2016 Rock n' Roll Philadelphia Half Marathon: Race Report

I've done this race almost every year for the last 11 years (I had to skip 2014 for a wedding). It's clearly one of my go-to fall races, and I was delighted when Stevie told me she wanted to run it this year as her first ever half marathon.  I immediately volunteered to run it with her and help her through it.

Between the intense heat we had this summer, and our move, and Stevie directing a children's theater camp, she didn't train as much as she wanted to, knocking out only one eight mile long run in her training.  As for me, my last long run was the ODDyssey Half Marathon back in June.  Though I continued my runstreak by running every single day of the summer, my mileage never touched double digits.  I figured I would be ok, though, because I knew I would be running at a slower pace than I am used to for this race (and yes, I know that kind of makes me sound like a speed snob or whatever, but I can live with that).

Stevie and I dropped off Neale at 6am at a friend's place, who graciously offered to watch him such an early hour, then made the drive across the bridge into Philly and parked near Eastern State Penitentiary.  We had plenty of time to use the porta potties and drop off our gear, then went up to the top of the Art Museum steps where I ran into Lauren from Breathe Deeply and Smile and Janelle from Run With No Regrets.  Lauren is based in Baltimore and Janelle in Philly, and they both write great running blogs, so check them out.

Stevie and I started in the 27th corral (out of 30), and I had no idea we would have to wait 50 minutes just to start (I had told her maybe 20 minutes).  The speakers playing music kept cutting in and out while we waited, and so we amused ourselves by playing freeze dance while slowly shuffling forward.

When it was finally our turn to toe the starting line, the MC exclaimed "What a perfect day for a race!"  No.  No it wasn't.  Sure the temperature stayed relatively cool throughout the morning, but the humidity was off the charts, and runners were falling left and right all day as a result.  Get your shit straight, MC.

I ended up suffering from GI issues all morning, going to the bathroom no less than 6 times before/during the race.  That's the first time that's ever happened to me, so thankfully it wasn't during a goal race.

Aside from two quick bathroom breaks, Stevie ran straight through ten miles before finally taking walk breaks.  Stevie is in great shape from frequent cardio in the form of DVD workouts, but her lack of running caught up with her and her legs started to hate her in the latter miles.  I offered what encouragement I could while trying not to be obnoxious (Stevie later told me I was a great running partner).

Mile 12.5

Before long, the art museum loomed, we crested the last hill and rounded the last bend, and held hands as we crossed the finish line together.

Finish Line

If ever there was a race photo to make me part with my hard-earned money, this might be it.

Afterwards we hung out on the lawn drinking Michelob Ultra and watching Guster, a band I was obsessed with in college and haven't seen live in 16 years.  This was probably the first time I've ever been excited for the post race show at a Rock n' Roll race event.

Guster!

Despite the awful humidity, I had a great morning racing with my wife and hanging out afterwards.  I was proud of Stevie for setting a goal and finishing it.  Stevie claims this was her last half marathon ever and will focus on shorter distances in the future.  Overall, it was a great bonding experience, as I'd hoped it would be, and a day I won't soon forget.

New digs

So here's the big news of the summer: one of the reasons I haven't raced much or written much is because we moved in July.

We'd been living in Collingswood for several years, first in the apartment above the fire extinguisher shop, and then in the duplex across town, but when we finally decided to buy our own place, nothing in town was in our price range.  So moving out of town it is.  Unfortunately this means I can no longer ride my bike to school.  I can't really bike or walk at all anymore to do simple errands, which leaves me kind of heartbroken.  I also have to chart out all new running routes through unfamiliar terrain.

Buying a house and moving were... not fun.  The process was long and complicated and sucked all the joy and money out of the summer (all the heatwaves we experienced didn't help either).  Moving with a two-year-old in tow hell bent on destroying everything we own (including one of my prized beer glasses) made it all the more challenging.

But a new school year signals new beginnings.  I'm leading a series of teacher inservice workshops for the first time this year.  I'm helping Stevie run her first half marathon in a few weeks.  I'm looking forward to exploring our new surroundings on foot.  And pretty soon it'll be time to sign up for my second Boston Marathon.

As always, thanks for sticking with me, folks.  Till next time...

The Tempest

Those who have only met me in the last five years might be amazed to know that I used to be heavily involved in theater, owing partly to the fact that I haven't done a single show in that time, but mostly to my quiet and reserved nature.  I can claim mostly German heritage, and it seems that some German traits (quiet stoicism, for one) have made their way into my personality, which doesn't jibe with what people imagine the average theater type to be.

But there I am in the above photo, bare chested and smeared in guy liner, standing with the cast and next to my hot, corseted wife.  For the past few months Stevie and I have been working on a show together on Broad Street in Philly - Shakespeare's The Tempest.  I insisted on a small role and ended up playing Trinculo, the King's drunken jester, while Stevie ended up with the lead role of Prospera (typically a male role, but the director decided to gender bend).

Why the five year absence from the theater?  I found out very quickly that running and theater cultures don't mix.  Staying out late, drinking all the time, eating garbage food, and spending every waking moment memorizing lines do not help with attaining new PR's in running.  Five years ago I decided I could act any time, but had a closing window when it came to discovering my body's true potential in running.  So I put acting on hold and got more serious about running.

But coming off of an intense 2015, I figured now would be a good time to jump back into the theater world.

Closing night is tonight, and like any community theater production, it's been a bumpy ride to get the show ready.  I can't say it's been the most professional production I've ever been a part of, but it's nevertheless been fun rediscovering my love for performing.  Also, all the proceeds benefit Stevie's children's theater camp that she is directing later this month.

So come one, come all to Philly tonight to watch me act the Shakespearean fool!

Haddon Heights Firecracker 5k Race Report

Happy 4th of July, people!

The 4th of July is one of the most popular days of the year to run a race in America (Thanksgiving being the most popular), so I had plenty of races to choose from this morning. Naturally I went with the closest one to me, the Haddon Heights Firecracker 5k, and roped Stevie and Neale into joining me.

We'd actually tried to do this race last year, but had assumed it started at 9.  Thankfully we hadn't preregistered then, either.

We got to Haddon Heights around 7:30 this morning, parked on a side street, and walked to the start to register.  Day-of registration costs only $25 for this race.  You get a tech race shirt, bananas and bottles of water after finishing, medals for age group winners and cash prizes for overall winners, lots of country music at the finish area, and that's about it.

This is a very competitive race, with the top ten runners all finishing under 18 minutes.  The winner finished in 15:36.  I haven't broken 19 minutes in the 5k in over five years now, but maybe with a little training I can get there.

When we started, there was a man pushing a double stroller who dropped his iPhone.  He stopped for a brief second to look back, but decided to keep going instead of picking it up, so I swooped down to grab it for him when I passed it.  I had every intention of catching up to him and handing it to him, but I simply couldn't catch up with him, so I ran the entire race with his phone in my hand and gave it back to him at the finish.

The course was a standard suburban neighborhood 5k - lots of shaded streets, lots of turns, some minor hills.  There were no clocks on the course, or even mile markers, so I had to run by feel as much as I could.

I passed running friend Liz around mile two (her race recap is here) and took out two more runners in the homestretch to finish in 19:43 (though for some reason I'm listed in the official results as finishing in 19:26).  21st overall (out of 269) and 6th in my age group (out of 20).

Here's an incredibly flattering screenshot of me finishing:

If you click here you can go to the video and watch every person finish.

Then I went back out onto the course to look for Stevie and Neale and run in with them. Stevie finished in 33:16.

After the race we let Neale play on the playground at the finish area, then walked back to our car only to discover we were blocked in by the Haddon Heights parade route.  So we sat on the curb for twenty minutes watching the floats go by before things cleared out and we could go home.

The afternoon barbecue we'd been invited to had been cancelled due to inclement weather, so I fired up our own grill in our backyard and grilled hamburgers and hotdogs and drank Budweiser beer.

All in all, not a bad Independence Day.  Happy birthday, America!

Strider Indepence 10k Race Recap

There are many running clubs in South Jersey, both new and old.  Of the vanguards of South Jersey running, the Pineland Striders are among the oldest, which my dad used to be a part of (there's an old man joke in here somewhere, but I'll resist, Dad).

Every year for the past thirty plus years, they have put on the Strider Independence Races (10k and 5k) near July 4th.  The races start and finish at Shawnee High School in Medford, and run right past Camp Ockanickon where I used to live and work in my twenties.

I ran the 10k race two years ago and did reasonably well - won my age group and placed 9th overall.  This year I recruited Neale and Stevie as my cheering section, and we all made the drive out to Medford on a chilly summer Saturday morning.

Despite this event's long history, each race has less than 100 runners.  This means, though, that race morning is not chaotic.  Registration is always organized and easy, and there is access to flush toilets in the high school which don't get too crowded.

At 8:30am we took off from the high school parking lot into the surrounding neighborhoods with million dollar homes, some owned by Philadelphia professional athletes.  The course is completely flat and mostly shaded, perfect for a summer race.  In the final half mile, racers leave the pavement and run a quarter mile across the grass, then finish the final quarter mile on the school's track.

I remember the last time I did this race, I fought hard to pick off runners in the second half of the race and maintain my top ten standing.  This time, though, there was no one close to me, either behind or ahead, and it was all I could do to keep up the pace.  I did manage to beat my time from the last race by almost a minute.

Final stats:

While I was racing, Neale had a great time playing with dogs and other small kids, not to mention roaming the hallways of the high school.

I received a medal for winning my age group again, but unfortunately there was no accompanying gift certificate to the Haddonfield Running Company like last time.

There was a nice post-race spread of bottled water, bananas, bagels and oranges for all runners, but I didn't partake too much, because we went to get pizza afterwards.

Thanks to Stevie and Neale for cheering me on, and thanks to the Pineland Striders for a great morning of races!

End of the school year

Stevie: Wait, what are we doing?
Me: We're going to point at the camera.
Stevie: Why?
Me: Less talk, more pointing!
*click*

It was the final day of the school year yesterday, and as is our tradition, Stevie and I headed to the backyard with glasses and a bottle of champagne to celebrate.

It was my fifth year, meaning for the first time, I taught a class through all five levels of the German program, meaning saying goodbye to my seniors was a lot more emotional than I expected it to be.  I will genuinely miss them when I return in September and for the first time since meeting them five years ago, they will not be in my class.

Technically, this was my strongest year yet.  In the new review system, implemented three years ago, I earned a 3.5 out of 4, my highest score ever, which just barely classified me as a "highly efficient" teacher.

But a single number doesn't tell the whole story, of course, and to be honest I don't feel highly efficient.  Ever since my son Neale was born, I've felt off and struggling to keep up with school work.  Now that he's older, and I have a better grasp on fatherhood, I'm looking forward to next year and making improvements all across the board.

Next year is going to be pretty intense.  Stevie and I are kicking off the year with a half marathon in September (her first).  In October Stevie is acting in a two-woman show called Night, Mother.  We are possibly returning to the Keys during Christmas break, I am running my second Boston Marathon in April, and in June I'm leading another trip to Germany with my students.

But for now... summer!

Stevie's first half marathon

I normally run the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon every fall in Philadelphia.  I've done it almost every year for the last decade (unfortunately breaking the streak in 2014 when I had a wedding to attend in Pittsburgh that same weekend).  So the fact that I'm already signed up for the 2016 race this September isn't exactly newsworthy.

What makes it exciting is that my wife Stevie decided to sign up as well.  This will be her first ever half marathon.

Stevie has always enjoyed running, and a few years ago even began bumping up her mileage for no particular reason other than to challenge herself.  She made it up to 11 miles before pregnancy and winter both derailed her, and hasn't gone long since.  Stevie has transformed her body in the last year by doing DVD workouts through Beach Body, and she's completed a few 5k's in that time, sometimes with Neale in the stroller and sometimes without.  So she's been toying with the idea of completing a half for a long time, and has finally gone ahead and signed up.

I won't be running the race at my pace, but instead will stick by Stevie's side to pace her and offer encouragement (2:45 is her anticipated finish time).  I'm a little bit nervous about doing so for 13.1 miles, because there is a fine line between offering encouragement and just being annoying.  It's sometimes hard to gauge in the moment what the runner needs.  Something we'll have to work on and talk about this summer, I guess.

I'm excited to experience this race from a different angle, and I'm excited to share this world of distance running with Stevie.  September 18th here we come!

2016 Olympic Trials Marathon

It was a great afternoon to be a runner in South Jersey.

Local running celebrities Jen Miller (prolific author and running columnist), Dave Welsh (owner of Haddonfield Running Company) and Erin Donahue (2008 U.S. Olympian) put together a spectacular event today in honor of the first ever live televised coverage of the Olympic Trials Marathon.

About 15 of us met at the bar at 12pm and took off into a blustery snowstorm for 2.62 miles. Aside from my usual Wednesday night 7 miles, this was the longest run I've done in a month, and probably the coldest this season.

When we returned from the run, the first round was on the house, and an epic buffet had been set up for us.

The bar quickly filled up with people - runners on the left side, and random day drinkers on the right.  It was definitely a novelty to see so many people at a bar in the middle of the day to watch a marathon.

I was ecstatic to see Meb and Galen place in the top three, and as for the women, I was sad that Kara didn't make the cut but happy Shalane gutted it out to finish third.

Stevie eventually joined us and brought Neale, and the highlight of the afternoon came when Jen raffled off a copy of her book and I won.

Bonus photobomb from Stevie and Neale.

I've been following Jen's progress on the book for months now and have been looking forward to its release, so it was a pleasant surprise to receive a free copy today over a month ahead of its scheduled release.

I'll be sure to read it and write a review here soon.

All told, it was a great afternoon of running and beer.  Big thanks to The Irish Mile for hosting the event and for the beer and food.  Can't wait to watch the Olympic Marathon this summer!

Snow Day 2016

Yesterday was one of the most perfect days I've had in awhile, so I thought I would record it for posterity.

The snow started on Friday night and was still going strong yesterday morning.  We woke up around 6:30am which is pretty standard for us and sat leisurely on the couch for an hour or so with coffee and chai.  My only lament was the timing of the storm - had it happened on a school night, I most definitely would have had a day off of work today.  Let's face it - teachers love snow days even more than the students.

Soon one of our neighbors pulled out his ATV with attached plow and began plowing everyone's sidewalks, and everyone else came out to begin shoveling their driveways and clearing off their cars.  The snow was still coming down strong, but it was a great sense of community bonding to see everyone out there in the shared struggle.

After clearing out our driveway and cars, I came back in and made myself an epic breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast (from homemade bread), and bacon.

In the afternoon Stevie, Neale and I all bundled up and went outside to play in the snow.  We played with him in the snow drifts out front, then brought him to the pristine snow in the backyard and pulled him around on a sled.

He seemed rather nonplussed by the whole episode.

Following the romping in the snow, we came inside and relaxed more on the couch, this time with hot chocolate.  Neale got to try hot chocolate for the first time in his life, and Stevie and I added a shot of Bailey's to ours.

After we put Neale to bed, we got dressed again and ran around out in the backyard some more and enjoyed the winter twilight sky only a snowstorm can produce.  When we came back in, we poured ourselves some Harpoon Winter Warmers and moved down to the basement where we set up a tent on the floor and talked for awhile.

It truly was a perfect winter day, enjoyed all the more for not having to finish a ten mile training run like so many days in the past.  Days like yesterday, filled with winter activities and over a foot of snow, are so good for my soul, and I already can't wait for the next snowstorm.

Everglades National Park

Happy New Year!

Last year Stevie and I barely even made it to 9pm before calling it a night.  This year we did a little better and called it quits just before midnight.  The good thing about being boring parents and going to bed early and barely drinking anything is not having to wake up tired and hungover.

We decided to start the new year off right with a trip to Everglades National Park, about an hour away from Stevie's childhood home near Fort Lauderdale.  Stevie's mother watched Neale for us while we stole her car and made the drive west.

I'm a bit of a National Parks fanatic, but being from the northeast, I don't get my chance to visit many of them.  We come down to Florida once or twice a year to visit Stevie's family, and I'd been lobbying for a side trip to the Everglades for years, and so I was pretty excited to visit today.

Our first stop was a commercial outfit that provided airboat tours, kitchy alligator souvenirs and alligator wrestling demonstrations.

I even got to hold an alligator:

Our second stop was at a restaurant that served fried alligator and frog legs.

Our last stop of the day was at an official national park visitors' center where we went for a walk and saw a lot of wild alligators, including many baby alligators.

This last stop included a brochure on the Everglades complete with a detailed map.  I realized we only scratched the surface of the park today, and I'm now a bit obsessed with coming back and exploring more, perhaps even camping on the beach sometime.

The good news is, after today's experiences, Stevie now tells me I'm an honorary Floridian.

Top 10 running experiences of 2015

And so we find ourselves at the end of another year, and so it's time to reflect on the best running experiences of the last 365 days.  It was an epic year of running.  365 days of runs. Trail runs.  Beach runs.  Pavement runs.  Three marathons.  Two new PR's.  Over two thousand miles.  There are so many memories from this past year, but here, in no particular order, are my top ten:

When: September 9th
Where: Haddonfield, NJ
Post: They say it's my birthday

My birthday happened to fall on a Wednesday this year.  While we celebrated with friends at my favorite Belgian Tavern in Philly on Saturday, I spent my actual birthday running a very sweaty seven miles with the gang from Who's Up?  Stevie also surprised me by lining up a babysitter and coming along for the run, then presenting me with a cookie cake afterwards. Beer, running, wife, friends, cookie cake, and more beer.  All at the Haddonfield Running Company.  Everything I love in this world all at once.

When: August 10th
Where: South Beach, Miami, Florida
Post: The Raven Run of Miami

I had known about Robert "Raven" Kraft for awhile, the man who has run 8 miles on South Beach every day for the last 40+ years, and on a trip down to meet the in-laws, I finally got my chance to meet and run with him.  He was one of the kindest, most inspiring and most humble men I have ever met, and I sincerely hope I get a chance to run with him again.  Completing the Raven Run also inspired one of my favorite posts I've ever written.

When: April 20th
Where: Boston, MA
Post: Race Recap and Reflections

The Boston Marathon.  Duh.  Years of dreaming finally yielded to reality on April 20th when I became a part of one of the greatest traditions in sports history.  The years of hard work I put in to earn my spot there only made it better.  It was an incredibly tough race on a cold, wet and windy day, but one I will undoubtedly remember for years to come.  Seeing my dad, wife and son at the finish line?  The icing on the cake.  Someday when I am old and my body fails me, I will still remember the roar of the crowd on Boylston Street and what it was like to touch greatness.

When: Halloween
Where: Philadelphia, PA
Post: Race recap

At the end of October I ran the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in Philadelphia, which ended up being one of the most perfect races I have ever done.  It was one of those days that all runners dream about in which everything comes together for a perfect race.  The weather was perfect, the course was flat, my energy and confidence were high and my pace felt effortless for most of the race.  I ended up finishing with a PR by over three minutes, my first PR in the half marathon in over four years.

When: September 27th
Where: Philadelphia
Post: What it's like to run in Popeadelphia

Pope Francis came to town and shut down the entire city for days leading up to his arrival.  I had 18 miles scheduled for Sunday and decided to take advantage of car free streets by running from my front door across the Ben Franklin Bridge, all around Center City, and then back home.  The entire city was one giant militarized playground, and this run was most likely a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

When: April 6th
Where: Berlin, Germany
Post: The Brandenburg Gate

In April I led a trip for ten of my students to Germany, just as I was heading into the taper for Boston Marathon training.  While in Berlin, I woke up well before my students to run 14 miles around the city.  Training while traveling is always difficult, even more so when leading a bunch of teenagers around a foreign country, and this ended up being the only decent run of the trip.  But it was about as perfect as a solo long run could ever be.  The sun had just come up, there was a spring chill in the air, and I had major tourist attractions completely to myself, including the amazing Brandenburg Gate.

When: August 23rd

Where: Palmerton, PA

Post: Race report

At the end of August I completed an item on my running bucket list: run a naked 5k.  I had to drive an hour and a half to get there, and not only did I go through with it and actually run a race in the buff, but I ended up winning the whole thing.  It was certainly one of the stranger and more unique experiences of my running life.

When: March 5th

Where: South Jersey

Post: The snow run to end all snow runs

I ran a lot last winter.  Over 800 miles.  All in preparation for my first Boston Marathon.  But without access to a treadmill, I was forced to do all of my runs outside.  This meant running through some insane winter weather, including one snowstorm that dumped almost a foot of snow on South Jersey.  Running in the snow doesn't make for a terribly efficient training run, but I will take the unsteady footing and cold and wet clothes if it means getting to run through a forest with every last twig covered in snow.  The breathtaking beauty and the otherworldly quiet bring this specific run into the top ten.

When: December 23rd

Where: Atlanta, GA

Post: Winning the airport sprint

I was already in the middle of a hellish travel experience on my way down to the Florida Keys for Christmas.  With a mere 15 minutes to make a connecting flight, and with the prospect of spending Christmas Eve alone in Atlanta as a very real consequence, I broke into a dead sprint through the Atlanta Airport and made my flight with a mere two minutes to spare.  It was very clear that were I not a runner, there is no way I would have made that flight, and it was oddly satisfying to see all those  years of training had paid off.

When: May 10th
Where: Cherry Hill, NJ
Post: Finding Neverland Race Report

Stevie and I had technically run one race before this, but we didn't run together during that one, and Neale wasn't even a twinkle in my eye at that point.  This was a first as a family.  It was a poorly organized race, but we stuck together the whole time and stayed for mimosas afterwards.  I loved sharing running with my family, and hope it is the first of more races we complete in the future.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and the Hoff

So not only is there a musical version of the 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (because of course there is), but my wife Stevie is appearing in a steampunk version of it.  Here she is with her friend April promoting the show at Barrington's fall festival:

Jekyll and Hyde meets steampunk

Fun fact: None other than the Hoff portrayed the dual-personality lead in the Broadway version, obviously putting his days as a German popstar to good use.

This show was no day at the beach.

Stevie has been working tirelessly over the past few months, and has been working particularly hard this past week as the show comes together.  It opens tonight at the Grand Theater in Williamstown, NJ and runs for three weekends.

At the Grand Theater in Williamstown, NJ

If you're in the South Jersey area and want a great Halloween show, come check it out!

They say it's my birthday

Just two weeks after my son's birthday, I get to celebrate my own.  He celebrated his 1st, and now I celebrate my 34th.

A couple of girls in my German IV class wrote all over the whiteboard in my classroom, including this part by my desk:

I was certainly flattered but couldn't help correct their spelling.  Once a teacher always a teacher.

Stevie surprised me with a Team Spartenheimer sweatsuit in the morning and then brought me lunch from my favorite sandwich shop during the day.  The final surprise came when she told me she'd lined up a babysitter for tonight and was going to join me at beer/run club.  It was her first time there and she only did 3 miles as opposed to the whole 6.6 mile loop.

In the store after the run she brought out a cookie cake to share with everyone.  She wanted everyone to sing me happy birthday, but I wouldn't let her and she settled on "three cheers for the birthday boy."

The humidity was absolutely horrendous today and I had to work all day in a room without A/C, but this really was an amazing birthday.  Beer, running and several thoughtful surprises from the love of my life... what could possibly be better?

Running in Ithaca, NY

Ithaca is gorges.

There, I got that out of my system.  Now let's get on with things, shall we?

Stevie and I went up to New York for a friend's wedding this weekend and decided to spend a few extra days in Ithaca.  It was a lovely trip filled with hiking the many gorges in the area, beer and wine tasting, the wedding, and relaxing in our bed and breakfast, an old farmhouse on the outskirts of town.

And running.  With a runstreak that won't die and a marathon coming up in November,  I take my running clothes with me anytime I pack a bag these days.

I love to run while traveling.  It can be a hassle, especially the worry of getting lost (I never run with a cellphone), but I love the feeling of exploring new territory on foot.

Our bed and breakfast sat at the top of an enormous hill that was only the start of miles and miles of undulating roads, and I wasn't exactly looking forward to four days of mandatory hill training.  I set out on Wednesday to explore some of the side roads around our B&B and quickly found a road that ended by a forest.  I found a well-marked and well-maintained trail leading into the woods, so I decided to follow it despite having no idea how long it was or where it would lead me.

I love running in the woods and I was in heaven.  The trail was almost completely flat but had plenty of twists and turns to keep me alert.  I eventually connected with what was labeled the blue trail, which after a few miles delivered me to a YMCA wilderness day camp.  Children were spread out learning how to build fires and shelters and other outdoor skills, and I charged back into the woods for a total of 8 miles that day.  I did 6 the next day, then begrudgingly tackled 10 miles of roads and hills on Saturday, and this morning I returned to the woods for 4 miles of speedwork.

I'm happy everything worked out and my training didn't suffer during this trip, but at least during marathon training, it'll be nice to get back to a predictable routine in South Jersey.

Neale turns one

Three years ago Stevie and I took a trip to Germany.  Because she had never been there, I felt compelled to show her as much as I could of the country in the 10 days alloted.  We rented a car and took in the cities of Berlin, Hannover, Munich and Cologne, as well as smaller towns and villages that showcased Germany's charm.

Close to the middle of the country, we stopped in my ancestral village of Partenheim, a mere hamlet of a thousand inhabitants in Germany's wine region that makes some seriously astounding wine.  We stayed above one of the two bars in town and had dinner and drinks below.  We quickly befriended the locals, and after three hours of conversation, we were gifted three bottles of Partenheimer wine and two wine glasses.  Because the wine bottles bear my surname and because it is all but impossible to procure outside of Partenheim, my family tends to save them for special occasions.

We drank the first bottle on the night after our wedding in 2013, and opened the second bottle tonight, the night of our son's first birthday.  Neale already had a party in Florida a few weeks ago, and another in our backyard last weekend, so tonight was about Stevie and me.  It was about celebrating our first year as parents; the joyous highs and the maddening lows, the endless laughter and the endless crying, everything we have gained and everything we have sacrificed in the name of raising our son.

A year ago today we were in the hospital, exhausted and exhilarated from the previous 24 hours, amazed at what we (but mostly Stevie, of course) had just accomplished, and humbled by all that was to come.  And tonight, a year later, we sat on the porch of our bed and breakfast here in Ithaca to take it all in and reflect.

At the end of the day I can still say I love being a father to Neale and husband to Stevie.  To all those who have played a role in Neale's first year of life, big or small, I offer you my most sincere thanks.  And here's to the next year of parenthood, and many more, whatever they may hold.