26 Miles 385 Yards At a Time

Seems Like a Lifetime Ago....

2009-09-21T19:46:00.003-04:00

since I updated my blog. No real answer as to why other than I have been busy training in preparation for this thing called Ironman.

Since Ironman has been the biggest thing that has gone on since my last post I think I am best served to give the details of that above all else for right now. Obvious to most is that the Ironman I competed in was Ironman Louisville. Louisville is a beautiful place and I really enjoyed my time there. It was so refreshing to be in an area that no matter where you turned everyone was sincerely polite and helpful. I guess southern hospitality does exist.

So, on to the race. As anyone who has done an Ironman would tell you, hardly ever does everything work out perfectly and my race was no exception. Starting with the swim, as I was getting ready I started to pull on my speedsuit and all of a sudden I heard a pop. That pop was in fact the zipper on my speedsuit shredding. So scrap the speedsuit and time to swim in just my tri suit. Now alot of people make a big deal out of how bad the Ohio River is to swim in and yes, it is absolutely not the cleanest water I have ever been in but I didn't find it to be as bad as people made it out to be. So I figured going into this thing that I could go out and swim what I felt I was capable of but having never swam that far I didn't want to get into a situation where I over did it in the swim and put myself in trouble that early. That in mind, I decided that I would more or less put it in cruise control for the swim and then try and hammer the other two events. End result swim wise was that it ended up being the easiest part of my day but also way slower than what was possible for me.

Next was the bike and this is where the problems started. Leading up to the race I had been having some pretty serious neck problems. So much so that I still have times with little feeling at the base of my neck. Anyway, I was fully prepared to hammer the bike as everything in my training lead me to believe I could do. I got out of transition and hit the first mile at about 21mph and then problems. At almost exactly the 1 mile mark into the bike my neck all of a sudden had a really bad burning sensation and then went numb. The end result of which made it so I could not ride in my aero position and I ended up having to ride 111 miles in my base bar. This in turn not only made it so I was catching all the wind head on but I also was putting more strain on my legs than needed. By the time I got off the bike my legs were pretty much shot.

By the time I started the run I could barely hold 9 minute mile pace for the first couple of miles and I knew it was going to be a pretty miserable marathon. By the time I had reached about mile 10 my stride had changed so much that I developed large blisters on the balls of both of my feet. All put together I ended up having to walk most of the marathon which was pretty upsetting.

Its a funny thing, I constantly see footage of people crossing the finish line at Ironman and they are very emotional. I have to say, I didn't have that same feeling. I was really upset that everything went so wrong for me. People have been constantly telling me to be proud of the fact that I finished, and believe me I am. However, my answer always is "I didn't train just to finish". Now don't get me wrong, I whole heartily believe that it is a great and commendable thing for people just to want to finish. I personally just happen to have large goals for myself and when I put the kind of time in that I did and to not only not hit that goal but to have a pretty miserable race, well that it pretty disappointing to me.

All in all the experience of Ironman itself was terrific and I would 100% recommend Louisville to anyone considering an Ironman. I would also like to thank the many friends and family who gave me their undying support throughout this entire process. I would especially like to thank my Ironwife Angela who not only was a spectator for 15 hours that day but has also been very understanding when it came to all the time away for training I had to do. Also, to my super Cousin Sarah, who flew in from Phoenix to cheer me on, it meant more to me than you know. Guess what? You're next Sarah!

Finally, just wanted to give a quick note regarding the mileage challenge that I had going on. I have decided to cancel it for the remainder of the year as many people have fallen by the wayside as the year has gone one. For those of you that took part I just wanted to say thank you and I hope you have a great remainder of the year training.

Another Year Older...

2009-07-22T13:14:00.002-04:00

Yep, 32 years ago today this son, husband, father, grandson, cousin, nephew, marathoner and soon to be Ironman was born. As well as training I am spending the day with my wonderful wife, enjoying the Tour, enjoying great food and watching some movies. Thanks to everyone who sent well wishes this way and I am looking forward to this Saturday when we have the B-Day party with friends. Also the current mileage for the year is 2154.47. Take care all and thanks again.

Ugh.........

2009-07-08T17:41:00.004-04:00

One quick comment..... thanks to the guy who ran me off the road today. Be aware out there my cyclist and tri friends alot of drivers don't care....

I Know...I Know...

2009-06-10T20:21:00.003-04:00

Yes everyone, it has clearly been quite a while since I have updated my blog. The good thing is that the reason is that I have been training a ton lately and quite honestly have not had the time to write here. So without sitting here and writing out what could only be called a novel, I will try and update everyone on what has been going on.

First, yes I have been keeping track of the mileage challenge. We are now sitting at 2021.95 miles everyone! Great job and thanks to everyone that keeps sending in their weekly totals.

Next was the Cleveland Marathon. This was my fourth marathon to date and my training went really well going into it. It was also my wife's first half marathon ever. At the half marathon check I was right on time for where I expected to be and was still feeling really good. Then at about the 20 mile mark I just started getting really tired. Not the typical bonk that alot of people get but just tired. I ended up finishing with a time of 3:38.37 (I stopped my Garmin at my 26.2 mark and it said 3:36 but oh well) which was another personal best and 4 for 4 when it comes to personal bests in marathons. The best part of it all was that my wife went into the half thinking she was going to struggle to go under 4 hours and she did a 2:26. I couldn't have been more proud and she loves her medal!!!!

The next was my first tri ever. My cousin Sarah came into town for it and I have been coaching her for it. She is an excellent swimmer so I knew I was going to have my work cut out for me. I pretty much went into it with the idea of using it as practice more than anything since I had never done one and for sure had never done open water swimming or swimming with others. The swim was pretty much what I expected, in other words slooooow and Sarah had me by 10 minutes out of the water. With that kind of gap in a sprint tri it is very hard to get someone back. The bike went ok and was more hilly than I expected it to be and I still hadn't caught her. Then on the out and back run (which was on trails) I saw her at about my 1.5 mile mark and I thought there was a slight chance I could reel her in. In the end though she ended up beating me by 30 seconds in the overall and I sooo didn't care. It meant more to me that she raced so well and to top it all off she placed second in her age group in her very first tri ever!!!

Lastly, training has been going well and I have upped my time in the pool simply because I have felt that I needed it. My bike to run brick has been getting stronger and stronger and I am actually looking forward to getting to the longer distances.

I hope all is well with everyone as the racing season is now in full swing. Take care.

Remember When....?

2009-05-07T20:14:00.003-04:00

Remember when it was cold and miserable here in Northeast Ohio and I was able to blog on a consistent basis? Well the mostly 60 and 70 degree weather along with some 80's thrown in for good measure have put me off track blogging wise of late. The good news is that as a result of the good weather, I have really started to feel like I am putting in some really solid training! Swimming seems to still be getting better everyday and I am still feeling better on the bike every time I ride. Running had been coming around slowly but I am happy to say that I did my long run yesterday at a pace of 6:52 a mile! This really surprised me as it came out of no where. I am starting to feel more confident about the possibilities of my time for the marathon on the 17th but at the same time trying to keep myself in check because (and anyone who has run one will agree) anything can happen on race day, most of which are out of your control.

I am also looking forward to the weekend after the marathon as my cousin Sarah will be coming into town from Phoenix, Arizona to compete in her first ever tri with me. I have been coaching her for it and she has been training her butt off so I am excited to see how she fairs on race day. Not to mention it will mean some vacation time for me as well.

Finally, the Challenge keeps rolling on and everyone is still sending in their weekly totals. Everyone is doing great as the numbers keep piling on. The new total for the year is, 1884.41 miles! Great job everyone.

I hope everyone is enjoying spring and getting out there for some racing. I for one will be doing a 5k at the Cleveland Zoo this Saturday and hope to see some of you there. Take care.

Keep it Coming!!

2009-04-22T19:23:00.002-04:00

I say this because two things have been going really well as of late. First the mileage challenge is going really well as we are now up to 1765.55 miles for the year and we just keep climbing. Great work there everyone and keep it up.

Second, my training has really improved over the course of the past couple of weeks. Swimming wise, it seems like every time I step into the pool I am not only getting more and more comfortable, but my technique is improving with leaps and bounds and I am definitely getting faster every time. Bike wise again, I am feeling more and more comfortable in the aero position and I am getting stronger on the hills as well as faster over all. When it comes to the run, it seemed like I was going through a tough patch for a while there were I just couldn't string together solid runs. In the past few weeks though, I have really started to feel more like myself and the runs are finally starting to get where I want them to be, which is a good thing considering I have a marathon in 3 weeks!!

Other than that they are calling for great weather starting tomorrow for a few days anyway and I am really looking forward to going really hard over the next few days outside and seeing where the chips lay at the end of it. I hope everyone is training well and that everyone is having a great time out there. Until next time......

The Countdown Is On!!

2009-04-09T21:08:00.003-04:00

As of today there are officially 37 days left until my first big race of the year... The Cleveland Marathon! I will always have fond memories of this race as last year at this race was my first marathon ever. I am definitely looking forward to having a really solid race this year. From what I understand, they haven't finalized the course for this year yet so I am looking forward to seeing what they come up with. My wife is also walking her first ever half marathon so it will be really special when she finishes. It will also be interesting to see how all of my cross training will transfer to race day. As far as training goes, my swimming seems to be getting better every time I get in the pool which is very reassuring since I knew it was going to be my weakest event starting out. My biking also seems to be coming around nicely and we have made a slight adjustment to my fit to get me a bit more comfortable. It has definitely been nice to get outside with the nice weather as opposed to putting in 3 hour sessions on the trainer. My running seems to be a little behind right now but not so far that I wont be able to put it all together for the marathon.

Speaking of running, the 100,000 mile Challenge keeps piling up and the new total for the year is 1570.30 miles.

Training Update and Challenge

2009-04-01T21:20:00.004-04:00

Hey everyone. So I came to realize today that I havent updated my blog for a bit and havent updated the challenge numbers. So before I get to the training stuff let me say that the challenge is going really well and we are really putting up some good numbers now. The new updated number is 1439.93 miles. Way to go gang, things are looking great and keep it up.

Training wise things have been going well. My swim is really coming along nicely, my runs are getting longer in preparation for the Cleveland Marathon on May 17th (I even did a 24 mile run today and it felt great. As far as the bike goes, I am really starting to feel stronger there as well and getting really comfortable in the aero position. Not to the point where I can hold it for 112 miles yet but I have plenty of time for that. So all in all, things are really looking up and I am looking forward to racing the Spring Classic Half Marathon this weekend. I hope everyone else is well and that training is going the way you expect it. Take care

The Weekly Challenge Update

2009-03-18T19:04:00.003-04:00

I hope everyone is well and that everyone has been enjoying the great weather as much as I have. Judging by the distance we have covered this week it looks like everyone has been going at it strong and steady. We have a new total for the Challenge again this week and that is 1227.87 miles. It is really a very cool thing to see everyone contributing to this goal we have and I hope everyone is having as much fun with it as I am. I just wanted to point out one thing though. That is to remember if you have any friends or family members who would like to take part that isn't a problem at all. People can jump in and take part at any time throughout the year all they have to do is start emailing me their totals for the week every Sunday. Have a great week everyone.

Random Thoughts and Challenge Update.

2009-03-11T20:08:00.005-04:00

Looking back over my blog I just realized that I haven't posted much lately that didn't have to do with the 100,000 mile challenge. Between 20 mile runs, 5 am swim times, 3 1/2 hours on the trainer and work hours, its unfortunate but I haven't had much time to squeeze in any good blogging. So I thought I would catch everyone up on what has been going on.

First of all, if anyone out there has not had Dartfish video analysis done on their bike yet, I would highly recommend that you do. Let me explain why.... as I stated above I have been doing upwards of 3 and a half hours on the trainer. For the past little while I had noticed that something didn't feel quite right with my cleat placement. So, I took my bike into the shop to have Dartfish done and when we did the video shot from behind while I was riding we noticed that my left ankle would actually collapse in at the bottom of the pedal stroke. When we checked the cleat on that shoe low and behold not only was the cleat off, it was an inch off from the other one. As a result of that happening I ended up straining a tendon in the top of my foot that my A.R.T. doctor is now trying to mend for me. The end result was that when we fixed everything not only did I feel alot better but my power and speed also went up. Bottom line, highly recommended and thanks Coach.

The other good news is that my swimming is becoming alot better. I am starting to feel alot more comfortable in the water and both my endurance and speed are getting alot better as well. Now if I could just figure out a way for 5am to come later in the day!!!

My running is starting to progress nicely as well. Which is a good thing since I am running the Cleveland Marathon the second weekend of May. With the weather we have had for the past while my runs had definitely slipped a little bit, but I got in my 20 miler today and felt great the whole time so things seem to be right on track there as well.

So all in all, I am starting to feel really positive about the way my training is progressing and I am looking forward to this season and seeing how everything shakes out.

Regarding the challenge it looks like things are picking up for sure as we had one of our strongest weeks yet and the new total for the year is 1114.37 miles. Great job to everyone taking part and I hope the challenge is giving everyone the motivation to keep moving. Until next time take care.

The Challenge Rolls On

2009-03-04T18:58:00.002-05:00

Happy better weather everyone!! I don't know how everyone else's weather is going but we are finally starting to warm in Ohio. Challenge wise, things just keep rolling along. With this past weeks totals we are now over the 1000 mile mark with a grand total of 1034.93 miles! That's a great job by everyone involved and it's only going to get bigger from here. I know for sure my mileage is going to ramp up now as I am starting the big push for my first marathon of the year on May 17th. I hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy. Keep on moving.

Challenge Time Again

2009-02-25T13:57:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone. Sorry for the delay in getting the new total posted. With the combination of training and late hours at the shop time has kind of gotten away from me. We do have a new total now though. That new total is 999.92 total miles. Almost to that 1000 mile mark everyone! Great job! Looks like the weather may have finally started to give us a break here so I for one am looking forward to being able to pack on more mileage. Hope everyone is well and running/walking healthy. Until next week....

Happy Birthday Mom!!

2009-02-19T22:49:00.004-05:00

My moms birthday is officially February 20th and I figured what better way to say Happy Birthday than to post it on my blog for everyone to see.

Where would we be without moms? For one, none of us would be here in the first place. But for me I know I wouldn't be anywhere near the person that I am today without my mom. I cant even begin to tell you how many soccer, baseball, track and football practices and games she took me to. Not to mention all the late nights staying up making sure I finished all my homework no matter how much I kicked and screamed about it. When it came to all my sports it didn't matter if I was coming in first or last or if my team was winning or losing my mom would always be cheering for me just as loud. She is to this day one of my biggest fans and I never forget that even for a minute.

My mom is also an excellent cook and a professional seamstress. Growing up she made more clothes for me than I can ever remember and every one of them was way better than you could ever find from a designer in a store. When it comes to cooking, I never once growing up (and even now) had a meal I didn't like and I credit her for the fact that there are very few types of foods out there that I don't like.

Anyway, have a very happy birthday mom. You deserve it in every way. Thank you for being born, without you there is no me. Love, Chris

Obligatory Lance Post

2009-02-16T19:57:00.003-05:00

Well, anyone that knows me knows that it was only a matter of time before I started posting about Lance Armstrong. Yes, I am kind of a freak when it comes to him (admitting you have a problem is the first step right?) Well anyway, I have to say that it has been great to see him back at it. Even at the Tour Down Under where he clearly wasn't trying to win the thing, it was still exciting to watch. I have also been watching the Tour of California for the past few days and I have to say, he has looked surprisingly good so far. Of course, it is always exciting to see him time trial, but even yesterday during the first real stage of the race he looked really good riding out there. ** Side note, how dumb does as thief have to be to steal Lance's one of a kind time trial bike? I mean come on, go ride on it one day, or better yet try and sell it on Ebay** Oh well, no one ever said you had to be smart to be a criminal.

Regardless of your opinion of the man, you have to respect what he has accomplished not only in the bike racing world but also in the world of cancer research. To come back to raise even more awareness and funds for the fight against cancer is a pretty noble thing. Not to mention, it will absolutely be great for the sport of cycling. I for one, am alot more excited looking toward the Tour this year than in years past. Here's to hoping that everyone in the sport can have a "clean" season and really bring some excitement back for everyone.

The Challenge Continues

2009-02-16T19:54:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone. I hope Valentine's Day treated everyone well. Hopefully the weather hasnt been too terribly bad in your neck of the woods. Our challenge number continues to grow every week and our new total is 927.92 miles!!! That's great work everyone. I am really looking forward to seeing how much we can all pack on by the end of the year. Keep up the great work and see you next week.

New Total For The Challenge

2009-02-03T11:20:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone. This week has been a great week. Not only have we had another person join our little challenge but we also hit our largest week total yet. I really believe these numbers are only going to get bigger as people start training for their racing seasons, spring marathons and as the weather continues to improve. Our new total as of February 1st is 845.97 miles! Great job everyone. Keep up the great work and keep on running!!!

Random Updates

2009-02-01T14:24:00.002-05:00

While looking back over my past few posts I noticed that I haven't really been giving many updates as to what has been going on with me. As many of you know, I am not only training for marathons this year (with the hopes of qualifying for Boston) but I am also training for my first season as a triathlete with Ironman being the big one is August.

So with that in mind I have of course have to spend time on the bike and in the pool as well as the run. The bike and the run have been going quite well so far. I have been continuing to build on my running base and will be putting in more speed work once the snow clears. With the bike, it took some time to get comfortable in the aero position but now that I am used to it I have been able to maintain higher speeds for much longer periods of time.

When it comes to the swim, that has probably been the most frustrating part of this process so far. As any swimmer/triathlete well knows swimming is the one sport out there that you cant just go out and power through. There is so much technique involved in order to do well. While I am in fact picking it up, it has been a very slow process so far and that can be very frustrating. All in all everything will come and get better I have no doubt.

The really cool news that has come out recently is that there is a program out there that my coach and I use to pass training information back and forth between each other. This particular program is used not only by your typical age group athletes but also by many pros in the tri, running and cycling world. The cool part is that they came to me and asked me to be a featured athlete on their website! I thought this was a really cool thing to be a part of and I or course accepted. To check it out, here is the link http://blog.trainingpeaks.com/2009/01/trainingpeaks-member-profile-chris-martino-runner.html

I hope all is well with everyone and here is to maybe digging out of all this snow soon.

100,000 Mile Challenge Week 4

2009-01-26T22:42:00.002-05:00

Hey everyone. I hope the weather is improving for you all out there. It's supposed to maybe warm up here next week, which of course will mean that we will see 30 degrees instead of 20 degrees. It has kind of been a funny week for the challenge. Only about half of the people taking part actually reported but, we still put up another big number. All this would lead me to believe that everyone is starting ramp up their mileage (I know I am!!). The new total for the challenge now sits at 607.71 miles!! Great job everyone. Keep on moving!!

The Challenge - Week 3 Edition

2009-01-19T20:14:00.004-05:00

Well, it has been yet another tough week weather wise here in Northeast Ohio. This past week we saw a few days go even below 0 degrees!! Cold in any ones book for sure. Our challenge group keeps rolling along as strong as ever, with quite a few people putting in 50-60 mile weeks!! That's a great amount for this time of year. Our new total for the year is... 504.21 miles!!! Great work all!!!! As soon as the weather breaks here in our part of the country I have no doubt that number will climb very quickly. Good luck this week and keep on running/walking.

100,000 Mile Challenge Week 2

2009-01-12T21:57:00.003-05:00

Hello to everyone. I hope the first bit of the New Year is treating you all well. I certainly hope my out of state readers are having better weather than us here in Ohio. Typical Northeast Ohio weather, it's starting to feel like the snow and cold are never going to end. Thanks to everyone who sent me their running totals for the week, considering the downright tropical weather we have been having here (I kid of course) we hammered out a lot more mileage than I expected so great work everyone. With this week added in, we are now at 345.91 miles so far!!! Great job everyone and keep up the good work.

Up For a Challenge

2009-01-05T23:00:00.002-05:00

As of January 1st the 100,000 mile challenge has begun. With the New Year starting in the middle of the week and it being a holiday week I wasn't sure how many miles would be reported. But, much to my surprise the group amassed a total of 169.72 MILES!!! Great work group! As everyone get back into the swing of things and the weather gets warmer out there I think we are going to have a few surprises as to just how many miles we can rack up. So great start and keep those miles coming. Take care.

Happy New Year and The Challenge

2008-12-31T18:05:00.002-05:00

First of all Happy New Year to all. I hope that everyone can look back on 2008 and see it as a great year. I know I can! When it comes to training and racing, I completed 26 races this year, including 3 marathons, ran a total of 1023.67 miles and ran a P.R. in every distance I ran. I am also looking forward to next year where I will be doing over 30 races, two of them stand alone marathons and then Ironman.

Also wanted to mention that tomorrow officially starts the 100,000 mile challenge. Remember for everyone involved, all you have to do is keep track of how many miles you either run or walk during the week (starting every Monday) and every Sunday email me at irunmarathon@gmail.com with your total. From there I will tally the total groups mileage and post it on my blog every monday. Also be sure to remember, just because someone doesn't start with us tomorrow doesn't mean they cant take part. All they have to do is email me to take part and then their mileage starts to add up the very next Monday. I am looking forward to seeing just how much mileage on group of people can cover!!! Should be a lot of fun and help to keep us all motivated throughout the year.

From my family and myself here's to a great and safe New Year and we will see you all in 2009!!!

Chris and Cleo's Christmas Run

2008-12-25T13:35:00.004-05:00

First of all Merry Christmas to everyone out there. I hope that the holidays are treating you well and you all get to spend it with the ones you care about the most. Today Ang had to work 7am to 3:30pm so Cleo and I started the first annual Dad and Cleo Christmas Run. We had a really nice run on the bridle trails in Strongsville. It was still pretty cold today so the trails were still packed down pretty hard which made it nice for running. There were definitely some large sheets of ice so we had to stop and walk around them occasionally but no big deal. It sure was nice to be the only ones out there in the peace and quiet. All in all we did a nice comfortable 3.1 miles and had a great time together.

A Tri To Call My Own

2008-12-21T20:27:00.002-05:00

So, I had know for a couple of weeks now that I was going to be on my own for the day as my wife had somewhere to be for the day. So whats better to do when by yourself? Why train of course. I only had a long bike ride scheduled for today but I figured why not do all three sports? So I got up this morning and it was off to the rec center. I started out with a run and did 6.2 miles on their indoor track. Felt pretty good the whole time, just don't know if I could have much longer as it is pretty rough running on a track that is 1/12 of a mile.... just too many turns and not much to look at. Then it was off to the pool downstairs. I have really been happy with how my swimming has come along, I feel like I am getting stronger and more comfortable with the technique. I'm sure if I had an actual swimmer look at me I would still look ridiculous but hey I am just starting out here. Total swim distance 1200 yards, most I have gone so far!! Then I came back home and did my bike ride and covered 25 miles. I was hoping for a solid two hours but only got in 1 1/2. I think I can live with that considering everything else I did today.

So, all in all a very productive day and I am really happy with how my body held up overall. Probably wont be able to move tomorrow but hey, that's how we know we did something right?

The original 100,000 Mile Challenge Post

2008-12-10T20:46:00.002-05:00

As has been brought to my attention alot of people out there are trying to get info on the 100,000 mile challenge and have not been able to find it on my blog. Since it was a few pages in on the site here is the original link and sorry for the confusion everyone. http://26miles385yardsatatime.blogspot.com/2008_09_01_archive.html

Long way to Go

2008-12-10T12:25:00.002-05:00

This week I officially started training for the 2009 Ironman Louisville. Technically I have been training all along but I have now added the swimming into the mix. My mother in law ended up winning a free months membership to the rec center in Seven Hills and I figure you cant beat some free time in the pool so I will be training there for the next few weeks and then heading to the Macedonia rec center where everyone else I know trains. Macedonia seemed to make the most sense to me as a place to train since all the the people I plan on racing with and against go as well as my coach.

Swimming wise I definitely have a long way to go, as I expected, I mean I never made the claim that I am a swimmer but with all the hard work I am going to put in, I have no doubt that I will be ready by IM time. My time in the pool right now mainly consists of just doing drills, which is what I need right now more than trying to flop around in the water and do laps.

In the middle of all my training for IM, I am also training to run the Cleveland Marathon again in May. So I am still running big mileage as well. I am really looking forward to seeing what my level of fitness looks like by the end of the year. There are also a couple of cool developments in all of this. First, my wife is going to do her first ever half marathon at Cleveland when I do the full. I think it is so cool she is going for it and I know when she sets her mind to it she will do very well. The second cool development is that my cousin Sarah, is going to come here at the end of May and she and I are going to do our first triathlon together. She is an excellent swimmer and I am going to have my work cut out for me trying to catch her on the bike and the run. So it will be cool that a few people all in my family are training at the same time for events. Lastly, during last week's long run I officially passed the 1,000 mile mark for the year which was one of my goals when I first started running.

Finally, just a reminder that the 100,000 mile challenge starts in a couple of weeks. This should be a great thing for all and surely a great way to stay motivated for the year.

Random Late Updates and the Big Announcement.

2008-11-27T21:22:00.004-05:00

Hello to everyone out there and a very Happy Thanksgiving to all. As has been pointed out to me by my good friend Ray, it has been quite a while since my last post so sorry for the delay and let's see if we can't get everyone updated.

One of the really cool things I have done since my last post is that my wife and I went to Colorado a couple of weeks ago. It was my Aunt's 50th birthday party and it seemed like everyone was there including, my parents, Aunt and Uncle and my four cousins. It was really cool to reconnect with everyone on that side of the family especially my cousins whom I hadn't seen in about 16 years. We all made a promise that we are going to do a better job of staying in touch with one another and to visit more often. During that trip we also stayed in Breckenridge which, if you haven't been there before I would highly recommend it. It is a beautiful area of the world and talk about great altitude training!!!

Today I went out and did my first ever Turkey Trot. It was the Fleet Feet one downtown by the Convention Center. I hadn't done a race since the Columbus Marathon and with the vacation we just had I am definitely not in top notch race shape. With those things in mind I knew it wasn't going to my best race ever but I was going to test myself out nonetheless. I think there was about 4,000 people there participating I got myself to the front of the pack for the start.

Going through the first mile I felt pretty good until right at the mile marker when I went through right aat about 6:40. I knew that was going to be a little too fast for the kind of shape I am in for five miles so I backed it off a little bit and tried to play the rest of the race smart. Overall I finished with a time of 36:51 and a 7:18 pace. Not by best by far but acceptable for this time of year.

Lastly, the big announcement. As I mentioned in a previous post, I am going to be participating is triathlons for the first time this year. Well, my wife comes home one night a few weeks ago and tells me "we need to talk". So of course being a guy, I start thinking "Oh no what have I done?!" She then proceeds to to hand me a folder and says, "this is because I love you and I'm proud of you." When I open the folder, the firs thing that I see is my official USAT liscence, which is great because I need that to race this year. Then I turn the page..... and looking back at me is my offcial race registration for the 2009 Louisville Ironman!!!! That's right, I am now officially training not only to do a triathlon this year but an Ironman! So the plan for this year is to run a Boston Qualifying marathon and finish my first Ironman as well. Gonna be a fun and interesting year.

One last note as well. The 100,000 mile challenge starts up in a little over a month on January 1, 2009. So anyone out there that has not told me they want to be a part please do ASAP so I can get everything organized on my end. Thanks everyone and have a great Thanksgiving.

I also had to leave you with a picture of my dog and her marathon medals that she is so proud of.

And So It Begins

2008-11-04T21:43:00.002-05:00

As of tonight I have officially begun my training to be a Marathoner/Triathlete. I ran last night for a pretty easy 3.5 miler and felt alright but tonight was the first night on the new tri bike. Aside from the warm up and cool down I also had to do one leg drills. I definitely need some work but, that was to be expected since I have been on a bike in over a year let alone in an aero position. All in all though it pretty much felt like I expected it to which is always a good thing. So with a total of 42 minutes on the bike today and a 16 mile run scheduled for tomorrow, my life as a multi sport athlete begins. Stay tuned.....

End of the Vacation

2008-11-02T12:32:00.003-05:00

Today marks the end of my little fitness vacation I have been on. As of today I haven't done any exercise for the past week. So after adding a few pounds and letting my body rest a little bit I have been getting very antsy to get back at it. I am looking forward to taking my training to the next level and seeing where I can get to next year. Should be interesting.....

Thank You's

2008-10-21T21:14:00.002-04:00

After having done three marathons this year I would be remiss not to thank all of those people around me that make what I do possible. In no particular order, I would like to thank my terrific wife, it's not always easy to understand the constant 20 mile runs, constant diet tweaks and constant weekends spent racing, but she does it and supports every bit of it (and has even picked up race walking this year herself!). Next I would like to thank my parents, they are the ones who got me involved in sports in the first place and they are always there to hear my race reports via phone every weekend. I would like to thank my coach, Sean Gilbert, his coaching has been absolutely invaluable to me this year and it is much appreciated. I would like to thank Jody and Heather Herzog of Fleet Feet Northfield, not only are they terrific friends but they also own the best running store around and for those of you who haven't visited them I would highly recommend it. Have to thank my new running buddy Cleo (my dog) she cant put in the big mileage yet but she is working on it. To all the guys at the shop thanks for all the support and competition. Also to my mother in law Fran, thanks for coming to every one of my marathons this year. I also have to thank my A.R.T. doctor Tim Keyes, without his treatments I don't know if I would have made it through all the miles and he has also become a terrific friend (good luck at IM Arizona buddy).

I know I have probably forgot one or two people out there, as you always will. Please don't think you are any less appreciated or that you were any less instrumental in my successes this year. So to everyone thank you so very much and it looks like my goal of 30 races will happen this year.

Columbus Marathon Race Report

2008-10-21T20:21:00.003-04:00

This past Sunday marked my third marathon this year (and ever), the Columbus Marathon. My wife, mother in law and myself went down on Saturday morning and checked into the hotel and hit the expo. As far as the expo went, it wasn't that great. It was well organized in that it was easy to find everything and check in, but it didn't really have anything to offer in the way of collectibles and there weren't any pros there like at other marathons. That night we all went to Buca Di Beppo for dinner and I got my carbo load on. Then it was off to get to bed early and rest.

We woke up the next morning at 5 am for the 7:30 start. It had been fairly warm the night before so I went to the start in a running jacket and my shorts. Much to my dismay, it was about 35 degrees at the start line. Needless to say I froze but that was ok. About five minutes before the start the announcer said that the official amount of participants was 11,500! Definitely the largest race I have been involved in and it was very cool to be in that large of a group.

A couple of minutes later I was saying bye to my wife and mother and law and off we went. It took me a few minutes to warm up since it was so cold and I had been waiting at the start line for a little bit. Once I got going though I felt really good. My plan was to keep with the 3:20 pace group for as long as I could and then if I felt good, go for it and try and catch the 3:10 group. Since I started a bit back at the start line I had some catching up to do. I ran it fairly well as I didn't want to blow myself up trying to catch them. By about the 3 mile mark I had them within sight and a short while later I had caught them. At the 8 mile mark I had to stop off at one of the port o potties so that again set me back a little bit, but it was nothing to worry about because I had the group back about 2 miles later again.

Next thing I new we were at the half marathon turn off and I remember thinking that it went by really fast (set a new half p.r. in the process). The only part that really seemed to drag for me was starting right at the half point. There was what was about a 4 or 5 mile straightaway that just seemed to never end. I was doing a good job of taking drinks of my Perpetuem from my Fuel Belt and taking gel every now and then so I was feeling good still.

It's funny how when you are doing something like a marathon how little you pay attention to the sights. I had no idea we were going around Ohio State stadium until someone running along side me mentioned it.

At about the 20 mile mark is when my hamstrings started to tighten up. I think other than how far we had gone it may have been a result of not being able to keep my legs warm all day. Every time I would try and take a long stride my hamstring wouldn't let me do it. I don't think any of this cost me a B.Q. but nonetheless. I rapidly lost the 3:20 group and was passed by the 3:30 group as well. Looking at my spilt times it took me an hour to complete the last 10k which is kind of funny for me.

The finish was really nice and downhill with lots of crowd support (which there was during the entire course by the way) and they had everyone on the big screen and announced all the finishers names. I turned in my chip, got my medal and when I turned around I immediately saw my always supportive wife. What is it about doing something like a marathon that makes you cry like a baby at the finish?

I ended up finishing with a 3:41 time which is a 11 minute personal best even with doing two marathons 3 weeks apart. All in all not the Boston Qualifier that I had been working for but I will take it and it leaves me something to shoot for next year. Congratulations also go out to Frank DeJulius of Fleet Feet, who in his first marathon ever barely missed a B.Q. by 22 seconds! That is awesome in any ones book.

A Day Full Of Exercise

2008-10-12T18:06:00.003-04:00

What a great day! Forgetting for a moment that we are in the middle of October and it feels like it is still August. The day started off early as Ang and I had a charity walk to do this morning. It was for a good cause and the zoo is always a cool place to visit. I mean where else can get that close to polar bears (my favorite) and lions just to name a few? After walking about two miles there we headed off to the Towpath Marathon to watch Tim Keyes (ART doctor and friend) and his brother in law finish the full Marathon. Both finished and did well. We also had a chance to see both Janet Edwards and Mel Bolgrin finish as well. Also on the half marathon side of things, Sean Gilbert (coach), Gabby Scully and Lenny Hudson all finished in the times they were hoping for. Great job guys. Then, after the ride home I had to get out and do my 10k training run, which except for the unseasonal heat, went pretty well. Now the rest of my day will be filled with watching football and we all know what a workout that can be.

Today also marks one week until the Columbus Marathon. All year this has been scheduled to be my "A" race and if everything works out correctly, my Boston qualifier as well. So this week will be a taper week filled with a few runs just to keep the legs loose but mostly trying to rest as much as possible.

Marathon Secret Weapon

2008-10-06T20:17:00.003-04:00

Alright I have now decided that I have a sure fire way of qualifying for the Boston Marathon. I am going to use a substitute runner, her name is Cleo, she has a very low center of gravity, high turnover rate, loves to wear my medals as if they were her own and has promised me that she will only stop once or twice to "sniff" around. The only concern she has is if they are going to have the proper fueling station for her at the finish.

Feelin' Pinched

2008-10-03T21:43:00.002-04:00

Today Coach Sean Gilbert did body fat testing on me. He used the caliper method and took measurements from 4 different spots on my body, my tricep, upper thigh, "love handle" area and the front of my abdomen right by the belly button. I was looking forward to seeing if there was much of a change from the last time we did it which was right before the Cleveland Marathon (late April I believe). At that time I weighed 170 pounds and came out to an 11.1 percent body fat percentage. Since then I of course have been putting in a ton of mileage but have also been trying to watch my diet a little more closely. The result.... I weighed 169 lbs this morning and came out with a 7.3 percent body fat reading! I am really excited about this because it leads me to believe that I am definitely leaning down but maintaining muscle at the same time. Thanks as always to my coach for all the help. My goal has always been to run Columbus at 165lbs so I am well on my way.

Stay Tuned!

100,000 Mile Challenge and Run Update

2008-10-02T20:46:00.003-04:00

After getting worked on by my A.R.T. doctor, Tim Keyes yesterday (which made my legs feel like new today by the way) it was off to run a 4 miler after work today. Running after work this time of year is always an interesting experience because by the time you are halfway through it is usually pitch black out which makes it difficult to see if you are about to run smack dab into a deer. My fear of getting an antler stuck into my hip aside I ran pretty well. Surprisingly my Achilles that was completely screwed up as of last Saturday, felt pretty good, a little sore but not unbearable (thanks Tim!). It ended up being a solid run, I covered the 4 miles in a 6:33 per mile pace and still felt like I had some speed to spare. Tomorrow is a recovery day and I will also be getting my body fat percentage checked. Before I did the Cleveland Marathon this year I was at 11.1 percent and I am looking forward to seeing how much I have dropped since then.

In regards the the 100,000 mile challenge.... it has had a great response so far!!! Considering I have only put it out there for a couple of days now we already have 8 people signed up to take part! I have a really good feeling about this whole thing and I think it is going to do a lot of good for a lot of people. Just a couple of things, I am going to have a email list set up for everyone to give updates to people throughout the year. So be sure I get yours eventually. Also be sure to tell everyone you know. Whether it be other bloggers or what have you, just be sure to spread the word. Also it doesn't have to be only people in the running/sports world, this group is open to everyone and anyone.

Till the next post.......

The 100,000 Mile Challenge!!!

2008-09-30T22:33:00.002-04:00

Well, I went for my first run since running the Akron Marathon (a 3.5 miler) and felt great. More importantly, during my run I had an epiphany!! One of the things I love about running is that it lets me clear my head and sometimes I end up coming up with some pretty good ideas.

I have always been a big believer in the idea that exercise/sports can really change peoples lives. Whether it be losing weight, being part of a team, or just feeling better about yourself, there are so many reasons for being a part of something athletic.

So today, during my run, I came up with what I am going to call the 100,000 mile challenge. How this will work is, anyone who is interested is taking part will first off email me to let me know (email at bottom of post). Once this starts all those of us who are involved will have to do is keep track of how many miles ran or walked you did that week. At the end of the week you will email me those total miles and I will post updates on my blog each week. It is as simple as that, get out get some exercise and let me know the totals. It doesn't matter if you have never done a day of exercise in your life or if you are an elite athlete. If you can only manage a couple of miles a week, that's fine, no one will look down on you, everyone will support and encourage you.

This also is not limited to people in Cleveland. Get your out of town friends involved, spread the word. Make it an entire family affair and get healthy together. Work long hours and see very little of your family? Get out for an hour on a weekend and go for a walk.... all of your miles will count and you get to spend time together.

Here is another thought. Have a favorite charity that you support? How about getting a local business to support you and donate money to your charity according to how many miles you cover?

There are a couple of restrictions to this. First, this will be a year long commitment to being healthy. It will start January 1st 2009 and run until December 31 2009. This also gives everyone plenty of opportunity to get in touch with me and let me know they want to be involved. Second, mileage covered before January 1 2009 does not count but, if someone joins us late, lets say March 13th for example, their mileage will start on that day. Second when you join the group I would like everyone to also send me a little paragraph as to their reason for getting involved. Third, only run and walk mileage will be counted. Fourth, we are going to do this on the honor system so please be honest with how many miles you are covering. Finally, the more people we have involved the more mileage we can cover so spread the word.

Can we as a group cover 100,000 miles in a year? Email me at irunmarathon@gmail.com if you have any questions or if you want to get involved. Be sure to send everyone to the blog to let them know. Look forward to hearing from everyone.

Akron Marathon Race Report

2008-09-27T21:19:00.004-04:00

Well, it was a day of the good and bad. The race conditions were perfect the whole day with it being sunny but cool. Most of the first mile of the course is downhill so I went out fairly conservatively. I hit the first 10k in 46:51 which is a 7:32 pace, felt really good at that point. Next time check was at the 15k mark and I went through at 1:12.23 which left me with a 7:45 pace which was still leaving me feeling very comfortable. Next up was the 25k mark and I hit it in a very respectable 2:03.41 which is a 7:57 pace. Now here is where the problem arose. I don't remember exactly the mile but coming up the hill out of Sand Run, my left Achilles that I have had problems with lately (but was feeling great up to this point) blew out on me. It very quickly started to feel like it was on fire and I knew it was going to be hard to maintain any kind of quick pace. I knew that hill was going to be long from what everyone had been telling me but when you are injured it seems to go on forever. Regardless, I got through it and was on to the next time check.

The next time check was at the 30k mark and I came through in a clearly suffering 2:34.28 which is a per mile pace of 8:17. Not the worst of per mile paces but clearly having a tough time. At this point I was pretty much fighting this battle with myself between being mad that I was hurt which wanted to make me run harder and trying to be smart and not over do it since I have Columbus in 3 weeks. Next time check would be the finish. Now, I run with a Garmin GPS system which I would have to assume is pretty accurate but I had noticed throughout the entire race that all the mile markers from the start were about two tenths of a mile down the road from where they should have been. So either I was running corners weird or the course was not marked correctly. Not a big deal either way except for the fact that by my watch I hit 26.2 miles a good half mile before the finish. So final watch time was a 3:50 but chip time (which of course is the official time) was 3:52.24 which gives me a finishing pace of 8:52 per mile. Which also gives me a PR of about 3 and a half minutes. I also placed 410 out of 1581 people.

All together it was a very frustrating day with my Achilles, you never want something out of your control to affect your race. However, it was a PR and my second ever marathon is finished. Now to try and recoup and get ready for Columbus.

Also wanted to congratulate George Vale and Tim Ritt who finished in about 3:40. The Fleet Feet relay team who came in sixth overall, and the Christina Vanucci and Janet Edwards relay team who came in second in their race.

Akron Marathon Expo

2008-09-26T18:02:00.003-04:00

Today was the trip to the expo to pick up my bib number and visit the exhibits. It's always good to stop by the Fleet Feet display and pay a visit to Jody and the crew. Jody is part of a relay team and they may have a shot at winning it so good luck to them. George Vale and Tim Ritt are also doing the full marathon to good luck to them as well. The expo was really well run and organized. The only small downfall to it was that I felt they were a little light on the merchandise you can buy, just not a lot of variety. All around really well put on though. On my end I am still feeling great and really looking forward to a new PR at this one. Off to bed early tonight and up early tomorrow for the 7am start. I will be sure to give a full recap tomorrow.

Gotta Love the Taper!!

2008-09-25T20:27:00.002-04:00

With the Akron Marathon this Saturday, this has been my taper week. I would have to say that Sean and I may have hit it right on the money this time around. I have done a couple of small runs this week along with a couple of days off and a visit to Dr. Keyes. I am definitely feeling like I should, both rested and ready to go at the same time. Akron should be a fun one, from all accounts everyone says it is a really well organized one and there will be a lot of people there that I know which always helps. Off to the Expo tomorrow to pick up my race packet and some memorabilia and then home to rest and get ready for the race.

Could it be?

2008-09-21T17:20:00.003-04:00

For a while now I havent been having very strong runs, both training and racing. Really it has been a combination of things. First, for whatever reason I haven't felt mentally strong for quite a while now. It's really a frustrating thing when you are consistently training hard and not getting any faster. So, my coach Sean Gilbert, made some changes to my training program in order to help me "regroup". The other problem has been pains I have been having in my legs. For the past couple of months I have been having serious pains in my legs. My left achilles has hurt so bad that it was painful just to touch and in my right leg I have had so many knots and scar tissue that it was actually cutting the circulation off to my right foot, which of course is tough while running. To remedy that I have been going to Dr. Tim Keyes. Dr. Keyes is a Chiropractor and Active Release Therapist. After the first visit with him the circulation to my right foot came immediately back. As a result of these fixes, I went out today for a 10k run and broke my p.r. by 3 minutes and that included a mile uphill run! So thanks to the Coach and the Dr. it looks like we are back on track and feeling better than I have in months. Now on to the taper for Akron.

The New Ride

2008-09-19T23:10:00.003-04:00

Well, I have finally gone and done it. I have officially purchased at Tri bike. I ended up getting a 2008 Trek Equinox TTX 9.0. Being the Lance freak that I am I have always wanted this frame so I am really excited to finally have one. Funny thing is, since I am training for my hope of qualifying for the Boston Marathon, I haven't even sat on it other than to get fit on it. I will be sure to give follow up posts once I get the rig rollin'

Hmmm Could It Be?

2008-09-18T19:13:00.004-04:00

Well I said I would never do this but here I am. This will obviously take some doing to get going so be patient, all in good time my friends.