
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Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-65473196290943676292016-12-29T09:24:00.000-05:002016-12-29T09:24:32.964-05:002016: Year in Review<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As far as running goes, 2015 was a banner year for me. I ran every single day that year. I ran over 2,100 miles, and every single mile was run outside through anything Mother Nature could throw at me. I ran three marathons, including the Boston Marathon. I set two new PR's in the half and full marathon within three weeks of each other. I even won a 5k. I did all of this with a full time job and a wife and infant son at home.<br />
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In 2016, I desperately needed to downshift into a lower gear and take it easy for awhile. I hadn't planned on taking it easy for the entire year, but here we are. Long story short, 2016 was not nearly as exciting as 2015 in terms of running, but you, dear reader, get a full fledged recap anyway.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy3ic27wKA2fTzKsN0h2fxvRYFeqH0ImVyx6vknj__LDOd77oyIDBqaMOOXFShg954owSTgeb08nnnXm-5xy-cZHZAS6svpOfJgs06xZHm-dgr_Nkz9pDPQKwR0w8LQkGAgYuE7gPaw9w/s1600/intro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="381" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy3ic27wKA2fTzKsN0h2fxvRYFeqH0ImVyx6vknj__LDOd77oyIDBqaMOOXFShg954owSTgeb08nnnXm-5xy-cZHZAS6svpOfJgs06xZHm-dgr_Nkz9pDPQKwR0w8LQkGAgYuE7gPaw9w/s640/intro.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Total mileage for the year?</span><br />
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Here's a confession: I stopped counting miles about halfway through the year. When we moved over the summer, I kept misplacing my calendar where I kept track of my mileage, and my Garmin stopped working around the same time, and trying to keep track of every single mile became too much. So to be honest, I have no idea how many miles I ran this year. Going from the manic counting of miles in 2015 towards my 2,015 mileage goal, to the more relaxed running-for-the-joy-of-it mentality this year, was definitely liberating.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">How many races did you do this year?</span><br />
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Only 12, but I definitely managed a wide variety.<br />
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1x 5,000 yards<br />
3x 5k<br />
1x Spartan Sprint<br />
2x 10k<br />
1x trail 10k<br />
1x 10 miles<br />
3x half marathon<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Which one was the best?</span><br />
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Of the races I did, half were new to me, and half I'd done in previous years. As for the best one, it was a tough call between the Bridge Run 10k, and the Wissahickon Trail Classic 10k, but for consistently delivering a quality experience (and the cheaper price), I'll have to go with the latter. Seriously, I can't sing the praises of this race enough. Trail races in the Philly area are hard to come by, and this is one of the best, and also one of the most competitive. At $40 for race day registration, it's the most bang for your buck, too.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTdLoEGUExMJZCx6RH_CCUpUoe2bBWg2h2hZ0tu6D1ZWOtnUzMiJELbdy3_qcYeulJAMkM6TyGssNtwO_YYW1MiRUAz1shzm9pXp3vyYVTYiT_SVTyDxV-05QSx_a8Gklp-LxTO1pbU0k/s1600/Image-3.png.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTdLoEGUExMJZCx6RH_CCUpUoe2bBWg2h2hZ0tu6D1ZWOtnUzMiJELbdy3_qcYeulJAMkM6TyGssNtwO_YYW1MiRUAz1shzm9pXp3vyYVTYiT_SVTyDxV-05QSx_a8Gklp-LxTO1pbU0k/s640/Image-3.png.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Best race experience:</span><br />
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I've run the Philadelphia Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon almost every year for the last decade, and it has naturally provided some great racing memories (including a PR in 2015), but this year it was memorable for a different reason. My wife, Stevie, decided she wanted to run her first (and she swears last) half marathon, and I offered to run it with her. During the race I was suffering from GI issues, and Stevie was suffering from sore legs, but we powered through it together and finished hand-in-hand.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiReErBKu2svtC8TwITDdLOLz6YZmZuhEOttm-w3QySnZpVNoXIwdLf8g_6XNqNcalfj9hReR0iGQ4zx20pprSq6l74v3tB2c9WsRKWLUeGG2cOgi2iMcn7zc6yhnSePe91F7ZzGymp6RI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-09-20+at+9.22.53+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiReErBKu2svtC8TwITDdLOLz6YZmZuhEOttm-w3QySnZpVNoXIwdLf8g_6XNqNcalfj9hReR0iGQ4zx20pprSq6l74v3tB2c9WsRKWLUeGG2cOgi2iMcn7zc6yhnSePe91F7ZzGymp6RI/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-09-20+at+9.22.53+PM.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Best race photo:</span><br />
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It doesn't get better than this one from the inaugural 5,000 Yards Dash:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Ku5cV12BYsROioH6ycer0CIB62Yc7jFPoDbdd2wRfm2UdAPmp1iVq54ajqXnynUiu9hoWrP0M11l469OnSCTQMmoZdl-PDp__rcgIm7_L5SAUP193stLDAH6qV2V2LtW8jRYW36Pv8I/s1600/14715069_1603285066364122_5781385962008140121_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Ku5cV12BYsROioH6ycer0CIB62Yc7jFPoDbdd2wRfm2UdAPmp1iVq54ajqXnynUiu9hoWrP0M11l469OnSCTQMmoZdl-PDp__rcgIm7_L5SAUP193stLDAH6qV2V2LtW8jRYW36Pv8I/s640/14715069_1603285066364122_5781385962008140121_o.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Girl look at that body (I work out).</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Any PR's this year?</span><br />
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I set PR's in both the 10 mile (1:09:27) and 10 kilometer races (41:04), though neither was hard won because both race distances are rare for me. My last ten mile race had been in 2007, and my time was over 20 minutes slower. As for the 10k, my uncle frequently likes to remind me that while I hold the Partenheimer family record in most distances, he still holds the family record in the 10k (roughly 38 minutes). Perhaps a new goal for 2017?<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Still streaking?</span><br />
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Yes, I'm still streaking. On November 26th I celebrated my 3rd streakiversary. I posted briefly about it on Twitter, not thinking too much of it, until the Mayor of Running himself, Bart Yasso, retweeted it. It was viewed over 8,000 times and liked 135 times, and I got a lot of really nice well-wishes and congratulations from complete strangers. The Twitter running community really came out in force, which was pretty nice.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Best running-related accomplishment?</span><br />
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I had a piece of writing published in a British running magazine called Like the Wind. It was about the clothing optional race that I did in August 2015. Sadly, I was not paid for the piece, but it was still nice to see my work in print somewhere. Not to mention the original artwork that went with it:<br />
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I would love to publish more running related work, and if I ever get any money for it, I've resolved to spend every dime of the paycheck on Stevie as she's had to put up with my running shenanigans for years now.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Best running event that you didn't take part in?</span><br />
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Watching the Olympics this summer. Particularly the longer distance events like the men's and women's 10,000 meters and the marathon. Molly Huddle, Mo Farrah, Galen Rupp, Shalane Flanagan... so many inspiring athletes and inspiring performances.<br />
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So that's my year in review. How was your year?</div>
Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-75396931769822118902016-11-26T15:43:00.000-05:002016-11-27T07:01:53.819-05:002016 Haddon Township Turkey Trot Race Report<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Ran the 10th annual Haddon Township Turkey Trot this morning. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8xO8NYo1XpvhsPSDyd2BSnZqLWQuPAdLLjagn9dFInnaC03OXHvTVDony60Cag7wJK8mcVK3ZbLvohVV6HegxO7CB_TQrGm9gXsiphiutItMy-k4k6-qbVMKtpGCvEH8Ab0nOFOGUFGo/s1600/IMG_0713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8xO8NYo1XpvhsPSDyd2BSnZqLWQuPAdLLjagn9dFInnaC03OXHvTVDony60Cag7wJK8mcVK3ZbLvohVV6HegxO7CB_TQrGm9gXsiphiutItMy-k4k6-qbVMKtpGCvEH8Ab0nOFOGUFGo/s640/IMG_0713.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
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Here are some race recaps from previous years:<br />
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<a href="http://ithoughttheysaidrum.blogspot.com/2012/11/2012-haddon-twp-turkey-trot.html">2012</a><br />
<a href="http://ithoughttheysaidrum.blogspot.com/2013/12/2013-haddon-twp-turkey-trot-race-report.html">2013</a><br />
<a href="http://ithoughttheysaidrum.blogspot.com/2014/11/2014-haddon-twp-turkey-trot.html">2014</a><br />
<a href="http://ithoughttheysaidrum.blogspot.com/2015/11/2015-haddon-township-turkey-trot-race.html">2015</a><br />
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I love this race because it's local so it doesn't take long for me to get there, and it's also in the town where I teach so I get to race against a lot of my students (the swim coach makes all of her swimmers run this race for conditioning, so that helps). Spoiler alert: one of them beat me this year. Sigh... Also it finishes at a bar and there is a whole breakfast buffet afterwards. <br />
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Racing, followed by drinking beer. All in all, my idea of a quality Saturday morning.<br />
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I got to the Pour House at 8 o'clock and got a sweet parking space on the street right next to the bar and finish line. Met up with my dad for a bit, then did a quick warm up jog with Erik.<br />
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The race started promptly at 9 o'clock with close to a thousand people lining up on Haddon Avenue. At the signal, we all tore off about a half mile down the street before making the first turn. The course for this race is great because it is almost pancake flat with very few turns. If the weather is perfect (like it was today), then it is a great course to set a PR on. Too bad I just wasn't in PR shape today.<br />
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The downside to this race is that despite its size, it doesn't offer a water stop (usually not a huge deal in November, though), nor does it offer race clocks at each mile marker. I didn't have my watch on so I had no idea how fast I was going.<br />
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One of the guys in my running group was hanging off my right shoulder, and we traded places several times in the second half of the race. I was trying my hardest to fight off the urge to give up and just let him overtake me for good, especially because I've been fighting a cough for the last two weeks. I kept telling myself to keep pushing because this is most likely my last race of 2016 and I wanted to finish on a high note. I ended up edging him out by just five seconds and finished in 19:45, 24th overall and 4th in my age group. The winner finished in 15:34. This race is nuts.<br />
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When I crossed the line I suddenly felt the urge to throw up, which almost never happens to me after races, and I spent the rest of the morning coughing my head off.<br />
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<b>Me: </b>I think I made my cough worse by racing this morning.<br />
<b>Father-in-law: </b>Maybe you should have skipped the race.<br />
<b>Me: </b>I couldn't! It's tradition to do this race!<br />
<b>Father-in-law: </b>Your cough is becoming a tradition at this point.<br />
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I tried to congratulate as many of my students at the finish line as I could before heading to my car and getting changed. At the awards ceremony, a woman saw me wearing an old Philly Marathon shirt and asked me about it because she had just run it last weekend. My dad and I ended up talking to her about marathons for the next twenty minutes.<br />
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Neither my dad nor I won anything in our age groups, but Erik won 2nd in his age group and got a sweet mason jar pint glass which I picked up for him because he had already left.<br />
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My dad and I got our traditional picture beneath the Pour House sign:<br />
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And I then spent the rest of the morning with the Who's Up? crew drinking beer and talking about Boston (three of us are running in 2017 and one just qualified last weekend for 2018).<br />
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If you're looking to PR in the 5k, this is a great race to target. Flat course, usually good weather, and right at the end of the fall so you can train mostly in moderate weather. Can't wait for next year...</div>
Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-17883116227385209932016-11-10T10:09:00.001-05:002016-11-10T10:09:12.712-05:002016 Cooper Norcross Run the Bridge 10k: Race Report<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Every year in November for the last decade or so, runners have gathered in Camden, NJ to run across the Ben Franklin Bridge in a race aptly named "Run the Bridge." It's a 10 kilometer race with an additional 2 mile walk, and benefits the Larc School, a facility in New Jersey that caters to students aged 3 - 21 with moderate to severe disabilities.<br />
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It's one of those races that has been on my radar for years, partly because I'd always heard good things about it but also for the novelty of getting to run on a closed bridge (the only other time I'd done so was when the Pope came to town). So 2016 was the year I finally got to check it off my bucket list.<br />
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The staging area for the race is Campbell's Field, home of the now defunct Camden Riversharks baseball team. We live pretty close to it now, so I was able to take a leisurely Sunday morning ride through Camden to get there.<br />
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Once I got there, thousands of people were streaming into the stadium. Everything was very well organized, from bag check, to packet pickup, to ID check (for the post race beer garden).<br />
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A little after 8 o'clock, runners started heading over to the base of the Ben Franklin Bridge, about a half mile away. They had signs for paces, and I placed myself between the 7 and 8 minute pace signs. There were a few guys from Who's Up? there with me, including Erik who jumped in at the last second.<br />
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Dave Welsh announcing before the start: "If you're elite, please come to the front. If you think you're elite, take a step back."<br />
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At 8:30, the gun went off, and we all began the long slog up the mile long incline of the bridge. The entire first half of the race is on the bridge, with the first turnaround point on the Philadelphia side. The second half of the race is run through the downtown streets of Camden.<br />
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I was feeling pretty good on the bridge and began picking people off, and then tried to hold the pace once back on level ground. By about mile 4.5, I had caught up with two guys from Who's Up?, but I soon began to wonder how much longer I could keep it up. At the mile 5 water stop, there were several employees from the Haddonfield Running Company all yelling encouragement, which was a nice boost, but I was still hurting and wanted the race to be over as soon as possible.<br />
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I forgot how tough 10k's can be. 5k's obviously hurt too, but they're only half the pain. And 10 miles or longer, you at least have the chance to build up to cruising speed. But 10k's seem to be balls to the wall for the entire race.<br />
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Once we reached the homestretch and the stadium came into view, Michael began pulling away. I yelled at him to finish strong, and he looked back at me over his left shoulder while motioning with his arm and shouting back "COME ON!" We made the final turn into the stadium and onto the outfield grass, with Michael just barely edging me out in a photo finish. When we crossed the line, he immediately turned around to congratulate me, which the finish line camera caught on video:<br />
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This is why I love racing. Getting up early. Pushing myself to my limits. Testing myself. Experiencing a beautiful fall morning when I would have otherwise been on the couch at home. The camaraderie with a fellow running club member. THIS is why I love it and wish I could do it every weekend.<br />
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My finishing time wasn't too bad, either. I'm pretty sure it's a PR in the 10k, but hard to tell as I just don't race 10k's very often.<br />
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After finishing, I waited for Erik, and then we went over and got beer (Yards Brewing - interesting that they went with a Philly brewery as opposed to the many South Jersey breweries).<br />
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We hung out for awhile listening to the live music, and each got another beer. Dave Welsh came around and while talking, he mentioned how they're planning to demolish the stadium within the next year, so next year's race will be much different.<br />
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So I'm not sure what next year's race will look like, but if it's anything like this year's, I can definitely recommend it. Great, challenging course with great beer at the end. What more could you need?<br />
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Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-634747021655272465.post-49454678859904673722016-10-25T20:34:00.002-04:002016-10-26T15:44:17.248-04:002016 Jonas Cattell Memorial 10 Miler: Race Report<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Running nerds and history geeks can finally find common ground. Introducing the best race in New Jersey that you've never heard of: the Jonas Cattell Memorial Run. It's also quite possibly the oldest, having been run every year since its inception nearly fifty years ago.<br />
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The race was started in 1969 to commemorate Jonas Cattell's 10 mile run from Haddonfield to Fort Mercer on the east bank of the Delaware River in 1777. 18-year-old Cattell had been arrested the night before by British troops and spent the night in jail, where he overheard the plan for Hessian troops to attack the fort in the morning. As soon as he was released, he took off westward, using his experience as a hunter and outdoorsman to easily navigate the trails to the fort. His advance warning gave American troops, expecting an attack from the water, enough time to prepare appropriately. Despite being outnumbered, they won the battle while experiencing few casualties.<br />
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What is remarkable about this race is that no one seems to have heard of it, despite its age and remarkable backstory. Unlike other races of the 1960's and 70's that started modestly and have since swelled to the thousands (Falmouth Road Race comes to mind), this race stays true to its roots with roughly 150 runners each year.<br />
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The race does little, if any, advertising. There is no official race website or any presence on social media of any kind. The only way runners seem to hear about it is through word of mouth, and indeed that's exactly how I came across it. Erik from Who's Up?, also a history buff, told me he was planning on doing the race, and I agreed to do it with him.<br />
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This race is point-to-pont, so organizers provide bus transport from the finish line at Fort Mercer to the starting line in Haddonfield. I made the drive down Rt. 130 at 6:30 in the morning, parked at the battlefield park's parking lot, then boarded the bus to Haddonfield. Registration forms were distributed on the bus to those who still needed to register. How much was race-day registration? Are you ready for this? $30. For 10 miles. That's probably the best bang for my buck I have ever found in a race of any size or length.<br />
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Once in Haddonfield I was able to complete registration, use a toilet at a local supermarket, meet up with some of the guys from Who's Up?, and drop off my bag to be transported to the finish. At 8:00, police stopped traffic on King's Highway, Haddonfield's main street, and 170 runners lined up to race.<br />
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Erik and I run similar paces, and planned to run together at roughly 7:30 pace. Neither of us had a Garmin, though, and we were forced to run by effort, which is never a good idea for us as we always end up going out with guns blazing at the start of races. We were surprised to pass the first mile marker in 6:50. This time a year ago, 6:50 would have been child's play, but I'm just not in the same shape now that I was then.<br />
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The entire course is brilliant - gently rolling hills and almost a straight shot all the way to the river. The roads were not shut down, but there was plenty of police support along the way to ensure smooth crossings at intersections. <br />
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Somewhere in those early miles, Erik and I got to talking about my marathon training over the years.<br />
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<b>Erik: </b>How do you do it?<br />
<b>Me: </b>Do what?<br />
<b>Erik:</b> Run for so long by yourself?<br />
<b>Me: </b>I spend a lot of time building mental toughness. It gets easier after awhile.<br />
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Just before the halfway point, I pulled away from Erik and began running on my own, slowly picking off runners. Minus a few strong wind gusts, the weather was a picture perfect fall day, and I felt strong and confident throughout.<br />
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I ended up finishing in 1:09:27, good for 9th place overall and 1st in my age group (though if I had run the same time in last year's race, I wouldn't have even placed. Just goes to show you it's sometimes about who shows up, not how fast you run). The good news is it was a 10 mile PR, though not exactly a hard-fought one because my last ten mile race was almost a decade ago, which I ran in 1:31:20.<br />
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I gasped for breath and yelled "The Hessians are coming!" It could have been my running daze, but I think I got a few chuckles. Erik pulled up shortly afterwards in 1:10:54, taking second in our age group.<br />
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The post race scene was a bit sparse, with nothing more than Philly pretzels, bananas, and sports drink on offer (though for $30 I'm really not complaining). But Red Bank Battlefield Park itself was in full fall swing with dozens of Revolutionary War reenactors patrolling the grounds and getting ready for an official show that afternoon. Alas, Erik and I each had to return to our respective households and resume fatherhood duties. I'm told I earned a medal for my AG win, but I'll have to wait until tomorrow night to get it.<br />
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Overall, I cannot recommend this race more. I love races like this where competition is a large factor in entering. It's not about the bling. It's not about the costumes. It's not about the post race party. It's not about the swag. It's not about the music on the course. It's just about the race. What a novel concept in today's running industrial complex.<br />
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Already can't wait for next year.</div>
Scott @ I Thought They Said Rumhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05499382011311931296noreply@blogger.com0