Motivated to Succeed

12:00 PM - Got up early after celebrating New Years with our friends and family. Drove to Albany. Was pretty nervous because I haven't run this race in three years since I got injured. The last time I ran it I nearly PR'ed in the 1/2 with a 1:38. I was also only 170 lbs then. My goal going into this race was A. a sub 2:00, B. a sub-2:10, and C. to simply finish. I met all goals and ended up running the best 1/2 marathon of the year for me by considerable time. All this considering I ran monster miles this week and am a bit tired. 

PRERACE : I knew the race was going to be popular since the announcement they were actually having bib numbers. We haven't ever had them before. Got to the lot about an hour before race time, and it was jam packed! Runners, spectators, volunteers crowded into the athletic center. I estimated in excess of 200 runners were there for the Hangover 1/2 and about a 100 for the Sober up 3.5miler. Saw one of my running buddies from college, Pat. He was going for gold today. He's won the race before and is a very respectable runner. (He ended up going on to come in 2nd after getting told to take a wrong turn, but ran a 1:11.)

THE RACE:  Race got pushed back because of so many last minute registrations. We didn't start until close to 12:10. Moved to the back of the pack. I knew that today was just to test the waters and see what I could do on a long training week. It's kind of eerie being back at a race you haven't run in several years, especially the last one you did before a major layoff. Overall things went splendidly though.

MILE 1: (9:19) Things got off to a rocky start because we thought the race had started and were jogging about 150', but it turned out they had not marked the starting line. Ooops. Finally got going though and cruised up the two hills and out of the central campus to the campus road.

MILE 2: (8:57) Settled into a nice pace behind a pack. Just relaxing and enjoying the gorgeous weather. It was 45 out and partly sunny. Amazing!

MILE 3: (8:49) Running on the inner circle of the campus road. Ran next to Wade Stockman, a 75 year old runner who wins his age group in almost every race he runs. His wife is the same way. Annie is 78 and did the same today as well in the 1/2. A truly amazing couple. My parents were both runners in the 80s and remember seeing them at races too!

MILE 4: (8:36) Heading out onto the second loop, Pat came past me and said, "Benn they sent us the wrong way! Mothereffers sent us the wrong way!". He was taking it in stride and just smiling though and running with Tom O'Grady. The eventual winner came by in 3rd and I said: "Oh man you too!? Keep on truckin' man. Show 'em you mean business." He replied: "Thanks! You have a great race yourself".

MILE 5: (8:47) Uphill mile going on the outside of the campus road. Nothing too eventful. Moving past some runners falling back from starting too fast.

MILE 6: (8:44) Coming downhill towards the end of the second loop. Suzy Pris was pacing a friend for a 2:15. Saw me from the inner loop and yelled across the median to me. I waved and gave a thumbs up.

MILE 7: (8:38) Heading into the central campus now. Up and down a nice steady hill. Caught two more runners.

MILE 8: (8:50) Saw a very good family friend, Vitus Chow as I approached the turnaround. He was about a minute ahead of me, and I tried to catch up to him later in the race, but he maintained the 1+ minute on me.

MILE 9: (8:48) Heading out on the final loop on the faster part of the course. Still feeling good and fresh, but I knew that my legs still had the potential to "freeze up".

MILE 10: (9:02) Uphill going into the inner loop. Found a group about 200m ahead and started to make my way towards them. Picked off a lot of stragglers in the course of about 9 or 10 minutes.

MILE 11: (9:23) Blah. Legs feeling it now. Was expected and I was actually surprised I fought it for so long. I haven't had good training and it shows. Just holding my own and keeping people from passing me. less than 3 miles. I can do it!

 MILE 12: (9:26) Tucked in behind a pair of people that were talking about the racing season coming up for 2011. Laughed when one guy said this was his best and worst race of the year. I got the joke (1/1/11.. ONLY race this year).

MILE 13+: (9:36) Hamstrings and quads feeling it. Stopped for water for the first time ( I had a handheld most of the way.). Long uphill before back into the campus loop. Pat Cullen caught up to me on his cool down and ran me in the last .3 miles. Was nice to catch up with him. We both decided that a sub-2 wasn't "that bad" considering my training. We also agreed it was time to head in and get some pizza! 

Total Time: 1:58:31 Total Distance: 13.11 miles Average Pace: 9:03

Emm, my mom, and Harry surprised me by driving from Pittsfield to meet me to take me to Panera. They missed the end of the race though so didn't get to actually see me run, but my mom did enjoy catching up with Vitus.  

This evening Emm and I went bowling with Missy and her sisters and their significant others. Then we went to Missy's house to see Sophie the new puppy! All in all a great day and a great start to the new year! Goals for 2011 and reflections on 2010 to come in tomorrow's entry! 

7:00 PM - Went in to school today to try to get things Xeroxed before Monday's back to school. Went in last week but couldn't get in because of renovations. Got there today and none of the printers were working, the wireless was out, and the xerox machine was unplugged. I got it working, albeit with several paper jams, but got enough things Xeroxed to be in okay shape for tomorrow. Then went grocery shopping for us. Came home around 5pm, and Emm was sleeping in her Snuggie-style blanket on the bed. She said she just lay down listening to her audio book and conked out. I woke her up at 5ish just because I wanted to make sure she was okay. She went right back to sleep and is still sleeping at 8:30 as I write this entry. I may go wake her up so that she isn't up all night!

Hopped on the treadmill to work out some kinks in my legs. Quads were pretty sore this a.m. when I woke up. First mile was rough, but after that things were fine. Went nice and slow. After doing 3.5 miles, I stretched, something I didn't do enough of yesterday. Then I wanted to see what the straight arm plank was all about. I managed 1:00. Oh well. A place to start. I will go for 1:10 or 1:15 next time. Then I did a 1:00 wall sit. Quads were really burning, and last 20 seconds I was near tears. Phew! Tired!

Total Time: 33:47 Total Distance: 3.5 miles Average Pace:  9:39/ mile

2010 Reflections: This past year I ran the most miles I have ever run in a year, 1160. It is not much, but considering the setbacks I've had and basically starting over post-injury it is just that, a place to start from. I had a lot of great races, though no PR's. I even won two races (BArT's Field Day Mile, and the Alumni 5k Race this past fall). I was happy with my performances. If I had to pick a race for most fun, it would be the Highland Forest 1-2-3 20miler where I had a blast and finished a 20 mile trail run feeling great!

Breakfast: 2 cups decaf coffee w/ skim milk, 2 pieces of raisin toast with spray butter.

Lunch: Light 'n Fit yogurt, Choibani yogurt, carrot sticks, celery, Triscuits, banana, bosc pear

Dinner: homemade soup that Emmy made followed by a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich

Hopped on the treadmill and ran only .35 miles. The treadmill started to shift under me. i.e. when my foot came down instead of hitting and sliding back, it would either stay in place or appear to slide forward. I didn't like this feeling so I ended up jumping off and biked for 33 minutes (9 miles total). Got up a good sweat. Then tried 2 minutes on the elliptical, but that machine is not for me. I don't like it. Afterwards I did free weight lifting with Emmy. I did 3 sets of curls, bench press and triceps. Nothing major as I only have 12 lb dumbbells. All in all a good first day back to school. It is going to be hard to get in workouts now that school is back in session. Urgh!

7:30 PM - Got home early for once. I was beat after teaching my second half of the day from 11-3:35. I gathered up my things, drove home and crashed. Then I went to get Emmy from work before coming home for dinner. One problem though. I found that I forgot my laptop charger cord at work! Doh! Guess it will be an early morning for me!

Breakfast I had 2 slices of raisin toast with fat free squirt butter and 2 cups decaf coffee with skim milk. Lunch consisted of a granny smith apple, banana, fat free yogurt, and a ziploc bag of cinnamon life cereal. Dinner was not good for me - Emm's dinner was fantastic. I had a bowl of soup, grilled green beans and 2 low fat turkey sausages. However before that I polished off a couple servings of baked lays, ate about 20 ritz crackers (angry at myself for this), and had a skinny cow ice cream.

Went running on the treadmill. Read two issues of Running Times while I ran. Felt pretty good. Treadmill slipped like yesterday during the first mile, but then was fine. I was tentative though as my orthotics broke this morning. My old ones were the 3/4 kind that stopped at the ball of your foot. This "new" pair that I've had since 2008 was a full orthotic, but the left one busted at the 3/4 mark. It had always been flimsy and considering how many trail races, pairs of shoes, and streams, rocks, mud, etc. these things have been through I'm surprised they didn't bust sooner. Will take a couple days to get used to not having any padding under the balls of my feet. Maybe I can jerryrig something else to fix it?

Total Time: 47:30 Total Distance: 5.31 Average Pace: 8:57

7:00 PM - Long day at work. Had horizontal team meetings after school. I really liked sitting in on the English meeting. I really got a lot out of it! Headed home and had just got in the door when Emmy called to get a ride home from work. I drove over there and picked her up, though she didn't know I was coming the back way and had started to walk home the other way! Don't worry. I found her :D.

After dinner I hopped on the treadmill, though it didn't sound right. I started to run and the tread was slipping all over the place and it was making a really ugly noise. I decided no time like the present to get in some miles outside. I suited up and headed out to Taconic High School to test out the loop I have mapped out (.55 miles) to train for the Mind the Ducks 12 hour. When I got there the parking lot was entirely full.  Must have been a couple sports matches tonight. I opted for a safer decision and came back home and ran the loop around the block. Added on an extra .5 miles at the end. Felt really good. Ran 8:41, 8:38, and 9:30ish. Last mile was slow because I had to walk past a dog in a driveway that was barking at me and then my sister Su called so I was talking while running! (Luckily, no cops saw me!)

Total Time: 46:00 Total Distance: 5.1 miles Average Pace: 9:01

Breakfast: 2 slices cinnamon raisin toast, 2 cups decaf w/ skim milk

Lunch: 2 x Light 'n Fit yogurts, apple, 2 x low fat chewy granola bars, apple sauce w/out sugar 

Dinner: Macaroni and cheese with spray butter (non fat), 1 Guinness extra stout

Night: cup of camomile tea

Weight at bedtime: 212.6 (possibly losing weight?) 

Breakfast: 2 slices raisin bread with peanut butter, 2 cups decaf coffee w/ skim milk

 Lunch: whole wheat pita with white albacore tuns (mustard and FF ranch dressing), 2 x light n' fit yogurts, low fat chewy granola bar, apple.

Snack: Wheat thins with extra sharp cheddar cheese

Dinner: whole wheat tortilla, FF refried beans, lettuce, tomato, FF sour cream x 3, 1 Guinness extra stout

No chance to exercise today. Today was my long day with teaching from 8-930 and 11-5. Absolutely exhausted. And since the treadmill was broken it is going to be increasingly harder to get in exercise dates. Agh! We need a new one, but the cheapest treadmill big enough to support my weight effectively looks to be $799.  

9:20 AM - Got another few inches of snow last night. I fell asleep at 7pm last night and got up at 7am this morning, 12 hours of sleep! I shoveled out the driveway and cars and drove Emmy to work. Then I drove home and got changed into running clothes (treadmill still broken). I drove to a 3 street triangle loop I mapped out last night and parked the car. I hopped out and stretched, and turned on Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on my iPod. Saw a set of tracks in the snow as I was going around the first loop and came up on a lady who had just started walking. Looks like I am not the only one that realizes the seclusion of this culdesac area. I said "Good morning!" and she smiled back at me. The second loop around she stopped and turned and said, "Are you Dr. Snow Eyes?" And I was like "Excuse me??" She said again, "Are you Dr. Snow Eyes, because if not you look just like him!" I said, "No, but I AM a Gemini!" Maybe my long lost twin is Dr. Snow Eyes. 

Splits I took every 2nd lap. Was really happy with this. I ran it much harder than I should have, but I had Harry Potter, Dr. Snow Eyes, and work on the brain. Next time I will try to tone it down and shoot for slower times, somewhere in the 6:00-7:00 range.

• Lap 1/2 - 5:36
• Lap 3/4 - 5:33
• Lap 5/6 - 5:30
• Lap 7/8 - 5:30
• Lap 9/10 - 5:30
• Lap 11/12 - 5:26
• Lap 13/14 - 5:26
• Lap 15/16 - 5:22
• Lap 17/18 - 5:15
• Lap 19/20 - 5:07
• Lap 21 CD - 2:43 

3:00 PM - Blustery cold. Temperature probably in the low 20s but wind chill in the low teens or single digits. After a morning of running errands and wishing Mary Rose safe travels (she left today for California for 6 months), I convinced Emm to go with me to run at the .33 mile loop off of Jason street that I ran at yesterday. I really like this loop. Not too much traffic since it's off the main road. We bought her a pair of Yak Trax too so now we are both outfitted for winter running! We started clicking off some laps together, but between laps 7-11 Emm had to run home to pee. She drove back and joined me but then took a couple laps off as she explored her old elementary school via running through the playground :). She rejoined me for the last 3 or 4 laps. Unlike yesterday I kept splits for each lap today. At the end after 7 miles we walked one lap cool down and started strategizing for the race in May. Splits today were:

• Lap 1: 3:10
• Lap 2: 3:04
• Lap 3: 3:03
• Lap 4: 3:06
• Lap 5: 2:58
• Lap 6: 2:58
• Lap 7: 2:59
• Lap 8: 2:46
• Lap 9: 2:47
• Lap 10: 2:46
• Lap 11: 2:48
• Lap 12: 3:01
• Lap 13: 3:06
• Lap 14: 2:58
• Lap 15: 2:55
• Lap 16: 2:49
• Lap 17: 2:45
• Lap 18: 2:51
• Lap 19: 2:56
• Lap 20: 2:56
• Lap 21: 2:40 

Home from work today. Spent the day compiling needed documents to "drop" for tomorrow's Professional Development and then graded papers. At about 3pm needed a break so spun on the wind trainer for an hour (15 miles biked: running equivalent of 4 miles). Hopefully going for a jog with Emma tonight when she gets home from work!

I am now an official uncle! Have always been called "Uncle Benn" to Janey, but now I am legit. Little Eve was born on 1/11/11. She's 7lb 13 oz and 20.5". A cutie!

6:00 PM - Temperature about 10 degrees with the windchill. Bundled up and went jogging with Emmy at the 1/3 mile loop. It is surprisingly well lit at night! We heard a lot of dogs, saw a wild chihuahua and thought some wolves were coming after us. But thankfully we made it home! :D Splits were:

• 3:11
• 3:03
• 3:03
• 3:01
• 3:02
• 2:57
• 2:57
• 2:53
• 2:53
• 2:46
• 2:44
• 2:25
• 2:46 (cool down)

5:00 PM - At home in NY today. Helping clean out a lot of my stuff that I left here when I moved out in February. So far I have 5 boxes of books to keep, and 1 box of books to give away. Ut oh. I may be in the dog house with Emmy! Also have 1 box going of things to take to work.  Helped clean the kitchen and shovel the driveway. Started snowing around noon and it snowed close to 4"! I put the exclamation because this snow wasn't forecasted. This evening I went for a run on my mom's treadmill. It was glorious. Harry went with my mom up to Glens Falls to play the national anthem for an AHL hockey game. Pretty cool! I wanted to practice my long run strategy for May. So I jogged 25 mins, walked 5 mins, and repeated. Felt pretty good. Legs were a bit tired, I think do to the fact that I had to chase my two St. Bernards down in the woods. They decided it was a perfect afternoon to run off. I was running and jumped over two barbed wire fences, went back past the junk cars, and finally found them. It was really hard running through the snow! My quads were burning. I was hoping to do 2.5 hours today, but just couldn't do it. On a plus, my weight is down. I was 207 today. Had yogurt and a granola bar for breakfast with a cup of coffee, lunch was broccoli cheddar soup and half a panini at Panera, and dinner was a piece of tilapia with 3 small red potatoes. Feeling pretty good overall. Tomorrow is a long walk with Emmy!

Total Time: 2:05:00 Total Distance: 12.1 miles Average Pace:  10:20

3:30 PM - Air temperature was -2 this morning when I woke up, with a wind chill below that. High today was only around 12 degrees. Needless to say, not a very great day to run outside. Luckily at about 8am the delivery people brought in our new treadmill. Emm and I spent about 2-2.5 hours building the thing and by and large had a great time. Only exception was towards the end in the homestretch some nuts and bolts wouldn't find their respective holes and it became a challenge. Mostly everything went together great! This was our first big project together, with the exception being last night we built our first bookcase too! All in all a great day. Have helped reorganize much of the house with Emm these last two days. Going to go now and help her a bit and then maybe order Indian food! It's been a couple months since I've had it!

Total Time: 1:00:00 Total Distance: 6.5 miles Average Pace:  9:14

12:30 PM - Another storm hit this a.m. This one closed almost every school because it was supposed to sleet and freezing rain is supposed to get here this afternoon. Gave me time to get a little more school work done and prepare for the week. Hit up the treadmill for an hour. Felt good towards the end, but man the first couple my legs were dead!

Total Time: 1:00:30 Total Distance: 6.55 Miles Average Pace:  9:14

5:30 PM - Long day at school. Woke up and had ice caked all over the cars. Had to get to school early to make copies. It wasn't a terrible day and actually most of my classes were productive. We talked about what a social pyramid is and I got them to construct a social pyramid of power of school principals, office staff, teachers, student council members, and students. It is funny to see the 7th grade mind work and see just how many of them put students at the top of the social pyramid. While, yes, I pointed out, there would not be a school without them there, that by default does not give them power in the school system they are a part of. While they might have ultimate authority as to whether or not the school exists, once it does exist, they are thrust into the bowels of the social pyramid. However, I did explain that my goal as a teacher was to get as many of them higher than me on the social pyramid because it is that important to me to see them succeed. They seemed to like this. Tomorrow we will go and look at the social pyramid structure as it occurs in Egyptian society. Woot. 

Hopped on the treadmill tonight once I got home and shoveled out the driveway. I have decided no race this Sunday. Saturday night's low is projected to be -5 and Sunday -10 with highs only in the single digits. I'd rather stay close to home and the car! I will try to do the .55 loop over at Taconic high school if I wake up early enough on one of the weekend days. I want to try to get to 2.5 or 3 hours this weekend. Legs were pretty heavy tonight. I think because of all the miles I've run in the last week.

Total Time: 50:00 Total Distance: 5.26 miles Average Pace:  9:30/ mile

9:45 AM - Windy and cold. Temperature about 5 degrees at the start with a wind chill of -3. Projected high today should be about 15. Knew I wanted a long run and as Emmy was on the treadmill, I decided to layer up and get some ultra training under my belt. Put on 2 pairs of socks, a pair of spandex tights, pair of wind pants, thermal shirt, sportwick long sleeve shirt and a purple fleece top as well as an orange hat and gloves. Brought a 1/2 gallon of gatorade with me and 2 granola bars for fuel. Drove over to Taconic and it was pretty much deserted. I had mapped out that running the loop around the school is approximately .55 miles long. Parked in the far corner of the lot, stretched, and I was off!

Goal was to have fun, run for 3 hours, and stick to the 25 minutes of jogging and 5 minutes of walking routine, which I am happy to say I was able to stick with throughout the entire run! Splits were great. Note: every 3rd mile or so is slower because it incorporates my 5 minutes of fast walking. Almost all my fast walking 5 minute blocks were in the 14-15:30 minutes per mile range which is really strong! Very proud of today's accomplishments! (Note: I ate 1 granola bar at 55:00 and another at 1:55:00. Also drank about 8 oz of gatorade each at the 55 and 1:55 h marks.)

• Mile 1: 10:23
• Mile 2: 10:47
• Mile 3: 12:27
• Mile 4: 10:50
• Mile 5: 10:47
• Mile 6: 12:03
• Mile 7: 10:22
• Mile 8: 11:25
• Mile 9: 10:39
• Mile 10: 10:06
• Mile 11: 12:13
• Mile 12: 10:33
• Mile 13: 10:16
• Mile 14: 11:55
• Mile 15: 9:55
• Mile 16: 9:46

 Total Time: 3:00:33 Total Distance: 16.50 miles Average Pace: 10:56 / mile 

9:00 AM - Slept close to 10 hours last night including passing out on the couch around 830 while we were watching "Superbad". Uh! Good news was I was not really all that sore from yesterday's run. I got up, did some work, and then went and did my long fast walk on the treadmill. I did very well! Tonight and tomorrow, projected lows are supposed to be somewhere around -15 below so treadmill will be my friend this week. I did most of the walking for the first 3 miles at 4.3 mph, then sped up to 4.4-4.5 for the next mile and did the last two miles between 4.5 and 5.0 mph! Walking machine!

Total Time: 1:21:13 Total Distance: 6 miles Average Pace:  13:32/ mile

6:00 PM - Long day at work. Just stressed. Two more coworkers put in their two weeks' notice and another has made it clear she is keeping her options open and actively looking for a new position next year. Just when I think I have a break through moment there is something to bring me down - either a bad class, getting reprimanded in front of the whole staff for talking while we are working an extra hour to grade a school wide assessment, or just basic BS. I absolutely love my coworkers and they are the only reason I can make it through the days, but sometimes I feel like I am the worst teacher that walks this earth. Nothing goes right, my lesson flops, and I feel like all I am doing is failing my students and friends.

Needless to say, came home and felt like a progression run. I don't have the time or strength to do the 6 full miles, so I started at 6.4 for a mile, then 6.6 for the second, then 6.8, 7.0, 7.5, and 8.0 for the remaining laps. Really clicking away at the end. A good tired. Just what I needed.

Total Time: 36:01 Total Distance: 4.10 miles Average Pace:  8:47/ mile

5:00 PM - Easy shakeout on the dreadmill. Hoping to spend quality time with Emm and maybe even stay up past 8 tonight! Haven't seen her all week! Long run tomorrow!

Total Time: 20:00 Total Distance: 2.1 miles Average Pace:  9:31

9:00 AM - Long run on the dreadmill. Watched some of Season 4 of the office and then watched "Running on the Sun". Always a good choice when forced to do a long run on the treadmill. The rest of today will be full of catching up on grading, doing progress reports, and then helping to clean the house. Hope to go shopping and make a yummy dinner with Emmy tonight and then some p90 and crunches!

Total Time: 3:18:27 Total Distance: 18.25 miles Average Pace:  10:52/ mile

1:00 PM - Did Power 90 Cardio with Emmy on the VHS tape she has from like 1999. Still worked. It was tough! 45 mins. Then jumped on the treadmill and did 1 mile to keep my sanity. Felt great!

8:30 AM - Yesterday was Storm #1 of a 1-2 punch socking us over the next couple days. We have had 9 storms in 7 weeks and most of us set record snowfalls for last month since records were kept in 1868. We went in to school yesterday, but they let us out at 12:30. I took it slow coming home, ran errands, went grocery shopping, picked up Emmy lunch from Panera to surprise her, then went with her to get her nose pierced (Holy moly was that an experience! No way I could ever do a piercing!). While we were waiting a group of five or six teenagers were in there and one was getting her tongue pierced! I can't imagine what that feels like or what would possess teens to pierce that!

No school today. It was actually announced last night which was really nice. I slept in until 6am and then got up, got coffee and hopped on the treadmill. I did a nice 90 minute run and felt relaxed the whole time. I was sweating like crazy the first hour, but that was because I forgot to open the windows. Stopped for about a minute to open the windows and take my shirt off because it looked like I had jumped in a lake. Finished up the run. After shoveling and such I think I may do another 5k on the treadmill.

Total Time: 1:31:40 Total Distance: 9.3 miles Average Pace:  9:51/ mile

5:00 PM - Still sleeting out. Rough stuff. Did about 2 hours of shoveling this afternoon which was a good upper body workout. Got all my things together for tomorrow. Going to teach the kiddos about political cartoons and then get them to make their own about ancient Egypt. Ran on the treadmill during a brief interlude while Emm was still working at the spa on some paperwork. Ran 3.1 miles in 26:40. First run in my Vibrams this year! 

Total Time: 26:40 Total Distance: 3.1 miles Average Pace: 8:46 

6:30 PM - Easy 20 minutes on the dreadmill after work. Today was a sad day. A good friend and coworker had her last day. :(  Went out afterwards to celebrate payday before coming home. Tomorrow is my long run and my youngest brother, Harry, is coming up to celebrate his 17th birthday! Got lots to do! Have to bake a cake tonight!

Total Time: 20:00 Total Distance: 2.05 miles Average Pace: 9:45/ mile 

Freezing rain all morning. Mom and Harry made the trip from NY to MA to see us. Emm and I wanted to make a fun day out of it. After all it is only once that your youngest bro turns 17! We went to the Arcadian Shop and went for a snowshoe hike in the woods. All four of us had a blast! A LOT OF FUN! 1.5 hours total of hiking.

Then we went out for dinner at House of India and came home and watched a movie. Had such a blast.

On Sunday we went sledding behind the house and the rope tow was going It was the best experience ever! My first time ever on a rope tow! 

Went running after a long day at work. Ran in my Vibrams. Did 4.25 miles in 42:23. Nice and easy. Need to start getting some serious miles in!

Total Time: 42:23 Total Distance: 4.25 miles Average Pace:  9:58/ mile

10:45 AM - So I ran 23 miles on the treadmill! Blustery and snow outside. Emm went to Boston this a.m. to spend time with her two best friends. I decided that since I did not get in a long run last week, it was time. I had in the back of my mind the idea to push myself. I have never gone farther than I did two weeks ago 18.25 miles in training. I got on the treadmill and popped in a disc of Season 1 : MacGuyver. Watched four episodes. I had 2 x bananas, 2 x fiber one granola bars, and 5x water bottles. Had 4 salt stick capsules as well. Felt amazing. Did the first 21 miles in 4:03:49, and then later, put on the Vibrams and did 2.1 miles in 20:00. Felt so great today! Did my longest treadmill run ever AND my longest training run ever!

Total Time: 4:23:49 Total Distance: 23.1 miles Average Pace: 11:25/ mile 

An "easy" 5k on the treadmill to shake things out. Legs felt trashed from yesterday. Emm was still in Boston. I took it easy. Really slow. Even walked for a bit. Ended up with a 5k in 32:50.

Total Time: 32:50 Total Distance: 3.11 miles Average Pace:  10:33/mi

I've found one of the best ways to shed a sickness is to get out there and run. And, as it WAS Valentine's Day and Emm was also sick we decided to go for a jog outside. Oh, did I mention it was 47 degrees out? Seriously, unless on a death bed, how could you not go outside. Went to the "loop". Started off slow. Emm went to the car after four miles I think. I kept counting cars leaving. It's a dead end cul-de-sac and I counted no less than 11 cars that left while we were running! Splits were: 

• Mile 1: 9:16
• Mile 2: 8:58
• Mile 3: 8:30
• Mile 4: 8:03
• Mile 5: 7:48
• Mile 6: 8:18

10:00 AM - What a change a day makes. Yesterday was near 60. Today it is 28 and falling, with projected high of about 22 today. Blustery winds with gusts of 45 mph. The trees are dancing like marionettes. I was going to go to Taconic high school to run, but with the last two weeks of long runs, I figured maybe a shorter one was in order. Will try to stack runs so that I run on Sat, Sun, and Mon before I go to Florida to see Su and Rocc with Emmy.

Hopped on the treadmill and did a solid run starting slower, but gradually increasing pace. Did a .5 mile cool down barefoot. Was warm on the feet!

On another note, I went with Emm all day to run errands, only to get back at night and find that I had lost my swipe card to get into work! I am hopefully going to rely on a coworker that lives in Adams to help me get into BArT. Maybe it was time. The card had been on my keychain for a year come Monday. I emailed my boss and everyone so hopefully they can change whatever needs to be changed. I feel like a failure though! Blah!

Emmy and I are really excited. Monday we are leaving to go to Orlando for the week to go see Su and Rocco. I can't wait to go to Sea World, run on the beach, and just have a great time! I haven't seen them since the wedding!

Emmy and I went on a tour of the YMCA today as well. We are thinking about joining and there are perks for paying in full in advance, like we tend to do. If we pay in cash up front, we get a $50.00 discount on our membership, so instead of $720.00 for 12 months for the two of us, it becomes $670  AND, perhaps the best part, they give us 6 MONTHS FREE! That's 18 months for 50 bucks less than a 1 year membership and this equates to only $18 and change for each of us per month. Seems doable. Building is nice, machines are fantastic, and there is a swimming pool as well. We are thinking about getting rid of DirecTV to help with the bills, and instead concentrate on having a membership here. I guess Emm says since we are in the city we will still have automatic basic cable. I could deal with that! 

2:00 PM - Ran on the treadmill before getting ready to go to Albany International Airport tonight. We are on our way to Orlando to visit Su and Rocco during winter break! Ran 30:23 for 3.5 miles, good for 8:41 pace per mile.

10:00 AM - Ran with Su and Emmy on the bike trail in Orlando this a.m. Very nice and easy. Overcast with a slight breeze of 5mph. Lots of cats! We saw so many cats, especially at the beginning and end, and I dare say I saw a cat lady that had showed up between our way out and back and was in the process of feeding them! Su really hung in there. Her first time running in over a month! I ended up with 7.25 miles total, Emm at about 6.5 and Su at 6.2 miles.

Total Time: 1:11:16 Total Distance: 7.25 miles Average Pace:  9:50/ mile

12:00 PM - Emmy and I went to Cocoa Beach with Su today. Rocco had to work at Ron Jon's again, though he is getting Friday and Saturday off so we will be able to hang out more with him! Today was also the last blast off launch of the shuttle Discovery. It was absolutely amazing to see how many people were showing up for it. We couldn't stay though. The launch was at 4 something, and Su had to be back for tutoring. The people that Su tutors for own 22 discount bargain stores and are multi millionaires from somewhere in the Middle East. They live in the most stunning gated community ever! But they pay Su great. $50 a night for 2 hours a pop of tutoring, 4 nights a week. Really good money considering it's all tax free! That's almost as much I made a week working 40 hours in the bookstore!

Emm and I walked 32 minutes out from our tent while Su surfed, past the pier. Then, we turned around and jogged back barefoot (12:16) to the tent before going swimming in the ocean. Truly a lot of fun!

Total Time: 44:16 Total Distance: 3 miles 

10:00 AM - Last full day in Florida. Emm and I went to Boggy Creek Boat Tours with Su and Rocco. We ended up having the tour all to ourselves! It was great! The guy is actually from upstate NY too. We saw a couple momma alligators and one even came up and hissed at us! Also saw some babies. I learned that the babies actually will stay with mom for several years as long as they don't annoy her or the littler ones.

Afterwards, we went to a wildlife preserve and went for a nice 1.5 hour walk before we had to go back into town for Rocco's internship with the UCF Knights basketball team. (Michael Jordan's two sons play for the team and we bought tickets and watched them upset Southern Mississippi by 1 point in a nailbiter with 3.8 secs to go on the clock!) During our walk we counted 19 ALLIGATORS!!! It was insane! We could get within 10 feet of some of them too! Really cool! Had a blast. Did get a little sunburned though. 

6:30 PM - Ran 3.1 miles in my Vibrams before Emmy got home, then unpacked the P90X dvds. We ended up doing 30 mins of chest & back but it was all pushups! I can't do more than about 40 total in a day and I was required to do 2x that in about 10 mins! We decided to turn it off and found the correct dvd for p90 "lean" and did that one. 80 mins total of p90! Going to be mega sore for a few days I suspect.

Total Time: 26:28 Total Distance: 3.1 miles Average Pace:  8:32/ mile

12:00 PM - Raining, pouring, great time for puddle stomping! Went to Taconic High School for my long run. Haven't done a long run in about 3 weeks. I didn't know what to expect. Was hoping for at least a half marathon. Cruised around the .55 mile loop listening to Car Talk. Took off my glasses because they fogged up. At just under 2 hours, 1:49:45 to be exact, two pitbulls came bounding over a snowbank and made a b-line for me. I have not liked dogs since the incident in 2009 when the neighbor's dog bit me in the hand while I was running. I wish people would just keep them on leashes! Especially pitbulls! I got cornered by them, and they were between me and the car. I didn't know what to do. The lot was empty. No one else was around. I kept my eyes on them, squinting though because I didn't have my glasses and can't see more than a foot or so clearly. I kept sweet talking them and telling them to go home to Mommy and Daddy. Probably looked a dumb fool, but these dogs were scary. Made it to my car, and just jumped into the back seat to be safe! Came home and then went on the treadmill in my Vibrams for 3.25 miles.

Total Time:  2:18:45 Total Distance: 14 miles Average Pace: 9:54/ mile

5:20 PM - Got home from work and put on my Vibrams. Went running on the treadmill before doing some work and such tonight. I really need to make the effort to run 4-6 miles 4x a week and a long run. It is too hard right now with my crazy schedule! Did a few pick ups after mile 4 or so.

Total Time: 52:23 Total Distance: 6 miles Average Pace:  8:44/ mile

12:00 PM - Went to Taconic High School with Emmy for a run this a.m. Decided to put on my Vibrams since it was about 36 and partly sunny. Felt good to get a run in. This week was tough mileage wise. Emm ran the first 2 or 2.5 miles with me, but then had to go home because she hadn't eaten anything and was feeling a bit woozy. She got some food and came back though. I went ahead and played a game until she got back. I tried to decrease  my pace for each mile until she got back. By the end I was flying! No dogs this time, but I didn't like the fact that a couple high schoolers were cat calling me while they were waiting for a bus.  I should've yelled "nice wheels" when I saw them get on the bus, but didn't. Jogged the last 2.75 with Emmy. Going to see the Lion King tonight with Emmy and our friends Missy and Kara! Exciting! Splits were: 

• Mile 1: 9:48
• Mile 2: 9:23
• Mile 3: 9:09
• Mile 4: 8:58
• Mile 5: 8:47
• Mile 6: 8:41
• Mile 7: 8:16
• Mile 8: 7:20
• Mile 9: 9:03
• Mile 10: 9:00 

4:00 PM - Running inside on the treadmill for the first 3.5 or so in 32:00, followed by a really fast mile+ outside. Ran down to the turnaround in 4:28, and back in 4:11. Coming back was tough, uphill. Felt good. Did another lap inside again to round out at an even 5 miles. Legs were really sore the first two miles though from yesterday's Vibram run. Eclipsed my longest run in the Vibrams by close to 4 miles yesterday. 

Total Time: 44:00 Total Distance: 5 miles Average Pace:  8:48/ mile

6:00 PM - Home sick today. Was up all last night with fever and chills. Pushing myself too hard, but as always, my MO is to try to run when I'm sick. I think it helps get the sickness out. Ran 5.05 miles on the treadmill in 46:00. Felt good afterwards, but really hurt during. Calf muscles pretty sore from long run last week.

Total Time: 46:00 Total Distance: 5.05 miles Average Pace: 9:06/ mile

6:15 PM - Today was a sucky day. If there is one thing I would suggest for next year it is to not schedule "hell days" for teachers. My Tuesdays and Thursdays since Thanksgiving have been 11:00-3:35, 3x 7th grade blocks (2 x 90 and a 1 x 60), followed by 1 hour of after school hell (I mean helP). Not to mention earlier in the day I have an advisory and a senior seminar. I'm friggin exhausted on Tuesday/Thursdays. If there is one thing that a charter school can do it's burn out first year teachers. I understand why turnover's so high. Doesn't help that my classes keep changing every trimester either. I feel like I finally start to know the kids and then I'm back to teaching something else. Oh well. Such is life. Goal is to not try as hard. I have no free time right now. We got rid of cable because all we do is work, come home, eat, work more, fall asleep for a couple hours and repeat. No time for married life either right now. Sucks major.

Ran at the track tonight. First time at Taconic since the snow melted. Gorgeous. Temperature was 53 degrees at start, 48 at the finish. Did a couple miles warming up, hit a nice hard mile (fastest since I think last June!), and then coasted in a couple more miles. Did a .50 mile cool down afterwards (4:00). Splits were: 

• Mile 1: 8:48
• Mile 2: 8:16
• Mile 3: 6:22!
• Mile 4: 8:13
• Mile 5: 7:29

10:00 AM - Chilly and brisk, about 34 degrees at the start. Wind advisory in effect, but not nearly as bad as yesterday! Emmy and I went to Taconic High School and brought all the fixings for a good run. Clif Bars, Luna Bars, plenty of water, towels, change of clothes, apples, bananas, etc. Emm hasn't really run in a month or so because of work and she has never run more than 9 miles. I set out to help her beat this and to make sure she felt good while doing it! We ran most of the way together, minus the couple bathroom breaks she took. Wind picked up during hours 3 and 4. I had originally planned an ambitious 6 hour jaunt, but it didn't happen. Splits were: 

• Mile 1: 12:21
• Mile 2: 12:33
• Mile 3: 14:53
• Mile 4: 12:43
• Mile 5: 15:24 (water stop and changed shirts)
• Mile 6: 12:11
• Mile 7: 13:41
• Mile 8: 11:36
• Mile 9: 11:43
• Mile 10: 12:35
• Mile 11: 11:11
• Mile 12: 13:28
• Mile 13: 11:06
• Mile 14: 11:51
• Mile 15: 11:51
• Mile 16: 12:30
• Mile 17: 10:21
• Mile 18: 14:49
• Mile 19: 12:38

Emm ended up walking with me towards the end. I felt good. A bit tired, but not really screaming in pain. My calves were sore from the vibram runs earlier in the week. Emm ended up not only becoming a half marathoner today for the first time, but also ran about 16 miles! I am so proud of her!

Total Time: 3:59:42 Total Distance: 19.05 miles Average Pace: 12:35 

4:00 PM - Spent all day 8:30-3 at work getting stuff ready for tomorrow when I get 6th grade back. When I got home I went with Emmy to Taconic High School's track. It's always amazing to me that so many people decide to walk on tracks, but I hardly ever see another runner there, much less anyone doing a workout. Ended up running pretty well. No real soreness from yesterday, just my calves from last week's Vibram run. Splits were:

• Mile 1: 9:24
• Mile 2: 8:26
• Mile 3: 7:37
• Mile 4: 7:09
• Mile 5: 7:56
• Mile 6: 8:09
• cooldown .25 (3:00ish)

7:00 PM - Got home after an exhausting day. Let down because I feel like I let my bud down JH was taking MCAS and I was his scribe and he wasn't able to make it to the last open response and last 3 m/c questions. Blah. We worked so hard 830-330 together on it. Needed to get a run in. Did 3.2 miles on the treadmill in 27:00 then went to the track and did another 2.1ish in 15:30. Felt great. Had my fastest .5 miles in a long while too. Ran in Vibrams and ran a 2:50!! I want to train and get back to like a 2:30 pace. That'd be hot.

Total Time: 42:30 Total Distance: 5.25 miles Average Pace:  8:06

8:00 AM - Brrr! 20 degrees at the start of my run this morning. Would warm up to 28 at the end, but the wind picked up to a steady 12mph with gusts of about 20-25. Not really ideal for a long run! I ended up going to Taconic High School track and ran 60 laps! Most I've ever run on a track by close to 5 miles. I was really stoked about this. Even though I didn't hit my goal distance of 20 miles, this was good because it proved my mental toughness is increasing. Still worried about how I will be able to run for 12 hours though in May! We shall see. Ended up running 15.05 miles before stretching and booking on home for a warm bath. I thought it was spring? Guess not, Mother Nature, huh?! Splits were:

• Mile 1: 10:11
• Mile 2: 10:19
• Mile 3: 11:56
• Mile 4: 10:17
• Mile 5: 10:11
• Mile 6: 11:33
• Mile 7: 9:54
• Mile 8: 10:07
• Mile 9: 11:33
• Mile 10: 9:40
• Mile 11: 9:49
• Mile 12: 11:06
• Mile 13: 9:08
• Mile 14: 9:25
• Mile 15: 10:39 

Total Time: 2:36:12 Total Distance: 15.05 miles Average Pace: 10:23/ mile 

2:00 PM - Blustery cold. Temperature about 27 or 28 before wind chill. Went with Emm to Lamour Ct to run the .3 mile loop. Was feeling really weird and light headed. Also feeling down in the dumps and unmotivated to get all the junk that needs doing done for work. Lately I have been doubting my effectiveness at everything at work and thinking about what needs to change. I just don't feel happy any more. There is too much pressure on me, I get too little sleep, I am constantly stressed, not able to run but 3 times a week, and never get to see my wife. Something has to change. Even if it means I have to be a poor pauper, I don't care. I just want to be able to relax once in a while!

Total Time: 36:35 Total Distance: 4 miles Average Pace: 9:08/ mile 

Got knocked down by a killer stomach bug on Monday halfway through the day. Stayed home today. At the end of the day I was feeling good enough to hobble through a 5k in 26:00.

Total Time: 26:00 Total Distance: 3.10 miles Average Pace:  8:23

11:00 AM - Went running with Emmy at Loumar (.30 mile loops). Mild out. Temp about 50 degrees, though very windy. Gusts of 20+. Felt like I was running in place at some times. Mile splits were: 

• Mile 1: 8:41
• Mile 2: 8:13
• Mile 3: 7:57
• Mile 4: 7:04

5:30 PM - Rainy Monday. It was snowing this a.m. while I was at school. Had to stay after for tutoring and then zipped home to Emmy. We headed to the track for a recovery run. Temperature was about 47 degrees. The rain had stopped before we went running and started up right after we finished. Ran nice and slow. Ran 4.25 miles and then walked a lap. Ended up finishing in 38:40. Found a discus too which was sweet. It was wooden. 

Total Time: 38:40 Total Distance: 4.25 miles Average Pace:  9:06/ mile

5:00 PM - Ran with Emmy at the track in my Vibrams. Everything felt nice and relaxed, minus the fact that at end I realized Vibrams had been too tight and I had some TOFP on my left foot. Lasted about 4 days. When compensating I managed to roll my ankle which made things worse. Trying to rest up for BPAC 6 Hour next weekend.

Total Time: 50:00 Total Distance: 6.25 miles Average Pace:  8:00/ mile

5:00 PM - True to form I couldn't take more then 3 days off. Hobbled through about the slowest 4 miles I've ever done. Somewhere in about 38 minutes I think. Pain was present but not persistent nor progressing. Maybe things are on the up and up. Trying to stay off my foot as much as possible.

6:30 PM - Long walk with Emmy from the house down Jason St. into down via West St. and then up Tyler St. almost to Nanno's. Walked 4.4 miles in 1:24. Felt great after a long day at work. Almost spring vacation!

8:00 AM - Buffalo, NY : Drove out on Saturday with Emma to Buffalo for the BPAC 6 Hour distance classic, my first ultra and our first longer race together. Stopped in Utica to have lunch with Jonny at Panera. We finally got to Buffalo around dinner time and spent the better part of an hour trying to locate where the Amherst Pepsi Center was. Our GPS took us in the wrong direction and it turned out it was only 1.0 mile or 3 minutes of driving, from the hotel! Aggh! Then went to a family-style spaghetti restaurant to carbo-load. Got back to the hotel around 10:00 pm and slept til 6am.

Woke up and the wind was howling. It was insane. There was a high wind WARNING (not just an advisory) and later in the day on the way home it even said on the highway to adjust your speed because it was hazardous. Wind was howling at a sustained 25-30mph with gusts well over 40mph. We got dressed in our layers and headed out to the starting line. Got there and got our numbers and then waited in the car until it approached the "go" time. Emm and I decided to go nice and slow and we were just going to stick together and both play defense against the wind, and provide moral support to just keep truckin'.

Got to meet Shelley and James Viggiano which was really nice. Shelley and James are ultra runners and Shelley is the RD for the Mind the Ducks 12 Hour race next month that we are doing. I thought it was funny that after the race she said "Your voice is different then I was expecting!". Not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing.

Emm and I started off near the back and took it nice and slow. Emm had only done one long run over 10 miles this year (maybe ever?) and that was 16 miles she did in 4 hours back in February. I knew she could do it though. We stuck together, though for two hours there was sleet/hail blasting our faces like metal shavings. It hurt to look up, and we just shuffled along as best we could because when it comes down to it, Griffins are not quitters and we were determined to succeed! 

It seemed like a smaller field than last year's results made it out to be. I'd say only 65 or so runners this year, but boy were they full of energy and spunk! There was a guy wearing a girl's jacket that just kept running and ticking off those laps! There was a guy we called "Rhasta man" with long dreads that ended up in 4th place overall, and there was even a power walker. Everyone was so friendly and as we plodded along people kept saying words of encouragement and it really helped.

During the latter laps with Emm we started a couple games to take our minds off the miles. We named movies in order of the alphabet, and then animals. Is it ever hard to think of animals for letters "Q" and "X"! After 8 laps (we finished the 8th around the 5:40 mark) Emm decided she finally needed to stop for good. I was so proud of her. Her knees and hips had been hurting since about 3 hours in and she just kept going!

I headed out for one more. I kept plodding along and it turns out my last lap was the 19th fastest lap for lap #9. That was neat. Ran it in 41:00 something. I kept pushing even after the 6 hour mark and just wanted to get to the finish line. Some guy I passed with .2 to go decided he didn't want to be one-upped by me and surged back and sprinted to the line. I was just holding my 11:00 pace and barely made it. Every step in the last 250m hurt and my right calf was getting increasingly tighter. Finally made it and while the guy was trying to take my chip off my calf seized completely up. Took about 5 minutes before I could hobble/walk again.

We hung around for a bit and it was nice to get some pizza and food and replenish. Emm went to the car and blasted the heat. I found out I was 30th place and had earned a medal (medal to the top 30 finishers). I was only 2 miles behind Shelley and James and 5th overall in my age group. Emm ended up with 1st place in her age group (37th overall) and won some nice and yummy cookies. (They did not survive the 6 hour trip home).

Results were pro-rated as long as you finished the last lap. Emm logged 26.00 miles (26.4 total though) in 5:40:54 and I logged 27.492 miles (29.65 total) in 6:22:31. So proud of both of us!

We got in the car and went to a really awesome Barnes and Noble that had a fireplace in the cafe. Fueled up for the long drive home. Stopped for Chinese at "The Great Wall of China" which had the best tasting General Tso's chicken I've ever had. Finally got home around 9:20pm and boy did I underestimate the slope of the front yard. The two of us looked like 80-year-old nursing home patients as we staggered up the yard and then took the steps one at a time trying to just get inside. Had a shower and passed out on the floor and then finally off to bed.

BUT, my wife is now a marathoner and I am an official ULTRAMARATHON Man :D. So neat! Can't wait for the Mind the Ducks 12 Hour! 

3:00 PM - I slept about eight or nine hours last night. Got up this morning and yeow! Hobbled around the house. A bit sore, though not as sore as I thought I would be. I stretched a bit. No painkillers though. Don't think anything is injured. Still getting used to the fact that I am now an ULTRAMARATHON MAN! Went to the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail with Emmy and went for a recovery walk. She was sprite and lively and wanted us to hunt down and overtake an older retired couple up the path a bit. I tried walking as fast as I could but it hurt. She managed to catch them before the turnaround, but not me. It was a really fun walk. 

Total Time: 53:00 Total Distance: 3.10 miles Average Pace:  17:06

6:30 PM - After Emmy got out of work we went to the bike path for a recovery jog. Laced up a new pair of Brooks Addictions. I love these shoes and it has been a good 6 months since I laced up a new pair. My shoes looked to glow in the dark as we jogged down the path. Emm felt pretty good, just a bit of a pain in her left knee on the outside. I told her to self-monitor and if it started to hurt more then we'd stop and turn around. She said it started to feel better as the run went on so I think that it is just an ache and pain from running a marathon! Ran nice and easy and then picked up the last mile to 8:30 pace, then 8, then 7:30 and final sprint right around 6:00/ mile pace!

Total Time: 49:39 Total Distance: 5.04 miles Average Pace: 9:51 

9:30 AM - Blustery and cold. 40mph winds out there. Lucky for me I was not running 6 hours today like I had on Sunday. Headed over to Taconic High school and went to jog on the track, but the track team was there. Did some loops around the school instead for the first 3miles, and then the last mile on the track. Funny story of the day was when I was watching the high schoolers practice javelin and the wind took the javelin after this kid threw it and just pushed it down to the ground. Total throw had to be like 10'. Reminded me of when our high school went against the kids from Tully, NY (Lopez Lomong was there). Lopez Lomong lapped us like 3-4 times in the distance medley relay and then threw a jav like 150'. Our lone thrower had never thrown one in his life and managed a mere 34' and got the school record. Haha. Felt a bit tired today. Miles were 9:05, 8:25, 8:28, and 7:22.

Total Time: 33:34 Total Distance: 4.04 miles Average Pace: 8:19/ mile 

7:00 PM - Went for an Easter jog this afternoon with Emm before dinner. We went around the block, 3.4 miles in 30:00. Things felt fine and the sun was out, but it was a bit warm. This jog actually hurt more then last weekend's ultramarathon. My legs feel a bit dead, especially when having to pick it up to 8:30 pace. Emma was a speed demon tonight. After dinner we went for a walk and did 2 miles up around a newer development area and back again. Total for the walking portion was 40:00. Total of 5.4 miles for the day. Just starting to rain now. Back to work tomorrow.

This afternoon I also read Karno's RUN! cover to cover. Some of my takeaways from it were:

"As I ran, I thought about the unique power running seemed to have to break down barriers and unite people in strange and wonderful ways, regardless of race, creed, socioeconomic status, or age." (page 5)

"Running could unite or divide, but running in extreme circumstances - in the middle of the night, for example - had a way of bringing out peoples' true character. The good, the bad, and the hilarious." (page 9)

"But when you think of it, who isn't [strange]? We all have our peculiar idiosyncrasies, don't we? Who among us can look themselves in the mirror and honestly say they're one hundred percent normal? Let's be candid: Being completely normal is, well, abnormal." (page 67) 

Karno's tips:

1. It doesn't matter how fast you're going if you're moving in the wrong direction.

2. Even if you're inches away from the finish, never take success or granted.

3. Regardless of how distant your dreams may seem, every second counts.

4. Never, nunder any circumstances, argue with a tired woman. She is always right.

(page 89)

And my favorite, from page 227:

"That's quite a treadmill record for a nonathlete, " I said in amazement. "What's the second farthest distance anyone's covered in forty-eight hours?"

"I think it's about 190 miles, by another ultramarathoner."

"Wait a minute," I said. "You mean to tell me that this guy who's not even an athlete holds the record over an ultramarathoner by more than fifty miles?"

"I guess so," he responded.

"That must have been incredible to watch. Were you there?"

"No I wasn't."

"Do you know where it was?"

"No, I don't. You're not actually required to have a Guinness representative present to set a record, you just need third-party verification." 

6:30 PM - Sunny, 75 degrees. Today was a crazy day. Woke up at about 2am to the craziest thunderstorms yet this year.  I was able to fall back to sleep relatively quickly, but Emm was up for quite a bit. When she did fall asleep, she said she had all kinds of crazy dreams. Went off to school which was fine, some really great moments actually in my special ed class and seniors and even in the 6th grade until... it warmed up. The projected high today was 72 degrees, well above average to begin with. I remember driving into work and hearing the record high today was 90 degrees set in 1990. I was like, dang! Since when did it even hit 80s in the month of April... spoke too soon. My room in the school is set off on the west side of the building, so by the mid afternoon when I go in to teach 6th grade it has warmed up something fierce. Turns out that it was a high of 83 degrees in Adams, MA today and it felt even warmer in the classroom. I turned off all the lights, shut the blinds and everything was fine. We were supposed to be doing independent work on laptops until the laptops would not work. Our network crashed because it didn't have enough IP addresses to support all the kids using laptops. Oops! Luckily I had netflix and had an episode on China queued up ready to go. I popped it in and we just "chilled" for the remainder of class, taking notes and answering some questions. It was a good class.

Went to the track tonight late with Emm after dinner. Warmed up and did a nice 4 miles including one pick up 800 in 3:18. Then cooled off, did .5 miles of stryders and a couple more cool down laps. 6 miles total in a time of about 57:30. Hit the 4 mile a bit after 34. 

10:00 AM - Up and at them early. I think that one of the best things is getting up early on a Saturday and going for a run. Emm and I registered for the Humane Race in Williamstown for this a.m. since one of my juniors volunteers at the BHS shelter down in Pittsfield. We got there early, around 8:40am and picked up our packets. Not bad - for 15 bucks we got a load of free samples and such as well as a free t-shirt. We went for a nice slow jog 10:00 pace. Did a bit over a mile around Williams College. Saw the finish line over at Spring Street. This was the 8th annual I think. 

Tons of dogs, including a cute pointer with only three legs. Turns out he got hit by a car and the owner put a tourniquet on the leg only it cut off the blood flow and it had to be amputated. There was a crowd forming and though it looked like rain, the sun finally came out. There were about 290 humans and 200 dogs present from all shapes and sizes. There was a boy no bigger then Skyler and there was a guy as big as the Hulk. A toy chihuahua and a Newfoundland. THere were all types of dogs. Emm and I got to the start, only it was unorganized. No real start line. Ended up being okay though except they closed the road exactly :20 seconds before the start of the race.

I went out too fast. Ended up running a 7:25 first mile. And ooo the hills they burned! Ended up with a 7:47 second mile and coasted home in 8:05 final mile. Just didn't have the speed in my legs. Haven't done speedwork or hills since last fall. Oops! Plus I'm a fatty now! Emm beat me by about :30 or :40 seconds. She looked strong. No race results though the RD said. Oh well. Still was fun.

Cooled down to the car and then went to NY to watch my youngest bro Harry get his Eagle Award. Now all three of us brothers (Me, Jonny and Harry) are Eagle Scouts! Most memorable Eagle Scout Ceremony ever. It was so much fun! Such a funny ceremony too, even when I was put on the spot. I guess I read the Eagle Charge well enough. 

12:00 PM - Fast hiked Monument Mountain with Emma. Lots of people there though. There was something about the Mercy Shrine thing for Pope John Paul II where everyone and their brother were clogging Berkshire Co. Afterwards I went for a ride with Emm, got an organic coffee and then went to CT for the first time ever, though it was only for 5 mins. Total Hiking time was about 50:00.

3.25 miles easy on the treadmill in 30:00. Dreadmills are full of dread!

Ran with Emmy at the bikepath nice and easy. 3.35 miles in 31:00 (9:15/mi)

MIND THE DUCKS 12 HOUR RACE

Rochester, NY May 14, 2011

I took Friday off of work to travel out to Rochester for the Mind the Ducks race. Emma had it off as well, so we woke up, had breakfast and headed out around 10am for Rochester. It was a long car ride, close to 4.5 hours, 5 if you count rest stops. We took my car because the RAV still smells like dead mice. Hoping the smell goes away soon.

We got to the hotel (Extended Stay America in Greece) and checked in, and then went and met up with the rest of the family. Mom, Harry, and Jonn all came out from Galway and Su and Rocco have just moved up to Rochester from Orlando. Went over and went out with Su to a place called Magnolia’s for a late lunch. Absolutely amazing! Su ran into someone she knew from Cortland as well from freshman year. A small world. After getting fueled up we went and drove around RIT’s campus because Harry is in college search mode. Then popped over to check out the Mind the Ducks race course.

I was anxious about the race and it was a nice evening out. A bit hot and hazy, but a lot of people out at the pond. I’ve essentially memorized the race course (not that it is that hard since it is a loop course), but I walked a lap with Mom and everyone else to get a feel for it. It’s really a beautiful spot. Trout Lake is right past the Rochester Zoo. Lots of goose poop on the trail. I joked that it could turn into some nice sloppy running if it rained. Su thought I was being gross, but I was completely serious. 

By this time it hadn’t really hit me yet. I think BPAC was still fresh in my mind. Less then a month ago I became an ultramarathoner and here I was getting ready for a race that was going to eclipse that run. If anything I was a bit nervous as my training since BPAC on April 17th has waned significantly. In the last three weeks I’ve run maybe 45 miles or so. Oh well though. All the training I’ve done all winter and spring was in the bag so I could draw on it when it mattered.

Went back to Su’s apartment and we made some pasta for dinner. After we all ate our fill we went on a 2 mile walk through Rochester, though my feet started to hurt as I was wearing flip flop sandals. Said good night to everyone and got back to the hotel around 10:30ish. 4:45 wake up call was just around the corner.

RACE DAY

4:45 am - Wake up call. Got up and made a cup of coffee in the coffeepot in our room. Changed into my race shorts and put on a long sleeve red shirt. Looked outside and it was overcast and gloomy looking. I figured I would keep the red shirt on seeing as how I always sweat the most in the first couple hours. Got out the Bodyglide and nipguards and prepped for what would become an epic adventure.

At about 530 we headed out from the hotel over to pick up Mom and Harry who were also running but were staying at Su and Rocco’s apartment. Jonny was there but he and Su were planning on going to a parade and would come over later. Picked them up and got a move on towards Seneca Park. Got there and it was already hopping. I always love race days. All the energy just seems to help calm my nerves and sustain me until the race gets underway.

As soon as we got there and were scoping out a site for the tent, Mary DaSilva came up and introduced herself. I’ve had many a FB message exchange with her in the last few months as we’ve been training. She is so nice! Her niece came over as well. They were both running it. Mary is a true champ. She set the women’s veteran record last year at 43+ miles and was hoping for more this year. Was so nice to see a friendly face. 

A few others came up and said hi, and of course I saw Shelley and Jim Viggiano, two of the nicest runners you’ll ever meet. Shelley was the RD again this year and I was excited when I saw all the great support she had drummed up.

We got our timing chip bands and bib numbers and went back over to set up our tent. Less then 25 minutes until go time. The park filled in quickly and before we knew it after a quick stop at the bathrooms, finalizing all potential chaffing issues, and securing all belongings from rain, we made our way to the starting line.

As we went to the starting line, it seemed to be a race to see who could line up farthest back from the starting line. My intention was to start dead last and move up from there, but obviously others had the same idea. Shelley yelled for us all to push up so we could hear last minute instructions. Gave Harry a high five, and before we knew it, we were off!

THE RACE

Forecast for the day was chance of showers primarily in the afternoon with temps in the mid to upper 60s.

Harry, Emma and I ran together for the first hour or so. We were just clicking the laps away. It was so nice to hear people saying “Oh no! There goes the Griffin gang!” or “Keep it up Griffins!”. The running community is truly a really nice one. 

Mom’s goal was to walk 50 laps for her 50th birthday coming up in a few months. She just plugged away, power walking and looking pretty darn good!

Emma and I ran together and every couple laps we’d stop and walk a lap with Harry. I am proud of him too for getting in there and doing the best he could. He’s getting ready for a week long hike in the Adirondacks this summer and is working on yet another merit badge. He is counting MTD for his 20 miler. I wonder if I can convince him next year to run even more!

Going into the race I was nervous about my left knee. I was not sure how it would hold up, especially as I have been favoring it for a few weeks and also with the 10.5 mile hiking excursion we did the other weekend. 

For the first few hours I kept to the 25 minutes of jogging and 5 minutes of walking routine. What I found though is that this depletes your energy. What might be more proper for an ultra like MTD is a 5:1 ratio. It will break it up and save your legs for later.

About the three hour mark I made sure to keep drinking bottles. I was sweating like crazy. I shed my cotton shirt for a short sleeve technical shirt. The amazing thing about Mind the Ducks is that Shelley knows runners because she is a long distance runner herself. She staffed the aid tent with some of the most helpful people I’ve ever seen at a race. Not to mention there was also upbeat music playing, and even when the rain started, it didn’t keep them down. “Ain’t nothin’ gonna break my stride” oh no! “I got to keep on movin’!”. They had a table you could drop your bottle at if you needed it refilled or didn’t want to carry it, and they had so many kinds of snacks and energy foods it was amazing! Fig Newtons, cookies, gummy worms, bananas, oranges, M&Ms, and then later salted potatoes, pb&j, turkey sandwiches, and the best : hot pizza! It was worth the entry fee just for the food and cool MTD hat alone!

As we got near the 6-7 hour mark Su and Jonny showed up to wish us well. I was still plugging along. I had hit a really rough spot about 4 hours into the race and wondered how I was going to get out of it. Hitting the wall at only mile 18? gulp! It was a rough two miles, but I pushed through and felt good as new. By this time the rain was coming down. Jonn and Su had kettlecorn and Dunkin Donuts coffee. I greedily gulped and slurped some nourishment down and continued around the counter-clockwise loops. 

I like running in the rain. It cools me and I seem to enjoy it more then most. I was amazed at how many times some folks were changing their shoes and socks. I didn’t even change my socks or shoes until about hour 9. Maybe that explains why I finished in 28th place and not higher though! It was so nice having the short .49 mile loop. You never went more then a half hour without seeing everyone passing you or vice versa. Jesse Scott was pounding away the laps in his flats and shorts and it was truly astounding. So was Rebecca Shaeffer. I knew they were the young ones in the race last year, but this year they showed up and looked like trained vets.

Another plus with Mind the Ducks is they put up a leaderboard for men and women and update it every hour. I liked coming around and seeing how everyone was doing, and especially how Mary DaSilva was working here way up the board. She was holding steady at 10th overall, but then in the closing hours moved up to 9th, then 7th, and finally up to 6th! She was great. She was really flying at some points too! Very inspiring. Next year I want to be like Mary! 

The last few hours were the lonely hours. Emm had stopped to stretch a bit and ended up taking a nap. Harry left with Su and Jonny at hour 7 after fulfilling his 20 miles. Mom stopped at 27 miles. She had finished her marathon and then some. I kept plodding away, though by this time the little rise at the far end of the pond had turned into a mountain. I power walked the uphill and then jogged the rest of the lap. I was moving faster then many of the others which was reassuring. Some were content to just traipse along in their Vibrams, sandals, shoes, or sans footwear. But we were all moving and having a great time. About hour 9 or so the music player stopped working. Luckily next to our tent a guy had an acoustic guitar and two guys started singing. It was so neat. You could hear them across the pond. It was like our own personal concert. Really great singers too!

While Emm was taking a nap I was number crunching. I realized that hitting 50 miles might very well be within reach. I wanted to push hard though in case for some reason I felt like I couldn’t continue, I’d have a buffer. It worked out so that I had an hour to cover 2.9 miles at the end. I knew then that I’d make it. I kept walking when I couldn’t jog and jogging when I couldn’t walk. It’s funny that at some point I realized that jogging actually hurt less then walking! I asked the gentleman how many laps I needed to break 50, and he figured out it was 102. That was my goal. I made it to the end of the lap and still had about 9 minutes left, plenty of time for one more lap, but I had hit the 50 mile mark and was content with it. There is always next year! I collected my wooden MTD medal from Shelley, shook hands with Jim V. and hugged my mom. I was spent! But I was happy! I cheered in Emm as she came around for her lap and she went out and did yet another! What a trooper! She must have banged out 3.5 miles in the last half hour. She was booking!

Once we had finished we were so exhausted. All we could think of was a shower, food, and sleep. We showered, tried to hit up Old Country Buffet, only to find they closed in half an hour. Not nearly enough time to mow some yummy food. We found an Applebee’s and Rocco got out of work so was able to join us. We got some yummy chicken wings and I ordered a salad and a sandwich. Eyes were a bit bigger then my stomach. Hung out for a while and then we said goodbye and headed back towards the hotel.

RECOVERY

Waking up the next morning, I was excruciatingly sore, but primarily in my quads. I think it took me a good three or four minutes to get up off the bed and to get in/out of the car. Even now, two days later I have a hard time moving and bending down/lifting forget it! But at the same time I am taking it in stride as a badge of honor, a symbol that yes, even if I am undertrained and underprepared I can persevere and meet my goals. I was amazed to beat my goal by 10 miles and log 50.184 miles. Who knows what next year may hold. Maybe even 55 miles?!

All I know is that there are 363 days left until the next MTD 12 hour race. I better get to training! 

11:00 AM - Sunny and blue skies. Forgot what sun had looked like. A bit humid and it was about 65-70 degrees out. Emm and I went to Hancock Shaker Village and went hiking on the Shaker Trail. Funny that we chose today because supposedly it is the day of the rapture. We ended up hiking up Mount Sinai and to the Holy Ground area. I wore my Vibrams and went jumping and frolicking in the streams. That was a necessary refresher. Total hike was about 2 hours. Too many bugs towards the top of the hike. Overall it was a really enjoyable day. Afterwards we did a lot: Food shopping, picking up the kayaks and putting the kayak rack on, cleaning, and bought an electric weedwhacker and weedwhacked around the house. All in all a great day! Total Time: 2hours Total Distance: 6.5 miles

11:00 AM - Ran on the treadmill. First run post-race last weekend. Everything is in working order pretty much. Did a mile warmup and right into 4 x 400m with 400m recovery. All 4 "on" were done at 1:30 (6 min pace). I have to work on speed in the next month. I have a 1 mile race in Pittsfield on North Street next month.

Total Time: 30:00 Total Distance: 3.52 miles Average Pace:  8:31/ mile

5:00 PM - Ran 3.30 miles in Vibrams on the treadmill in 30:00 easy. (9:06) average pace.

7:30 PM - Went down to the bike trail and ran with Emmy tonight. Went out somewhat slow in 9:50 first mile, but steadily increased pace. The last 1.5 miles were sub 7:40 pace. Flying! That girl sure can run. It was all I could do to hold on and finish :08 seconds behind her! Phew! Afterwards one of Emmy's friends we saw rollerblading came over to say hi and we chatted with her for a while. Inside of both feet have 2 x 2" lacerations from the Vibrams where the rubber meets the fabric. Right one was bleeding. Looked pretty sick! :)

Total Time: 43:31 Total Distance: 5.20 miles Average Pace:  8:22/ mile

3:00 PM - Home sick today. Stomach wasn't feeling right. Didn't really eat much. Generally the thing that helps me when I don't feel well is jogging (albeit slowly) to get all the bad gunk out. Well this was a trip for sure. Started sweating profusely after just .3 miles. Before I knew it I had sweat 7 lbs. Pre-run weigh in was 228. Post run was 220.5. Woah. World was spinning when I finished. Had a little pick up at mile 3. 

Total Time: 40:00 Total Distance: 4.25 miles Average Pace:  9:25/ mile

I turned 25 today. It was a really great day. Woke up and went with Emma to Great Barrington to get her hair cut. Then we went out to eat breakfast at a place called "The Neighborhood Diner" right on Main Street. Really great yummy food. Then we zipped up to Dick's Sporting Goods and got lifejackets for kayaking. Found a 50% off rack so that was cool! Went home and suited up and put the kayaks on Cordelia (our RAV4). We went down to Stockbridge Bowl and went kayaking. I was really nervous, but towards the end it was better. Sea legs are slow to come by, and as our kayaks are only 8' long, they were a bit unstable. Afterwards I ran 3.2 miles on the treadmill before we went and caught "The Hangover 2" with our maid of honor and best friend, Missy. Was a really good time. Side note: two lacerations on my inner foot right were the fabric meets the Vibram sole. I might need to invest in Injinji socks, but I really like wearing Vibrams sans socks. What to do?! Highlight presents I received were:

• Dr. Quinn 42 disc Deluxe Boxed Set 
• MacGuyver Season 3 DVD
• Box of Books from Borders.com
• French Press coffee pot
• Kayak life jacket and other goodies 
• Tickets to see a play in July w/ Emmy
• Spending the day with the love of my life :D

8:00 PM - Late night run at the track in Galway, NY with Emma. Had a long day today, nice though because we drove up to see my family and spent the day with the younger bros. Was a little upset because I realized when we got here somehow my car had been dinged, looks like a baseball or something on the passenger side. Prefontaine the Prizm is my 2001 knight in shining armor. Bummered that he got dinged. Oh well, red badge of courage perhaps? Ran at the track after dinner - I am confident now that I run stronger without eating before hand. I felt bloated and did not really enjoy it. Oh well, good training I guess for when races are suboptimal. Ran a mile or so and then did 2 x 400m intervals. Really trying to get in shape for an okay mile to not embarrass myself too much at the 1 mile Green Mile Race on June 16th. Ran a 1:24 and a 1:19 with a 400m recovery after each. Then cooled down. Felt pretty good. Came home and had low fat vanilla ice cream with strawberries and granola. Yum! Now to watch a movie. Memorial Day parade in the a.m. and hopefully another run, but might have to wait until I get home because the cuts on my feet seem to hurt a bit more today.

Total Time: 31:15 Total Distance: 3.6 miles Average Pace:  8:41/ mile

12:00 PM - Went to Monument Mountain with Emmy and we ran it. The uphill hurt us, but we did it like champs. A couple ladies cheered us on. First .7 is balls to the wall hard. We hit the top in about 16 mins or so, and just kept going. There were way too many people on the top as it is. I have been wearing my Vibrams on nearly every run since MTD. I like them and they are comfy. I am trying to get stronger and more graceful. We'll see how it goes. Flew down to the finish line and ran a 35:35 for the total. Felt awesome!

7:00 PM - Long day of grading and meetings. Finally got out and asked Emm if she wanted to hike Monument. We were the only ones there for once. That never happens! We went up to the top, jogging a bit, but mostly power hiking, then stopped and plunged down the backside. Made a brief jog up to Devil's Pulpit as is customary. Finished running on the road a nice 500m downhill pick up. I don't know how I'm going to race the Green Mile Race on Thursday! (If I'm able to make it that is). Took 42 mins for the total. 

6:00 PM - High was 93 degrees today. Crazy. Saw a runner while driving home from BART and I nearly died just looking at him. I went ahead and cranked up the A/C a bit more. I do not do well in temps above 65 or so (This is why I think Oregon would be perfect for us.) Got on the treadmill and ran 30:00. Two pick ups including 1 x 400 at 11mph and another at 10mph. Felt pretty good. Right heel a bit tender from yesterday's run/hike where I stepped on a few rocks and roots. Total Time was 30:00, good for 9:00/ mile average pace.

7:20 PM  - Has been a crazy end of the year. Stress through the roof with portfolio presentations and I have had a sore throat for more then a week and a half now. Got a race tomorrow. The Green Mile on North Street. Has been about 7 years since I raced a 1 mile race. Never been this fat either. 230 lbs this morning. Blah. Might not go as planned. Plus, crappy training this month to boot.  4.2 miles in the Vibrams at the track in 34:00.

6:00 PM - Came right from school after watching another 3 juniors pass their gateway portfolios and another giving a SLC. Feeling really good. Rather warm. Temp was about 82 degrees at the start. I was wearing Vibrams, Nike shorts, and my BART hoodie. Don't know why I was wearing my sweatshirt aside from 1. I feel like shit the last few days and I feel like a complete walrus and like to hide behind baggy sweatshirts and 2. I wanted to wear something to represent BART.

 Saw Melissa Herliczek there at the start. She ran a high 6:40s last year, so I figured she'd run similarly this year. No idea where the start was. Didn't feel like trying to get in a warm up in the middle of all the Third Thursday celebration nonsense. Waited around. Emm joined me to wish me luck. A few of my runners were there. It's a big deal to see them out and I have to remember to encourage them now that I am the official head coach for next year's xc team!

About three minutes before the start, they asked us to go to the finishing chute. They made us line up there. WTF mate. 204 runners crammed into an area big enough for about 50. I was about in 7th row back. Not ideal. I wedged myself behind Melissa and once the gun went off I swung wide and ran the extra distance on the outside of the first turn. Route went down North St. for 1/2 mile and then came back.  They hadn't even closed the road to people and the cop cars were barely clearing the road for the leaders. Hit the 1/2 in 2:59 and I knew that wasn't good. I haven't done any speedwork and I knew I would pay for it.

Kept plodding along. One guy passed me on a mission. Must have had a bad start in the kiddy corral. Pushed hard to the finish and finished in 6:10. That's the fastest I've run a mile in my Vibrams and considering I was 232lbs at the start, I was very pleased. I might have been the top Clydesdale if they had that division. 10th overall in my division and 35th of 204 finishers with a time of 6:10. 

6:30 PM - Jogged 2 miles on the treadmill in Vibrams in 18:20 before Emmy got home and then we went down to Lenox and hiked/ran Monument Mountain in about 44 mins. Felt really great. Not too many people out aside from the first .3 miles of the trail. I am getting better at running trails in my KSOs but wonder if there is a better Vibram trail running shoe as it hurts the bottom of my feet sometimes when I hit roots and rocks. BART mile race up tomorrow. I am not racing it though I don't think. Just trying to get miles in my Vibrams!

9:30 AM - Sunny and humid, mid 70s. We hopped on the buses and went up to Shady Pines for Field Day. Last year I won the BART Field Day Mile, which is about the only sanctioned sporting event other than advisory volleyball that we do. I wore my Vibrams and that got a lot of lucks and comments from kids and teachers alike. I knew I wasn't the fastest in the race, and there were three of my xc runners that I knew should have been able to beat me. Well 2 of them dropped and scratched and the other decided last minute, maybe because of my toeshoes, to run barefoot.

I positioned myself in the third row and when Morgan said "On your marks, go!" I lumbered off the starting line. Eased into the first lap and tried to talk to as many of my students as possible: JH who ended up going on to run a 10:02, his fastest mile ever, MD, who just like last year did it in his jeans and button up shirt (would end up doing his last lap with him), and JK, who never fails to amaze me.

By about the halfway point of lap 1 of 3, they starting dropping. As is the case with most middle school and high school runners, they start too fast. I moved from 10th to 8th, and then to 5th. By the start of the second lap I was in 3rd comfortably. I kept an even tempo and fell into rhythm. 2nd place. I took command of the race about 100m from the end of the second lap, and then when I hit the line I pushed it into overdrive.

I ended up cruising to the tape in 6:42, not bad considering I was 52 lbs heavier this year then this time last year AND that I putzed around the first lap. Cruised in and then waited for MD and AK to come through and did a bit with each of them. Really proud of my kiddos.

Total Time: 6:42 good for first place overall and in AG. 

Today I successfully completed my first official year of teaching! Woot! Don't know how I made it there but I did. Gave out awards today called "The Bearded Griffin"s to deserving students that put in the consistent effort and dedication it takes to be successful. As testament to their going the "extra mile" I took a pair of my bright yellow Asics track spikes and turned them into awards for JH and AS. They were so happy they ended up putting them on and walking with one foot in an oversized track spike for a few minutes. Hah!

Emma and I were going to a Jack and Jill party so I had to get a few miles in quickly for sanity's sake. Did 5.03 on the treadmill in my Vibrams at a fine pace. I need to lose some lbs and get back in shape!

Total Time: 45:45 Total Distance: 5.03 miles Average Pace:  9:06/ mile

2.25 miles nice and easy on the treadmill listening to WAMC. More tonight hopefully when Emm gets home from work if it's not raining. (20:00)

Storms moved in this evening. Wanted to get outside, but thunder and such. So at about 8:00pm hopped on the treadmill for another jog while Emm did P90x. Did an easy 3.15 miles with a progression towards the end with the last mile being substantially faster than the earlier ones. (26:03)

Today was quite productive. I was able to draft a training guide for my young cross country runners. Most have never run before, so I want to ease them in. I made an "A" and "B" training schedule where they have to pick which is more appropriate for them. I think this will pay off hugely if any of them actually stick to it! A is more serious, but B is just to get them moving and spending time on their feet. Check it out via Google Docs

DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY OF THE SUMMER TRAINING PLANS AT:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/15dQ-ZJ541Lmg3PCnm0rjmwhMi3fjK1G3hZo4Fjqw8lo/edit?hl=en_US

Email Mr. Griffin with any questions, comments or concerns: benn.griffin@bartcharter.org 

10:00 AM - Temp was in the high 60s. Humidity near 70%. Went with Emmy to Lenox to Olivia's Lookout and went around the loop that I favored so much last year before seeing the black bear. Can't believe I used to run this trail, let alone run it multiple times in a row! We power hiked the uphill and then ran the second half. The bottom of my feet were beat up by the roots and rocks. Still hurt when I'm writing this on Tuesday evening. A good workout though. They are changing the far part of the loop where it goes down. Noticed this after the fact; we kept plodding on past the signs and came across a good dozen trees that had been felled across the trail but not picked up. A new nicely groomed single track goes down just before that turn so will have to try that out next time.

Total Time: 51:00 Total Distance: 3.5 miles Average Pace:  14:34

6:00 PM - It was nice to have my car back today. I have missed it. Funny thing though. Now when you go to fill the gas tank, every .70 cents of gas or so it triggers the shut off thing. My mom said that she didn't mention it to me before because she figured it was an ongoing problem. I said, no it had never happened to me before though. I am going to try to hold the gas pump upside down though next time because I read somewhere that sometimes that helps this problem. Just annoying. Took like 8 minutes to pump gas today for my little 12 gallon tank haha.

Went jogging on the treadmill this a.m. Did 3.6 miles in 30:00 and did 2 x 3 minute pick up, also 3 x 400m at 6:00/mi pace. Felt really nice. After errands and making a cross country wiki page for my runners, I came home helped with dinner and then jogged after dinner for 23:00. Did an easy 2.5 miles after dinner. Felt good overall. Trying to track calories and be careful of I eat. Weight was 232 yesterday, and 229 today.

Total Time: 53:00 Total Distance: 6.1 miles Average Pace:  8:41

Relaxed on the treadmill listening to Obama on WAMC and reading Running Times and Runner's World.

Total Time: 47:00 Total Distance: 5.1 miles Average Pace: 9:13 

Felt really good. Warm up and then 6 x 400m at 5:30-6:00 pace. Cool down afterwards.

Total Time: 33:57 Total Distance: 4 miles Average Pace: 8:29 

7:30 AM - Jonny, Harry, Mom and Ellen were all up the last couple days. Mom and Harry had been helping me build the dog kennel for our new little Lizzy (St. Bernard pup). It came out so well. Wouldn't have been able to do it without them. Ellen is here from Norway for a month and we wanted to let her experience what it is like to run a road race in the states.  Headed in two cars up to the parking garage by House of India. There were already people on the parade route. Pittsfield has a multi million dollar parade each year and people camp out for hours ahead of time. We had to walk close to a mile down to pick up our bib numbers. We got down there in one piece and were one of the last ones to get tshirts. I thought it was sweet that we got tshirts considering that we only paid $11 to run this race! Hung out and ran into Vitus, who has know my parents since they first starting going out.  Found out the starting line was another .5 miles or so down the road and it was a good thing because we had to hoof it down there before the race.

Walked down there with about 5 minutes to spare for the start of the race. There were a lot of people and I liked the race course. We started on a downhill and then hit an uphill at the one mile mark, slightly uphill to the 1.5 mile turnaround and then flat or downhill all the way back. Plan was to stay with Harry who is considering running cross country for the first time as a senior. On no training, he was cruising. His 6'4" 160lb frame was nearly floating during the race. It was truly a beautiful thing to see. Lost Emm for about .5 miles or so, but she found her way back to us and we ran the race in contact with one another. Heard a few "Hey Mr. Griffin! Go GO go!" while I was running. Saw a coworker, Peter too. Felt really good. We hit the first mile at about the 8:00 mark which was fine because we were just there to have a good time. The second mile must have been about 7:40 and the last mile more like 7:15 or 7:20. Felt really good and we were just flying, despite the temperature rising to near 80. Second half of the race we ran in the shade which was good.

We all had such a blast. Mom was there near the finish cheering us in. Commando points to Jonn for running Ellen in and letting her beat him at the line!

195 Benn Griffin 25M M2029 Pittsfield MA 23:29 23:06 7:34 42/101 451

219 Emily Griffin 24F F2029 Pittsfield MA 23:48 23:24 7:40 9/106 449

228 Harrisonn Griffin 17M M1619 Middle Grove NY 23:56 23:33 7:43 42/66 450

766  Ellen Scherffenberg          19F F1619 MA                       31:09    30:45  10:02    28/47    537   

767 Jonn Griffin 19M M1619 Middle Grove NY 31:09 30:45 10:02 62/66 538 

Hopped on the treadmill and gave Lizzy a new bone to chew on. Felt okay. 27:00, good for 8:51/ mile.

3.1 in 27:30 on the treadmill; 8:52 pace. Sick.

2.25 in 20:00 (8:53/ mile). Really getting sick. Mucus and plugged nose, congestion, and coughing up really bad phlegm from my lungs.

3.1 @ 9:31 pace. Was a struggle. Not getting any better. Went to see the doctor's and am on antibiotics.

2.25 miles at 9:15 pace. Antibiotics still in effect. Stay tuned for details.

Hurt a lot. Had to stop every .25 miles to cough up gunk from my lungs. 3.1 in 30:00.

Only had to stop once at 2 mile mark for a coughing spell. Felt a lot better today!

 Total Time: 31:30 Total Distance: 3.25 Average Pace: 9:41.5

Hiked and ran Monument Mountain in the p.m. with Emm. (51:00) 

Very hilly run at Olivia's Lookout with Emma. 3.5 miles on the Burbank Trail. Averaged 12:00/ mile because of slow uphill. Downhill was 8-9 min range.

Still coughing up stuff. Called the Doc yesterday and my aunt as well. I was on doxycyclene, but they are going to put me on Augmentin. Round #2 of antibiotics. Never been this sick in my life. 2.15 miles in 20:00, good for average of 9:18 a mile.

5:30 PM - Overcast and rainy today. Needed to get a jog in. Back to work. First week of professional development was okay. Lots of new things though, and my brain is system overload now. Also, got in a fender bender on Friday on the way home from work. The guy had it estimated and it looks like it will cost $225 to fix his car. My hood got pushed under his bumper so it won't open now. I hope total it will only cost me $500. What a way to end the week. It was my first car accident too.

Did the first 3.25 miles on the treadmill, but got too overheated, so I went to the track and eased into a run. Held 8:00 pace through .75 miles and sped through the last lap, ending the mile in 7:40. Then did a slower 8:30 pace 400m, a 6:00 pace 1:30 400m, and finally two laps to cool down.

Total Time: 45:00 Total Distance: 5.25 miles Average Pace: 8:34

6:00 PM - Very rainy and wet today. After professional development I went home to see Lizzy and Emmy. I ran on the treadmill while Emm did Power90. I ended up doing 3 miles in 26:20; good for average of 8:46 a mile. Did 2 x 400m at 6:00 pace.

3.1 in 27:00 (8:42 a mile)

6:00 PM - Been a crazy first week at school. Too crazy to even explain. Got on the treadmill. Still on antibiotics but finally feeling better. I can hear again! Did 1 mile at 7.5 mph and then 2 x 400m at 5:30 pace. Cooled down afterwards.

Total Time: 20:00 Total Distance: 2.1 miles Average Pace: 9:31 

5:30 PM - 75 degrees and sunny. What a difference a day makes. Yesterday was hurricane Irene that dumped up to a foot of rain on parts of the area. So many without power and with homes and roads and towns destroyed. We were very fortunate. Waited for Emm to get out of work. We had the day off for a hurricane day from school. No joke. The cement barricades by school which are 15 feet deep usually have a stream with 6 inches of water. Last night they were at 13-14 feet, nearly breeching the banks!

Went running up at Olivia's Lookout on Burbank Trail. I felt really good. Went slow and steady the whole way and didn't have to walk once! My fitness is slowly coming back. Now I just need to lose about 20 pounds! Then afterwards we went over to the other trail off the parking lot and went around that one the whole way. Very steep downhill at first. Very pretty views overlooking Stockbridge/Lenox area. I love the Berkshires!

Total Distance today was 5 miles (Burbank loop was 3.5 miles in 41:00). Saw two dogs without an owner that came up and said hi. They went swimming in the pond and then ran off. Very cute :) 

First official practice as a Head Coach! Yeah boys! 2.5 miles really easy at Russell Field.

3 miles with the cross country team at 9:00/ mile pace. Felt good. Nice to see the kiddos running.

Ran 3 with the cross country team 9:15-9:20 pace. Some of the kids are in better shape than others. First race tomorrow! Gulp! Race report to follow.

3 miles jogging the course and running to see my runners come in.

3 easy recovery miles in the rain/drizzle with a smaller team. Homework detentions are taking their toll in after school detentions.

3.5 minutes in 32:00. Ran nice and easy. Felt pretty good.

3 miles after school with the team @ 10:00 pace. Felt pretty good.

3 miles in 30:00 with the team.

2 at the meet at Wahconah during the meet.

3.5 miles at practice at about 9:08 pace per mile. Felt pretty good!

10:00 AM - Sunny, blue skies. Gorgeous out. Temperature was probably about 40 degrees early this morning. Went running up at Olivia's Overlook with Emma. Lindsay was running and kayaking at the Josh Billings Run-A-Ground.  Ran one loop of the Burbank Trail in 38:00, then went down with Emm 1.5 miles to Tanglewood. Went around the grounds afterward to kill time. Saw some of the top runners come in. Pretty amazing. Lindsay and her friend finished well in 3:38, about 22 minutes ahead of where they thought they were. Ran total just over 60 minutes, good for slightly more than 10 minutes per mile pace.

5:00 PM - Sunny and Temperature about 60s or 70. Ran at the Ashuwilticook Rail Trail with Emma. She said she was sore and didn't want to go fast. I let her set the tempo. We ran a slow first mile: 10:47, 9:38, 11:19 (actually 1.2 miles), 9:34, 9:13. Held the horses back the last .5 where we usually go really fast. Felt really good! Got to get the miles in this week. 10k Race in Lenox on Sunday! Gaining confidence with the Vibrams now that I run exclusively in them. Looking forward to the race on Sunday as it will be my longest race in Vibrams yet!

Total Time: 50:33 Total Distance: 5.25 miles Average Pace:  9:37/ mile

3:45 PM - Ran with the cross country team today after school. Still a small turn out, though the ones that do show up are reaping the benefits. About 31 minutes total working with all the kids at least once. 3 miles. Felt pretty good!

Easy run at the field with the few that made it to practice today. Recovery run after yesterday's race. Some nice PRs despite the hard course! 2 miles in 20 minutes.

9:00 AM - Overcast, temp in the mid 60s with humidity at 97%. My first race since the July 4th race. Didn't know what to expect going in. I drove to Shakespeare and Company in Lenox, parked the car and went to get my race number, only to find out I guess I was the first person to register for the race and ended up with Bib #1. I kind of didn't believe it at first - either a cruel joke or a mistake in that they gave me a bib maybe reserved for the kids' race. Nope. It was legit. I tried to hide it under my sweatshirt as much as possible. 

Though it was humid, I donned a sweatshirt. Feeling really self conscious with my weight gain in the past year. Jogged down to the start line and back, a total of about 1.2 miles. Stretched and talked with the Wahconah coach who was there. Then jogged back to the start line, .6 miles.

The Brock Trot is named after a guy, named Brock, who had lung cancer and despite being stage IV, managed to finish 4 marathons. He passed away, but they had a moving opening with his brother saying some words. The 5k and 10k started together. Saw a couple former runners, Morgan and Megan Holm, as well as their mom, Shauna Damasca running her second race, and her husband Dan who is a local masters elite. He ended up running low 40:00 in the 10k and nearly passed his step daughters in the 5k!

 THE START:

The gun went off and the 5k runners bolted and went left. 10k went straight and to the right. The first couple miles were downhill, and I had heard from a guy to "save it for West Mountain Rd". How right he was. I was trying to hold back but felt myself getting sucked along. I settled in behind a short little lady, also in Vibrams, and all I heard for a while was the steady slap-slop slap-slop of our Vibrams. I was the only runner in a sweatshirt, and by the end of the first mile, I was already drenched in sweat. 8:07 for the first mile, 8:19 for the second.

Then hit a gigantic uphill. West Mountain Road was my downfall. Scary road. People started falling back towards me. Miles 3 and 4 were uphill and rolling, before popping out at Tanglewood going the opposite way of the Josh. 8:08 and 8:58 for those two miles.

Really started to come undone the last two miles. Considering my longest run this summer was about 4 miles, this is understandable. Also, given the humidity and the fact that most of the last .5 miles is a hill. Last two miles were: 8:56 and 9:06.

Overall I felt pretty good. Finished 89th of 154 runners in the 10k. Even beat some 5k runners. 54:35; good for 8:37 average pace per mile. 

Cooled down with Emma and then walked around the Apple Squeeze in Lenox.

Later after we got home, Emm and I went hiking near New Lebanon on the Taconic Crest Trail. I fell once, but it was a nice fast hikeable trail nestled at the New York/ MA border. Did 3 miles in a bit over an hour.

Total Miles for the Day: 11.25 miles 

Ran 3 miles with the team after school, total about 30 minutes. Dylan is really starting to impress me. I think he's coming into great form!

Ran 3 miles with the team after school. Felt pretty good. Legs a bit sore still from Sunday's excursions. Really tough to get moving when you have to struggle to get up the staircase.

Ran 3 miles with one of my runners, Chris. He was the only runner who chose to stay for practice. We went nice and easy and averaged 10:40/ mile pace.

Woke up this morning to pouring rain. Went to BART to make some copies. Went running on the bike path. Did 3.10 miles in 29:30 in the rain. Felt pretty good while I was running. Saw one person walking his dog, but other than that I didn't really see anything worth mentioning.

At about 11:15 I headed up to North Adams. The race was slated to start at 12:30pm. Found a place to park to make a hasty exit from N. Adams after the race. Went and secured my bib. What a nice surprise to see the Wahconah coach again as well as to pick up my bib and see it was #92 and not #1. I walked back to the car and then went for a warm up jog of about .5 miles. Goal today was hopefully to get 26 minutes or so. Knowing that I have not done any speedwork, or any real miles for that matter, I hoped this was doable. Stretched lightly and then lined up.

THE START - I knew the start was downhill and that typically people start too fast. I tried to hold back and found myself near the back going down Main Street on the way out to the Curran Highway. Mile 1 is pretty downhill, with the exception of the bridge. Ended up blowing through a 7:28 first mile. Oh no! 

Mile 2 is always slower, because there is a long uphill of about 250m or so. Caught four or five people here as they started to slow. Ran through the second mile in 7:58

Third mile was just about trying to keep it together as it was all slightly uphill and then up and over the bridge again. Saw a few of my students and they waved/shouted encouragement to me. I realize now that I am a trail runner for a reason - I hate having people looking at me while running. I am too self conscious.

Add to that the fact that I was wearing a women's raincoat and it made for some nice headgames. Tried to get back into the race. Ran a 7:58 third mile as well.

Picked it up on the way into the finish line. Felt really good overall.

Don't know my place yet, as it was a small race, but hopefully in the top 100. Beat my goal by nearly 2 minutes!

Total Time: 24:04 Total Distance: 3.10 miles Average Pace:  7:46!

4:30 PM - Went running with Emm once the sun came out a bit. Harry and mom stopped by as Harry was over in Springfield visiting a campus in his college search/quest. We went around the block. Though Emm said she was taking it easy, we seemed to be steadily picking up pace as we went. My goal was just to try to hang tough and not implode. Splits were: 9:05, 8:41, and 5:55 (8:35 pace for the .7). Ran 2.75 in 23:41, good for  8:46 pace!

Note: Today was the first day I've ever run 3 times in one day. 

Ran with the cross country team after school. Really bummed by the low turnouts. Not really digging the fact that everyone but Chris and Dylan is not pulling the grades they should be. Oh well. Pushed Dylan on some tough .75 mile repeats out to the third bridge and back. Really pushed it in the first and second time. Teaching him how to pass with authority. Felt good. At one point we hit 4:30/ mile and 3:58/ mile. We were flying. Cooled down around the field with the team.

Total Time: 30:00 Total Distance: 3.6 miles Average Pace: 8:20/ mile 

3 miles easy at practice with a couple quick 400s. Felt pretty good. Only a few kids coming to practice, but the neat thing was that we are in the paper!

Friday October 7, 2011

ADAMS -- Berkshire Art and Technology Charter Public School (BART) cross country coach Benn Griffin was chatting to one of his fellow coaches during a recent county meet.

"[The coach] was telling me he had a young team, only one senior," said Griffin, chuckling. "I said, ‘One senior?' I have one freshman. The rest are 6th through 8th grade. That's young!"

Competing in the very tough Berkshire County High School Cross Country League is a rugged row to hoe for any local school. At BART, it's even a little more difficult.

For one thing, the school offers only three late buses per week. With several of his runners from out of town, Griffin has to limit the team to only three

Also, BART does not have enough property to lay out a 3.1-mile cross country trail, so the team has no home meets, although Griffin is trying to figure a way around that. He hopes that by next year, the school will be hosting a meet, although exactly where is up in the air.

Then there is the continuity issue. Griffin understands fully that he probably won't have too many junior or senior runners on his team anytime soon, if ever. This is due in large part to the rigorous academic commitments at BART with which students have to contend.

Seniors are required, for example, to take at least one college course per semester. Griffin had a senior who was planning to come out this fall, "but his college course was on Wednesday night, which is when our meets are. All he would have been doing is practicing, not competing, and he didn't think it was worth it."

There is also a team rule specifying that if a runner, for any reason, misses three practices, he or she must sit out the next meet. The runners agree that the rule is a good one.

"It fosters a commitment to the team," said freshman Dylan Quinn, the team's "elder statesman" from Cheshire.

"It keeps you out of trouble," agreed Alexis Lesure, an 8h grade student from North Adams.

So Griffin and his (very) young charges practice three times a week by running around Russell Field in Adams, and travel to every meet in which they must compete.

But there is a camaraderie among the BART runners, who say they are often encouraged by the runners from other teams on their efforts.

"People on the course sometimes encourage me," admitted 7th grader Samantha Beveraggi of North Adams, who reports she is "53 inches tall", which is 4 feet, 5 inches, for those doing the math.

"The runners on the other teams are supportive," said her teammate Morgan Covert, a 6th grade student from Adams. "Competing against them pushes you to improve."

Griffin has eight girls running and five boys. The minimum required for a school to score as a team is five runners. And for a while, he only had two boys, so the BART boys did not score in their first four meets. This week, he hopes to have all five running to enable his team to score

The girls have won two meets and hope to improve on that record in the coming weeks.

But realistically, Griffin is working toward seeing his runners improve. And most have. Beveraggi, for example, has improved her personal time by more than seven minutes since her first meet this fall. Chris Doubiago, an eighth-grader from Adams, has lopped several minutes off his personal best, as well.

Still, there is some potential here, admitted Griffin. If his runners continue to improve, and in some cases, grow a little, who knows what may happen in two or three years?

"Well, yeah," said Griffin. "If I can keep maybe half these runners for a few more years, we could have something." 

Hiked Mt. Greylock with the entire school today as part of "Mountain Day". Beautiful weather. Temp in the low 50s to high 40s with a steady wind which kept things cool. I went ahead and hiked most of the way sans clan, as my Griffin Horned Owls took off from the gun, true trail warriors, leaving their clan leader in the dust. I hiked up with Stephan and Nathan, and boy did they make me smile. I feel lucky to teach these two. Two of the things they said during our adventure that will stick with me are:

"Hike life to its fullest."

"Conquer what's in front of you!"

If we follow their words, I think we can all be successful :) 

10:00 AM - Blue skies with some low-lying fog this morning as I headed out to the race up at Monroe-Dunbar by Florida Mountain. This has been my favorite race the last two years, and today marked the third consecutive time I laced up (or velcroed in this instance) shoes on my feet and headed off down the trails. I got there a bit early and was able to sign in, get my shirt (first time they have given me one here) and go for a warm up. I headed off down the trail and did a mile each way, though got lost on one tricky corner on the way back in and ended up significantly downhill from where I should have been, along the crick. I later would help one of my other fellow runners as they too got a bit lost on this same corner as we were coming in. Thankfully I remembered and was able to yell to him. I think ever since I got lost on my first trail race at Curly's, that I have made a special cognizant effort to pay attention to my surroundings. Total warm up was 23:00.

THE RACE - Didn't know what to expect going into the race. My longest run going into today was two weeks ago at Brock Trot in Lenox, MA. It's been a long, slow, painful process trying to get back in shape. It's amazing how years worth of fitness can be lost in just a couple months! Glad I have not been sick as of yet this year however, knock on wood.

I started off in the back of the back. Saw my friend, Laura Clark was here at the starting line. I think she has run this race every year since about 1999. Settled into an easy jog, knowing that the first mile or two are inherently slow. Most of the second mile consists of switchbacks which all but the top couple runners must fast hike. My legs however, felt dead. I couldn't find my water bottle or holder this morning as I was running around trying to get ready. This made for a rather long race. I had taken a couple swigs of water, but with aid stations only at mile 3.6 and 7, this was going to be a long race.

Popped out onto the trail and fire road after two miles. My feet hurt a bit. This was my longest trail run in my KomodoSPORTs. At the aid station they had the smallest shot glass sized dixie cups I've ever seen. I threw back 5,6,7 shots of gatorade maybe and took off into the woods again. I let a few people go past me that were hiking/jogging faster than I was. The part from 3.6 miles to 5.6 miles are always my slowest. Got cut up a bit on my legs. Then a quick right and down I went plummeting towards the bottom.

Running in Vibrams you really start to notice how much you take for granted wearing running shoes. You feel every little rock, root, pebble running in Vibrams. Hence I had to significantly shorten my stride and slow my pace. It was still fun, still an adventure though. I was getting increasingly dehydrated as temperatures quickly climbed into the 70s. It was 82 by the end of the run. I was wearing two shirts, a smaller green wicking type, and a long sleeve blue Champion one. I was urged to take the latter off, but my self-consciousness got the better of me and I would not allow myself too. Not until I'm under 200 lbs anyways!

I knew by the second aid station I was never going to come near to my last two years' performances in the 2:01 range. I was already at 1:55 when I got here. It was simply a matter of running it in to the finish line.

Crossed the first and second stream crossings, no problem, aside from sand that got into my shoe and caused 2 blisters during the last 5k. Helped a guy at mile 9-10 back track so he didn't get lost. Jogged into the finish, making sure none of the two or three runners right behind me passed me. I knew today was going to be a slow day for most, as Laura always runs 2:19-2:22 on this course each year. This year she ran an astounding 3:11, for 92nd place. I think it was not a day for the light hearted or unprepared. Oh well. I finished, I am smiling now, and I have some cool war wounds to show for it. Celebrating the ability to go for a jog is an awesome feeling.

Finished in 2:35:13, good for 75th place overall of 94 finishers. 

6:30 PM - Left big toe was a little sore walking around today at work. Decided to see if shodding it in Vibrams would help. Did .5 miles on the treadmill easy enough in 4:30 with no real pain. Then headed to the track and did a nice easy run in the fading light. Thinking about Howard Zinn's "A People's History" today. That Critobal Colon was one egotistical jack*ss, eh? Felt pretty good. Liked people watching - boys playing soccer in the dark, a powerwalking lady who stayed for all but my final two laps, and a late comer, who looked like he was trekking across the Himalayas, complete with walking stick, funny fur hat, and parka. It was warm today, 82 for a high, but had cooled into the low 60s by the time I ran. Felt good. Splits were: (9:50, 9:45, 9:20, 8:50, 8:37). Nice negative splits!

Total Time: 55:30 Total Distance: 6.2 miles Average Pace:  8:57/ mile

Ran at practice. Tried to push the kiddos around the field a bit. Only 6 runners for a turnout. I wonder if I am slowly killing them 1 by 1. Our numbers seem to be failing us at the end of the season! Right calf/achilles a little sore. 3 miles in 27 minutes.

Long anniversary weekend in Boston. To make a long story short: Drove out on Friday evening from Pittsfield to Lindsay's place, but got lost when we got there. The GARMIN was telling us to go in a roundabout the size of a large car. Took an extra 20 mins but finally got there.

Saturday: Went into the city and parked. Found a sweet $10.00 lot and walked a mile or so to the aquarium. Spent the morning there, then over to a Panera for lunch before going and walking to catch the T to go to the concert. Emm got us tickets to see "Boyce Avenue". We love their acoustic music. Well we get there around 3:30, but decide that's too early, so we walk to Starbuck's to get a coffee and tea and see an "occupy" demonstration going on with a cool rally. Police officer was a tool and said "You going to cross the road or just gawk at these losers". Wanted to punch him square in the kisser! Walked back down and stood in line for 2 hours as the temperature fell. Couldn't believe how many people were lined up. We seemed to be "old" though. A lot of middle/high schoolers. Finally get in there and try to score a couch only to find they have all been taken to the "VIP" section. We sit through two opening acts, each an hour long, and finally Boyce Avenue comes on around 8:30 or 9 only to say "We know we became popular for our acoustic covers, but we are going to play our rock and electric originals" (translation: we won't play our good music, we'll just play crap!). We walked out after 30 mins. Getting home sucked. We got backwards on the T, entered the wrong side of the station, then my card wouldn't work so I had to buy another pass. Had to walk about 2 miles in the cold to the parking garage. Finally got home around 12:30 in the morning. Emm had planned a surprise for me. 3 wedding albums of all of our 500+ pictures, as well as a small cake made just like our wedding one. But we were so tired and exhausted she simply said "Happy anniversary. I'm going to bed.".  

Sunday's Race: Got up and watched "Super Troopers" with Emm as she got ready. Headed out to the race, which didn't start until 11:30. Found a parking spot about .5 miles away and walked down to the starting line. We had gone the day before to get our bibs, since there were over 2k people. Smart decision! We went for a 10 min warm up jog, then made it back to the starting line about 8 mins before the gun went off. What I found out afterwards in the race is that this is a very popular and classy race. It is chip timed, and they go with your chip time for race position instead of gun time. I like this for non-elites. Instead of appearing a couple mins slower than you actually ran, it is transparent as far as how long it took you to cover the distance. I don't have exact splits but we started off conservative, and first mile was slow (8:30ish) trying to get through traffic. We did a lot of running along the sidewalk, just as in Turkey Trot. Saw one scary thing, a young girl having an asthma attack. Saw her after the race though so I know she is okay. Second mile was fast, sub 8:00, and finally kicked it in with the third mile in the low 7:00s. Emm hung tough like a champion, gritting her teeth, and grabbed my hand as we crossed the finish line. Loved this. This was the highlight of my anniversary weekend. Can't think of a better way to spend an anniversary. If we could do this every anniversary I'd be a very very happy hubby! Cooled down to the car, and then back home to get caught up on work! 

Finished in 23:48, good for 409th place overall out of 1808 finishers, averaging 7:40/mile. Loved this race! 

Sun came out. I was feeling under the weather and stayed home to try to recover and get caught up on grades/lesson planning, etc. Not feeling it lately. Have an appointment at the doc's to get checked out for depression and high blood pressure. Scary stuff when you are only 25 years old! Anywho, went out to Lenox with Emma. We stretched and hopped onto the Burbank trail and ran to the summit and back, but had to cut it short because the light was fading. Daylight savings time needs to happen soon because there is not enough light in a day any more!

Total Time: 29:50 Total Distance: 3 miles Average Pace: 9:56 

3:45 PM - Practice with the "pioneers" after school. There is real support gaining behind our run up Greylock next week, as well as in choosing a mascot for the school team. Many people think that "pioneers" is an adequate representation, as it embodies who and what our runners are all about. What do you think? Had about 8 runners show up for practice today, which was good. Tomorrow is our last dual meet of the season. Have been getting a lot of great feedback as far as my race reports are concerned. Going to copy and paste to my log so I have a copy forever. Also going to compile little xc booklets with the course maps, results and my write ups. I think it would be a fitting celebration, as well as printouts for overall improvement on the team during the season, and a closing thoughts section from their dear old coach. I love these kids, even if they give me gray hairs!

Total Time: 27:00 Total Distance: 3 miles Average Pace: 9:00/ mile 

3:45 PM - Feeling like fall finally! Sunny, to partly cloudy with temp in the mid to upper 50s. Took the team of nine today and went to the Adams cemetery for hills. Trying to work on their speed! Got to the cemetery and had managed to lose one of my runners, Chris. Figured that he was back at the school and had decided not to come. When I heard that he had not stayed and was no where to be seen, my heart sank. On top of this I heard he had had an argument with his girlfriend earlier that day, and of course I jumped to conclusions and expected the worst. Ran as fast as I could to the field .6 miles with my phone. Then back .6 miles. Turns out he had been outside looking at plants and bugs! Just my luck! Glad he was okay though in all seriousness. 

Total Time: 29:10 Total Distance: 3.5 miles Average Pace: 8:20/ mile

3:45 PM -  Hard work paying off. Had one runner, Kylee show up today. As we got changed and headed out the door in our matching team hoodies, Ben K. (principal) came over and said "Benn can we talk for a second." I was like "oh boy. pink slip? stern talking to? what now?" He held out his hand and said "Just wanted to tell you how much it means to see you going for a run on a Friday afternoon with one cross country runner. You are making the difference". If that doesn't fuel your fire, I don't know what will! I had a really nice chat with my sixth grader about the perils of littering to the ecosystem and our shared interest in saving the planet, one piece of litter at a time. She is my hero!

Total Time: 33:00 Total Distance: 3 miles Average Pace: 11:00 

9:00 AM - Drove to Spa Park today from MA for the Great Pumpkin Challenge 10k race. It is a 5k/10k held on the roads through Spa Park. Same course as the Keys' Run I found out. Didn't think it would be as hugely popular as it was. Over 1800 runners yesterday. Glad I brought both my Vibrams, as my blue KSOs are getting sent to the Vibram cemetery. 6 holes in the bottom of them! Too many people as the first 5k was run with the 5k runners. Tucked in nicely and used it as a progression run. 

Ran the following splits: (9:06, 8:40, 8:19, 7:48, 7:53, 7:58) Last two were with significant uphills. Really felt good, considering haven't done many long runs this year. Trying to get in shape for Stockadeathon in a few weeks. I think for Stockadeathon the key will be to stay relaxed and go nice and easy the first half of the race. I'm a Clydesdale after all! We don't like speed! Cooled down at the end. My time didn't get recorded because I couldn't attach the chip to my Vibrams. However a friend who works for ARE recorded my time in the results for me :). Yay!

Cooled down 2 miles around the course and to the car. Then out to Karavalli for Indian food with Tara, Jonn Stanley and Momma Grifff. Then to Virgil's for coffee.

Finished in 146th place of 516 finishers in a time of 51:16, good for 8:15 a mile. 

Total Time: 51:16 Total Distance: 6.22 miles Average Pace: 8:15

Total Time for all miles today: 1:25 

Ran an easy 3 miles in 27:00 in the Vibram KSOs. Average pace was 9:00/mile. Trying to keep some miles in here. Last week of xc practice with the kiddos.

3:45 PM - Ran with the cross country team. 3.5 miles in 30:00. Average Pace: 8:34/ mile. Felt pretty good. A little nervous. Turnout has been low at the end of the season. Only 5-6 runners a practice. I hope we all make it!

3:45 PM - Ran after school with the cross country kiddos. Last practice of the season! County championships are on Saturday!! Excited and sobering at the same time I think. We'll see how it goes.