March Madness

For obvious reasons March is a pretty exciting month each year of my life (the obvious reason being my birthday is in March). Not quite a milestone age this year, but it is as close you can get to 30! I was not sure how I would feel turning 29. Turning 28 was a little tough, but it still had enough distance from 30 that it wasn't a huge deal. 29 was not so. It did kind of mess with me a little. Makes you realize you can use the whole "I am young" excuse any more. Very rarely are there 29 year olds on MTV. Most hip young celebrities have calmed down (or disappeared) by 29. For many of the ages within the 20s, you know people who either are still in college (just taking a few extra years), grad school (which really there are people of all ages in grad school), and/or still "trying to figure things out". It is rare however for 29 year olds to be in this situation. All of that aside, I think it has been a pretty smooth transition. Thanks to the sweetness of my babe, I actually celebrated my birthday for an entire week, not just one day! Like every year, St. Patrick's Day precedes my birthday, which means it seems everyone is in the mood to celebrate. And to add to all of that, winter ends, spring begins, and life can get back to normal with cook outs in the back yard, sun light after work, beach on the weekends (I know that is still a few months away), and not having to wear ten layers of cloths to go outside and run! Happy March, Happy Spring, let all the snow melt away, and not return for at least 9 months!

I know winter will end soon...

...but it was yet another day of running in the cold! Over the last month or so we have endured running in single digit temperatures, with wind chills I won't even mention! We are running on ice, on snow, in the morning, after work, no matter what time it is usually in the dark! I even grew a beard for a little while, mostly because of a bet but I do think my body was subconsciously trying to keep the face warm. This last week was a bit of a tease. We were having a recovery week, not running as much and yet the weather was great. There were days were the high temperature made it almost to 60, and the lows never dipped below 40. Needless to say as the nice weather kept coming and the weekend drew closer, I started to get excited for a nice almost spring 10 mile run this morning. Unfortunately that did not happen, as it was in the low 20s this morning, and we ran along the East Bay Bike Path, which has got a lot of nice cold wind to add to the already cold temperature! It can't last forever though. With global warming, and the inevitable ticking along of time, winter must end. I already shaved the beard, and I am ready to see leaves again.

Bermuda Triangle Challange

This past weekend, Sarah and I embarked on one of the most challenging running events we have ever done so far. Even more challenging then the marathon! We set out to escape the bitter cold and snow of Rhode Island to the beautiful island of Bermuda. We have never been to Bermuda, and I must say it is a wonderful place to visit. In January it is between 66 and 70 degrees outside, both during the day and at night. It is perfect for running, and enjoying the outdoors again for a few days. The tropical vegetation, and amazing clear blue water makes you seem like you have escaped to a far off land, even though it was only a two hour flight from Boston.

The running however, was hard. There are way too many hills on the island, and we were running up and down the hills all weekend. The challenge consisted of three races. This is not something I have ever tried to do before. The first was a one mile "sprint". There was a heated competition between Sarah and I in this race, and we both did great with 7:18 and 7:35 miles respectively. We were both hoping for 8 minute miles, so we were pumped with these times.

The next day we set out for a pretty difficult 10K race, which is about a 6.2 mile run. We set a good pace, and had to deal with some intense rain and even more intense hills. We were proud of our time, but still had the longest race left to run.

Finally, on the third and final race, we had to find the energy and strength to run a half marathon, 13.1 miles. I had no idea that I would be so exhausted from the first two races. My body hurt, my legs were stiff, and after the horn blew, I did not think I could even make it 1 mile, never mind 13.1. After about 3 miles, the stiffness went away, but after about 2 more, the pain started. We did finish, but the pain reached that of which we had felt during the marathon around miles 17-19. What made this challenge so hard, was getting to the race, and being exhausted at the starting line! It was all worth it though. A beautiful place, a great challenge and a wonderful, relaxing vacation.

It is the almost the end!

I can't believe 2008 has gone by so fast, but we are counting down the days! So what do we have planned for 2009, well no more then 10 hours in, and we will be running in the 5 mile hangover classic! It is going to be an amazing year of running. We are attempting 2 marathons, one in May, and another in October. We are already training better now though, then we did before our first marathon. The last month has been an adventure in running. We did a 10K race in Newport, during a snow storm! Ran a bunch of miles on treadmills and indoor tracks due to our pre-Christmas snow in, and then today, December 28th, it was 60 degrees outside! Sarah and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary on the 24th, and had a great time. The next day we were up for a nice 8 mile run! The nice thing about all of the running, is that you can really enjoy the holiday foods, and not feel that bad! Our next big race is only a few weeks away, and it is in Bermuda. I am looking forward to the time away and the running. I hope Bermuda has good food!

2 Days Until Thanksgiving!

I can't believe this time of year is already here! It feels like just the other day I was lying on the beach and enjoying the sun, and now I am running in tewnty something degree mornings. Well at least we did not have any snow yet. Thanksgiving is definately my favorite day of the year. I love to eat, and that is what the day is all about. Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce is what my plate will look like a few times over on Thursday, and I can't wait! We are starting to gear up for our big January event. The Bermuda Triangle Challange,
I think it is going to be awesome, and I have never been to Bermuda so I am pumped. The best part is that the races are in the morning, and then we will have the rest of the days to eat, drink and hang out! Sarah is talking a lot of trash about beating me in the first race (it is a one miler), so that will be an interesting day. She has been training extremely hard on the indoor track, and I think she might shoot by me in the race. It is going to be quite the race, maybe ESPN will show up to cover it (in HD) for you all to watch!

What does a Marathon Feel Like?

There are a so many ways to answer that question. The greatest feeling, happens when you finish. The overwhelming pride of accomplishment, relief of being done, and joy of knowing you can finally stop! There are so many other feelings however that occur before you start, while you are running, and after it is all over. Before the race, it was mostly nerves. Not really knowing what it will be like to run 26.2 miles. Tossing and turning the night before, worrying about going to the bathroom, throwing up, passing out, dropping out, or any other fear of not finishing. Finally the day comes, and all that stuff has to get out of your head, so you can focus on running. It starts out like any other run. You can enjoy the scenery, talk a little with your running mates, and you are full of energy. It was not until about mile 20 that things started to change. (Disclaimer, I did have one of my fears come true at mile 6, I had to pee, but I was able to stop and take care of that with out much issue).

Mile 20 to 24 was probably the most painful experience of my life. We had been running for almost 4 hours by the time we got to the 20 mile marker. With 6 miles to go, I just really did not know if I could do it. Each mile after 20 was more and more painful. My legs hurt, my feet hurt, and I still had more then an hour to go. I just wanted to stop and be done. There was a point at around mile 23, where there was water and food, where I stopped to get something, and I could feel myself wobbling on my feet. The only thing I could do to not fall over, was to just start running again. Finally however, there was something that could take the pain away, and that was hope. We were at mile 24, so there is only 2.2 mile left. We were finally in reach, and after some water, gatoraid, skittles and banana, my body was feeling a little better I am sure. From that point I knew we would make it. It was great at mile 25 to have our support group starting with us. Rick, from our running club was biking behind us, or training partner Sue, was running along side us (with a pom pom) and Mitchell was there too, running along side, for the whole last mile. I was running almost soley on adrenaline. When we finally finished, after the overwhelming emotions that I went through by completing the ridiculous distance, I was happy to have so many friends and family to share it with. The best part of the whole experience was sharing it with my wife, who ran along side with me the entire time.

Now the post race experience. I haven't left my bed since I got home last night, except to eat, and purchase food. My leg muscles are killing me, and it is exhausting to walk around Stop & Shop. According to our internet research, it could be pretty painful for a full week! I am pretty sure I dropped five pounds though. I should have, I ran for 5 hours and 9 minutes a further distance then I drive most days! Next time, I am taking time off of work after, because I am not sure tomorrow is going to be so great!

Marathon!

It is officially official. If you didn’t know, Sarah and I have been training all summer to run the Newport Breakers Marathon (Yes that is 26.2 miles like the Boston Marathon, only in Newport).

We have finally committed today, by registering for the race. We are running on October 18th, starting at 8:00 AM. Based on our pace during all of our training, that means we will probably finish sometime around 12:30 (not midnight, but in the afternoon). We need all the support we can get, so if you are in the neighborhood that day, or need an excuse to go to Newport, come see Sarah and I run our first marathon (and maybe the last!!). I know you can’t all make it, but sure to think of us that day as your drinking your morning coffee!

Wish us luck!