Had I known that we were going to run a beer mile perhaps I wouldn’t have downed three beers. Maybe I also would not have spent my time dehydrating myself in the sun by the pool! Regardless, when I learned that a 1/4 mile course had been measured there was no way that I was going to back down from this experience!
This was my second Firecracker 5 mile race. I ran last year to help pace Amber. I failed by letting her go out too fast. This year she was not able to run due to injury. If not for her I would not have done this race. My goal was to make her proud and to run in her place. I wanted to put forth the effort and performance that I knew she was capable of had she not been injured.
Me and my Lady.
This was only my fourth 10km race! Amber convinced me (with very little encouragement) to run this 10k. I had fairly low expecatations going into this race for a number of reasons.
Heel Striker!
7 years ago I ran my first race at the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge. I ran again in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011. I did not run in 2010 due to injury and in 2012 my company did not participate.
This year was different from all of the others. This year I took the lead at Poseidon Systems to organize the event for our company. What this means is that I planned to have all of the goodies we would need for a fun evening. Food, a tent, a table, a grill, etc, etc. Luckily my girl is among the best cooks in the world and a fantastic event planner. She took the lead for me on dealing with the food aspect. I did not plan well for the rest of the event… We had everything we needed but it could have gone much smoother (due to lack of planning on my part). Next year will be better!
This was a race for me and not just a social event!
For four years Yellow Jacket Racing has held the Flower City Challenge. They’ve done an incredible job every single year. I’ve participated in the half marathon event every time and plan to do so as long as I can. This year went well…relatively speaking…
Two years ago I ran my first Boston Marathon. Continue reading
I waited too long to post about this race! I really don’t remember much of it anymore. I am posting for completeness really (but I guess I screwed that up in a way as it is). I did well at this race. I even did better than 2012. That is shocking because I was in much better shape in 2012. I haven’t been running much volume and haven’t done any speedwork.
Last year I ran roughly the same overall time but I had problems with my foot going numb and stopped numerous times to stretch. This year the race went well! It was just about running this time.
I finished in 1:03:42 and placed 4th in my age group. I did much better than I expected and I was very happy with the result. I believe this is the fastest I’ve run that course.
I was going to look back to my race report for the 2012 Miami Half Marathon but alas it appears I never wrote one. I’ve run Miami for as long as I’ve been a runner excluding the two years I ran Disney. This event has never been about the race for me. It’s about visiting my sister. It’s about spending time with friends. This year it was about spending time with a loved one as well.
Beaver Stadium
“Hey Greg we’re going to Penn State to run a half marathon.” she says. “OK, cool, I’ll book a Hampton.” I say. And that’s roughly how this race came to be. Amber and some friends decided, in the span of about 15 minutes, to run this half.
Pre-race kiss!
Nearly four weeks ago I ran my eighth marathon. This race was important to me as it was a return to racing, in a way. I continued to run but I lost the drive and passion that I had when I raced my first marathon. I was getting tired of using stories from 2-3 years ago as a source of pride. With strong encouragement I set out to train, and train hard, for the Rochester Marathon. I used the Pfiztinger/Douglas 12 week, 70 mile program. The last time I attempted to race a marathon I attempted to follow the 18 week 70 mile plan but it proved to be too much for me at the time. This time I conquered the training plan! I followed it very closely needing to adjust only one week (due to a minor illness and exhaustion). My goals for the race were to get a PR (better than 3:09), qualify for Boston, and to break 3 hours. Based on my training I didn’t think breaking three was in the cards (yet!) but I felt strongly that I could PR.
Sleeping in your own bed is a rare and wonderful thing for a marathon. Waking up with your girlfriend, the single biggest source of encouragement for my training, was even better. Though she generally is invisible to cameras my Dad was able to capture a picture of us shortly before race start. Just minutes later the gun went off. I was surprisingly emotional, on the verge of tears actually and I’m not sure why. This is, however, why I love running. It seems to amplify emotion. A good run feels euphoric. The nerves on race day are powerful. The feelings can be overwhelming.
One Man's Obsession 