2014 revisited

Let's start off by revisiting my running goals and resolutions for 2014:

1. Run 2,014 miles: Uncompleted.  I derailed at the end of August when Neale was born.  I was upset for a bit but I just joined a formal challenge to attempt 2,015 miles in 2015, so I'm just excited to have another go at it, but this time with a whole online community for support.

2. Make more running friends: Completed.  I joined both the South Jersey Athletic Club and a more informal Wednesday night running/beer group called Who's Up.  I love the guys in the latter group and look forward to seeing them each week.

3. Run a Tough Mudder with friends: Uncompleted.  Hope to do a Spartan Race this year, with or without friends.

4. Run a spring marathon: Uncompleted.  Almost ran the Providence Marathon but couldn't get my act together in time to organize hotel/transportation.

5. Run my first ultra: Completed.  Ran the Dirty German Endurance Fest 50k on May 18th. Was really a wonderful race and nice introduction into the world of ultras.  Hope to do more in the coming years.

6. Run across the state of NJ: Uncompleted.  This one has been on the list for years, but I still didn't get to it this year.

7. Run a sub 3:00 marathon: Uncompleted.  This was my goal before I knew Stevie was pregnant and was due in August, but I still included it on the list.  Why not dream big, right?

8. Run a beer mile: Completed.  Ran one on June 21st with Stevie in attendance.

9. Complete my first triathlon: Completed.  Completed the Grind in the Pines Sprint Triathlon on August 10th.

10. PR my half marathon time: Uncompleted.  I might have stood a chance at this one if I had been able to run the Rock n' Roll Half in September like I do every year, but this year I had a wedding to go to that weekend.

11. Streak 2014: Completed.  I ran 6 miles this morning, and with that, I have officially run every single day of the year.


That makes me 5 out of 11 for my goals this year.  Most of the goals I missed this year I'm just going to put onto my list of goals for 2015, and I'll add a few more to the list.  I'll post about that soon.

In terms of running, 2014 was a great year.  After running my 10th marathon in 2013 and my second BQ, I was looking forward to expanding my running horizons in 2014, and I definitely managed that. I streaked the entire year.  I joined two running clubs and connected more with the running community in my area.  I ran my first ultra, my first triathlon, and my first beer mile. I went to a whole running festival and ran a half marathon with the editors of Runner's World. Despite missing several goals, it was still an amazing year, and I'm looking forward to getting even better in 2015.

Outside of running, I traveled all over New England with Stevie, to Minnesota to visit my sister, to Florida to visit in-laws.  I started my 4th year of teaching high school German and gained tenure at the start of this school year.  Stevie and I moved into a new place over the summer.

But honestly, when talking about 2014, it's hard to mention anything other than the birth of my son.  Between Stevie's pregnancy, and the birth itself and the subsequent months of parenthood, it is easy to say that Neale utterly dominated 2014.  I have learned so much about myself, about what it means to be a father, a husband, and a person since he was born.

2014 really was a great year, and here's hoping 2015 is even better.

Christmas in the Keys

Being married to a woman from Florida has its advantages, including but not limited to getting to spend Christmas in the Florida Keys.

I'm not one of those annoying New Jerseyans who bitches and moans about the cold weather all winter, but damned if it isn't nice coming down to the tropics in December.  I was too busy drinking cocktails by the water and swimming and running on the beach and eating amazing seafood to miss Christmas up north.

Here are a few more pictures to make you more jealous:

Neale and Stevie at dusk.

Sunrise on our final morning.

My mother-in-law thinks of everything, including bringing an inflatable Christmas tree to the Keys.

My second time in the Keys, and the second time we failed to make it to Key West, or to get my picture in front of the Marathon sign.  At least I found this in a gift shop.

This is now the picture that comes up on my phone when my father-in-law calls.

Dinner on our final night in the Keys.

The importance of stretching (?)

Suze came over tonight so I could help her with a homework assignment.  She's currently getting her MS in Exercise Science and Health Promotion and had to test someone in different areas of speed, flexibility and agility.  That's how I ended up doing sprinting drills in my driveway tonight:

I had to start in the middle, then sprint to the right, sprint to the left, then sprint back across the middle.

You know, the usual Monday night activities.

This assessment is actually meant for baseball players, not marathoners.  Suze told me they haven't gotten to the point in her class where she can assess marathoners, so baseball speedwork it is.

We then went inside where Suze had me do all sorts of stretches to measure my flexibility, and she learned just how ridiculously unflexible I am.  I can't touch my feet when I bend over and keep my legs straight.  Not even close.  I've always been like this, despite being both a gymnast and a diver  in my youth.  This all led to a debate on the importance of stretching for distance runners.

When I first started running in high school, I stretched religously before each run.  I never enjoyed it, but just saw it as a necessary part of training, because that's what everyone believed.  In recent years, however, research has told us that cold, static stretching not only doesn't help us as much as we thought, but can actually be damaging.  If any stretching should be done, it should be dynamic stretching after a brief warm up.

But I actually don't stretch at all.  Before a big race I might do some sort of warmup routine, but that has more to do with calming nerves than preventing injury.  I've obviously been successful enough without it, but Suze believes I could go even faster if I stretched properly.  I believe that stretching will make more flexible, but not necessarily faster.

The tightness in my muscles seems relegated to my hamstrings, which Suze believes may be due to an imbalance between my hamstrings (the back of my thigh) and my quadriceps (the front of my thigh).  They may not even be tight, just overpowered by the quads.  An orthopedist once told me I had overdeveloped quads, so this seems like a possibility.

We'll see how training goes over the next few months, and if I want to add in a stretching routine or not.  

2015 Boston Marathon training plan

It's December 20, 2014.  This puts us at exactly four months away from the 2015 Boston Marathon, and four months is typically when I begin a marathon training plan.

I'll mention first that I'm not planning to PR at Boston.  The goal is to train hard this winter and arrive at the starting line fit, healthy and confident, and to enjoy race day and its atmosphere. Training intensely through a dark and cold winter with a baby at home, and racing on a more difficult course than Philly, all add up to more stress than I'd like over the coming months.

Here is the plan for the next four months, which will be pretty similar to my usual marathon routine:

• I will continue the streak for as long as I am healthy and able.
• Sundays will be my long run day, and Mondays will be my rest day in which I will only run a mile.
• I used to do sprint work on the track every Thursday, but because I am not attempting a PR, I may not do this as much.  I hate sprinting.
• I will definitely scale back on the alcohol, but probably not cut it out completely.  Can't give up on my Wednesday night running buddies, can I?
• I am toying with the idea of running a 100 mile week.  This was one of my goals while training for the Philly Marathon last year, but I only made it to 73 before I developed shin splints in one leg.  This time I'll build up to it a lot more slowly.
• I'm going to do my best to become a morning runner.  This is something I've typically struggled with over the years.  I've just never been good at getting up earlier than I have to.
• As usual, I will concentrate on refining my diet and reigning in my appetite.

It's been over a year since my last marathon (though I did do a 50k last May), and I'm looking forward to having a physical goal to work towards again.  It helps that it's the Boston Freaking Marathon that I'm working towards.  So much of my time and energy over the past several years have gone into this one goal, so all the pain and misery of marathon training become secondary in the mind to the thought of race day glory (<-- new band name).  This makes it so much easier to get out the door on a cold morning, or to do that extra lap of sprinting on the track, or to avoid the extra donuts in the teachers' lounge, or to get to sleep early when I want to stay out later.

All told, it's going to be an excellent few months around these parts.

Take us off, Shalane.

The Instant Gratification Run

The racing scene in America just got its newest addition, and where else but right across the river in the City of Brotherly Love.

Introducing the newest gimmick in racing:

It's called the Philly 0.0 Instant Gratification Run, and it's a race that involves no running whatsoever. It has all the hallmarks of a traditional race: participants receive race shirts, they're timed, and age group awards are given out.  But once participants pin the bib on their shirt and line up at the starting line, they simply cross the line and head straight for the after party.

As it says on their website: "All the fun, none of the committment!"  

Yeesh.

More like: "All the gimmicks, none of the glory."

Who's Up Christmas party

7 miles last night at the Haddonfield Running Company, then on to the Who's Up Christmas party at the Irish Mile.

Most of us wore our club T-shirts for the outing, and we took over a corner of the bar where we quaffed beers and discussed the need for a second printing of shirts, upcoming 2015 races, and of course beer.

From the Who's Up crew to you, Merry Christmas!

2015 Nuun Ambassador

I'm pleased to be able to share a recent development from the headquarters of I Thought They Said Rum: I just found out today I was selected to be a member of Nuun Hydration's 2015 Ambassador Program.

For the uninitiated, Nuun is a Seattle-based company that produces drink tabs that add both flavor and electrolytes to plain water.

Every year Nuun partners with bloggers/athletes around the country.  These blogger/athletes are asked to share Nuun on their social media outlets, and in return they are given the opportunity to race with Nuun at select races, as well as free and discounted Nuun gear.

So what does this mean for the blog?  It means I'll be sharing the occasional post about Nuun or the occasional picture of me drinking it/wearing Nuun gear.  Now, if you're a long time reader, you'll know I'm a bit wary of product placement on the blog.  But I don't mind writing about products I believe in when the opportunity arises.  Nuun makes a solid product, and from everything I've read about the company itself, it is a fun and innovative company that I am now happy to work with.

One of my goals in 2014 was to make more running friends, and I am planning to expand upon that goal in 2015.  I want to put myself out there more in the running community, both in my immediate area and online.  I'm hoping to revamp the blog, start a Twitter dedicated to running, and reach out to both runners around the country as well as unique running-related companies.  

Stay hydrated, friends, and here's to an incredible 2015.

Cold weather running

Last Wednesday a reporter and photographer showed up to our weekly run to do a story on cold weather running.

The article was published today in the Courier Post.

It's all about why running in the winter is actually ideal, why you should favor the outdoors over a treadmill, and how to suit up for harsher conditions.

The photographer got several shots of us standing outside of the store, and then made us start the run twice so he could get the shot from two different angles.

"Hurry up!  We've got beer waiting for us!"

2014 Beer Mile World Championships

Someone finally took notice of the growing popularity of beer miles and decided to make it legit.

While most beer miles are run under the cover of darkness to avoid open container laws (or if you're like me, in the middle of the afternoon with kids around), and without much fanfare, the Austin-based company Flotrack decided to add a little pomp and circumstance to the event.

Flotrack recruited the best beer milers in the world and added professional timing, media coverage, prize money, and lots of screaming fans to the event.  To run in the main event, one had to qualify, but fortunately they allowed an open heat in order for the general public to join in on the debauchery.

The Beer Mile World Championships was held last night in Austin, TX, and Corey Gallagher of Canada won the men's race in 5:00.23, just a few seconds off the world record.  Elizabeth Herndon of USA set a world record and won the women's race in 6:17.76.

Now I can't wait to do another beer mile.  In the meantime, here's the video of the men's race:

Watch more videos on Flotrack

Tis the season for Christmas beers

Amazing night of running and beer down at the Haddonfield Running Company tonight.

A reporter and photographer from the Courier Post came out for a story on cold weather running.  The photographer had a giant camera and two separate flashes set up on tripods outside of the store.  He was a bit dismayed at how relatively warm it was and how most of us were wearing shorts and T-shirts and was trying to position those of us with hats and gloves towards the front.  We joked that he should just photoshop heavier clothes on us and cover up our bare legs with three feet of snow.  The story is supposed to run next week on Monday.

My mileage and motivation have dipped to the point of seven miles becoming a struggle, but I handled tonight well enough.  Normally I run alone for the majority of the seven miles, but tonight a large group of us stuck together for awhile and we joked about being just like the lead pack of elite runners in a marathon.

It was my turn to bring the beer this week.  I decided to ring in the Christmas season with a round of Christmas beers (and the odd pack of Miller for those unadventurous folk):

The timing couldn't have been more perfect.  Just when I was getting sick of pumpkin beers, in come these wonderful spice soaked ABV bombs to remind me just how much I love Christmas beers.

We have a Texas transplant in the group who was overjoyed that I brought Shiner. Meanwhile, the Great Lakes and Southern Tier were the greatest things I've tasted since... No.  Nothing tastes as good as these beers.

Happy running to you, friends, and Merry Christmas.