Hartford Half Marathon

Greater Hartford Half Marathon (13.1 miles)
10/13/07
(RESULTS)

Does running two half marathons in 13 days count as a full Marathon?
It looks like this is it, my final distance run for 2007. All I've got is a few more 5K's left but nothing like what I went through on Saturday. It was a perfect day for a run, the weather at start time was in the mid 40's and it wasn't expected to get above the low 50's during the course of the run. I picked up Jose at seven and we drove towards the race. After we parked we struck up a conversation with someone who told us it was her 81st marathon. CRAZY! The course started on Bushnell Park, took us through East Hartford, back into Hartford to neighborhoods I'd normally never visit before ending back at Bushnell Park. All in all, a fun course but a bit cruel because there was some small hills on mile 11. Oh well, I was able to run the entire course without stopping and only came in 2 minutes slower than the Niantic Half.
This was my first race that also included a marathon. Talk about cool, there was an amazing energy in the air along with a lot of people in a great mood. My mind was racing and really made me want to try a full marathon someday. It would take a huge commitment and I'm not sure if I am up to it. To be honest, I could have done a lot better prep for this race, in the last two months I haven't done any long runs (8+ miles) except the New Haven 20K and Niantic Half Marathon. Oh well, I still feel great that I finished it without stopping and had a great time.

My first Half Marathon

Niantic Bay 1/2 Marathon (13.1 miles)
9/30/07
(RESULTS)

It had all the makings of a disaster... It's funny because I really had no interest in running this race. I'd have much rather spent the time prepping for the Hartford 1/2 Marathon in Mid-Oct. However, Shannon asked me if I'd be interested and I found out that three of my friends were running the 5K. Why not, it might be cool to see some familiar faces at the finish line. After the 20K at the beginning of the month, my training slacked off to a couple 3 mile post-work runs topped off by a six mile run on Wednesday night. That run didn't go over so hot as cramps at mile four forced me to walk for five minutes or so. My confidence wasn't all that high going into the weekend. Then, over this past week Shannon fell ill and the 5K runners dropped out one by one until I was the only person running in Niantic. Still, I figured on making a good show of myself until Saturday rolled around... Who knows what I did during the day but my back was sore prior to going to bed, I fell asleep for three hours and woke up to excruciating pain. It was so bad, I was almost in tears; reminding me of my sciatic issues last summer. For the next hour I stretched my back and right leg attempting to kick the pain down a notch. Things were not looking good for Sunday’s race. After some aspirin & a bit of stretching I was able to fall asleep. Melissa and I woke up at seven with my back still feeling sore, but not as bad as in the night. I did some stretches on the floor and took a hot shower hoping that I’d somehow be okay. Was it mind over matter? Or was it me being stubborn? Somehow my back stopped barking and I took a quick jog around her neighborhood. Wow, I felt pretty good… Do I dare go for it? What the heck, I had a free T-Shirt waiting for me. Melissa couldn’t believe that I was actually going to try and run the race. As we drove I put on a good air but did have nagging doubts…

We arrived at Niantic where I did a lot more pre-race stretching and told Melissa my goals for the race. Two hours and Thirty minutes. Left unsaid was “No Walking” because, honestly, I didn’t think I’d be able to run the entire thing with the lack of preparation and worries about my back.

Life is funny sometimes. I did wonderful, I kept a very constant pace and did not have to stop and walk the entire race!

I kept track via my Nike/iPod kit and my pace was consistent throughout the run, starting at about 10 minutes/mile and finishing at an over all of 10 minutes 46 seconds/mile. My final time was 2 hours, 20 minutes and 53 seconds.
Yes, I’m proud of myself, I ran a half marathon. It’s the farthest I’ve ever run in my life!

One funny note, on mile 10 I was running by the woods, feeling a bit tired, when a tree branch fell on me. It scared the heck out of me but I took it as a sign to get a move on!

New Haven 20K

New Haven Road Race – 20K (12.4 miles)
9/3/2007
(RESULTS)

Prior to any race I usually set a couple goals for myself, the time I’d like to come in under and not stopping during the run. First the first time since I’ve started running I missed both goals.

Am I upset? No not really.

Am I disappointed in myself? Slightly, mostly because I didn’t make a particular distance before starting to walk.

It was a beautiful day for a race, Melissa and I swung over Josh and Shannon’s and then we were off to New Haven. Both Shannon and I were doing the full 20K, which would be my longest run ever! I confidently told them I was shooting for around 2 hours and not stopping.

We set off slowly and as the miles added up I could feel myself slowing quite a bit. At the 10K mark I was 1 hour and five minutes in and realized that there was no way I was coming in for 2 hours. By mile nine I hit a wall and every step was heavier and heavier. In my past run (10 miles) I could say to myself “only one mile to go”. Not so in this case, I still had about 3 and half more. Finally I had to stop running and do a power walk. I was upset a bit, mainly because I didn’t do 10 miles before taking that break. After a few minutes I picked up the pace and ran all of miles 10 and 11. Right at the 12 mile mark I had to do the power walk thing for a bit, I wanted to cross the finish line looking good. Naturally Josh and Shannon were walking along the side and saw me. Being slightly ashamed I started running again and crossed the finish at 2 hours and 14 minutes. Looking back, I lost about four to five minutes in walk time.

I’ve got a half marathon (13.1 miles) coming up in two weeks. My goals are a bit more realistic:

Finish in under 2:20.

And…

Not walk.

WISH ME LUCK!

Corporate 5K

Corporate 5K - Hartford, CT 8/9/2007

This race was fun, more because of the friends that ran it with me; the course was a double loop which took a little of the enjoyment out of the day. Oh well, we all had fun.

It was a beautiful day for a run, no humidity and low temperatures (for the Summer). I gathered a good crew of buddies (Josh Reed, Shannon O'Donnell, Sara Ward, Dan Mulcahy, Kim Chapman and Erica Vogel) and entered us in as a Travelers team. We knew that we weren't winning any prizes but were looking for a good time. Prior to the race starting I ran into some old friends, Kristine Cao & Karin Wilsey, and played a little catch-up.

When the gun went off I started at a decent pace with Ms. Chapman by my side. Around mile one we started going up a slight hill and both of us were passed by an older guy pushing a baby stroller. I looked over at Kim and said "Now that's disheartening". As I crossed the halfway point I kicked it up a little; if everything broke well I wanted to break the 9 mins/mile mark for this race. Over the last mile my right knee started to remind me that it was there but I didn't want to slow down. As I saw the finish line in the distance I broke out into a sprint, saw Shannon and Dan (a.k.a. The Gazelle) cheering me on. I made my goal (results here) of under nine minutes so I was pretty happy. Once I got my water I sat on the side with Shannon and Dan and cheered everyone else on my team over the finish line. They did great! Afterwards we all went out to Pigs Eye for a couple cold beers and to trade stories.

All in all, despite a so-so course, it was one of my favorite races because of the people involved.

A jog along the seashore...

Over the past few weeks I've run my share of 5K races, they're fun but I felt that I wasn't pushing myself as much as I could.

Shannon told me that she was running the Sea Legs Shuffle along the ocean front on Sunday August 5th. After perusing their website I figured I'd go along as well, it looked like a nice race and it was by the ocean. However, instead of the 5K I decided to run the 10 miles instead (the course). Somehow I convinced her that she should do the 10 miles as well.

During my training I had only run 10 miles once before, that was back in May. In order to prepare I decided to run 8 1/2 miles the weekend prior to the race. My planning was less that stellar, as Melissa was over till about 11ish that morning and I didn't get a start till 11:30. It was a humid day topping out in the mid 90's. I thought I was going to die by the end of my run. There is nothing like feeling the heat just emanated from the pavement and each breath was nothing but hot air.

Despite having a less that stellar trial run, I was pretty excited about Sunday. Melissa and I picked Shannon and Josh up at 6:30 and headed down toward the shore. While Shannon and I were going to be running the 10 miles those two planned on napping on the beach!

The gun sounded and I started off on a nice slow pace; feeling pretty good, once the butterflies left my stomach. Since the course was along the ocean front I assumed that it'd be nice and flat. How wrong I was, miles three through six where mostly uphill. Ughh! Thankfully around mile five I had two attractive young ladies in very revealing outfits running at my pace slightly ahead of me. That made the next five miles a lot easier. At the six/seven mile point it hit me that I had never run this far in a timed race before and I felt my second (or third) wind come on. Once mile nine hit I was pretty tired but focused on getting to the end. As I turned the last corner I saw the finish line and broke out in a sprint. Prior to starting the race I had two goals: Finish in under 1 hour and forty minutes and not stop at any point along the way. Mission Accomplished on both(results)!

Now that I've done 10 miles, the next step is a half marathon... Can I do another three miles? We'll find out soon!

Not your typical 5K

Ok, so the goal is to blog about all my races and results from here on out. We'll see how this turns out.

On Thursday July 19th I ran my first 5K in the rain. You may remember it, we had tornado warnings, torrential downpours and all around terrible weather. Prior to the race I hung out at Melissa's house and played with her and Susie before meeting Josh and Shannon in downtown. Once we hooked up we laughed at our bib numbers Josh was 35, I was 36 (my age) and Shannon was 37 and sat under an awning trying to stay dry. Honestly I wasn't looking forward to this race I felt pretty blah. Once the gun sounded I got off to an awful start and my right knee & ankle started to bother me. The first hill loomed in front of me and all of a sudden I felt pretty good, the rain had stopped and the sun came out. My mind cleared of all the negativity and the rest of the race was a breeze (relatively). Around the final turn at mile three I saw the finished line and broke out into a full sprint finishing in 28:21. The full results: http://www.jbsports-results.com/?eid=197&search=yes. After cooling down, I met up with Melissa, Josh and Shannon. We all decided to head home, clean up and meet at Eli Cannons to celebrate. Good times!

Running for a cause

Hey Guys and Gals,

Are you interested in throwing some money my way? What if I say it's for a good cause (and some of my favorite things)? I'm out to save breasts!

On June 2nd I'll be running in a 5K to raise money for breast cancer research and am trying to raise $250. However, I think that you guys can easily help me reach that goal so I've decided to make it a little more interesting. I’ve decided that since that weekend is a Sox/Yanks series with The Rocket returning to Fenway I’ll be willing to sell my soul for a couple extra bucks. Clemens can sell out, why can’t I? Especially for a good cause… If you guys can help me reach certain monetary donations I’ll do the following:

$250 - You'll have my gratitude
$500 - I'll run wearing a Yankees cap
For every $100 over $500, I’ll wear the above cap during one softball game (i.e. $600 = one game, $700 = two games) up to $1000 and run in the cap
$1000 - I'll wear that Yankee cap all weekend while watching the ballgames, run in the cap and wear it during the softball games.

And, yes, photos of all this will be posted for your entertainment.

If you too are a fan of breasts and want to help me out, you can donate thru this link. Please also forward this on to anyone who may be interested in donating.

Thanks!
Kirk